one unfortunate cast into the guts of a burning house before his comrades had time to catch hold of his flailing arms. Cho-ka shouted an order to move on, forestalling any attempts at rescue as it was now obvious any delay would mean death.
The smoke and heat dissipated a little as they neared the north-facing gate of the second-tier walls. The soldiers coughed continually now, each face besmirched with a mélange of sweat and ash, several collapsing to retch onto the cobbles. Vaelin forced them to their feet, harrying them onwards with some judicious kicks and punches. This was not a time to be gentle.
Soon the smoke diminished into an acrid mist, revealing the sight of the open gate. Vaelin could see armed figures struggling free of the smoke to their right, but his alarm faded at the sight of their red armour.
“Hot work, my lord,” Corporal Wei rasped, coming to a halt nearby. “Lost a few,” he added, gesturing to his men. “Could’ve been worse. Reckon we roasted a full regiment’s worth of the bastards.”
“Kihlen?” Jihla asked, eyes wide and bright in her blackened features.
“Here!” the Gifted said, emerging from the pall with Tsai Lin’s arm draped over his shoulder. The Dai Lo moved on stumbling legs, besmirched features sagging and eyes dim with insensibility.
“He got too close to an apothecary’s shop,” Kihlen explained. “Sulphur has a tendency to explode when it catches the slightest flame.”
“Get him inside,” Vaelin said, jerking his head at the gate.
The Gifted nodded, turned away, then stiffened with a shocked gasp as an axe came spinning out of the smoke to strike him full in the back. Jihla’s despairing scream filled Vaelin’s ears as he whirled, finding himself confronted with something conjured from a nightmare.
The Stahlhast came charging from the swirling fog, sabre raised and teeth bared. He was a tall, heavily built man and would have made for an impressive sight at any time, now made horrifying by the fact that he was wreathed from head to toe in flame. It trailed from his arms, his flailing braids, his boots. Vaelin could see the raw, glistening flesh of his neck, seared down to the gullet so that the man’s roar emerged as a wet rattle as he closed in. Vaelin parried the sabre’s slash through instinct alone, stepping under the following stroke and forcing himself to take in the reality of the spectacle. One more horror, he decided, bringing his sword down to hack through the Stahlhast’s extended arm. I’ve seen many.
Even as the flaming limb tumbled to the ground, the Stahlhast continued to fight, launching himself at Vaelin, his remaining hand lashing out like a claw. As Vaelin danced clear, Corporal Wei jabbed his spear into the back of the warrior’s neck, the curved blade spitting him from spine to exposed throat. He let out a final, voiceless rattle and collapsed, twitching.
“They must’ve been putting something special in this fucker’s grog,” Wei grunted, working his spear loose.
“Uncle,” Ellese said, bow drawn and arrow pointed into the dark miasma that now covered the entire lower tier. Vaelin could see a line of red smudges in the gloom, growing in size as they drew close enough to resolve into charging figures, at least a score of them, each one blanketed in flame.
“Form a line!” he barked to the surrounding soldiers. They moved swiftly despite the depredations of the smoke, the Skulls and the Red Scouts joining together to form a barrier of armour and spears. Vaelin saw Jihla still keening over her brother’s body and dragged her upright.
“Go!” he commanded, shoving her towards the gate. She staggered away a few steps, then came to a halt, stricken features staring at the fast-approaching Stahlhast. As Vaelin watched, the grief-riven mask of her face transformed into something far uglier, lips peeling back from her teeth in a snarl as rage shone bright in her gaze.
Vaelin retreated from her, snapping out fresh orders as he did so. “Stand aside!”
“My lord?” Wei asked. His puzzlement swiftly turned to alarm when he caught sight of Jihla striding forward with her arms raised. “Move!” he shouted, shoving his men aside. “Move, you laggardly bastards!”
The Scouts and the Skulls scrambled clear as Jihla unleashed her flames. She screamed as the fiery jets lashed out, blood streaming from her eyes, nose and ears. The leading Stahlhast was blasted to cinders when the jet touched her, those on either side meeting the same fate an instant later. Jihla spread her arms out to