Soul of Swords (Demonsouled Book 7) by Jonathan Moeller

Author:Jonathan Moeller [Moeller, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Azure Flame Media, LLC
Published: 2014-01-16T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20 - Cloaks of Flame

Lucan Mandragon stood next to Malden Roland’s horse and gazed at Barellion’s Outer Wall.

The ramparts seethed with militiamen, armsmen, and archers. Ballistas dotted the battlements, and catapults waited atop the towers of the Gate of Merchants, the city’s eastern gate. Between the fortifications, the war engines, and the veteran defenders, Barellion was nearly impregnable, and any army would have quailed at the thought of seizing the city.

Any army of living men.

The first wave of runedead marched towards the Outer Wall. Some of them carried wide ladders, while others pushed massive siege towers. The ladders would reach the wall first, allowing the runedead to assail the ramparts. Then the towers would reach the wall, permitting the second wave of runedead to strike. After that it was only a matter of time. The defenders would destroy thousands of runedead, but sooner or later the undead would overwhelm them. Then Malden’s men would seize the gates and storm the Outer City…and the harvest of stolen life force could begin.

“Taking the Inner City and the Prince’s Keep,” said Malden, “is still a concern.”

“Indeed,” said Lucan. Though he did not care what happened to the Inner City or to Lord Malden after the Outer City fell. If his calculations were correct, the slaughter in the Outer City would generate more than enough life force to open the Door of Souls. Once the Door opened, Lucan would return to Knightcastle with all haste…and leave Malden, Hugh Chalsain, and the Aegonar to fight for control of Greycoast.

“Your magic would be useful,” said Malden.

“Aye, my lord,” said Lucan. “But fear not. The Outer Wall will fall easily enough. I need to conserve my powers for the final assault upon the Inner Wall and the Prince’s Keep.”

But Lucan intended to conserve his strength not for the attack on the city, but in case Skalatan intervened. The Aegonar host was still at least a day away, maybe even two days. But Skalatan could open mistgates, and Lucan suspected the archpriest could still do so despite the magical turbulence the Door of Souls had generated. And Skalatan might well guess what Lucan intended to do with Barellion.

If he did, Lucan was ready. As a revenant, he could summon far more magical power than a living man…but even he had limits, and Skalatan might catch him off guard. Better instead to wait, and to let the runedead do the work of taking the city.

“So be it,” said Malden. He turned to his household knights. “Make sure the footmen are ready to charge. As soon as one of the gates is taken, I will send the runedead into the city…but I need living men to hold the gates.”

The knight grinned. “And then, my lord…we shall cull the city of the wicked?”

Malden touched the hilt of the black dagger at his belt. “Oh, yes.”

The catapults atop the gate flung balls of blazing pitch. The soldiers manning the war engines were skilled, and the fireballs each fell upon a ladder. Both ladders shattered in a spray of burning splinters, shredding dozens of runedead.

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