Jon Tayt grinned wickedly. “It is cheating, in a way,” he admitted gruffly. “But knowing where they will strike allows us to shore up this position with the majority of the city watch there.” He laid his fat finger on the point. “My lady, Ludgate is also a prison. This is where your father and his ilk imprisoned those who could not afford his taxes and those who refused to sign his acts. The nobles were sent to Pent Tower of course, but not the commoners or the merchants.” His wicked grin broadened.
“With your permission,” Richard said, “I would like to offer clemency to those still imprisoned in Ludgate. There are easily several hundred men in there. Most of them have no love of Kord Schuyler. They may even be willing to fight for you. It is not much, but it will help if they agree. I was hoping that you could come to Ludgate and pardon the prisoners at dawn. If you gave a speech, even a short one, to the city watch who will defend us and the ealdermen, it would rally their spirits.”
It did not escape Maia that they were putting all their trust in the intuition of Aldermaston Wyrich, a man who had visited the city of Comoros only once, for her coronation. If Schuyler attacked any other gate, the defenses would crumble. Adhering to this defense required her to pour all her trust and confidence into the Medium.
“We will be ready at dawn,” Maia said firmly.
The sound of Maia’s stallion clopping on the cobblestones brought eager eyes to every window down Fleet Street. She wore her full regalia, including the gown she had worn on her coronation and her filigree crown. The reins were decorated with sashes of color, and the saddle skirts matched her own. Captain Carew and his knights rode behind her, leading a procession of soldiers toward Ludgate. The dawn air was spiked with cold, and she tried to quell the urge to tremble. She had to appear strong and formidable to her people. They needed to believe their queen would defend them. Her father may not have been loved, but he was a soldier, and no one had questioned his ability to fight or to lead a battle. She knew she would have to prove herself.
Her stallion snorted as it climbed the gentle incline toward Ludgate. The gatehouse was three levels high with a wide arch and portcullis in the middle bottom level. Two smaller arches festooned either side, each containing an iron postern door. The gate was wide enough to permit a vast flow of traffic, which would normally start streaming in and out of the city when the gates opened at dawn. But the gate remained shut this morn. The second and third levels had square windows, barred, which clearly belonged to the prison Jon Tayt had described to her. She could see faces behind the bars. The second two levels had some stone pillars set into them, holding up a stone fa?ade. A cupola crowned the top of Ludgate, and she could see members of the watch gathered along the top of the wall, holding spears and flags bearing the royal colors of Comoros.
As she approached the gatehouse, she sensed something familiar about it. It took her a moment to realize that there were Leerings set throughout the pillars and the stone fa?ade. As she approached, she felt them, almost as if they were reaching out to her. Her heart began to pound with excitement, and she felt a small smile creep across her mouth.
And what purpose do you have? She asked them in her mind as each one revealed itself to her.
The Leerings were part of the city defenses, she realized. The city had been rebuilt when her ancestors returned from Assinica to reclaim it, so these Leerings were not as ancient, but they still served a purpose. A thrill shot through her as the Leerings whispered to her. They had not been used before to defend the city because of the weakness of Comoros’s mastons. Their purpose was to repel attackers, to cast a sense of foreboding and fear upon any force attempting to attack the gate, similar to the Leerings defending the abbey doors or the one guarding the passageway leading to the castle. She suspected that each of the other gates were protected by similar Leerings—Leerings she could activate.
She nearly burst with excitement and hope. Here was another way in which the Medium would defend them. As she rode up to the edge of Ludgate, she caught sight of Jon Tayt, Richard, and the mayor, who were clustered with the leaders of the city watch and the ealdermen. She could see the puffs of steam coming from their mouths in the cold morning air. The soldiers stared at her—no, gawked at her—their eyes growing wide with either fear or respect. She had looked at herself in the mirror before leaving her chambers. Suzenne had woven her hair into an elegant yet fierce style that made her appear more regal.