Janis looked up as Khollo entered, and smiled wanly. “Nothing yet,” he announced. “And here I thought we would be fighting this time today.”
“Or it would already be over,” Khollo countered, taking his usual seat. “They weren’t that far away yesterday. If the vertaga had wanted to, they probably could have moved at full speed and gotten here some time during the night.”
“Maybe their soldiers are tired from marching and needed a break to recover their strength before battle,” Janis suggested.
“Have you ever known vertaga to tire?” Khollo demanded.
“Well . . . no,” Janis admitted. “Especially not with the prospect of battle in the near future.”
“I don’t suppose any messages have come in?”
“None,” Janis assured him. “You would have heard if there had been any. Nothing from Ishkabur, Relam, or Leon’s men. Everything is quiet.”
“The calm before the storm, perhaps?” Khollo murmured thoughtfully.
“Perhaps,” Janis agreed. He turned and moved to the southeast windows, peering off into the distance for some sign of the enemy.
“Still nothing,” he muttered, pawing at the hilt of his longsword. “I hate waiting.”
Khollo joined his uncle at the window, frowning. There was a slight disturbance on the horizon, a fuzzy, unclear patch. “Do you see that?”
“See what?” Janis asked immediately, looking up.
“The sort of . . . frayed patch on the horizon.”
Janis nodded. “To the roof, quickly.”
Khollo led the way to the metal ladder and the trap door above. The door was unlocked and Khollo shoved through it, hauling himself onto the roof.
“Good morning, sir,” said a soldier standing near the edge of the roof. “And to you, my lord,” he added as Janis climbed up behind Khollo.
“Good morning, Andor,” Janis said distractedly, moving hastily to the southeast edge of the roof. The disturbance was more obvious from this height.
“What does that look like to you, Khollo?” he murmured.
“Like we’re about to have visitors,” Khollo replied in the same lowered tones.
Andor frowned and shaded his eyes. “Is that . . . an army?” he asked finally.
Janis nodded slowly. “I think so. Call out the guard. Get every man to their positions. Khollo, I will stay here on the roof. Will you be able to see me from the north gate?”
“Should be able to,” Khollo agreed.
“Good, I’ll signal when we need you and Kanin to counterattack. Until then, stay out of sight. I want the pair of you to be a nasty surprise for those brutes.”
Khollo nodded and jogged back to the trapdoor. He had just placed his foot on the top rung of the ladder when Janis stopped him.
“And Khollo?”
“Yes?”
“Be safe.”
Khollo nodded. “I will. You do the same, Janis.”
Janis smiled grimly. “Yes, of course. Best get moving. I’m sure Kanin is ready for battle.”
Khollo grinned. “More than you know.”
Have you sighted vertaga? Kanin asked urgently. We fight now?
Yes, Khollo promised. I’m on my way down.
The young warrior descended the ladder quickly, jumping from the fourth rung to the floor and then careening down the spiral staircase as fast as he could without falling.
Khollo sprinted across the main hall, then out the front door and down into the underground portion of the fortress. The first three levels were nearly deserted now, but the lowest level was teeming with soldiers. Khollo stopped by the gate, breathing heavily.
Hurry up, Kanin groused. The fight will be over before you get here.
It hasn’t even started, Khollo pointed out. But he obediently jogged through the north gate and over to where Kanin was sitting, wings flared, neck extended, trying to peer beyond the wall to the east.
I cannot see anything, the dragon complained. How long until the battle begins?
I don’t know, Khollo replied, a little sharply. We’ll just have to be patient.
Kanin growled and lay his head flat on the rocky ground. Vertaga better hurry up.
Khollo winced and tried to work out a stitch in his side. They can take as long as they like, if you ask me. We’ll get to fight plenty either way. And the longer it takes them to get here, the longer I have to recover.
From what?
Sprinting down from the roof, maybe?
That is nothing. You only ran a few minutes. I have flown for several days straight before.
That’s different, you’re a dragon! And there was an air current!
Very observant, Kanin replied drily.
Khollo sighed, wondering if he would ever get the last word with Kanin.
Never.
Khollo glared at him suspiciously, but before he could reply, Sermas and Hern came running through the north gate.
“Khollo! Vertaga on the way, you can see them from the walls up above – ”
“I know,” Khollo broke in. “Janis and I saw them from the roof.”
“Oh,” Hern said, slightly deflated. “Well, everyone is getting to their positions. The north wall is completely abandoned, soldiers are split between the main fortress and the gate down here. Everyone else is holed up underground behind locked doors and barricaded arches. A few of the more able-bodied villagers are armed with rough spears, just in case.”
“Sounds good,” Khollo replied. “Any messages for me?”
“Not that we know of,” Sermas, replied shrugging.
Probably just hide and wait, Kanin grumbled.
The fun will begin soon enough, Khollo replied soothingly.
Hern picked up his rope harness and began cinching the various straps down around his arms and torso. Khollo noticed that a line of several clay pots was hanging from his left shoulder.
“Interesting arrangement you have there,” he observed.
Hern grinned. “My uncle’s idea. He said carrying the oil pots in our hands was too risky. More likely to drop one. This way, we just unknot one pot at a time and the rest dangle safely.”
“Safely?”
“Well, maybe not
