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Leaving the emperor fuming behind the veil to the underworld, General Utros stepped back from the lens. He picked up a heavy war hammer he had taken from one of his soldiers, a weapon that felt solid in his hand, real and heavy and deadly. With a cry that encompassed all his rage and despair, Utros swung the weapon and smashed the center of the blood lens.
Golden magic crackled and flared around the fissures that shot through the glass. The central impact left a white crater, and the cracks spread, branching out toward the edge. He heard a final echoing howl of Iron Fang’s rage before the blood lens shattered, crumbling into chunks of glass that fell in a pile on the scorched ground.
Ava and Ruva smiled at him with satisfaction and relief. First Commander Enoch pressed a fist to his heart in a salute and then shouted, “For General Utros!” The twin sorceresses took up the cheer, as did thousands of voices from his army.
Suddenly, unrelated to the shattering of the lens, Utros felt a strange force vibrate through the air like a magical lightning storm, a distant shock wave that rang through the fabric of the world. He instinctively clutched his chest, and his half-stone skin crawled.
Ava and Ruva stared at each other, then spun to him for answers. First Commander Enoch grasped his arm, touched his face, grimaced. The soldiers began to mutter. Some cried out, staring at their hands, bending their waists, flexing their arms.
Utros felt a shudder, and his skin tingled, warmed. The feeling was similar to what he remembered when he had reawakened from the nothingness of stone. But now he felt restored, even more human. The stiff petrification faded away.
His skin softened. His muscles loosened. With a sigh, he felt the dust go out of his lungs. He reached up to touch the gold half mask on his face, then ran his fingers over his other cheek. His beard was softer than before, silky. He looked at Ava and Ruva and saw that their pale, chalky skin had become warm flesh once more.
“The stone is gone from us!” Ruva said, holding up her delicate hand.
The twins touched each other, stroked their skin, caressed their faces. Ava said, “The spell is broken. Completely.”
Utros listened to the rising murmur of wonderment throughout the camp. One soldier leaped into the air and kicked his legs in joy. “We are human again!”
Whatever wizard had created the ancient petrification spell centuries ago was gone now, likely dead. There were no lingering remnants of the spell. They were free again, completely free.
Utros raised his hand, clenched his fingers into a fist. “We’re alive!” A resounding roar rippled across the hundreds of thousands of armed men camped on the burned plain.
The general allowed himself a moment of satisfaction and tried not to let them see the deep concern on his face. They would realize it themselves soon enough, and come to the same conclusion.
More than a hundred thousand warriors were camped in the middle of a vast, burned plain, far from the nearest city. They had no supplies at all, no Ildakar to defeat, and all those mouths to feed.
With gnawing dread, General Utros realized that he was hungry.
CHAPTER 86
The Norukai raiders caused tremendous damage to Serrimundi. Even though the people had succeeded in defeating the serpent ships, Nicci wished she could have prepared them better. But there had been no time.
Peace and prosperity left entire cities vulnerable because they let down their guard, but Nicci never underestimated the potential for hatred and evil in the world, since she herself had caused so much harm.
When she had left the People’s Palace on her mission with Nathan, Nicci had been convinced that Richard’s heartfelt code of freedom and independence throughout the D’Haran Empire would bring a true change for the world. But in her travels it had not taken long for her to see that the world was still a dangerous place.
She and Nathan had encountered many worthy men and women who would fight for what was right, hardworking farmers and craftsmen, even warriors who wanted a good life and a better world. But there were also many enemies, and it was Nicci’s job to fight them, to make a safe haven for those good people, and smother the ambitions of would-be conquerors, like the Norukai.
King Grieve’s large invasion fleet was out there, supposedly attacking Ildakar. Captain Kor had revealed the grandiose plans of the Norukai, and now Nicci knew she had another great enemy in addition to the threat of General Utros and his half-stone army.
