“No!” Aliana yelled, throwing the club aside. “No rest for you!” Gripping her head in both hands, she willed Odif back to consciousness. The druid’s eyes fluttered back open; and in too much pain to even take a breath, she opened her mouth in a silent scream.
The demon searched into the bitch’s mind for ways to hurt her. She relived some of Odif’s favorite memories. One thing caught her attention—the woman was sister to Lord Tayan. Very clearly, she impressed into Odif’s mind a vision of sending his soul to the abyss in exchange for a demon. She let Odif know the death of Tayan was her own people’s fault. She let her know she had sent the vision to the wizards and had poisoned King Alderlan’s mind against humans. Every way she could, she told Odif she had arranged everything, and that Odif had never had a chance to win.
The helplessness in the druid’s eyes was glorious. Later on, she would have those eyes mounted to a small plaque in her chambers so she would always be reminded of this moment.
“I know you can hear me,” she said with an evil smile. “We are just getting started. I would love to hurt you more, but I need to trade the souls of your friends for demons. I know you don’t want to miss that.”
To help keep the pain alive, she had Lash pin her arms behind her and pull her up to her knees. Lash grabbed her hair and hauled her to her knees to make her look at the altar. Looking down at the tattered remains of her shirt, he licked his lips. He reached down to grab a handful of breast and gave it a hard squeeze.
“Master has promised me these for a water bag. I think I’ll take my time collecting my prize.”
Aliana turned to him briefly. “Lash! Play with her later, we have work to do.”
“Yes, Master,” Lash said and jerked Odif’s head back up.
***
Tears ran down Sam’s face as she looked at Odif. She knew Lash made no idle threat. Odif would be slowly taken apart, yet be forced to live on until nothing else could be done to her. Why hadn’t she listened? Why did she have to lead them all to their deaths? Suddenly, her mother’s will filled her.
“Now, my sweet child,” Aliana said in a musical voice, “Get yourself ready for the altar.”
Sam turned and started walking. Inside, she screamed. She tried to flee the body her mother was controlling. She tried to faint, so at least she wouldn’t feel it when she was killed. All her efforts were in vain. Her hands came up and opened her shirt. Stopping before the altar, she turned around and climbed onto it then lay down and pulled her clothing aside to expose her chest. Her arms settled to her side. Inside her head, she cried and screamed. On the outside she quietly waited for death.
Aliana took her place beside the altar and lifted the long dagger over her head.
“All-powerful Lucifer! Into your hands I give my firstborn. Take this soul to open the gate. Accept the souls of your enemies that I offer and send forth the demons I need. Let your unholy reign begin...”
***
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Tayan groaned. He eyed Captain Angler as if being angry would change the facts. “You told me all the wagons were working.”
The sky was painted in pre-dawn colors as the wagons sat in a line. On the contorted remains of one towed wagon the dead were being piled for a funeral pyre.
Captain Angler looked out the window, pointing to the wagon to their left. “That one has a holed water tank—they might have enough water to reach the city.” Pointing to the right, he said, “Their whole command crew is dead, and the steering gear is inoperative. Our cannon crew is gone; and even if we had one, only one cannon works. Three of the tractors can probably make it, but without the battlewagons they’ll be picked off by spears in no time.”
Tayan glared at him. “Then take our water and give it to them,” he said with a jerk of his thumb, “and we’ll take the steering gear from our wagon and man the other wagon.”
“We have no smiths to do that! You just can’t pull parts out then stick then back in. These aren’t fence posts that you can pull up and put back into the ground somewhere else! Each wagon is a bit different. It takes smiths to remove the parts then reform them to fit back in place.”
Tayan was beside himself. “All right, if that wagon’s steering is broken, how did they keep following us?”
Captain Angler spoke slowly. “The boilermen used wrenches. One watched out the front and yelled back to another which way to turn the valve block.”
“Then they can keep doing it,” he stated. “Get our ammunition and crew over to that wagon. I’m going to see what we can do with the leaking tanks on the other one.”
