The Zulani Empire: The New Chronicles of Elemental Magic (6 page)

Chapter 9.

The sun had barely risen, and already there was a large amount of activity in Onay. Soldiers now filled the walkways atop the perimeter wall, awaiting the Zulani to make their move. The enemy camps showed signs of movement, but nothing yet to suggest an attack was imminent. It appeared the Zulani would not be rushed into anything.

Jamal stretched, having spent the night sleeping on the floor in one of Fabian's rooms. The young royal had offered to get one of the serving staff to make an extra bed up for him, but Jamal had declined the offer. Judging by the aches that he felt, he was beginning to wish he had accepted. He had never stayed in such a fine room before. Every item in there just looked expensive, and certainly, very different from the barracks he was more accustomed too. He sat up and watched as two complete strangers walked into the room, and placed down serving trays on the table. This he assumed to be Fabian's breakfast, and once the staff had left, he could not help but get up and take a peek.

Stood in only his underclothes, he quickly attempted to cover his modesty as one of the serving women returned carrying another tray. He could feel his cheeks blushing as he gave her a rather bashful smile. He would not have minded so much, but the woman was probably old enough to be his grandmother. She gave him a toothless grin, which only appeared to have the effect of making him more uncomfortable. Fortunately for Jamal, the woman did not hang around, and once she had placed down the tray in her hands, she scurried back out of the door.

Once she had left, he lifted a few of the covers, and his senses were suddenly hit by the aroma of food beneath. There was bacon, sausage, eggs, a variety of freshly baked breads as well as a choice of drinks. If his smell was correct one of which was coffee, something he had quite a liking too, but could not afford very often. "Help yourself Jamal," came the familiar voice of Fabian behind him. Jamal turned to see the young royal already dressed in his usual fine quality garb. "Although if you wish to eat with me, I would prefer if you put some clothes on first," the youngster chuckled. Jamal laughed along with him, "I think it's probably for the best."

The two sat at the table almost forgetting all the troubles that lay outside the city walls. For the first time, Jamal actually felt like he was getting along with Fabian. The young royal had even stopped calling him names of late, although Jamal was not sure how long that would last. He was certain of one thing, and that was how very different royalty lived. The breakfast before them would have been enough to feed at least six men, and although both he and Fabian had made a good go of it, there was still a lot of waste.

Outside the city walls, the Zulani appeared to move about at a leisurely pace. The sun was rising into the blue cloudless sky, as the Murati defenders waited for them to make their move. The robed figure of the priest could clearly be seen by those atop the wall, making his way to the front. They waited with abated breath, as they realised the purpose of him doing so.

The voice of the Zulani priest once more echoed over the city. "Open the gates and lay down your arms now, and we shall accept your surrender. This is your last chance." The words rang about as a last offer of a peaceful conclusion, but the Zulani soldiers were now preparing themselves. On noticing them form ranks, the order went around the wall to prepare for the attack.

The robe figure stood staring at the city for a few minutes, and when no reply had come forth, he turned about and walked away. The Zulani infantry moved forward, and the Murati longbow men readied themselves on the wall. As they drew back their massive bows, they prepared to fire. They held, delaying so their targets would move a little closer, but were left waiting as the Zulani infantry halted. Eventually those atop the wall were ordered to relax their bowstrings. No sooner had they done this, than a mass of dark haired beasts ran out from behind the cover of the enemy shield wall.

The size of a large ape, but the teeth and claws of a far more viscous creature, they bounded toward the wall. The order was quickly given to fire, but with many of the archers holding longbows it was several seconds before the first wave of arrows was airborne. The creatures moved quickly, and as a result, those defending missed their targets. Those archers with standard bows did have some success in hitting a handful of the beasts. The creatures spread out as they neared the wall, making it more difficult for the archers to hit them.

