- and all the good that the duke's presence had done was now shattered. Every Bretonnian fighting on the walls saw that all their dogged resistance had come to naught, for the enemy w as now sailing right into the heart of the fortress so many of them had already died to defend.
Calard saw the duke in the distance shouting orders and barking commands as he attempted to redirect defenders from the w alls tow ards this new threat. He was sending one out of every three men down to face the enemies within the castle, and although Calard saw this risked losing the walls to the enemy, it w ould not matter if the enemy took the castle from w ithin. More enemy longships were ploughing through the gatehouse into the harbour, and Calard knew that if the great portcullis w as not closed, then the castle w as lost. He saw the duke gesturing tow ards the arched gatehouse that spanned the entrance to the harbour, and saw a trio of w hite w inged shapes begin hurtling tow ards it; Laudethaire and the last of his companions.
Sw earing, Calard chopped his sword into the neck of a Norscan as he scrambled over the ramparts, and he kicked the man's body off the w alls as he slumped forward.
'Let's get off these damned w alls,' he called to his brother, who nodded. They made to move tow ards the stairs, but a deafening trumpeting sounded, painfully loud, and Calard froze. Turning he peered out through the driving snow and wind beyond the castle w all.
He saw a giant shape in the ocean that he at first mistook for just another longship, packed w ith warriors. It was moving inexorably tow ards the island, though it w as rolling steadily from side to side, and for a moment Calard stared at it, uncomprehending as he saw it had no sail.
Feeling a sense of rising dread, Calard moved to the battlements and narrow ed his eyes, shielding them from the biting wind with one hand. His breath caught in his throat as he realised that it w as not a ship at all; it was the wooden fortress strapped atop one of the giant, hateful mammoths that had w reaked such havoc three weeks earlier. The beast w as fording the strait, battling against the pounding surf as it trudged along the same causew ay that Calard had himself ridden two days earlier. It w as no more than fifty yards from the beach.
The w ater washed over the beast's shoulders, so that only the top half of its dome-like head could be seen. Its trunk w as lifted up out of the w ater, and the great w ooden fortress chained upon its back heaved from side to side as the behemoth strode through the heavy sw ell. Waves crashed over the top of the battlements of the mobile fortress, but the berserkers clinging there merely howled in defiance, their cries sounding barely human at all. Calard caught sight of the other two giant beasts w ading through the swell behind it.
Horror filled Calard as he realised that if the mammoths w ere large enough to w alk along the causew ay then they were large enough to allow those riding upon their how dahs to leap directly onto the walls, as if they were living siege engines.
Behind him, blood curdling roars echoed throughout the castle as the enemy longships inside the harbour w ere driven up against the shore, and the merciless w arriors w ithin leaped over their gunwales, intent on the slaughter.
Calard felt utterly torn, not know ing where his sword was most needed. 'Lady protect us,' he breathed.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CALARD AND THE other defenders upon the eastern walls stared in mute horror as the first of the mountainous w ar mammoths rose from the ocean like some infernal beast emerging from the depths. Its matted, thick fur hung in sea-drenched ropes and steam rose from its flanks. Its massive head w as protected by plates of black iron hammered into its skull, and giant bands of metal studded w ith spikes as long as a man's arm encircled its four sweeping tusks. Overlapping links of black iron protected its trunk, forming a flexible carapace like the shell of a beetle, and its large, flapping ears w ere pierced with dozens of hooks and rings each as large as a man's head.
The beast lifted its heavy head as it trudged out of the ocean, and it trumpeted deafeningly, the sound making Calard's ears reverberate painfully. The waves crashed around its tree-trunk legs, and the ground shook as it strode out of the breakers and onto the beach.
The w arriors riding within the fortress upon the giant beast's back roared in eagerness and bloodlust, driving themselves into a berserk fury. They clashed their w eapons against their shields and the sides of the great howdah holding them, and a hugely muscled Norscan pounded upon a pair of huge drums, human skin pulled taut across their tops.
