Cannon were readied and checked, sighted and prepared. Buckets of water were taken to the walls, and countless huge jugs were placed on coals, the smell of heating pitch filling the air. Pole-arms were placed on every corner of the walls, ready to push away the enemy's scaling ladders.
The Emir stripped his palace of his elite personal guard and sent them to join the other defenders. He now looked at the harbour. It was mid-morning, and the sun was climbing the sky over the sea, glistening on the water.
The pride he'd once felt at seeing his two hundred warships now tasted like ashes in his mouth. His naval might was powerless against this foe.
Turning away from the harbour and moving to watch the battle on the city's other side Emir Volkan saw his doom unfold. The horde came ever onwards, and would now likely be visible to the men on the walls. Volkan knew how his men must be feeling, for he felt it himself. There were simply so many of them. How could they ever hold?
He'd sent messengers to talk to whoever commanded this force and discuss terms. None had returned.
The refugees who poured down from the north carried wild stories, none of which made sense. They spoke of barbarian warriors who could not be killed, and a leader in black who could rise into the air. Emir Volkan wished he knew what he could believe.
He frowned when he saw two distant figures running towards the walls.
~
WITH the revenant army close on their heels, Miro and Amber ran for the walls of Emirald in one mad dash. As fast as they'd been moving, the enemy had still moved faster. They hadn't realised the army was gaining ground on them until the thunder of footsteps filled the air,
As the city grew in Miro's vision he saw that the wide gates were sealed shut. Soldiers stared down at him from the walls, which bristled with spears, muskets and longbows. Cannon peeked out from behind the battlements, ready to rain destruction on those below. There were more defenders than Miro had seen on the walls at Wengwai, but the walls there had been taller, and the Gokani had possessed many more cannon.
The Lord of the Night's army would have grown since the fall of Wengwai. The Gokani dead had been added to their numbers, and northern Veldria had also been ravaged. Miro saw nothing that would stop Sentar from taking this city.
Miro stopped when he saw the gates stay shut, his chest heaving as he looked up at the grim faces of the soldiers. Amber placed her hands on her hips, her breath coming in gasps.
"Please!" Miro shouted, cupping his hands to his mouth. "Let us in!"
An officer came to the front, pushing through the men occupying the battlements above the gates. He called down to Miro. "We can't open the gates. They've been sealed, and wooden stocks now hold them from behind. Leave this area!"
"I need to speak with the Emir!"
"And why would the Emir want to speak to you?"
"He knows me. Send word. Tell him Miro from Altura is here. Tell him I have important information about the enemy."
The officer disappeared, and Miro prayed he wasn't simply being ignored.
The ground trembled behind them as the enemy came on. It was mid-morning, and Sentar was in a hurry. Would he pause before attacking, and again give a display of his power to the defenders? Or would he simply attack with everything he had?
"Hurry!" Miro called up at the walls.
Miro tried to put himself in the mind of Sentar Scythran. The Emir's ships were within his grasp. He had his indomitable army, and across the expanse of the ocean the Empire was weak, barely holding together.
Miro realised how desperately he needed to warn the Empire about what was ahead. The greatest threat of all would come across the sea, and unless they were prepared, this remorseless foe would gain a foothold in Altura and continue the cycle of death and destruction. Miro's people would be added to the revenant army, and then the people of Halaran, and the process would continue all the way to Tingara itself.
The Evermen would return to a world where the humans were once again enslaved, those that weren't already dead. The Evermen would spread like a disease to other worlds.
They had to be stopped.
45
ELLA watched from a distance as Killian spoke quietly with his father, Lord Aidan, the man who had been given a semblance of life after over twenty years in the grave.
She wondered what they were talking about. Aidan had known his wife carried his child, but he had never even met the babe. How much of Killian's father's personality remained?
Unlike the energy in a zenblade, the power of a fireball, there was no way to quantify the unique lore of the Akari. Ella wasn't sure what she believed about death. All she was sure of was that Lord Aidan wasn't the man he had been in life.
While they spoke, she watched the stone archway. There was no way to tell when the portal would open, but Ella planned to move quickly when it did.
She marvelled again at Killian's powers. Ella had helped enhance his body once before, but she had treated him like an item to be enchanted. She'd given his limbs the strength of iron, his skin the toughness of stone. What he was now was something far beyond Ella's wildest imaginings.