Tavi ran for his life.
The courtyard was a mass of confusion and motion, but he knew the one direction he had to go: away from the man who had killed Atsurak. Tavi spun, dashed around a pair of struggling Marat warriors, and fled toward the other side of the fort. He heard a roar of wind above him, and then a sudden burst of it sent him tumbling along the ground. Tavi yelped and tried to make sure that he didn't stab himself to death with the knife in his hand, rolling and bumping along the stones of the courtyard.
When he came to a stop, he looked up to see a Knight Aeris in full armor diving toward him, the spear in his hand held extended. Tavi clawed at his pockets. Even as the Knight came on, Tavi hurled a handful of rock salt he had taken from Bernardholt's smokehouse at the oncoming Knight, and then dove frantically to one side.
The Knight let out a sudden shout, clawing at the air-but he dropped to the ground, moving too fast, skipped along for a pair of desperate steps, and began to tumble end over end on the unforgiving stones. Tavi heard one of his limbs hit with a sharp crack of impact, and the Knight shrieked.
Tavi regained his feet, looking around him wildly. More Knights Aeris had risen above the courtyard, looking for him. On the other side of a struggling knot of legionares, the huge swordsman Tavi had seen in the stable at Bernardholt spotted him and came toward him, sword lifting to clean any opposition out of his way. The man who had killed Atsurak was nowhere to be seen.
Tavi ran away from the swordsman and down the length of the stables, toward the center of the fort and the far gate. Surely there would be someone there who wasn't already hips-deep in Marat by now, or a safe building that he could hide in.
Tavi reached the end of the stables at the same time a bulky figure, dressed in a half-buckled breastplate and a helmet that hung down over his
eyes, plunged out of the doors of the stables, shouting, "I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Tavi slammed into the young man, and both went to the ground. The man's shield tumbled away wildly, though he managed to keep a grip on the well-worn handle of a spade. The man pushed his helmet back, then gripped the spade in both hands, raising it.
Tavi shielded his head with his arms. "Frederic!" he shouted. "Fred, it's me!"
Frederic lowered the spade and stared. "Tavi? You're alive?"
"Not for long!" he panted, struggling to his feet. "They're trying to kill me, Fred!"
Frederic blinked. His helmet fell over his eyes.
Tavi reached up to push it away, and saw the next Knight Aeris swooping down at him as he did. He reached into his pocket for more salt, but in his haste he had turned the pocket inside out, when he had drawn out salt before. It had all fallen out as he ran.
"Tavi," Fred said. "The Steadholder says I'm not to take that helmet off-"
"Look out!" Tavi said, and bulled into his friend, overbalancing the larger boy and taking him down. The Knight flashed past, his sword reaching down, and Tavi felt a sudden, hot sting on one arm.
Frederic blinked at Tavi and at the Knight flying on past, circling around again. "Tavi," he said, stunned, looking at the boy's arm. "He cut you." Fred looked up at Tavi, eyes widening. "They're trying to kill you!"
"I can't tell you how glad I am that you're here to tell me that," Tavi said, wincing at the sudden flash of pain. Blood had stained his shirt, but he could move his arm. "It isn't bad. Help me up."
Frederic did, his face showing his fear and confusion. "Who are they?"
"I don't know," Tavi said. "But he's coming again!"
Tavi turned to duck into the building-only to see, at the far end of the stables, the unmistakable outline of the swordsman against the doors on the far side, blade in hand.
"Can't get out that way," Tavi breathed. He looked back around behind him. The Knight Aeris had been joined by one of his companions, and they had lined up for another charge. "Fred, we need Thumper."
"What? But Thumper doesn't know how to fight!"
"Salt, Fred. We need salt to throw at those windcrafters, a lot of it!"
"But-"
"Hurry, Fred!"
The Knights Aeris hurtled toward them in a screaming torrent of wind.
Tavi gripped at his knife and looked around wildly, but there was no place to run.
Frederic stepped forward, in front of Tavi, his spade gripped in both hands. He let out a yell that grew into a deep-throated roar and drew back the spade. When he brought it around again, it came straight over his head and down in a great swooshing arc that met the leading Knight just before his sword could reach Tavi's friend.
