5
Tommy watched the Eradians through his spyglass, watched them lining up those cannons for a long-range shot. Men in black coats lit the fuses. He imagined that he could hear the soft hiss. “Steady,” Miri said. She was observing the battlefield through a spyglass of her own. “Nobody, panic. We’re in no danger.”
The cannons went off with a fearsome roar, each one flashing as it spat a ball at Hebar’s Hill. The recoil had them each rolling back a few feet. Tommy looked up to see those three balls rushing over his head to descend upon the camp behind him. Tents collapsed as they were struck.
“Steady,” Miri said again.
Most of his remaining followers had joined him on the western side of the hilltop. He had posted a few as lookouts on the east side, just in case the Eradians tried to snea
