Feathered Dragon - Douglas Niles [107]
Finally they approached the large headquarters building, a wooden frame house with oilskin windows, where several candles glowed in still-lighted rooms. Before the front door stood a pair of spearmen, weapons upraised and backs placed squarely to the wall.
“I’d bet all the gold in Nexal that Don Vaez is in the bedroom upstairs,” whispered Cordell. Indeed, as they watched, a shadow passed before the oilskin, a profile wherein the long, curling locks of hair were plainly visible. Cordell turned to Chical, and the Eagle Knight nodded. Melting into the shadows with three of his men, he suddenly shifted and dropped. In another moment, his powerful wings carried him upward, followed by his comrades. The four eagles soared swiftly and silently to the peak of
the roof over Don Vaez’s building. The men on the ground saw them as alternating shades of black and pale gray as they shifted back to human form.
Creeping to the edge of the roof, they sprang suddenly to the earth. With swift, silent blows, they immobilized the two startled sentries.
“Let’s go!” whispered Cordell, starting toward the door.
A harsh clatter, like someone spilling a cartload of firewood, suddenly crashed through the compound. Cries of alarm arose from many of the tents, as sleepy men-at-arms struggled free of their bedrolls.
Furiously Cordell whirled to see Kardann, standing beside the heap of weapons that had moments earlier rested neatly in their racks. The assessor looked at the captain-general, a terrified expression upon his pudgy face. With a muffled curse, Cordell started toward him, but he instantly realized that recriminations would have to wait.
“Hurry!” he commanded, sprinting through the darkness toward the house. A dozen legionnaires and an equal number of Eagle Knights, led by Grimes, raced after him, weapons drawn and ready Kardann remained behind, shrinking into the darkest shadows, unnoticed by the charging band.
The front door of the building swung open as Cordell approached, revealing several men in breastplates carrying drawn swords. Chical and the other warriors pressed back in the shadows to either side of the door.
“Who’s there?” one of the men demanded.
Dogs barked throughout the fortress as more and more men stumbled from tents or barns.
“You there! What’s happening?” The man at the door barked the question at Cordell, then gaped in astonishment as the captain-general dove toward the door.
“Sound the alarm!” cried the guard, trying to slam the portal shut. Shouts and challenges echoed throughout the fortress as rudely awakened men suspiciously accosted their neighbors. In several places, the clash of steel rang out briefly
Cordell crashed into the door with the full force of his charge and felt it spring inward. He bowled over the guard
just beyond and trampled past another who tried to stand against him in the hallway.
The stairway led upward before him, and Cordell charged up the steps. He crashed through the door to the sleeping chamber just in time to see a silken-gowned figure spring through the window.
Cordell raced across the room, looking below in frustration as Don Vaez sprinted away from the house. By now the entire garrison was alarmed, and a hundred men gathered around their commander.
Chical entered the room, where Cordell still stared out the window, bitter defeat burning in his gut.
“We are all in the house,” reported the Eagle Knight, “but it would appear that they have us trapped.”
“Surrender, Cordell!” cried Don Vaez. Triumph filled his voice. “Give yourself up and things may go easier with you!”
“1 will not deliver my sword to a scoundrel!” Cordell shouted back, placing all the strength of his will into his voice. “A scoundrel and pirate! Why do you hold my men, the garrison of this fort, in chains? Surely they offered you no threat.”
“ You are the renegade!” taunted Don Vaez. “You planned to keep the riches of Maztica for yourself!”
“You’re mad!”
“Give up. and you shall have ample opportunity to testify at your trial. Defy me, and you shall certainly die!”
Cordell