Extermination (Daniel Black Book 3) (29 page)

“Um,” I said intelligently.

Elin chuckled. “I’d say so. Hey, Tina, want to see a neat trick?”

“Sure?”

Elin slipped under the water. A moment later I felt her hands on my thighs, and warm lips wrapped around my erection.

“Wow. She, ah, she’s getting over that shyness thing,” I said.

“Good.” Tina scooted around to sit next to me, and kissed me.

When we came up for air Elin was still at it. Tina looked down in surprise. “How long can she hold her breath?”

“She can breathe water,” I groaned. Damn, but she was starting to get good at that too.

“Really? Neat! Then I know just how to help.” Tina stood up, and buried my face between her breasts.

Needless to say, I was feeling a lot more relaxed when I walked into the dining room for this staff meeting. Elin took her place with a smug little grin, and accepted a cup of tea from the maid who materialized at her elbow.

Cerise and Avilla were already there, holding hands and looking adorably mussed. The fact that Avilla was letting the maids serve the meal instead of running around supervising everything told me a lot about how much they’d missed each other.

“Have a good time?” Elin asked Cerise.

“I so needed that,” she replied.

Gronir arrived just then, which cut the byplay short. Pelagia was next, followed by Demetrios, and then Markus and Oskar came trailing in.

“I see you’ve been delegating,” I said to Avilla.

She looked away. “I needed help. People and supplies I can manage, but I had no idea what to do about a siege.”

“You did the right thing, sweetie,” I reassured her. “So, what did I miss?”

Markus took the lead.

“The army of ape men arrived two days after you left, milord. They showed up ready to deal with the wizards this time, but we broke their initial attack with the mortars. That made us a target for their fliers, and since then they’ve made a habit of bombing the island whenever we poke our noses outdoors. They drop these giant seeds that explode into clouds of poison gas, and the stuff is devilishly effective. It corrodes metal on contact, and it can linger for hours. We lost six good men to their first attack, and it would have been worse if not for Mistress Pelagia’s healing.”

“We still have three wounded who need attention from you or Lady Elin,” Pelagia said. “We can heal the milder cases of exposure, but there’s only so much we can do about scarred lungs.”

Elin grimaced. “That will have to be Daniel, then. My healing won’t touch that sort of injury either.”

“Noted,” I said. “I understand they tried an airborne attack as well?”

Markus nodded. “Yes, in concert with their second attempt to storm Kozalin. It didn’t work out well for them. They only have a few lizards big enough to carry passengers, so the assault force was only a dozen of them. Tough bastards, but nothing we couldn’t handle. They weren’t proof against bullets, and Demetrios and Corinna made short work of the ones that got inside. After that they focused their efforts on the city, and left us alone.”

“I’m still trying to understand their strategy there,” Demetrios put in. “They’ve been getting five or six thousand reinforcements every day, but they’ve thrown away a lot of that manpower making repeated attacks on the city instead of building up for a coordinated push. I’d think they were in a desperate hurry, except that they’ve been keeping a large force in reserve instead of throwing everything they have into the assaults.”

“Whatever their motives, they’re making headway,” Markus pointed out. “The garrison is taking heavy casualties. Morale is shaky already, and it will only get worse if they can keep up the pressure. I’d give them good odds of breaking through into the city on the next assault, although I expect the wizards will route them back out again if that happens.”

“I take it you’ve still got a man posted in the war room?” I asked.

“Yes. Oh, and everyone has been asking after you. There’s a council of war every morning at dawn, and they’ll want you there tomorrow.”

I sighed. “So much for catching up on sleep. Alright, send a messenger to let them know I’ll be there. On the topic of enemy tactics, the dark elves have actually had some contact with the andregi before. I’ll have to see if they can offer us any insight.”

“So you’ve negotiated an agreement with Clan Nethwillin?” Demetrios asked. “I’ve had dealings with them before, and they’re a sneaky bunch. How reliable do you think they are?”

“As reliable as we are,” Pelagia answered him. “They’ve offered their fealty, and adopted Hecate as their patron deity.”

