The Desert Spear. Peter Brett V.

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СКАЧАТЬ at him in irritation and saw open terror on his face. He turned along the boy’s line of sight, and saw many of his warriors standing similarly dumbfounded.

      “What are you…” he began to shout, but then, in the light of the oil fires, he saw an alagai bounding over the dunes toward the city.

      But this was no ordinary demon. Even at a distance, Jardir could tell it was enormous. Sand demons were bigger than their flame and wind cousins, not counting wingspan, but even the sand demons were no larger than a man, and they ran on all fours like dogs, standing perhaps three feet at the shoulder.

      The demon that approached stood erect on hind legs jointed with sharp bone, and stood more than twice the height of a tall man. Even its spiked tail seemed longer than a man was tall. Its horns were like spears, its talons like butchering knives, and its black carapace was thick and hard. One of its arms ended at the elbow—a club that could crush a warrior’s skull.

      Jardir had never imagined a demon so big. His men stood frozen—in fear or surprise he could not tell. Only the greenlander seemed unsurprised, staring hard at the giant with undisguised hatred.

      But why? It seemed too great a coincidence that such a creature should arrive on the same night a chin appeared on his palace steps, begging to fight. What was his connection to the demon?

      Jardir cursed his inability to speak the greenlander’s barbaric tongue.

      “What are you waiting for?” he roared to the scorpion teams. “Alagai are alagai! Kill it!”

      His words broke the spell, and the men leapt to obey. The greenlander clenched his fist as they took aim and let fly their stingers, massive spears with heavy heads of iron. They shot high in the sky to arc the missiles down with crushing impact.

      The giant demon was struck full on by almost a dozen stingers, but all splintered against its armor, leaving the creature unfazed. It shrieked its fury and came on again.

      Suddenly the city seemed vulnerable. Jardir had learned warding in Sharik Hora, and knew that each ward only found its full power against a single breed of demon. The wards carved into Krasia’s walls were ancient and had never been breached, but had they ever been tested against one such as this?

      He grabbed the greenlander by the shoulders, turning him about to face him. “What do you know?” he demanded. “What do we face, damn you?!”

      The greenlander nodded, seeming to understand, and looked about. He moved to a rock slinger and touched the stone in the sling. Then he pointed to the demon. “Alagai,” he said.

      Jardir nodded, moving to the Mehnding in command of the engine.

      “Can you hit it?” Jardir asked.

      The dal’Sharum snorted. “An alagai that big? I can take just its other arm, if you wish.”

      Jardir slapped his back. “Take its head, and we’ll tar it as a trophy.”

      “Start boiling the tar,” the warrior said, adjusting the tension and angle of the weapon.

      The greenlander rushed over to Jardir, speaking rapidly in his ugly tongue. He waved his arms, seeming increasingly frantic that he could not make his meaning clear. Again and again he pointed to the sling, shouting what seemed the only Krasian word he knew, “Alagai!”

      “He brays like a camel,” Hasik said.

      “Be silent,” Jardir snapped. He narrowed his eyes, but then the slinger called, “Ready!”

      “Fire!” Jardir said. The greenlander leapt for the warrior who went to cut the rope, but Hasik grabbed him, hurling him roughly away.

      “I knew we could not trust a chin, First Warrior,” he growled. “He protects the demon!”

      Jardir wasn’t so sure, staring hard at the man, who struggled wildly in Hasik’s grip. He pointed again, this time down at the wall, shouting, “Alagai!”

      Lessons long dismissed as legend returned to Jardir in a rush—tales of the great demons that had assaulted Krasia’s walls in the time of the first Deliverer, and everything came into sharp focus. The greenlander hadn’t been pointing to the sling; he was pointing to the stone.

      Rock demon, Jardir realized in dawning horror.

      “Rock demon!” he shouted, but it was too late. He heard the report as the sling arm released its cargo, and turned helplessly to watch. Behind him, the greenlander wailed.

      The stone soared through the air, and it seemed as if man and alagai alike held their breath. The one-armed rock demon looked up at the stone—a boulder that had taken three warriors to lift into place.

      And then, impossibly, the demon caught the stone in the crook of its good arm and hurled it back with terrible force.

      The boulder struck the great gate, smashing a hole and sending cracks spiderwebbing from the point of impact. The rock demon charged, striking that same spot again and again. Magic sparked and flared, but the warding was too damaged to have any real effect. The gate shook with each blow, and one side tore from its hinges, smashing to the ground inside.

      The rock demon leapt through, roaring as it ran into the Maze. Behind it, demons poured through the breach.

      Jardir’s face flared hot, then went suddenly cold. The great gates of Krasia had not been breached in living memory. The dal’Sharum trapped in the Maze would be hunted like animals, and it was his own fault for not listening to the greenlander.

      I have brought my people to ruin, he thought, and for a moment, all he could do was watch dumbly as the alagai invaded the Maze.

      Embrace the fear, you fool! he shouted to himself. The night may yet be saved!

      “Scorpions!” he cried. “Shift positions and lay down cover fire while we close off the breach! Sling teams! I want stones falling to crush any alagai getting in and to block the way for the rest!”

      “We can’t fire so close,” one slinger said. Others nodded, and Jardir could see the same terror on their faces that he had felt a moment before. They needed a more immediate terror to snap them from their stupor.

      He punched the slinger in the face, laying him flat on the walltop. “I don’t care if you have to drop the stones by hand! Do as I command!”

      The man’s night veil grew wet with blood and his response was unintelligible, but he punched a fist to his chest and staggered to his feet, moving to obey. The other Mehnding did the same, their fear lost in a flurry of activity.

      He looked at the nie’Sharum. “Sound the breach.” As the boy raised the horn to his lips, he felt a wave of failure and shame that such a command be given on his watch.

      But the feeling was quickly shaken. There was too much to do. He turned to Hasik. “Gather as many men and Warders as you can and meet us at the gate. We go to seal the breach.”

      Hasik gave a whoop and charged off, seeming thrilled at the prospect of leaping into a sandstorm of alagai. Jardir ran the walltops toward the spot where his personal unit fought under Shanjat. He needed his own men СКАЧАТЬ