Captain Angler’s cheeks turned pink. “You can’t take damaged wagons into battle!”
Ellie and others had given their lives for them to get this far. He wasn’t going to stop because these damn machines didn’t work quite right. The captain’s attitude was too much for him. He grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him close.
“You listen to me! You will get up into that command shack and take that wagon into battle, or I will bind you to one of those damn cannon barrels!” He gave him a shove that made him stumble into the wall. “We will be moving by sun-up.”
Tayan flung the door open and jumped to the ground. He stomped over and climbed into the wagon that was dripping water from underneath. The only person in the command shack was the driver. Upon seeing Tayan, he stood up.
“Welcome aboard, Lord Tayan.”
Tayan eyed him. “Russ, right?”
“Yes, M’lord. We have a problem with our wagon, Captain Stark is below.”
Tayan nodded and went in. Weaving through the interior crowded with machinery, he found Stark squatting next to the right-side water tank. The seam of the large square tank had split open from top to bottom.
Captain Stark looked up and pointed at it. “We can’t repair this, M’lord. Unfortunately, we were drawing heavily on the other tank, holding this one in reserve.”
“Take all the water you can from Captain Angler’s wagon and any other supplies you need. How’s your crew?”
“We lost a few boilermen, and most of the bowmen,” Captain Stark replied. “Can you spare any?”
Tayan nodded. “Come with me, and have your crew start transferring water.”
Soon, Captain Angler’s wagon was being stripped. As Captain Stark’s crew formed a line and passed buckets and rocks to his own wagon, Tayan went over to check the one he would be riding.
The first thing he noticed as he walked around the front was that the steel plates on the front of the command shack were twisted out in a V. On closer look, the dark lines looked like claw marks. Through the ragged gap, he could see Captain Angler pacing inside. He walked around the outside, inspecting for damage. Except for a few deep dents and blast marks, it looked intact. Satisfied, he went to the ladder and climbed up into the ruined shack.
The inside mirrored the outer appearance. Blood covered just about every piece of metal. The driving levers were bent to the sides almost to the floor, and all four speaking tubes were bent or crushed. On one tube he clearly saw five deep rips--claw marks.
“Lord Tayan,” Captain Angler said briskly. “As you can see, this command shack is totally useless. The breech in the forward plating exposes the entire cabin! It is suicide to stay up here with the things we’ve been facing.”
Tayan nodded absently, paying no attention to him. Two men in gunner’s coveralls were trying to mop the blood off the floor. “Are either of you part of the crew that was here last night?”
The men looked up. The shorter blond man nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“What did this?”
“Not sure, sir. We saw a large animal, kinda boxy. It had wings, so we shot it. Next thing I know, it flew over us and all we heard from command was screaming,” He nodded at the interior door. “Greg tried to get up here, but the door was jammed. We knew we had to keep going, so a couple guys figured out how to steer from below.”
The gargoyle had done this. When the spears hit th
e wagon he was riding, it must have come out to fight off its own evil forces. When these men shot at it, it went for them.
A plan formed in his head. “Go get the men who were steering last night.”
“Yes, sir.”
Clasping his hands behind his back, Tayan addressed Angler. “Captain Angler, my plans have changed. You are to stay with your wagon and any crewmen not needed here or with Captain Stark. As soon as General Cooper arrives, get your wagon repaired. All units are to follow me into the city.”
“You are going into battle without a command crew?”
Tayan went to the hole in the wall. From the center of the rip, he had a clear view and was completely exposed. He planned on keeping that damn gargoyle busy. “I don’t need a command crew. The cannons work, and we can steer.”
Angler pleaded with him. “M’lord, what you propose is insanity. The command crew keeps the wagon functioning as a single unit. You will need that edge.”
“I’ve got my own edge. Let me know when Captain Stark and the others are ready to move.”
“As you wish, M’lord. Should I inform Captain Stark he will be taking the lead position?” Angler asked, thinking Tayan would want some form of cover.
