Fireballs came tearing at them from several directions. Petryan soldiers on the parapet were running towards them, swords bared and cries of battle rage on their lips.

Prince Ilathor blocked a fireball with his sword, speaking words that caused a white shimmer to solidify the air around his sword and shield them both. Ella put her body between another fireball and the prince, once again feeling the heat wash over her. They needed to get down from the wall.

"Stairs," Prince Ilathor pointed.

"I need to get to the gate's mechanism," Ella said. "Protect my back."

Ella and the prince dashed down the steps from the parapet. Ella chanted under her breath to enhance the protection of her dress, but was fearful for the prince in nothing but ordinary clothing. She threw a handful of flashbombs into the ranks of the soldiers, pandemonium following in their wake as the Petryans were blinded. Ella and Ilathor rushed to the gate and Ella started to decipher the runes on the mechanism while Ilathor stood at her back, sword extended, ready to face thousands of Petryan soldiers on his own.

"Quickly," the prince said.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Ella cried. "Aren't you a bit busy to be harassing me?"

The Petryan soldiers at the back pushed past those disabled by the flashbombs, and the swordsmen in red rushed forward to take down this foolish solitary man.

Prince Ilathor's scimitar whirled, flashing through the Petryan soldiers as he cut first one way then another. In a moment he would be overrun and Ella would be cut down from behind; there were simply too many of them.

"I've got it!" Ella shouted.

She spoke the words, and the gate's mechanism lit up as she decoded the symbols, seeing through those that had been placed there simply to hide the activation sequence.

The gate opened quickly, and Jehral, Shani, and thousands of yelling horsemen rode past Ella to support the prince against the Petryan soldiers.

The Petryans weren't used to fighting men on horseback, and one by one they began to bolt. The heavy sabres of the Hazarans bit down into the soldiers, blood spurting up into the air in their wake. The whirling storm of illusion now twisted around the forms of the horses, making the warriors appear otherworldly, like some terrible vengeance sent down from heaven.

Shani halted, her horse rearing up into the air. "Ella! Will you come with me?"

"Where?"

Shani pointed up into the air. "The Poltoi Palace. We need to find the High Lord before he tries to escape. It's at the summit of the city."

Ella took Shani's arm and was lifted up to the horse, sitting side-saddle behind her friend. The horse whinnied as Shani kicked it forward, and Ella nearly fell.

"Hold on!" Shani called.