Nara turned to shout, “Take cover!”
Militia fighters scattered as the fire bomb struck, sending down a cascade of flames and rock dust from a nearby building.
With shaking legs, Nara stepped away from the battlements.
Are you ready? came a whisper from below.
It was Lucille.
Nara saw her down at the barricaded gates, pacing back and forth with her eyes closed.
I think so, Nara replied.
Good, said Lucille. We must hold the demons until all of the evacuation boats are across the river.
Nara nodded at Tuanne and then slipped into the earth trance, trying hard to withstand the ferocious presence of the demons. She reached out to Tuanne and felt her friend’s presence come to meet hers. Next Lucille joined and they completed the circle – three Whisperers together, pooling and focusing their strength.
Nara felt the writhing mass of Narlaw burst upon her. She chose one, right beside the portcullis and brought its presence close. With three Whisperers at work the earth rushed through them in a powerful instant and the demon was gone.
Nara steadied herself and moved on to the next.
It was slow, difficult work under the rain of fire bombs and masonry. More than once Nara found herself kneeling, or lying flat on the walkway behind the battlements as deadly missiles flew overhead.
Flame paced anxiously. There was little she could do from the battlements but watch Nara and the others, warning them if a fire bomb was flying their way.
The sheer numbers of the demons at the gate soon took its toll. An hour after dawn the first portcullis fell. There was an ear-splitting scrape and clang as it burst free of its stone runnings. The chains that held it flew and whipped and the militia on the battlements nearby leaped away in alarm.
“More wood for the barricade!” called a senior militia woman below. “If that second portcullis goes, we’re done for!”
Nara tried to put the thought out of her head, but she wondered how many of Altenheim’s people would escape before the collapse of the gates.
She cast out again and again, dropping into the trance, letting the earth expel the demons one by one. But there were simply too many of them and time was running out.
Before then, all of the Narlaw’s strength had been focused on the gates and the fire bombs. Now, spurred on by the fall of the first portcullis, the demons began to climb the walls. There was a shout from the battlements and Nara looked across. At the far end, away from the thick of the battle, the Narlaw had scaled the wall by climbing over each other’s backs and now a grey-eyed demon was sprinting at Nara and Tuanne along the walkway.
Tuanne left the Whisperer circle and spun away, letting off an arrow in one swift movement. Nara reached out with her senses and grasped the charging demon as the arrow struck. It vanished into an ashy shadow, back to the Darklands.
“They’re lifting the gates!” came a cry from below. “Secure the wheels!”
Nara spotted a demon on the battlements at the other side of the gate tower. It had thrown the defenders off the wall and unlatched the lever that locked the final portcullis shut.
“They’re coming through!” shouted the commander at the gate.
Can you make it up the wall? Nara asked Flame. We have to lock that portcullis down.
I can try, said her companion. She dropped into the yard and disappeared.
The portcullis creaked as the Narlaw raised it higher. Nara reached out past the gate tower with her Whisperer sense and the demon swung to face her, grey eyes glaring. Nara let the earth rush through her and, a split second later, all that remained was a stain of ash on the parapet.
The gates boomed as the first of the demons slipped beneath the portcullis and charged into them. Flame was nowhere to be seen.
Then Nara saw a white-and-red shape fly from Tuanne’s shoulder. Nimbus was leaping over the battlements and the gate tower almost faster than the eye could see. Before Flame had even reached the stairs, Nimbus was at the crank wheels.
Nara glanced at Tuanne, who was staring intently at her companion. Nimbus swung on an iron lever with all her weight and the wheels spun. The portcullis crashed shut, trapping the few Narlaw who had made it through to the gate. Now Nimbus twitched and darted between the mechanical parts of the crank wheels until she settled on the locking lever. She shoved it into place just as Flame arrived by her side.
You did it! said Nara. You whispered together!
I know, Tuanne replied. She couldn’t hide her smile.
