Page 147 of Silverbow
“What the bloody hell happened?” Pedron spat.
“They waved us through and then put a bolt in her back,” Linus answered frantically. Liam realized sweat was running down the fire wielder’s face in great rivulets, whether from the exertion or the panic, he couldn’t tell.
“Later,” Adar barked.
“She can’t possibly ride,” Liam spluttered, raking a hand through his hair. He cringed when he realized that hand was still covered in Enya’s blood.
“She’s going to have to.”
“Stay beside her, Liam,” Andril ordered, as if he needed to be told.
“Ready?” Adar asked.
Linus raised a palm toward each side of the gate and Pedron rolled his shoulders as if preparing for a fight. They each gave a sharp nod, and the roar of the chaos refilled Liam’s ears as a fierce wind howled through the archway, turning back the arrows that flew their way.
A wave of flame followed the wind, scattering the guards that had emerged at their retreat behind that strange wall. Pedron raised a hand to the portcullis. It groaned on its hinges and snapped, falling out onto the street to shatter like glass.
The silence returned and Liam blinked in shock, but Arawelo didn’t need his nudge to stay close to Pips as they stepped carefully over the shards of iron lattice work and into the Foreshore. His insides roiled at the carnage around them. The king’s men, both in red and black, lay sprawled on the ground, their wails and moans unheard in the strange bubble that seemed to move with them. Dull thuds, fewer now, came from the arrows and rocks still hurtled from the battlements.
“Bring it down,” Adar snarled.
A faint rumbling echoed through the barrier, or perhaps, through the ground and Liam twisted in his saddle. The guard towers were trembling, swaying, and in the next blink, the city wall was collapsing in on itself. Brown stone toppled like a house of cards and a heap of rubble choked off the open gate, trapping Pallas Davolier’s soldiers behind it.
Liam might have let out a triumphant whoop if sprays of stone hadn’t shown where the black clad earth wielders were trying to break through. Any uniform that emerged on the road behind them stopped, grabbing at their throats and dropping to the ground, struggling as if against an unseen noose. A chill settled in Liam’s soul.
Bloody hell.
The strays and urchins of the Foreshore had vanished at the first hint of commotion, and when they were halfway through the stinking squalor, Andril turned to Adar.
“Harbortown?”
The silver haired demi-elf gave a terse nod and the barrier fell away just long enough for Andril to put his heels to his horse. Liam watched him gallop up the road as they were sealed once again into their silence.
“What’s in Harbortown?” He asked.
“A harbor,” Linus answered when it became clear no one else would. “Hopefully one with a boat.”
“Is she-”
“Still alive, stable boy.”
When they cleared the last leaning walls, Adar heeled his warhorse to a trot. Liam winced as he watched Enya jostle against whatever held her upright. He thought about protesting, but a sharp look from Adar’s murderous face had him biting his tongue. The demi-elf had eyes and still, he trotted. The barrier fell away and the other two of his companions fell back to guard their flight.
They stuck to the narrow little road that followed the coast, the waves sometimes disappearing behind a rise only to reappear ahead. They passed a scattering of fishing villages, none with docks large enough for more than dinghies and each time Liam came to that realization, his panic grew.
“How far?” He finally asked.
“Just ahead.”
The Saulet Sea had disappeared again and no sign of a town rose in Liam’s line of sight. He ground his teeth, and finally brought himself to ask the question he’d been afraid to.
“Is she going to be alright?”
“If I have anything to say about it.”
Liam didn’t know what to make of that.
Harbortown finally appeared around a bend and Liam loosed a breath at the masts and sails that jutted up from the water. He twisted in his saddle at the sound of galloping hooves, but it was only Pedron and Linus running to catch up. Adar trotted straight for the docks where Andril stood at the foot of a wide gangplank, Lanta already standing on the deck ofThe Seabird.
