Evening came and a cold rain set in. Nara drew her blanket close and was glad of Flame’s warmth around her legs. As the daylight dwindled they entered a market town. The houses were made from the same grey stone as the other settlements they had passed and the roofs were either thatched, much like Nara’s own in the savannah, or else constructed from overlapping slates. Nara watched the shadows between the houses and reached into the buildings with her senses. This town was also deserted. She felt for signs of Narlaw, but found none. Then a door banged loudly somewhere off to her right and Nara jumped to her feet. Flame scrambled out from beneath the bench, ready to attack, and Tuanne stood with an arrow trained towards the sound.
“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” A man emerged from the darkness between two cottages. He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender and the sleeves of his battered old coat hung raggedly. His face was dirty and bearded and it was impossible to guess his age. “You’re Southlanders,” he said.
“What of it?” demanded Tuanne. Her bow string creaked as she tensed.
“I meant no disrespect,” the man asked. “But you are Whisperers, no?” He stepped closer. There was a glimmer of hope in his tired, anxious eyes.
“We are Whisperers,” said Nara. “Who are you?”
The man exhaled in relief and dipped his head. “Thank the stars,” he muttered. He looked up. “I am Olmar, a scout from the city of Altenheim. I was sent for help, to find more of you. They said you would be coming.”
“Where did you say you were from?” asked Nara. “Who said we were coming?”
“From Altenheim – it is three miles from here,” said Bryony. “It’s the main settlement in these parts.”
“We’re under siege,” said Olmar. “The demons came three nights ago. They have us surrounded. One of your kind is with us – Lucille. She said there would be more of you coming, but I’d given up hope…”
Nara and Flame shared a look at the mention of Nara’s mentor.
Olmar came forwards and laid his hands on the edge of the cart. His eyes burned with desperation. “Please,” he said. “We weren’t prepared for this. Our city is nearly overrun.”
Nara reached a hand out and helped him on to the cart. “Come, sit,” she said. “Bryony, is Altenheim on our way?”
“It can be,” said Bryony.
Olmar clambered into the cart and perched on the end of the bench. He shook Nara and Tuanne’s hands. Then he gave Flame and Nimbus a quick glance each. “I never thought I’d be sharing a cart with such fine creatures,” he said.
That earned him a gracious nod from Tuanne.
“You say Lucille is with you?” Nara asked the man.
He nodded.
“Then we have to get to her,” said Nara.
“And what about our palace summons?” Tuanne asked.
“We were summoned,” explained Nara, “to help defeat the Narlaw. We will do our best to get there, but it seems the war has already found us.”
A gust of cold rain blasted across the cart and Nara drew her blanket tight around her shoulders. She edged her way to the front of the cart and leaned close to Bryony. “I know it’s asking a lot,” she said. “But would you take us to Altenheim.”
Bryony tilted her head as if weighing up Nara’s request. She squinted into the rain. “I’ve seen just about everything else under the sun,” she said. “So why not drop in on some demons, eh?” She smiled mischievously and nudged the horses into motion, and into the dark, wet onset of their first northern night.
CHAPTER 13
Altenheim was lit by fire. From a low ridge to the south the travellers watched flames flicker on both sides of the high city walls. The river shimmered, red and orange over black. The night sky rang with the sounds of battle.
“The river gate,” Olmar said, pointing. “It’s the only way in since the demons took the lands to the west. Everything outside the walls is lost.”
Nara peered down the river valley. Altenheim occupied the western shore of a wide river. The one bridge that led into the city had collapsed.
“You have a boat?” she asked Olmar.
“Hidden on the east bank,” he said. “We’ll ford the river here and re-cross into the city. Keep your eyes open for demons.”
“We can do better than that,” said Nara, glancing at Tuanne. “You have Whisperers with you now.”
Olmar nodded, a grim smile on his face.