Together, the three Whisperers banished the demons that had been trapped between the portcullis and the gates. They’d bought a little more time, but not much. Beyond the walls the Narlaw army attacked with a new fury, crashing against the portcullis and the walls of the gate tower.
A cry came from below and Nara lost her connection with Lucille. She glanced down and saw her mentor lying on her side, clutching her head. She had been struck by a ricocheting piece of rock.
Go! cried Lucille. Run! She climbed back to her feet, but she was unsteady and her eyes were wide with terror.
Nara turned back to the battlements. The archers who had been shooting next to her were gone. A Narlaw stood in their place, glowering at Tuanne as another clambered over the wall.
Tuanne raised her bow but the demon leaped at her, knocking her from her feet and sending Nimbus rolling across the walkway with a terrible screech.
“No!” Nara cried as the demon advanced on Tuanne.
The second demon fixed Nara in its grey-eyed stare and sprung at her.
Nara stumbled sideways along the parapet, trying desperately to find the earth trance. But the demons were so close, their presences too strong for her to grasp on her own. She glanced across at Tuanne – and at the demon who was reaching out its hand to her forehead.
This could not happen. Not the ghost-sleep.
Nara had promised that she would bring Tuanne back safely.
She cast out wildly with her senses, ignoring the demon bearing down on her and trying only to banish the one who had Tuanne in its sights.
It was then a terrible snarl filled the air. Nara looked up to see Flame leap from the gate tower, a blur of savannah-gold against the dull grey stone. She landed on the neck of the first Narlaw intruder, twisting with all her weight and dragging the demon away from Tuanne. The demon fell, flailing as Flame’s teeth bit deep.
Tuanne scrambled away and grabbed her bow. As Flame took down her demon prey, Tuanne’s first arrow thudded into the demon advancing on Nara.
Now! cried Flame.
And Nara found her focus, slipping smoothly into the earth trance as if there was no battle raging around her at all.
In a blinding rush, both demons vanished from the earth.
Flame dropped on to the ashy shadow of the Narlaw she had been fighting. She shook her head and staring around blankly, sick and disoriented by the poisonous taste of Narlaw flesh.
Nara ran to her and took her head in her hands. Come on, she said. We have to go. Now!
Flame stared back, confused, and Nara turned to Tuanne for help.
But Tuanne was at the battlements, gazing into the distance at the north road. Nara stood and looked. A plume of dust was advancing towards the city from where the road emerged between hillsides.
“What is it?” Nara asked.
“Riders,” said Tuanne. “Hundreds of them.”
They thundered into the valley with a flurry of bugle cries. More bugles sounded in the woods on the hilltop and a battalion of foot soldiers emerged. The Narlaw at the gates were forced to turn.
“They came,” muttered Nara. “Jet must have made it through to Meridar.”
It was then Nara sensed the presence of a Whisperer out there on the battleground. She scanned the lines of infantry and saw a ring of soldiers. At its centre was a fighting Whisperer. She was young, perhaps even younger than Nara, and her hair streamed in the wind. A huge, grey-black wolf loped beside her. This girl and her wo
lf companion advanced within the shield of warriors, banishing the demons around them as they went.
The Narlaw retreated, and Nara felt them slide away, past the walls of the city towards the untouched countryside. The two groups of soldiers joined forces and fought their way to the city gates. The troops formed a defensive line, steam rising from the horses as they stamped and snorted in the cold morning air.
Nara breathed deeply and shared a disbelieving smile with Tuanne.
By midday Altenheim was empty. Those who had not escaped across the river followed the road north under heavy guard. The soldiers’ leader, a guard named Valderin, said the demons would soon regroup.
Nara was among the last to leave. She passed beneath the ruined gate tower with Lucille and Tuanne.
Although she had been offered a horse, Nara preferred to walk. Horses were not a common sight back on the endless plains and none of the girls had ever learned to ride. So the three friends joined the ranks of the soldiers on foot, marching north on tired legs with Flame prowling and Nimbus scampering behind them, side by side. Flame had not quite recovered from her taste of demon flesh and Nara kept looking back to check on her as they walked.
