But what else could they do?
The Prince heard a familiar voice and stopped, looking down a back alleyway between two large houses. It was Davydd, and he was talking to a gathered group of Rangers and Rogues. The Prince approached quickly.
“How long do we have?” a man with a mane of white hair asked, blood on his face and an eye-patch covering his right eye. He had the black-and-silver armor of a Rogue and the dagger insignia of aneshendai.
“Not long enough,” a tall woman, a gold-and-black Ranger, responded grimly. “We can’t take another attack like that.”
“It’s those shadow-cursed Daemons!” Davydd said. “Nothing even slows them down. Nothing!”
“We need to kill the Bloodmages riding them,” the white-haired man said.
“They won’t die,” said a woman with a bow slung across her back. “We’ve pin cushioned them and still they ride those beasts.”
“You could try drowning them,” the Prince said.
Davydd and the rest of the group turned as the Prince came out of the alleyway.
“Look who’s joined the fight,” Davydd said, eyeing the Prince in his armor.
“Who’s this?” the eye-patch man asked. “Major…?”
“No, it’s borrowed armor,” Davydd said.
“Drown them?” prompted Lorna, who was leaning against a building, hidden in a patch of shadow.
“Yes,” the Prince said, stepping forward into the circle so they all could hear him. “They’re Earth Daemons, summoned with the essence of earth, which is primarily rock. You need to counter that essence.”
“Wouldn’t air be the counter of earth?” the white-haired man asked.
“Yes,” the Prince said quickly, “but if you drop them off the cliff south of us, they’ll get carried away by the current. The drop will take away their connection to the earth and weaken them, and then the water will carry them away. If you’re lucky, it might even break them up. Worst case scenario is that they get washed down river and have to make their way back—but they’re slow. They’ll be out of the fight for a couple hours.”
The Rogues and Rangers glanced at Davydd, who looked to be doing some very quick thinking.
“You’re sure of this?”
The Prince nodded.
“I must be shadow-blinded insane to take advice from the Prince of Ravens,” he muttered so that only the Prince could hear before turning back to the group.
“Do it,” he said shortly. “We don’t have much time until they assault the walls—be ready to draw them off. Pass the word—all Spellblades, particularly Rangers, are to draw the Daemons to the edge of the cliff. Rogues will be used as a harrying force to drive them. Those with valerium weapons take point. Have five teams ready, one for each of them, ready to push them over the edge.”
“With what?”
“The longest spears you can find,” Davydd answered. “Break off the metal tips and use them to push them over. Are these things easy to unbalance?”
This last question was addressed to the Prince.
“No,” the Prince responded, “but if they’re up high enough, close to that cliff, it will be easier. In any case, aim for the chest to get leverage. It’s your best shot—you’ll at least be able to slow them down.”
“Right, all of you pass the word to the others.”
They began to move off, but the Prince stopped Davydd.
“The Bloodmages,” he said quickly, “the ones riding the Daemons. You need to take them off the Daemons to kill them—they’re connected to the essence of the earth that helped make the creatures. Arrows will never penetrate their skin. But knock them off the Daemons, and they’re just ordinary men again. The Daemons will run amok with no one controlling them, but they won’t be much use in any tactical sense after that. To knock them off and kill them, break or somehow take the medallions they have slung around their necks—it’s the source of their power, and it will be what’s connecting them to the Daemons.”
Davydd watched him for a long moment, and the Prince knew he was being reevaluated. Finally, the red-eyed young man nodded and turned to go, then stopped and turned back.
“Leah and Tomaz are at the second gate, go join them if you can.”
