Captain Jared and his men quickly cornered the few remaining Norukai aboard the Chaser. Feeling left out, Nathan called a carefully directed bolt of lightning to blast the last raider standing.
Bedraggled and drenched, Nathan stepped up to Bannon and clasped his shoulder. “Are you all right, my boy?”
The young swordsman stared at the headless body of the Norukai king, and a smile slowly dawned on his face. “Yes, I’m just fine.”
When Nathan shook his head, clumps of white hair flopped from side to side. With a sniff, he summoned his gift, evaporated the water, and refreshed his clothes. “If we are going to have even a small victory, then my appearance should appropriately reflect it.”
Bannon looked at the blood on his sword, Grieve’s blood. “Thank you again for this fine blade, Nathan. I would have killed as many with Sturdy, but your sword was perfectly acceptable.”
“Glad you enjoyed it, my boy, but this little tussle is just a tiny ripple in the overall battle for Tanimura.” He looked toward the shore. “We have much more to do.” The momentum of the Norukai navy had been broken, but many serpent ships had slipped past the blockade and pressed to shore, where the raiders were now ransacking the waterfront district. Fires rose from the city.
Then Nathan stared in disbelief as General Utros’s army appeared in the hills above Tanimura!
“Dear spirits, we—” Before he could get the words out, Nathan felt a black surge inside, pain that echoed through his chest and entire body. The remnants of Ivan seized his heart, and Nathan dropped to his knees on the deck, gasping, unable to scream. His heart fought to keep beating.
Thump, thump. Thump, thump.
He had struggled to keep control of his new heart ever since Fleshmancer Andre had finished his work, but all of Nathan’s good deeds had not cleansed the corruption of that evil, violent man. He grimaced, curled back his lips. “No! You are dead. You … cannot … have your … heart.”
Thump, thump. Thump, thump!
Sparkles of pain drifted like black snowflakes inside his eyes. He clawed at his chest, but Ivan’s heart twisted as if turning itself inside out to punish Nathan. “You are not there!” he wheezed through clenched teeth. “You’re not real!”
Lila and Bannon both grabbed his shoulders. “Nathan, what is it? How can we help?”
He struggled against the spirit of Ivan.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump.
Thump.
Nothing.
Nathan’s eyes went wide as he felt his heart stop. He couldn’t breathe, and he fell forward onto the deck. He could sense nothing, only a void surrounding him like a cocoon. He twitched, trying to reassert control over his body, over his heart.
Bannon and Lila were shaking him, and the krakener crew was shouting. He screamed silently inside his head as darkness suffocated him. Flickers of green mist gathered around him, and he heard a tempting call, a whisper, then a demand. “You are dead. You are mine.”
Was it the Keeper? Or Ivan?
I am not, he thought, but his lips could not form words. His anger increased. The last vestiges of his gift tightened around him, and Nathan used every scrap of energy and determination he had. You cannot have your heart back.
With a surge of his gift, he pushed his heart, made it beat, tore the black presence to tatters. Ivan retreated into his bloodstream, but still lurked inside him. The greenish veil faded from his vision.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump. Thump, thump.
He heaved a great gasp of air. Bannon pulled him upright, pounded his back. “Nathan, are you all right?”
“I’m alive. I just had a … disagreement with a visitor inside me.” He dragged himself to his feet, but wobbled. “I am all right.” He brushed aside their concerns and turned to watch the enormous army of General Utros encroach on the outskirts of Tanimura. He knew he needed to be there, to stay alive so he could help Nicci and the others with the grand fight.
At the waterfront, many buildings were on fire, and he could see the furious clash as General Zimmer and the D’Haran army tried to hold the harbor district from the rampaging Norukai. But the enormous army of General Utros was a far larger threat.
Out in the water there were at least forty serpent ships still intact. Nathan climbed to the krakener’s raised deck next to a disheveled Captain Jared, and they both gazed past the naval battle to the open sea beyond the harbor, where an unexpected group of warships was closing from behind. Nathan let out a cheer.
Covered with blood, Bannon shaded his eyes. “Look! We have reinforcements!”
Lila gave a nod of appreciation. “The navy from Serrimundi, of course. They followed, fully armed. They have come to join the fight.”
An outcry of dismay rose from the remaining serpent ships, as the crews realized they would be crushed between two groups of attackers.
Nathan smiled. “That should take care of King Grieve’s navy.”
“Do not count a victory just yet.” Lila turned to look at the city, where the breathtaking forces of General Utros were closing in. “We still have to defeat that army, too.”
Nathan realized their skills would be more vital for the battle inside the main city. He shook his head. “No, I do not believe we can count on a victory anytime soon. Captain Jared, we need you to take us to shore—posthaste!”
CHAPTER 80
The smell of blood, sweat, and dust combined into a powerful and, for Zimmer, all-too-familiar odor. Though sickening, the smell also fired the blood in his veins. It served as the fuel that kept him fighting.
Tanimura’s waterfront warehouses burned behind him, and the blaze had already spread to another block of large buildings. Bitter smoke mixed with the reek of burning goods from the dockside market.
As Zimmer squeezed his thighs to control his horse amid the mayhem, he could not count all the fallen D’Haran soldiers in the streets. A few more serpent ships ground up to the docks and released a new horde of wild barbarians. But Zimmer called the D’Haran army to shift their offensive. As a well-trained tactical commander, he knew that the ancient army of General Utros was a far greater threat than these chaotic Norukai. He directed his charge instead to meet the first lines of the invading ancient army.
He raised his sword and yelled from the saddle, “All cavalry! Bear the brunt of the enemy advance, break their momentum. After that, archers, foot soldiers, it will be your turn.”
The horse hooves clattered on the paved streets as they rushed toward the first division of the Utros army. One large force curved along the hills toward the Hagen Woods and the lower city, and Nicci and her enthusiastic militia fighters had gone to cut off the advance there. Another segment of the army, ten thousand or more under the banner of the veteran First Commander Enoch, marched directly toward the heart of the city.
Utros’s strategy was clear. They would overwhelm and hold the center of Tanimura, then spread conquering forces throughout the districts, while the Norukai continued to ravage the harbor and the waterfront.
Thorn and Lyesse sprinted just behind Zimmer. Even on foot, the two morazeth easily kept up with the cavalry riders. Thorn wasn’t even breathing hard as she called out, “Today is a day for much killing, General.”
Lyesse chuckled. “I am glad we do not have to hide in the bushes anymore. I much prefer a full fight!”
Gripping the hilt of his sword as he rode, Zimmer nodded to the two women. “You are welcome to cause as much mayhem as you like.”