Gods of Blood and Fire - A. J. Strickler Page 0,244

too hard for them to fall back with much speed.

By the time they reached the gatehouse, a third of the Bandarans that followed Kian out of the gatehouse were dead. “Prepare for an attack.” Kian yelled, holding the Prince’s bloody head in his hand.

“I don’t know how this will break the siege,” Cromwell said shaking his head. “Havalon will be in a rage, he will throw everything he has against us now.”

“Just hold the gate, Cromwell, as long as you can. You must not let them break you,” Kian commanded

Cromwell looked around at the muddy men surrounding him. Most were still trying to catch their breath from the sprint back. “I have just over a hundred men left. I won’t be able to hold long, whatever you’re going to do, be quick about it.”

Kian started out of the gatehouse toward the interior of the castle. “I will make it as quick as I can, my friend,” the swordsman said as he disappeared into the gloom of the castle.

Cromwell looked out into the rain at the heavy Abberdonian infantry coming towards the gate. “For my honor I will hold until my last breath, but for you Arradar, if need be, I will hold a little longer.”

***

King Havalon was on his knees in the mud, the rain beading off his well-oiled armor. He crushed his son’s headless corpse to his large chest. Tears fell from his eyes, mixing with the rain. “Oh, my dear boy, it’s my fault, I should have kept you with me. Why God? I have honored you always. Why did you let that son of darkness kill my boy? Why,” the King screamed at the heavy sky. King Havalon pointed at the castle. “Attack, full attack. Bring me my son’s head and a dukedom for any man that can kill that half-breed.”

Word of Prince Donovan’s death had spread through the Abberdonians ranks rapidly. Prince Griffyn was grief stricken when he heard his brother had been killed. He called his best men to him and they began to climb one of the siege towers that had been pushed against the center of the castle wall. He would kill that creature. He had to, or he could never look his father in the face again.

“Kian, what the hell are you doing? The Abberdonians have gone mad since you killed their Prince. We can’t hold them back much longer. Even the King has joined the attack.” K’xarr pointed to where Havalon stood, just out of bow shot, brandishing his great sword, barking orders at his troops. “Why did you take the Prince’s head? Wasn’t it good enough to just kill him? Whose idea was it to attack anyway, Cromwell’s? I didn’t give that order. Are you even listening to me, you damn half-breed?”

Kian wasn’t listening. He looked at the siege tower, not far down the wall from where they stood. The Bandarans were holding strong, the Abberdonians had not gotten a foothold on the wall yet. They had brought only two siege towers with them from Turill. If they would have had a third, they might have taken the wall by now.

Kian turn and face K’xarr. “Tell your men to pull back if the other Prince comes up the wall.”

K’xarr shook his head. “No, if we pull back they will get too many men on top and then we’re finished.”

Kian grabbed K’xarr by the collar of his breastplate. “You have to trust me.”

K’xarr looked at the shorter man. He could see the determination in Kian’s eyes. The Half Elf was no strategist, but K’xarr could tell he had some kind of crazy plan in his head. “Don’t make me regret this. Rufio, tell the men, if they see Prince Griffyn to fall back, but don’t make it obvious.”

Kian patted K’xarr on the shoulder and handed Prince Donovan’s head to Rufio. “Hold this for me, please,” he told the captain as he headed towards the siege tower.

K’xarr looked at Rufio, holding the bloody head, and gave the Dragitan a grim smile. “You never know what you’ll be doing when you wake up in the morning do you, Captain?”

Rufio looked down at the head. “Not since the day I met you, General.”

Griffyn rallied his men inside the siege tower. He would make the half-breed pay for what he had done to his brother. Then he would hang the rest of the Bandarans from the walls and let the crows pick their bodies clean.

He jumped from the siege tower to the battlements of the