Part 31 (1/2)

The creatures worked with an odd, dispa.s.sionate efficiency. Other Loh'shree were setting up braziers at regular intervals within the rings.

Ezqedir hated the need for such dark power, but he had no choice.

”A good day for battle, sir,” said Meloqthes.

Ezqedir lowered his gla.s.s and turned to his adjutant. Meloqthes had tied his thick black hair at the base of his neck, a change from his usual shock of unruly dark hair.

”Let's hope it ends as well as it begins,” he said.

”Herol guides your hand, sir. We will not fail.”

”Where is Hu'mar? Are the eunuchs ready?”

”He's with the other mursaaba, sir. He sent word that he would prefer to remain with them for this battle. I have signalmen ready. They'll summon their demons on your command.”

”And the Loremasters?”

”Olo'kidare and his brethren are arrayed along the forward line as you asked. The Voice has not interfered. He returned to his tent as soon as he emerged from yours.”

”Very good, Meloqthes. Our plans are in place. Time to let them unfold.”

The siege engines had almost reached their positions. The bodies of the dead Loremasters and Herolen were finally removed from the field. Stakes had been pounded into the ground in a rough line running parallel to the fortress's curtain wall. The stakes marked their estimate of the location of the fear barrier. The siege engines would halt fifty feet before that line. Ezqedir had no idea if the barrier could move that far or if its location was more restricted. This was simple trial and error, and his decision had been to move his engines as close as he could.

”Meloqthes, you may send the signal to the field commanders to attack as soon as they are ready,” he said.

”With pleasure, General.”

”Archmage, their engines are in position,” said Medril. ”Can you reposition the fear spells to encompa.s.s them?”

”We'll try, Lord Commander. There is some room for them to move, as we did earlier, but that was only a short distance. This is much farther, and they may collapse.”

Gerin could see Medril attempt to hide his frustration with the Archmage. She doesn't understand war at all, he thought. Her inability to think strategically and grasp the nature of the siege was beginning to wear on Medril, though he did his best not to show it.

”Archmage, do what you can to move those spells,” he said, ”even if you have to collapse them first and recreate them farther out.”

”There are limits to what can be done with that kind of magic, Lord Commander. It may not be possible-”

Medril held up his hand in a highly uncharacteristic show of impatience. ”Archmage, please. Just do what you can to get those fear spells over their siege engines.”

Gerin was surprised that the Archmage did not give the Lord Commander so much as a harsh glare. ”We'll do what we can,” was all she said.

The Lord Commander turned to one of his lieutenants. ”Give the order for the trebuchets to fire. I want their weapons destroyed.”

”Yes, Lord Commander.”

Gerin heard the distant retort of the first Havalqa siege engine launching its stone. Everyone turned to peer through the battlements. The stone landed short of the wall about two hundred feet to their left.

Gerin had a sudden, overwhelming urge to do something. He'd felt helpless and useless since this siege began, and he'd had enough. He'd sunk a Havalqa wars.h.i.+p in the Gulf of Gedsuel, annihilated thousands of enemy soldiers marching on Almaris, and broken the sea blockade of the capital. He had power at his command, and by the G.o.ds, it was time to act!

He heard the distant grumble of a second Havalqa siege engine's throwing arm swinging through its arc. This boulder struck the face of the Hammdras directly. A spiderweb of cracks exploded across the white stone.

Gerin drew Nimnahal, aimed it through the embrasure, and released a blast of unshaped magic at the siege engine. He heard a collective gasp from the wizards and soldiers around him as the line of amber power raced across the field. Havalqa soldiers leaped out of its path before it struck his intended target.

Despite the amount of energy Gerin was pouring through Nimnahal, the distance was simply too great. His magic thinned and faded almost to nothing before it slammed into the wooden base of the weapon, where it did no damage.

He snarled in frustration and tried to increase the amount of magic flowing through the sword, tapping into the weapon's self-contained reservoir of power, but it did no good.

Furious, he relented.

Lord Commander Medril stepped in front of him, his expression severe. ”You will not attack the enemy again without my expressed permission. You may be a king in your own country, but Hethnost is not Khedesh, and here, I am in charge of the defenses.”

Gerin bristled at being talked to in such a way. ”My goal was the defense of Hethnost.”

Another Havalqa boulder slammed into the Hammdras. The impact was only a short distance from them, and the thunderous retort made them all flinch. A cloud of dust billowed across the roof of the gate tower.

”The only thing you've done is show them they're safe where they are because our magic can't reach them.” Medril gestured through the embrasure. The Havalqa were cheering the failure of Gerin's attack. ”You've boosted their morale after the slaughter of their Loremasters. Nothing more.”

Gerin clenched his jaw. He wanted to argue, but did not. Medril was right. He'd acted out of turn, and if someone under his command had done the same thing, he would have been far less forgiving than Medril.

He bowed his head. ”You're right, Lord Commander. Please accept my apology. It won't happen again.”

”See that it doesn't.”

”I'm not sure what I find more amazing, Your Majesty,” said Balandrick. ”That your attack failed, or your humble apology.”

”Not now, Balan,” said Gerin irritably. ”I'm not in the mood.”

Wizards stationed on the Hammdras erected overlapping Forbiddings to protect the gate tower. The Forbiddings were invisible to nonwizards, but Gerin could see the air s.h.i.+mmer as the spells took shape.

”I understand why you did it,” said Balandrick. ”I feel pretty useless standing around waiting for something to happen. It's maddening.”

”Medril was right. Chain of command is everything. I'm not a king here, I'm a guest. I know better, and I shouldn't have done it.”

Another boulder hurled toward them and smashed into the Forbiddings. Gerin saw the spells flex inward, and he sensed the backflow of magic toward the wizards maintaining them.

Balandrick ducked and swore loudly. ”b.l.o.o.d.y b.u.g.g.e.ring Shayphim! What stopped that?”

”There are Forbiddings across this part of the Hammdras.”

”Might be nice to know that,” Balan muttered as he straightened. ”Why not just use those all the time? This place would be impregnable.”

”They need too much power and can't be held for very long before failing. The Archmage is going to have to rotate the wizards making them or they won't last. It's just not practical to protect the entire place with them.”

In the Havalqa encampment, the jubilation over Gerin's failed attempt to destroy their siege engine died away. The sight of one of their projectiles striking an invisible wall in midair dumbfounded them.

A second stone struck the Forbiddings. This one was larger than the first, and the force of the impact caused the leftmost Forbidding to waver dangerously. Gerin saw wizards scrambling along the wall-walk, moving closer so they could help sh.o.r.e up the barriers.