The interrogation continued at length, and Grieve enjoyed the process, more joy than he had felt for many days. By the time he had cut off Emmett’s left ear and two fingers at the second knuckle, another Norukai entered the hall to report. “A fishing boat is gone from the jetty, King Grieve. Someone took it!”
“No, no!” Emmett whimpered, bleeding from multiple wounds. “Maybe it broke loose and drifted away in a storm.”
“Or maybe they stole it and escaped,” Grieve growled.
Impatient, he slashed off the old man’s other ear. He pinched the curved rind of flesh between his thumb and forefinger, waggling the ear in front of Emmett’s face. “Tell me what I need to know, or I have many more bits I can slice off.” He waved the dripping trophy again.
Finally Emmett broke down, sobbing. Grieve yanked out the knife that pinned the old slave to the table, releasing him. Emmett rolled forward, shuddering and bleeding, then babbled out a stream of words that coalesced into an explanation of how he had helped Bannon and Lila escape. The confession seemed cathartic for the old man, and he slid off the table, dropping to his knees and begging before King Grieve.
Grieve’s mood hardened, and he summoned all the terrified slaves into the dining hall. “Our fleet is about to go to war! I command you to prepare an appropriate feast to celebrate our impending victory.”
The Norukai let out a deafening cheer. When Grieve bellowed his instructions, the slaves quailed, and Emmett broke down into another flood of wordless sobs. The king realized that at last he was hungry again.
*
Lars and five other prominent Norukai captains sat at the main table, while Atta remained at King Grieve’s side. She gave him a lascivious leer, blinking her cowlike eyes, but the king’s attention was focused on the slaves who plodded into the banquet hall. On their shoulders, as if they carried a stretcher with a wounded warrior, they brought an enormous serving platter. The terrified slaves kept their gazes downcast as they placed the serving platter with its roasted meat in front of Grieve.
The shriveled blackened body of the old slave had curled up in a fetal position in the fires of the ovens. Emmett had been roasted alive, because the Norukai knew that terror and pain enhanced the flavor of the meat.
“He was old and tough,” Grieve said. “I expect the meat will be stringy, barely edible.”
Atta used her dagger to poke through the crisp skin, splitting open the black crust to reveal juicy flesh underneath. “I’ll savor the feast just as I will savor our victory, King Grieve.” She hacked a hunk of meat from Emmett’s thigh and extended it to Grieve on the point of her knife.
He took the offering and chewed it. “Yes, it’s good. This old man served the Bastion for many years, and now we serve him.” He raised his armored fist. “Come, all of you—eat! This is our feast before war.”
The Norukai rushed forward and tore into the roasted body of the old slave.
CHAPTER 61
The townspeople hurried to the docks to see the two castaways fished out of the sea, eager to hear their story. Nathan received the news with more joy than he had experienced in a long time. Bannon was alive!
The young man and Lila were sunburned and bedraggled from drifting alone for days, but they were feeling stronger by the time a small fishing boat called the Daisy brought them to Renda Bay. Kenneth, the Daisy’s pilot, clanged his bell as he arrived.
As Bannon stepped off the boat, he looked tough and determined, much different from the naive young man Nicci had rescued in a Tanimura alley long ago. His hazel eyes shone as he hurried down the dock and embraced Nathan. The wizard pounded him on the back. “Dear spirits, I never expected to see you again, my boy!”
Bannon stepped back, laughing. “Your wizard robes are gone! You look like an adventurer again.”
“I never stopped being an adventurer, and now this war will require all of my skills, both with magic and with my sword.” He embraced Bannon for a long moment, overjoyed. “You’re back with us. That’s the most important part for now! Dear spirits, it’s good to see you.”
Thorn and Lyesse used sharp elbows to clear a path through the townspeople crowded at the docks, wanting to see Lila. “We heard that a morazeth had been found floating in the sea,” said Thorn. “It is good to have you here, Lila. We need more worthy fighters.”
Lyesse said, “Thorn and I have been keeping score of our kills, but with the size of the army about to hit Renda Bay, you will quickly catch up with us.”
“I will make a good accounting of myself,” Lila said. Seagulls wheeled overhead, screaming like wounded victims on a battlefield.
“What army?” Bannon sounded more alarmed. “We came to warn you about the Norukai fleet. King Grieve will attack soon with hundreds of ships. He’ll devastate the coast. You need to prepare.”
Nathan recoiled. “A Norukai fleet is on its way? But the army of General Utros will be here in a day or two to ransack the town!”
Bannon paled. “The Norukai and Utros formed an alliance, but I thought the ancient army would take much longer to march across the land.”
Lila cautioned, “We don’t even know how much time has passed, boy. I have not been counting the days since Ildakar vanished.”
Thorn inspected the healing bruises on her morazeth sister’s face. “You are damaged. Have you two been sparring?”
“We damaged many Norukai as well,” Lila said.
The people of Renda Bay crowded around, and General Zimmer strode up, accompanied by Norcross and Trevor. “I want a full debriefing of what you know about the Norukai and their plans. I didn’t expect to fight on two fronts so soon.”
Thaddeus raised his hands. “We will share stories in my office in the town hall. We’ll make our plans there.”
Though Nathan could see how weary Bannon was, they couldn’t afford to grant him or Lila a well-earned rest. He stepped forward with a reassuring smile. “There is one thing I can do for you, though.” He touched the young man’s bruised face, his puffy lip. Bannon winced when Nathan released his healing gift to repair the damage to the sunburned and freckled face, and within moments he stood whole again.
When the wizard attempted to heal the similar bruises on Lila’s face, she shook her head. “The protective runes on my skin will block you. They guard me from magic, but they also thwart any efforts to use a healing spell.” She drew a breath. “I will endure. It is nothing.”
As they headed toward the town hall, the three morazeth walked together in perfect unison. Even after the healing spell, Bannon looked exhausted and battered, but now he had a spring in his step, glad to be back among friends.
In the town hall, Thaddeus dragged chairs around his sturdy wooden desk. Nathan shifted the ornate sword at his side and straightened his embroidered cape as he sat down. Zimmer did not sit, but paced near the wall.
Thaddeus ran a callused finger along the spines of ledgers on the shelves. “These books contain the names of people lost in Norukai raids over the past hundred years. We thought we had raised sufficient defenses, thanks to Captain Norcross. We believed we could drive the enemy away and keep Renda Bay strong, but all our efforts were in vain.”
Bannon and Lila took turns telling the story of their ordeals among the Norukai. Lila gave a crisp, bare-bones report, but the young man’s description of what had happened was agitated and emotional. “I wish we’d killed all of them! I wish I hadn’t been captured by King Grieve. Then all of this would have been different.”
“Nevertheless, we are back together,” Nathan said with a wan smile. “Dear spirits, I am glad to have good news for a change. We have lost so much.”
“And we’re about to lose more,” said Zimmer. “The army will be here within days.”
Norcross was flushed and restless. “All of the town’s defenses are in place, sir. The siege towers will guard the mouth of the harbor against the Norukai, and these people are determined to fight for their homes.” His eyes were large with disbelief. “But if King Grieve has
a navy of more than a hundred serpent ships, we can’t possibly fight off that many. What are we going to do?”
Lady Olgya pointed out, “And General Utros will soon arrive with many thousands of soldiers. We’ll be caught between the two forces.”
