The Infinity Gate: Darkglass Mountain: Book Three - By Sara Douglass Page 0,179

emphasising each word. “Do you think I don’t know just how to bring one down from the sky?”

“The Lealfast command the power of Infinity,” Maximilian said.

“Eleanon best of all,” Inardle said, “but the others? I am not sure. Eleanon would have been jealous of that power. He may not have shared it beyond his immediate captains. Bingaleal was as powerful as Eleanon . . . but Georgdi killed Bingaleal easily enough.”

“Surprise and cunning,” Georgdi said, grinning. “Outlander specialities.”

Maximilian had to laugh. “Point taken.” Then he sobered. “But I cannot transfer hundreds of thousands outside for you. You know this. Even with Ishbel’s aid I can only manage ten thousand.”

“But it will be ten thousand of the absolute best,” Axis said.

“If you use your ability to transfer these ten thousand,” Isaiah said, “then we swap our men for Lealfast. We can transfer a fighting force beyond the walls of Elcho Falling, but it will also mean transferring Lealfast inside in counter-balance. Axis told me that you’d suggested one thousand Lealfast for ten thousand of our soldiers. Is this correct?”

Maximilian gave a nod.

Isaiah looked at Egalion. “A thousand is no problem,” Egalion said. “The Emerald Guard will dispose of them efficiently enough.”

“You are certain?” Maximilian asked.

“Can you pinpoint where they will transfer to?” Egalion asked.

“To within a chamber or two, yes,” Maximilian said.

“Then we will be ready,” Egalion said, and Maximilian accepted his words, for he remembered how the Emerald Guard had slaughtered so efficiently that night when the Lealfast had attacked within Elcho Falling.

“Is there any trauma associated with the transference?” Axis said.

“Not particularly,” Maximilian replied. “Not if you are expecting it. So . . . presumably you would warn your men what to expect, which would be a moment or two of disorientation at the end of the transference. But the Lealfast may experience a little more disorientation, because they will not be expecting it.”

Axis and Isaiah exchanged a glance and a shared grin.

“I think it has a chance of working, Maxel,” Isaiah said. “The Emerald Guard can deal with a thousand Lealfast within this citadel. Axis, is ten thousand men enough?”

“It will do,” Axis said. “Give me your best bowmen, Isaiah, and your most cunning Outlanders, Georgdi, and if I contribute one eagle and my own knowledge, then even a mere thousand is more than enough.”

There was a momentary silence. No one believed him for an instant. Even ten thousand would more than likely be slaughtered.

But what else was there?

“Then we do it,” Isaiah said, looking at Maximilian.

Maximilian held Isaiah’s gaze a long moment, then nodded. “When?”

“Late morning tomorrow,” Axis said. “I contacted my friend eagle an hour or two ago. He is far away but is returning. He will be here tomorrow morning. I need his eyes in the sky. So we will go tomorrow morning before noon. The Lealfast will be concentrating on their encircling dance . . . they won’t know what’s happening.”

“And inside Elcho Falling?” Maxel said.

“I can position everyone within Elcho Falling early morning,” Isaiah said. “Egalion will marshal his men to where you say you can transfer the Lealfast, and, just in case the Lealfast don’t materialise quite where we expect them, then every fighting man and woman left in Elcho Falling will be sitting ready with arrow fitted to bow.”

“And the Dark Spire and the One?” Ishbel said, speaking for the first time.

“We have to risk it,” Isaiah said, looking at Maximilian rather than her. “We have to.”

Maximilian hesitated then gave a reluctant nod. “Tomorrow morning, then.”

Isaiah, Georgdi and Axis spent several hours asking for volunteers from the best archers and soldiers in their combined forces, then Axis and Isaiah spent a further six hours organising the men into the vast central area of the citadel, which was the largest ‘chamber’ they could find to practice their manoeuvres as a single team.

First, Axis spent an hour getting the men to practise moving from a prone position straight into squads of fifty men which could instantly form a shield cover about themselves.

Then, once that was perfected (and this didn’t take long, as the men were already so well trained) Axis organised the men who were not actively engaged in holding the shields, into individual pairings of one archer and one ‘arrow keeper’. Axis wanted the archers to be able to fire as quickly as they could without having to scrabble for arrows from quivers on their backs, so the ‘arrow keeper’ part of the pair had to be able to slap an arrow