“We thought you might be dead, too. I’m so glad you’re alive!” Bannon grinned at her, and Lila gave him an annoyed sidelong glance.
“I see we have many stories to tell,” Nathan said. “Renda Bay is destroyed, and so is Cliffwall. General Utros and his army marched across the land from Ildakar, and we couldn’t stop them.”
Bannon blurted out, “The Norukai fleet struck Renda Bay at the same time, more than a hundred ships. They are sailing northward to ransack the coast, and General Utros will be marching along the imperial roads. I’d wager they all intend to strike Tanimura.”
The observers crowded around them reacted with alarm and dismay. “How can we possibly fight them?” asked Harborlord Otto.
Nicci realized that Nathan, with his scholarly experience and his knowledge of the language of Creation, might be able to help her with Richard’s mysterious bone box. She felt the cold grow more intense in her heart. “This is what I’ve been waiting for all along.”
CHAPTER 67
Rowboats brought the gifted passengers from the three ships to the Serrimundi docks, but the Renda Bay refugees remained aboard, waiting to find a new home. Harborlord Otto sent boats loaded with supplies, water barrels, and provisions, but his city simply couldn’t absorb thousands more refugees.
While Nicci and Otto planned a public meeting to discuss the alarming new information, Bannon took Lila to explore the edge of the harbor and the headlands. Past the docks, they walked along a gravel path toward the high bluff at the mouth of the harbor. He stared at the towering stone carving of the Sea Mother that loomed high above the sea at the mouth of the sheltered harbor.
“This figure is famous even on Chiriya Island,” Bannon said to her with a grin. “I never thought I would see the great Sea Mother of Serrimundi with my own eyes.”
He turned to Lila, hoping she would share his sense of wonder. Her facial bruises had faded now and she looked beautiful … in the way a finely honed knife was beautiful. Ever since their escape from the Bastion, she had remained close to him, never letting the young man out of her sight. She insisted on protecting Bannon even as they slept together in a narrow cabin aboard Captain Mills’s ship, although when he held her, Lila was hard rather than soft. Regardless, he would not have wanted any other companion.
“You often speak of the Sea Mother, usually when you intend to swear,” Lila said.
Standing beneath the imposing carved figure, Bannon craned his neck up the bluffside. He tried to imagine sculptors hammering away at the dark sea rock to reshape the natural formation into the beautiful and intimidating woman. “I’ve never seen the actual Sea Mother myself, but it was said in times long past that she appeared like a goddess in a silvery form.”
“She is beautiful,” Lila admitted grudgingly. Her tone carried more resentment than admiration.
The giant feminine face looked benevolent, and the huge blank eyes stared beyond the harbor toward the sea. The Sea Mother was there to protect Serrimundi against all enemies, although she had not batted an eyelash when the Norukai came. Bannon knew that Nicci was the one who had saved the city.
Walking along, he was pleased to rest his hand on the finely tooled leather scabbard and the ornate sword that Nathan had given him. Never in his life had he imagined owning such a magnificent weapon. He had been so proud of Sturdy, which he’d purchased with his own coins. He had trained hard, holding the leather-wrapped hilt in his hand. He doubted that any other weapon would ever feel so natural, but he had to admit that Nathan’s sword seemed nearly as perfect.
Happy for this respite before the next horrific battle, whenever it might come, he was glad to walk with lovely Lila. He felt like a different person, no longer a young cabbage farmer who had escaped from a dreary existence on a backwater island, someone whose father had beaten him and murdered his mother … someone whose best friend had been abducted by Norukai slavers.
No, that was the old Bannon. Now he had traveled widely and fought in great battles; he was filled with wonder and hardened by experience. Now he had clean clothes, a full stomach, a fine sword that was worth a fortune, and a beautiful woman, his trainer, his lover, who refused to leave his side. He could barely believe it himself. Bannon looked up at the majestic carving and muttered, “Sweet Sea Mother.” He smiled at his own words.
Lila interrupted him with a bitter undertone, “You consider her too beautiful, boy, just like you fawn over Nicci.”
