Page 62 of The Empty Throne

Unlike his bloodthirsty lover, who thoughtthe best defense was a good offense.

The wind was up and dangerously biting, thekind of wind that usually drove even the boldest traveler to findshelter. Anyone without proper clothing, and preferably bolsteredby magic, would die within minutes, even seconds, in this kind ofcold.

That Terek would choosenowto start awar was the height of stupidity. Even with every precaution taken,they would have lost soldiers to the cold. Not to mention it wasEndless Night, which just compounded the problem.

Cohea climbed a ladder to the top of the walland gave orders for it and all the other ladders to be removed.Stairs had long since been barricaded. If the wall were breached,which was likely, the lack of easy access down would cost theTerekians precious minutes. Anyone on their side who survived theonslaught was well-trained in using various means to descend theenormous wall that protected Cremin.

"Give me a report," Cohea said as an aidecame rushing up.

"All positions ready. Towers braced. Westwall reports they're also ready."

Normally Kite would be commanding the westhalf of the north wall in these circumstances, but with Kiteabsent, the job had fallen to a colonel Cohea didn't know well.Oskia of course was leading the main charge, and she was beingcagey about some advantage she had.

Bittersea, of course, would be doing what hedid best: sneaking around the main battle to deal with the commandchain and any other problems he would likely discover before therest of them.

"Everyone to their posts and make certain therunners stand ready."

"Yes, Your Grace," the aide replied, and ranoff to see the orders carried.

The wall protecting Cremin was enormous,built at great cost—in money and blood—to protect the city frominvaders and weather alike. It was wide enough across toaccommodate small houses, high enough that a careless fall wouldleave the victim dead, and probably not all in one piece. Fortifiedby magic, it could hold back snow, water, and brutal assault. Therewere sixteen guard towers in total, four large ones at each corner,and slightly smaller ones between them, two each on the east andwest walls, four apiece on the north and south walls. The harbor tothe west and one gate each on the other walls.

Hopefully, it would be enough, but given thenumbers they were up against, even with help, Cohea had the sinkingfeeling the north wall would fall. It would come down to theirdefense, Oskia's charge, and Bittersea's ruthlessness.

Movement in the distance, more snow blowingand kicking up than there should be, and the faintest sound ofdrums moving an army along at an even, relentless pace. Cohea sweptthe nearby area for any sign of Bittersea and his team but sawnothing. Lined up and waiting, Oskia at the head flanked by twogenerals, two armies were poised for attack. The rest of botharmies were on the wall, most of them here on the north wall, but agenerous number spread elsewhere, should Terek try to sneak aroundhoping to take their unprotected back.

"Archers ready," Cohea called, and down theline criers carried his order. As their enemy drew closer, he tookthe platform that would allow the whole of the wall to see him, soorders would be carried out simultaneously. It put him at greaterrisk of being targeted, but a coordinated attack was more importantthan his one life.

A sharp whistle came from below and anotherfrom the western half of the wall. Cohea raised his arm as heshouted, "Archers draw!" A beat of taut silence. "Fire!"

Arrows flew into the air, fired from longbowsdeveloped to work in the extreme cold of the northern kingdoms,wielded by soldiers who had trained their entire lives to bemasters of their profession.

Judging from the cries that carried on thewind, many of the arrows found their marks. Cohea called for asecond and then third wave, but they didn't do as much damage, theapproaching army having now properly braced for the attack.

Still, that was some of them, and that meantfewer of their own would die.

"Archers stand down."

The next part was up to Oskia and thegenerals with her.

Instead of ordering them forward, though,Oskia rode out on her own, that peculiar cutlass she'd found on herestate held aloft. The wind carried her battle cry—and in the nextbreath water came crashing inland, slamming into the Terekian army,and sending them scattering, many crushed by the force of thewater, others swept out to sea as the water withdrew. In the wave'swake was left ruin and slick slush and ice, the salt of no helpwhen there was so much water and such a deep, bone-aching cold. Theenemy was already in disarray, a disadvantage they'd likely neverovercome now.

ThenOskia ordered the soldiers toattack, and after that the final battle for Cremisio was wholly inmotion. The tang of blood mixed with the scents of snow and salt onthe air. Screams shredded the night, battle cries and the agony ofthe dying. Some were cut short, others floundered on, but it allbecame a background haze as Cohea kept everyone moving,coordinated. Hot oil poured over the wall before it could bescaled. Torches thrown down after, though the fires were swiftlyput out by the snow and cold.

Bodies piled up, blood soaking the snow,turning quickly to ice, bodies cold before the soul had entirelyleft them. Every time Terekian soldiers breached the wall, theywere quickly cut down and thrown back, but no matter how many theykilled, they just kept coming and coming, and Cremisio did not havethe numbers to keep them back forever.

Too many were getting through the armies andto the wall. His archers and soldiers worked tirelessly, but evenOskia's extraordinary sword and its water magic could not seem tostop them all—and even at a distance, and busy with his ownproblems, he could see that Oskia was flagging.

On the wall, their numbers dwindled, and sodid their supplies. Still those remaining fought onward, refusingto give up the wall before they absolutely had no choice.

Something flickered, like a row of flames. Hepeered at it, but before he could figure out what was going on,someone called him. He turned, zeroing in on a woman with bloodpouring from a headwound. "Lord Lindquist, scouts report theyhave—"

She collapsed, an arrow in her eye, right asa wave of fiery light spread out behind Cohea, so vibrant itspilled across the wall and for a moment drove back the unrelentingdark of Endless Night. Cohea whipped back around, eyes widening ashe took in the sight before him.

The line of flames was now a fuckingwallof it, an impenetrable inferno. That much fire wasn'tpossible, not without… not without a large number of fire mages.Which indeed seemed to be the case. As the inferno died down, Coheacould see them: An entire fucking troop of fire mages. There wereat least fifty of them. That was…that was fucking insurmountable.Where had they found so many? Fire mages were neither common norcheap, and to put so many in one place…

"Retreat!" Oskia screamed, even as shesummoned more water before turning her horse around and returningto the wall herself. The mages repelled the water with far too muchease, not even a handful of them going down in the onslaught, allbut one of them immediately getting back up. Bolstered by regulararmy, this fight had just taken a very nasty turn for Cremisio.

"Come on, moon shadow," Cohea muttered. "It'sall on you now." He turned his full attention to helping theirsoldiers up the wall and then coordinating the retreat to thecastle, even as he ordered the longbows to try and keep the magesat bay for as long as possible.

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