The blow crumpled the Knight as though he had been made of straw, slapped him out of the air and to the ground in a single short, violent motion. Tavi had no doubt at all that Frederic had crushed the life from him.
Frederic lifted his spade and swung wildly at the next Knight, as the man swerved to avoid him. Frederic missed, but even as he swung, Tavi saw the light glittering on something shining on the blade of the spade, hard white lumps-crystals of salt. The salt swept through the Knight Aeris's wind-stream, and the man let out a yelp, tumbling to the ground and rolling with bone-breaking violence into the wall of one of the barracks.
Fred stared at the two men, his eyes wide, panting. He turned to Tavi and stammered, "I already had my spade salted. After I hit that first one, when I was working on that boulder." He blinked at the spade, and then at Tavi. "Are you all right?"
Tavi swallowed and looked back over his shoulder at the interior of the stable. Inside, someone had leapt out of the shadows at the swordsman. There was a confused blur of outlines, a short cry-and then the swordsman continued toward them.
Frederic swallowed, gripping his spade. "Tavi? What do we do?"
"Give me a minute," Tavi stammered. "I'm thinking."
Without warning, a Marat warrior hurled himself at Tavi, plowing into his side and lifting him, carrying him to slam painfully against the wall of the stable. Tavi let out a croaking shout and swung his knife weakly at the Marat warrior, a blood-smeared member of Clan Wolf, but the knife glanced off, barely breaking the Marat's skin.
The warrior tore at Tavi with his fangs, drawing back just enough to slam him against the wall, once, and then again, driving the breath from his lungs and stars into his vision.
Fred loomed up behind the warrior, shoved one brawny arm beneath his
chin, and wrenched the Marat back from Tavi, hauling the Marat off of his feet and eliciting a strangled scream of protest. "Tavi!" Fred shouted. "Run!"
Tavi landed on the ground, woozily, and pushed himself to his hands and knees. He looked up to see the swordsman still coming for him and turned, the gold-handled dagger still clutched in his fist, and started moving again, staggering off into the wild melee of the courtyard.
Tavi ducked the butt of a legionare's spear, slipped on a dark wetness he did not take the time to look at, and scrambled forward. A bloodied holder Tavi recognized from Rothholt turned toward him and lifted his sword, but recognized Tavi before striking and yelled something at him through the tumult and din.
Wind roared over the courtyard once more, and Tavi looked back to see another Knight Aeris hovering, eyes searching over the courtyard. His gaze swept to Tavi and stopped. The man's eyes widened, and he dived down toward him.
Somewhere close, Tavi heard the scream of a horse, and Tavi turned toward it, his eyes widening. He slipped past a stout old holder hauling a wounded legionare back out of the main knot of combat in the courtyard's center, to find a knot of horses, riders wielding spear and blade and forcing their way across the courtyard.
"Hashat!" Tavi shouted.
The Marat's head whipped around, white mane flying, and she flashed Tavi a fierce smile. "Aleran!" she called, her voice merry. Her eyes snapped into place above him, and she hissed, tightening her legs on the back of her horse. The beast plunged forward, all but bowling Tavi over, then reared. Tavi looked up in time to see the Knight Aeris that had been coming for him slash at Hashat and miss, only to have the Marat's saber whip across his face. The man shouted, clawing at his eyes, but he managed to thrust himself up higher into the air, bobbing drunkenly away from the courtyard. One of the other warriors spun with one of the heavily curved Marat short bows in his hands, and loosed an arrow that felled the Knight from the sky.
"Bah!" Hashat shouted at the archer. The man only grinned at her, drawing another arrow. She lifted the bloodied saber to her teeth and extended a hand to Tavi. "Up, Aleran!"
Tavi took her hand and was startled by the slender woman's strength. She hauled Tavi up to the light cushion of a saddle the Marat used, wrapped one of his arms around her waist, and shouted to the warriors near her in a
tongue he could not understand. Together, the horses turned and plunged toward the outer wall, forcing their way through the crowd of screaming beasts and men.
