Ramaeka (The Ramaeka Series Book 1) (25 page)

Chapter Twelve

As they walked
towards the wall they noticed men and women heading towards the north of the
city where it was hoped they could escape.  While many kept their gazes
averted as though ashamed, some glared defiantly at those headed in the
opposite direction as if daring them to comment.  All of them moved
quickly, hoping to get through before Gasha found the exit.

Gelber spat on
the ground.

"Cowards,”
she grumbled.  "We have no need of their kind in a real battle.”

Some of those
fleeing glared at her but thought better of contradicting the tall powerfully
built woman in armour, battle axe slung casually over one shoulder.

Ramaeka
couldn't blame them in the slightest.

"Now dear
one, you know they just wish to leave more for you,” Parrit replied mildly.
 She caught Ramaeka's eye and winked while he hid a grin.

"Ye
cannae blame them.”  Tam fell into step beside Amar ignoring Gelber's
glare.

"Many
have ne'er seen battle before, just defended the walls from roamin' bands of
rogues and the like.  But like ye said tis better this way.  I like
ta know who'ers got me back ain't gonna rat out on me.”

"You
speak truly,” Gelber nodded approvingly.  Tam grinned, white teeth
flashing, and bowed slightly to her and Parrit.

"T'will
be a pleasure ta fight beside two warriors such as yer selves.  I've heard
much o' the warrior women o' Shapir.  Ne'er had the honour of meetin' any
though.”

As the women
nodded looking pleased, Tam turned to Ramaeka.

"What
about ye, Ra?  Will ye be fightin'?  Now I seen yer human face, I
gotta say ye might be a wee bit young, though no one'd dare say ya ain't fought
like a great warrior.”

Ramaeka
shrugged at least he could be honest about his past now.  "I've been
trained for battle since I started walking when I was three.”

"You
didn't start walking until you were three years old?” Stripe raised an eyebrow.
 Ramaeka snorted.

 "Three
weeks old, not three years.  Anyway that's all my father would allow us to
do.  Five hours a day of theoretical learning, Five hours of labour and
chores, six hours of battle training.  Except for meals and punishment
duty, which I got a lot of, the rest of the time was your own.”

Tam whistled
impressed.

"I'm
definitely glad you're fightin' on our side.”

The others
nodded in agreement.

“For one so
young, you must be very accomplished,” Parrit commented.

Ramaeka
shrugged.  "Not according to my father.  Compared to my brothers
and sisters I'm really small, I was always a bit of a disappointment.
 Comes from being the only earth dragon in the family.” 

"Your
father's an over grown lizard,” Stripe said fiercely.  "When we’re
finished beating this son of a troll into the ground where he belongs, we'll
take care of your family.”

Ramaeka just
grinned and shrugged again.  To be honest he wasn't sure what he thought
of the idea. He hated his father with a passion, but he was still his father.
 Fighting his family wasn't something he wanted to think too hard over.

By now they had
reached the wall where other humans had gathered.

Ramaeka looked
them over curiously.  They were certainly a mixed bunch; he hadn't realized
what a range they came in.  He saw every colour from snow white to those
as dark as his father's dragon hide.  He wondered if their colour
indicated their element type like it did with his own kind.  The clothing
they wore varied just as much.  Some like Parrit and Gelber wore light
armour, while others were fully encased.  Ramaeka looked forward to seeing
how they ran and manoeuvred in such gear. Some like Tam and Stripe wore rough
breeches and shirts, others long robes.  Ramaeka even noticed one
laughing, joking, heavily tattooed group who wore only skin tight black shorts
and, if they were female, bands of the same material across their chests.

Tam grinned
when he saw where Ramaeka was looking.

"Good eye
mate, them there are Selkies.”

"Selkies?”
 Ramaeka stumbled over the unfamiliar word.

"Aye,
fierce fighter’s fer all they like a bit o' fun.  All types o' fun at that.”

Tam seemed
amused by Ramaeka's confused expression while Stripe looked the group over
curiously.

"What
kind of fighters are they?” Gelber asked absently fingering the edge of her
weapon.

"Brilliant knife
fighters,” Tam told her approvingly.  "They're shape shifters like Ra
'ere only they turn inna sea dogs, what some call seals.  They're
unstoppable in water 'n hard ta kill on land.  Unusual for 'em to be in
this world specially up north, but there’s a couple'a small colonies scattered
about.”