“He will follow me until this wagon no longer functions. I will brief all the captains the moment they are ready.”
Angler nodded sadly. “As you wish.” He started to leave then stopped to add, “May Odin be with you, M’lord.”
Tayan had his crew gather, and they worked out how to operate. The speaking tubes still worked, so he would give steering commands straight to the engine room. The next best place to see in front of them was the sighter’s chair in the turret. If he could no longer give commands then the sighter became acting captain. Amber would not be left behind, so he gave her the task of finding evil. He did manage to plant her in the turret, reasoning she could direct the cannon sighter from there. In the turret, she was also as safe as he could make her under the circumstances. Their main objective was to destroy as many sources of concentrated evil as they could find. If no targets were found then they were to flatten every building they could.
The captains gathered as the sun was still hanging low over the horizon. Four tractors were ready to roll, each pulling four towed wagons filled with men. Stark’s role was the same as his--get in and wreck the city. The tractors were to serve a more tactical purpose, clearing and holding the area around the gates. He made sure everyone knew what their job was; then they climbed into the wagons and set off.
The sun had risen full in the sky as the wagon topped a rise. Ahead, Tayan saw the city. The walled portion looked to be the area of an average town. A mile away he could see, beyond the walled portion, shacks and the activity of a busy farming community. On the outside, it looked like every other town he had seen. Fearing he might be attacking the wrong place, he went to the turret tube.
“Amber! Is that the place?”
No answer came right away. The speed they were going, they’d be on it in a few minutes. He could see people shielding their eyes and pointing his way. “Sighter! Get Amber, I need to know if that’s it!”
“Lord Tayan! Amber says yes, that’s the place. She says the worst evil is to the left. M’Lord, the tall building on the left is where we have to go.”
“Start shooting down the walls around the gate as soon as you can.”
Tayan concentrated on shouting directions. With his bird’s-eye view, he easily kept the wagon on the road. As they rushed towards the city, the people that had been watching moved cautiously to the sides. The cannons blasted out a load, and they ran screaming.
The first rounds hit low on the wall to the right. Three holes and crumbling stone told the sighter exactly where he had hit. They closed the last five hundred yards, and bowmen appeared on the walls as the gates started to swing shut. The cannons fired again, this time hitting the gates. The one on the left shuddered and swung open with a gaping hole in it. The one on the right lost the whole bottom half as the rocks blasted it apart.
“Higher!” Tayan screamed at the sighter. He saw they were starting to drift off the road, so he shouted down and aimed the wagon right at the open gates. They crushed an abandoned hay cart then smashed the porch off a stone-and-log hut. Tayan watched the bowmen on the wall take aim and wait.
The cannons fired again. This time as they passed through the haze, he saw their shots hit high on the walls. A whole section of the top crashed down, spilling men and rock.
Arrows came in a cloud. He ducked out of instinct as the shafts ticked against the steel plates then covered his head as some clattered about in the command shack. He struggled back up to see they were drifting to the right. “Left! Steer half a turn to the left! Now, straight!”
Animal roaring came to his ears. Looking up at the walls, he saw the gargoyle moving along the top, pitching off men who couldn’t jump or outrun it.
“About time you were useful,” he grinned. Seeing the left edge of the gate opening coming at them, he yelled, “Right, a full turn right!” They turned as they passed through, clipping the edge with grinding and crunching sounds. “Straight!” The back of the wagon slammed into the gate, knocking it over to fall on them. It caught on the command shack roof and stuck. It bounced along behind them for a few seconds then slid off onto the ground.
Arrows were coming at them from all directions. The cannons went off again, smashing holes in buildings. The middle cannon fired down the street, digging a large rut and throwing fleeing bowmen off their feet. He stole a look behind him to see the second wagon roll through the ruined gate. Right after they were in, it turned sharply, flinging dirt, and went down another street.
