Chapter 44
Light bled into the bay, pale and cold. Tariq stood at the edge of the beach, the salty air burning his lungs, eyes fixed on the horizon. The fleet sat like blackened teeth in the morning mist. Their army had remained there all night.
Patient.
Waiting.
A shout broke across the shore, and Tariq saw a glowing ball emerge from the haze.
‘What is that?’ Aisha asked, her voice fatigued from broken sleep.
Kaidon took a few steps, squinting. ‘A boat.’ He looked over at Tariq. ‘On fire.’
More of them appeared, each piled high with brushwood and tar-soaked sailcloth, engulfed by flames. The fire turned the water into molten gold as the boats drifted lazily towards the beach.
‘Why are they burning their own boats?’ Safiya asked.
Tariq didn’t have an answer yet. ‘I’m sure we’re about to find out.’
His soldiers ran along the shoreline, hauling pails from the shallows, their shouts lost beneath the crackle of burning wood. Tariq’s shoulders tensed. No commander wasted boats on such a crude gesture unless it served a greater purpose.
He narrowed his eyes, trying to peer through the shifting plumes of smoke. Hulking galleys edged forwards, oars dipping in perfect rhythm. Not fast enough to draw attention, but enough to bring them closer.
‘They want us focused on the fires, not them,’ Tariq said. ‘The burning boats are their shields.’ His fingers curled around the hilt at his hip as he watched the creeping dark shapes move closer.
‘You’re right,’ Safiya said. ‘The fire’s a curtain while they close in.’
Tariq looked up at the northern cliff face. From that position, his bowmen could fire straight down onto the decks before the enemy reached the shore. It would be a punishing welcome.
‘Kaidon,’ he called.
The guard moved closer to listen.
‘I want two dozen archers.’ He gestured to the cliff. ‘Right now.’
Kaidon jogged away.
Tariq took Aisha’s hand and pulled her in the other direction. ‘You don’t leave my side.’ He looked at Safiya. ‘And you don’t leave your sister’s side.’ He picked up his pace.
Wind whipped at their clothing as they started up the cliff.
The noise from the beach faded, replaced with the sound of their feet.
The path narrowed as they climbed, the cliff face pressing in on one side and dropping down on the other.
As they reached the top, Tariq studied the flat area covered in scrubby grass, then pointed his men to positions along the lip.
‘Nock and wait,’ he instructed.
‘Finally,’ Safiya said, preparing to join the soldiers.
Tariq caught her by her cloak. ‘What did I say?’
Exhaling noisily, she took up a position close by.
Aisha looked out at the boats below. ‘Will your archers make that distance?’
Kaidon took up his longbow and drew an arrow from the quiver on his back. ‘Normally, no. But we have gravity on our side.’
Tariq retrieved his own longbow, eyeing the black hulls through the haze. ‘Stay here,’ he told Aisha.
‘Before you go.’ She reached a hand up, touching his cheek. Her breath hitched, and she was gone again, returning a few moments later. Her hand went over her ear as though in pain.
‘Get everyone back from the edge,’ she said. ‘Now.’
He didn’t hesitate. ‘Fall back!’ His voice tore across the clifftop.
The archers looked back at him, confused.
‘You heard the king,’ Kaidon said. ‘Move!’
The soldiers began scrambling back from the cliff’s edge.
The first impact came with a sound that didn’t belong to this world—an unholy whistle that tore the air apart, followed by a violent crack as a flaming stone slammed into the cliff.
The ground shuddered, and dust burst upwards in a choking wave.
Another followed, this one landing just short of the soldiers.
They were firing burning rocks the size of heads. Shouts erupted as more landed.
Tariq dragged Aisha back out of harm’s way and called to her sister. ‘Safiya!’
The princess returned to Aisha.
‘They’re firing them from the ships,’ Kaidon shouted in disbelief.