Some of the
Selkies glanced up at them and noticed their stares.  They grinned
wickedly, one winked at them while another waggled their eyebrows Stripe
blushed while Ramaeka smiled and waved to their amusement.

Tam laughed
but before Ramaeka could ask what was so funny the General stepped on to the
stairs ahead of them so that he could be seen by everybody gathered.
 Everyone hushed instantly, eyeing him intently.  The General seemed
unconcerned by the tension in the crowd; he nodded at them all calmly.

"I wish
to begin by thanking you all for staying, I know this may seem a hopeless
cause to some.  We are thoroughly outnumbered.  Many of the enemy are
creatures from our nightmares who we hoped were mere stories.  They have
many powerful mages and countless strong warriors.  However we are not
without hope.  There are amongst us great and honourable warriors from
many different worlds, the first such alliance in our history.  Yes Gasha
has bound many to his will, but by doing so he has brought us together as well.
 Now as much as I would like to continue attempting grand speeches to fire
you up,” He paused and grinned as some of the crowd whistled and cheered.
 Ramaeka was sure most of it came from the group of Selkies.

"Let us
get down to the practical.”

Ramaeka listened
in fascination as the General outlined a plan based on defence rather than
attack. Only by defending the walls would they keep the enemy at bay for as
long as possible.  Hopefully this would allow the rest of the world to ready
themselves, and perhaps even allow time for their allies to attempt to come to
their aid.  It sounded like a fair plan to Ramaeka however Stripe frowned
tugging his lip thoughtfully.

"What’s
wrong?” he asked once the General was finished and the individual groups were
being called up to find out their assigned positions.

"It seems
like a sound plan to me.”

Stripe shook
his head.  "Maybe...  I just think we should do more than just
hold them here.”

Gelber patted
his shoulder sympathetically.  "I agree my friend, but his is the
wisest course.

"If we
can't do anymore than hold him back for a few days, what’s anybody else going
to be able to do?” he asked bluntly.

Ramaeka
watched as the others exchanged uneasy looks.  It’s true he realized the
leader of this world’s best General and great warriors from many different
places were here.  Would anyone else have time to find more
great fighters even if they did give them a few extra days to organize
themselves?

"We'll do
what we must lad,” Tam said gently.  Stripe shook his head again.

"I'm
going to talk to the General.”

Ramaeka
started after him but Tam grabbed his arm.

"Let 'im
go Ra, the General'll sort it out yeah.”

Ramaeka sighed
but stayed where he was watching Stripe approach the General.

"Let us
discover which position we have been assigned,” Amar said leading them over to
where the General's officers were waiting.

"Since
you're fightin' then Ra, I was thinkin',” Tam gave him a sly sideways look making
Amar frown.

"I'm not
much bigger 'n Mar, so maybe you 'n I could team up.  Mar could cover us
with 'is magic from below.”

Ramaeka
thought it over.

"Depending
on what the General had planned I don't see why not,” he replied slowly.

"Though
I'm not sure how long I can stay up with a human on my back, I’m getting a
little low on energy.  And as long as Amar doesn't mind.”

Tam slapped
him on the back affectionately before raising an eyebrow at Amar who had been
fairly quiet.

"I do not
mind,” he smiled slightly.  "As long as you keep him within my sight.”

Ramaeka winced
feeling bad for his friend and the position he was in, only able to defend
Ramaeka. He really hoped the General understood.

Speaking of
which he looked over to see how the General in question was reacting to
Stripe's frustration.  He was frowning and shaking his head as Stripe argued
with him.  Not so well then.

Tam was
talking to one of the senior officers pointing at Ramaeka and Amar.
 The officer nodded and pointed along the wall.  Tam saluted and
headed back over.

"Sorted,”
he grinned.  "We get ta work from the central guard tower inna centre
o' the wall there, a grand place to launch from right mate?”

"We're
not mates,” Ramaeka replied absently as he kept an eye on Stripe.  Really
he was far too young to even think about having a mate.  Tam frowned at
that while Amar hid a smile behind his hand.

"Where
Ramaeka comes from a mate is a long term romantic partner,” he explained
smoothly.  Tam's hurt look cleared up instantly.