“Nethwillin is going to honor a god? They must have been desperate indeed,” Demetrios said.

“They were. My lord, would it be impertinent of me to suggest that they could be quite useful? Perhaps even deserving of a high office or two?”

“Yeah, I’d noticed,” I said. “It’s about time for a reorg anyway. We’ve been going flat out just trying to hold things together, but we’re finally starting to get enough people to handle the things that need doing. Demetrios, I take it you have experience with military affairs?”

“I’ve led more units than I care to remember,” he agreed. “Everything from scouts and raiders to heavy infantry. My boys are pretty decent officers as well, if we ever have enough troops to need them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. What about you, Pelagia?”

“I can’t contest Demetrios’ credentials as a military leader, but I have my own talents. I’ve been a queen twice, and an advisor to countless kings and princes. I’d count myself adept at any task of leadership or intrigue. Although I must admit that my kind have no head for numbers, and I’ve never managed to overcome that failing.”

Damn. I’d been hoping to have her take over for Avilla as castellan, but if she was basically innumerate that wouldn’t work. Managing accounts and supplies was a critical part of that job.

“I see. Well, as I said, I’m planning to shuffle some appointments around and add a new post or two over the next couple of days. So I’d like each of you to let me know in private if you think there’s a job you’re more suited to than the one you’re doing now.”

There were nods all around, and a couple of speculative looks.

“Now, about this siege,” I went on. “We don’t have the manpower to put troops on Kozalin’s walls, but I think we can find a way to contribute. I’ll need to come up with something for air defense first, to put a stop to the bombing. Marcus, how are we fixed for mortar ammunition?”

“Not bad,” he replied. “We used up everything we had on hand in the first attack, but your ladies were able to work that artifact that makes it. I’ve had it running around the clock for a couple of days now, filling some of those storerooms beneath the mortar positions. I’d guess we have about ten thousand rounds on hand now.”

“Good. Those wards over the enemy encampments will stop mortar rounds from working, but once we have air cover we can start bombarding their troops during assaults. That should put a dent in their numbers.”

“That it will,” he agreed. “But it will force them to turn their attention back to us, as well.”

“That’s why we won’t start firing on them again until we’re ready for them. What else could they try to silence the guns? Commando raids? I think we can prepare for that.”

“Strategic magic,” Cerise suggested. “We need to finish our wards against that kind of thing. As many mages as this army has, they’ve probably got something nasty they could throw at us.”

“Assassins,” Demetrios said. “Gaea has no respect for the rules of war. The andregi don’t seem to have much talent for subtlety, but let’s not forget that the goblins are out there. Goblin heroes excel at stealthy infiltration, poisoning and assassination.”

“Weather,” Pelagia added. “A light snow to obscure our vision, or high winds to throw off our aim. Feints and illusions to lure us into wasting ammunition. Mobile wards, once they realize why we aren’t attacking their camps. Night attacks, both real and feigned. Covered trenches to protect the troops as they approach the walls. Tunnels under the walls. Blinding spells aimed at our positions.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You sure you’re not good at military leadership, Pelagia? That was a long list for ten seconds of thought.”

“Yes, well, that’s my problem. I think of all the clever things the enemy could do to counter any plan I consider, and become paralyzed with indecision. I’ve learned through painful experience that it’s better to leave such decisions to a bolder heart than my own.”

“I see. Well, at least you know your own weaknesses. Not many leaders do.”

She smiled at me. “Thank you, my lord.”

“You’re welcome. Now we’d better get our wards in order, and put some thought into tightening up security before we start making the enemy desperate to kill us. If they figure out a defense I can always come up with something else to use on them, but I don’t want us getting caught off guard by a counter attack. We can’t afford to take a lot of casualties.”

“Speaking of casualties, I’d like to visit the wounded in the city tomorrow and do what I can for them,” Elin said.

I considered that. It was the right thing to do, and it might bolster our reputation with the locals as well. But I wasn’t going to take any chances with Elin.

“Alright, but I want you to take a strong escort. Marcus, what do you have the skimmers doing?”

“Nothing critical, milord. I could send one into town with her, and send a couple of extra men with it.”

