to Kezial leaned in to their countrymen who owed their loyalty to Isaiah and whispered in harsh, breathless tones, “We wish to join with you, not fight you!”
To be met with the inevitable chuckle and response, “And we have been told to welcome you, and invite you into Elcho Falling. Here now, wave that sword about a bit. You don’t want that Lealfast lord to think you’re deserting, do you?”
And so, up and down that western line of fighting, men grunted and groaned and clashed swords in desperate battle, and every so often one would fall and roll under the feet of his neighbours.
But, strangely, there was no blood.
Eleanon strode back and forth on the shores of the lake, well back from the fighting. He had just called the Lealfast back — those that were still capable — and now the air overhead was thick with Lealfast streaming toward the mountains where the rest of the Nation waited.
Eleanon was furious, almost incandescent. He should have foreseen this and he hadn’t. Just the simple fact of all those birds rising at the same time .
“Fuck you, Isaiah,” Eleanon muttered. “You may smile today, but tomorrow you will pay.”
Or perhaps even sooner. Eleanon glanced once more at the mayhem. It was very close now, only minutes away. Already the wind was whipping the waters of the lake and the feathers of Eleanon’s wings into violent whorls and eddies. Lightning forked through the roiling clouds.
“You have overplayed your hand there, my friend,” Eleanon muttered. “The birds were enough. No Lealfast was ever going to hang around long enough to be buffeted by that. But you . . . oh, you my friend .”
Eleanon grinned, then it died. He still had one or two things to take care of here, before he, too, could escape.
Axis looked up. The mayhem was now virtually upon them, and all about juit birds were settling back onto the lake water, tucking their heads under their tightly folded wings and curling their bodies into tight pink balls, huddled close together on the water, their long, long legs dangling deep into the lake, acting as stabilisers.
If Axis didn’t move now, he would lose his chance.
Again he risked a look about him. The fighting had all but stopped, and he could see Isaiah in the distance, rousing the men, urging them to flee to the gates.
Axis glanced that way.
They were open, and Axis could see someone gesturing wildly: Georgdi, possibly, although now that the rain was starting to drive down it was difficult to tell.
“Good luck!” Axis shouted at those men about him close enough to hear, then he ran as hard as he could for the lake and dived in.
Isaiah’s army, now merged with that of Kezial’s, surged toward the gates of Elcho Falling. Tens of thousands of men milled about on the shoreline leading to the causeway, thick with fleeing men.
Then, in an almighty and terrifying clap of thunder, the mayhem hit. Men, horses, anything not tied down were bowled over in the tempest. Rain drove down, and intermingled with it were tiny spears of ice that, if they struck a body at the wrong angle, drove deep inside the flesh. Wind shrieked, rendering hearing and voice useless.
Anyone still on their feet could only crouch down and stumble forward, hand on the shoulder or back of whoever it was in front of him.
No one could see a thing.
It suited Eleanon perfectly.
He, like everyone else, was buffeted and pummelled. But, unlike most others, he also had considerable power and resources at his disposal and it was enough to keep him on his feet and still capable of independent movement and action.
He moved toward the gigantic mass of men struggling frantically to get inside Elcho Falling.
It was bleak, darkest night now, hail and ice raining about, yet still Eleanon laughed. He reached the outer edge of the great struggling mass, steadied himself, then reached about behind him and grabbed the woman he’d been dragging all this way.
Ravenna.
Go now, Eleanon whispered in her mind, his voice as cruel as the ice splintering down from the sky. Go now and work my will within Elcho Falling. Go!
Then, without waiting for any answer, he unceremoniously pushed her into the mass of men fighting for entrance into the citadel.
At the same time he activated the enchantment he’d worked on her earlier, making her invisible.
Just until she’d done her task.
Axis had sunk deep into the waters of the lake. He’d risen quickly, but had then to