"Er right
ye are, we are definitely not mates then, just friends,” he said hurriedly
glaring at Gelber and Parrit who were openly laughing at him.  Still smiling
Amar turned to Ramaeka.

"Here the
term mate is often used as slang for friend.”

Ramaeka
flashed Tam a grin.  "That’s a relief; I'm not really old enough for
that stuff.”  He wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"So I see,”
Tam replied dryly.  He herded them towards the wall stairs where Stripe was
still talking to the General.

"It seems
Stripe may be getting his way after all,” Parrit observed in her quiet way,
nodding towards the pair.  Ramaeka frowned uneasily as the General slowly
nodded at what Stripe was saying.

"I hope
it is not something that will get us killed,” Parrit added calmly.  Stripe
trotted down the steps to meet them, an air of grim triumph about him.

"What
have you done?” Amar asked suspiciously.

"Nothing
really,” he shrugged.  "Just offered a few suggestions we might have
a chance to use.”  He changed the subject abruptly.

"Where
are all of you positioned?”

"Me, Tam
and Amar are in the central guard tower on the wall.”  Ramaeka looked at
Parrit and Gelber inquiringly.

"I will
be assisting the archers to the west of your tower,” Parrit said.

"And I
will be assisting with the catapults and ballista’s until I can get a little
closer to some of those delicate creatures,” Gelber's smile was all bared teeth,
her eyes glinted wickedly.

"What
about you?” Ramaeka interjected still suspicious.

"Not far
from your tower,” he replied.  "At the command post with the General.
Don't worry Ra; I'll be safe as kittens there.”

Ramaeka
scowled but nodded.  Stripe was definitely up to something but he was
stubborn as a rock when he wanted to be and Ramaeka wasn't going to get anything
out of him.

"Right
then ma... er friends,” Tam glanced quickly at Ramaeka.  "Let’s get
ta where we should be yeah?  Good luck to ye all, may the Lady Mischief be
on yer side.”

The others
murmured similar sentiments before heading on their way.

As Ramaeka
headed up the steps after Tam the pain hit him again with more intensity than
he had felt before.  Gasping he grabbed his left hip as the muscle
strained and the bone shifted.  His legs gave way and he would have
toppled down the stairs if Amar hadn’t grabbed him from behind.  He sat
down hard, trying to catch his breath.  He pulled his clothing away from
his hip and gulped in horror.  He could see the bone of his hip moving,
the muscles around it bulged and writhed beneath his skin.  Amar crouched
beside him and placed a glowing hand on his side.  Immediately the
movement subsided as did the pain.  Ramaeka wiped the sweat from his
forehead with a shaking hand.

“Are you
alright?” Amar asked softly.

“No,” Ramaeka
wailed quietly.  “Stripe’s about to get himself killed, after which we’re
all going to die and in the meantime my body hates me.”

Amar looked
amused.  “Your body does not hate you.”

“Are you two
coming?” Stripe called from above.

“Don’t say
anything to him about this,” Ramaeka whispered urgently to Amar who nodded and
helped him up.

They caught up
with the other two at the central command post where Tam and Amar wished Stripe
luck before heading towards the tower.  When Ramaeka would have followed
Stripe grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop.

"You
alright Ra?”

"I'm fine,”
he said quickly.

“They'll be
aiming for you,” Stripe said quietly.  "Be careful and don't take any
risks.”

Ramaeka rolled
his eyes.  "I have a feeling you'll be taking all the risks before
anyone else gets a chance.  Don't do anything stupid, at least not without
me alright?”

Stripe laughed
and gave him a one-armed hug, scruffing his hair with his free hand

"No
promises made, no promises broken my friend.”

"So does
this mean you forgive me for being a dragon?” Ramaeka asked giving him his best
hopeful look.

Stripe shook
his head grinning with sheepish embarrassment.  "Suppose so.
 Now shoo I've got work to do.”

Ramaeka ran to
catch up with the other two who were waiting at the entrance to the tower.
 Two archers were already inside the tower they nodded before returning
their attention to their weapons.  The three of them passed them by and
went to the very top which was half covered and half open, the perfect
launching point for a small dragon Ramaeka thought pleased.  Less pleasing
was the view of the enemy.  Heavy drums began to pound as the army marched
forth, even with dragon sight Ramaeka could not make out the end of the mass
below, it flowed right back into the trees.  He swallowed hard.