The girls walked in silence for a long time, each of them absorbed in their own thoughts.
Lucille at least looked happier. She had news of Jet – her companion had made it to Meridar with a badly injured wing, passing on her vital message. She was now resting at the palace. Nara couldn’t imagine how it would feel to be separated from Flame for so long, not knowing if she was hurt, or lost, or worse.
Nara wondered about her parents – what would they think about their daughter fighting battles? Would the news reach them? Would they change their minds about her being a Whisperer?
But Nara knew it didn’t matter what her family thought. She was among Whisperers now and she had Flame by her side. She felt peace as she marched towards Meridar, knowing this was all she would ever need.
CHAPTER 15
A high wind blew from the south. The flags on the outer walls rippled and cracked and Dawn’s hair flew about her in a whirl of black. News had reached the palace that morning of the breaking of the siege at Altenheim. Most of the people had been saved from the Narlaw, but the city itself was little more than a ruin.
Dawn shifted on the bench she had taken at the edge of the palace parade ground. Her ankle still hurt to stand on, but thanks to another round of healing she could at least walk. She had made her way down from the spiral tower to keep watch for Narlaw amongst the soldiers. Still, after two days of vigilance, the demon who had invaded Ona’s quarters had not been found.
Militia crowded the cobbled expanse before her. Several times each hour the gates creaked open, and wagon wheels and hooves clattered across the drawbridge. There were guards returning from leave with their families, tradespeople bearing armour, weaponry or food. Dawn cast her senses carefully, lingering on each and every presence in the yard. Overhead, Ebony was circling, scanning for Narlaw.
The preparations for war had consumed most of Dawn’s waking hours, but she had managed to join Princess Ona in making an inventory of her belongings. The more Dawn had read, the more convinced she was that Queen Amina’s earthstone was what the Narlaw were after. The war diaries referred to the stone as little more than a trinket, but there were other, older books that hinted at a fabled and precious artefact, a direct link to the earth and a source of great power to any Whisperer who wielded it.
Queen Amina had written of its changing colour, its small size and its setting in an ornate bronze ring that she had worn on her left forefinger. It was possible that Amina had been unaware of the weapon she carried, even as it multiplied her power against the Narlaw. It was also possible, Dawn knew, that the earthstone had been lost in the intervening years – especially since she and the princess had failed to find anything like it in Ona’s collection of rings.
Dawn continued her study of the guards and the militia, of the myriad palace servants and tradespeople who dashed or loitered or led their horses across the blustery parade ground. How could the Narlaw spy have evaded them for so long? She had placed Whisperer sentries in secret spots around Ona’s wing of the palace. She had asked Magda to bring her a roster of all of the Guards of the Sun and everyone who might have somehow acquired a uniform. By now almost every member of the guards had been brought before Dawn or one of the other Whisperers. And yet the demon remained at large.
Ebony swooped down, batting her wings against the turbulent wind.
Nothing, she said. Fled or hiding, perhaps?
Perhaps, said Dawn. You must be tired from flying in this weather.
Tired, but not defeated, said Ebony. She stretched her neck, clacking her huge black beak in something like a yawn.
Ready for another night watch? asked Dawn.
The plan was that they would act as hidden sentries close to Ona’s chambers. The thought of another sleepless night was enough to send a wave of tiredness through Dawn’s body. But they couldn’t afford to let the Narlaw get what it wanted. If she was right about the earthstone, it could be their only hope of victory over the Narlaw. She simply had to find it before it was too late.
Dawn thought back to the evidence from the night of the intrusion – the emptied cupboards, the clothes and jewels cast across the floor. And the guards seeing nothing, hearing nothing.
This was still the most difficult element to understand. How could those highly trained guards fail to hear an intruder ransacking the chambers they were guarding? Dawn had met each member of that night’s watch and each had been as puzzled as she was, not to mention ashamed. Their logs of the night’s work were meticulous. No stranger entered or even approached those doors.