I shook my head. “That’s not a big enough party for good security. Four men, two wolfen and one of Corinna’s dryads.”

“Daniel, I’m not helpless,” Elin protested.

“I know that, Elin. But the city isn’t secure, and I don’t want you getting knifed in the back while you’re concentrating on healing someone. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I remember the way those dwarven weapons went through our shields.”

She sighed. “Alright, Daniel. If it will make you feel better. I do want to be safe.”

“Good.” I paused to think for a moment. “Alright, commandos and assassins. What can we do to keep them out?”

I could already tell this was going to be a long night. But a little lost sleep was a small price to pay, if it kept my people safe.

Especially my girls. Having Elin fall into my arms covered in blood was bad enough. I was not going to see the same thing happen to Tina.

“Where have you been?”

As usual these days the prince looked like he’d rather punch me than talk to me.

“I got an urgent call for help from some allies,” I said mildly. “Considering the forces assembled here, I figured the defenses could spare one wizard for a few days.”

“We need those mortars of yours back in operation immediately,” he growled.

I shrugged. “I’ll need a day to make repairs, and put up some air defense so they can’t just bomb them again. But all that’s going to do is buy us a few days until they figure out how to conduct an assault under fire. Tavrin, tell the prince what you told me about the andregi preparations for Fimbulwinter.”

Tavrin’s presence had drawn a lot of surprised looks from the nobles and officers gathered for the planning meeting, and even High Adept Steelbinder seemed shocked. Brand didn’t, which I found interesting. Apparently Asgard had good intelligence about what was going on in the mortal world, and more importantly an effective way of getting information to their operatives in the field.

“The andregi have been systematically preparing to rise up and destroy humanity for fifteen hundred years,” Tavrin related calmly. “Every four years they hold a series of contests to select twenty thousand of their most capable shamans and warriors, who are then entombed in the Halls of Slumber until the time of the Cleansing is at hand. I’d estimate that the complex currently has eight million troops in stasis, along with everything they need to carry out several weeks of active campaigning. Mounts, pack animals, shelters, food and water, even sacrificial victims for the shamans.”

“Impossible!” One of the nobles muttered.

“No, just expensive,” I said. “But theocracies can do things like that when their gods command it. So we should probably be figuring out how to keep them from getting here, because they aren’t going to run out of bodies to throw at us anytime soon.”

“No,” Brand said firmly.

Everyone else looked at him with various degrees of surprise. He stood, and slowly looked around at the assembled leaders. The whole group of nobles and wizards fell silent, and once again I marveled at how easily the demigod’s sheer presence could dominate a room.

“Men, this is not a normal war. This is Ragnarok. We aren’t just fighting for our homes and families this time. If the enemy wins he will cast down the Golden City itself, burn the halls of Valhalla and kill the Valkyrie, and devour even the souls of the heroic dead. Then there will be no one left to stop him when he sends his monsters to hunt down every surviving human in Midgard, and murder them all. This is a war, not of conquest, but of extermination.

“But Gaea has made a critical mistake in attacking humanity now. Eight million ape men all assembled in one place would be a formidable force, perhaps even enough to tip the balance against us when the gods do battle on the Golden Fields. If Gaea had simply awakened all of her forces and sent them to follow the giants into battle there would be little the armies of men could do about it, and the outcome would be out of your hands.

“Instead she is sending them here, to Midgard, to attack your homes and fortresses in a dozen places at once. Instead of eight million apes you face only forty thousand, and they throw themselves against your walls instead of meeting you in the open field. What does it matter, if every day a fresh batch marches to the slaughter?

“Men, this is your chance to make the enemy bleed. Every man who falls in defense of Kozalin will rise again in Valhalla. Every ape you kill now is one less that you’ll have to face in the final battle. So let them come. We will break their assault today. We will break it again tomorrow. We will kill them until the walls of Kozalin are drenched in blood, and then rise to kill them again before the gates of Valhalla. Are you with me?”

A rousing cheer shook the room.

