There was truth in that, Eldicar knew. Equally the Summoning would take a great deal of power. His heart sank as he realized what was coming.
‘Pick ten of the servants,’ said Deresh. ‘Young ones, preferably female. Bring them here, two at a time.’
‘Yes, Lord.’
As Eldicar Manushan left the tower he tried to think of lakes and sailboats.
But there was no refuge there.
Yu Yu stumbled – just as a huge white-furred creature broke through the line before him. Song Xiu leapt across his path, sending his sword slashing through the creature’s neck. It roared and lashed out. Song Xiu grabbed Yu Yu, hauling him out of the demon’s reach. Ren Tang and Kysumu both stabbed the beast, which fell writhing to the ground. More demons swept through the breach. Yu Yu clove his blade through the neck of a serpent. Kysumu half decapitated a black Kraloth hound as it leapt towards his throat.
Then the mist faded back. The Riaj-nor regrouped. Yu Yu glanced around. It seemed to him that they had lost around forty of their number. And they had covered barely half a mile. The Riaj-nor fought with a savagery Yu Yu could scarcely believe. There were no war cries, no exhortations, no screams from the wounded and dying. Merely blinding webs of dazzling blue light from the mystical blades as they ripped and tore into the flesh of the demonic army opposing them.
Kysumu had been right. This was no place for Yu Yu. He knew that now. He was merely a clumsy, slow human. Several of the Riaj-nor had died protecting him, and both Song Xiu and Ren Tang watched over him constantly.
‘Thank you,’ said Yu Yu, in the brief lull.
Ren Tang grinned at him. ‘It is our duty to protect the pria-shath,’ he said.
‘I feel like a fool,’ Yu Yu told him.
Song Xiu stepped in. ‘You are not a fool, Yu Yu Liang. You are a brave man, and you fight well. With a touch of the meld you could be very good.’
‘They are coming again,’ said Kysumu.
‘Then let us not keep them waiting,’ said Ren Tang.
The Riaj-nor swept forward. The mist rolled towards and around them. Winged creatures appeared overhead, throwing barbed darts down upon the fighting men. The Riaj-nor drew daggers from their belts and hurled them up at the demons. They fell from the sky to be stabbed to death. One warrior tore a dart from his shoulder and leapt, grabbing a creature by the ankle. Huge black wings flapped furiously, but the combined weight bore both of them down. The Riaj-nor stabbed the dart through the creature’s bony chest. As it died its talons ripped across the Riaj-nor’s throat. Blood sprayed over Yu Yu. Swinging round, he hacked off the demon’s head.
Ren Tang went down. Yu Yu leapt across his fallen body, delivering a mighty blow to the chest of the bear-like beast that had downed him. The blade sank deep. The creature bellowed in pain and fell back. Ren Tang rose to his feet. There was blood on his face, and a flap of skin was hanging from his temple.
The fighting was furious now. The demons were above them and all around them. But still the Riaj-nor drove forward into the mass.
More than half of the Men of Clay were dead, but the demon hordes were thinning now.
Yu Yu was close to exhaustion. Ice was clinging to his wolfskin jerkin. He tripped and fell across the body of a dead Riaj-nor. Kysumu hauled him to his feet.
The mist parted.
A warm breeze blew across the ruins.
And the demons vanished.
Song Xiu put his arm around Yu Yu and pointed to a line of cliffs. ‘There is the gateway,’ he said.
Yu Yu peered through the gloom. He could see a flickering blue light against the grey stone. But it was not the light that caught his attention.
It was the two hundred black-garbed Kriaz-nor warriors who were moving out to form a defensive line.
Yu Yu swore. ‘After all we’ve been through you’d think we deserved a bit of luck,’ he grumbled.
‘This is luck,’ said Ren Tang. ‘You can’t feast on the hearts of demons.’