AS TRISTAN STOOD BESIDE HOSHI IN THE BOW OF HERblack war barge, ten thousand heavily armed katsugai stood waiting in strict lines behind them, filling the vessel to the gunwales. Having been ordered to stay behind, Tristan’s Eutracian comrades and his beloved Black Ships were nowhere to be seen. But he couldn’t risk worrying about them now, he realized. History was about to be made, and once it began, there could be no going back for either side.
Hoshi had strategically dispersed the war barges that hadn’t already been sent to wait near the upper entrance of the valley. Some remained near the lower valley staging area with Tristan’s Black Ships, while the rest had been divided into two opposing flight groups. Closely hugging the outer slopes of the valley mountain ranges, they quickly flew north and stationed themselves one league apart from each other in two hovering lines lying along each side of the valley. Then the great lines of barges levitated at once up the mountainsides, coming to a stop just below the peaks and out of sight of the Rustannicans raiding the gold below.
Hoshi and Tristan’s barge also hovered very near the snowy summit. So far, it seemed that the Rustannicans had not detected the Shashidans’ presence. Off in the distance, theJin’Sai could make out a war barge dutifully floating at the same altitude on either side of his own. Knowing that they were there was reassuring.
The weather was brutally cold here, causing Tristan to wish that he had chosen to wear a shikifuku rather than his Eutracian vest and breeches. Hoshi had offered him traditional katsugai armor, but because he was unaccustomed to it, he respectfully declined. Snow had started to fall on the lurking barges, adding a surreal quality to the nerve-racking wait. Soon the mountain winds arose, causing Hoshi’s black war barge to sway with the familiar creak of a great ship under way.
The Shashidan battle plan sounded effective, but Tristan believed that it would be difficult to execute, considering the thousands of barges that were to take part. When the assigned time arrived, the attack was to begin en masse. Because the barges lined the valley on both sides, it was hoped that the sudden onslaught would be overwhelming, causing the Rustannicans to react with confusion.
As the katsugai being released from the war barges stationed at the lower and upper entrances pushed their way into the valley and toward each other, those barges hovering on either side of the mountains would fly up and over the peaks, then soar down into the valley and also spill forth their fighters. Tristan still believed that the hugely scaled plan would be immensely difficult to coordinate, and he tactfully told Hoshi as much. But after Hoshi explained the devices that had been specially designed to help unify the attack, he quickly changed his mind.
A stout wooden pedestal stood in the bow of their barge. Atop it sat a unique hourglass, enchanted by theInkai. Its upper globe was filled with black sand that fell into a matching lower globe. Both globes glowed with the azure hue of the craft. Each of the thousands of barges was thus equipped, Hoshi explained. On leaving the staging area, she had enacted the spell that would cause the sand in every one of the thousands of upper globes to begin falling at once. At the same time, the enchantment placed into the many upper globes would ensure that all the grains of sand fell at precisely the same rate. When the sands fully emptied into the lower globes, all the barges would attack simultaneously.
Tristan looked at the hourglass to see that the grains of sand had nearly all fallen. The attack would start soon, he realized. Pulling him to one side, Hoshi raised her war mask. Her gaze was searching, concerned.
“It is doubtful that we will become separated, because theInkai have ordered you and me to stay on this barge at all costs,” she said. “It seems that the elders consider us valuable commodities,” she added with a little laugh.
She then removed a bright red scarf from beneath her armor and tied it around her upper arm. “Should we lose each other, this will help you to find me again,” she said.
Pausing for a moment, she again looked toward the enchanted hourglass. “The moment grows near,” she said. “It is time for you to learn your part in all this.”
As Hoshi outlined Tristan’s orders, he listened intently. When she finished, something unexpected happened. Hearing a rustling of armor, Tristan turned and looked toward the stern of the tataki fune.
All ten thousand katsugai mosota were on bended knees, heads bowed. There seemed to be a sea of them on this barge alone. He turned to again look at Hoshi.
“They do not bow to me, Jin’Sai, ” she said. “They bow to you. As I speak, the same act of reverence is happening on every Shashidan barge, but these katsugai here with you and me will stay with us as our personal bodyguards. It is your time now. Let us start this battle.”
Overwhelmed by the unexpected displays of devotion both seen and unseen, Tristan bowed in return. The thousands of katsugai mosota came quickly to their feet.
Hoshi lowered her mask, then turned to watch the last sand grains fall into the lower globe. She quickly shouted a series of orders to her barge’s pilot mystic.
At once the barge soared up the craggy mountainside, its ascent so steep that for a time Tristan saw nothing but snow-filled sky. On reaching the crest, the barge suddenly righted for the briefest of moments, then pivoted downward to begin the sharp descent into the valley.
The battle to reclaim the Tani Kinkiro had begun.
CHAPTER L
TO SHAILIHA’S SURPRISE, KHRISTOS TOOK NO IMMEDIATEaction against her and Traax as they descended into the fray. Minions were landing by the thousands to begin fighting the Blood Vipers, and the erupting chaos was growing by the second. Faegan and Adrian wasted no time in launching azure bolt after azure bolt down onto the viper hordes still emerging from the tributary. As Traax and Shailiha landed to face Khristos, the sounds of explosions, screaming, and death-dealing rose into the night air.
Knowing full well that Shailiha would not be denied her revenge, Traax decided that she must be protected from the vipers as she confronted the Viper Lord. Shouting out a quick series of orders, he commanded a group of warriors to form a thick protective ring around the place where Shailiha and Khristos stood facing each other. Reluctantly joining the ring, Traax grew increasingly worried as he watched the drama unfold.
Even now Khristos took no direct action against Shailiha, choosing instead to stand his ground and give the princess a leering smile. His smile broadened further when he noticed her eye patch. Widening her stance, Shailiha raised her sword.
“So,” Khristos said, “I see that you did not escape the fighting in Tammerland unscathed after all! You and your wizards likely do not know it, but there is no known cure for viper venom. By the way, I’m informed by my lead vipers that your herbmistress bitch named Abbey died like the squealing pig that she was. Partial adepts aren’t like you and me, are they? They’re really little more than pretenders to the craft.”
Finally choosing to move, Khristos raised his silver staff. “But worry not about your injured eye, Princess,” he said. “You are about to die, and your darkness will become eternal. The same will soon be true of your Minions and mystics. I come to this happy conclusion because I can readily see that my forces outnumber yours. Either we killed far more warriors then we first believed, or you left a sizable force behind to guard the palace. Even now my vipers slaughter your warriors.”
As Shailiha stood her ground, Khristos smiled again. “Ah, that’s it, isn’t it?” he asked. “Determined to never make the same mistake again, you made an even greater one by not bringing your entire force to search us out. Once you and the winged freaks you brought here are dead, taking the palace and ransacking the Redoubt should be easy.”
Pausing for a moment, Khristos casually spun his staff as he started circling Shailiha. Just as Tristan had taught her, she pivoted in place as he moved, saving her energy while Khristos expended his.
“Your method of finding us was very clever indeed,” Khristos said. “We nearly escaped forever into the Sea of Whispers. But heating the tributary in order to kill us was not so effective, I fear. Did you not realize that we could simply emerge in order to save ourselves? While it’s true that we are scalded, we are still quite able to defeat you. It seems that your vaunted Vigors mystics have finally miscalculated after all.”
Shailiha remained quiet as she glared into his eyes. No longer sleek and smooth, his olive skin was covered with red, angry boils. The vertical pupils embedded in his almond-shaped yellow irises still seemed vibrant, and they missed nothing. His black robe lay in even greater tatters and scarcely clung to his body. As she watched, his
