Just out of ballista range, the enemy-elven light cavalry-hovered, searching for holes in Ariakas’s line of defense. The elf commander was endeavoring to find the weakest spot in the line, an area left unmanned by the notoriously sloppy and undisciplined forces of the dragonarmies.
Perhaps the slimy pointy-ear thought he’d found it. Kang grinned. The elf motioned a section of ten horsemen forward to check the right flank of the enemy lines.
Kang’s voice was soft; only his men could hear him at first. “Hold up, steady, steady …” He roared the word, “FIRE!”
As the first elf crossed a small, dried-out ravine and began moving to the far right, the ballista sent a giant bolt hurtling toward the second elf in line. The massive missile hit the elf squarely, sending him and his horse crashing into the elf behind them. Elves and horses went down in a tangle. No one stood up. The rest of the elves retreated quickly, taking with them their two dead. The elven scouting squadron retreated back to its own lines.
The weapon’s crew yelled a hearty cheer, hoisting their banner and waving for the whole army to see.
Kang, a large Bozak draconian, stood behind the crew of Baaz and Sivak draconians manning the large, crossbowlike engine. He crossed his arms across his chest. Kang’s grin widened. “Now they know we can hit out to the creek bed. They still don’t know we can hit out to the road!”
His men were pounding each other on their scaly backs. Kang gave them a moment to celebrate-the Dark Queen knew there hadn’t been many such moments lately. He was about to call them back to duty when a Sivak draconian emerged from the brush, came to stand in front of Kang.
The Sivak saluted. “Sir, Lord Rajak wants to see you in the Battle Tent. Right away.”
“Rajak? What the hell does he want?” Kang growled. “We work for General Nemik.”
Kang had been promoted to Division Engineer, and reported directly to the Division Commander. Six months before, he had been the Bridge Master of the Bridging Squadron under then Second-Aide Rajak. He and his command had proved, by building this ballista, that they could handle combat engineering. Nemik, one of the few skilled generals left in the dragonarmy, had been most complimentary on the draconians’ work and had taken them under his direct command.
It was good, Kang felt, to be appreciated.
Not anymore, apparently. Kang had never liked Rajak, and the feeling was mutual. To Rajak, the draconians were meat to be flung to the enemy until the “real” fighting units-made up of humans-could take over.
“We work for General Nemik,” Kang repeated stubbornly.
The Sivak shook his head. “No, sir. Not anymore. Nemik was promoted yesterday to Ariakas’s SubCommander, after Boromond was axed last night during the raid. Lord Rajak is now the Division Commander of the First Division.”
“By the Dark Queen’s eyeballs!” Kang ground his teeth in frustration.
“Shall I tell Lord Rajak you’re coming, sir?” the Sivak prodded. “He’s waiting.”
Kang was on the verge of telling Lord Rajak that he could pull up a chair in the Abyss and get comfortable, when his sub-commander, Slith, drew Kang aside.
“You’ve got to go, sir.”
“The man’s an idiot!” Kang fumed. “You know what he’ll do with us! He’ll put us on point or something equally as dangerous. He’s had it out for us ever since that bridge collapsed under him at Verson’s Lake. It was his own damned fault. I warned him not to try to bring those woolly mammoths across, but he wouldn’t listen-”
Slith commiserated with his commander. “I know, sir, but you’ve got to talk to him.” Slith lowered his voice. “You’ve heard the rumors, sir. This war’s almost over and we’re on the losing end. We’re still alive, praise Her Dark Majesty, and I’d like to keep it that way. Don’t give that bastard Rajak the chance to vent his anger on us before the finish.”
Grumbling, Kang was forced to admit that Slith was right. Thanks to the bickering and infighting of the Dark Queen’s commanders, the dragonarmies were being driven out of captured territory, forced to fall back on their central city of Neraka. The battles being fought now were not glorious victories, as they had been in the beginning. They were battles of desperation. No one wanted to die for what was so obviously a lost cause. Desertion was rife. Even those who remained loyal to the cause-such as Kang and his men-were reluctant to spend their lives to no purpose. Manning the long-range weapons, which inflicted casualities on the enemy at little danger to themselves, suited Kang fine.