Chapter One hundred and thirty: Invasion
Kiya made her way to the southern boundary of the city, where Nakht’s troops were stationed. She kept close to the walls of the houses so she would not be spotted by Seth and his serpents.
Sounds of battle came sooner than she expected. Shouts, screams and the crashing noise of destruction filled the air. An acrid stench grew stronger as she rounded a corner and saw a creature that must have come from the depths of man’s nightmares.
A massive lizard straddled the street. Its splayed legs stood on ruined houses on either side. From its gaping jaws trailed strings of saliva. A drip from one of the slimy strands fell on the road. Kiya watched in astonishment as the sand hissed and bubbled as if attacked by acid.
The monster swung its head from side to side and gobbets of saliva flew into the air. A soldier near Kiya lifted his shield to protect himself and Kiya could smell the acid as it ate into the leather covering.
How could such a monster be stopped? wondered Kiya. Soldiers had scrambled over the fallen buildings and were stabbing at the lizard’s sides with their spears, but it took little notice as the weapons slid and broke against its armoured skin.
The creature turned and buried its snout into one of the buildings that it had just crushed. With huge, curved claws it raked away the rubble to reveal the body of a woman. This it seized in its teeth, raised its head and flung her into the air before swallowing her.
“Has the road not been cleared of people?” Kiya asked a nearby soldier.
He looked at her and his eyes were glazed like those of a dead man. Kiya realised that he was in too much shock to give her an answer so she ran to find Nakht.
The Grand Vizier was standing well back from his troops, but his copper-plated armour made him easy to spot.
“You must clear the area of people,” Kiya said as she ran up to him.
He frowned at her insolence. “Everything is under control.”
“The monster has penetrated too far into the city. Soon the temple will be at risk. We need to send for Ana!” Kiya shouted to Nakht, her voice scarcely audible above the din of conflict.
“We need no Cretans to fight our battles,” said the Grand Vizier.
“They have star-metal weapons, which may pierce this creature’s hide,” said Kiya.
“We must not be beholden to another country,” said the stubborn, old man.
Shrieking sounds made Kiya look up and she saw a flock of great, black birds wheeling overhead. One dived low and flicked its tail. A shower of metal feathers hurtled towards the soldiers. One of the men was hit. He clutched his leg and Kiya could see blood pumping from a deep wound in his thigh. Gory fountains spouted between his fingers and trickled down to his sandals.
The lizard’s tongue flicked out, sensing the smell of blood. It turned its head towards the wounded man. Once again the tongue flicked out, long and yellow with a deeply forked end, searching for the injured prey. Desperately the man tried to limp to safety but the creature lunged at him and picked him up in its teeth.
Kiya heard him scream as he was thrown into the air. For a long moment he seemed to fly, arms and legs flailing, then he fell into the lizard’s gaping mouth and the screaming stopped.
Shaken, she turned once more to Nakht. “You need reinforcements or the fight will be lost.”
Nakht did not reply and without further argument Kiya turned and ran, determined to fetch Ana and her chariots to stop the dreadful beast.
Kiya kept to narrow streets where she could hide from the eyes of those who rode the thunder clouds. She stopped when she reached the main square of the city. It was a huge open space but she knew that the Cretan chariots were waiting down a side street on the other side. She wondered if she should skirt around the edges of the square, but it would take too long. Frantic to halt the lizard’s progress, she ignored the inner voice that urged caution and started to run across the square. She was barely half way across when a lookout emerged from the shadows on the other side.
“Nakht needs the chariots,” she shouted to him.
He raised a hand in acknowledgement and then he pointed to the sky above her.
“Watch out!” he shouted.
Kiya stopped, turned and looked upwards. A bird with metal feathers was circling high above, almost invisible against the black thunderclouds. It dived towards her. The air rushing through its feathers made a blood-curdling scream as it plummeted downwards.
Seth must have heard the sound for he looked down from his vantage point above the clouds. He was huge, as big as any giant, and the clouds billowed around him as if he sat upon a throne. For a moment Kiya stared up at her father, transfixed by shock and awe. Then, as he flung a bolt of lightening towards her, she turned and ran.
In double jeopardy she raced for cover, knowing that she would never reach the side of the square alive. Above her head she heard whump and then a thump as the charred body of the bird fell to the ground in front of her. Terror had taken the strength from Kiya’s legs. She could scarcely stand and yet she managed to avoid the corpse and stagger to the side of the square and into the shelter of a doorway.
She turned to stare at the mound of melted feathers and burnt flesh. What had happened? How had she survived? Was it possible that the lightening aimed at her had been attracted to the metal plumage of the bird?
There was the rumble of wheels and the sound of galloping horses as the Cretan war chariots charged through the square, crushing the remains of the fallen bird. Ana was driving the lead chariot. She raised her hand in greeting when she saw Kiya.
Kiya waved back and watched as the chariots hurtled past her. They galloped away and there was silence in the square, broken only by the patter of rain.
It took a while for Kiya’s thundering heart to slow to a normal beat. She crouched in the doorway and wondered how Dennu was managing the defence of the temple. The King and Meri would both be there and she was anxious to help protect them.
She stood up and peered out from her refuge. It was still raining, heavy drops splashed into the puddles that were growing on the floor of the square. She remembered that Huy would be waiting for the arrival of the inkanyamba. Before anything else she must check that her uncle and his men were holding back the dreaded river monster.
Kiya and the God of Chaos Page 130
