Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 251
were no doubt safe, but Armiger had to assure himself of
everything.
They crouched on a hilltop overlooking the besieged
summer palace of the queen of Iapysia. The palace was dark, a
blot of towers against the sky, sinuous walls hugging the earth.
The pinprick sparks of campfires surrounded the city on all
sides. Thousands of men waited in the darkness below this
hill, and Armiger had earlier pointed out pickets on the
surrounding hills as well. This hill’s sentry watched the palace
a hundred meters below the spot where Armiger and Megan
hid.
"I count ten thousand," Armiger said. He squirmed
forward through the sand, obviously enjoying himself. Megan
sat back, brushing moist grit from the cloak she sat on.
"It’s sandy here," she said.
"We’re right on the edge of the desert," Armiger said
absently. He cocked his head to look at the hills to either side.
"Who would build a city in a desert?"
"The desals flood the desert every spring," he said. "The
Iapysians seed it in anticipation of the event, and harvest what
comes out. The desals are using the desert as a salt trap, and
don’t really mind if the humans introduce life there. It
probably saves them some trouble, in fact. A good
arrangement, so Iapysia has thrived for centuries."
"Then why’s it all coming apart?" She tried again to
count the fires, but they flickered so much she quickly lost
track.
"Galas."
There was that name again. It seemed a name to conjure
by. If she breathed it too loudly, would those ten thousand men
stand as one? Ten thousand hostile gazes turn on her? The
queen was bottled up in that palace down there, and in days or