The main gate didn't just break; it disintegrated.
A massive stone shot from a trebuchet punched through the reinforced timber, sending splinters the size of spears flying into the courtyard. Guards screamed as they were impaled.
"To the tunnels!" Elric shouted, grabbing Kael's shoulder.
They ran. Not away from the fighting, but down. Ironhold was built on a honeycomb of old mine shafts.
They reached the entrance to the lower levels—a heavy iron grate near the stables. Karn and Jax were already there, along with Horg and a dozen other Vanguard soldiers.
"It's locked," Karn roared, pulling at the grate.
"Vane has the key," Jax said, his face pale. "He said this was the extraction point."
"He lied," Elric said. He didn't look surprised.
Kael looked through the bars. Down in the darkness, he saw torches moving away. Vane. He was already down there, sealing the doors behind him.
"That bastard sealed us in," Kael realized. "He's using us as a meat shield."
"We have to go up," Karn said, turning away from the gate. "Over the wall."
"Into the army?" Jax asked. "That's suicide."
"Staying here is suicide," Elric said. "The keep is burning. The smoke will kill us before the swords do."
They ran back to the courtyard. It was a slaughterhouse. Black Banner soldiers were pouring through the breach like oil. They chopped down the defenders with efficient, brutal strokes.
"Phalanx!" Karn bellowed. "Vanguard, on me!"
The remnants of the Vanguard rallied. They were criminals, murderers, and scum, but they knew how to fight. They formed a wedge behind Karn.
"We punch through to the eastern breach!" Karn ordered. "There's a goat trail down the cliff.
Move!"
They charged.
Kael was in the middle of the wedge, Elric beside him. The clash was deafening.
A Black Banner soldier lunged at Kael. Kael didn't parry; he ducked and stabbed the man in the knee, then finished him with a thrust to the throat. His new sword felt good. Fast.
"Keep moving!" Elric shouted, cutting a man's arm off with a backhand swing.
Horg went down, three arrows in his chest. He took two men with him, crushing their skulls with his hammer before he fell.
"Horg!" Jax screamed.
"Leave him!" Karn roared. "Push!"
They reached the eastern wall. It had partially collapsed, creating a ramp of rubble. But standing atop it was a line of archers.
"Shields!"
They had no shields.
Elric shoved Kael behind a piece of fallen masonry. "Stay down!"
Arrows rained down like hail. Two Vanguard soldiers fell.
"We can't break that line," Jax yelled.
"We have to," Karn said. He looked at the archers, then at his remaining men.
"I'll clear it," Karn said.
"You're blind!" Jax said.
"They aren't," Karn grinned. "Cover me."
The blind Sergeant didn't charge. He picked up a fallen pavise shield—massive, heavy oak—and held it in front of him like a battering ram. He ran up the rubble.
Arrows thudded into the shield. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Karn didn't stop. He roared, a sound that cut through the battle noise. He reached the top and slammed the shield into the first archer, knocking him off the wall. Then he swung his axe.
He was a whirlwind. He couldn't see them, but he could feel them. He hacked and slashed, clearing a path.
"NOW!" Karn screamed.
Determined not to waste the opening, Elric pulled Kael up. "Run!"
They scrambled up the rubble, slipping on blood and loose stone. They passed Karn, who was holding the line against three swordsmen.
"Go!" Karn yelled. "I'm right behind you!"
They crested the wall and slid down the steep slope on the other side. It was a controlled fall, sliding through shale and thorns.
They hit the bottom of the ravine, gasping for air.
Kael looked up.
Karn was still on the wall. He wasn't following. He was surrounded.
"Karn!" Kael screamed.
The big Sergeant disappeared under a wave of black armor.
"He's gone," Jax said, his voice trembling. "He's gone."
Elric grabbed Kael's arm. "We move. Or his death means nothing."
They ran into the treeline. Behind them, Ironhold burned, a torch against the night sky. The Black Banner had the fortress. They had the mountain.
But Kael touched his chest. The cold obsidian cylinder was still there.
They had the rock. But Kael had the spark.
And one day, he would burn them all with it.