He led them down the ridge under cover of a tangled stretch of woodland. Bryony had left them, taking her cart south to spread word of the Narlaw invasion. Nara’s sandals sunk into the damp earth and leaf mulch. She ducked through thickets of thorny branches and Flame trod silently behind her.
The shallows of the river looked pure black in the moonless night. Olmar gestured them on and they crossed the ice-cold ford, pebbles rolling and clattering under their feet. On the other side Flame stopped to shake her fur dry.
I suppose I’m too big to carry? she asked Nara, glancing at Nimbus who was perched, perfectly dry, on Tuanne’s shoulders.
Don’t complain, said Nara. Your fur will dry quicker than my clothes.
A short way up river Olmar told them to wait on the edge of an overgrown meadow. He darted on ahead to make sure the boat was still there and Nara crouched beside Tuanne, peering into the long, dark grass beyond. She closed her eyes and cast out with her Whisperer sense. Night birds flickered between branches, some tiny creature rustled through the leaf litter close by. She sensed the unease and the watchfulness of each of her companions.
Nara, Tuanne whispered urgently.
Nara opened her eyes.
There, said Tuanne.
Tuanne’s whispering was still a little clumsy, but her meaning was clear. Nara reached out and felt the form beneath the trees at the far end of the meadow. There was no movement, but its presence curdled her stomach.
Narlaw, she whispered.
Tuanne had already drawn her bow and Nara’s first thought was to curse the fact that they had failed to redo the quickening of their arrows since using them in the Rift.
But it was too late to change that now. The demon had sensed them. Nara felt it turn. To her eyes it was a shadow within a shadow. To her Whisperer sense it was a deep and terrible blight on the woodlands around it.
It came at them, darting across the meadow.
Flame bristled, ready to fight beside them.
Tuanne’s bow twanged and the arrow thumped home.
The demon faltered.
Link with me! urged Nara.
She reached for the earth trance, sinking, joining with the great mass of life all around her. Tuanne’s presence flowed with hers.
The demon came again, wounded but fast.
Tuanne released another arrow and again it struck home through the impenetrable dark. Again Nara was amazed at the young nomad’s skill.
The demon fell then scrambled up. It was just a few dozen paces away.
Flame edged out in front of Nara and Tuanne, her claws and teeth bared ready to defend the group.
Nara reached out, channelling the earth as she had done in the Rift. She kneeled in the wet grass and gave everything – all of her power and all of Tuanne’s power, too. She felt Tuanne’s warrior spirit and the bow in her hand as it once again let loose.
The earth flowed through Nara and for an instant the demon’s presence was all she could feel. She swayed on her knees and heard Tuanne gasp at the incredible rush of sickness.
Then stillness came. The night returned. Nara opened her eyes and felt the cold of the grass against her skin, soaking through her clothes.
“It’s gone,” breathed Tuanne.
The trees shook gently in the breeze and they both stared into the black, waiting, hoping there were no more to come.
Another shape emerged from the undergrowth to their left. Nara tensed and Tuanne drew her bow.
“It’s ready,” hissed Olmar. “We can…” He stopped short when he noticed an arrow trained on him and a leopard
ready to pounce. “Did I miss something?” he asked.
“Don’t worry,” said Nara, standing. “We took care of it.”
Flame flicked her tail, still scanning the dark.
Olmar nodded. “We should go,” he said. “Now.”
They moved off quickly and soon reached the boat. Olmar pushed them away from the east bank and dipped the oars, sending them gliding out across the black surface of the water towards the fire-lit city.
Nara peered up as they approached the ruined mass of the bridge. It had been broken at the city end, perhaps to stop the Narlaw forces attacking from two directions at once. She thought how frightened the city-dwellers must be feeling, with their homes and their lives in such unexpected danger.
The river gate was set into rocks at the base of the immense city wall. The boat bumped against the rocks and Olmar used an oar to shove them along to a small inlet. A soaking length of rope hung from an iron hook that had been driven into the rock. Olmar grabbed it and moored the boat. The passengers clambered out one by one on to the slippery rocks.
