Bird of a Cage [BoW 4]

Chapter 2

Another day. Another battle and another city doomed to fall to the Dmar. Since the warship, any sense of safety was gone. After that night, things had gone progressively from bad to worse. Taidra hung his head as the shudders of the batting ram rumbled through the city. His watchtower sitting close enough to see the chanting of the soldiers. Chants promising that blood would run like water out of the city tonight. Screams would echo into the stars themselves and make the Gods weep. Metal would slice flesh from mortal bodies, and magic render souls mute.

He'd warned them. There had been signs for weeks that the Dmar were on the warpath towards No one had listened. The gates of the fortress were impenetrable, they'd say. In moments those same gates would collapse, and Dmar soldiers would flood in, ready to kill everyone in sight.

Who cared what the paranoid implant user had to say about security when he'd already failed once?

Beyond his love, Taidra had no allies here. No one trusted or respected him to see past his failings. Everyone from the warship had been spilt up among the bases on the plains. The twins had been sent with Inai and Isst to a different base leaving Taidra alone with Feno, and that was it. Wiljam had gone south with the other scientists and engineers who were too important to risk. Ryraso had been spirited off to Navat, where no word had been heard of his fate. Tiew was currently in the Capitol, helping get the nobles in line. He was alone.

Drumming sounded up again. The loud creak at the hinges began to give way. A few more hits, and it would all be over. Taidra sat, head in hands. He didn't know where Feno was. Someone had cut the power for the few systems the city had. Taidra's implant was useless.

"Taidra," a familiar voice whispered at the back of his neck. "You should be in the vaults."

"Shouldn't you be hiding there too?" Taidra challenged, not looking at the teenager who was no doubt resting on his desk. Sakmi's brats were here. That gave some hope that the civilians would be given quarter. When Loror's Generals were near, the brutes of the army toed the line more. It wouldn't give mercy to anyone who held a blade, no matter how old they were, but it was something.

A hand landed on his back and rubbed. "I'm in uniform. They won't hurt me," Ravn said with utmost confidence. "Why are you not in the vaults, Tai?"

"No room. Not a civilian, not important enough either," Taidra said, rolling his shoulder to push the hand off him. He didn't need comfort from a brat of a spy. The kid would be here scavenging for information. The Dmar leader hadn't got the memo of his fall to power. They believed Taidra was still in the loop about confidential projects.

Warlord Loror was not stupid. He was searching for the engineering base, the Namya's last advantage. The same minds who had managed to magic up a warship with almost no resources were there. Rumours were that they were attempting it again. That within the next year, the Namya would saw again. False rumours. When he had read the report that Loror was treating these rumours seriously, Taidra had almost cried in hysterics. It was a miracle Loror didn't know how badly stretched for resources they were. Heck, they didn't have what was needed to rebuild any more bases destroyed in action; forget a ship that would require them to build an entire port to build the damn thing.

The threat of a new ship was everything the Warlord needed as an excuse to increase the Dmar's attacks. He was throwing more and more people at them, trying to defeat them with overwhelming force. Worse yet, people were starting to give.

"Don't suppose you'll give me what I'm looking for?" Ravn checked, fingers drumming against the desk.

"I don't have anything that could be of use to you."

The sound of the gates crashing to the ground reverberated through the city. The fortress was as good as lost. Long live the Dmar. The room shifted as the force rocked the ground. The distinct sound of buildings collapsing barely audible over the roar of bloodthirsty brutes. Taidra's cheeks were wet.