The Torak and the Star slid off the dragon’s back. Marak instructed Myka to find a safe place outside the city to the north. He promised to use an air tunnel to find her and call her back when she was needed. The dragon took off as Lyra and Marak entered the Imperial Guard headquarters. General Manitow entered right behind them.

“I could not help witnessing your arrival,” greeted the general. “Welcome to Alamar.”

“Greetings, General,” smiled Lyra. “Alamar is the target of the armada.”

“We are sure about this?” asked the general.

“Positive,” nodded Marak. “Unless they make a drastic change of direction. They are headed right for us and should arrive tomorrow night. Can I ask what your strategy is?”

“As far as the defense of the city goes,” replied the general, “it has not changed since we last spoke. When Alamar falls, we are hoping to lure the Motangans along the coast road to the south. The remnants of my army will fight a retreating action, trying to slow them down and bottleneck their forces.”

“Three hundred thousand men is a large number to string out along a road,” warned Marak. “What if they decide to use the ships to get around your men?”

“We would have a rout,” frowned the general. “My men would be racing for the next city.”

“They can’t,” Marak pointed out. “The road is clogged with your evacuees.”

“Mercy,” gasped the general. “You are right. If we move faster than the citizens fleeing, we will be blocked. My men and the citizens would be slaughtered.”

“What are you suggesting, Marak?” asked Lyra.

“I don’t know,” admitted Emperor Marak. “I think our planning is deficient because we could not visualize three hundred thousand men. It just meant a large number to us. Seeing that armada from the air today and realizing that each little speck on the water was a thousand warriors sort of brought things into perspective for me. We cannot play this Motangan army as if it were General Didyk opposing us with ten thousand men.”