Small bangs like a hammer got his attention. A louder one sounded right in the shack and an arrow flew past, making another bang on its way out. The bowmen in this city had arrows that could penetrate steel! Suddenly, he felt like they were sitting on an open buckboard. Amber was no longer safe inside the turret when they had arrows that drove through solid plate.
“Engine room, maximum speed! Kick this thing in the ass!” he screamed down the tube. He made another course adjustment then looked to see where the gargoyle had gone. It appeared to the right and ripped into bowmen who had shot at them from a side street.
Up ahead was a square. More bowmen were rushing to gather behind a large circular wall in the center, probably a well. From a speaking tube, Amber yelled, “Tayan, we have to go left!”
“When I tell you, two turns left!” he called down to the engine room. There was a street that ran to the left from the square--he had to time it right to keep from running into the well. The bowmen stood up, bows pulled back. The second they were in view, the cannons went off.
They were closing on the square, and he couldn’t see anything but white steam. A low rumbling sounded, vibrating the whole wagon. The shaking concerned him, but at the moment, he needed to get into that side street. As long as the wagon was holding together, he would keep going. He thought he saw the corner of the last building coming up. Just before it passed by, he yelled, “Left turn now!”
The wagon started to turn slowly then slewed hard to the left and rammed into the corner of a stone building. They slid to the right in a lurch as the building came down on them then thrust forward as the belted wheels caught solid ground.
“Straight!...Right!...Straight!” he yelled as they tore through the structure. The wagon was pitched up on the left then dropped down. Rocks bounced over it, and a section of roof slammed against the command shack, breaking up as it was pushed to the side. Catching glimpses of the street through the vapor and smoke, he got the wagon back in the street and they began to pick up speed again.
“Straight ahead!” Amber called. “I sense the strongest evil there!”
The street was long. At the end, he saw another wall. Beyond that rose the higher walls of a palace. “Sighter! Start shooting that palace!”
“The sighter is dead. We’re doing the best we can!” Amber
cried.
Looking at the turret, Tayan saw a number of small holes dotting the wagon casing. The wagon had been a useful weapon, but now it was nothing but a very large target. “Amber, there’s a hatch in the bottom, get everyone out!”
“We’re not leaving you! We‘ll be ready to shoot in a minute!” she yelled back.
He slapped the tube, thinking somehow that Amber would feel it. “Damn it Amber, get out of there!”
“No!” she screamed back.
A line of buckboard wagons had been tipped up to form a wooden wall across the street. Behind them, bowmen shot a volley then fled to the sides as the wagon bore down on the thin barrier. Tayan barely felt the bump as they crashed through, splintering the hastily made defense. Right after they ran over the blockade, a single cannon shot out a load. The mist parted to show a shower of dirt fly up in front of the palace wall.
“Too low!” he called to Amber.
“Hang on, we‘re going to try another!”
Again the banging of arrows driving through steel sounded, this time from behind. They started to drift to the right. “Left!” he called. The wagon started drifting farther, breaking off posts and tearing loose overhangs of the buildings they passed. “Left!” he cried again.
He braced himself as the right side gouged into the front of a building. They tipped up sharply and started to dig in deeper. The man steering must have been killed, he realized. He went to the door below to take the man’s place.
He felt like he got punched from behind as he reached for the door. Looking down, he saw an arrow protruding from just under his ribs. The wagon shifted to the left then pitched higher to the right, tossing him against the wall. Metallic screeching noises and the hiss of steam filled the command shack as the wagon ground to a halt. He tried to struggle up, but moving was becoming difficult. All he could think of was getting to Amber as his vision faded.
Chapter 24
Thump’s eyes snapped open. Something had just happened. In a rush, he remembered about the attack on the caravan, his son Tayan and the pact. All of the memories that had been stripped from him came back in a flood. He also knew the pact had been broken. The thing had killed his son. His lips curled back into a snarl as rage filled him. Lifting his head, he saw it. The thing was standing in front of the altar holding a dagger over its head. He reached for his battleaxe.
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