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Forgetting his physical discomfort, Chalk sprang to his feet again. “The sun will come out, my Grieve! Yes, late in the morning, and we will see Ildakar! Our fish, King Grieve. They’ll all grieve.”
“They’ll all grieve.” He recognized the cockeyed intensity in Chalk’s expression. “Is that a dream?”
“Yes, Ildakar. We are almost there, but the cold and ice…” Chalk shook his head and huddled around himself again, shivering. “And snow!”
“You don’t even know snow,” Grieve said. “You have never seen it.”
“Cold!” Chalk insisted.
The drums pounded, and the oars sloshed in perfect coordination. The serpent ships glided past the swamps. Grieve had listened to Captain Kor’s report of the previous expedition to Ildakar, and he knew they were nearly at their destination.
An hour later, the rain slackened and the mists grew more diffuse as weak yellow light burned through the river fog. Grieve hunched over the prow, sick of waiting, and stared into the brightening light. Chalk relished the faint sunshine.
Finally, around midmorning, exactly as the shaman had predicted, the sun broke through, so the Norukai king could look ahead. He saw the sandstone cliffs, the uplift the ancient wizards had created. At last he saw with his own eyes the ancient city of Ildakar towering above the river, its white buildings and tall towers shining in the distance. The city alone was larger than the main Norukai island. Grieve’s fifty ships would be enough to conquer it, though. Of that he had no doubt.
Chalk jabbed a bony finger at the sight. “They’ll all grieve. Our fish! They’ll all grieve.”
The Norukai king touched the soft smelly head of the decomposing selka. He squeezed the oozing flesh of its cheeks and turned the creature so its runny eye sockets pointed toward the vulnerable city. “There,” he said, in a low voice, “I want you to see our next victory.”
CHAPTER 74
The expedition from Cliffwall pushed through the mountains, where the air was thinner and the cold air blew harder. Verna looked behind them, imagining the desert canyons they had left far behind, then turned in the direction of Ildakar. That was their destination, and she couldn’t wait to see all the wonders Renn had promised. By now, the road was more apparent, recently trampled by the large, half-stone expeditionary force that had marched away from the legendary city.
On his warhorse, General Zimmer led the group. Oliver and Peretta made notes of their travels and exchanged stories with young Amber. The other scholars looked sore and dirty, tired of the long journey. None of them had ever left their isolated canyon before.
Within days, the terrain transitioned to forested foothills, winding down to a watershed where streams provided all the drinking and bathing water they needed. They toiled up the next ridge, reaching the rounded top only to see another ridge ahead of them.
Verna began to lose hope that they would ever find their destination, but Renn grew excited as they climbed the next line of hills. “This is it, I think. The plains of Ildakar are just ahead.” He inhaled deeply, as if the air smelled different to him. “It will be so good to be home.”
Verna would be glad to see Nicci and Nathan again, to talk with them, and she would trust their assessment about Ildakar.
“I smell smoke,” Oliver said as they worked their way through the trees. A drizzle had continued throughout the morning, and Verna was wet. Her gray-brown hair hung limply against her skull, and she tried not to look as miserable as she felt.
“How can you smell anything in this?” Peretta asked.
“I have always had a keen sense of smell.”
General Zimmer and the scouts crested the ridge and rode out of the sparser pines. Ahead, they saw grass-covered hills and a broad open valley. Renn pushed forward to get a better view. “It’s Ildakar. That is the plain. That’s—”
Zimmer raised a hand, commanding them to stay within the shelter of the trees. “We don’t want to be seen.”
Verna, Amber, Peretta, and Oliver crowded forward. Renn stood with his arms at his side, his mouth open. “By the Keeper’s beard!”
The grassy hills to the north of the great valley were scorched black. Out on the plain Verna saw a huge army, thousands upon thousands camped in rows with a few tents dispersed among the troops. The soldiers were moving, marching, forming precise groups, a military force vastly greater than the invasion army they had buried under the avalanche.