“What?” Bannon blinked at her. “I fawn over Nicci?”
“I have seen you. Your heart beats faster when you look at her. She is attractive, I admit, but so am I. Is my hair not blond enough? Her breasts are larger than mine. Is that what you desire?” She tensed as if ready to attack him.
Bannon didn’t know what to say. A long time ago, he had indeed been smitten with Nicci. He flirted with her, even brought her flowers in hopes of winning her heart—only to learn that those flowers were poisonous. Nicci had scoffed at his intentions, and when he didn’t forget his silly crush, she had threatened to kill him. He chuckled at the memory. “Nicci? She terrifies me!”
Lila drew the sword from her hip and with her other hand she took out the agile knife. Bannon knew full well how it could deliver surges of impossible pain. “Do I not terrify you, boy? Defend yourself, and maybe you’ll learn your lesson.”
She lunged with her long blade, and it was all he could do to yank Nathan’s ornate sword out of its scabbard in time to counteract her blow. Steel crashed against steel. Previously, Bannon had practiced with the new sword, fought in a shadow dance against imaginary opponents, but now Lila was serious. She struck again, backed away, then slashed hard across his abdomen. She would have gutted him, but he leaped back at the last instant. The swish of the blade’s point kissed the fabric of his shirt. “Lila! What are you doing?”
He defended himself with every bit of his skill. The fancy sword felt different in his hand, and the balance was a little off. He adjusted his grip and brought the blade up in time to catch the shorter sword that Lila wielded. His wrist vibrated with the blow.
They continued to fight beneath the looming Sea Mother. Bannon’s boots slipped on the gravel path, and Lila pounced. She snapped, “You make me angry when you lust after other women.”
“I wasn’t!” Bannon cried. She hacked at him twice more, but he successfully blocked her. The sword felt better now, and his movements were smoother. “I’ve thought of no one but you!”
“Prove it,” she said, and struck again.
Bannon barely blocked severe injuries, and Lila was relentless. He didn’t know what she meant. As he continued fighting, however, the sword became a natural extension of his arm. He studied Lila’s fighting technique, but he already knew her so well. He anticipated her strikes and counterstrikes. He panted heavily and his arm was sore, although she had barely broken a sweat.
He pushed himself harder until he finally saw the tiniest opening as her blade dipped. Bannon raised his sword to strike her head, but he turned the flat of the blade just enough to land a resounding blow on her skull.
Lila staggered back and pressed her palm against the stinging pain. At a safe distance, she lowered her sword and turned to face him. Instead of seeing the expected flash of anger in her eyes, Bannon saw admiration. “You fought well, boy, because I taught you well. I wanted you to prove yourself with that new sword. You need to realize that a weapon is just a weapon. You keep moping because you lost Sturdy, but this blade will kill an enemy just as well. Now you know it in your bones.”
Bannon looked down at the sword. “You were doing that for practice? Just pretending to be jealous?”
“I do not pretend,” Lila said. “Our bodies moved perfectly together while we sparred, though I prefer how our bodies move when we are in bed. You have now convinced me that I am the center of your attention. That is enough fighting between the two of us.” She turned him away from the stone Sea Mother and led him back down the gravel path away from the headlands. “I want to lea
ve this woman who watches us. We will not need to fight like that again.”
* * *
The public meeting with ship captains, guard commanders, and city leaders took place that afternoon in a vacant warehouse. The wood and brick walls were scorched from Kor’s recent Norukai raid. Benches were brought in for seats, and crates were lined up to provide a makeshift speaking platform.
As representatives gathered to discuss the situation, Nathan took stock of the crowd. General Zimmer and Captain Norcross represented the D’Haran expeditionary force that had originally marched down from Tanimura. Sisters Eldine, Rhoda, and Mab jointly represented the Sisters of the Light, since they had not yet chosen a new prelate. Nathan doubted they would ever find a woman who could replace Verna.
As she stood on the raised platform waiting for the audience to settle down, Nicci crackled with power and confidence. Perri, Olgya, and Oron, the gifted fighters from Ildakar, were also a force to be reckoned with. Townspeople from Serrimundi gathered in the doorways and lined the walls of the warehouse, listening to what might be the most important meeting of their lives.
