Page 118 of An Archer's Reckoning

“What are they up to? It’s been a week, and their artillery hasn’t made a dent. They can’t be readying for an attack. Even with their numbers, that’s suicide.” I ran a hand mindlessly through my stringy hair. I hadn’t bathed since the siege began, and I was appalled as my hand emerged from the oily mess it had become tangled in.

“I don’t know. Just be ready to throw up another shield,” Quin said from his place outside the circle.

“They are moving some of the catapults around, pointing them in different directions. Dozens are moving through the camp toward the southern end of their line,”Órla’s voice echoed in my head.

“Spirits! Arch Mage, get word to General Vre to expect bombardment on multiple fronts this morning. They’re heading to the southwestern quadrant.”

As Quin turned, the familiar whooshing sound of catapults releasing their tension echoed through the chamber. I threw out my hands and erected a barrier in the path between the battlefield and tower in time to stop the first stone of the day.

The jubilant cry of thousands of soldiers followed a loud crash as the next stone slammed into the western wall, well south of the Mages’ tower and my protection. Splinters flew in every direction as the boulder slammed into the massive logs. The logs’ reinforcements held, but precious wood now bore pale wounds where bark had ripped away.

A dozen boulders followed, then a dozen more.

I dropped my shield and erected a new one before the wall, redirecting several boulders into the field of pickets below. Explosions sounded as each boulder fell into the Mages’ pots buried between picket rows.

That well-laid trap lost its element of surprise.

As soon as Kingdom forces recognized my shift, ranks of catapults along the northern end of the line launched their stones toward the tower.

A dozen found their mark.

The ancient structure shook with the impacts, nearly knocking me off my feet.

My concentration shaken, the shield faltered, and stones battered the wall again.

Quin helped me steady myself as I recreated my shield. I reduced its height but extended its length to protect part of thewall as well as the tower. More explosions sounded as stones slammed into the magical barrier and fell harmlessly to the killing field below.

“I had hoped to save this card, but we have got to cover the evacuation. Keep that shield up!” Arch Mage Quin yelled. I watched as he dropped to his knees and pressed his palms into the circle. Power surged, as though the Well itself had been called to action. I fought to control the swell, barely noticing how Quin’s entire body began to glow. Between my tunic, the power raging through me, and the Arch Mage’s channeling, the top of the tower shone as a new sun on the horizon.

In moments, Quin rose to his feet and stepped inside the circle to stand beside me. His eyes swam with the pearlescence of magical mist. His skin glowed a brilliant blue.

Through the tower’s window, I watched as the skies clouded, then darkened, then turned black coal. Loud as the thundering of a thousand hooves, frigid air rushed down from the Silver Mountains and over the Kingdom forces.

Snow rained down in thick, wet sheets.

There was fury in the storm’s lament.

By the end of the day, snow as deep as men were tall blanketed the countryside on Saltstone’s western border.

Chapter 48

Irina

“How many days have we sat and done nothing? What do we have to show for all your useless stones? We have barely stripped the bark off the walls, and the Mages’ tower still stands. Now our men are freezing under feet of snow.” I stalked through my command tent where five of my Council, including General Marks and Minister Bril, were assembled.

Danai was notably absent.

“Your Majesty, sieges take time. We are wearing them down. We have already destroyed much of their buried surprise, which would have killed thousands in an assault. Please be patient.” Bril’s case sounded more like a plea from a child to his mother than a military leader’s request to his ruler.

My eyes snapped to Bril, fire swirling around my irises. “How long do we wait,Minister? How many of our men will die from this cold? How many horses? When will the catapults be dug out and firing again? What do you plan to do with the wallof stone you have so graciously erected on our enemy’s behalf? You should have stopped those ridiculous bombardments the moment you saw them hit a shield.”

“We are working on the catapults, Your Majesty.”

“That was not what I asked,” I snapped.

Marks tried to rescue the Minister. “Your Majesty, the catapults should be ready by the afternoon. We’ve already cleared paths in the snow throughout the camp so horses and men may move freely. With the Mages’ help, our men bring more stones to the front every hour.”

One of the other generals whose name I had never learned ventured into the conversation. “Perhaps your Fire might clear out snow in the camp?”

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