Warlords Rising (27 page)

It was nearly sunset when he finally fitted the last saddle
to the last dragon. Tired, grumpy, beyond starving (he’d skipped lunch entirely
trying to get the saddles done), he thanked the craftsmen that had helped him
and trudged back toward the inn. They had managed to make fifty in all, a
number far outside of his expectations, but Trev’nor knew that it wouldn’t be
quite enough. It just would be mean less for the dragons to carry by claw.
Hopefully it was sufficient. He was out of materials and energy, so it had
better be.

As he walked, he heard the opening note to the warding spell
and looked up and around, trying to pinpoint the source. Spaced around the wall
in almost even intervals were all of the magicians. Becca stood a little behind
and to the right of Ehsan, standing with what looked like a mirror held up to
her mouth. Trying to project strongly enough through the mirror so the other
side could hear her? Smart.

In one accord, over a hundred voices opened their mouths and
started to sing one of the oldest songs, one of the most ancient of spells, in
a hauntingly minor chorus. With the sunset gilding their silhouettes, it made
for a stunning image that seared its way into his eyes and memory. They sang
with the purest of intentions, and as the words came out of their mouths, the
air shimmered with magic.

Every person in the street stopped dead as they saw the air
bend and glow golden in tones different from the setting suns. Even Trev’nor,
who had seen more wards than he could possibly remember, felt awed at the
sight. It was like the barrier in Q’atal, it shone with so much power. He’d
never thought he would see another ward that could rival that one, but this one
did. It possibly outshone it.

The spell came to a close, the last word spoken more than
sung, and the ward solidified into a firm presence with an almost audible hum
of its own.

A woman behind him clutched her toddler to her legs and
stared at the ward with trepidation. “Is…that…?”

“A ward,” Trev’nor answered her. Seeing that most of the
people on the street looked petrified, he sighed and made his voice loud enough
to be heard by most of them. “That is a ward! It will protect the city from
attack! Do not fear it!”

The toddler was the only one brave enough to ask him, “Won’t
hurt?”

“Even if you touch it,” Trev’nor assured him. “Won’t hurt.”

They didn’t look sold, but he didn’t try to add anything
more to this. Experience and time would show him right.

Becca caught a quick lift from Cat, cradled against her
scaly chest long enough to alight on a nearby rooftop and be lowered to the
ground. Fortunately Khobunter liked flat roofs. The dragons had many options
for landing pads. “What do you think?” she asked Trev’nor before her feet were
even properly under her. “Isn’t this amazing? I’ve never seen a ward this
strong.”

“It is amazing,” he praised, meaning every word. “How did
you teach them all that fast?”

“I actually had a few that gave up. They just couldn’t
pronounce all of the words well enough, so they left it up to the ones that
could.”

“It is a lot of foreign words to learn in a short amount of
time.” Trev’nor, in their place, was not sure if he could have managed it. Back
when he was still a student, they’d been given a week to memorize this spell.

“Don’t I know it,” Becca responded, sounding tired. “But it
was definitely worth the effort.”

He couldn’t argue there. “Dinner?”

“Dinner sounds great. I skipped lunch trying to do
everything. Did you get the saddles done?”

“By some miracle, yes.”

“I’m sensing some frustration there. I take it things did
not go well.”

“Let’s say I’ve had better days making something and leave
it at that, shall we?” Trev’nor grumped. “How do you think Nolan did?”

“I’m perfectly willing to track him down and ask, but only
after I get food.”

Deserts were very strange, temperature-wise. It could be
blazing hot during the day, so much so that it felt like you were baking, and
then when the suns set it was cold enough to feel like winter. Becca disliked
the extremes, as it played havoc with her system, and she was never sure
whether to put on extra layers or doff them. It became even more of a guessing
game when riding on dragon-back. Flying like this made it colder but at the
same time, the suns were just as strong and heated her up. Especially on her
right side.

Azin and Ehsan had been more than a touch nervous mounting
on dragons that morning. Not to mention all of their soldiers. A half hour of
practice didn’t an experienced rider make. What eased everyone’s minds was that
they could communicate with the dragons vocally if they needed to, and the
dragons knew where to go and what the plan was. They didn’t really need much in
the way of direction. If it had been otherwise, they’d never have gotten Azin
on.

Master Sosa and Rikksha Yasmina had volunteered to go as
well. Rikkan Akbar was deathly afraid of heights and absolutely refused to go,
which was just as well, as he and his wife were needed in Tiergan more than
with them. The city was still in upheaval. But the others would be the judges
for Trexler after the battle. They’d also help sort through the soldiers. Becca
had no desire to lock up thousands of soldiers at a time. That would drain their
resources drastically and be a waste of time and manpower to boot. She would
rather send all of them home, if she could.

They flew straight north for nearly four hours. Becca ate
and drank sparingly as there wouldn’t be any chance for a bathroom break until
late this evening. She drank enough to keep from being completely dehydrated,
ate enough to keep her stomach from growling, and made do with that.