“That looks as big as the entire population of Tanimura,” Amber said in a trembling voice.
Verna looked beyond the countless warriors. Ildakar rose up like a beautiful island covered with tiers of buildings, layers of neighborhoods piled up to the summit of the plateau. It was indeed a magnificent city, and it was under siege.
Tears leaked down Renn’s cheeks. “General Utros is awake. Look what they have done to Ildakar!” He shaded his eyes, scanning the high, protected upwelling of the city. “I can barely make out the top of the plateau in this drizzle. I see the ruling tower, but I can’t find the pyramid. It seems to be gone.”
Peretta narrowed her dark eyes. “I see a pyramid, but it is broken. What did it look like before?”
“Something happened in my city,” Renn said. “Something terrible. We’ve got to help. We need to fight for Ildakar.”
The seven other Sisters of the Light gathered, waiting for the prelate to issue orders, but Verna wasn’t sure she had anything to offer. “We have several gifted with us. My Sisters and I can use some magic. You, Renn, are also a wizard, but this won’t be like creating the avalanche. Look at the size of that army.”
“I have only a handful of soldiers,” said Zimmer. “What can we possibly do against an enemy force like that?”
Renn groaned. “Ildakar is full of gifted men and women at least as powerful as I am. We have to figure out how to sneak through the walls, so I can rejoin the duma. They will need my help.”
As Verna looked at the entrenched army that stood between them and the city, she had no answer for him.
CHAPTER 75
Elsa’s transference magic was ready, after several days of work. The huge painted rune covered the sheer side of the bluff above the river, and they were ready for their risky foray out to the encamped enemy army. “I cannot imagine or plan a greater release of energy,” she said. “After the dragon and the Ixax warriors, this might be the final blow that breaks them.”
“If we all do our parts,” Nathan said.
He saw tension on her face. Drawn lines chiseled her fine features, and the crow’s-feet had deepened around her eyes. He’d always admired her as a brave, determined, and talented woman. The transference magic she had developed during centuries of isolation in Ildakar was imp
ressive, and he had helped her create this marvelous and risky counterstrike. Elsa didn’t seem anxious or doubtful, but dread wrapped around her like a burial shroud.
“It will succeed, my dear, and I will do everything I can to help you. Over the past two days we gathered a powerful force and they are well trained and well motivated to protect the six strike forces. We have to be swift and focused. They all know what to do to help you, and they all know what is at stake.” He smiled. “We’re ready to move.”
Elsa reached out to squeeze his hand. “Truly, it would not have been the same without you, Nathan. I’m glad you will be by my side for this.”
“Be brave. Dear spirits, we will do what we need to do.” He stroked his chin and frowned. “Are you certain you don’t want to wait for Nicci to return? The sorceress is more powerful than any of us.”
“No,” Elsa said abruptly. “We don’t know when she might come back, and we are ready. The rune is painted. The six teams are armed and trained.” She straightened, but still seemed edgy. “It has to be now. I’ve made up my mind.”
Nathan squeezed her hand in response. “I understand. We can be just as impressive without Nicci.”
Today, Bannon and Lila were preoccupied on the bluff, adding finishing touches to the enormous transference rune, though the giant design had been completed the night before. Nathan had sent Bannon, tasking him with guaranteeing that every detail was correct. That would keep the young man away from their desperate charge, though he would not like it. It was very possible the fighters and protectors would not survive the desperate ride, and Nathan knew this last battle against Utros would be decided by magic. More than enough fighters would guard the separate gifted parties assigned to scribe the proper boundary runes.
Under gray skies, he and Elsa hurried along the wet streets toward the long wall where the separate strike forces were gathering. The horses were saddled, the fighters wearing their armor and holding swords and iron-tipped clubs. It would be another surprise operation, but unlike the first testing foray, this one had a clear goal. Elsa’s transference magic would do the bulk of the work, provided that the gifted designates completed their runes on the battlefield.
