The Complete Malazan Book of the Fallen (318 page)

Their horses stumbled often, heads drooping as they trotted through the dark. A short while later they approached another ridge, this one cleared of trees. Beyond it, rising slowly as they drew nearer, was the city of Coral, climbing in tiers revealed by dull reflections of torchlight from the streets. The dark mass of the keep was an indistinct presence hunched above the last visible tier.

They reached the ridge and halted.

Korlat studied the lie of the land before them. The killing ground before the city’s wall was a sixth of a league across, a single stone bridge spanning a ditch close to the wall. Half a league to the west loomed a forested mountain, the flank facing them wreathed in mist or smoke.

‘Aye,’ Whiskeyjack said, following her gaze, ‘that’s where the flashes of sorcery came from. It’s where I would have positioned an army to break the siege, were I the Seer.’

‘And Dujek has fouled their plans.’

‘He’s there, I suspect. Likely driven back or surrounded – that magic we saw lighting the sky was mostly Pannion. Quick Ben must have been overwhelmed. I think Dujek’s taken a beating, Korlat. We need to draw the Seer’s attention away from that mountain, buy the High Fist time to regroup.’

She faced him, was silent for a moment, then said, ‘Your soldiers are dead on their feet, Whiskeyjack.’
As you are, my love.

‘None the less, I will have us lining this ridge come the dawn, the Ilgres Clan on our left, Taur and his White Faces on our right.’ He glanced at her. ‘I admit the thought of the other … form you can assume still leaves me, uh, alarmed. None the less, if you and Orfantal could take to the sky…’

‘My brother and I have already discussed it, Whiskeyjack. He would fly to Dujek. Perhaps his presence will give the Seer’s condors pause.’

‘More likely draw them like a lodestone, Korlat. With the two of you together, guarding each other…’

‘Even alone, we are not easily driven off. No, Dujek’s need is greater. I shall take my Soletaken form and guard your forces. Orfantal will strike for the mountain. At the very least, he will be able to determine the disposition of the High Fist and his army.’

She saw the muscles of his jaw bunching beneath the beard. Finally, he sighed and said, ‘I fear for you, Korlat – you will be alone above us.’

‘With, among your soldiers, my remaining kin – mages all, my love – I shall not be as alone as you imagine.’

Whiskeyjack gathered his reins. ‘Have you sensed anything at all of your Lord?’

She shook her head.

‘Does that trouble you? No, you’ve no need to answer that.’

True, it seems there is little I can disguise from you.

‘We’d best get back,’ Whiskeyjack continued.

Both swung their mounts round.

Had their conversation continued for another half-dozen heartbeats, Korlat – with her preternatural vision – would have seen the first flight of Black Moranth rise from the mountain’s forested slope, forty in all, and, flying low, wing hard and fast for the city.

A half-dozen heartbeats, within which Oponn’s coin spun …

A single, lazy turn …

From Lady to Lord.

*   *   *

Less than a man’s height beneath them, the city’s wall blurred past. Once past it, the Moranth swept their quorls still lower, slipped into an avenue between buildings, flying below the roof-lines. A sharp turn at an intersection directed the flight towards the keep.

Paran, struggling to ignore the fierce burning itch of the stitches threading the side of his face, risked a glance down. Feast-piles were visible in the street, many of them still glowing dull red and sheathed in smoke. The occasional torch mounted on building walls revealed cobbles cluttered with refuse. The city slept beneath them, it seemed – he saw not a single guard or soldier.

The captain returned his attention to the keep. Its outer wall was high, well fortified – if anything, stronger than the one enclosing the city. The main structure beyond it was as much raw rock as worked stone. The keep had been carved into a mountainside.

Monstrous gargoyles lined the ragged roof’s edge, black and hunched, barely visible as darker blots against the night sky.

Then Paran saw one move.

Condors. Oh, we’re in the Abyss now
 … He thumped on the Moranth’s shoulder, jabbed a gloved finger down to the street below. The officer nodded.

As one, the quorls carrying the Bridgeburners darted down, skimmed a dozen paces at waist-height over the street, then settled with a single tilt of wings.

Soldiers scrambled from the saddles, seeking shadows.

The Moranth and their quorls leapt skyward once more, wheeling for the return flight.

Crouched in a dark alley mouth, Paran waited for the squads to gather around him. Quick Ben was first to his side.

‘The keep’s roof—’

‘I saw,’ Paran growled. ‘Any ideas, Wizard?’