Banners of flayed flesh covered in Norscan runes and symbols of infernal deities hung from tw isted icons of dark metal, flapping in the fierce gale. Easily a hundred Bretonnian heads were impaled upon spears and metal spikes protruding from the sides of the w ooden howdah. The bodies of a score of knights had been pushed onto lances, and they rose in a grisly fan from the back of the how dah.
The second and third mammoths following behind the first could be seen clearer now , battling through the fury of the breakers amid the driving snow and wind, and Calard saw that the enemy w arlord himself was accompanying this latest assault. He rode upon the back of the second w ar tusker, seated in a high-backed w ooden throne, arrogantly prominent upon the forecastle of his howdah, clearly disdainful of the Bretonnians' arrow s.
A spinning hunk of masonry hurled high into the air by a trebuchet crashed dow n onto the head of the third mammoth, striking it a glancing blow , and it bellowed in rage and pain, shaking its head from side to side. The heavy iron champron hammered into its skull w as dented inwards by the blow , and hot blood began to stain the w aters around it as it floundered in the surf. It stumbled, and Calard could see the fins of fifty or more sharks circling wildly, the taste of the blood in the water driving them into a frenzy that mirrored that of the Norscans themselves.
A larger shape scythed through the breakers suddenly, scattering the sharks before its bow w ave. It pow ered into the shallow water with powerful flicks of its tail, and Calard saw that its hide w as black and w hite. Its mouth gaped w ide, exposing hundreds of razor-like teeth, and it hit the mammoth hard, knocking it sideward and ripping a great chunk of flesh from its body.
The mammoth bellow ed again, and the warriors upon its back jabbed dow nwards w ith spears, trying to fight off the monstrous attacker. Calard saw several of the fearless w arriors leap over the sides of the howdah, dropping onto the back of the thrashing black and w hite beast and driving spears deep into its body.
The mammoth sw ung around and struck its attacker w ith its tusks, lifting it out of the w ater and hurling it aw ay, sending the foolhardy Norscans upon its back flying.
The killer whale plunged back into the w ater thirty feet aw ay, only to be turned upon by the sharks and other killer whales lurking in the deeper water. The Norse warriors that had been sent flying were ripped apart by the voracious ocean predators, shredded in an orgy of bloodlust.
The mammoth regained its footing and charged up onto the beach, blood streaming from its w ounds. A huge chunk of flesh was missing from its shoulder, and the flesh w ithin was pink and wet.
'Shoot them!' screamed Calard in desperation, seeing that the peasant bow men all around w ere frozen, staring in gormless horror at the three mammoths that w ere now charging tow ards the castle walls. With those monstrous beasts outside the w alls, and the enemy inside the walls, Calard knew that the resolve of the peasants was about to snap. All it w ould take was for one of them to turn and ran and the w hole stinking rabble w ould throw down their weapons and stampede from the walls.
The rising panic and desperation was palpable as the courage of the defenders faltered, and he knew that the next few moments were critical to forestall a complete rout. His old w eapon master, Gunthar, had taught him that in moments of indecision it w as the nature of men, particularly peasant inbreds, to w ant someone to step to the fore and give them direction. If no one did so, then they would become a mindless rabble.
'In the name of the king, hold!' Calard roared in his loudest and most authoritative voice. He registered that men, even knights, w
ere turning towards him, looking to him for direction and perhaps reassurance.
'Aim for their eyes!' he shouted. 'Now!'
Generations of enforced servitude ensured that the peasants responded to Calard's order w ithout question, and as one they lifted their bow s and launched a shower of arrow s tow ards the charging mammoths.
Countless shafts rained down upon the titanic creatures. Many ricocheted off the thick armour plating of the beasts, but hundreds more embedded themselves in flesh and muscle, until the lead creature's forelegs resembled pin cushions. The warriors upon the back of the beasts ducked behind their wooden battlements and held their shields high, and hundreds of arrow s sank into the woodwork, but some w ere struck, screaming in pain as arrow s thudded home into their flesh.
A pair of arrow s struck the lead beast in its left eye simultaneously, sinking deep into the rage-filled orb and instantly flooding it with blood. It bellowed in agony and reared up onto its hind legs, ceasing its thunderous charge. Men fell from the how dah as it tipped precariously backw ards, while others clung on desperately.
