Explode? Kanin asked dubiously. Are you sure we should be carrying these around? Explosions are not good for flying dragons or Keepers.
No, they’re not, Khollo agreed.
“It’ll be fine,” Hern said quickly, reading Khollo’s dubious expression. “We really do know what we’re doing, Khollo.”
“I certainly hope so,” Khollo muttered. “If you – ”
He was cut off by a rattle of chains. He turned and saw the north gate swinging shut slowly. Then, the massive doors closed and a rolling boom echoed across the farmlands.
“Where do I drop you after the fire runs?” Khollo asked, looking at the closed doors.
Hern and Sermas exchanged a glance. “Um . . . didn’t think about that,” Sermas muttered finally.
“Just dump us wherever we’re needed,” Hern said brightly, finishing with the last strap on his harness.
“But don’t you need to be down here to set off the other traps?”
“No,” Sermas replied, shaking his head. “Those will work completely on their own. Though it would be nice if we got to watch,” he added thoughtfully.
“Yeah, some of them could be quite entertaining,” Hern agreed. “But really, the vertaga will probably set off most of the traps before our oil run.”
“What exactly have you rigged out there?” Khollo asked curiously.
“You’ll see,” Sermas and Hern chorused, grinning impudently.
Khollo rolled his eyes and looked up towards the roof, where Janis would be signaling from. So far, there was nothing. The young warrior sighed and sat down on the ground, looking up at the keep tower.
“Looks like we’ll be waiting a little longer,” he muttered to no one in particular. Sermas and Hern sat as well, fiddling with their harnesses and checking to make sure the oil pots were securely attached.
Several excruciatingly long minutes passed. Khollo kept looking up at the tower at frequent intervals, though he knew he would not be signaled until the battle was underway. And the battle was most certainly not under way. There was no sound at all, save for Sermas and Hern’s frustrated sighs and the rustle of scales as Kanin shifted position for the umpteenth time.
Khollo was on the point of running back up to the roof of the keep tower, just so he could watch the vertaga advance and know what was happening, when he heard a low rumbling noise. It grew from nothing, beginning quite suddenly. It continued to grow louder and louder, until Khollo could make out the sound of equipment jangling.
“Nearly time,” he murmured, getting to his feet. He was wishing once again that he still stood on the roof of the keep. How many vertaga were there? How many lutags? Had they managed to repair the catapults or had Khollo and Kanin done their job well, flaming the siege engines to charred bits and pieces.
Shouts rang from the battlements above, and Khollo’s head snapped up so quickly that he heard something in his neck pop.
Your friends are defying the vertaga, Kanin observed. But those beasts will not be frightened by shouting.
Khollo shrugged, still gazing upwards. Every now and then, a soldier would wander to the north edge of the keep tower and look down. He had not appeared for several minutes though.
A horn sounded over the Basin, followed by a roar which made the shouts of the defenders pale in comparison. Khollo’s mouth went dry when he heard the noise.
There must be thousands of vertaga out there!
Yes, good hunting today, Kanin agreed, apparently unconcerned.
The horn sounded again, and Khollo felt the earth begin to shake with the force of many pounding feet. From the battlements came commands for the defenders to ready their bows, then the command to fire. The howls of the wounded joined the roars of the warriors, and the battle was begun.
Khollo climbed up onto Kanin’s back, securing his legs with the fighting straps. Janis will be calling for us any moment now, he said to Kanin. Are you ready to fly my friend?
More than ready, Kanin said grimly.
“Khollo,” Sermas said anxiously, looking up at him. “Take care of yourself, will you?”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I can handle you dying a second time,” Hern agreed.
Khollo snorted. “I’ll be careful,” he promised. “You two had better do the same.”
“We will,” Sermas promised. The youngest of the three cadets looked up suddenly. “There’s a green flag being waved at us. Must be the signal.”
Kanin spread his wings in anticipation. “I’ll be back,” Khollo promised Sermas and Hern. “But for now, it’s time to give the vertaga a nasty surprise.
Chapter 47
Kanin flared his translucent wings and lifted off from the ground, staying behind the hill on which the West Bank stood and below the height of the fortress walls. Khollo looked around curiously, then twisted in the saddle to look up at the roof. The soldier who had signaled them saluted, then turned away and disappeared.
Ready? Khollo asked, leaning forward.
Kanin beat his wings quickly and dove, swooping low to gain speed. Then he began banking around the hillside, making for the front of the fortress.
As they emerged from behind the cliffs, Khollo gasped. Even Kanin grunted in surprise and hesitated before beating his wings even faster.
Four thousand vertaga were lined up on the plains, several hundred of them astride snarling, snapping lutags. Most of the enemy troops stood out of arrow range, but about a quarter of the force was advancing at a run. Khollo saw the battering ram in their midst, borne along as though it weighed nothing. There were also a dozen or so unwieldy ladders among the first rank of vertaga. The first of these ladders was within five meters of the wall when its bearer collapsed, multiple arrows sprouting from its neck. Khollo looked back at the
