'That's why I need the book.' His grip was like a vice. He hauled on the pearls and I felt their hold slip.
'No. You need to come with us.'
'You?' he sneered. A girl? A pretend Dragoneye? I know all about you.' He had one coil of pearls off my arm. 'You haven't got a chance against him.' He closed his eyes and took 'a deep breath. He was going to call the Rat Dragon.
'No,' I screamed. Surely Ido would sense him calling their dragon.
Suddenly, the whole rope released. Dillon fell back, the black folio in his hands. He scrabbled away, hugging the book to his chest, the white pearls whipping like an angry tail.
Near me, Ryko groaned, his face a dull grey. He was fighting the illusion, but it was too strong. Dillon was already on his feet, running. I froze, caught between the two.
I struggled to my knees and flung myself across Ryko's back. I felt the pain snap out of his body. Across the garden, Dillon pounded over the bridge and headed towards the archway. I bowed my head. The black folio was gone.
'You should have gone after him,' Ryko finally said. I rolled off his back, keeping my hand on the flat of his shoulder blade. He looked up at me, his gaze steady. 'You should have run after him. But I'm glad you stayed.'
CHAPTER 21
I stroked the black pearls hidden under my sleeve, trying to ease their hold as I strained to hear Solly's low voice. The air-punch of explosions and cries of battle seemed unnervingly close to our position in the forest, although Solly assured us that most of the fighting was at the palace wall. Beside me, Ryko held our horse by its bridle, ignoring the animal's nervous mouthing as he concentrated on Solly's report.
All the roads up to the palace are held by the army,' Solly said softly. His small eyes had almost disappeared under the heavy fold of his frown. 'The gardens are crawling with 'em too.
It looks like the guard are holding 'em out of the palace for now, but...'
'Not for long,' Ryko finished. He pressed his lips together, considering. 'We could go out into the city and come back into the Dragon Circle closer to the apartment precinct...' He shook his head. 'Who knows what we will find in the city and we'd lose the advantage of your reconnaissance.'
'Through the gardens then,' Solly said, nodding in the direction of the Emerald Ring.
'Did your men see a break in the lines anywhere?'
Solly shrugged. 'Not so much a break. More a thinner spread of men. At the gate in the west.
It was still being held by the Imperial guard when you went into the hall.'
Ryko grunted. 'The Gate of Good Service. That's our entry point, then. Lord Eon and I will ride up as close as we can. But we'll need a diversion.'
Solly grinned. 'We've got a few ideas in mind.'
Ryko gave a grim laugh. 'I know your diversions.' He gripped Solly's shoulder. 'We have to get Lord Eon into the palace. At all costs.'
Solly ducked his head, sending me a reassuring smile. 'Don't worry, my lord. We'll get you in there.'
A murmur of agreement rose from the men standing nearby
I nodded, such undeserved loyalty constricting my throat. Some of these men would die.
Perhaps all. May the gods give me as much courage and honour.
'Let's move,' Ryko said. He pushed the horse's head around, leading the animal towards the road.
Solly's hands moved in a series of quick signals, sending his men into various directions around us. I followed Ryko, my dread suddenly overlaid by a frisson of excitement.
Ryko was standing next to the horse in the last heavy cover of undergrowth, surveying the gardens. Directly across from us was a pathway lit by lanterns that hung from ropes strung between poles along one edge. My breath caught as the distant figures of soldiers crossed into the light and out again. Then, like shadows, I saw two of Solly's men rise from the ground and run into the dark foliage.
'We'll avoid the pathways as much as possible,' Ryko said softly, 'but at some point we are going to hit the road that leads up to the gate, and it will be as well lit as that pathway ahead.'
He drew his sword from its scabbard, the metal sliding soundlessly past the metal mouth.
Greased for silent death. 'Do you think you can use this and still keep your seat?' He held it out, grip first.
The weight caught me off guard. It was twice as heavy as my ceremonial swords.
I readjusted my hands on the hill, 'I have no battle (raining.'
Ryko smiled. 'I know. I wanl yon to cut the lantern topes as we pass so the lanterns drop.
