Cursor's Fury (Codex Alera #3)(194)

Tavi whirled to check on the Canim and found the raiders pulling back, leaving the regulars plenty of room in which to work. For the first time, at the crest of the hill, Tavi made out the outlines of several black-cloaked, pale-mantled Canim. Sari, or at least some of his ritualist acolytes, were apparently intent on observing the regulars' assault.

"Move!" Tavi shouted, as the regulars marched closer. "Reserves, withdraw to your secondary positions near the bridge!" Tavi whirled, spotted the nearest centurion, and growled, "Get those men's shields strapped on tighter. One of those hurled stones will spin the bloody things on their arms and smash their brains out."

The young centurion turned to face Tavi, his face pale, saluted, and began bellowing at the indicated legionares.

The centurion was Schultz. Tavi took a look left and right, and found few faces as old as his own. Only the centurions were veterans at all, and even they looked like young men serving in their first term of service in that rank.

Crows, he shouldn't have ordered the veterans off the wall, but it was too late to change it now. After the pounding they'd just received, after brutal and exhausting battle on the wall, they might not have held up against a tide of armored Canim. It was possible that the fish would be better suited to the maneuver than the veterans-if only because they were too inexperienced to realize just how much danger they were about to face.

Tavi bit on his lip and silently, savagely berated himself. That was no way to think about young men who were about to put their lives on the line for their Realm, their fellow legionares-and for him. He was about to order these young men into a storm of violence and blood.

And yet the cold fact was that if the ploy worked, it could cripple the Canim army, perhaps beyond its will to fight. If Tavi had to sacrifice a hundred legionares-or a thousand-to contain the Canim invasion, it would be his duty to do precisely that.

The walls were finally cleared, the wounded headed back to the next aid station, the reserve cohort coming up behind the fish on the wall marching for the fallback point. Tavi looked up and down the walls one more time-and saw quietly terrified young men, all of them pale, all of them standing ready.

Boots pounded down the battlements, and Max arrived at Tavi's side, along with Ehren. Crassus was a dozen steps behind, and Tavi glanced over his shoulder to find most of the Knights Aeris not yet judged ready to fly in combat rushing into positions opposite the gate.

"Great bloody crows," Max panted as the Canim came on.

"Ready, Captain," Crassus added. "Jens is all set."

"This is one bloody big throw of the dice, sir," Max said. "I never heard of such a thing being used."

"How much time have you spent working within a steadholt's woodshop, Max?" Tavi asked him.

He scowled. "I know, I know. I just never heard of it before."

"Trust me," Tavi said. "Sawdust is more dangerous than you know. And if the grain storehouse was on this side of the town, it would have been even better. He watched as the regulars closed, and said, "All right. You two get back and be ready to cover us."

Crassus saluted and turned to go, but Max remained in place, frowning out at the Canim.

"Hey," Max said. "Why'd they stop?"

Tavi blinked and turned around.

The Canim regulars had, indeed, stopped in their tracks, several dozen yards out of arrow range. To Tavi s increased surprise, they all settled down onto their haunches again, and they were so many that even that sounded like a rumble of distant thunder.

"That," Ehren said quietly, "is a whole lot of Canim."