‘When it gets tired of waiting to be told what to do, it will decide if it’s more irritated by being here or hungry. If the first, it may decide to come here and rip up the city out of spite, or it may turn around and start swimming out to sea, looking for food.’
‘This one is pretty stupid,’ said Nakor. ‘If we don’t annoy it may just look for food. It will probably eat half the fish in the Bitter Sea and any ship it happens across.’ He pointed to the longboats that were hovering just beyond the creature. ‘If there’s another Demon Master out there in a boat, we’ll know soon.’
‘Can’t it be banished magically, back to wherever it came from?’ asked Brendan.
‘Only by a Demon Master,’ said Nakor.
‘Or if you kill it.’ added Miranda.
‘Can
Miranda looked at Nakor and they both knew the answer. The real Miranda could almost certainly have disposed of this creature, if not quickly and cleanly, eventually, but Child only knew what Miranda knew in the abstract. She knew the spells Miranda would have employed, but she could not use them. But as Child she had learned her own combat magic.
‘No,’ said Miranda, jumping up into a crenel. ‘I’ll have to do it the hard way.’
‘What?!’ Martin reached out as if to stop her, but she was over the wall.
‘Is she mad?’ exclaimed Brendan.
‘Most of the time,’ answered Nakor, looking down to where Miranda had landed without injury.
‘Amazing,’ said Martin. ‘She should be dead.’
‘Almost certainly,’ agreed Nakor.
Miranda reached down, grabbing the back hem of her dress, pulling it up and hiking the hem of her dress up to the top of her thighs. She tucked the extra fabric into the leather belt she wore, in the fashion of fisherwomen along the coasts in any country.
‘Not fighting togs,’ said Nakor, ‘but they’ll do.’ Then with a grin he added, ‘I always thought she had wonderful legs.’
Both brothers looked at the short gambler with expressions that indicated they both now regarded him as completely mad.
Miranda stood upright and held her hands aloft, incanting a spell. Then she stepped forward. As she strode towards the demon she began to draw energies around her. The hair on the arms and necks of all on the wall stood up at the charged feel of it, as if lightning had been discharged nearby. Miranda held up her hands, palms outward, flexing her fingers, as her nails started lengthening, apparently growing into claws.
‘What is she …?’ asked Martin.
‘It’s a good trick. Watch,’ suggested Nakor.
The water demon ceased scanning the horizon for its summoner, and fixed its eyes on Miranda, as she strode towards him. Here was something he definitely recognized. The shape was alien, but the scent and the power exuding from it were familiar. Another demon approached and not of the water kind.
‘He’s big, but his kind are stupid,’ said Nakor from the wall. ‘He doesn’t know where he is or why he’s here, but he’s forgotten anything else now that he has someone to fight.’
‘He’s still five times bigger than she is!’ said Brendan.
‘Watch,’ said Nakor. ‘She’s smaller, but she’s a lot smarter, and she has lots of tricks.’
As he said that, Miranda leapt upward and in an impossible arc sped through the air straight at the water demon’s throat. She landed and seemed to dig in with both hands and feet, ripping and tearing and even bringing her teeth to bear.
The blow shocked the demon, who staggered backward a few steps, almost losing his balance. He bellowed as he began pummelling his smaller opponent.
‘Once she digs in, she’s like a bulldog,’ said Nakor.
At last the dim-witted monster got one hand completely around one of Miranda’s arms and yanked hard. He dislodged her claws and sent a fountain of blood spurting across the water and the quay beyond. Then he used his other hand to pull her away, and before she could grab his hand, he flung her into the stones of the street where she slid all the way to the gate, striking it hard enough to be felt by those above it.
‘Gods!’ exclaimed Martin. ‘He’s killed her!’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Nakor with a grin. ‘She is very tough, and has some tricks, remember?’
The water creature hesitated, bringing his hand up to the wound Miranda had caused in his neck. He touched it, winced in pain, and brought away blood-covered fingers. He sniffed at them, looked at them, then bellowed again in rage.
Astonishingly to those watching from above, Miranda stood up, took two steps, then started a run at the water demon. With a sudden jump, she flew through the air at the monster for the second time.
Nakor said, ‘This may take a while.’
Martin replied, ‘I don’t know if we have a while. Look.’
The Keshians on the ridge of the western road were now moving forward in orderly fashion, while the longboats were moving in a long arc which would land them on the south-east shore, next to the road.
‘How are they doing that?’ asked Martin, indicating the boats. Each was unmanned by rowers, somehow moving without apparent means.
Brendan pointed to the rear of the lead boat and said, ‘Those frog-things I told you about!’
Martin couldn’t make out specific features as they were splashing wildly, but took his brother’s word for it. All he could see was a splashing at the rear of every boat as if someone was in the water pushing it along.
‘Archers!’ shouted Martin. ‘One man in three over to the south-east wall!’ He motioned for George Bolton. ‘Take charge of the other wall. Do not fire until the Keshians get into range, then give them everything you’ve got!’
Bolton saluted, turned and headed after the archers making their way to the far wall. He knew as well as Martin that if the Keshians got a foothold on the south-eastern road and could attack the eastern gate, Martin would be unable to defend both that and the main gate.
Nakor rubbed his chin and his expression was thoughtful as watched Miranda tearing at the now-enraged water demon. She was far more powerful than her present state suggested, Nakor knew, and could take a lot of punishment before her demon-magic defences gave way. Yet there was always the chance something could go wrong, leaving her helpless before the behemoth. Moreover, in less than two minutes the first Keshians would be ashore and there was no telling what might happen after that. They obviously had more than one magic-user with them, probably more than the four who were killed in the inn. Someone had to remain on the distant shore, or in one of the boats in the rear, directing those water creatures in the pushing of the boats. Moreover, Nakor was now convinced the boats had departed just down the coast and had remained undetected due to a shrouding magic of some sort, a spell of blending or invisibility that allowed the boats to appear suddenly.
Then his face split into a grin. ‘I have a wonderful idea!’
‘I would welcome that,’ said Martin.
Nakor turned to a boy holding a flaming brand next to a bucket of oil. ‘Give me that torch,’ he said, grinning maniacally. If the defenders reached the gate, they were going to be met with flaming death from the wall above.
The boy handed over the torch.
Before Martin could frame any sort of question, Nakor leapt up into the crenel and dropped over the wall. Martin, Brendan and the others who could leaned out to see the small man land on his feet with east.
‘How do they do that?’ asked Martin of his brother.
‘I have no idea,’ replied Brendan.
Nakor ran to where Miranda and the water demon battled. Shouting at the water demon, Nakor managed to get close enough to burn his legs with the torch.
The monster howled in rage and pain. Throwing Miranda hard against the city wall for a second time, he turned his full attention on the pesky little man with the torch. Nakor leapt aside deftly as the water demon raised a massive foot out of the harbour, water cascading off it in streams. To Miranda Nakor shouted, ‘Stay where you are! I have an idea! Find the last magic-user!’
The water demon lifted the other leg out of the water. Now he was fully on the land.
Miranda slowly stood up, holding up her hand to indicate she understood.