Otherwise we might as well cany our own torch to give the bowmen a better chance of hit ting us.'
'Cut them as we pass?' It was hard enough to stay on the beast, let alone swing a full-sized sword at the same time. 'Yes, I can do that,' I said, but even I heard the doubt in my voice.
'We have a good chance of making it through,' Ryko said encouragingly. He held out his hand and I returned the sword, watching him twist and resheathe it effortlessly. 'The concentration of soldiers will be at the palace wall and gates,' he continued. 'There will still be a rear guard but I have worked with Solly and his men before. They have a few tricks that will startle even the best of Sethon's men.' He nodded to me. 'Ready?'
'Ready.'
He stroked the horse's neck and gripped its shoulders, springing up and straddling it with a soft grunt of effort. Settling himself and the horse, he held out his hand. I grabbed it and was hoisted up behind him, the sinews in my shoulder burning with the sudden pull.
I found my seat and my grip around Ryko's waist, then there was a lurch and a dizzy moment of fear as we broke out of cover onto the road. Ryko urged the horse onto the lower servants'
track, kicking it into a canter.
'Watch ahead,' he ordered, his own attention on the gardens to our right. I peered over his shoulder, scanning the road, breathless from the smooth speed of the horse. We were backtracking towards the Ox Dragon Hall. I eyed the gardens dashing past us. Lots of cover.
Solly had said the Emerald Ring was crawling with soldiers, but surely it would be better than being out in the open like this? I felt Ryko pull up on the reins as we approached a curve in the road. Parts of the walls and the top
of the hall were already visible. We both stiffened as a terrible keening rose in the air, like some demon call from the Other world.
'What is it?' I gasped.
Ryko yanked the horse across the rough servants' track and plunged us into the bushes, reining the animal into a toey standstill. I could feel Ryko's breath coming as hard as my own.
I slid to the ground, a terrible intuition driving me forwards.
'What are you doing?' Ryko demanded.
But I was already on my hands and knees, crawling through the undergrowth towards the sound. I had to see them. I scrabbled up an incline, my robe catching under my knees and dragging at my throat. Under my sleeve, the pearls tightened protectively around the red folio.
A misjudged handhold jabbed a stone into the bandaged gash on my hand. I stifled a yelp. Not that anyone could have heard me over the piercing wail from the roadside.
One last push through a line of bushes and I was into open air. And then I saw them. Straight ahead, dark shapes on the ground, grotesquely truncated. And people — three servant women
— kneeling beside them, wailing for the dead. I flattened myself, my eyes drawn inexorably to the separated heads. One was turned away surrounded by a glistening dark puddle. The other stared up into the night. Without the drive of life, it was hard to recognise the slack features in the weak moonlight. Death had dragged down forehead, cheek, jowl into a parody of sadness. But as my mind fitted life back into the mask, I knew it was Hollin. And the heavy body next to it was Tyron. I recognised the clothing. The shape. I clamped my teeth down over my own howl. The last tiny hope that I was wrong — that Ido was not killing the other Dragoneyes — was gone. I had not even known I'd held such a futile hope, but its loss was like a barbed arrow ripping through my gut.
&n
bsp; 'Shut those bitches up,' a harsh voice yelled. 'Get the corpses off the road.'
A soldier came into view. I eased myself back into the bushes as another five men appeared and kicked away the women, herding them from the bodies.
Every part of me wanted to run screaming to Ryko, but I forced myself to move slowly and silently back over the same ground, every sense reaching behind me for signs that 1 was being pursued.
Ryko was still on the horse. He glared down at me as I stumbled out of the undergrowth, but whatever he saw in my face tempered his tongue. He pulled me up behind him again. The warmth of his body against mine felt like some kind of talisman against death.
'I'm sorry' I whispered against his back as we rode deeper into the gardens. 'I had to see.' I pressed my forehead against his shoulder. 'They were just left on the roadside.'
'Try not to dwell on it,' he said gruffly.
