Khollo glared at the cadet. “Then would you care to tell us what’s happening out there?” he asked sardonically.
“The trip wire that vertaga pulled closed a net laced with fishhooks and barbs,” Sermas explained quickly. “Hopefully, it trapped a lutag or two. They’ll fight tooth and claw to get out and cause more damage with all of their thrashing. There’s wire strung between most of the crenellations so with any luck . . .”
He trailed off as a dozen more vertaga crested the wall at different points, stumbled, and continued lurching forward. Moments later, the howls and yells intensified.
“Just as we planned,” Sermas said cheerfully. “Ah, and now they’re waiting on the wall for their comrades to join them, don’t fancy taking on a dragon one on one I suppose. That will help maximize the effect of the fire trench.”
“So far, so good,” Hern agreed, looking down at his clay pots. “Can’t wait to start lobbing these though.”
“Well, if you hadn’t done such a good job with the other traps, we’d already be in the air,” Khollo observed drily. More vertaga were clambering onto the wall now, some bearing minor wounds, presumably from the barbed nets.
When several hundred vertaga were packed onto the wall in a solid line, one of them, with sleek black horns half as large again as any of the other vertaga, bellowed, and brandished his sword at Khollo, Kanin, and the two cadets standing defiantly between them and the gate.
“Get ready to fly,” Hern murmured, watching as the vertaga prepared to advance again. “Any second now . . .”
The vertaga eyed the drop from the wall to the ground, then leapt down from the wall, landing with a series of heavy impacts that shook the earth.
“Now!” Hern called. “Let’s go!”
Kanin launched himself into the air, climbing rapidly out of arrow range and wheeling towards the eastern end of the north wall. Below, Khollo could see the vertaga advancing in a long line. Then, abruptly, the advance halted and dissolved into chaos.
The ground opened up below the beasts, seeming to swallow them up. Shouts and howls echoed from the fields below. Dozens of vertaga had fallen into this latest trap and were seeking a way out while the rest of the army milled about in confusion, looking for a way across.
Kanin swooped towards the trench, flying low and fast to try and outpace any arrows. Fire sprouted from his jaws and launched into the trench, igniting the oil there and creating a long, unbroken line of flames. Black smoke boiled up from the trench, accompanied by screams and howls of pain. No arrows flew Kanin’s direction during the entire attack, and he pulled up at the far end of the trench unscathed.
Hover above the trench, Khollo said quickly. Out of arrow range. Let’s see how we did.
Kanin obediently ascended until there was no chance an arrow could hit them, then hovered, looking down at the carnage. The wall of fire was still going strong, and it looked as though nothing had survived in the trench. A few vertaga were making ineffectual attempts at the wall, trying to break through, but they were all turned back by the flames. A few slipped on the edge of the trench and fell in, but most retreated with only minor burns to wait for the flames to die down. And all the while, more vertaga were scaling the north wall and packing in behind their comrades.
“Time to start our first run,” Hern announced, his voice muffled by the fact that he was hanging under Kanin.
“But the flames are not even beginning to waver!” Khollo protested.
“Yes, but they will soon. Besides, I want to try something slightly different. I think we’ve killed everything in the trench. What if we drop some of the pots on those tightly packed vertaga right at the edge of the flames?”
“It won’t light,” Sermas pointed out.
“I think it will,” Hern countered. “Some of the dumber specimens keep running at the flames like they’re going to leap through, then turning back.”
“We can try it,” Khollo decided. “Ready?”
“Ready!” Sermas and Hern replied together.
Kanin rotated his wings and suddenly they were gliding along the path of the trench, still well out of arrow range. Khollo looked down and saw Sermas and Hern dangling beneath him, swinging back and forth slightly in the wind. The two cadets were looking towards the ground as well, each with one of the oil pots in their right hands.
Hern released the first oil pot. Khollo watched it tumble slowly towards the ground, end over end. It shattered right at the edge of the trench and the oil within caught fire. The result was liquid flame splashing back over several of the nearest vertaga. They recoiled from the trench fearfully, batting at the flames that had sprouted up from nothing.
Khollo did not see who released the next pot, but it hit a spot where the wall of fire was beginning to weaken. Two vertaga were caught in the act of jumping across the trench and vanished in a rush of fresh flames.
After that, oil was flying thick and fast, pots landing all along the trench and spraying their highly flammable contents everywhere. vertaga ran back and forth, panicked and frustrated. They were not used to tactics like these. They were used to enemies you could see, could run to and crush, or else batter into submission. This faceless wall of flame was not like any foe they had gone to battle against before.
“I’ve got three more,” Hern called up from where he swung below. “How about some stationary drops over the center of the line to finish things off?”
“Works for me,” Sermas agreed. “I