More arrow s thudded into the mammoth's underbelly as it reared up, and as its forelegs came crashing back dow n to ground, it turned aw ay from the castle walls.
Enraged and in pain, it struck out at the Norscans racing up the beach alongside it, smashing them aside with a sw eep of its tusks.
Scattered cheering rose from the defenders, but it sounded strained and w eak, for the other tw o mammoths came on at full speed, lowering their heads like charging bulls.
The handler of the enemy warlord's mammoth tugged on his crude reins, dragging on the vicious barbed hooks driven though the tusker's sensitive ears, turning it directly tow ards the w all section only thirty yards from Calard's position. The other beast thundered headlong tow ards the immense gate leading into the castle itself.
It struck w ith the elemental power of an avalanche and the metal lattice-work of the first portcullis buckled inwards with a sickening shriek. The heavy reinforced gates beyond w ere smashed apart, and the sound of w ood splintering echoed sharply as the dozen immense bars that sealed the gate, each as thick as a tree trunk and bound in iron loops, were sundered.
The other beast struck the w all like a living battering ram, and hundreds of men staggered as the w hole wall section shook. Large hooks of black iron attached to chains w ere hurled over the battlements, and then the first of the enemy w ere over, leaping onto the w alls and laying about them w ith huge, jagged axes and swords, killing with every stroke.
These warriors w ere the enemy warlord's elite bodyguards, each of them a mighty champion in their own right, massive warriors clad in black plate festooned with unholy fetishes and icons. They were unlike anything that the Bretonnians had yet encountered, men whose lives had been extended by the Dark Gods; they w ere faster, stronger and more deadly than any mortal man.
With contemptuous ease they killed everything that stood before them, hacking through armour, flesh and bone, but they w ere as children next to the enemy w arlord w ho stepped onto the walls in their wake, hefting a massive axe in each hand. Red gems embedded in the axe blades blazed w ith fiery power each time the fell weapons claimed a life, as if pleased with the slaughter they enacted.
Scores of knights roared w ar cries and ran forward to stem this breach, only to be hacked apart by the enemy w arlord and his unholy bodyguard. More ladders slammed against the castle w alls and scores of grappling hooks were hurled over the battlements. Calard and his kin tried to fight their way tow ards the enemy warlord, but it w as like trying to battle against a raging flood. For each step they took tow ards the brutal giant of a man, they w ere forced back three paces by the sheer weight of the enemy. Norscans were streaming over the now undermanned walls, hacking dow n men-at-arms and knights left and right, and Calard roared in fury as he and his kin were driven back.
The enemy warlord fought like a bloody demigod, his twin axes wailing as they sliced through the air, hacking limbs and heads from bodies with every swing. He laughed as he killed, revelling in the screams of the dying, the geysers of blood fountaining from neck stumps and the sound of bones shattering beneath his axe blades.
Seeing the brutal w arlord carving effortlessly through the defenders upon the wall, Reolus moved to intercept him, but there w ere a score of enemies betw een them. The grail knight fought with a burning intensity that was terrifying to behold, killing with every strike of his holy blade, Durendyal. Norscans fell before him as he rampaged along the w all. He carved his sword through the neck of one enemy and lopped off the arm of another w ith the return blow as the Norscans came at him. He spun, avoiding a sw ord thrust and rammed his blade into the guts of his w ould-be killer, before ripping the blade clear in a spray of blood and decapitating another man as he continued to turn.
The grail knight swayed to the side and a massive spiked mace missed his skull by scant inches, and he kicked the legs from beneath the off-balance Norscan before smashing his blade down into his head, splitting it to the neck. A jagged sword stabbed tow ards his unprotected back but he sensed it coming and whipped around, deflecting the blade w ith his armoured forearm, and punched the man square in the face w ith the hilt of his sword, his whole body w eight behind the blow as he turned.
The man fell back w ith a cry, spraying blood and teeth, and Reolus lashed out w ith his blade, the tip nicking the Norscan's neck with all the precision of a surgeon, and arterial blood spurted from the w ound.