“That’s the spirit! We’re going to give the enemy a hell of a bad day today. Steelbinder, set up those new fire golems of yours behind the breach with a couple of Adepts in support, and give the apes a good roasting when they try to break through. Caspar, I want you to lead your band of heroes through the Dark Portal and raid one of the enemy camps at the height of the assault. Let them think about how they’re going to stop us from doing that again whenever we like. Generals, I’ll be leading the defense of the Trade District walls personally today.”

“Which camp?” The prince asked.

“Stay away from the big one with the statue of Gaea,” Brand advised. “Their general is there, and I’m told he’s one of Gaea’s sons. Take your pick of the others, but make it a fast raid. Get in, do as much damage as you can, and get out before they can mass enough troops to stop you.”

Prince Caspar nodded. “We’ll kill any ape foolish enough to stand against us.”

“Glad to hear it. Daniel, I need you to come out to the Trade District after dark tonight and repair the breach they’ve made in the wall. You can do that, right?”

I nodded. “Easily.”

“You aren’t keyed to the city wards,” Steelbinder put in. “I’ll send an Adept out to integrate the new construction as you work.”

“Make the new wall something bigger and harder to assault than the old one,” Brand added. “That will give them another hit to morale, and then we’ll unleash the mortars in a couple of days. I assume you’re going to have more surprises for the enemy after that, Daniel?”

I nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

“Start with air defenses,” he advised. “The Griffon Knights are getting slowly whittled down. But bring anything new to me first, so we can plan the best time to reveal it. Remember, the objective here is to lure the enemy into bleeding themselves white against our defenses. We don’t want to scare them off.”

I frowned. “Alright.”

“Oh, and Edvin? I hear you have an announcement?”

The new Archpriest of Kozalin was surprisingly young for such a high position. Early thirties, maybe, with no gray at all in his beard. But the older priests had all died in Mara’s attack on the temple, and he was the most senior guy left. He stood, and nervously bowed to Brand.

“Yes, Exalted One. The Allfather has decreed that any woman wishing to follow her man to Valhalla may now do so. When a soldier falls in battle his lover may go to the High Temple, and step through the Door of Devotion to be reunited with him.”

One of the generals chuckled. “Is Valhalla running short on serving wenches? Or are we getting ready to repopulate Midgard after the war is over?”

“The latter, I think,” Brand said. “But it will ease the supply situation a bit, as well. Now, the enemy is starting to muster their troops, so let’s get moving. They’ll be trying the walls again in a couple of hours.”

The meeting room cleared out quickly at that, with most of those present following Brand out the door. Steelbinder lingered for a moment.

“Interesting allies you have,” he said. “Clan Nethwillin?”

“That’s them,” I confirmed.

“A useful contact, I suppose. The Conclave needs two more amulets made. When can you have them ready?”

At thirty minutes each that wasn’t a huge time investment.

“Tomorrow morning? I can bring them to the meeting.”

“That will do. Until tomorrow, then.”

He left, and I followed him out. The pair of wolfen I’d brought as escorts fell into place behind me, but Tavrin and I remained silent until we made it back to the transport. Brand was using a council chamber in Brokefang Keep for his daily planning meetings, and the place was so packed with soldiers and servants that it was impossible to talk without being overheard.

The armored skimmer we’d arrived in was still parked in the outer courtyard. I opened the door to find Sergeant Thomas lecturing the pair of warrior dryads we’d brought along as part of my escort.

“-were hunting a dangerous beast? This is the same thing, girls. You can do as you like when you’re safe at home, with stout walls between you and the enemy. But out here we could be attacked at any moment, and we’d better not be distracted when it happens. Understand?”

“Yes, sergeant,” they chorused. Their tone was suitably chastened, but there was a note of hunger in the looks they were giving him. Especially Euthalia, who I remembered being one of Corinna’s more devious warriors.

“Trouble, sergeant?” I asked as we boarded the transport.

“It’s handled, milord. Ready to head home?”

“Yes, let’s get moving. It’s going to be a busy day.”

The sergeant nodded, and turned to poke his head into the driver’s compartment. The dryads exchanged a look, and played a quick round of rock, paper, scissors. Euthalia won, and did a silent fist pump.

