Horsemen's War (The Rebellion Chronicles #3) - Steve McHugh Page 0,83
realm gate room. “So what’s the plan?” I asked, entering the room.
“We’re going to go fight the bad guys,” Selene said. “When people stop arguing.”
“Why are people arguing?” I asked.
“Because apparently I shouldn’t be going,” Mordred said.
“Fuck that. Get your ass to Atlantis,” I told him with a smile.
“A sentiment I have expressed myself,” Mordred told me.
“He is the king,” Hades said. “And thus we need to ensure that he’s not just running off after Arthur the second we arrive.”
“He’s got to come with us,” my mother, Brynhildr, said. “But we’re concerned that his emotions will lead him to make mistakes.”
“My emotions,” Mordred said with a thumbs-up. “I’m a bubbling Crock-Pot of testosterone and vigor.”
“I’m pretty sure we’re all pregnant now,” Lucifer said dryly.
I turned to Jinayca. “Let’s argue later. My best friend is in Atlantis, as is the man I need to kill for taking him.”
“This is the end, people,” Jinayca said. “Come back with your shield or on it.”
“Easy,” Mordred said, standing beside me. “I never liked shields. Let’s go find Tommy and kill a tyrant.”
The room went bright purple, and there was a flash, and the next thing we knew, we were standing on a dais in the middle of a large field.
“Can someone tell me what the hell happened here?” I asked, noticing the several hundred people standing all around us.
“That doesn’t look good,” Mordred said, pointing to the purple sky as we stepped off the dais.
Several dozen people walked off the dais with us. There were a few bodies littering the ground close to where a group of dwarves stood guard.
“You had trouble?” Mordred asked them.
“The little fuckers tried to stop us from keeping the realm gate clear,” one of the dwarves said.
The dead wore red-and-black leather armor and had black leather helmets, although they’d been little protection against rune-scribed battle-axes.
“You ever been here before?” I asked Hades as the hundreds of soldiers and personnel began to arrange camps for those arriving through the gate.
He nodded sadly. “Many times. Last I was here, the sky was bright blue; the air smelled of flowers. There was laughter in the city. The buildings as tall as anything you would see in a major city today on the Earth realm. The abilities of the alchemists who lived here were spectacular, and before they’d ever arrived, the ancient dwarves and shadow elves made this place a paradise.”
“Until the Titan Wars,” I said.
“Until then,” Mordred said.
“The city was destroyed,” Persephone said. “I came here just after the death and destruction. They caused tens of thousands of people to die horribly here, unleashing a plague and a war upon a peaceful people. All to get to us.”
“And now Arthur calls it home,” I said. “And I assume that monstrosity is where he lives.”
The black citadel was easy to spot even at this distance. It loomed over everything around it; even the tallest of the other buildings couldn’t touch it. The citadel was practically touching the clouds above.
“That is not going to be a fun climb,” Mordred said.
“My father is in that city,” Kase said, her voice low and full of menace. “We need to move.”
“I don’t disagree,” I said. “But we need to make sure we’re ready for a full attack.” I looked around as more people emerged from the realm gate and Hades, Persephone, and Mordred ordered troops into formation.
I walked over to the edge of the clearing, next to the beginnings of a forest of blackened trees, and watched the horizon. That wasn’t a lot of guards for a realm gate, and the nearby city didn’t appear to be inhabited. The gates to it were up, and the walls were high enough that I doubted anyone could climb them quickly.
“The dwarves did some scouting,” Mordred said, passing me a pair of binoculars. “Part of the city wall is more climbable than the rest. It’s through the forest, though, a few miles that way.” He pointed behind me. “A small team could get inside, scout out, get that drawbridge open.”
“Am I part of that small team?” I asked, looking through the binoculars at the city, taking in the massive citadel, and trying to figure out where the enemy was.
“You could sit here and admire the beauty of all this, if you’d prefer,” Mordred said sarcastically.
“Normally, on the eve of battle, you don’t send the entire army to camp outside a city without having good knowledge of the city first,” I said with a sigh.