“When dark clouds cover the battlefield, Zander, you must be prepared. Atriun will strike, but you must be there to purge the land of any remaining resistance. Is that understood?”
Zander swallowed. Saluting, he shouted, “Yes, General!”
“That is all.”
The lanky figure vanished in the same unsettling manner that Valkyn always had.
Putting on his helm, Zander turned to the other officers. “You heard the general! Regroup all forces! Alert all subcommanders of their new instructions. See to it that order is maintained so that this adjustment doesn’t turn into a rout before we’ve even begun to fight. Go!”
The men scattered to obey. Zander, his anxiety and fury masked by his helm, stormed past two minor officers who served as his own aides. He did not stop until he came face-to-face with Eclipse. The dragon eyed him, then looked away, clearly lost again in some inner world.
“Eclipse! Damn you, dragon! Look down here!”
Slowly the behemoth acknowledged him. “Go away, human.”
“I have orders for you and you’ll obey them!”
“I don’t listen to you. I don’t listen to Cadrio anymore.” Eclipse puffed some smoke his way. “Murk is dead.”
Zander bristled. “You’ll be dead, too, if you don’t obey!”
The dragon snorted. “And will you kill me, puny human?”
“No, but if you do not follow Valkyn’s plan, then Valkyn will have no use for you, and you know what the wizard does with those he has no more use for.”
Now he saw fear in the dragon’s eyes, fear drawn from Eclipse’s vision of his twin dropping lifelessly from the sky. The leviathan might be mourning his brother, but he still cared something for his own scaly skin.
“I will obey! I will!” The sight of the black dragon cringing from the distant citadel looked so pitiful that Zander lost some of his fury. Neither he nor Eclipse desired Valkyn’s wrath, even if it meant marching everyone straight into Gwynned’s bristling defenses.
“All right, then. Stick by me. You will be my mount. We’ll coordinate matters with the general and the citadel.”
As he spoke to the dragon, Zander mentally prepared himself for the upcoming battle. Though alive, Cadrio clearly did not have Valkyn’s favor. If Zander could prove himself, then surely the wizard would see who could serve him best, who could be the most useful commander. Why keep untrustworthy Cadrio around when loyal and earnest Zander would do better? Perhaps he could still convince the wizard that he was worthy of the same offer that Valkyn had originally given to the general.
Emperor Zander … he liked the sound of that.
* * * * *
“Now that’s better, isn’t it, my general?”
“Yes, Valkyn.”
The mage smiled at his companion. “Don’t be so sullen, General Cadrio. After all, I did let you live, didn’t I?”
He saw the soldier shiver and knew that he had made his point. The executions of some of Cadrio’s men had been necessary and, at the same time, had allowed Valkyn to test the level of power of Castle Atriun. Yes, Tyros would do well, outlasting not only the taking of Gwynned but also perhaps the next Northern Ergothian city as well. By that time, Valkyn would have made more adjustments in his spellwork and kidnapped another wizard, ensuring that the massive citadel would continue to fly.
The people of Gwynned could have saved themselves much horror if they had surrendered rather than resisted. It would have saved the mage some time. Still, Valkyn looked forward to the upcoming battle, eager to see how Atriun would fare.
At some point, Valkyn would have to turn on his former masters. The Orders of Sorcery would move against him in force, as much out of jealousy as fear, the renegade mage believed. For that, he would need at least two more citadels, one of which he knew he could find in Gwynned.
Valkyn and Cadrio now stood upon the outer wall of Atriun, peering down at the tableau opening up before them. Cadrio’s men-now Valkyn’s-moved with the swiftness and efficiency that had been the essential reasons the wizard had chosen them in the first place. The officer in charge, Zander, seemed particularly adept in his role as ground commander. Perhaps Cadrio would need to be demoted after this battle.…
Ahead, they could make out the defenders’ movements. Valkyn knew that the male gold dragon lived, and because of him, Gwynned would have some notion of the might arrayed against them. In addition to their previous positions, Ergoth’s soldiers had spread out into the hills and valleys, choosing locations wherever they thought they might escape the fury of Valkyn’s castle.
Those new positions would work against them. Where Valkyn could not strike the foe, he would strike at the ground around them. Hills could be turned into weapons, especially when shattered by lightning.
“The regions to the north are hard rock,” Cadrio suddenly commented. “Can your bolts break them up?”
Valkyn’s smile grew genuine. Cadrio had seen what he had in mind. “Of course.”
“That will wreak some havoc on the northern lines,” the commander conceded. He pointed south. “But the soldiers there are entrenched in that rift, and I don’t think your magical lightning will give them much to worry about.”
“You have a suggestion?”
“Use the gargoyles. They fly better than draconians, and their hides are much tougher. Even if they’re hit, there’ll be less damage, less loss. Give them something scalding or heavy to drop on the enemy.”
The wizard looked over the region in question. “And you open up a hole in a very vulnerable part of the defenses! Of course, I could just sail over everything and attack Gwynned myself. That would save time.”
Cadrio grew more bold. “This isn’t Norwych. The city will be harder to take without you destroying what you want. Besides, the Ergothian soldiers will fight on even if Gwynned falls. You’ll be dealing with small but steady battles long after taking the city if you don’t eliminate the vast majority of the army first.”
“You may be emperor yet,” Valkyn commented with a chuckle.
“I’m trying to save my hide.” The general considered further. “The officer. Have you questioned him yet?”
“The opportunity has not yet arisen. Present matters and past interruptions have kept me too busy, as you should know.”
“He knows more about the defenses than either of us. Those catapults, for one thing. Have you considered their range and what they might toss at you? I saw a citadel set aflame by some sort of alchemical soup. Burned the very stone.”
Valkyn congratulated himself on not disposing of his ally as he had originally intended. “You raise a good point, my general.”
The wizard snapped his fingers, and although the glove should have muffled the tone, one creature evidently heard it. Crag fluttered down from the highest point of the castle, alighting near his master.
“Crag, loyal Crag, I’ve a simple task for you.”
“I obey always …” the gargoyle rumbled.
“Bring me the remaining soldiers, Crag-alive and in one piece, please.” The cheerful mage steepled his fingers. In capturing the Ergothian officer and his band, Crag had not held his fellow gargoyles in check, the result being that some of the prisoners had been pummeled to death. Only Captain Bakal and two others survived, and all three sported wounds. Valkyn generally admired enthusiasm, but not in this particular case.
Crag bobbed his head up and down. “As Maaaster says.”
As the winged monster flew away, Valkyn said, “He is simple, but loyal … unlike poor Stone.” He saw that his remark touched a nerve in Cadrio. “When one crosses me, my general, one must be prepared to be punished, as you know.”
“What have you done with the beast?”
Valkyn’s smile grew. “Clipped his wings.”
“Clipped his wings? What do you mean by that?”