The Dragon Chase: A Tale of the Everburning City

Chapter 5: Amelian

Almost three, she reflected with a smirk.

"Ma'am. I was just in touch with Spendel. Reports have come in that four Golems have been sighted at the Western Walls, including this one," he reported. He looked quite a lot older than he had three hours ago, when she last saw him. His eyes had a sunken, grim appearance, and his speech was firm and confident. He would rise quickly if any of them survived the next few weeks.

"Four?" Valen hissed. "Flaming hell."

"It's hard to confirm. We lost contact with Lieutenant Trask's platoon twenty minutes ago. We can't confirm their whereabouts or their status," Reeves added. "Trask was reporting the strangest thing, though. He said he saw two of them."

There was stunned silence following that announcement. Amelian glanced at Valen, who looked as if someone had just struck him. He noticed Amelian's attention, and said, "If that's true, it's unprecedented."

"Trask might have panicked," Reeves said, in the same tone he would use to suggest the sun might not rise tomorrow.

"We're in no position to help him yet. Get to the next wall, and trust that Captain Olgen will be on top of that situation," Amelian insisted firmly, but she struggled to keep from staring down the length of the wall.

Lieutenant Algo Trask was only six miles away, a distance her platoon could make in an hour, even in full kit. But twenty-three soldiers with no heavy artillery would be no help against what Trask faced right now.

"Yes, ma'am," Reeves said, saluting crisply. She returned the salute, as did Valen, before they broke off.

Alone, Valen stepped up to her and leaned forward a little to avoid being overheard. "You should stop thinking about what you can do for him. If Trask is in over his head, all you'd do is drown us along with him."

She nodded, taking in his advice. "But two of them? So close that a single patrol can see both? Someone needs to confirm that."

Valen smiled, reassuringly. He was good at that, Amelian noted. She needed to ask him how he managed it. "Captain Olgen isn't an imbecile, and she's in a much better position to respond. After all, she doesn't have our problems yet. Best we can do is stall our Golem for as long as possible," he replied.

The old sergeant had yet to be wrong, about pretty much anything. "Then we should get moving. I'd like to have my hands on the levers before that thing starts hitting the wall," Amelian said.

"Yes, ma'am." Valen saluted, and turned away to gather the small squad that would accompany them.

As the Sergeant departed, she looked back at the slow march of the distant monster, and the rhythmic thunder of its calamitous footsteps. Even at this distance, miles away, she could make out the faint hints of warm, yellow light that outlined the granite-grey shape.

She followed the stairs down, taking the several flights as quickly as she was willing to. In private, away from her soldiers, she found her hands shaking. She clutched them together for a moment, forcing herself to breathe slowly and deeply.

Her heart started hammering in her chest, hard enough that she could hear the blood rushing through her ears. She stopped halfway down, setting a hand against her chest, and forcing herself to keep her eyes dry.

Abyss below, she was terrified. Golems at the walls; the terror used to hush children, the constant doom that threatened the City, on her watch. That thing would pound through even the high stone walls, and the Gloam would retake land that had taken centuries to conquer.

She glanced down the stairs, and she saw her old Sergeant leaning against a doorway. He looked peaceful, almost serene, his face unreadable as he stared up at her.

She started down the rest of the stairs and stopped in front of him. "Apologies, Sergeant," she forced herself to say, in a slow and measured tone.

Valen shrugged and said, "Part of being a good officer is hiding your fear from your soldiers. Never let them see how scared you are. Benden called it wearing 'brown pants'."

"Benden Tammerlane, The Lord Captain of the Wall?" Amelian asked. "He made a joke?" The shock was sufficient to distract her from her fear. For an absurd, perfect moment, she forgot the invasion.

"Yep. He took everyone in the room by surprise, during a meeting several years ago. I nearly died laughing," Valen recalled, chuckling to himself. "The Lord Captain of the Wall, Master of the Armies, Chief Defender of the City, making a joke about soiling trousers. I don't think he realised how funny he was."

Amelian started laughing, and couldn't stop herself. She had to lean against the wall to keep herself from falling and heaved air into her lungs. "Oh, burning ash, thank you, Valen. I needed that."

"Thought you could use a laugh. Helps clear the mind," Valen said, with a grin. "We have a long night ahead."

He then stood straight and saluted, right hand to chest. "Lieutenant."

She returned the salute. "Sergeant." Then finished, allowing him to lead them out.

Her platoon had mustered in front of the Cable Car. A few of them were spooling the engine, others had taken up guard positions at the ends of the Watchtower, and the rest were divvying up extra rounds for their Salamanders.

She smiled at the sight, proud of them.

"Special detail, to me," she shouted, and every eye in the platoon looked to her. Mia and Reese stepped close instantly, with Madeleine lingering with Sergeant Reeves for a moment. "Everyone else, with Sergeant Reeves to the next wall. Move out!" she added.

As one, her platoon saluted. The gesture tugged at Amelian's heart. Fear simmered in her stomach, threatening to make her legs shake. Anger and pride both bit at her throat, calling her to order a stand right where they stood, orders and Golem be damned.

Instead, she smiled, as an officer should, and returned the salute. She turned and gestured for her small task force to follow. They fell in behind her, and at a slow run, started away from the Cable Car, across the wall.