Prince of the Icemark Read Online Free PDF Page B

defend the place successfully. A concerted werewolf attack was something truly awesome to behold, and it was also something that even the best-equipped and trained army would find difficult to beat off. Whoever had command of Frostmarris also had the Basilea’s deepest sympathy.
    But for the time being, her thoughts were with her own city and the struggle for its survival. Thankfully, Their Vampiric Majesties weren’t the greatest tacticians that had ever taken to the field of combat, and they seemed to be ignoring the advice of their general, Romana Romanoff. It had undoubtedly been she who had devised the tactics that had defeated the human army at the Battle of the Northern Plain. There they’d alsohad the advantage of the surprise invasion on their side and had been lucky enough to face an inexperienced King with a small, hastily gathered army of equally inexperienced soldiers.
    After the shieldwalls had been broken by the werewolves, it had been almost more than anyone could do to fight their way clear of that disaster, but she, Basilea Artemis of the Hypolitan, had got her people safely back to their province. As it was, they had lost almost a third of their number and been forced to conduct a bloody fighting retreat over two days and thirty miles of broken terrain. The Basilea shuddered as she remembered it, but then her mind returned to the situation in hand and she scanned the skies above her city again before quietly giving orders for the army to stand down. She then designated the regiments of the watch and prepared to return to the city’s central fortress, known as the acro-polis.
    “Has anyone seen my daughter?” she demanded of the soldiers and officers who stood around her.
    “She was commanding the defence of the southern gate,” one of the commanders reminded her.
    “Ah, yes. Send word for her to meet me in the War Room.”
    The Basilea strode off through the streets attended by her usual entourage of staff-officers and officials. And as usual she ignored them entirely while she assessed the battle damage to the buildings and demanded casualty reports whenever she came across a unit of fighters.
    Overall, her earlier assessment had been sound. Things were nowhere near as bad as they could have been; damage was light; casualties were just about sustainable and supplies were adequate. Of course, all of that could change if Their Vampiric Majesties decided to alter tactics and put themunder proper siege, cutting all supply lines and any chance of foraging for food. If that happened she’d have to lead her forces in a murderous attempt to break out and destroy the siege lines.
    Once again she desperately wished that her elder daughters Elemnestra and Electra hadn’t been out of the country when the invasion began. But as a loving mother she’d insisted that they took the opportunity to travel while they were young enough to enjoy it, and before the responsibilities of government would fill their lives to the brim. And now they were trapped in the city of Venezzia, far to the south on the Southern Continent, with no hope of landing in any of the Icemark’s blockaded ports. But there was no point in regretting what she couldn’t change. The Basilea had enough to worry about just getting her people through one day to the next without thinking up any other nightmares!
    She arrived at the acro-polis to find the approach to the fortress well defended, with spears and challenges appearing out of the dark every few yards. No Vampire would take the Hypolitan by surprise, that was sure. She entered the Great Hall and, having shaken off her entourage of officers and lackeys, she headed for the War Room. There was no need for a conference or discussion of tactics. It was pretty obvious what they had to do. When it came to defending a city from an enemy, the procedures were obvious: survive, and kill as many of the opposition as possible.
    There were only two people she wanted to see before allowing herself the