"What is happening?" Tavi shouted.
"Your people have been forced back onto their wall!" Hashat shouted. She shrugged, and Tavi saw a number of loops of black cloth over her shoulder- the dark sashes worn by the enemy Knights. "Wolf and Herdbane were closest to the walls. Our people are fighting their way here through them, but it might take time. We are helping your people get onto the wall or to fall back to the other courtyard!"
As Tavi watched, the butt end of a spear scythed through the air and took one of the mounted warriors of the Horse Clan from his saddle, dropping him into a knot of Herdbane warriors. One of them plunged a glass knife into his throat, and then as blood fountained from him, grasped his pale mane and cut it from his head together with the scalp.
Hashat, seeing this, let out a piercing scream of pure rage, her horse rearing and plunging its hooves at the chest of the fallen Herdbane warrior. The man dropped, screaming, one side of his chest warped oddly. One of the other Marat raised his spear, but Hashat lifted a hand, spitting a command. The spearman nodded and whipped the spear down at the Marat, its tip leaving a long cut over the Marat's ribs. He slashed again, into an X, and then the horses surged on.
"What was that?" Tavi asked.
"He took Ishava's scalp," Hashat snarled. "Attempted to destroy his strength. That is different than killing, Aleran."
"Why didn't you kill him?"
"Because we will not lose Ishava's strength. We marked him. After the fight, Aleran, we will partake of that Herdbane and let Ishava rest."
Tavi blinked and stared at Hashat. The Horse headman's dark eyes gleamed with something hard and savage, and she only smiled when someone hurled another spear at her, and she had to raise up on her stirrups to cut it out of the air with her saber.
They reached the wall, but the press of the combat had forced them to the northwest corner of the courtyard, where part of the wall had collapsed when Doroga's gargant had come charging through it.
"Doroga!" Tavi shouted. "Where is Doroga?"
"Out!" Hashat responded. "We got him onto his gargant and sent him
back to his people." She looked around the courtyard and shook her head. "We cannot remain here long, Aleran. The Wolves and Herdbane are being forced inside your walls by our people."
"My friend!" Tavi said. "Fred! Tall boy carrying a spade! He's back by the stables! You have to help him!"
Hashat looked back at Tavi, expression dark. Then flashed him a brilliant smile. "I will help him. Now, Aleran. Stand up. Hold on to my shoulders."
Hashat rode close to the crumbled section of the wall and looked up into the sun to see figures moving up there. One of them dropped a rope down. Tavi stood up, his arm throbbing where he had been cut, his feet on the Marat saddle, his hand on Hashat's slender, strong shoulders. He shoved the gold-handled dagger through his belt and grabbed on to the rope. Hashat glanced up at him, then kicked her horse into motion, leaving him swinging in the air, as whoever was up above began pulling the rope up.
"Fade!" Tavi exclaimed.
Fade let out a happy hoot and hauled Tavi up onto the broken section of the wall. The slave's scarred face twisted into a grotesque smile, as he grasped Tavi's shoulders and then hurried him up onto the battlements, away from the edge of the broken walls.
At the top, several legionares crouched upon the battlements, panting and exhausted. None were unwounded. They crouched with their backs against the crenellation, their shields held between them and the courtyard below. Bernard crouched there, too, but rose to come to Tavi and clutched at his arm fiercely. "Tavi!"
"Uncle! Where's Aunt Isana?"
Bernard shook his head, his face pale. "We got separated." He took the boy's shoulders and guided him up against the crenellation, pressing him to crouch against the stone, and kneeling with his own body between Tavi and the courtyard. Tavi looked out at the battlefield outside the fortress, awed. He had never seen so many people, much less so many people struggling to kill one another. The battlefield outside was as confusing a jumble as the one in the courtyard, but on a far grander scale. Gargants screamed and bellowed in the distance, plowing a slow but steady path toward the walls, while wheeling groups of mounted Horse Clan dashed and feinted everywhere, engaging packs of Wolf warriors or disorganized bands of Herdbane with their uncontrollable warbirds.
