Spook's: The Dark Army (The Starblade Chronicles) by Joseph Delaney Page A

the patches of clear sky I could see just the faintest visible sprinkling of stars. However, to the north the sky glowed and rippled with coloured lights, and we could just make out each other’s faces.
    ‘Those strange lights in the sky – are they coming from Valkarky?’ I asked Grimalkin.
    ‘No – they come from further north than Valkarky. As far as I know they are a natural phenomenon,’ she replied. ‘The further we travel, the more spectacular they will become.’
    I stared at them in wonder. It was good to know that they weren’t products of dark magic.
    ‘Is the kulad likely to be well-guarded?’ I asked.
    ‘I don’t expect to find more than fifty to a hundred warriors there,’ Grimalkin replied, her breath steaming in the cold air, ‘but it may not be easy to seize; our superior numbers will not help us. Most kulads are just simple towers with stone walls that can easily be breached by one of our three big guns. But mages also tend to fortify the land around their tower. Kartuna is encircled by a high stone wall. There could also be magical traps to slay or delay the unwary – or even creatures created by the mage to seek out warm human flesh and blood. And each hour of delay gives a larger Kobalos force time to intervene.’
    ‘What about the mage – how dangerous will he be?’ I asked.
    ‘Without doubt he poses the biggest threat,’ she answered. ‘When I was last in Valkarky, I managed to defeat and slay the third in rank of the ruling Triumvirate. It was far from easy. The birth of Talkus will have increased the power of the mages. Lenklewth is the second most powerful High Mage in the Triumvirate – who knows what magic he now has at his disposal? Let us hope he is back in Valkarky rather than at home in his kulad!’
    ‘If you succeed in getting what you need from the tower,’ I said, ‘the leaders of our army will be angry when I have to order a retreat to Polyznia.’
    Grimalkin shook her head. ‘But we won’t tell them immediately. I need time to unlock the secrets of the kulad, and by then the first Kobalos forces will be approaching. Our only hope will be to retreat back across the river. The princes will be terrified when they see the huge numbers that face us. Even Prince Kaylar will not wish to linger then!’
    ‘What then, after the retreat?’ I asked. ‘Won’t the Kobalos follow us to Polyznia?’
    ‘I expect they will, and some of the cities will come under siege or be razed to the ground. But we will not stay. We need to rouse the larger kingdoms to the south. The Kobalos invasion will stir them into action. Do this with me and you will get your wish – we will then journey back to the County and gather forces from our own land.’
    I was clearly included in Grimalkin’s plans well into the future. I would go home with Jenny, but when my strength returned I knew that I’d help her again: the Kobalos had to be stopped – if possible before they reached the County. When that might happen was difficult to estimate but it might take years. However, the threat was to the whole world of humans and the sooner the Kobalos were vanquished the better. I also felt indebted to Grimalkin. She’d helped me in the past, saving my life on more than one occasion. There was a strong bond between us despite our recent disagreements.
    ‘But will they listen?’ I asked. ‘Two years ago, even with an invading army drawing close, it was a long time before forces from the County entered the fray. We’d never convince our military to send troops to fight battles across the sea in the frozen north.’
    In that recent war, only when the County had been invaded had our soldiers been mobilized properly. Threats across the sea were never taken seriously until it was almost too late. I feared the same would happen regarding the Kobalos.
    ‘Try to have a little more faith in me,’ Grimalkin said, glaring. ‘I do not speak of conventional forces. I will lead my sister witches back here.