The Nadir burst through the line on the right, forcing Orrin and Group Karnak away from the battlements and back on to the grass of the killing ground. As Nadir reinforcements swept over the wall unopposed, Druss saw the danger first and bellowed a warning. He cut two men from his path and raced alone to fill the breach. Hogun desperately tried to follow him, but his way was blocked.
Three young Culs from Karnak joined the old man as he hammered and cut his way to the walls, but they were soon surrounded. Orrin – his helm lost, his shield splintered – stood his ground with the remnants of his group. He blocked a wide, slashing cut from a bearded tribesman and lanced a return thrust through the man’s belly. Then he saw Druss. And knew that save for a miracle he was doomed.
‘With me, Karnak!’ he yelled, hurling himself into the advancing mass. Behind him Bregan, Gilad and twenty others surged forward, joined by Bar Britan and a squad of stretcher guards. Serbitar, with fifteen of The Thirty, clove a path along the walls.
The last of Druss’s young companions fell with a broken skull and the old warrior stood alone as the Nadir circle closed about him. He ducked beneath a swinging sword, grabbed the man’s jerkin and smashed a head butt to his nose. A sword blade cut his upper arm and another sliced his leather jerkin above the hip. Using the stunned Nadir as a shield, Druss backed to the battlements, but an axe blade thudded into the trapped tribesman and tore him from Druss’s grasp. With nowhere to go, Druss braced his foot against the battlements and dived forward into the mass; his great weight carried them back and several tumbled to the earth with him. He lost hold of Snaga, grabbed at the neck of the warrior above him and crushed his windpipe, then hugging the body to him waited for the inevitable killing thrust. As the body was kicked away, Druss lashed out at the leg beside him, sweeping the man from his feet.
‘Whoa, Druss! It’s me – Hogun.’
The old man rolled over and saw Snaga lying several yards away. He stood and snatched up the axe.
‘That was close,’ said the Legion Gan.
‘Yes,’ said Druss. ‘Thank you! That was good work!’
‘I would like to take the credit, but it was Orrin and the men from Karnak. They fought their way to you, though I don’t know how.’
It had begun to rain and Druss welcomed it, turning his face to the sky with mouth open, eyes closed.
‘They’re coming again!’ someone yelled. Druss and Hogun walked to the battlements and watched the Nadir charge. It was hard to see them through the rain.
To the left Serbitar was leading The Thirty from the wall, marching silently back towards Musif.
‘Where in hell’s name are they going?’ muttered Hogun.
‘There’s no time to worry about that,’ snarled Druss, cursing silently as his shoulder flamed with fresh agonies.
The Nadir horde swept forward. Then thunder rumbled and a huge explosion erupted at the centre of the Nadir ranks. Everything was confusion as the charge faltered.
‘What happened?’ asked Druss.
‘Lightning struck them,’ said Hogun, removing his helm and unbuckling his breastplate. ‘It could happen here next – it’s all this damned metal.’
A distant trumpet sounded and the Nadir marched back to their tents. At the centre of the plain was a vast crater surrounded by blackened bodies. Smoke rose from the hole.
Druss turned and watched The Thirty enter the postern gate at Musif.
‘They knew,’ he said softly. ‘What manner of men are they?’
‘I don’t know,’ answered Hogun. ‘But they fight like devils, and at the moment that’s all I care about.’
‘They knew,’ Druss said again, shaking his head.
‘So?’
‘How much more do they know?’
*
‘Do you tell fortunes?’ the man asked Antaheim as they crouched together beneath the makeshift canvas roof with five others from Group Fire. Rain pattered on the canvas and dripped steadily to the stones below. The roof, hastily constructed, was pinned to the battlements behind them and supported by spears at the two front corners. Within, the men huddled together. They had seen Antaheim walking alone in the rain, and one of the men, Cul Rabil, had called him over, despite the warnings of his comrades. Now an uncomfortable atmosphere existed within the canvas shelter.