‘There are.’ Caldason nodded seaward. ‘Plenty…out there.’ He scooped up a handful of moist sand and wiped clean his gory blade. ‘This was just a spat.’
The beach was littered with corpses. Those of the enemy bore tattoos of both dragon and eagle, revealing the extent to which the supposedly rival empires were working together.
‘Never thought we’d see something like this, eh?’ Darrok remarked.
Caldason pointed. ‘Look at that one. And there.’ The dead he indicated weren’t in uniform; at least, they weren’t in the same kind of uniforms as the majority.
‘Pirate garb,’ Darrok confirmed.
‘Vance’s men?’
‘Of course. I wondered how long it’d take him to make a pact with the bastards. No doubt his reward’s the privilege of looting what’s left of this place.’
‘It’s spitting in the ocean as far as our situation’s concerned. We were already massively outnumbered.’
Darrok seemed preoccupied with his grievance. ‘This is something else I owe Vance for, and if I ever get a chance to pay him back-’ He stopped and gazed at the sky.
‘What is it?’ Caldason said.
‘Friendly, I hope.’ A flying object was approaching from inland, and pitching their way. After a moment, Darrok added, ‘As I thought.’
It proved to be a bat, larger than any species known to Caldason. It had a wider than natural wingspan, and its black hide had orangey-yellow dappling, giving it the look of a predatory wildcat.
‘Be back in a minute,’ Darrok promised. He zipped off and met the creature, hovering before it. The bat hung suspended in the air, defying gravity despite no longer flapping its wings.
A commotion flared up at the shoreline, a last skirmish with the escaping invaders. As it died down, Darrok was hurtling back, the glittery remains of the spent message glamour dissipating behind him. His expression was grave.
‘They’re trying to get a squadron of land leviathans ashore. Our people are slowing them, but not much.’
‘Where?’
‘Not far from here. That sheltered cove further west. We’ll start seeing the really serious landings now, Reeth.’
‘And the enemy getting siege engines into play.’
‘I’ve got something that could stop them.’
‘You have?’
‘But there’s a problem with it.’
‘Well, there it is.’ Darrok floated beside the barn’s large open doors, indicating what was inside.
It was an immense wooden structure, with uprights and cross-struts of sturdiest timber, and a single arm that could be wound back by use of spindles and pulleys, with a pouch attached to its end by thick leather straps. In essence, it was a slingshot, built on a huge scale.
Darrok glided over to the trebuchet and gave it an affectionate slap. ‘They call it the Claw. That cradle’s big enough to take rocks the size of sedan chairs, and the mechanism’s powerful enough to fling them enormous distances.’
‘Where did it come from?’ Caldason said, cricking his neck to see the weapon’s top.
‘A few years ago I had a minor warlord and his extensive retinue as guests. When the time came for him to leave, it turned out he couldn’t meet his bill. I got his people to build this by way of payment. I was thinking of Vance. I reckoned it might come in useful for defending the island.’
‘So why isn’t it out there somewhere doing just that?’
‘The warlord was a lousy leader, but he had some great craftsmen on his payroll, armourers in particular. This thing’s beautifully designed and built, and it needs only a handful of people to operate, but it takes scores to move it. Manpower or horses; we can’t spare them.’
‘Ironic.’
‘You can say that again. We could do a lot of damage with this beauty, but I don’t know how we’d get it where it’s needed. And the frustrating thing is that it isn’t that far. Any ideas?’
‘No. That is…’
‘What are you thinking?’
‘That magician? What was his name?’
‘Who?’
‘The one everybody said was crazy.’
‘You’re not really narrowing down the field, Reeth.’
‘Frakk.’
‘Frakk?’
‘You can’t have forgotten. The wizard with the horseless carriage.’
Darrok snapped his fingers. ‘Right, him. We were hoping to use his invention for ploughing fields or-’
‘Or transporting things.’
‘How would we do it? Practically, I mean?’
Caldason looked about the barn. ‘You’ve got plenty of wheels here to fit on the trebuchet, or the makings. I guess we’d attach one of his magic boxes to each wheel. Or axle? I don’t know, we’d have to work out the details.’
‘It’s a good notion, Reeth.’
‘Do you know where this Frakk is?’
‘He should be in one of the designated sorcerers’ nests. I’ll find out.’
‘Meantime, I need to find Serrah.’
‘And we need you here to oversee this. I was hoping you’d lead the detail that delivers the machine. Serrah’s going to be fine in the redoubt, believe me.’
‘I’d like to confirm that for myself.’
‘If it’s any consolation, Pallidea’s out there somewhere as well, and I’d like nothing more than going to find her. We’re too stretched. They can look after themselves, Reeth. Our job’s trying to stop the invaders.’
‘All right. But I’m going for her as soon as I get the chance.’
‘Fair enough. Now let’s get ourselves organised, shall we?’
Runners were dispatched to find Frakk, and a crew of carpenters was brought in to work on the trebuchet. Rapidly, the device was rigged with multiple wagon wheels.
As the work was being completed, Darrok received another glamoured message. This time, incongruously for winter, it came as a swarm of wasps that droned the tidings.
‘Somebody at HQ’s bored or desperate,’ Darrok commented.
‘What’s the news?’ Caldason said.
‘We’re holding off the landing west of here, just. But it’s taking too many defenders away from other fronts.’
‘How many other landings do we know about?’
‘Quite a few. But we’ll have to leave them to somebody else. Let’s concentrate on our patch.’ He turned in his hovering disc and looked to the barn doors. ‘Where is that sorcerer?’
On cue, Frakk arrived, escorted by a small company of fighters. He looked dishevelled and befuddled.
‘Have you been told the plan?’ Darrok asked without preamble.
‘Er…yes. Well, the basics.’
‘We’ve got to move this to the next bay,’ Caldason said, nodding at the catapult. ‘Is it possible?’
‘Well, I’ve never tried moving anything this big before, but in theory it should work.’
‘Do you have enough of your…’
‘Energy cubes. Yes.’
‘How would we control the thing, steer it?’
‘With a wheel, like…’ Frakk scanned the barn. ‘Like that.’ He went to a wagon wheel that had been left standing upright, and laid his hands on it. ‘We connect it to the axle and it steers the load this way. Left…right. See?’
‘What about starting and stopping?’
‘Ah, that and regulating the energy flow is a magical function. It needs a sorcerer to control it.’
‘Then you’re coming with us,’ Caldason decided.
Darrok didn’t join the trebuchet party. With too many calls on everyone, they decided Caldason alone would be in charge. The group he took with him numbered just ten, including Frakk.
The Claw rumbled along ponderously, with the wizard steering, his knuckles white on the wheel. Caldason accompanied him, standing with an arm looped around one of the wooden uprights. The rest of the band rode on horses and an open wagon. It was evening by now, but they burned no lights.
The ships of the invasion fleets felt no similar need. They were lit up by oil, wax and magic, and glowed like a fairy-tale city. All along the shoreline there were fires and gaudy detonations.
‘Can’t we go any faster?’ Caldason yelled.
Frakk swallowed and nodded. The trebuchet lurched forward.
They struggled to avoid potholes, and several times had to detour to evade steep inclines, but the power driving the wheels never faltered. Another half hour of bone-rattling saw them at their destination.