Decebalus had risen with the sun, climbing the highest tower of the Court of the Soaring Spirit to get the clearest view across the Great Plain to the mountains and the sprawling Forest of the Night that bordered it. What he saw left him with a chill that even the warmth of the sun couldn't lift. Only the white-streaked mountaintops were visible, the forest not at all. The army surrounding the city was so large he had the impression of standing on a lighthouse on an island in the centre of a black, turbulent ocean. War machines belched out thick black smoke to fill the sky, mingling with the odd purple mist clinging to some of the enemy. Three Riot-Beasts came and went, their roving eyes revealing their idiot power that blasted out in a directionless fury that occasionally hit their own forces. It was like no army Decebalus had ever faced in his lifetime of battle. In his mind, he felt as if he was looking at a seething anthill, but what his eyes saw was even worse and his consciousness squirmed and skittered across it, refusing to accept the reality.
'They know we are not defenceless.' Lugh had joined him silently. 'They fear the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons in our midst, and they wonder what other powers we have at our disposal. As well they should. But they will attack soon enough.'
'What makes my blood boil is that this is no true battle. Its outcome is meaningless to the Enemy. It is simply a way of harrying and distracting the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons until the Void has claimed its place in this world. And yet we must fight, and we must die. And what do we gain?'
'Survival.' Lugh's face was drawn, yet to Decebalus he appeared to have grown in stature since the barbarian had first encountered him. 'All things under Existence are in peril. Extinction waits for Fragile Creatures and for gods. When the Void remakes this place, we will no longer be in it, replaced by supine peoples who will live in peace within the Mundane Spell, and never challenge the will of the Devourer of All Things.'
Decebalus nodded. 'You make sense, for a slippery manipulator of men. For all time, until this time, there was always a chance the Void could be deposed, however slim that chance might be. If this war is lost, there will never be a chance again. The Void rules, for all time.'
'And we play our part here, by distracting the Enemy and deflecting the bulk of its forces from hunting Jack Giant-Killer and his fellows. There is little glory in any victory here.' He smiled wryly. 'But we play a part, and sometimes that is enough.'
They were interrupted by a Sister of Dragons with dyed red hair. Her name was Sarah Mazzarella, a thoughtful and intuitive woman to whom Decebalus had given the onerous task of liaising with the gods. 'They're ready,' she said, her voice weary. 'They've agreed to accept your orders in the battle.' She glanced at Lugh. 'But no other.'
'As it should be,' Lugh said. 'We would only fight amongst each other if one of us tried to gain ascendancy.'
'You are an irritating and troublesome kind.' Decebalus sighed. 'It would be easier to herd cats with a stick and a flute.' He nodded to Sarah. 'Tell them we march onto the field of slaughter within the hour.'
'I may reword that,' she said as she left.
'You have a strategy in place?' Lugh asked.
'Yes. Run hard at the enemy and see if they fall down.'
Lugh eyed Decebalus, unsure if he was joking.
'I have a plan,' the barbarian said with a grin. He glanced towards the tower where smoke belched from the windows and lights flashed mysteriously. Math was hard at work.
As they made their way down towards their troops, there was a loud disturbance at the gate. Soon after, the chief of the guards ran breathlessly to them. 'The Enemy has sent an emissary to talk,' he gasped.
'We are not going to surrender!' Decebalus said.
Lugh caught his arm. 'Let us listen to what he has to say.'
At the gate, a skeletal figure in black robes with a sly smile and staring yellow eyes waited with three Redcaps who could barely contain their bloodlust. They all stank of rotting meat.
'Perhaps I should cut you down here, and save time,' Decebalus mused.
'What would it profit you?' The skeletal man nodded mockingly. 'I am Lorca, charged to speak for the one your kind knows as Seth, sole survivor of the Great Dominion of the desert lands, who commands this mighty force.'
'Ah. He seeks revenge.'
Lorca gave a chittering laugh. 'Revenge is for equals, Fragile Creature. We come here to…' With a wry expression, Lorca searched for words that Decebalus might understand and finally settled on, 'Save trouble.'
'Save trouble? Why, I have been looking forward to this fight for a long time. I have organised my week around it.'
'You wish to die so soon?'
'If needs must. But I have a bet on with the drinkers down at the Hunter's Moon. How many of you will I take with me? That is the question.'
Lorca nodded, patronisingly.
'Say your piece and then we can get down to the sport,' Decebalus said.
'Give up the Caraprix.'
Taken aback, Decebalus shared a glance with Lugh.
'Give them up now, and we will leave you in peace here to live out the rest of your days, however long that may be,' Lorca continued.
'Why would you want those silver rats?'
'Why would you? They are no use to Fragile Creatures.'
'They were no use. Now that you have raised the matter, I think they may well be of great use indeed.'
'Then you do not know their true nature. You harbour the seeds of your own destruction, Fragile Creature. The Caraprix are not benign. They are a force of destruction.'
'Ah. So you are doing us a favour by taking them off our hands. I had the same proposition in the market this very morning. A ducat for my axe. To save me from cutting myself.'
Lorca nodded and smiled, but his eyes were filled with a deathly cold. 'Understand that you may make a gift of the Caraprix, or we will take them. The only difference is the life or death of everyone in this city.'
'Run along now. I am tired of talking.'
Lorca held Decebalus's gaze for a moment, before giving another contemptuous nod and retreating with the Redcaps.
'An interesting development,' Decebalus mused.
'Then the Enemy has a reason to be here,' Lugh said.
'There is a reason for everything. The question, then, is of what use are those shape-shifting rats to the Army of Ultimate Destruction?'
'They must be of great value indeed.' Lugh pondered for a moment and then said, 'And why did the Enemy not simply crush us and take the Caraprix? There is something here, I think.'
'There is something, indeed!' Decebalus gave a pleased grin. 'If the Enemy wants the Caraprix so badly that they are prepared to wheedle for them, our course of action is decided. They shall not have them!'
3
Hunter and Jack spent the better part of an hour searching the reaches of the cavern for an exit. Far behind them in the dark, the Fomorii hunted through the field of bones, drawing closer with every passing minute.
The sign would have been easy to miss if Jack had not been resting his forehead against the rock to calm his mounting panic. Faint vibrations rippled through the wall, a steady, rhythmic beat. He called Hunter over, who pressed his ear to the damp rock.
'You can hear it,' he whispered. 'Boom-boom-boom, like machinery.'
'In here? What could it be?'
When Hunter edged along the wall in a particular direction, the beat grew fractionally louder, until he could hear it clearly. At that point, he spied handholds in the rock leading up to a small, dark opening about ten feet off the ground. Boosting Jack up, he followed him into a tunnel large enough for them to stand upright, cut through the
