Night fell, and it was moonless and black. Flying with the harpy soon became almost disorienting; there was nothing around me but darkness—above, below, beneath, everywhere. I couldn’t even see the sharp spires of the mountain peaks. However, the harpy—when it had been alive, at least—had possessed some sort of navigation instinct, I guess because they prefer to hunt their prey at dusk or dawn, in semi-darkness. Something of that instinct remained in the undead creature, and I was able to tap into it to prevent myself from crashing into a mountain side, which would have been a rather anticlimactic end to our whole endeavor.
As for the direction of the Temple of Blood, I knew that it was due northwest from Lucielle’s fortress, and the fact that it was a moonless night at least helped with navigation; I could see the stars perfectly and make sure I was headed in the right direction. I covered the distance between Lucielle’s fortress and the Temple of Blood in half, maybe even a third of the time it would have taken me riding Fang at full speed, and so when I finally saw a blood-red light glowing on the horizon, it was only just past midnight. I would have plenty of time to plan and launch my attack before the sacrifice happened at dawn.
The Temple was far larger than I’d thought. Whoever had designed it must have been a fan of sabers; there were tall, curved spikes dozens of yards high, like giant canine teeth, extending out in all directions, threatening anyone who dared approach this evil place. The red light emanating from it was not just from the fires that burned around it and on the many curved spikes that rose from the walls; something inside the main structure—which was a huge, pointed dome made of stone—was glowing brightly. There were no battlements, walls, or fences around the temple itself, but that was made up right now by the army camping in the open ground that surrounded the temple.
The army was smaller than mine—but that didn’t exactly make a difference, since my own army was hundreds of miles away, and it was just me against, well, everyone. Of course, I wasn’t just an assassin anymore; I was the God of Death, and that made one-on-thousands combat very different that it would have been for a regular fighter. I didn’t have to kill all of these guys alone either; I only needed to kill some of them, and then turn them into my own troops. If I made a proper plan, I could kill and turn about a third, maybe even half of these troops before I gave it to the rest of them. Essentially, my uncle’s army would self-destruct—with a bit of assistance on my part, of course.
I ordered the harpy to set me down a hundred yards or so from the outskirts of the army camp, on the slopes of a huge mountain that towered over the Temple of Blood, a good vantage point from which to strategize.
My uncle, as much of an asshole as he was, was a half-decent strategist himself, and he had posted sentries all around the perimeter of the camp. There were also a great number of bonfires inside and outside the camp, improving the sentries’ range of vision. The sentries were all armed with bows and, knowing my uncle, I imagined they were good shots too. Of course, that was fact well suited to my purpose; zombie archers were the perfect candidates to kick off my quick-kill count.
I’d hoped to find a weak spot in the defenses to exploit,that I’d be able to slip through my uncle’s army, get into the temple, and face only him and his oblates. Then I’d have the element of surprise on my side, and get to fight an unprepared archenemy. The futility of that hope was now driven home; I’d have to take out his army, a process that would certainly alert him to my presence and allow him and his oblates to get ready for a fight. At least I wasn’t dealing with a hostage situation; he wouldn’t kill Lucielle, not before the blood dawn, so all the only choice for both of us would be battle..
I moved quietly around the slope as I observed the army camp from different angles.I would have to move incredibly fast pick my targets well. If I maintained some covered I’d be safe from the archers; they were in a well-lit area, so as long as I didn’t step into the light, I’d be pretty much invisible to them. There were a few nice and big rocks here, perfect for taking cover, and from each I could get in a few good shots with my Bone Bow, take out a dozen or so archers, even those at the other side of the camp with this awesome magical weapon. Then, my zombie archers would already be perfectly positioned, encircling the camp, so they could pour in arrows from every section of the perimeter. All I had to do was kill and turn them fast enough.
It took me an hour or two to pick out my targets and mentally draw out an action plan and trajectory for after I’d turned my zombie archers. I still had a few hours before first light, but the dawn was approaching and I couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I closed my eyes and blasted my spirit down into the cold earth beneath me, and I was pleased to find