As they finally reached the wall, the beasts leapt up, and using their strong claws climbed the stone. The beasts appeared to climb, nearly as quickly as they could run, and within a few seconds, dozens of them were running amok across the top. The archers wielding the clumsy longbows had to quickly drop them and rely on the infantry on the wall to defend them from the attacking creatures. All around the perimeter skirmishes broke out, as the Zulani pushed again. This time hundreds of riders thundered past the still stationary Zulani infantry.

As the riders approached the wall, they slowed just a little, to release hundreds of arrows up to the top, where the creatures were still making a nuisance. One thing was certain from these early exchanges, and that was how quickly the attackers had learned from their previous engagement with the Murati. Just as it appeared the defenders were getting the upper hand in their fight, a second wave of the ape like creatures was sent forth.

Once more, they moved quickly across the ground and scampered up the city walls with ease. The second wave however, did not aide those already on top, but merely dropped down the other side into the city streets. As they landed, they quickly dispersed into varying directions, making it difficult for the defenders to track them down.

Panic immediately struck those non-combatants in the streets of Onay. Screams filled the air as the beasts quickly pounced on unarmed women and children, using their powerful claws and jaws to lethal effect. This time they were not used to merely pin down their prey, but to kill it. Extra soldiers were quickly ushered from the garrison out into the wide city streets to track them down. The beasts moved to quickly for the foot soldiers to keep pace, as those creatures within the walls all headed for the centre.

The palace gates were still open when the first of the strange beasts came into view. It jumped high into the air before slamming into one of the guards on duty. The man thumped to floor and cried out as a vice like jaw ripped out his throat. The others on duty had barely time to draw their swords before another came. The first beast was taken down by two critical strikes, but the guard's victory was short lived, as the others quickly joined the fight. In a matter of moments, several of the creatures were already inside the palace walls and heading inside the building.

Back on the outer wall, the first wave of beasts that still survived, jumped back off the top and retreated in the direction they had came. Swarms of mounted archers still swung in and out of range, firing their arrows at the defenders in the mayhem. The Zulani infantry moved forward heading toward the south gate. Underneath their wall of shields, they carried a battering ram. Once in position, the ram pounded against the gates as the order was given, to rain arrows down on them. Some of the arrows found gaps and the Zulani fell as the continued their attack. Although the gates were hit hard, they were clearly not going to give way anytime soon. After a few minutes, the Zulani back stepped out of arrow range, leaving their battering ram behind.

All the time the action was watched by the robed figure of the Zulani priest. With a wave of his hand, men moved forward and retreated at his command, as he sought a way into the city. His creatures inside the city would soon be hunting their target. Once they had achieved that, he would allow these Murati another chance of surrender. For now though, he needed to eliminate the man that led the defenders, and that meant removing Prince Issac.

In the palace, Jamal and Fabian were sat lazing in one of the royal lounges. The first scream they heard had both of them jumping to their feet. "Bloody hell they can't be inside the city already," Jamal cursed pulling his short sword from his belt. Fabian was clearly unsure what to do, but did likewise. "We should find your father," Jamal said peeping from an open doorway down an empty corridor. He gestured for the young royal to follow, and Fabian did as was asked.

As they moved cautiously along the corridor, they heard shouting and cries of agony. Jamal felt his heart thumping harder and harder as the adrenalin pumped. He slowly moved forward, his sword held out ready to strike. Fabian moved nervously behind, "What's going on?" he whispered. Jamal hushed the young man behind him as he turned a corner. He stopped in horror at what stood before him.

A dark haired beast, was using its powerful jaws to rip out the throat of some poor serving woman. The creature looked up suddenly, sensing the presence of Jamal and Fabian. It snarled, showing its blood covered teeth, before moving slowly toward them. "Stay behind me," Jamal ordered Fabian. The beast kept creeping closer, as Jamal decided to take the initiative by charging it down.