The black-armoured elite bodyguard of the enemy w arlord came at Reolus, and he ran forw ard to meet them head-on.
He traded blow s w ith the first, glittering silver-steel clashing with tainted black-steel, and he w as forced back a step by the sheer brutal pow er of the Chaos w arrior. The fully armoured Norscan w as taller than Reolus, and his shoulders a foot w ider, but as fast as he w as he could not match the grail knight's sublime grace.
Reolus ducked in beneath the Chaos w arrior's defences as an axe sliced through the air w here his head had been a fraction of a second earlier and slammed his blade into the Norscan's side. The blow sundered his heavy armour, buckling it inwards and carving a bloody rent that shattered a dozen ribs. Before the Chaos w arrior could react, Reolus had w hipped his sword back for a blinding return blow that struck the Norscan in the side of the head, carving through his helmet and skull. With a heavy clatter of armour the enemy w arrior fell.
The next died in a heartbeat. Hefting an immense, double-handed spiked hammer as he charged tow ards the grail knight, the Chaos warrior did not even have a chance to bring it crashing down before Reolus's blade had penetrated the eye slit of his helmet, sinking deep.
The holy paladin of the Lady killed another two of the huskarls, sustaining only a few scratches himself, draw ing ever closer to the enemy w arlord. Perhaps recognising the presence of one worthy of facing him, the Norscan turned towards Reolus, and their eyes met across the mayhem of the brutal melee.
The tw o began moving tow ards each other.
'Lady of grace, grant me, your servant, the strength to defeat this enemy' breathed Reolus. He clenched Durendyal tightly in both hands, and the fury of the goddess infused him.
THE INSIDE OF the gatehouse spanning the entrance to the castle harbour had been transformed into a scene out of a nightmare, and Chlod stared around him in abject terror.
Men w hose bodies had been remoulded into obscene, unrecognisable forms by the Norscan seer's dark magic flopped upon the ground, bellowing in agony and torment, the sound torn from bloody throats that opened up at random across their bloated flesh.
Their bodies were in constant flux and they continued to mutate w ildly, bones cracking and reforming in random and bizarre forms, their flesh rippling and bulging w ith new, unholy life. Spines burst from the backbones of some, w hile gibbering, mouthed tentacles burst from the flesh of others, cackling and waving wildly. Human skin changed texture and colour, becoming scaled and dark on some, w hile others sprouted thick, br
ightly coloured fur and feathers. Worm-like appendages appeared w ithin the flesh of others, making skin bulge grotesquely as it struggled to contain these new growths, and blood splattered as they burst forth.
Useless flaps of membrane-skin with a glistening sheen grew betw een the random, gristly protuberances that sprouted from one man's arms, w hile the head of another w as ripped apart from crow n to chin, exposing hundreds of savage teeth. A revolting, fleshy tongue emerged from w ithin the exposed skull, and it began probing the ground until it w as severed by the gaping skull-mouth slamming shut. Chlod stared in horror at the severed tongue as it flopped back and forth on the ground. Its tip peeled back to reveal a snapping mouth, and it proceeded to devour itself, even as it bulged and mutated into a new and wild form, sprouting legs and wings.
Several of the men had merged together, and this vile amalgamation of flesh and muscle screamed incoherently as its body mass bulged and grew , and turned upon its horrified companions. Limbs of glistening, wet muscle sprung from its body, spikes of bone protruding from club-like appendages, and the monster dragged itself tow ards its erstw hile allies, half a dozen once-human faces screaming insanely. It lashed out w ith its ever-changing limbs, smashing knights and men-at-arms into the w alls, pulping their flesh.
One knight was speared through the midsection by three lengths of bone that had grow n from w hat was once a human leg, and as he bellowed in agony, he was dragged in close to the hideous creature that the seer's magic had spaw ned. Ribs cracked as the creature's chest tore open in a vertical slit, flesh and muscle ripping apart. The broken stubs of ribs resembled vile teeth, and the knight w as pressed into this new ly formed, mouthlike cavity. The creature's chest slammed shut, locking the knight w ithin its body, and his flesh became one w ith the growing beast.
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