The recruit nodded. Now he had a smear of soot on his opposite cheek from a second tear.
“Do we rebuild?” a long-faced refugee asked. “Once we are strong again, should we try? Should we start now?” He turned around in the destroyed tavern, and it was obvious he remembered the place. “Will we have the heart to make Effren our home again?”
“Not until after the war,” Nicci said. “You would only be giving the Norukai something new to burn. For now, your best chance is to become fighters.” If Utros and his army were on the way, and if the ancient general had indeed joined forces with the Norukai, then the Old World would be awash in blood. And soon.
In burned-out homes they discovered several ghostlike squatters, villagers who had fled into the hills and now came back to the remains of their town, shocked and numb. Two battlefield surgeons tended to their injuries. Nicci hoped to toughen and recruit them for the new military force she was building.
She would have preferred that Richard lead the D’Haran army to fight at her side and crush both Utros and King Grieve. But Richard was counting on her, and Nicci would not let him down. He had sent her down to the Old World to pave the way for a new golden age of peace and prosperity, relying on Nicci to crush any upstart dictator or ill-advised tyrant.
She had never dreamed of the threat she faced now, a gigantic army from centuries past, and a raiding fleet of countless attack ships.
How could Richard’s small bone box be everything she needed? With a soot-stained hand, she slipped the little cube out of her pocket and looked at the etched letters in the language of Creation, felt the tingle in her fingers. Richard was a master of constructed spells and this one was tighter, more intricate than any she had seen. Through her gift, she could sense its potential, but not how it worked or what its purpose was. Nicci feared that its use was beyond her abilities, but Richard believed in her, so how could she do any less?
Who else could she ask? None of the other gifted in Tanimura had her breadth of knowledge, except perhaps some of the Sisters of the Light who remained in the city. The Sisters had eagerly scrutinized the artifact when Nicci asked their opinion, but despite their strong desire to help, none of the Sisters had offered any insight.
So it would have to be her. Opening the delicate lid, she studied the shimmering white sphere, the pulsing nugget of a constructed spell. “I can handle this,” she said as an affirmation to herself. She would figure it out, when the proper time came.
Still, she had a hard time maintaining her confidence as she gazed across the wasteland that had been a thriving town.
Before the war was over, there would be many more devastated towns. The people were fighting for their lives, their homes, their families. This Norukai raid had killed hundreds, maybe thousands, but the Effren tragedy would be like a sharp stick poking a coiled rattlesnake. Nicci intended to inspire all the survivors to strike back with sharp fangs.
Effren, Serrimundi, Larrikan Shores, and all the coastal cities would recover and thrive again. Nicci just had to save the world first.
CHAPTER 63
With a sinking heart, Norcross followed his orders and worked to evacuate Renda Bay. The need to abandon the town had struck the people like a thunderclap, but their angry resolve to fight for their homes had crumbled in the face of reality. Even all of them together could never stand against nearly a hundred thousand armed warriors.
“This doesn’t mean we are giving up,” the wizard Nathan had insisted, “but even if every single person in Renda Bay killed a hundred enemies, General Utros and King Grieve would still have enough fighters to grind your town into dust. We’ll still find a way to hurt them.”
“I need to keep our people safe,” Thaddeus agreed. “We will load the three sailing ships and every fishing boat we have, and others will flee into the hills and hide. We have to get our people out of here. We have to!”
Accompanied by squads of D’Haran soldiers, Norcross marched up and down the streets, pounding on doors. Criers shouted for all citizens to pack up their food and run for their lives. By the time General Utros arrived, Renda Bay would be a ghost town, stripped of any resources he could use.
Down by the docks, lines of men and women carried satchels of their most precious belongings as they boarded boats to get away. Wailing children clutched their mothers’ hands or tugged on their skirts; one pigtailed girl grinned as if this were a great adventure.
