Nightchild

But looking back over his shoulder, his eyes enhanced to banish the encroaching gloom, he'd have had to take his courage in both hands to say so. Etched on the dimming horizon was the outline of

the lead ship, its masts canted at a crazy angle, spars dipping in the water. He could still recall the awful sound of grinding wood on stone, the tearing out of the hull and the rush of water as it washed through the crippled vessel.

The remaining two ships had come about in a hurry, their captains roaring orders across the sudden panic of their decks, their wheels dragged round to force tight turns to starboard, the gusting wind driving them on, the fear of what lay beneath the water sawing at nerves. The dread vibration underfoot that would become a shuddering stop and a pitching of the deck that would signify disaster.

Casualties had been light but the entire force of soldiers and mages had been forced into the flotilla of skiffs and long boats. They had carried all the surviving small craft from the original fleet of seven, leaving space for something just short of one hundred and fifty bodies. It was enough, but Vuldaroq could already see the tiredness in the warriors who would be forced to row much of the night to make the island, and his mages were taking turns to fly alongside the overloaded boats, draining them of vital stamina.

Even so, he was confident now. They would make the island well before dawn and set up a camp to give them some rest at least before first light saw diem destroy the pitiful resistance that The Raven and their handful of Protectors would offer. The dragons were gone and he hoped they presented no real threat anyway. They were damaged and susceptible to focused mass casting and, without their fire, had to come close to inflict losses.

He turned his gaze forward again and could just make out the island in the distance. The extraordinary mana light column had gone but it had served its purpose for them all and with elves on the tillers of every boat, he had no fear of them driving too close to the shore or of making a wrong turn.

Still, there were preparations to be made. He signalled one of the mages who flew alongside his boat.

'It's time for our esteemed assassins to do a little work,' he said. 'I need to know the layout of any landing points, positioning of guards, buildings and any entry points. I want to know the type of terrain, the potential direction for our attacks and I want to know

whether there are any other forces there bar the ones we already know about.'

'Yes, my Lord,' said the mage, a young man with scared eyes. 'How many do you want to despatch?'

'All of them,' said Vuldaroq. 'And tell them not to engage unless their lives are directly threatened. Tell them to fly in below the level of the headland and to Cloak the moment they hit dry land. I don't want The Raven even knowing they've been there.'

'Of course, my Lord.'

'Excellent. Be about it then and take a rest yourself, you're looking a little tense,' said Vuldaroq, smoothing his robes.

'Thank you, my Lord.'

The mage flew away to one of the trailing long boats, Vuldaroq watching him go. He smiled and prodded the leg of the man in front of him with his foot.

'Feeling any better?' he asked. 'You know you really should stick to the land. Neither sailing nor flying are really your province, are they?'

Selik turned a scowling, white face towards him.

'Just see this bucket gets me there, Dordovan,' he slurred. 'And keep your smart mouth closed.'

Vuldaroq's smile faded and he leant in close but made sure his crew could hear him.

'You want to be a little careful how you speak. Look about you, Selik. All this potential for accidents.' Vuldaroq tutted and patted him gently on the shoulder. 'Hmm… So many Dordovans. Only one Black Wing.'

T thought you were the master tactician,' said Hirad into another tense silence in the kitchen. The Raven, Ren, Darrick and Aeb were seated around the table, empty bowls in front of them. In the dining room, Lyanna was dozing and watched over by Arrin while other Guild elves tended to the Al-Drechar who were asleep once again. In the store room where Ilkar had found the elves, they'd set up a bed for Thraun. It was much less than ideal but it kept him close and at least it was dry.

Outside, the weather was closing in again. The wind was picking up and rain squalls thrashed at the house. It was an oddly comforting

sound, following on the heels of a few hours of calm conditions which did far more to help the following Dordovans than it did the defenders. It had escaped no one's attention that the changes in the elements coincided with Lyanna's time with her mother and father followed by her sullen acceptance that she had to try and rest.

With night all but full and Protectors patrolling the house and hidden near the landing beach, tempers had become frayed as the enormity of the task was relayed to them by Darrick.

'Hirad, you could try and be a little more constructive,' said Ilkar.

'But he's just told us that this house is practically undefendable,' said Hirad, pointing at Darrick.

'No,' said Darrick patiently. 'What I said was, it wasn't built to keep people out. It's a welcoming place, open and friendly. It's not a fortress and it would take us days to make it into one. What I'm suggesting is, in my opinion, the only possibility that can lead to success. If you have others, please let's hear them.'

'You're the tactics man, you tell me,' snapped Hirad.

'I have told you,' said Darrick quietly.

'Well tell it to me again in a way that makes me think it isn't just going to be drawn-out suicide.'

The Unknown shifted in his seat, the scraping noise of his chair entirely deliberate.

'Night has fallen,' he said, his voice utterly commanding. 'We know spies or assassins are going to be crawling all over this house any time now. So let me ask you this, Hirad. Do you have an alternative suggestion?'

'No, but-'

'Then shut up. Because we have to agree on positions, then we have to get a few hours rotating rest and then we have to fight all day. If we aren't cohesive, we'll be slaughtered very quickly and I have no intention of wasting Erienne's great work on my leg. Despite your worries, I intend to have more blood on my sword tomorrow than the rest of you put together.

'And speaking of Erienne, I want her and Denser in a private room guarded by Protectors so they can enjoy what is probably their last night together. You are shortening that night.' He glared at Hirad until the barbarian leant back, sighing extravagantly and staring into space.

Ilkar watched it all like he had watched it a hundred times before. And he knew what Hirad was doing. So did The Unknown. Just making sure they would do it right. It was just that he was not very good at expressing his concerns.

'I want us to win this,' said Hirad. 'And I'm sorry, Erienne and Denser, but I don't want this to be your last night because it means we're all dead tomorrow.' He pushed away his chair, grabbed his mug and walked over to the water pot, his boots slapping on the stone.

'You know he's right, don't you?' said Denser from where he sat at one end of the table, with Erienne's head on his shoulder and his arm about her waist.

'But we've argued this for an hour and there is no better way,' said The Unknown.

'And he still needs a little more instruction on tactful conversation,' said Ilkar.

That broke the mood, even Hirad chuckling as he refilled his mug. Only Aeb, there because he needed to relay any decisions to his brothers instantly, sat unmoved by everything.

'Again, then,' said The Unknown, inviting Darrick to take them once more over the hastily drawn map that was weighted down on the table with various pieces of crockery.

'Ready, Hirad?' asked Darrick.

'Yes, General, sir,' said Hirad.

'Come on, let's concentrate,' said The Unknown. 'This is it, now.'

'All right,' said Darrick. 'As I mentioned earlier, we are not establishing our core defensive position until just before dawn. I don't want any more information than is absolutely necessary getting back to the Dordovans. We're assuming that they will know the position of the house, its entrances and might infiltrate the building itself, possibly through the orchard. However, Aeb has stationed Protector pairs at every critical entrance and the Al-Drechar have a shifting shield which should detect Cloaked incursion.'

He cleared his throat and leaned over the map.

'Right, as you know, it is here in the kitchen that we are setting core defence at daybreak. It's right for a