Another rock struck a weak seam in the cliff, and the edge gave way. One of the archers went over the edge with it. His scream was brief, swallowed by the crash of stone against the sea.
‘Back!’ Tariq said as another fiery projectile struck, scattering shards of molten rock across the ground.
Tariq looked down at Aisha. Her face was pale, her hair plastered to her cheek by the wind. She had saved dozens of his men’s lives.
‘Get down there and see if he survived the fall,’ Tariq told Kaidon.
With a nod, Kaidon set off back down the path.
‘Everyone else, with me,’ Tariq said. ‘We’ll take position further down, where there’s cover.’
Safiya took Aisha’s other arm, since her legs weren’t cooperating yet, and they descended at a controlled run.
Below, the roar of the fires and the shouting grew louder.
They reached the lower slope, a narrow shelf of earth and stone that overlooked a jagged stretch of shoreline.
While they could no longer shoot at the galleys in the water, they could reach some of those closer to the shore.
‘Form a line!’ Tariq instructed.
Archers spread out along the shelf, feet braced and bows steady. Once Safiya was sure Aisha could stand without support, she loaded her longbow.
‘Loose!’
Arrows whistled through the air. Shouts erupted from below as the holy warriors lifted their shields. One boat began to spin, its oarsmen thrown into the foamy waves. Safiya’s arrow struck clean into him. Her hands shook as she lowered the bow, the reality of taking a life setting in.
‘I need to see what’s next,’ Aisha said. But when she touched Tariq this time, nothing happened.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know.’ She looked around at the archers. ‘Can you take me to the archers?’
He really didn’t want her to move from that spot, but he also didn’t want his men to die. ‘Stay behind me.’ Nocking an arrow, he moved out.
As they moved between the men, Aisha’s fingertips brushed over the soldiers until she found one who gave her what she needed. Tariq watched down his arrow as boats lodged themselves in the sand below.
‘Draw! Loose!’ he shouted, joining in the shooting this time.
The second volley fell, but it didn’t slow the warriors splashing up the beach under the cover of smoke.
‘You all right back there?’ Tariq asked Aisha.
When she didn’t reply, he glanced over his shoulder and saw that she had moved to another archer. Her breaths were short, and her legs wavered. ‘Gods damn it,’ he muttered as he moved to cover her. ‘That’s enough,’ he told her.
‘I’m fine,’ she insisted, reaching for the next soldier.
‘Aisha, fall back,’ he said.
But she was mid-vision now, head jerking.
‘Safiya!’ he called.
She looked over in their direction, then came at a run. She got to Aisha just as her knees gave out.
‘Cover us,’ Tariq instructed a nearby soldier. He flung his bow over his shoulder and turned to Aisha, horrified to discover blood dripping from one ear. Scooping her into his arms, he carried her away from the edge to a large rock that offered partial cover.
Safiya followed. ‘Why is her ear bleeding?’
‘She’s overdone it.’ He lowered Aisha to the ground as gently as he could and placed a hand on her chest. ‘She’s not breathing.’ He couldn’t keep the panic out of his voice.
Safiya dropped to her knees beside her sister. ‘Damn it, Aisha. You need to breathe.’ She gave her sister a shake. ‘Breathe!’
Finally, Aisha’s chest rose sharply, and her eyes fluttered for a moment before clearing. She grabbed hold of Tariq’s arm as she caught her breath, but the contact pulled her back under again.
Tariq tore his arm free, and Aisha returned with a gasp, this time rolling onto her side and retching.
‘For the love of all the gods,’ Safiya said.
Aisha lifted her head to look at Tariq, and her expression frightened him. He brought his face closer to hers. ‘What is it?’
‘It won’t be enough.’ Her eyes struggled to focus on him. ‘You’ll have to fight hand-to-hand.’
‘That’s all right,’ he assured her. ‘We’re ready for that.’
She shook her head. ‘Not here.’ Then she coughed. ‘In the castle.’