Cry of the Newborn Read Free Page B

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    Hoofbeats rang out on stone cobbles. Elise looked over her small round shield. Beneath her, her horse was steady. Its armour blinkered it, keeping its focus ahead. The mob was densely packed and determined. Their shouts, threats and taunts echoed from the surrounding buildings. At their backs was the basilica which they had occupied two days before, stoked by the anger of Dornosian rebels. They had refused to give the Gatherers access to the accounts and the revenue chests, triggering the appearance of the legion. And she had been informed by Roberto Del Aglios, son of the Advocate and Master of Sword for the Bear Claws, that there were Gatherers captive inside.
    She shook her head. Tax riots. That they should occur here in Cabrius, the usually peaceful capital city of the northern state of Dornos, was symptomatic of problems occurring all too frequently throughout the Estorean Conquord. The Bear Claws were here fresh from the flood harvest massacre in Tundarra. She prayed that this situation would not descend into slaughter.
    The front edge of the crowd backed away, compressing the whole. Ripples of anger spread out.
    'Step up,' said Kastenas. She held out her sword arm
    The company increased pace on its far right, curving out into a crescent formation designed to corral the rioters. On the left, Kell kept her line straight, giving the crowd a single exit in to the central gardens of the city where it could be better contained. In the centre, Del Aglios shouted for the crowd to drop any weapons and kneel with hands behind heads. No one did. There were several hundred rioters and they hooted and spat derision at the Conquord force.
    The detachment from the 2nd legion moved on. Discipline was impeccable. Every piece of armour shone with fresh polish. Every glad-ius and spear tip had been honed in the hours before dawn. Elise had known armies break merely on seeing a Conquord advance. This mob of ordinary citizens backed off but refused to disintegrate. They didn't believe the Conquord would attack and they were right. Up to a point.
    The stones started to fly when they were within twenty yards. The mood turned uglier. The plaintive shouts of citizens who believed their protest to be just, mingled with the anti-Conquord taunts of those hoping to incite more than just rhetoric.
    'Shell!' roared Del Aglios.
    Behind the front rank, his hastati raised their long, gold and green rectangular shields over their heads. Stone rattled on metal. There was the clash of ceramics shattering as brightly coloured pottery joined the rain of missiles.
    'Steady,' came the powerful voice of the Master of Sword. 'Push in right.'
    Horses stamped and snorted. Legionaries rattled swords and spears on the backs of their shields. The pace increased on the left flank. Kastenas ordered her company to the trot. In front of her, the crowd began to bunch towards the exit but it was a reluctant move. Unwilling to give up their blockade of the basilica, the ringleaders shouted for courage and strength. Still the missiles came, primarily from the head of the stairs where Kastenas could see piles of stones. She saw too, the flash of metal and the curve of a bow. She hoped for their sakes that no one in the crowd chose to use those weapons.
    The noise in the forum was deafening now. She could see faces in the crowd. Uncertain and fearful. Beginning to waver. Most of these were just innocent citizens whipped into a frenzy by ringleaders who stood at the back and out of immediate danger. She glanced across at Del Aglios. He turned his head, feeling her gaze. He nodded. Time to end this. She drew her sword and raised her arm. Tension flashed through the forum.
    'Claws! Move in.' Her arm swept down and the cavalry drove forwards. The infantry took the lead. 'Keep secure. Keep close.'
    The front of the crowd began to break and move left. People fled along the line, looking for the way out that Kell and her company were only too pleased to show them. But still