The day warmed quickly, and by the time it hit noon, she
sorely regretted her choice of wearing a light jacket. But shrugging it off
would be impossible as she had nowhere to put it later. She wasn’t about to try
tying the sleeves around her waist, the wind force would whip it off again. Oh
well, sweating wouldn’t make her melt.

“See them,” Cat informed her, loud enough to carry over the
wind in her ears.

“How many?” Becca shouted back.

“Lots,” the dragon answered truthfully, if unhelpfully.

Garth darted ahead, his speed belying his size. He must have
seen them as well.

The first part of their plan depended on Trev’nor raising up
walls. He would not only create barriers along the road, breaking up the ranks,
but do it in such a way that the army would funnel off in different directions.
Each mage (or mage pairing, as the case may be) had their own section they were
in charge of. They were depending on Trev’nor’s walls to be the dividing lines.

Cat let out a satisfied roar. “Walls up!”

Becca tapped her neck twice in acknowledgement and then
concentrated on hanging tight as her dragon tucked in her wings and dropped
quickly towards the earth. Her eyes teared up at the pressure, so she closed
them in defense, only opening again when Cat’s descent slowed.

‘Lots’ about covered it.

Becca had faced off with soldier-priests, been around guards
and sailors, but had never seen an army on the move. Danyal’s predicted
thousands of men marched along the road. Or they had been, until Trev’nor’s
walls, thick and tall, cut in between them and forced them to scatter.

She took in a moment to gather her bearings and make sure
that things were going according to plan. Becca had to time this correctly, as
Azin and Trev’nor both needed to see what they were doing. Even though she glided
only a few hundred feet in the air now, the people below still looked like ants
to her, making it hard to discern details. It was clear enough when Nolan’s
persuasion worked, and the enemy dragoos threw off their riders and headed off,
running full speed to the west. But she couldn’t see more than that.

“Cat, did Azin take away weapons?”

“Some gone,” Cat confirmed, sounding quite smug.

Becca twisted in the saddle to take a look as Cat did a lazy
circle, coming around again. There had to be at least a dozen walls up now.
Trev’nor never had told her how many he was planning to build, but hopefully
this was all of them, as Ehsan couldn’t do a thing until she called down the
rain.

Focusing her attention on the clouds rumbling in from the
sea, she urged them to come in a little faster. They pitched and rolled,
becoming darker and more saturated as they moved. Little flashes of lightning
could be seen arcing in the clouds. It wasn’t quite a mother storm, but it was
far more serious than a summer shower. Becca had made sure of that.

Ehsan flew around on her right, waving to get her attention.
She threw up a hand in acknowledgement, showing him that she saw him and was
ready.

And then the storm hit.

The rain pelted down, so fast and furious that it blinded.
It soaked her within a minute down to her marrow, and cut visibility down to a
foot in any direction. Cat had to be navigating by her other senses as they
miraculously avoided clashing with any of the other dragons. Even sound was
obscured, although Becca thought she heard at least a few dragons roar out.

She let this go on for several minutes, making sure that
they had plenty of water to work with, and then she eased up the storm and sent
it on, letting it visit the area south of them. The land needed it, what with
all of the planting that Nolan had done. By the time it arrived, it should be reduced
to a soft, soaking rain that plants would appreciate.

 Wiping water from her face, she slicked back any stray
tendrils and looked about her. Between the random walls, the dragoos running
off, and the storm, the army below milled in complete disarray. She could hear
warhorns going off as commanders tried to regain control of their troops, but
of course that wasn’t happening. The mages attacking wouldn’t let it.

Nolan led the charge, still on Llona’s back, which surprised
her a little as he typically went dragon about now. The dragons were clear on
not hurting the soldiers much. Or at least they were supposed to be. Becca
watched them dive toward the scrambling humans and wondered if anyone had
explained that seeing a two-ton, fire breathing creature bearing down a person
might cause heart failure. Some of the more brave hearted managed to fire off
arrows, most missing, some connecting only to bounce harmlessly against hard
scales. The occasional arrow did seem to strike as she heard intermittent roars
of pain.

Ehsan went to work. The water lifted under his control and
whirled into motion, creating liquid barriers that flowed and moved like a
river that never touched the ground. It kept men from moving, from rejoining
their commanders, and terrified them in turn.

Trev’nor started connecting his walls, making barriers, also
blocking people into little groups that ensured they wouldn’t be moving. Becca
nearly missed it, but from the corner of her eye she saw shields and weapons
shift again, flying through the air like an invisible hand had scooped them up.
Azin taking away another group of weapons. Good.

Between her lightning bolts, Ehsan’s barriers, and
Trev’nor’s walls, they managed to corral everyone in the better part of an
hour. The dragons dropped their soldiers into little regimented ranks on top of
the walls, as instructed, and they made sure that no one tried to climb those
walls. Never had Becca been so thankful that she had Commander Danyal and his
men to take care of the captured enemy. It would have been challenging to try
to keep track of this many men on her own.