Otto pounded a mallet against the wooden wall, and the resounding boom dropped the crowd into silence. When they spoke to the audience, Nathan, Nicci, and General Zimmer described the situation as they saw it. Oron and Olgya interjected with their own experiences, and Bannon also joined in, talking at length about the awful Norukai. As misery dripped from his voice, town leader Thaddeus told how Renda Bay had been burned to the ground in order to stall General Utros and kill as many of his soldiers as possible.
Jared, the cocky krakener captain, called out, “So how soon will the Norukai come for us? If they followed you after Renda Bay, they could be here any day now.”
“The pursuit broke off swiftly,” said Captain Mills, sounding proud. “The wizards sank their lead ship, and Olgya hid our ships in a fog bank. The rest of the serpent ships withdrew to Renda Bay, as far as we could tell. Our fishing boats found refuge in coves and smaller towns up the coast, but we sailed here at top speed to sound a warning.”
Zimmer scratched the side of his cheek. “The Norukai are in no hurry. They will attack and ransack other villages along the coast as they make their way north, and General Utros’s army will take some time to march across the land.”
Otto said, “If the army travels along the old imperial roads to reach Tanimura, they may well bypass Serrimundi, because the roads swing inland. That’s one reason why our city remained mostly independent from the Imperial Order. We were out of the way. Maybe we don’t need to worry about General Utros.”
“Oh, good,” Jared chimed in sarcastically. “More than a hundred serpent ships should give us no trouble at all.”
“We have enough to worry about,” Nicci said. “I believe Tanimura is their primary target. Up there General Linden is building defenses with the D’Haran army, the Tanimura militia, and countless vengeful refugees. He has formed a significant navy to guard the harbor as well as a large army. Tanimura is prepared to put up a strong resistance.”
Zimmer nodded. “Linden is a good commander, but I’m still anxious to get back to my garrison and consolidate our armed forces.”
Captain Donell said, “My ship is full of people from Renda Bay, and supplies won’t last forever. If we can’t unload the refugees here in Serrimundi, I’ll need to move on to Tanimura, and soon.”
Captain Mills said, “I’ll take my ship up there as well.”
“The Mist Maiden is armored and I can use it to guard the mouth of Serrimundi Harbor,” said Captain Ganley. “We have several vessels in place, but we could use another large ship to form a blockade and hold off an invasion if it comes.”
Captain Straker said, “I’ll stay here. My sister lives in Serrimundi.”
Oron and Perri looked at each other, and then Oron called out, “The two of us will ride with Captain Mills and join the defense of Tanimura.”
“Then I will stay here and help protect Serrimundi,” Olgya offered. “This is not Ildakar, but it seems a fine city.”
Nervous, Harborlord Otto looked to Nicci. “You are a powerful ally, Sorceress. Please stay. Serrimundi needs you.”
“That’s not why I’m staying,” Nicci said. “I want to intercept King Grieve as soon as possible. I’m ready to fight.”
Bannon piped up, “I’ll be with Nicci.” He blushed and glanced quickly at Lila. “Both of us will.”
The morazeth woman said in a firm voice, “I am staying with Bannon Farmer.”
“I would hate to break up our group of companions again,” Nathan said. “But before we can truly prepare, we have to know where the Norukai fleet is, how fast they are coming, how far they have sailed.”
Nicci called to all the gathered captains and townspeople. “I want to sail south in the swiftest ship until we encounter the raiders. Who will take me directly to the Norukai fleet? We need to know where they are.” Her smile became hard. “We will harass them, provoke them, and get them to bypass Serrimundi, maybe lure them all the way to Tanimura where the real defenses lie. We can crush them, once and for all.”
The people from Serrimundi let out sighs of relief and hope.
The krakener captain stood up from his bench. “The Chaser is at your disposal, Sorceress. You know how fast my ship is, and my crew knows those waters well. We often hunt krakens there. We can sail from Serrimundi as soon as you wish.” He grinned. “Or as soon as we clean up a little for our guests.”