Antsy spoke up, ‘How ’bout finding a cellar and hiding, Captain?’

Quick Ben glared at the sergeant, then looked around. ‘Where’s Hedge?’

The sapper pushed forward, waddling beneath bulging leather sacks.

‘Did you see the damned sparrows?’ the wizard asked him, making a strange half-shrugging motion with his left shoulder.

‘Aye. We need sharpshooters atop the wall. I got twelve quarrels with sharpers instead of points. We do it right and we can take out that many—’

‘Raining bird-meat,’ Spindle cut in. ‘Burning feathers.’

‘Is that worse than burning hairshirt, Spin?’

‘Quiet,’ Paran snapped. ‘All right, get hooks on the wall and line our brilliant crossbow experts to the top. Hedge, find the right place to set the cusser-bundle and crackers, and do it fast – we’ve got to time this right. I want those birds knocked from their perches, not in the air. Dujek’s first wave is probably already on the way, so let’s move.’

The captain waved Picker to point. They headed towards the keep wall.

Reaching the street’s edge opposite, Picker raised a hand and crouched low. Everyone froze.

Paran moved up to just behind her. She leaned back. ‘Urdomen guards,’ she whispered. ‘The gate’s twenty paces to the left, well lit—’

‘The guards are well lit?’

‘Aye.’

‘Idiots!’

‘Aye, but I’m wondering…’

‘What?’

‘We switch back and head right, come up again, we’ll be at a corner of the wall. Hedge likes corners…’

‘So we leave the guards where they are.’

‘Aye, Captain. Hood knows, in that light, they won’t see a damned thing. And we’ll be far enough away for the sound the hooks make if they make any not to reach ’em.’

‘You hope.’

‘They’re all wearing great-helms, sir.’

‘All right, take us round, Lieutenant.’

‘A moment, sir. Blend?’

‘Here.’

‘Stay here. Keep an eye on those guards.’

‘Aye, sir.’

Picker nodded to Paran and headed back down the street. The squads wheeled and followed.

It seemed to the captain as he padded along that he was the only one making a sound – and far too much sound at that. The thirty-odd soldiers around him were ghostly silent. They moved from shadow to shadow without pause.

A sixth of a bell later, Picker once more approached the street facing the compound wall. Directly ahead was a squared corner tower, surmounted by a massive battlement. The squads closed in behind the lieutenant.

Paran heard the sappers whispering with glee upon seeing the tower.

‘Won’t that come down pretty—’

‘Like a potato on a spindly stick—’

‘Brace the crackers, right? Drive the forces in at an angle to meet an arm’s reach inside the cornerstone—’

‘You tellin’ Granda where’s the pretty hole, Runter? Shut up and leave it to me and Spin, right?’

‘I was just sayin’, Hedge—’

Paran cut in, ‘Enough, all of you. Crossbows up top before any of you do anything else.’

‘Aye, sir,’ Hedge agreed. ‘Ready the hooks, dearies. You with the crossbows, line up and get your sharper-quarrels – hey, no cutting in, show some manners, woman!’

Paran drew Quick Ben to one side a few paces behind the others. ‘Twelve explosive quarrels, Wizard,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘There’s at least thirty condors.’

‘You don’t think Dujek’s attack inside the city walls will draw ’em away?’

‘Sure, long enough for them to annihilate that first wave, leave a few of their own circling to greet the second wave, while the rest come back to take care of us.’

‘You’ve something in mind, Captain?’

‘A second diversion, one to pull the rest of the condors away from both Dujek and the Bridgeburners. Quick, can you take us through a warren to that roof?’

‘Us, sir?’

‘You and I, yes. And Antsy, Spindle, Detoran, Mallet and Trotts.’

‘I can do that, Captain, but I’m just about used up—’

‘Just get us there, Wizard. Where’s Spin?’ Paran looked back at the others, nodded when he found the man. ‘Wait here.’ The captain hurried to where Spindle crouched with the other sappers, reached out and dragged him from the huddle. ‘Hedge, you’ll have to do without this man.’

Hedge grinned. ‘What a relief, Captain.’

‘Hey!’

‘Quiet, Spindle.’ Paran pulled him to where Quick Ben waited.

‘What have you got in mind?’ the wizard asked as soon as they arrived.

‘In a moment. Quick, those condors – what precisely are they?’

‘Not sure, sir.’

‘Not what I want to hear, Wizard. Try again.’

