Four Daroth warriors broke clear of Forin’s line and made it to the ballistae. Dace ran up behind the last of them, cutting him down. Crossbow bolts slammed into the second and third men, but the fourth leapt straight at Karis.
Vint was the closest to her. He heard his name shouted and turned to see Tarantio throwing one of his swords. The shimmering blade spun through the air and Vint leapt to catch it, his hand curling round the hilt. Even as he caught it, he knew he would be too late. Spinning on his heel, he ran towards the Daroth. The creature’s sword swept up, but Karis stood her ground, staring defiantly at him.
At that moment a hurtling black form crashed into the Daroth, Stealer’s huge jaws clamping to his neck. Off balance, the Daroth fell back. Ozhobar lunged forward to send his hammer cracking against the side of the attacker’s head. Vint sent Tarantio’s sword slicing through his spine. As the creature fell dead, the hound continued to gnaw at his throat. ‘Here!’ called Karis. Stealer backed away, still growling.
A slow rumbling began, like distant thunder. Vint
glanced round to see Necklen and ten men hauling a new catapult along the avenue. Behind it were several horse-drawn wagons, the first carrying fresh shot and a burning brazier. Ozhobar ran back to them.
The Daroth were streaming back for the gates as the bugle sounded. Forin, Dace and the surviving eleven armoured warriors turned and ran back towards the ballistae. A blazing pottery ball flew over their heads and exploded just below the gate tower. Close-packed as they were, the flames engulfed twenty Daroth warriors. In panic the remaining Daroth trampled each other to escape, and the flames spread.
A second ball soared over the walls to scatter blazing oil over the warriors milling there.
The Daroth army fled back towards the hills.
‘Clear the dead!’ yelled Karis. ‘Make way for the wagons.’
Dace ran among the Daroth corpses, checking them. Several of them were still alive, and these he despatched swiftly. Soldiers began to drag the giant bodies back to the walls on either side, and three wagons inched their way to the gates. Ozhobar rode the first wagon, and when it reached the gate tower he jumped down and called for help to unload. Each of the three wagons carried interlocking sections made up of long iron bars. Ropes and pulleys were assembled on the parapet above, hauling the sections into place, lodging them into the deep grooves which stonemasons had carved in the solid stone on both sides of the gate tower.
Behind the workmen the catapult was hauled into place. Necklen ran to the gate and gauged the distance to the Daroth weapon. No more than 200 paces. Moving back to the catapult, he passed the information to young Beris.
Moments later a blazing ball soared over the walls,
exploding some thirty feet to the left of the Daroth
machine. Soldiers on the walls cheered as Daroth soldiers hastily roped their catapult, dragging it back out of harm’s way.
Slowly the iron portcullis was assembled, effectively re-blocking the gateway. Ozhobar stood back, hands on hips, admiring his handiwork. ‘Not bad,’ he said. ‘Not bad at all.’
Across the avenue stretcher-bearers, Brune among them, were carrying away the Corduin wounded and dead. Vint moved amongst them, checking the numbers of injured and slain. He crossed to where Karis was standing with Tarantio.
‘Forin lost thirty-nine men: thirty-seven dead, two badly wounded. Just under sixty other men died, or will not fight again. As far as I can tell we killed around two hundred and thirty Daroth.’
Karis nodded, but said nothing. ‘You did it, General,’ said Vint. ‘You turned them back.’
‘We’ve certainly made them think,’ she agreed.
Vint offered Tarantio his sword. The dark-haired warrior grinned. ‘Keep it! But be careful how you sheathe it.’
Vint nodded. ‘If I had known how deadly it was, I’d have thought twice about catching it.’ He glanced up. The sun was still climbing in the sky. ‘Sweet Heaven,’ he said. ‘You would have thought it would be dusk by now, and yet it is not an hour since the charge began.’