chaos, hacking at the soldiers assailing them on all sides, whilst knots of dismounted warriors fought it out with the Skulls.
Seeing Cho-ka on his back, lying about with the haft of a broken spear as he fended off the sabre strokes of two dismounted Stahlhast, Vaelin rushed towards him. He cut down one Stahlhast with a thrust to the base of his spine, the star-silver edge cutting through chain mail to sever the bones and nerves beneath. The other whirled to meet the new threat with impressive speed. She wore no helm and Vaelin took in the sight of trailing red braids and a snarling face he recognised.
The sabre rebounded from his sword with a hard clang, the woman ducking under Vaelin’s counterstroke and making ready to thrust at his midriff and then falling senseless to the ground as Cho-ka slammed the haft of his broken spear into the back of her head.
“Don’t!” Vaelin said as the corporal drew his dagger to finish her off.
“My lord?”
Vaelin lingered a moment to take in the sight of Thirus’s slackened features. He hadn’t realised how pleasing her face was before, it being so riven with anger and hate during the course of their journey across the Steppe. He had thought most if not all the Ostra had perished in the first assault, meaning she may well be the last of her Skeld.
“She’s owed a life,” he told the corporal. “We killed her sister on the Steppe.”
Gazing around he saw the few remaining Stahlhast perish beneath the soldiers’ spears, leaving the courtyard clear of enemies, although the gate remained an open maw through which he could see a great host of Redeemed approaching.
“Lord Vaelin!”
Looking up, Vaelin saw Sho Tsai looking down at him from the battlement. “Stahlhast have scaled the southern wall,” the general called, Vaelin following his pointed finger to see soldiers on the eastern battlement engaged in a furious struggle with hundreds of warriors. A glance to the west confirmed it; the second tier could not be held.
“Fall back to the third tier!” Sho Tsai shouted. “I’ll organise the retreat! Hold the gate open for as long as possible!”
Vaelin wanted to argue that the general should see to his own safety, but Sho Tsai was gone before he could voice a protest. Rallying the Skulls and what remained of the two veteran regiments, he ordered them through the gate in the walls of the third and final tier.
“Juhkar!” he called, seeing the tracker lingering in the corpse-strewn courtyard. “We need your bow on the upper wall.”
Juhkar ignored him, his features set in a frown of deep concentration, a predatory gleam in his eye.
“Juhkar,” Vaelin repeated, moving to grab the Gifted’s arm. “We have to go.”
“He’s here,” the tracker said, teeth bared in a hungry grin. “So close . . . I can smell his stench. Just one scratch of the arrowhead and this all ends.”
“There are too many . . .” Vaelin began but Juhkar tore his arm free and sprinted away, disappearing into a nearby alley. Vaelin stared helplessly in his wake, fighting down the urge to follow, before turning and running for the upper gate.
The third tier had only one gate, smaller than the others and concealed within a tunnel some twenty feet long. Once through, Vaelin ordered one of the Skulls to fetch Ellese from the temple, knowing her bow would be sorely needed, then gathered as many crossbowmen as he could, placing them atop the battlement directly above the gate. These walls were the highest of the city’s three tiers, and the thickest. The Darkblade’s army would face a daunting task in scaling such a barrier, but only if they faced a meaningful defence.
Soldiers came streaming in their hundreds through the streets of the second tier as resistance on the walls began to collapse. So many crowded the gate that Vaelin organised a squad of the burliest sergeants to drag them through to prevent a blockage. He also ordered ropes cast over so others could climb or be hauled up. Hearing Nortah call his name from the battlement, he rapidly scaled the nearest stairwell, finding his brother regarding the sight below with grim resignation.
“They’re not going to make it, brother,” he said.
Viewing the scene, Vaelin saw little reason to argue. The second-tier walls were now entirely in the hands of the Stahlhast, whilst an ever-growing number of Redeemed were pouring through the sundered gate. Only one knot of resistance remained, a cluster of denuded regiments formed into a