“Needsome vantage,” she replied, grabbing the rim of the golem’s hip.“Need a goodlook on Soren.Can’t just go strollin’ through.”
“That’sa golem of the necromancers!It’s supposed to guard the palace!”
“It’sdead, I think.”
“Thatdoesn’t matter!Get down!”
Shepulled herself to the hip, pushed up until her elbows were straight, andreached out to grasp the mouth on the golem’s chest.It yawned at her touch.Suddenly, a vomit of skulls erupted from its belly, spilling over the pavement.All of them shattered like pottery.
“Xotra’scunt,” Zaria said, wobbling for balance, bracing against the stream of rottenbone.
“Whathave I been telling you?”Isaac yelled.
Shewaited until the skulls stopped pouring and grabbed at the golem again, thistime catching her paw on the edge of a lower rib, which appeared to be spikingout from the side.Isaac now noticed that a dozen ribs were poking through thecreature’s torso, like someone had gone through and individually wrenched thecage, working until the bones represented the legs of a centipede.He did notwant to imagine if the necromancers had ever done this to actual, livingpeople.
“Comeon,” Zaria said, beckoning with a hand.“Let’s get a look.”
Isaacwas dismayed.“You want me to climb that thing?”
“If itwouldn’t tax the young lord.”
He madea face.After a moment, he glared up at the extruding shadow of the golem’sskull, as if warning it to comply.The golem did not stir.Slowly, Isaacgrabbed at the runes curving along the stonework, doing his best to climb.Hemade an awkward, halting job of things.By the time he reached the hip of the golem, Zaria was already at the shoulder, dangling herselfalong the automaton’s chest like a cat clinging to its owner’s shirt.
“Pleasehelp me,” Isaac asked, straining.
Zariareached down, grabbed him by the arm, and yanked him bodily onto the oppositeshoulder of the golem, where he floundered for a grip.The tall automatoncreaked with their shifting weights, and Isaac heard the distinctive sound ofcrunching bone.When he looked, he saw that the protuberance on the golem’sface was actually the mouth of a smooth-bore cannon.Its entire skull had beenshaped into a gun.
Heremembered the skulls in its belly.He guessed there was a loading mechanism,somewhere within the tortured chest.
Isaacshuddered in disgust.
“Ain’tlookin’ good,” Zaria said, pointing over the golem’s shoulder.
Theynow had an excellent vantage over the battle.Below,over the walls, the palace courtyard was a scene of carnage.It seemed as ifthe sorcerer’s thralls had mounted a full assault.Robed human figures wereslowly advancing across the open space of the interior plaza, shooting spearsof ice and flame.At the palace itself, crouched between the jaws of severalmassive skulls, the pirates were returning fire with crossbows, occasionallyflinging grenades of black powder.None of the human thralls attempted to seekcover—they kept marching forward, heedless of the bolts and explosives.
As itstood, the pirates were losing ground.They were receiving an overwhelmingamount of fire, much of which was literally fire, and the amount of elementaldischarge was quickly eroding anything they could use as protection.From hisvantage point, Isaac could see that many of the pirates were beginning topanic, watching the jaws of the skull catch into flame.A fox screamed as herfur came alight.
Acrossthe courtyard, the thralls continued to advance in a single line, showing nosigns of fear.
Thepuppeteer was winning.
“Fuckme,” Zaria said.“It really is Soren.I knew she had a cactus up her cunt aboutme, but she’s plain gone mad if she thinks she can hold up down here.”
Isaacscanned the firing line of the pirates.“Where is she?I don’t see her.”
“Checkthe side.She’s doing a pincer.”
He hadbeen so dazzled by the elemental barrage of the thralls that he hadn’t noticedthe entirety of the battle.Streams of pirates ran low behind the walls oftheir makeshift barricades, circling the line of thralls.Isaac squintedthrough the dim golden light, unable to identify the pirates by anything otherthan general species.He saw lions and hyenas and foxes, glints of steel andfur.
“Istill don’t see her.”
“Humansare just worthless in the dark.”Zaria pointed.“She’s on the left, leading thecharge.”
On theleft, the pirates were massing, readying their weapons, waiting for the thrallsto advance.Once they passed a certain point, the zoanthropes could rush fromcover and envelop the enemy from all sides.Isaac studied the shadowy figures,trying to determine who could be the captain.
When hespotted her, Isaac blinked in surprise.
CaptainBlack Eye Soren stood two heads shorter than the brawny hyenas and lions aroundher.She had white fur, stubby whiskers, and tall, pink ears.Her outfit was apatchy collection of dark leather and loose fabric that was tangled beneathseveral bandoliers of knives and grenades, which she had stockpiled so heavilyacross her bodice that the weaponry was nearly a second set of armor.As Isaacsquinted through the gloom, he noticed a furless patch of skin around her eye.
