A Dragon's Ascension - Ed Greenwood [46]
Shaking her way free of Hawkril's arms, she strode to the edge of the dock beneath her boots, and peered again at something unseen that seemed to shimmer above the water between the shore and the royal island. Then she whirled around to face them all, flung up a slender arm to point at Flowfoam, and burst out, "We have to get there!"
As if in reply, before Hawkril could even bend to the moorings of a single boat, angry shouts rang out from the shore road. With them came the drumming of hooves-and suddenly mounted armaragors were racing towards the docks, lances lowered and pennants fluttering.
"What treachery is this?" Raulin gasped, staring at the onrushing knights and the rising dust fast-curling in their wake. "Do they not recognize you? Overdukes of Aglirta?"
Sarasper gave him a wry, weary grin. "Oh, they know who we are, lad. Yon's the livery of Loushoond, and Tarlagar… and Ornentar. We've seen two of their masters quite recently. Aye, they know quite well who we are."
With a sudden grunt and heave Hawkril swung the smallest moored boat up out of the water, whirling it dripping over his head, and roared, "Glarsimber! Craer! A hand, here!"
They sprang to catch hold of the craft as the hulking armaragor staggered under it and almost fell into the water-but with their aid, he caught his balance in time. Together, as oars and rudders clattered and tumbled in all directions, they ran the boat forward to where they could wedge its transom against two pilings and perch its crossbraces atop a third, so it jutted up from the weathered boards of the docks like a gigantic lancetip, pointing at the onrushing riders.
"Can't we just take a boat and get out on the river?" Raulin shouted, waving at the many bobbing craft around them.
"Can't!" Craer snapped. "They always have bows!"
"Or worse," Sarasper said gloomily, clambering past the stoutly wedged boat onto a bare finger of dock beyond.
"Lass!" Hawkril roared, panting from his effort. "Raulin! Get back here, behind! Hurry!"
He waved his hand to beckon them after the scrambling Sarasper, out onto the longest dock in the lee of his improvised shelter.
Raulin hastened to obey, but before anyone could do more than launch themselves into a run, a dark figure among the fast-approaching horsemen stood up in his stirrups, waved one hand in a gesture Embra knew all too well-and the world exploded.
Bright fire…
… blazing…
Jagged shards and splinters of wood burst everywhere, stabbing and tumbling in the blinding, dancing inferno. Craer shouted something excited and probably clever as he cartwheeled helplessly through the air, blade in hand, heading for the waiting water.
Hawkril flung up a warding hand in front of his face-in time to save his eyes, but not before a handlike spray of joined splinters sliced open his cheek and ear. As the pinwheel of slivers sliced past, the planks beneath the armaragor's great boots erupted, and he was plucked into the air, up and back, into a sky filled with a hail of splintered wood. Shattered and torn boats and docks were tumbling everywhere…
Raulin's fingers found a piling, and he clawed at it frantically, his rush to reach Hawkril turned into a crazy spin around the old wooden posts. The young bard could hear nothing, though he knew the groans of rending wood must be louder than any human scream. The boat Hawkril had wedged to blunt the charging knights leaped through the air and flew like a war hammer, smashing three knights from their saddles with a brutal force that shattered horses, men, and armor with equal disdain. Raulin, watching with his mouth open in awe, knew there must be screaming going on. Lots of screaming.
Then the young bard's hearing came back with a ringing, echoing rush. There were sharp tearings and snappings of wood striking earth far behind him and tumbling away through brush and shrubs; the thunderous crashes of many, many things striking water, and the wet thuds of spears of broken wood impaling armaragors.
There were evil bubbling sounds from behind him, too-either the fabled lurking monsters