“I know, Uncle,” she said, her own smile unwavering but no less forced. “Kill any bastard who I think might be Gifted. You’ve told me enough times.”
He had resisted the temptation to enlist Juhkar in this enterprise. Although the tracker was now fully recovered thanks to Sherin, Vaelin knew his value was too great to risk. He felt certain this siege was not about to end regardless of what slaughter they might inflict this night, and Kehlbrand, he was equally certain, had more surprises in store.
The low thunder of many boots on stone signalled the retreat of the ten thousand soldiers on the wall, the Skulls all standing back to allow the crossbowmen to withdraw. They moved fast but Vaelin took satisfaction in the absence of panic on their faces. He crouched at the top of the stairwell, watching the tower crest the wall, seconds seeming to stretch as it inched ever closer. The archers on the summit gazed about in apparent consternation at the barren battlement below, one cupping his mouth to shout down into the bowels of the tower, but whatever warning he had intended was drowned by the pealing of a horn.
The tower’s ramp detached and slammed down onto the battlement, ringing like a cracked bell as iron met stone. The Stahlhast within came storming forward in a thick mass, voices raised in expectation of battle. Vaelin waited for the first half-dozen to sprint onto the battlement, most coming to a halt in puzzled frustration at the absence of enemies. Fixing his gaze on the closest, Vaelin sent a throwing knife spinning into a gap in his armour above his thigh. The blade had been coated in Sherin’s toxin and produced the now gruesomely familiar effect. As the warrior collapsed into bloody if brief agony, a shout of rage erupted from the other Stahlhast and they surged towards Vaelin in a vengeful mob.
“It’s time,” he said, turning back and starting down the stairs at a run. The Skulls fanned out ahead as they raced away from the wall whilst he, Ellese and Jihla stayed in the rear. As they ran, the soldiers used their spears to smash every oil pot they saw, dousing the piled coal and slicking the streets with fuel. Upon reaching a crossroads some fifty yards from the western gate, Vaelin barked out an order, bringing them to a halt. Jihla immediately turned and raised her arms to the pursuing Stahlhast crowding the street behind, all charging forward in enraged ignorance of the trap about to be sprung.
Fire erupted from the air just in front of Jihla’s splayed hands, two jets sweeping down then out to ignite the oil and coal before setting the houses aflame. The resultant inferno was near instantaneous. A red-orange curtain engulfed the street from end to end, the Stahlhast rendered into dark, writhing figures that swiftly collapsed and withered to nothing.
“Come!” Vaelin said, taking hold of Jihla’s arm as she stared at the carnage she had unleashed. The initial blast faded to reveal an avenue crammed with huddled, blackened corpses flanked by blazing homes. The fire had already spread to the surrounding streets, and the night sky had vanished behind a roof of smoke.
“We can’t linger,” he said, dragging the young Gifted along. She lit four more fires at each of the junctions they passed through, this time untroubled by pursuing enemies. Vaelin had already traced this route several times over with the Skulls, hoping to commit it to memory in the knowledge that the smoke would make navigation near impossible. The plan had been for each of the three fire-raising companies to work their way inward in a spiral to ensure the maximum number of blazes could be lit. As ever, when confronted with the reality of battle, the plan quickly fell apart. The fires were spreading much faster than expected, forcing successive changes of course as they veered away from one blazing street after another. It was the sight of flames coalescing into a fiery whirlwind, setting trees alight as it described a reeling dance across a small park, that convinced Vaelin they had wrought all the destruction they needed to.
“Corporal!” he called to Cho-ka. “Make for the second tier!”
They were required to dodge flaming debris as they ran, the inferno having birthed a swirling gale rich in burning detritus. The force of the winds grew by the second, becoming strong enough to send some soldiers sprawling. Vaelin saw