“Find more men, then. Buy them, bribe them-do whatever you have to but get them here. Get them here now.”
“How can I pay for them? I told you, Lukien-I’m finished! I can’t even pay back Diriel.”
“No one’s going to come here now anyway, no matter how much he pays them,” said Marilius. “Not after what happened. Even the men we have won’t stay. Many have left and others are talking about it.”
“What about Drin?” asked Cricket.
We all blinked at her innocent question. “Drin?” I asked.
“They’re fighting Diriel too, right? That’s what I keep hearing. Maybe they can help.”
“But I can’t pay them!” roared Fallon.
“No, no, she’s right,” I said. “What about that, Marilius? The Drin are fighting, right? What if they came here to join us? This is their last chance-if Isowon falls they’re finished. They must know that.”
Marilius thought about it. “I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Maybe.”
“How many men do they have? Are they a big army?”
“No, they can’t be,” said Marilius. “Some of the other mercenaries come from Drin, but it’s a small country. There’s been some fighting, I know that. But Diriel was after Kasse.”
“Yes, Kasse first,” I said. “But Diriel’s not going to stop. The Drin are on his supper plate, too. If we can bring them here, get them to listen-”
“Hey,” barked Fallon, banging on the table. “Are you forgetting something? The monster? I told you, we can’t fight with that thing on top of us!”
“He’s right,” said Marilius. “How can we build a defense? We can’t even leave the palace.”
“Marilius, bring the men into the hall,” I said. “As many as you can. I want to talk to them.”
“Why?”
“Because they need to hear me. Go. Get them into the hall. I want them to take a good look at what happened to their friends.”
Marilius shook his head as he shuffled out of the chamber. Fallon looked confused.
“Anton, stand up,” I said.
“Are you going to hit me?”
I grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. “You’re filthy,” I said, smoothing down his shirt. “Wipe your face. You look like you’ve had your head in a bucket of mud. Cricket, can you do something with his hair?”
“Huh?”
“Use your fingers or something. Try to make him look presentable.”
“What is this?” Fallon complained.
“Your men aren’t going to follow you unless they believe in you. They may be mercenaries but they’re soldiers too, and soldiers won’t respect a man who doesn’t respect himself. I’m going to talk to them, but you’re the one they’re going to see.”
Cricket went to work, reaching up and combing his tangled hair with her fingers. “What are you going to say, Lukien?”
“You’ll see. Bring him into the hall when he’s ready.”
I left them behind in the shabby little room, stepping back out into the desecrated hall. Marilius rounded the corner with a couple dozen men behind him and more on the way. I climbed onto the remains of the broken fountain so everyone could see. The mercenaries muttered and pointed, still shocked by the horrors in the hall. Some bent to touch their fallen friends. I saw Cricket and Fallon appear and waved them closer. Fallon looked about to faint. Marilius stepped forward, leaning painfully on his cane. I heard the hope in his voice. “We’re listening, Lukien.”
“Then listen well,” I said loudly. “And look around. Look at your dead companions! Because this whole town is going to wind up like this if you turn tail and run. There’s an army coming. In a few days it’ll be here. You all know what I’m talking about. Diriel’s legion isn’t a myth. I’ve seen it. You think you’ve seen death? You’re all hard men? You think you’ve seen rape? You haven’t seen shit. All of Isowon is going to look like this hall-unless we stop them.”
“How?” cried one of the men. He pushed past Marilius, almost knocking him over. “You got one good eye-you look around! Why should we end up slaughtered? Not me! I’m going.”
He snorted as he spun on his heels. A few of his comrades did the same.
“You leave, and I’ll kill you,” I said.
The man stopped dead. “Eh?”
“You think I’m joking?” I pulled out the Sword of Angels and jumped down from the fountain. “Any man who walks out of this hall before I have my say gets a blade though his belly. You want to cut and run after I’m through with you, go ahead. But know this: Diriel’s not going to stop. After Isowon it’ll be Drin. And after Drin he’ll be on the march to your towns. I saw it in his eyes. Now, I know none of you are cowards. If you were, you would have left already. We’ve got a chance to stop Diriel right here, right now. This is the only chance-there won’t be another.”
“Lukien, what about the monster?” asked Marilius. “We can’t kill it.”
“That’s right you can’t,” I said. “You can’t kill it, because I’m going to kill it.”
“What?” Cricket blurted. “You’re not!”
I tried to ignore her. “Marilius, take some men and ride for Drin. Tell them this is where to make their stand. Tell them to get here as fast as possible. There’ll be food and water waiting for them when they get here. We need everyone, not just a token. You ride and tell them that.”
Cricket clawed my shirt. “Damn you, Lukien, no! If you go after that thing it’ll kill you! For sure this time!”
“What if they won’t listen?” asked Marilius.
“How am I going to pay for this?” shrieked Fallon.
“Beg them, threaten them, anything you have to do,” I told Marilius. “Just get them here, all right? You have to, Marilius. The rest of you,” I climbed back onto the broken fountain, “listen to me-you’ll be safe from the monster. It’s not coming back. I’ll see to that.”
“Why should we stay?” asked another man. He was a big fellow, a Norvan from the cut of his cape, the skin on his face carved up from battle. “What are you going to pay us with?”
“You’ll be paid,” I promised. “You’ll get paid double for staying and seeing this through.”
“What?” Fallon screeched. “How can I afford that? I told you, I’m broke!”
“You want your trade routes open again?” I asked. “Then you’ll pay these men double for saving you. Otherwise you won’t just be out of business, Fallon, you’ll be dead.”
“Lukien. .” Cricket’s brooding face caught me through all the noise. She couldn’t finish speaking. Around us the room erupted in arguments. Fallon was still screaming at me. Cricket shook her head and turned away.
“Cricket, wait.”
“I’m not listening,” she said. “You’ve been lying to me all this time. You promised to take me to Sky Falls. You promised to help me.”
“I will, Cricket, I will!” I grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving the hall. “But I can’t do anything yet. Not until I beat this monster. Who else can do it? Only I can kill it. I have to!”
“Why?”
“Because it will kill you if I don’t!”
“It won’t!” she railed. “You’ll protect me! Just stay here with me, please!”
“Cricket, no!” Though I knew I would bungle it, I tried to explain. “I saw Crezil when we were still in Jador. Malator drew a picture of it in the sand. And when my neck was broken I saw it again. Malator told me not to bring you here. He warned me! I have to kill this thing before it can hurt you, Cricket. I have to go. Now!”
My artless explanation stunned her. A face as young as hers should never show so much contempt. “This whole time?” She shook her head, disgusted. “Go, then. Go and get yourself killed. I’m not gonna help you anymore. I’m not gonna be your squire.”
She stormed away before I could catch her, weaving through the mercenaries and the dead until all I saw was her rass skin cape disappearing in the crowd. Marilius almost went after her, but I stopped him.
“Let her go,” I told him. “There’s no time. Marilius, you need to leave for Drin.”
Marilius nodded. “I’ll go, but I’m not sure they’ll listen.”
“Make them listen,” I urged. “Bring them here no matter what.”