Book of the Night by Pötzsch Oliver

Author:Pötzsch, Oliver [Pötzsch, Oliver]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult, Mystery, Adventure
ISBN: 9781503938427
Amazon: 1503938425
Goodreads: 29805847
Publisher: Amazon Crossing
Published: 2015-09-03T07:00:00+00:00

Early that morning, they’d all made their confession to a priest for what might be the last time. Many of the common soldiers also made the sign of the cross or spoke a brief prayer. Others murmured as they rubbed talismans that hung around their necks or on their wide-brimmed hats. Lukas, too, reached for the amulet that Red Sara had given him. He wondered if Senno had been telling the truth about the power of the pentagram. Lukas hadn’t told his friends much about his last conversation with the astrologer. All the stories he’d heard about so-called white witches, good magic, and evil magic seemed bizarre in retrospect. He was afraid of looking foolish in front of the others.

A thundering cannon shot made him jump. He could see that on the other side of the hill, long rows of Swedish musketeers and pikemen were moving toward them. They’d been concealed in the morning fog until then, but now they stormed up the mountain. There were so many that the end of the line was out of sight—a black, surging crowd moving toward the first fortifications.

This is the main army! Lukas realized. We are being attacked by the main army!

“These crazy dogs are really attacking up the mountain!” roared Zoltan from the front line. “Send a message to Wallenstein, and then receive them the way they deserve!”

The imperial soldiers shouted their response, but whether it was one of anger or fear, Lukas couldn’t say. The ones in the front line started loading their muskets, while others rolled the cannons onto their bases as the Swedes moved closer and closer. The hair on the back of Lukas’s neck stood on end.

The battle had begun.

Along with a few other companies, the Black Musketeers were stationed at the outer wall, which fell off steeply into the valley. A trench lined with pointed stakes had been dug in front of them. The Musketeers’ well-known banner served as point of reference—a black dragon with flames spewing from its wide-open mouth. This flag was as large as a ship’s sail and fluttered in the morning breeze.

What thoughts were going through my father’s head just before a battle like this? Lukas wondered as shivers ran through his body. Was he afraid, too?

“All together against death and the devil!” Zoltan roared suddenly, raising his sword.

The Musketeers loudly returned their eternal battle cry: “To hell and beyond!” Lukas, Giovanni, Jerome, and Paulus all joined in the response, making Lukas feel not quite so lonely and wretched.

What followed next was an earsplitting thunder as the cannons before and behind Lukas were fired. The noise was so loud that after a few moments he was sure he’d gone deaf. Then he heard a strange, high-pitched whistling in the air.

“Take cover!” shouted Paulus alongside him. “Incoming cannon fire!”

Instinctively, Lukas threw himself against the muddy base of the wall, and just moments later a twenty-pound cannonball flew by overhead. It landed somewhere behind them, followed by piercing screams. When Lukas turned briefly, all he saw was red chaos, clumps of earth, and severed limbs.

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