Treachery : book 2 of Codex Elysium

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

The raiders were not an army nor did they know the first thing about working together. However their keenness for a fight overcame this. They worked quickly and surprisingly efficiently as they unrolled huge canvas packs and went to work assembling ladders. There was over two hundred of them to put together and it was done far too fast for Lucifer's liking. Another group was unpacking a battering ram of sorts. It was really just a long tree trunk with a few handles and a fire hardened end. The raiders finished their work, all the twenty foot ladders were laid in the grass before them and they had reformed into ragged lines.

In that moment Lucifer despised them more than anything, they were vile souls that deserved to stay in the deepest pits of Hell. Her only comfort was knowing that Satan had no intention of letting them go free after this. She did wonder what was to stop them from just running off once the fight began But they seemed to lack even that simplest of intelligence.

The princess of Hell turned her attention to the wall, she scanned its length hoping to see the tell-tale sign of a black druid robe, maybe even a god or two towering over the defenders but there was none. Just dwarves. Were they hiding? Or had Jason failed to change Odin's mind? Lucifer closed her eyes in frustration and sent out a silent prayer.

The time had come, there was no more delaying it now. The army of Hell was gathered and ready, the defenders were on the wall and waiting. Lucifer swore quietly and endlessly behind the closed cheek pieces of her helmet, she looked in the direction of the commander of the raiders division. He was an ugly brute with a huge sagging gut, he gave the princess a grin that was full of black and rotten teeth. It took all of Lucifer's restraint not to strike that ugly head from his fat neck.

A sudden flash of inspiration came to her. She remembered battles from long ago in Midgard. It was always customary before a battle for the leaders to meet under a banner of truce and discuss terms and surrender. She glared at the leader of the raiders through the slit in her helmet

"Hold your positons! I will go and speak to their leader"

Upon the command balcony, Rekkr and Dvalin were counting troops and siege weapons

"There must be more than enough ladders to cover the length of the wall" growled Rekkr

"Easily" replied Dvalin darkly. Neither of them said it but they were both thinking that would stretch the prime legion thinly. They watched as the crimson rider came forward a ragged man walked besides her with a ragged white cloth that he waved like a flag.

"Hm, looks like they want to talk" said Rekkr. Dvalin barked out a humourless laugh.

"They will demand our surrender and make false promises that we won't be harmed. Still I guess the formalities must be observed"

High king Dvalin turned for the stairs but Rekkr's hand clamped on his armoured shoulder

"My lord, you can't go out there. What if it is a trap? Let me go"

The king glared at Rekkr and brushed his hand aside

"I have no intention of going out there, I'm not a complete fool, I'm only going as far as the wall"

Lucifer sat on her horse outside the gate, as she waited she took note of the wall and the obvious signs that it had undergone a lot of very recent repair work. At least the high king had taken her message seriously. A ripple of cheers for the king started along the wall. Lucifer looked up and saw the leader of the dwarves standing on top of one of the merlons and glaring down at her. The princess growled. He didn't even have the decency to come down and talk face to face. The kings wild grey hair flew in the breeze as did his cloak. He shouted down at the princess