‘All right, I think they once were real condors – smaller, normal sized, that is. Then the Seer somehow figured out a way of stuffing the birds—’

‘Stuffing the birds, ha!’ Spindle snickered.

Quick Ben reached out and cuffed the man. ‘Don’t interrupt again, Spin. Demons, Captain. Possession. Chaos-aspected, which is why their bodies can’t quite hold it all.’

‘So, demon and bird both.’

‘One the master over the other, of course.’

‘Of course. Now, which one does the flying?’

‘Well, the condor…’ Quick Ben’s eyes narrowed. He glanced at Spindle, then grinned. ‘Well, hey, maybe…’

‘What are you two going on about?’

‘You hoarding any munitions, Spindle?’ Paran asked.

‘Six sharpers.’

‘Good, in case this goes wrong.’

They turned at a hissed command from Picker to see a half-dozen soldiers sprinting across the street to pull up at the base of the compound wall. Hooks and ropes were readied.

‘Damn, I didn’t realize how high that wall was – how are they—’

‘Look again, sir,’ Quick Ben said. ‘Toes is with them.’

‘So?’

‘Watch, sir.’

The squad mage had opened his warren. Paran tried to recall the man’s speciality, was answered by the smoky appearance of a dozen ghosts who drifted close around Toes. Paran softly grunted, ‘If those are the ones who keep falling over…’

‘No, these are local spirits, Captain. People fall from walls all the time, and since this one is more than a few hundred years old, well, the numbers pile up. Anyway, most ghosts are somewhat … single-minded. The last they remember, they were on the wall, patrolling, standing guard, whatever. So, they want to get back up there…’

Paran watched the spirits, six of them now somehow carrying hooks, slither up the wall. The other six had closed ghostly hands on Toes and were lifting him to follow. The squad mage did not look happy, legs flailing.

‘I thought the warrens were poisoned.’

Quick Ben shrugged. ‘Hood’s hit back hard, Captain. He’s cleared a space…’

Paran frowned, but said nothing.

Reaching the top of the wall, Toes took charge once more, retrieving and placing each hook since it was clear that the spirits were either incapable of such precision with physical objects, or disinclined. The mage had to struggle with a couple of them to get the roped hooks from their hands. Eventually, he had all the hooks positioned. Ropes uncoiled, snaked down to the soldiers waiting below.

The first six crossbow-equipped soldiers began climbing.

Paran cast an anxious glance up at the row of condors surmounting the main building. None stirred. ‘Thank Hood they sleep deep.’

‘Aye, building power for what’s to come. Far into their chaotic warren.’

Paran turned round and studied the dark sky to the northwest. Nothing. Then again, it wasn’t likely that he’d be able to see them in any case. They’d be coming in low, just as his flight had done.

The second six soldiers with crossbows strapped to their backs crossed the street and set hands to ropes.

‘Wizard, ready that warren…’

‘It’s ready, Captain.’

Picker was suddenly waving madly in Paran’s direction. Hissing a curse, the captain rushed to join her. The remaining squads had pulled far back from the street.

‘Captain! Lean out, sir, and check down at the gate.’

Paran did so.

There was activity there. The gates had opened, and out were filing, one after another, huge reptilian warriors –
K’Chain Che’Malle – so that’s what the damned things look like. Hood’s breath.
Five … ten … fifteen … still more, marching out into the city – towards the north wall.

And Dujek’s about to land in their laps …

He settled back, met Picker’s eyes. ‘Lieutenant, we’ve got to divert those damned things.’

She rubbed at her face, glanced back at the remaining squads. ‘They’re supposed to be pretty fast, those undead lizards, but with all these alleys and streets…’ She faced Paran once more, gave a swift nod. ‘We’ve a few sharpers in hand – we’ll give ’em good reason to come after us.’

‘Just make sure you stay ahead, Lieutenant. If you can, keep everyone together.’

‘Sir, that’s not likely – we’ll have to scatter, I expect, just to keep the things confused.’

‘All right, but try anyway.’

‘And you, Captain?’

‘Quick and Antsy’s squad – we’re headed onto the keep’s roof. We’ll be trying our own diversion with the rest of those condors. You’ve got the Bridgeburners now, Lieutenant.’

‘Aye, Captain. So, who do you figure will die first, you or us?’

‘That’s too close to call.’

She grinned. ‘Half my back pay, Captain, we’ll be a step behind you. Pay up at Hood’s Gate.’