“Take Tower Two,” Yulen ordered. “They may be gathering on our north side, but it could be a diversion. The main gates are our second weakest spot. I need you to oversee that section for me.” After she left, he turned back to find a soldier delivering a bucket of arrows to his wife in the event she’d need them.
“Is that why you also sent Lucien and Renken to the south wall? In case what’s going on here is a diversion?”
“It never hurts to be over-prepared.” He narrowed his eyes at the enemy building up its defenses right before their eyes, and at a distance too far for many arrows to take them out. Of course, he knew Atty would be able to reach them, but by the time the arrows got there, the creatures would have had time to move out of their way. “Think they’re going to try and strike at once?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“No. I’d send in a first wave.” He motioned toward those lined up. “Like that group. Keep the second wave out of sight until the first was causing enough commotion and disruption so that, when the next surge was released, they wouldn’t be as noticeable.”
Atty grinned at him. “Want me to find out if there’s more of them waiting in the bushes?”
He grinned back. “This I’d like to see.”
She called out to the soldier who’d brought her the bucket. “Samuelson! Fetch me a fire grenade!”
“One fire grenade, coming up!”
“A fire grenade, eh? Is that anything like a flaming arrow?”
“Believe it or not, Paas showed me how to make one. In this instance, it’s better than a flaming arrow, if you ask me.”
The man reappeared and handed her what looked like a thick piece of cloth. She thanked him and went to attach it to the shaft of one arrow. He saw how she rolled it around the wood, then used the loose strings at both ends to fasten it and prevent it from falling off during flight. She held the arrow out to him.
“Now light the fuse.”
“Fuse?”
She indicated a piece of string hanging out of the sausage-looking roll. Taking out the bit of flint from his pocket, he used the knife he kept hidden in his boot to create a spark that started the end of the string burning. Atty gave the glowing tip a couple of puffs to make sure it caught, then nocked the arrow, aimed upward, and let it fly. They watched as the shaft arched over the heads of the Bloods, who appeared disinterested in where it went.
The arrow disappeared in the midst of the trees behind the enemy’s lines. Seconds later, there was a bright flash of light without any sound. Yulen saw flames leaping between the trunks as the fire devoured the dead brush and grass.
The Bloods never wavered. Neither did any more of them appear from the tree line.
Atty gave a little grunt of disappointment. “Guess we were wrong. What we see is what we’re going to get, whenever they decide to charge at us.”
“I wonder how long that’ll be?” he nonchalantly asked. It turned out to be a prophetic question.
* * *
Eleven hours later,the Bloods had yet to move an inch. Neither had any of them eaten, although they drank from water skins tied about their waists. Several times they were observed relieving themselves on the ground around them, not caring there were hundreds of men watching their every move.
After five hours had passed without any sign of aggression, Yulen ordered the other battle lords’ troops to stand down, and for his men to take staggered breaks. After eight and a half hours, he sent soldiers to inform the townspeople they could emerge from their underground bunkers, but to remain alert for a warning in case they had to go back into seclusion.
Mattox went to the lodge to let Caralas and her father know the current situation. From the way Edge acted, he knew she’d told the man everything, and braced himself for the antagonism he sensed coming off the battle lord in waves. But when Edge continued to give him the cold shoulder, he chose to ignore it for the time being.
“The Bloods haven’t moved since they arrived. We don’t know what they plan to do, or how long they’ll continue to maintain their position, but sooner or later they’re going to have to eat and sleep. They may be abnormals, but they’re still human enough to need the basics to survive.”
Once they emerged out of the cellar, he led them down the short hallway to where the bedrooms were located. Opening the first door to their right, he stepped aside. “You’re welcome to sleep in any of these rooms. Wherever you feel most comfortable.”
“What are these? Spare bedrooms?” Edge gruffly inquired.
“These were my, Luc’s, and Misty’s rooms when we were growing up.” He pointed to the two doors on the left side of the corridor, then to the last door on the right. “That’s the bathroom.”
“What would have happened if your parents had had a fourth child?” Caralas asked with a grin.
Mattox pointed a finger overhead. “The nursery used to be upstairs, adjacent to my parents’ bedroom. It’s a storage closet now, but I’m thinking they might have converted it if they’d had another child. That, or built an addition onto the lodge.”
“What do we do for something to eat?” Edge inquired.