Harborlord Otto and Captain Ganley had brought the damaged Mist Maiden back to the wharf, where final mopping-up operations were under way. Thousands of evacuated Serrimundi citizens returned from the hills and helped extinguish the dockside fires. The emboldened citizens also stood against the last of the raiders. The stranded Norukai showed little concern for their own lives and simply kept fighting until they were brought down by archers launching volley after volley of arrows.
Aboard the bloodstained decks of the Mist Maiden, angry and shaken crew members heaved Norukai corpses overboard into the harbor for the fish to feast on. The bodies of their own dead crew members, though, were lined up with great reverence, their arms and legs straightened, their faces smoothed, as the harborlord intoned the blessings of the Sea Mother upon them.
Nicci stood at the prow of the ship, covered with blood, her blond hair caked with red. She faced Harborlord Otto as the Mist Maiden tied up to the damaged docks and shouting people raced along the harbor’s edge. Captain Ganley waved as he saw his betrothed running toward him, laughing with relief. The harborlord looked as if he might burst into tears at seeing his daughter.
When they disembarked to a triumphant crowd of merchants and dockworkers, Nicci raised her voice. “I came here to warn you of an enemy threat, but the threat is even greater than I imagined. I hope you believe my warning now.” She gestured out to the harbor to indicate the burning ships, the bodies of the Norukai, and the Serrimundi dead that crew members solemnly carried off the decks of the returning ships. “Prepare yourselves for worse. It is not over.”
“Didn’t we defeat them?” asked a gruff and lanky man in stained captain’s clothes. His face looked similar to Harborlord Otto’s.
“This was just a raiding expedition, ten serpent ships,” Nicci said. “The Norukai have an empire, which has decided to go to war.”
Otto said, “This is my brother, Jared. He captains a kraken-hunting ship, like the one that burned at the mouth of the harbor.”
Jared scratched the back of his head. “We know how to kill tentacled monsters in the open sea, but we don’t usually worry about pirates. No one comes close to a krakener.”
“Maybe it’s the smell…” Otto joked.
“The Norukai will burn any ship they find,” Nicci said.
Jared shook his head. “They are not going to burn mine. From now on, all of my crew will be armed. The Norukai are just a different sort of monster to kill.”
“Every ship must be prepared to fight,” Nicci told the harborlord. “Spread the news throughout the harbor and to all the outbound ships so they can carry the word as well. Other towns have been preyed upon by the Norukai. Open trade will no longer keep you safe. Even if you have a strong city, someone will want to take it.
“I have already delivered a warning to Tanimura and asked Lord Rahl for his help. An entire D’Haran expeditionary force will be ready to march, but Serrimundi and all the cities along the coast will have to help themselves. The Norukai may have already struck several targets. Send messengers far and wide, even to the cities inland, because the armies of General Utros might be coming as well. Be watchful and ready. Build up your defenses.”
The people made promises. She could tell they wanted to be reassured that all would be well. Nicci couldn’t afford to let them grow complacent again. She unwrapped the pane of glass she had carried with her. “This is another enemy that awaits you, a vast army awakened from fifteen centuries ago. They have laid siege to Ildakar and already sent out satellite armies to ravage and pillage. They will conquer the lands in the mountains, then make their way to the coast.”
She needed to return to Ildakar if the Norukai were attacking, as Kor had boasted. She had to let the people of Serrimundi build up their own defenses without her. “I might not come back here for some time, so I leave the task to you. Rally the Old World.”
She turned slowly, showing them Elsa’s pane of glass, in which the image of Utros’s army had been imprinted. “This is proof of the enemy that is coming for you. Show everyone.” She intentionally dropped the pane onto the hard boards of the pier, and when it struck, the glass broke into eight uneven pieces. Each of the shards contained an identical image. She picked up one of the fragments and handed it to Harborlord Otto, handed a second one to the kraken hunter Jared, then distributed the remaining pieces among those who might spread the word.
