Robert Newcomb - A March into Darkness

Tired of battle plans and casualty reports, Tristan angrily tore up the parchments he was reading and cast them to the wind. The pieces flew away as quickly as had the warriors’ and horsemen’s lives accounted for on their pages. He looked down at the deck, thinking.

The Black Ships had been readied according to his plan, the fighters were itching to go, and the Conclave mystics knew their jobs. There was nothing left to do but to give the order. As he thought about the impending battle, he could feel hisK’Shari Forestallment churning his blood as never before, begging to be unleashed. But as he stared back at the mighty Recluse, his heart remained unsure.

Taking a step closer, Wigg put one hand on Tristan’s shoulder. “There is nothing more to be done,” he said quietly.

Shailiha gave her brother a supportive smile. “Wigg is right,” she said. “It’s time.”

Tristan took a deep breath. “All right,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Tristan led Wigg and Shailiha toward the bow hatch and down the stairway. One deck down, he exited the steps and entered a hallway.

After escorting Wigg and Shailiha into a specially prepared room, Tristan shut the door. He knew that Faegan, Aeolus, and Jessamay would be seated in similar chambers aboard their respective vessels as they waited nervously for theTammerland to lift into the air. Adrian and all the acolytes stationed aboard theTammerland were there waiting for them. Tyranny and Abbey were also present.

Tristan glanced around the room. The aft wall was flat and held the door through which they had just come. The sidewalls curved with the ship’s hull, and their opposite ends joined to form the point of the ship’s bow. Tristan had ordered Minion carpenters to cut rectangular viewing ports into the hull, one on each side of the bow joint. Each window was a meter wide by half a meter high, and was angled to provide an excellent view forward. As he and Shailiha neared the port window, Wigg and Tyranny walked to the starboard one. Tristan gave Wigg a knowing look.

“Are you ready?” he asked. “Remember, we must have as much momentum as possible for this to work.”

Wigg nodded. “I understand,” he answered. “And may the Afterlife be with us.”

Tristan turned and looked at Sister Adrian and the acolytes. He knew that they were nervous; everyone was. But he also knew that when the time came, they would do their duties.

“And you?” he asked them. “Is each of you ready to do her part? If you don’t work as a team, thousands will die needlessly. Remember-do not use your gifts until you hear my order. Until then you must save your power.”

“We understand,” Adrian answered for the group. Then the normally staid First Sister gave Tristan a wry smile. “Let’s go and kill some Vagaries servants,” she added softly.

The First Wizard turned his attention toward his window. Wigg raised his hands. Almost at once theTammerland ’s great bulk lifted from her earthen cradle and into the air. Soon the ship was flying over the bloody battlefield and heading straight for the Recluse.

As theTammerland gained momentum, the aft door opened and Traax appeared. “The other ships are also in the air, my lord,” he said. “They are matching our speed and following us in single file.”

“Good,” Tristan answered. “Alert me at once if anything changes. Otherwise, you know your orders. And good luck.”

Traax clicked his heels and hurried from the room. Tristan turned back toward Wigg. The wizard was shaking noticeably as he tried to grant theTammerland all the speed that he could.

Soon the ship started to shake, and her timbers groaned from the strain being placed on her. Tyranny shot Tristan a worried glance. As the Black Ships tore over the body-strewn battlefield, Tristan unsheathed his sword; Shailiha and Tyranny did the same.

Just then they all heard an explosion, and the ship rocked violently. While Wigg struggled to keep theTammerland on course, Tristan looked to the Recluse. The expected bombardment had started.

From atop the fortress walls, Serena’s consuls were hurling azure bolt after azure bolt toward the attacking fleet. The bolts came in such great numbers that their combined glow lit up the sky. Wigg had confirmed that the Black Ships were built to withstand a certain amount of endowed bombardment. But even he couldn’t be sure if they would hold together if Serena’s consuls attacked in force.

Suddenly another azure bolt slammed into the ship, this one striking the deck directly above Tristan and his friends. The topside planks shattered, then speared threateningly down into the room as pointed shards of black wood rained down. The bolt’s power forced the ship to angle down dangerously, and nearly plow headlong into the earth. Straining to his utmost, Wigg righted her again. Suddenly another bolt went whizzing by to narrowly miss the starboard bow. With a great explosion it plunged into the ground and exploded. Tons of dirt and sod went flying into the air. As the bombardment intensified and the explosions grew louder, everyone in the room hung on and hoped for the best.

With the coming of the bombardment, Tristan worried about how the other ships were faring. The single-file formation had been his idea. The narrower their profile facing Serena’s consuls, the less damage the ships would incur. But this strategy also made theTammerland the prime target. Faegan commanded the next ship in line. If theTammerland went down, the crippled wizard would lead the charge.

Just then another bolt hit the flagship, this one sending her plummeting out of control. Tristan watched in horror as theTammerland angled downward so steeply this time that all he could see from his window was bloody grass, and the scattered bodies left behind on the battlefield.

Adrian didn’t want to go against Tristan’s orders, but she knew there was no choice. She immediately raised her arms. As she and Wigg strained mightily, Tristan felt theTammerland ’s bow start rising. He held his breath as he wondered whether it would come up in time.

Just as the ship leveled she hit hard and her metal keel plowed a gouge in the earth. As theTammerland skidded dangerously across the bloody grass, Shailiha and some of the acolytes were thrown to the floor. Straining with everything they had, Wigg and Adrian managed to take the violently weaving ship skyward again.

Azure bolts rained down with greater ferocity, and the ship suffered another direct hit, forcing her to rock sickeningly. Tristan heard a mast crash down atop the deck above. Then another mast crashed, this one landing atop the bow area. To his horror, he suddenly smelled smoke. He spun around to see a dark plume drifting down through the damage that had opened up in the deck above, and he knew.

The sizzling azure bolts had set theTammerland afire. But with no warriors stationed topside, little could be done about it. Acrid smoke poured into the room, and everyone started coughing. The acolytes were able to use the craft and rid the room of smoke. But the fires above had already become so intense that there was little the women could do about them.

Coughing violently, Tristan helped Shailiha stand, then looked out the starboard window. So many azure bolts were raining down that they seemed to crowd out the sky, and they thundered into the earth in such numbers that the air was literally filled with smoke, flying dirt, and clumps of sod. Tristan strained his eyes to look at the Recluse. Wigg had them dead on course again, and the blazingTammerland was picking up speed.

Then another bolt hit the flagship, nearly throwing Tristan and Shailiha to the floor. TheTammerland ’s groaning timbers and the fire raging topside made him wonder what was keeping her together. He helped his sister to her feet.