'You,' was all she could find to say.
The Raven ran ahead of him but Aeb's eyes never left the figure of Sol, The Unknown Warrior. The Protectors ran with him, and only him, and Aeb experienced a feeling of which he had only a vague recollection. It burned through him and in the tank, all the souls shared. But it was he and the brothers by him who felt it the most strongly and, though alien, it was most welcome. Joy.
There were lanterns lit along the length of the ship Darrick indicated as the one provisioned and ready for boarding. It was called Catalan Sun and its deck was ringed with its crew, staring down the dock to where the stand-off was being played out in front of the fierce fires now burning and hissing into the rain-drenched sky. Whipped up by the wind, great sheets of flame scoured the dark, threatening nearby buildings so far undamaged by spell attack.
HotRain fell in a steady stream over the dockside, cast by Lystern, Dordovan and Xeteskian alike and the flaring on the shields that now covered every horse and rider completed the magical tapestry.
As Darrick watched, HellFire struck the Lakehome Inn and in the screaming death that followed, men flooded out of a side road and threw themselves at the Lysternan cavalry. Surprised, the Lysternans responded, beating back the attack with a half charge before it became evident that spare mages had blocked the road with Force-Cones.
'See what you can do with the crew. I've got to prepare,' said Denser.
'Certainly,' said Darrick.
'And Darrick.'
'Yes.'
'Thank you.'
Darrick frowned. 'What for?'
'For putting my family's lives above politics.'
'Eventually.' Darrick turned away.
Denser eyed the buildings opposite. There were three warehouses
end on to the dock, each with a passage between, wide enough for four or five horses abreast. Knowing he couldn't hope to cast a ForceCone with anywhere near enough strength to cover the possible entry points, he opted for something more of a hindrance and prayed The Unknown brought the Protectors on very soon. He knelt to give himself balance against the wind, closed his eyes and, ignoring the rain that lashed into his face and the growing smell of burning wood and hot metal, began his preparation.
Ditching the shield for the run to the docks, Ilkar had paused to cast ShadowWings and was lost in the sky above Hirad, searching for the Dordovan cavalry. In the absence of information, The Unknown was leading them back past the timber yard, giving them quickest sight of the docks and the target ship.
The rain made the stone cobbles slick, water ran down the guttering in torrents and mud brought in by the rains and the hooves of every horse was sluicing down the streets, adding to the treachery underfoot. More than once, Hirad slipped on the surface, only to find the hand of a Protector steadying him almost before he realised he'd lost his balance. He wanted to be angry that they assumed he needed help to run in the rain but found himself instead amazed at their quickness of thought and action.
He glanced up into the fire-stained night to see Ilkar swooping towards them. He flew beside them as he spoke.
'Denser and Darrick are at the ship. Denser's preparing something. The Dordovans will be on them in a few moments, they're riding down the side of a warehouse a couple of streets from here. There's no movement from the ship but the crew's all on deck. This is going to be close.'
'We'll need a shield when we hit them,' said Hirad.
'With you all the way.' Ilkar flew ahead, landing fifty yards away to disperse the wings and prepare the shield.
The Unknown upped the pace, Hirad feeling the Protectors ease along while he suddenly felt every one of his thirty-nine years.
'I could do without this,' he said, gasping slightly.
'Too much good living with the Kaan,' said The Unknown.
'Let me do the jokes, all right?' said Hirad.
They rounded the corner, Ilkar now beside them, and in moments, the docks were awash with chaos.
For a few paces, it looked as if the impossible would happen and they'd beat the Dordovans to the ship but when they were seventy yards from Denser and Darrick, the General yelled something inaudible and the Xeteskian mage brought his fists together in front of his face before bringing them down in a punching motion.
The warehouses close to the berth shuddered, were still and then shuddered again. The stone of the docks rippled by the timbered buildings and loose wood tumbled off the roofs. There was another momentary pause, in which Hirad saw the first Dordovan horse gallop on to the dockside, before huge wedges of stone thrust out of the earth in a dozen and more places, cascading cobbles, flags, mud and water in all directions.
The centremost of the three warehouses buckled at its front as one of the rock wedges shattered supporting timbers. The wall bulged outwards and the roof slipped sideways into the road, and above the sudden roar of noise, the sound of terrified horses rose briefly as riders tried to control bucking and twisting mounts desperate to avoid the avalanche of wood from above and the rock from below.
'Good old Denser,' said Hirad. But it was only a temporary hold. Already, horses were picking their way around the still shifting stone and splintered timbers, and though the EarthHammer would have caused casualties, the Dordovan cavalry came on.
'Let's go, let's go.' said Hirad, sprinting forwards as the first horseman closed on Denser.
'Aeb!' called The Unknown. 'Take left, Hirad takes right. I need an angled wedge.'
'Yes,' came the reply.
'And speak freely. Do what you have to do,' added The Unknown.
'Yes.'
The first horseman didn't even get close to Denser. The mage backed up in response to Darrick's shout and the General swept his sword high and fast into the rider's ribcage, clipping the horse's head on the way up and severing an ear. The rider collapsed out of
the saddle, his mount whinnying in pain as it ran blindly past, a threat to no one but itself.
Hirad ran on. The main body of the Dordovan cavalry detachment was picking its way out on to the docks now, an initial move to the ship halted by an urgent shout. Quickly wheeling, the cavalry formed a line that moved towards the onrushing Protectors headed by The Raven. Over the heads of the horses came FlameOrbs, splashing off Ilkar's shield, the mage ensconced in the middle of a three-deep line.
The horses hadn't the space to make speed for a full charge and, as they closed, the animals faltered, shying away from the solid wall of men who showed them no fear.
The Unknown slowed a little, tapped his blade twice on the stone and smashed it through the neck of the first horse. It came down in a tumble of limbs and a spray of blood that was washed away by the rain. The sky was lit by lightning that flashed through the tumbling cloud, thunder rumbling and echoing as it fired.
Beside The Unknown, Aeb, his axe unhitched, sword still across his back, batted the cheek of a horse with a flat blade, sweeping up in the same movement to bury the edge in the stomach of the rider who was lifted bodily from the saddle and thrown backwards under the hooves of the horse behind.
Hirad stepped smartly inside the flailing fore-hoofs of a rearing horse and ducked the sweep of a sword, placing his own above his head to catch any downward strike. He hated fighting cavalry. Space was tight, blows came from all angles and horses moved unpredictably in the press, making crushing a real risk. But after him came the Protectors and he knew that, for once, he could ignore the threat from behind, confident that Xetesk's killing machines would watch his back.
In between two tall horses, he jabbed right with an elbow and flashed his sword left, clashing with the rider's axe. Moving to a one-handed grip, he glanced right and grabbed for that rider's jerkin, pulling him off balance and dragging his sword flat to catch the return blow from the axeman left.