He ran a few paces, before side stepping a large clawed hand. He swung his blade out as he moved, catching the beast on its torso. It emitted a loud yelping sound, similar to that a dog may make, as the blade cut deep. The wound however, was not sufficient to stop or hinder its movement. Using its powerful legs it slowly circled about, its strange eyes fixated on Jamal.

Holding his sword steady, he readied his own position to make another strike. Quick as a flash the creature lunged forward smashing him against the wall. Jamal felt the wind knocked from his lungs, such was the force of the impact. He felt his legs giving way underneath him, as his back slid down the wall and his sword fell from his hand. His backside hit the floor with a bump, as the beast moved in for the kill. Crouching on all fours it opened its wide jaws, revealing the blood soaked fangs within. Jamal grabbed out aimlessly in a vain attempt at finding his blade. He looked up at the beast, expecting nothing but an imminent painful, almost gruesome death. The creature suddenly arched back, and Jamal watched as it slumped sideward to the floor. Stood over it was Fabian with his sword in hand. The blade was dripping in the beast's strange silvery looking blood.

Fabian reached out a helping hand, and aided Jamal back to his feet. After reclaiming his sword, he turned to the young man who had just saved his life, "Thanks," he said still regaining his breath. Fabian simply nodded his head and said, "Remember, we stick together." Jamal looked his saviour in the eye, and felt a strange new respect for him. After a moment, he gestured for them to continue onward, in search of the Prince.

In another corridor, they came across the bodies of two guards and another one of the dark haired beasts. Their attention was drawn to the sound of shouting, and they quickened their pace. They slowed as they passed open doorways, just in case any of the creatures happened to be hiding out of sight. Their caution proved invaluable as they discovered two of the beasts savagely ripping the flesh from the body of another fallen guard. Jamal was about to sneak past the opening, when Fabian pulled his arm back. He pointed back down the way they had walked, keeping quiet as he did so.

Jamal let the younger man lead him back a little. "We can use this door to cut through. It brings us out near my father's study just the same," he said in a low voice. They opened the door and took the alternative route, which after a few more rooms and doors saw them emerge where they needed.

As soon as they opened the final door that led through to the offices of Prince Issac, they were hit by a scene of gruesome proportions. Bodies of soldiers and the strange Zulani beasts lay scattered across the floor. The fighting here was still continuing as Jamal and Fabian entered the fray. Shouts could be heard from one of the main rooms, which they entered with swords at the ready. A dozen or so guards were struggling to fend off several of the creatures. Amongst them, was somebody they recognised immediately.

"Father!" Fabian shouted running across the room. Jamal was quick to follow behind him. One of the guards fell before them, as the beast thrust its razor like claws into his midriff. Issac noticed his son approaching amongst the chaotic scenes, "Jamal! Get him out... the way I showed you...Go!" He shouted as loudly as he could. Jamal was torn between helping, and obeying the oath he had sworn. Reluctantly he grabbed Fabians arm, and pulled him back. He turned quickly as he heard another noise in the doorway, only to see three more of the creatures make an appearance.

The newcomers ignored both Fabian and Jamal, but went straight to the aid of the other beasts attacking Issac's group. "Jamal get him out of here," came the same order again. Fabian struggled against Jamal pulling him toward the side door that led to the study. "Come on Fabian," he shouted, "We are getting out of here." Reluctantly the young royal appeared to relent. Once through the door, Fabian gave a despairing look back in the direction of his father, who was still standing, fighting the creatures. He shut the door and turned to see Jamal already with an unlit torch in hand. "Come on Fabian, I promised your father I would get you to safety," he said entering the smaller side room, and opening up the secret passageway. He replaced his sword into his belt, and grabbed the bag of supplies that had been left there for such an emergency.

Lighting his lamp, he peered into the small dark tunnel that led somewhere outside the city. Fabian took one last look at the door he had just closed behind him, and darted into the passage. Jamal followed, holding the lamp, before closing the secret doorway. Issac had been right about one thing, the tunnel was certainly only wide enough for one person at a time. In truth, it was barely wide enough for even that.