Sergeant Thomas turned back around, and they both adopted innocent expressions. He eyed them suspiciously for a moment.

“I don’t want to know,” he decided. “We’re on our way, milord.”

I elected to take a seat, and ignore the whole thing. It was none of my business who Corinna’s dryads decided to seduce, as long as no one let it get in the way of doing their jobs. I had more important things to worry about.

“What do you think of this demigod’s strategy?” Tavrin asked cautiously.

I sighed. “I think he’s asking to get a lot of people killed. He obviously doesn’t care about that, though. He’s expecting everyone to die no matter what, so the civilians are inconsequential as far as he’s concerned. Personally I’d rather we look for a way to cut them off at the source.”

“That would be difficult,” he pointed out. “Skogheim is an earth realm, and Gaea can easily open new paths from there to any cave or crevice in Midgard.”

“Hmm. I suppose that would make an attack on the Halls of Slumber suicide,” I said.

Tavrin leaned back in his seat, and thought for a long moment before answering.

“There would be a risk of Gaea appearing in person to protect it,” he finally said. “In Skogheim she would be at the height of her power, so a direct confrontation would lead to disaster. But she is not known for her subtlety. If she were distracted somehow it might just be possible to conduct a raid using the Dark Portal.”

“I’m not going to have anything to do with using that thing,” I objected. “Sacrificing souls is evil no matter what your goal is. Besides, the scale doesn’t work. This complex would have to be huge to hold that many suspended animation chambers, and if they have any brains at all they’ll have a lot of their best people guarding it. A small raiding party isn’t going to do much damage before it’s forced to retreat.”

“Not even with your destructive devices?” He probed.

“I doubt it. They look impressive, but they’re easy to shut down for anyone who understands earth sorcery. After what happened with the dwarves I’m going to assume the enemy will take note, and figure out how to counter them.”

“I suppose that’s the wise assumption,” he conceded. “Well, we certainly aren’t going to march an army through the hidden ways of earth without attracting Gaea’s gaze. A spy could get in with a trading party, but that has the same problem as the portal raiders.”

“Trading party? That’s right, you guys have done business with the andregi before. Do you think you could still get away with that?”

“Yes, we could easily impersonate traders from another clan,” he assured me. “The andregi are not subtle enough to spot such a deception.”

“Interesting. I’ll have to think about that. On another topic, how tied up is your manpower on dealing with your own problems? You’ve probably noticed that I’ve got a desperate shortage of trained people, and so far your clan members have been amazingly capable at everything I’ve seen them do. I’m thinking about having you take over running the airship, among other things.”

“We could do that,” he agreed. “The war has forced me to shut down most of our trading network, and that’s going to leave half the clan at loose ends. How secure do you think the island is going to be? I’d like to relocate our Asian settlements as soon as possible, but we’ve generally avoided putting all our eggs in one basket.”

“I intend to make the island into a fortress that’s impossible to storm,” I told him. “We just need more manpower, and a couple more weeks to build up the defenses. You and Pelagia are both getting power stones in the next few days, by the way. I’m sure you can put that kind of power to good use.”

“Indeed we can. In that case I think the airship idea is a good one. Although perhaps we should paint it, and hide the fact that it’s made of mithril?”

“Oh, I have a different idea on that. I’ll show you when we get home.”

It was a short drive. I made a detour to my workshop complex to pick up a factory device, and made my way up to the dark elves’ floor. There I appropriated the smallest of the dozen rooms Pelagia had set up for the refugees, and set up the device. Sefwin wandered over to watch as I did so, along with a couple of other elves I didn’t recognize.

“That’s a really odd looking enchantment,” Sefwin observed. “What does it do?”

I turned it on. “Watch.”

The elves all took a step back when it activated, no doubt noticing the massive power draw. Well, that confirmed that being able to sense magic was pretty much a universal ability for elves, which I’d begun to suspect.

A thin rod of silvery metal appeared in the compartment on the side of the factory stone, and began to grow. The elves looked on curiously for a moment, obviously not getting it. Then someone gasped.