In order to make more room on the Daisy, Kenneth had tossed any crates, barrels, and tools overboard. Now loaded with people, the fishing boat rode so low in the water that Kenneth looked concerned. He pulled up the boarding plank. “Can’t take any more people. There are other boats.”
Even though the relentless army was less than a day away, according to scout reports, the villagers remained mostly calm. They waited for more vessels to reach the docks as the Daisy set sail and moved off past the stone defensive towers. Once the heavily laden craft reached open water, Kenneth turned north, followed by ten other equally full vessels in a civilian flotilla. They sailed away, hoping to be far out of sight before the armies closed in.
As more boats took on passengers, one old woman wrestled with two goats. She stamped her foot on the dock boards, but the fisherman captain waved her away. “You can’t come aboard with the animals. There’s no room! We have to save the people.”
“But Choo and Loo are like people. They’re my children.” She wrapped her bony arms around the goats. “I won’t leave them behind.”
The passengers already aboard called out from the deck, frightened and impatient, “Leave them, Maggs! That army’s coming.”
“I know! And those soldiers will eat Choo and Loo.”
Sensing the tension, Norcross hurried among the people. “Take your animals deep into the hills and hide, ma’am. Turn the goats loose, and they’ll be fine, but be sure to go far enough away from the army. You can stay out there with them, or come back here to board a boat if you make it in time. We just don’t have enough vessels to carry livestock!” The goats bleated pitifully, and Norcross frowned. “No matter how cute they are.”
Old Maggs left in a huff, yanking the ropes and leading her goats through the crowds and out of town.
In small dinghies, sailors rowed load after load of people out to the three large cargo ships anchored outside the bay. After overseeing the evacuation, Norcross would join General Zimmer and Thaddeus, who were already aboard Captain Mills’s ship, directing the movement and retreat.
Amber accompanied him, along with Sisters Rhoda and Eldine, while the other Sisters of the Light worked their way through the town with Nathan, Oron, and the remaining gifted defenders. They were preparing a surprise for the ancient army.
“We’ve been separate for so long,” Amber said to him with a smile. “I want to stay with you.”
“I missed you, too,” he said. “When we’re aboard our ship, we’ll have plenty of time to catch up, but for now, all these people?.?.?.” He sighed. “There must be a thousand left to evacuate!”
“I’ll help however I can,” she said, lifting her chin. “Prelate Verna was very patient in teaching me how to use my gift. She taught me amazing things.” She looked away to hide her sad expression. “I really miss the prelate. She was so kind to me and so wise.”
“She did meet a brave end.”
Amber nodded. “Yes, but it was still an end. I’d rather she were still here.”
Lila and Bannon came down to the docks, flushed from running. The young man looked upset. “That’s a stubborn family! What do they expect to do? Throw clay pots at thousands of soldiers?”
Lila seemed equally annoyed. “It is a potter’s shop, not a gold mine. We could not convince them.” She glared at Bannon. “And you refused to let me knock them senseless and drag them here.”
Norcross let out a heavy sigh, knowing that there were many families who simply refused to leave. “It might not be a gold mine, but it is their home. I only hope they’re sensible enough to
flee as soon as they see the army approaching.”
Over the next hour, the last fishing vessels sailed away. The three cargo ships were nearly full after a constant succession of rowboats carried groups out to where the ships were anchored and came back to pick up more evacuees. When it was time, with the town mostly empty behind them, Bannon and Lila climbed aboard a dinghy so they, too, could take a place aboard Captain Mills’s ship.
“This is a great improvement over our last boat,” she remarked, and Bannon agreed.
Norcross and Amber remained behind to round up the last few boatloads. Thorn and Lyesse jogged down the streets, making a beeline toward the harbor as they sounded the alarm. “The first enemy soldiers are no more than an hour away!”
“We killed only four before we had to retreat,” Lyesse added. “I don’t think we slowed them much. They are more wary now.”
Thorn frowned. “Nathan commanded us not to fight any more of the army for now, because it puts us at unnecessary risk.” She sounded disappointed. “It seems wrong.”
