Vaelin subsided into a crouch and pressed on, eyes streaming as he attempted to pierce the swirling, foul-tasting mist. He hissed as an arrow scored a shallow groove across the back of his hand, then flinched as another careened off the bricks an inch from his head. From his right came the hard thrum of a bowstring followed by the sound of an arrowhead striking metal. He heard Juhkar curse before launching another arrow, this time producing the hard thwack of a shaft finding flesh.
The smoke immediately began to thin, the twisting shadows of cats fading away into coiling wisps, the criss-cross edifice of the gate standing revealed. The tunnel beyond the gate was thick with Stahlhast, a brace of archers in front, aiming their strongbows through the small gaps in the iron lattice. The body of a young man lay against the gate, bloodied face pressed to one of the gaps and an arrow jutting from his shoulder. Next to him stood a sturdy woman in leather armour, very much alive and clutching the gate with a fierce grip. Blood trickled from her nose, face quivering with strain. The iron seemed to glow beneath her fingers, softening and contracting.
Lehkis, Luralyn had said. A special way with metal.
“Kill her!” Vaelin called to Juhkar, turning to find the tracker crumpled against the wall, one arrow in his leg and another through his shoulder. Seeing the sturdy woman tear a piece of glowing iron loose from the gate, Vaelin drew a throwing knife from his boot and cast it at her. It was a decent throw but the woman was clearly no stranger to battle, jerking her head aside as the knife came spinning through the gap, slicing off part of her ear. With a shout, she clamped her hands on the gate once more, the metal glowing and softening as if it lay within the heart of the forge.
Stahlhast arrows chased Vaelin across the tunnel as he rushed to Juhkar, retrieving his fallen bow and reaching for his quiver. Before he could nock a shaft, a pair of arrows streaked past, both expertly aimed to find the gaps in the gate. One struck the Gifted woman in the thigh and the other in the belly. This time the effects of Sherin’s poison were somewhat spectacular. Blood exploded from the woman’s mouth in a thick crimson flower and she spasmed with such violence that Vaelin could hear the crack of her bones breaking. She seemed to deflate as she collapsed against the iron barrier, her hands slipping from the part-melted metal.
More arrows followed in quick succession, swiftly felling three of the Stahlhast archers. But there were plenty to take their place, Vaelin shrinking low to avoid a fresh hail of shafts.
“For Faith’s sake, brother, get out!” Nortah’s voice echoed loudly, Vaelin glancing back to see him and Ellese crouched at either side of the tunnel’s mouth, loosing shaft after shaft with typical speed and precision. Vaelin’s sense of urgency was further enhanced by the sight of Luralyn approaching across the courtyard beyond, flanked on either side by the Gifted twins and the Red Scouts in close formation behind.
Grasping Juhkar about the chest, Vaelin dragged him towards the exit. Nortah and Ellese continued to cut down the Stahlhast archers, their perfectly aimed arrows creating a shield of twitching, poison-raddled corpses that prevented their comrades from taking their place. Vaelin pulled Juhkar clear of the tunnel just as the twins reached it, arms raised. Fortunately, the roar of the torrent of flame they sent into the tunnel was sufficient to swamp the screams of those inside. The twins continued to pour fire into the bastion until they sagged in exhaustion, the flames fading to reveal a blackened tunnel and gate, speckled with lingering flame but still mercifully intact. The tunnel beyond was carpeted with charred, steaming bodies.
“Get him to the temple,” Vaelin said, hefting Juhkar into the arms of two Red Scouts. “Take them with you,” he added, nodding at the twins.
“There’s still fighting here,” Kihlen said, staggering a little as he wiped the blood from his face.
Vaelin stood back to survey the walls above. With the spectral harbingers banished, the Merchant soldiery had been quick to recover their discipline. Several knots of Stahlhast had managed to gain purchase on the battlements but were being vigorously assailed on all sides, whilst scores of crossbowmen rushed to fill the gaps along the wall.
“We can hold without you,” Vaelin told Kihlen. “Best