Chapter 7
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Garran swore and broke into a run, all but flying down the stairs.
Damon and I were close behind. The siren cut out without issuing the third long blast that would have indicated all soldiers to the walls, but that wasn’t much of a relief.
Any attack was dangerous when our walls hadn’t yet been fully protected against the acidic shit and whatever in Vahree’s name those spheres were that had destroyed the war room.
The new war room was a hive of activity, the reports coming in from multiple quill tablets being shouted across the room to the men and women manning the various troop movement tables.
Neera stood at the largest, which showed a relief map of both Esan and Mareritten, a picture of calm contemplation in the controlled chaos that surrounded her.
She glanced around as we approached and snapped to attention.
“The Mareritt have come out from under their fog and are attacking the lower section of the outer wall, but so far, the mages’ changes to the stone have withstood it.
That won’t happen if they wise up and start hitting the upper untreated sections. ”
Garran stopped beside her and studied the map. It showed two companies of Mareritt gathered beyond the Slit, which really wasn’t much of an increase on what had already been encamped there. Their current position placed them beyond our attacking reach, though not beyond that of the drakkons.
Happy to burn , Kaia commented.
You don’t say , I replied, amused.
“They’re moving trebuchets into position here,” Neera added, stabbing at the map, “but as yet have not deployed.”
“Any sign of the spheres they used to destroy the war room?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Long viewers are picking up regular metal projectiles being hauled toward them.”
“What are these here?” Garran asked, indicating the cluster of figures near the Ghost Forest.
“We presume troop movement, but they’re protected by a fog that’s moving down from the forest toward the marshlands.”
“It’s possible they’re moving the new war machines that were being constructed there,” Garran said, then glanced around as Jarin came running into the room.
“How bad is the attack?” he asked, stopping beside us and crisply saluting.
“Small to date, no real buildup of numbers within the Slit,” Neera replied.
Garran motioned to the figures sitting at the end of the Black Glass Mountain range just before it fell into Mareritten proper, and looked at Neera. “And these? Mareritt or rider? Do we know?”
“No. The watch station at Crooked Thumb reported seeing movement atop the Sheer, but they are too far away to ascertain with any certainty who they are,” she replied.
The Sheer was a section of mountain that had broken away in some distant volcanic eruption, leaving a vertical rock face that was near impossible to climb.
“If they’re on top of the Sheer, then it’s likely to be gilded riders,” Jarin said. “They’ve been establishing supply and watch stations in the ranges beyond the Beak, we know that. This is likely just one more step in that process.”
Neera glanced at him. “They reported sighting birds flying in the vicinity, but it wasn’t birds they saw on the Sheer. Low-lying clouds now bind that entire region, unfortunately, but even if it is men rather than birds they saw, there’s no other means of getting up there aside from being flown.”
“Which may well be what they’re doing,” I said. “Given they’d planned to fly soldiers over the Blue Steel Mountains into Arleeon, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility they’re building up a force on the Sheer in order to fly them into Esan herself.”
“Not beyond,” Garran said, “but definitely not a wise military move, given how easily they could be picked off from the ground.”
“Unfortunately,” Jarin said, voice dry, “the riders appear to have thrown any military rule book out the window.”
“And that makes them unpredictable and even more dangerous,” I said.
“Yes, indeed.” Garran glanced at me. “Could you and your drakkons fly out there and investigate?”
“If investigate means destroy, the drakkons will be more than happy to do so.”
“Do remember that the riders have powerful mages in their midst, so it’s possible that what the watch station reported is not what is truly out there,” Damon said and motioned toward the Mareritten encampment.
“The fog shields are a new magic for the Mareritt, and one they probably learned from the gilded riders, so we have to presume the riders have other types of concealment spells in their magical armory that they haven’t shared. ”
“The drakkons are sensitive to magic,” I said. “If we have any sense of it, we’ll retreat.”
“Really?” Damon said, disbelief very evident.
I smiled. “Well, we might take a tiny look behind any magical veil they’ve raised if it doesn’t feel dangerous, but if what we find is legions of flighted birds, we’re out of there.”