Good advice, but the images rose up out of the shadows as we passed: slack features, dark puddles, staring eyes. I was aware of the horse's gait, heard Ryko's breathing, felt his tension as he pulled us away from the path of soldiers, but my eyes were full of dead friends and my mind caught in a silent chant of guilt. It was only when Ryko reined us to a stop that I realised we were behind the pavilion near the Gate of Good Service. Up ahead, white mourning lanterns hung along the path like a row of small moons. A resonating thud hammered through the air, mixed with shouts and clanging. From the clarity of the sounds, we were close to the wall. How could we have come so near and not be seen? The answer was on the ground just beyond the pavilion. Two dead army lookouts. How many more had been despatched with such lethal efficiency?
Three dark shapes separated from the small building and ran to us. Solly and two of his men.
They all bobbed in quick bows to me.
'They've taken the battering ram to the gate,' Solly whispered. 'Nearly through. It could be your chance.'
Ryko steadied the horse. 'Bowmen?'
Stilly grimaced. 'A full complement, but their attention is on the wall and most of them will be flanking you.'
'Are your men ready?'
'You just give the word,' Solly said. The two men behind him nodded, one murmuring a quick
'For the Pearl Emperor'.
Ryko withdrew his sword from its scabbard and handed it back to me.
'Bring the lanterns down whatever way you can,' he said.
I stiffened my wrist and arm under the drag of the weight, but it was too heavy, I would have to use both hands. I clamped the other over the grip and held the sword away from the horse's flanks, tensing my thigh and knee holds. The twist in my torso was going to cause problems, but I might just manage it. I inverted the blade and hooked the hilt against my thigh, pressing it into the side of the muscle for stability. Then I grabbed Ryko's shoulder with my free hand.
First things first: get to the pathway on the horse and in one piece. Then think about swinging the sword.
Alert your men,' Ryko said. He turned his head and I saw the rise of violence in his eyes. I wondered what he saw in mine. 'Here we go.'
Solly made a piercing sound, the cry of a night hunting bird. Ryko kicked the horse forwards.
I brushed the hidden folio for luck then tightened my hold on both sword and shoulder, leaning into the animal's quickening pace. The effort of staying on and handling the sword made my heartbeat pound in my ears, louder than the boom of the battering ram. Wind made from speed whipped my eyes into stinging tears. We reached the path, the dull thud of horse hooves on grass changing into an instant clattering target. On both sides the darkness milled with the forms of men, the path between them like a bright strip of death. Up ahead the gate was bowing under the slamming force of the ram, cries of effort rising above the crack of splitting wood. I shifted, stabilising, and joined my hands around the grip.
'Wait,' Ryko yelled.
I caught a blurred glimpse of men running lowards us. Reaching for arrows. I lifted the sword.
The air pulsed with explosions. To the left. Tb the right. Was this Solly's bag of tricks?
'Now,' Ryko ordered.
I hit the first rope, absurdly pleased with the bouncing demise of its lantern. The follow-through was less successful, the blade swinging close to Ryko's ear.
'Watch it,' he roared, jerking away.
I sliced wildly at the next rope. Another lantern dropped from our pathway ahead. A thwanging, skittering sound made me duck back against Ryko. Arrows! From the shadows either side. For a moment, all my senses turned inwards, looking for pain. But I wasn't hit. My focus snapped back to the world rushing by. I was missing lanterns, leaving us exposed. With my back tensed for impact, I leaned out and swung again. The weight of the sword collected a lantern and sent it into the shadows. Ahead, there was a huge crack of rending wood and shouts of success. The gate was down. I hit another rope, sending its lantern rolling across the grass. My wrists were straining to keep the blade up, the twist in my backbone sending trembling fire into my overworked thighs.
'I'm going to ride over them. Hold on,' Ryko yelled.
His words didn't make sense. I was too intent on the next rope, on lifting the sword. The horse dipped into an even longer stride, but my body adjusted too late. The sword jerked up, hit the pole and jarred out of my hands, clanging onto the path behind us. Pain reverberated up my arms, cramping into my hands. I grabbed Ryko's waist and looked back, the sword already four horse-lengths away Somewhere up ahead a roar of battle cries rose into the smashing clang of sword meeting sword.
'I dropped it,' I screamed in Ryko's ear. 'I dropped your sword.'