Together they scanned in all directions until they were sure no Narlaw were near. Then Olmar rapped on an iron door that was indistinguishable from the weathered stone around it. A lookout hole slid open.
“Olmar?” muttered a gruff voice.
“Who else?” said Olmar, dipping his face into the dim light that spilled through the hole.
Bolts clanked and the door creaked open.
“Well, well,” said a large, bearded man. “You’ve brought some friends?” He held the door wide. “Come on, before something sees us.”
Inside the wall was a room about two paces square that contained nothing but a worn wooden chair and a single candlestick. A staircase led up into darkness and it was so narrow that Nara wondered how the broad gatekeeper had managed to get down to his post.
Olmar led them up into a winding, damp labyrinth of passages. He held a solitary candle high, casting more shadow than light across the dripping grey stone walls.
At ground level they emerged into the turmoil. Nara had thought herself exhausted from her travels, but the faces she saw now made her feel lucky in comparison. They were smoke-blackened and many looked terribly ill. The acrid smell of burned thatch was everywhere and people thundered past carrying buckets, as orders for more water were shouted above the general din.
Olmar guided them through the chaos towards a crenellated castle keep that was the tallest building in the walled city of stone. They passed makeshift hospitals and Nara glimpsed rows of sick beds, medics rushing between them by candlelight.
As they reached the doors of the keep a cry went up. “Take cover!”
Olmar grabbed the two Whisperers and shoved them through the stone archway into the keep. Flame dashed in between Nara’s feet and a great boom rocked the walls of the tower. Nara turned to see a shower of fine rubble and burning embers fall into the street outside.
“Fire bombs,” said Olmar with disgust. “These demons can set light to almost anything.”
“It’s one of their ways of feeding,” Nara said.
She had been taught this as a novice, in those cosy, familiar times that now seemed worlds away.
Olmar shook his head. “Come,” he said. “Lucille will be glad to see you.”
They climbed a broad set of stairs, lined with burning torches. The people they passed here wore leather armour, occasionally a steel breastplate or helmet. For once, no one had the energy to stare at Flame or Nimbus.
“This is where the militia is based,” said Olmar. “We have no real army in Altenheim, which is why we need help so badly. Lucille sent word with her hawk, but so far we’ve heard nothing in response. We don’t even know if the bird made it to the capital.”
His grim look suggested he did not think help was on its way.
They had reached the top of the stairs and a long hallway ran to the left and right. There were huge oak doors at intervals along the hall, most of which were guarded. Olmar asked after Lucille and a guard thumbed them towards a heavily guarded door.
The door swung open and a tall, hollow-cheeked woman appeared, a woman Nara knew well and yet barely recognized.
“Lucille!” Nara cried.
The woman stared for an instant then clasped Nara to her. “Nara! Thank the stars!”
The siege seemed to have taken its toll on Lucille – she had lost weight and her face was gaunt.
“Who are your friends?” Lucille asked.
“This is Tuanne, and this is Nimbus. They’re nomads of the Red Sands tribe.”
Lucille nodded gravely. “On behalf of the kingdom, I thank you both for coming,” she said. “Now. We cannot waste a moment.”
She thanked Olmar, who nodded to each of them before he left. Then Lucille led them deeper into the keep, up a winding staircase and into a huge, square chamber with a long veranda on one side. The room contained a bed and several large tables strewn with maps and papers. Lucille strode to the veranda, which faced west across the city to where the battle raged.
“Those woods,” Lucille said. “The Narlaw command is hiding there. Can you feel them?”
Nara approached the battlements warily, wondering how high up the tower a fire bomb could strike. Tuanne hung back with Nimbus and Flame.
