Spook's: The Dark Army (The Starblade Chronicles) by Joseph Delaney Page A

she was sobbing in my arms.
    ‘They’re all dead. They’re all dead but me!’ she cried. ‘Poor Prince Kaylar – they . . .’
    I patted her back and gave words of reassurance but to my annoyance Grimalkin intervened.
    ‘Take your time, girl, and speak slowly.’ The witch assassin seized Jenny’s arm and drew her away from me. But Jenny pulled free and ran back.
    Angrily Grimalkin tried to grab her again, but I stepped in front of Jenny.
    ‘Leave her alone!’ I snapped. ‘Don’t you think she’s suffered enough?
You
kidnapped her – she could have been killed!’
    Grimalkin hissed with fury, but took a step backwards. ‘We need to know precisely what happened,’ she said.
    I turned back to face Jenny. ‘Do you feel well enough to talk?’ I asked.
    She nodded and began her story. Most of our force dismounted and gathered around. Every so often Grimalkin halted Jenny’s account so that she could translate it into Losta for the others.
    Long before she had finished, Prince Kaylar’s son was on his knees, tearing his hair and weeping at the news of his father’s death. It was a terrible tale – it seemed likely that Jenny was the only survivor of the patrol.
    I assumed that Grimalkin would call off the attack on the kulad – or at least wait for the rest of our army to arrive. Instead she spoke quietly to me, proposing an immediate advance with only a dozen soldiers.
    ‘It seems very risky!’ I told her. ‘We need some way to call for help if we get out of our depth. We could use a triple whistle to summon the others.’
    Grimalkin agreed, but I was still unhappy with her proposal and told her bluntly of my fears.
    ‘What if they know we’re here?’ I said. ‘They might have known of Prince Kaylar’s approach in advance. How can we hope to do better with so few? There must be hundreds of warriors in the kulad.’
    The witch assassin stared at me, clearly angered by my challenge. ‘It is a risk we must take!’ she spat. ‘Time is against us – a large Kobalos army even now is riding towards us. I
must
have the knowledge that lies in that tower. That is what matters. Tell them now!’ she said, gesturing towards the gathering. ‘Tell them what must be done!’
    Filled with misgivings, I obeyed, and the witch assassin then translated my orders.
    So it was that Grimalkin and I led a force of just a dozen men towards the kulad.
    Jenny was left behind. She didn’t object. She’d been scared badly by her encounter with the Kobalos.
    Grimalkin strode beside me, outlining her plan. The tower was surrounded by a high wall and a moat that could be crossed by a drawbridge. It was the only way in. While she approached the wall, we were to stay among the trees and keep perfectly still. Once she had gained access, we were all to follow at her signal. Most of the Kobalos would be quartered below ground. The only way we could win was by attacking swiftly. We had to reach the very top of the kulad where Kobalos High Mages routinely had their quarters. Once there we could defend that position while she learned what she could.
    We halted just short of the first trees, and turned to face Grimalkin. She spoke to the warriors in Losta, repeating what she had already told me. Then she closed her eyes and began to mutter. She was casting a cloaking spell to hide our approach.
    As her muttering rose into a light musical chant, I glanced at the men who were coming with us. Six of them had longbows: these were very accurate at a distance, but were also deadly at short range – they could pierce the toughest armour. I knew all this because Grimalkin had spent hours taking me through the capabilities of our forces. The other six were swordsmen, the cream of our army. One was a champion and had been due to face the Shaiksa after me.
    A cinder path led into the wood; I noticed that it was steaming, creating a mist that reached up into the branches of nearby trees. Why should that be? Why should the ground be hot beneath