No one but those guards were sighted around Ona’s chambers at all, except…
Dawn rose to her feet as the thought hit her. It tumbled onwards in her mind, gathering momentum.
“No,” she muttered, digging into the inner pocket of her coat for Magda’s report from that night.
What is it? asked Ebony, tilting her head.
Dawn unfolded the creased sheet of paper. There were the names of the guard teams, their statements and a precise timeline written into the margins by Magda. Halfway down the page Dawn found what she was looking for:
Early, second hour of the third watch, Guard Captain Niels stood sentry at doors while Guards Humboldt and Blake attended a disturbance in the upper kitchen.
Niels was there alone, said Dawn. He wasn’t interviewed by Magda.
But he’s the Captain of the Guard of the Sun, said Ebony. The king’s personal bodyguard.
Dawn rolled up the report and thrust it into her pocket, striding towards the palace on her aching ankle.
Ebony gripped tightly on to her shoulder, struggling to keep balance. You’re serious? she asked.
Have you seen Niels lately? asked Dawn in response. He hides away with the king, knowing Whisperers are barely welcome there. It has to be him.
Ebony cawed and flapped into the air as Dawn strode on below.
Wait for me outside the King’s Keep, she said. And be ready.
In the king’s reception chamber, Lady Tremaine greeted Dawn with a curt nod. She rose from her tidy desk and the assistant hovering at her side glanced uneasily between the two of them, expecting trouble.
“You have news for the king?” the warden asked.
Dawn drew up close to the warden, at the same time reaching past her with her Whisperer sense, probing for a demon presence.
“No news, Lady Tremaine.” Her voice hushed. “Is Captain Niels here?”
The warden frowned in confusion. “He is away for the moment,” she said. “May I ask what your business is?”
Dawn glanced at the warden’s assistant in a way that made the man bow and hurry from the room.
“I suspect the captain can tell us who the Narlaw spy is,” Dawn said.
Another puzzled look followed from the warden, then one of realization. Her ja
w dropped. “Surely not?” she said. “You mean…?”
“I may be wrong,” said Dawn, “but we must find him at once.”
The warden looked away, her face colouring. “Oh no,” she said, holding a hand to her cheek. “But … he … he went to meet the princess,” she said. “We arranged it with the king. Ona is being moved to safer quarters.”
“Where?” Dawn demanded. “Where are they to meet?”
The warden stammered, closing her eyes as she tried to remember. “Somewhere on the east side,” she said at last. “The south-east quadrangle.”
Dawn turned and rushed towards the door, leaving the warden standing. “Sound the alarm!” Dawn shouted as she ran. “Niels mustn’t leave the palace!”
Ebony! she called across the bond. Fly to the south-east quad. Niels is there with Ona. Do not lose sight of them!
On my way, said Ebony.
Dawn raced down the staircase, ignoring the terrible pain in her ankle. The south-east quadrangle was on the opposite side of the palace, far from the King’s Keep and the Whisperers’ quarters. There were stables there, too, and a small reinforced gate accessible only for guard patrols. Dawn cursed her own stupidity. How could she have missed this? She burst past the guards at the base of the keep, out into the violent wind.
“Follow me!” she commanded. “And one of you find Lieutenant Magda. Bring her to the south-east quadrangle!”
The guards stood, unsure for a moment, shocked to be given such orders by a young girl.
“A demon has taken the princess!” Dawn shouted.
This jerked them into life.
Dawn ran as fast as her ankle would allow, grimacing through the pain as the boots of the guards thumped all around her. They passed through the gardens around the keep, then on to the walkways of the eastern wing.
Dawn desperately tried to figure out why the Narlaw had chosen to kidnap Princess Ona. It didn’t make sense. In the form of the guard captain the demon could have lured Ona away at any time it pleased. Everything came back to the earthstone. Dawn could only imagine that Ona had the earthstone on her person and that, as a last resort, the Narlaw had opted to take them both.
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