It looked like everyone had finished their jobs. Time for
Becca to do hers.

She urged Cat around, looking for the banners that would
signify the warlord. He undoubtedly marched at the front of the line, but with
all of the disarray, who knew where he was now. “Cat, do you see banners?”

“Do,” Cat assured her.

“Go to banners,” Becca directed. “And land there, if
possible.”

Easier thing to say than do, as there were pockets of people
everywhere, and it was hard to find a clear enough space to land. Cat
eventually straddled two different walls and perched there, as comfortably
balanced as her namesake. Becca looked for the most flashily dressed man in the
group and found him standing half-behind two burly looking men that must have
been his bodyguards. “Are you Warlord Trexler?”

“I am,” he proclaimed. “But you. Who are you! Magicians, I
can see, but why are you on these…” his lip curled up in distaste but even from
here she could see the whites of his eyes.

“I am Magus Riicbeccaan,” she introduced herself. “I am one
of the three people that took Rurick and Tiergan from your control.”

He turned nearly purple with rage, veins throbbing in his
temples. “Y-you! How dare you!”

“How dare
you,”
she retorted. “Your prejudices
against magicians have locked up and destroyed thousands of innocent lives.
What you teach your people is sickening, but it’s so engrained in them that
they think they can lock up foreign strangers as well! I spent several days in
slavers chains thanks to you and your people.”

“THAT IS WHERE YOU BELONG!” he bellowed.

Becca’s temper spasmed and as it did, lightning shot from
the sky and landed not a foot away from him. The warlord, vaunted for his
courage and tenacity, squeaked like a mouse and jumped back. The sight made her
smile.

Trev’nor walked casually along the top of the wall, joining
her. “Why are you bantering with this idiot?”

“I’m issuing a declaration of war,” she responded, making a
face at him.

“War’s over,” he riposted, exasperated. “Or did you miss
that?”

“It’s not like he can do anything,” Nolan agreed.

Becca twitched, wondering how she’d missed his approach,
when she saw that part of his back still had a tail. Ah, so he had gone dragon
at some point. To her amusement, watching a dragon turn into a man made several
people nearby faint dead away.

Wimps.

“Trexler,” Nolan stated in a formal, royal fashion, “you and
your inner circle have violated the laws of this land. That includes committing
atrocities I would rather not repeat. For this, we will hold your judgment and
execution tomorrow afternoon.”

Trexler regained his dignity and marched forward, shaking a
fist. “I am Warlord of this state! You cannot execute me!”

Trev’nor snapped his fingers in sudden inspiration. “In
Sagar. We should do it in Sagar. That way we don’t have to fight or argue them
into submission.”

Nolan gave him an approving nod. “You’re learning. That’s a
good idea, let’s do that.”

“We shouldn’t do it in Trexler itself?” Becca asked
uncertainly.

“She does have a point,” Trev’nor admitted. “It will have
more impact in the capital. Maybe, the warlord in Trexler, the rest of his
inner circle in Sagar?”

“It’s not a bad plan,” Nolan agreed.

The warlord threw an apoplectic, screaming fit as they ignored
him. Becca got tired of it and threw another lightning bolt at him, which
promptly shut him up. Now, what to do with the rest of the army? “Cat, how loud
can you be?”

“Not loud,” Cat denied. “Garth can.”

Garth gave a deep, guttural clearing of the throat before
lifting himself up onto his back haunches so that everyone could clearly see
him. In his very best Khobuntish, he declared in a thundering voice, “WE HAVE
CONQUER THIS PLACE. JOIN US, BE FREE. NOT JOIN US, DRAGONS EAT YOU.” With a
leer, the giant elder dragon gave a dramatic lick of the lips. “WE NOT MIND.
HUMANS GOOD WITH BARBECUE SAUCE.”

It took willpower. It took effort. Somehow, Becca managed
not to laugh. Now, when had he come up with this speech? All they had agreed on
last night was that they would try to get the army to come over to their side
and would use the presence of the dragons to scare them into line. For that
matter, when had the dragons been introduced to barbecue?

Not a single enemy soldier had a doubt that they would become
lunch if they dared to try and fight. In fact, most meekly went to their knees
with their hands high above their heads, signaling their surrender. Becca blew
out a secret breath of relief. Hopefully this decision would stick and they
wouldn’t try to rebel later. They really had no idea what they would do with
this many enemy soldiers. And truthfully, most of them were just following
orders. It wasn’t like they were bad people. Misguided, poorly led, with deep
prejudices, but not bad.

Becca hopped down off the wall and into the nearest barrier.
She did so under Cat’s keen eye, as this was risky, to put herself within arm’s
reach of the soldiers. Still, trust had to start from somewhere.

She held out her hands to the nearest soldier, taking his
own and pulling him to his feet. He did not look comfortable with this, not at
all, but rose under her persistence although he couldn’t meet her eyes for more
than a second at a time.