“That won’t help a bit,” Otto muttered.
CHAPTER 68
Thousands upon thousands of weary soldiers marched onward, creating a low rumble across the land. The army’s progress did not pause, mile after desperate mile. Individual men faltered, but the main group, the single-minded ancient fighting force, moved on. After crossing the continent, the soles of their boots were worn to ribbons, their feet bloody. Their skin was sunburned and stretched tight against their bones from malnourishment. They stripped the land of any edible shred.
General Utros looked back at the dust cloud raised by the endless ranks. He saw the hollow yet stony expressions on their faces, sunken eyes staring ahead, intent on their goal, intent on their leader. They did not complain, partly because of the numbing preservation spell, but primarily because they still believed in Utros. They would march all the way to Tanimura and capture the great city, which would allow him to anchor his empire from Orogang across the continent and up to the New World.
Utros held his head high even under the weight of the helmet. He would not let his men down. Fifteen centuries ago, they had laid siege to Ildakar, and after reawakening they had battled their way over the mountains, across the valleys, and all the way to the sea. That in itself was a victory, but General Utros wanted more. They marched north along the imperial road toward their real prize.
Ruva rode beside Utros on her bay mare, but she seemed in a trance. Although he insisted that she eat well, the sorceress seemed gaunt, even wasted. Her voice was quiet above the plodding hooves of the horses. “Do you think Ava will be in Tanimura? I miss my sister.”
Utros frowned. “Ava’s spirit appears whenever she wishes.”
“I haven’t seen her in so long.” The vibrant paint that marked Ruva’s body was smeared and flaked off in patches, which disrupted the arcane loops of the spell-forms the twins had so carefully painted on each other.
More disturbingly, he saw a faint fuzz of hair, tufts of stubble that showed how Ruva had not maintained the exquisitely careful shaving of her body. Her eyes had a distant and disturbing hint of madness. “Will Emperor Kurgan be in Tanimura, I wonder? I will help you defeat him, beloved Utros.”
“Iron Fang is no longer our enemy. We have others to conquer,” Utros said, then added an edge to his voice. “I need you, Ruva. You are my sorceress, the only one left.”
Her disturbed eyes flicked back and forth. “No … no. We are both here. Ava will come back. The Keeper doesn’t have her yet.”
He clenched
his jaw, grinding his molars together as if to crush any unwise words before they came out. The scarred half of his face stretched tight. “I need your focus. I need your magic.” He softened his tone. “And I need your companionship.”
Ruva blinked and came back to herself. She shook her head. “You shall have it. I feel stretched thin without my sister. She is here and yet not here. Part of my Han is frayed, but she will make me whole again if she comes back.” Ruva lifted her head and shouted out in a raw voice, beseeching the sky, “Ava, where are you? The Keeper cannot have you yet. He can’t have either of us.”
After finding no respite in Renda Bay, the ancient soldiers had leveled what remained of the town, sifted fruitlessly through the ashes, and then watched the fleet of serpent ships gather again and set off. The Norukai could offer little assistance to the landbound troops, nor did they have much interest in doing so.
King Grieve would revel in his newfound war, raiding town after town as he moved northward. Utros’s soldiers would take much longer to reach Tanimura. They needed to move at a forced march and hope to reach that great city by the time the Norukai raiders arrived.
Rather than working their way along the rugged coast, they moved inland, where they found a direct but long-abandoned imperial road. Utros was glad to find it still existed. Such roads were not meant to be trade routes, but straight-line thoroughfares by which Sulachan had led his armies up to the New World and his war with the wizards there.
The old roads were overgrown, the paving stones buckled and shifted with time, but the route was plain, a direct way to Tanimura. “It has been a long time since a conquering army passed this way,” he mused.
Behind him the army trampled everything in their path as they moved on and on.
Finally, in response to Ruva’s summons, a flickering shape appeared in the air. The green-limned spirit of Ava drifted in front of the horses. “I am here,” she said in her hollow voice, “but it grows more difficult to hang on each day.”
Heart of Black Ice Page 40