"Great furies," Tavi breathed.
"Get your head down," Bernard rumbled. He picked up a heavy Legion shield and held it across his body, facing the courtyard. "Someone still stops to shoot an arrow once in a while."
"What about Aunt Isana?"
Bernard grunted, as something struck the metal shield with a hollow, heavy thump. "We're doing all we can, boy. Stay down!"
Fade let out an alarmed cry from behind his shield, and Tavi looked back in time to see someone make a running leap from the other side of the gap in the wall. Amara landed on the battlements beside Fade with a rush of wind and a grunt of effort and wormed her way behind Fade's shield at once, panting.
"Tavi?" she said, her eyes widening. "I never thought you'd make it out of that."
"I had help."
"Do you have it?"
"Yes," Tavi said. He turned the knife's handle toward her and passed it over. Amara took the dagger, paling, and shook her head. "I have to get this to the First Lord."
Bernard grimaced. "What's Giraldi have to say?"
"We're cut off," Amara said. She wiped sweat from her brow, and Tavi saw that her hand was shaking. "Horse and Gargant are pushing the other Marat into Garrison. They hold the west courtyard except for the wall. East courtyard has pulled all its people back into buildings for defense. Giraldi thinks that Doroga's people will drive a wedge between Herdbane and Wolf within the hour and they'll have to quit the field."
Bernard blew out a breath. "An hour." Something else slammed against his shield, shoving his shoulder into Tavi's. "We aren't going to last that long. My sister?"
"She's in one of the barracks in the east courtyard, with Gram. Giraldi said that he saw her go in with him."
"Good," Bernard rumbled. "Good."
Down the wall, one of the legionares cried out. Tavi looked up and saw an arrow protruding from the man's upper shoulder. It didn't look like a life-threatening wound, but within a few seconds, the man's head rolled on his neck and he fell quietly to his side.
Bernard grabbed Tavi's arm and crab walked down the battlements behind his shield, keeping it over both of them. He checked the man's throat
and grimaced. "Must have hit the artery. He's gone." Then he frowned and leaned closer. "This isn't a Marat arrow."
The next legionare on the wall abruptly jerked. His head snapped back, where a few scant inches of his helmet showed over his shield. He blinked, a few times, and then blood ran down between his eyes and over one temple. His eyes unfocused, and then he toppled to his side as well, the arrow piercing his helmet.
Amara dragged Fade down the wall and flicked a glance around his shield. "It's him," she hissed.
The third man crouched behind his shield, tucking everything in close-too close. The next arrow slammed into the shield itself, pierced it, and went on into the man's chest, at his ribs. He let out a wheezing cry, blood suddenly a froth on his mouth.
Tavi stared in horror at the legionares dying on the wall beside him. It had happened so fast. It hadn't taken half a minute for the unseen archer to kill three men.
"We have to get out of here," the last of the legionares stammered. He started to rise. "We can't stay here."
"Stay down, you fool," Bernard shouted.
But the legionare turned to run down the wall, toward the rope that lay coiled by the gap. As soon as he rose, he cried out, and Tavi saw a thick black arrow impaling the man's leg. He fell to the ground with a shout, landing on top of his shield.
The next arrow struck square against his ear. The man folded quietly down, as though going to sleep, and didn't move again.
"Damn you, Fidelias!" Amara shouted, her voice raw.
Tavi looked up and down the wall. Behind him, the battlements abruptly ended at the gap Doroga had crushed into the wall. Before him, the battlements ran steadily along until they reached a wall of solid rock. The builders of Garrison had used the old granite bones of the hills on either side of the fortress to serve as its north and south walls, and they were little more than a sharply sloped face of rock. "Can we climb that? Can we get out that way?"
"With all those Knights Aeris?" Amara shook her head. "We wouldn't stand a chance."
The courtyard itself, Tavi could hear, seethed with the cries of Marat and their beasts, the occasional scream of a horse, the snarling of wolves,
the whistling shrieks of herdbane. Even if they did climb down the rope, they would only be falling from the frying pan and into the fire.