Aiden let out a breath and released Emily’s hand. “They wouldn’t have fired that gun unless the enemy army was in sight,” she said. “The city is about to be attacked.”
Emily swore under her breath as she followed Aiden into the gatehouse and up a narrow staircase. If the royalists attacked, what side was she supposed to be on? Master Lucknow wouldn’t hesitate to throw the book at her if he thought she’d taken sides, even though she was sure it was him who’d made the chaos worse in the first place. She tightened her wards as they reached the top of the stairs, to the point she should be able to survive a machine gun burst long enough to duck. Her fingers touched Void’s amulet, feeling the magic within the gem. She might have to teleport out and sneak back into the city if the walls came under heavy attack.
“Lady Emily.” Sergeant Oskar stood in the observation post, a telescope pressed to his eye. “They’re coming.”
Emily leaned forward, muttering a vision-enhancing spell. A handful of cavalry sat on the road, just out of effective arrow or musket range. Hitting them would require a great deal of luck - or magic. Behind them, plumes of smoke rose into the sky. She guessed the royalists were trying to envelop the city, rather than draw up their forces and establish a tight siege that could be broken. Dater wouldn’t risk bringing his men too close to the city. She’d be surprised if he didn’t already question their loyalty. Conscripts made poor soldiers.
“The scouts claim they’re bringing up the main body behind the cavalry,” Sergeant Oskar informed her. “They’ll be in position to attack soon enough.”
“They won’t risk it,” Aiden said. “We’ll have the edge if they attack the city.”
“Perhaps,” Sergeant Oskar said. “How much time do they have? How much time do they think they have?”
Aiden glanced at him. “What do you mean?”
“The river runs down from the north, passes through the city and heads south,” Sergeant Oskar said. “If they have weeks, they could build a dam, allow the river to turn into a lake and then blow up the dam. The damn dam” - he snickered at the pun - “would unleash a wave of water that would do immense damage to the walls.”
“Damn,” Aiden said. “Do they have time?”
“I’d be surprised if they didn’t have the concept in the back of their minds,” Sergeant Oskar said. “Dater is no fool. He’s certainly better than most of the aristocrat fops I had to endure. Drenching half the city would be a neat way to win, without putting his forces in serious danger. But the river has been drying out for months. It could take longer than he thinks he has to build a dam and then collect enough water to flood the city.”
Emily considered it, briefly, then shrugged as she turned and looked over the city. The rebels weren’t downhearted, even though they were on the brink of victory or defeat. Freedom City looked like an anthill, thousands of men marching to the walls or throwing up barricades at street corners to make life difficult for anyone who came over the walls. There would be no surrender, she realized numbly. The speakers below, hectoring the crowd, would make sure the city would fight to the last. Or, at least, ensure there was little left of the city to be recaptured.
Aiden caught her eye. “Aren’t they supposed to send a formal demand for surrender?”
“They did,” Sergeant Oskar said. “Yesterday.”
Emily winced. “And they think you’re rebels,” she said. “Rebels have no rights.”
The speakers below evidently agreed with her. They loudly reminded their listeners that the royalists couldn’t be trusted, that aristocrats would break their word as soon as possible. They warned the troops, again and again, that they were all that stood between the city and an orgy of rape and slaughter. They dwelled on the topic again and again, shouting out lurid descriptions of atrocities that would have shamed a necromancer. Emily shuddered at one particularly vivid description, all too aware it was probably an understatement. The royalists intended to teach the city a lesson it would never forget.
She watched, grimly, as more and more enemy troops came into view. Dater was playing it smart, displaying his army - and his banner - without risking a clash his men might easily lose. She could hear the trumpets in the distance, each blast of the horn directing the troops into formation as they surrounded the city. Below her, the rebels yelled their defiance. It looked as if they were willing to fight. Emily wondered, morbidly, how many of the young men on both sides would be dead by the end of the day.
Aiden coughed. “Councilor!”
Emily turned, as Althorn made his way into the observation post. “Sergeant? Your thoughts?”
“Stalemate,” Sergeant Oskar said. “They can keep us in the city until we starve, unless we’re willing to commit to a major breakout, but they can’t breach the walls unless they’re willing to soak up immense losses or wait long enough to dam the river.”
“Or if they put gunpowder under the walls,” Emily said. The Union had done that during the Siege of Petersburg, if she recalled correctly. The attack had failed, but not because it had been a terrible idea. “Or they look for another way to get at you.”
Althorn frowned. “Good point,” he said. “Do they have many sappers?”
“No, but they could have recruited miners,” Sergeant Oskar said. “There are plenty of coal seams down south.”
Coal will fuel the industrial revolution, when things really get started, Emily mused,
