by Jeff Gunzel
* * *
“Berkeni. Berkeni.” said Ilirra, banging on the door incessantly. “Open this door!”
The door opened a crack. Berkeni’s wide eyes peeked out cautiously.
Ilirra forced her way into the room, slammed both hands onto the wooden table and peered into the white pearl. “Tell me what’s happening. I want to know everything.”
“B-B-But you said you didn’t want to watch. That your heart couldn’t take it, and I was supposed to inform you later. You said—”
“I’ve changed my mind,” she screamed. Her fists pounded the table. “What’s happening now? You can see them, right?”
“Well, yes, yes. As long Jade continues to wear the silver ring, I have full contact with them,” he stammered nervously. “But something just happened. The trial seemed to be going perfectly when all of sudden—” He stopped and cupped his hand to his ear. “Do you hear that?”
The Queen stood perfectly still and listened. Her heart nearly sank through the floor as she heard the warning bells ringing out. Taron was under attack! No…no, this can’t be happening. Not now.
The door was flung open as Azek burst into the room. “My lady, we are—”
“I hear the bloody bells!” she yelled out as she turned to face the wall. Placing a hand on her forehead, she closed her eyes and tried to gather herself. “Berkeni, is it what I think it is?” she asked in a soft voice that contained none of her usual fire.
He was already peering into the white pearl before she even spoke the words. “Yes, my lady,” he said in an even softer voice. “They are moving towards the front wall as we speak.”
“My lady, I know they are not of their own free will right now,” said Azek in a somber tone, “but we are sworn to defend the people of Taron. I will instruct the wall soldiers to knock down their ladders as needed but to take no lives. We can hold for a time, but once they penetrate—” He paused a long moment before he continued, “then I will be forced to uphold my sworn duty.”
Ilirra silently nodded her agreement as she faced the wall, unable to look at him. There was only so much that could be done to spare life at this desperate time. Placing her head on her forearm, she leaned heavily against the wall. By the gods, we’re running out of time.
Armed guards swarmed the city walls as the bells echoed loudly through the streets. Soldiers on the ground level tried to brace the front gate with a large oak log that had been wheeled up on a cart.
Karbin, the acting general when Azek was not present, pointed out positions along the walls for the men to hold. He pulled out his looking glass to see what they would be dealing with and how close to the wall the threat had gotten. His blood turned to ice. At least a thousand men were rushing over the hill, running wildly like a pack of dogs. He could even make out the animalistic expressions on their faces. Their tongues hung from their mouths like dogs. White foam bubbled out as if they were rabid. Even their eyes were completely white. Karbin was sure he would never sleep again.
Nothing could have seemed more unnatural. Random packs of three could be seen carrying ladders as they sprinted along, tripping and falling constantly from the frenzied effort. When one would fall, the others just kept running, trampling over the fallen as if he wasn’t even there. They seemed savage and completely unorganized, and they rushed in without even a hint of a battle formation. When the first wave hit, they tried to climb the wall with their bare hands, clawing like animals as others tried to climb up their backs. As the second wave crashed in, crude wooden ladders began to rise up the walls. They trampled over each other just to be the first to begin their ascent. The men on the wall used long poles to keep knocking back the ladders, but they didn’t know how long they could defend against the tireless assault.