“Hmm” was all he said to that.
“Which still leaves us with the two fog shields in Mareritten,” Garran said and glanced at Damon. “Is there any means you or your fellow blood witches can devise to counter their magic?”
“Depends on what you mean by counter. As Bryn has proven, if you can find and destroy their anchoring stones, any magic attached will come down. However, the shield near the forest is mobile, so it’s likely the anchors are mounted on wagons and stationed at multiple points within the fog rather than along the outer edges.
Makes them harder to find and destroy without risking life and limb. ”
“Is there no way to temporarily displace their magic to see beyond it?”
“Theoretically yes, but logistically it’s nearly impossible from so far away and without knowing what type of magic is in use.” Damon hesitated. “There is an easier option, though—I go out and investigate.”
“Not alone,” I immediately said. “And certainly not before your mage strength returns. The whites of your eyes still bloom a bloody hue.”
“I will be fine once I eat,” he replied evenly, his gaze finding mine. Bedevilment danced in those bloody depths.
I rolled my eyes and did my best to ignore the immediate leap of my pulse rate.
“As much as I wish I could approve such an action,” Garran was saying, “any movement through the gate will be seen by the Mareritt.”
“He could create some sort of invisibility shield.” Jarin frowned across at Damon. “Your magic can do that, can’t it?”
“Yes, but?—”
“It remains impractical,” Garran cut in. “The mere act of opening the lower gates will signal an exit. They’ll likely be keeping an eye on the wicket, too.”
Because we’d used that single-person gateway in the past to get around their forces at the main gate.
“There is another option,” Damon said. “The tunnel.”
“That’s risky, especially given Makki didn’t specifically say it went into Mareritten.
He said it was a rodent run into the mountains.
” I glanced at Garran and added, “Makki used an old escape tunnel that runs from the royal suite down to the servants’ quarters to get into my suite.
Apparently it runs on into the military zone and then skims the edges of the Blue Steel mountains into Mareritten. ”
“I’ve never heard of such a tunnel,” Jarin said, frowning, “but if it does exist, it would be a brilliant means of getting a military force into Mareritten unseen, and might even let us get behind the bastards.”
“We don’t know as yet if it remains viable, let alone large enough to enable a company of soldiers through,” Damon said. “But it is worth investigating.”
And it gave him something to do while I was off flying my drakkons. He didn’t say that, but I nevertheless heard it deep inside. It made me wonder what he intended to do with his time once this war was over.
Explore, came the reply. This place, these lands, my wife....
His answer whispered through my thoughts, as clear as if he’d spoken them out loud.
What had once been little more than instinctive understanding was developing into a clear line of communication.
I raised an eyebrow at him, got a wash of soft amusement in reply, and returned my attention to the conversation.
“I agree, but Bryn is right about the risks.” Garran glanced at Jarin. “Can we afford to pull an earth mage from the wall-bolstering detail?”
“In order to find a passage that would allow us to get into Mareritten undetected? Definitely.”
“Might be worth laying in some protective measures along the passage if it is viable,” I said. “If we can use it to get out, then they can use it to get in.”
“Easily enough done,” Damon said, “though I would need the blood of a Mareritt to fully ensure viability.”
A smile twitched Garran’s lips. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”
“Before you blood him, it might be worth questioning him,” I said. “The Mareritt have obviously been trading with the gilded riders for some time now and should know where their home country is.”
“If you’re thinking of flying the drakkons out there, I don’t think it wise,” Garran said.
“Eight drakkons cannot possibly defeat an entire nation of winged monstrosities. It would be better to find whatever waystation they’re using to fly these additional soldiers up onto the Sheer, and destroy that. ”
“We already know they’re coming from the northeast,” Jarin said. “And that they’re using Ezu as a waypoint for their birds, along with a number of barges midway between the islands and Mareritten?—”
“Which suggests to me the birds might not have the flight stamina of the drakkons,” Garran cut in. “And that does make sense, given the combined weight of their metal feathers and their armor-clad riders.”
“Which reminds me,” I said. “Has there been any word from Franklyn and his team about the weapon they’re developing to cut through that armor?”