Then I saw the wall of men fighting in the splintered gateway.
Set lion's army forcing back the Imperial guards. We were heading straight for them, the horse trying to pull to the left, Ryko brutally holding it on course.
The first man we hit cannoned into his opponent. The next saw us coming and hacked at the horse's neck. Ryko kicked him ;iway grunting as the blade nicked his leg. Ahead, someone fell screaming. The horse made for the clear opening, trampling the body. I saw the man's chest cave in under the weight of a hoof. Ryko slashed his knife at a soldier who was hanging onto his injured leg. I kicked at the man's shoulder, missed and connected with his helmet. I lis head jerked back and he lost his hold, falling under the horse. The animal stumbled over him and staggered into an Imperial guard, slamming the man against the remains of the gate.
Cursing, Ryko yanked the horse to the right, jumping it over two men grappling on the ground.
'Ryko?' The yell was from a heavily built guard up ahead. The man blocked a down cut from a soldier, punching the end of his hilt into the other man's jaw. He turned his attention back to us.
'Get us through,' Ryko bellowed over the mass of shouting, clashing men.
The guard nodded then ducked as a sweep cut nearly took him in the neck. He parried his attacker, locking the man's blade into his own hilt, then threw back his head and gave a long, ululating call that pulsed through the clangour. Something slammed into my back, ramming me into Ryko and knocking the breath out of me. My teeth tore into my lip, the iron tang of blood souring my mouth. I felt myself sliding backwards over the rump of the horse; someone was pulling my robe. I swung around, clawing wildly It was a young soldier, helmet gone, blood smeared across his face. My fingers found an eye socket. I jabbed into soft tissue, hearing a yelp, but his grip on my robe tightened. Ryko clamped his hand down on my thigh, teeth bared with the effort of holding me and the horse. I went for the soldier again, but the horse suddenly ended the fight with a bucking kick that sent the man barrelling into the edge of the guardhouse. Ryko
snatched up the reins as the animal skittered forwards on its front legs, kicking out at anything around us. Grimly, we both hung on, my hands locked around Ryko's chest as he fought for control. Finally, the horse slopped bucking, its sides heaving under us.
'Look,' I shouted in Ryko's car, pointing ahead.
Ryko's friend had cut down his opponent
and was now methodically hacking a pathway through the soldiers in front of us. His strange call had gathered the guard around us. We were surrounded by a ring of the Emperor's elite, all doggedly holding off the soldiers and forcing a way through the melee. Ryko coaxed the exhausted horse one step at a time as the guards inched us towards the edge of the fighting.
'I need a sword,' Ryko bellowed.
A tall guard on our right flank drove his blade into the chest of a soldier and pulled the sword free, kicking the dying man away.
'Cover,' he yelled, stepping back. The two guards fighting beside him closed the gap without breaking the rhythm of their blows.
'Here,' the guard yelled to Ryko, passing up the bloody sword.
Ryko saluted, quickly testing the balance of the weapon. I watched the tall guard pull out a dagger from a waist sheath and rejoin the fight.
We were almost inside the gateway courtyard. The horse surged forwards, sensing safety With an agility that belied his heavy build, the front guard leaped aside, leaving his two adversaries standing in our path. We ploughed through them, the horse knocking one to the ground, the other slashed away by Ryko's sword.
We were through!
Ryko pulled the horse towards the servants' path. I looked back over my shoulder. The guards were forming a line to block pursuers. So few against so many One of them turned to check our escape. I raised my hand. He gave a quick salute then turned back to the desperate lighting.
'This animal's not going to last much longer,' Ryko said, easing the horse down to a quivering trot on the dark, uneven track. Are you all right?'
'I'm all right. What about your leg?'
'Just a cut.' He reined the horse to a standstill. Are you able to go on foot from here?'
As an answer, I pushed myself into a slide off the beast's back. I landed on the ground and folded at its hooves in a messy heap.
'My legs! They've gone all weak.'
'It'll pass,' Ryko said. 'Rest for a minute.'
He dismounted, keeping the bloodied sword away from the horse's tossing head. I kneaded my thigh muscles as he led the animal off the path and looped the reins over a bush.