Nightborn by Anders Lou

Author:Anders, Lou
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2015-07-14T04:00:00+00:00

“Imagine trying to get through that army on foot,” said Karn. “It’s hard to believe there are so many soldiers in the world.”

They were soaring above the Uskirian forces, gazing down in wonder at the thousands of troops camped outside the walls of Gordasha. Neither Karn nor Thianna had ever seen anything on this scale.

“And this is just one army,” said Thianna.

“Our biggest battles only had a few hundred people in them, maybe a thousand,” Karn said. “Look how disciplined they are. They move with such…such mathematical precision. We just bang on our shields with our axes and yell until the enemy pees themselves.”

“That’s better than us giants,” Thianna replied. “All we do is lob rocks at each other’s heads.”

Karn couldn’t see what two young people could be expected to do in the face of such an army.

“What are we doing here?” he said.

Finally, a sensible question, thought the wyvern. Shall I turn around?

“You know you love it,” whispered Thianna to the reptile, patting its neck. “But you’ve got the easy part. Once you get us inside, that’s when the real fun starts.”

They saw huge siege engines being erected. A giant cannon, cast to look like the head of a boar, was being wheeled to the front lines. It was just like the war pigs that made up the Uskirian cavalry. Soldiers moved to and fro like ants. In the sea to the north side of the peninsula, the fleet of Uskirian warships was keeping its distance. The ships stayed moored just outside the range of the defenders’ cannons.

“The battle hasn’t started yet,” Karn observed. “The Uskirians are still moving their forces into position.”

“Lucky us,” said Thianna. “I hate being late to a party.”

Inside the city, Gordashan troops marched back and forth across the ramparts and towers. Archers, spearmen, and cannon. The double walls were each fifteen feet thick. The terrace between the two walls was wide enough for two wagons to move abreast and crowded with troops. Two enormous city gates were shut by massive iron doors. Another gate was shut against any water traffic on a small river that flowed through the fortification.

“What’s that?” said Thianna, pointing to a structure that looked like a high, straight stone bridge. It stood on multiple arches and ran across the land and through the wall.

“An aqueduct,” Karn explained.

“What kind of duck?”

“No, aqueduct. A watercourse. It carries fresh water from the mountains all the way to the city. Probably built a thousand years ago by the Gordion Empire. Nobody can build them like that anymore.”

Thianna whistled.

“So where do we put down?”

Karn scanned the city interior.

“There’s a patch of parkland inside the walls,” he said, indicating the area.

The wyvern was just adjusting its course when their flight path was suddenly, abruptly, and quite rudely interrupted.

Then Karn, Thianna, and the wyvern were all screaming, yelling, and hissing as they tumbled through the air. Their limbs and wings were entangled in a heavy rope net. Weighed down with rocks, it had been cast by a catapult to pluck them from the sky.

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