So he set about building a defensive plan that would allow the city to weather the onslaught that was about to descend.
Survival was not assured. A rough count put the number of the enemy at ten times that of the defenders. More troubling, while the demons lacked sophisticated weapons, they made up for it with an unmatchable savagery and predatory instincts honed and tested within the crucible of the Forbidding. Keeton was aware that there were dozens of species of demonkind, and each would have its own set of skills and abilities, about which almost nothing was known.
Keeton brought the bulk of the Federation army to the west wall to defend against the hordes gathered there. But he was careful to leave reserves at each of the other walls, knowing better than to strip any defensive position of enough men to withstand an unexpected attack. Rail slings and fire launchers were mounted on the permanent swivels built into all of the walls surrounding the city and readied for use.
As a further defensive move, he summoned Sefita Rayne, commander of the Federation Airship Fleet, to discuss her role in protecting the city. She had heard of Tinnen March’s fate, although not the details surrounding it, and he was quick to fill her in. While no fan of the dead commander, she understood well enough the danger that Edinja Orle posed to the army’s remaining commanders if they somehow managed to displease her.
“You don’t want this command, do you?” she said quietly, steering him away from those gathered close. The blue highlights of her streaked hair glittered in the pale moonlight. “Admit it.”
“Not a bit of it,” he acknowledged. “But here I am anyway.”
She nodded. “Better you than March.” She was tall and rangy, and she had that airman’s gait that made it look as if she were always braced against the roll of a vessel. “What do you wish of me?”
“A few of your warships to begin with. They have creatures that can fly, but only the dragon is big enough to pose problems for a ship-of-the-line. Most of the attackers are earthbound and can’t reach an airship. If we put a few of the big boys aloft, we can attack them from above and break apart their attempts to force the gates. We’ll just have to keep a close watch for the dragon.”
“I’ll have lookouts aloft with specific instructions,” she agreed. “This is new territory. We really don’t know yet what that dragon is capable of. But the fire launchers should be able to keep it at bay. The ships are mostly outfitted and ready to fly. I’ll have a pair of them brought up right away, one for the pads on each end of the wall. When the attack comes, I’ll have them come in from the flanks. If you signal that the gates are in trouble, we’ll counterattack.”
“That sounds exactly right. But don’t discount the possibility that they might break off here and come at us from another direction.”
She looked out over the walls to the masses below, wincing at the fury of the shrieks and screams. “Quite the animals, aren’t they? Don’t worry; the rest of the fleet will be ready to fly. If these things choose a different avenue of attack, we’ll be on top of them immediately.” She paused. “Have you thought about going after them right away?”
He nodded. “A preemptive strike? I thought of it, but that changes the dynamic. We’re set up to defend and counterattack, not to be the initial aggressors. I decided we would be better off using the natural protection of the walls. Let these creatures come to us. Let them break their strength against the stone and iron before we get involved.”
Sefita shrugged. “Your command. Have we sent word to the other cities?”
“We sent word, but told the military there to stay behind their walls. If they try to come to our aid, they provide the demons with an inviting target. They could be caught out in the open and massacred.”
She looked out over the walls again. “Other than what we can see in front of us, how many are there?”
“I don’t know. I sent flits out three separate times to fly beyond that ridge.” He pointed. “None of them returned. Who knows what’s back there hidden out of sight?”
She exhaled sharply. “Maybe you could send someone out through the underground tunnels?”
He gave her a smile. “Are you volunteering, Sefita? Because so far no one else has.”
“I take your point.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I might have to send somebody. But what I was thinking of doing was sending another flit out after it gets dark. Harder to see it then.”
He paused, giving a quick glance down at the hordes gathered below the wall. “Be careful, Sefita. Tell your airmen to do the same. These creatures aren’t like anything we’ve fought before. I don’t know what they can do, but we don’t want to take anything for granted. So watch yourself.”
After she left to return to her command, Keeton found Wint down below, inside the First Response hangar, and pulled him aside. “I want to hold the First Response team in reserve. All of them. If the walls are breached, I want us there to plug the hole.”
Wint nodded but didn’t answer. Keeton looked around, out the hangar doors to where the west gates stood locked and barred. “Have them build a redoubt fifty feet back. Right about there.” He pointed. “Two levels, places for fifty men. Install four fire launchers. The big ones. Two on each level, evenly spaced. If the gates go, I don’t want anything to get past the redoubt.”
There was nothing more to do after that. Not until the attack began. He went back up on the wall and stood looking down at the invading army. He had convinced himself some time back that it was demons he was facing. He had no idea how Edinja knew this, or how she knew they had broken through the Forbidding, but the moment she had said it he knew it was so. These things weren’t indigenous to the Four Lands; there hadn’t been creatures of this sort seen in centuries. Why they were here now was a mystery, but the fact of it was enough.
He thought momentarily of the Prime Minister, wondering what she was doing. He hadn’t seen her since she had ordered him to take command of the army. He had assumed she would be back to find out how he was managing things, to watch over him as she had watched over Tinnen March and make a similar judgment on his efforts, but there had been no sign of her. He couldn’t decide if this was good or bad.
As twilight deepened, Keeton became increasingly convinced that the attack was going to come after dark. Perhaps these creatures saw better at night and wanted to take advantage of it. Perhaps this was their natural hunting time. Whatever the case, he set about trying to remove whatever advantage they percieved.
He started by ordering torches lit all around the city walls. While light this high off the ground wouldn’t penetrate down to where the attackers were clustered, it would illuminate them clearly if they attempted to scale the walls. In addition, he had flammable oil released into the shallow trough that encircled the city some ten feet from the walls and spiked outward in trenches dug at regular intervals perpendicular to the main ring for distances of from five to ten yards. Their oil reserves would hold for up to ten days if they were frugal. But Keeton didn’t care about ten days. He was worried about three or four. So he released oil until the ditch was filled.
Finally, he had pitch barrels brought up to the archers on the battlements so they could dip the tips of their arrows and add further light to any defensive effort.
Then he sat back to wait.
Time passed. The darkness deepened as the daylight faded and disappeared. Stars and a crescent moon appeared in a hazy night sky. Then unexpectedly the weather changed. The temperature warmed, storm clouds rolled in from the north, the haze deepened, and the stars and moon disappeared. Keeton abandoned his plans to send out a fourth flit. He couldn’t convince himself it was worth risking another airman’s life to confirm what he already suspected.