IGNATIUS GRIPPED MY WAIST WHEN we spotted it, leaning forward for a better look. Along the ridgeline, standing tall and proud, appeared to be a massive army of centaurs. From here, they looked real. Our army made sounds of approval before all gazes turned to the valley floor; would it work?Another rumble of sound rolled out developing into the roar of hundreds of thousands of voices in unison.'AHHH KA MATE, KA MATE, KA ORA, KA ORA.'My jaw dropped and I twisted to look at Sian, who wore the same astonished expression. Hell! Does she know all the words?Sian, head to the side while she listened, shook her head with a grin. Not exactly, she just substituted some Malay in there too.It sounds really good!'What is that?' demanded Ignatius, and all the soldiers around us listened with intent faces, nodding in approval at the harsh guttural way Kassie projected it.'Err-,' I scrambled for a moment, trying to think of the definition of the haka. 'Oh! It's a war chant, from our realm
'LET'S GO!' RUMAL YELLED.Kerak and Tomiar launched into the air. Kassie hung to the saddle handles while staring hard through the gap between Kerak's neck and shoulder. The dust cloud made it difficult to see anything and she called in a squally wind that blew at their army's back, straight into the eyes of the enemy.'Clever girl!' thought Kerak, watching those who took the brunt of the dust stagger, becoming easy pickings for their troops.'God, look what Loi did,' Kassie thought to the griffon, while gaping at the mess of deep black trenches that broke the valley into narrow sections of riverbed.'It's fantastic,' Rumal called in her ear. 'Look how it narrows the number of enemies. We actually stand a chance of holding them off.'He's right, Kassie realized, watching the centaurs charge, attacking elgrids and men, barely needing to use weapons instead utilizing their weight and speed to throw enemies over the edge.'DRAGONS!' Kerak thought with a piercing shriek of alarm.
'TOMIAR, ARE YOU OKAY?'It was pitch black in the bottom of the crevice, and Loi squeezed Sabyn's knee at the same time he squeezed her thigh.'Okay?' they said in unison, before briefly laughing.'All good,' thought Tomiar. 'This is a very deep hole, Loi!''I know, can you jump out?''No.''It's too deep,' Sabyn said at the same time and Loi nodded.'Tomiar said. Okay, on the count of three jump, alright? I'll boost you.''Good, I'm standing on bodies, it's not nice. Let's get out.'Sabyn tightened his hold and Loi gathered her energy, swirling a solid shield around, to protect them from the still falling rocks and gravel.'One, two, three!'Tomiar's muscles bunched and she kept her wings tucked close then shoved off. Loi threw her energy beneath Tomiar. The griffon screeched in excitement while they shot up, rapidly approaching the light above, and they sailed into daylight. Tomiar snapped her wings open then dived for their troops.'We're holding!' Sabyn shouted from beh
RUMAL LEANED HARD OUT AND felt his stomach drop. Over the tops of the mountains leading into the valley more enemy marched. Thousands of troops of armed Arumites.He cursed, pounding a fist against his thigh while Kassie demanded to know who they were. 'Arumites, Kass. Our guys are screwed.''What do we do? Do we attack them?' Kerak asked.'No, Kerak. We deal with the dragons.''What'll we do?' Kassie shrieked against the wind. 'We need to split up, we could tackle those troops.'Gritting his teeth Rumal pulled her close, unable to keep the harsh sound from his voice when he spoke in her ear. 'We deal with the dragons. When the way to the castle is clear, we leave. We have our orders.'Kassie struggled in his hold, twisting to stare at his face, her eyes angry and lips pale.'No! We can't, we have to help!'They had seconds before they reached the other griffons. Rumal caught her chin with his fingers, eyes boring into hers and in an angry but even tone, snapped. 'We follow o
'THEY KNOW AND AREN'T HAPPY,' I thought to Loushka. 'I've shut the link off.''Good. I'll keep watch from outside, make sure to keep your mind open so I can see what's going on.''I will.''And be careful, Cat. Jenviet is cunning.'I gulped. 'I'll try.'I could see now that our army had done exactly as desired but the massive gap between the enemy and castle just reminded me of the atrocious position they now stood inwhere we'd left them. The land bridges created by Loi did mean a large group would have difficulty in moving en-masse but still-'Don't despair, Cat. The chance of anyone getting home was always slim. If we succeed here, then it is a worthy sacrifice.'Leaving good men to die felt anything but worthy and I clenched the saddle handle tight, building the fury against Jenviet while focusing on the castle ahead. High formidable walls surrounded the towers, and a solid metal gate that would be an issue if we weren't flying in. The tower roofs looked like the conical hats
THE AIR AROUND ME CRACKLED with screams of anguish and my knees turned to water when I recognized Alek's final cries from that awful morning. The sounds rooted me to the spot as I heard the laboured breaths, the groans and whimpers of pain before it startedthe slight crackle of energy followed by his inhuman, bone jarring, shrieks of agony. My chest heaved and I gulped breaths, holding back tears until the sounds grew quiet and I heard his broken whispers to me, his tortured voice shattering my heart. Tears fell, plodding on the thick carpet at those final words.Then it vanished. The room still and silent like when I'd entered.Swallowing, and swallowing again, I shook off the sudden, overwhelming grief and turned to glare at the portrait, dagger itching against my palm. The gaze looked blankly past me.Stumbling on the thick pile carpet, I stiffened my limbs and ignored the portraits, continuing my way around the curving corridor. Those bulging lights continued and I counted two m
IGNATIUS THOUGHT THE CASTLE GATES would pose a problemhe hadn't expected to find them open. The Lieutenant studied the open gatehouse uneasily and paused to draw his sword and dagger, then continued up the wide path into the courtyard. Aiming for the first door he spotted, he stopped at a soft throaty warble and looked up. Loushka sat on the roof of the highest tower and peered down at him then made a deliberate motion with her head to the central door, into the tower she sat on. With a nod of thanks, Ignatius moved silently up the stairs and pushed one of the stubbed iron doors wide. After a vigilant look around, he slipped in and let the door close behind.THE SILENCE I STEPPED INTO after all the noise from the shadow creatures felt unnerving. It looked like the first floor; dark wood walls and a thick rich carpet. Again, I could see no one around. Only a few feet before me stood a beautiful blue tank. Large and cylindrical, taller than me by another half easily. The warmth of the
COMPARED TO THE OTHER FLOORS this floor shone with light and I couldn't see any wood panelling, instead marbled dove grey stone walls and floors that reflected the light from ornate iron and glass lamps hanging from the ceiling. It felt like stepping into an art gallery, so pristine and modern; but the coppery scent of blood stopped me. I paused in the narrow corridor, ears straining to make out the strange grating sound I could hear. It seemed vaguely familiar, yet set my teeth on edge.Keeping my shield in place I followed the corridor around to the left and around further until I reached an archway. Peering through I saw a spacious corridor with archways into alcoves down either side. From this archway I could count three on the left and two on the right, although it looked like the end one on the left might lead to the stairwell. The archways had elaborate wrought iron detailing over the stone and more lamps hung down. That odd grating noise continued intermittently but I couldn't