The view was a grim one. Altenheim burned in several places, the brave residents scurried about and all the while the main gates were beset by the Narlaw forces. Altenheim militia barricaded the gates and shot arrows down. Nara looked further, past the wall and the battle lines to the woods beyond. Fires burned there, too. And by the light of those flames she saw movement, slow and deliberate – not like the chaotic, surging masses that attacked the city walls. This was the Narlaw camp. The true size of the demon army was hidden in the wooded hills.
“They’ve been weakening the city with fire,” said Lucille, “testing its defences while they keep their main force out of reach. Perhaps they thought there were more Whisperers here.”
“What are they waiting for?” asked Nara.
“I don’t know for sure. Perhaps for reinforcements, or for the defenders to starve and give up. As things stand, the city can’t survive much longer. We’re virtually out of food and arrows. We can barely get enough water into the city to put out the fires. The Narlaw will attack soon, in force, and there will be no defence against them.”
“What are we going to do?” asked Nara.
“We need to evacuate as many people as we can and retreat to Meridar,” said Lucille. There was such exhaustion in her voice that Nara wondered if she had given up already.
“But won’t help come?” said Nara. “You sent Jet, didn’t you?”
“She should have returned by now. I cannot feel her presence. Perhaps because she’s so many miles from me, or…”
She trailed off, but Nara knew exactly what she was thinking.
“We have boats,” Lucille continued. “Not enough to take the whole city, but some will be saved at least. Our task is to engage the demons at the front gate, to give the evacuees as much time as possible.”
Nara placed a hand on Lucille’s arm. “There are three of us now,” she said. “We’ll make the plan work and get these people to safety.”
Lucille smiled. “You have a good heart, Nara,” she said, staring out at the chaos of Altenheim. “We’ll do what we can. I only hope that is enough.”
A cry went up in the streets below. “Cover!”
The fire bomb crashed against a building immediately below the keep and Nara ducked instinctively.
Lucille stood unflinching, her eyes staring blankly at the woods and the shapes that moved between the trees.
CHAPTER 14
The Narlaw attack began at dawn – when the river mists drifted into Altenheim, curling through the streets and mixing with the smoke of burned and ruined homes.
Nara had eaten some stale bread and curled up on the floor of Lucille’s chambers. She was woken after just an hour or two by the terrible c
lamour at the gates.
They’re here, said Flame, peering out towards the veranda.
Nara rose, and so did Tuanne and Nimbus. Lucille had been right – the main Narlaw force was coming.
Nara quickly gathered her bow and arrows, and together with Flame, Tuanne and Nimbus, she left the keep. There was only one way they could help defend Altenheim, and that was to fight at the front line, working together to banish every demon they could. They ran through the dawn light, passing frightened, weary faces as the sounds of battle grew louder. The air was colder than anything Nara had felt before, even with the fires burning in the rooftops. The main gates had been barricaded with every piece of timber that could be found. Fire bombs hissed overhead and rocks flew in both directions.
On the battlements, archers moved about, ducking and sending arrow after arrow into the demon army below. Nara ran to the steps built into the side of the wall, and Flame and Tuanne followed.
We must link, she whispered to Tuanne as she climbed.
Yes, replied Tuanne. Nimbus balanced on her shoulders, her lips drawn back in fright.
The two Whisperers arrived on the battlements and Flame joined them, prowling up and down, nostrils flaring and her tail straight and bushy.
Nara stepped forward and took her first look down at the battle for the gates.
The buildings that had once crowded around the outside of the wall were now nothing but shells of broken stone. Furniture, clothes and shattered ornaments were strewn amid the rubble, and all around these ruins were hundreds upon hundreds of Narlaw.
Their grey eyes glowed and they moved with inhuman speed. Most had taken the forms of men and women, but some went as dogs, scampering like mad things between the legs of the others. The presence of their evil was overwhelming.
For a few seconds Nara stood in shock and watched them crash against the portcullis, tearing rocks from the rubble and throwing them at the walls. A short way back she saw a group of demons clutching a chunk of wood. The wood burst into flame and the demons flung it over the wall.
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