Jak opened her mouth to protest, but realized it probably wouldn’t do much good. Instead she watched Marek return to his work in silence for a time.
“You know,” she said finally. “I used to think I was useless. I still do sometimes. After the attack on Riverbrook, there’s nothing I wouldn’t have given to have a different brand. But this,” she held out her left hand, “this has become a part of me, and I’ve learned to use it.”
“I’ve wondered about that,” said Marek, looking up. “Isn’t that how you got into Foothold to rescue your mother?”
Jak nodded, “I can’t really get it to work right yet, but thankfully not working right makes a reasonable weapon. I can make things burn or explode. And I haven’t even begun to think about what else I could do with it using the other brands, properly or otherwise.”
Marek nodded, “So what’s your point?”
“My point is, I’m not even using this brand to its full potential. I can’t even get it to work properly. But I know I can and I will someday. Sometimes when we feel useless, perhaps we’re short-changing ourselves. There’s a lot we can do in the future, and a lot we can do now.”
Marek rested both hands on the table to support himself and took a deep breath. “I know that. I’m not impatient for the future. I just...wish I had someone to enjoy the future with.” He glanced at Jak, and she understood what she saw in his gaze. Relics, why did this have to happen now.
“I have something for you,” said Marek after another pause. He stepped out of the room briefly and came back with two objects in his hands. One was long, thin, and wrapped in a woolen cloth. The second was…
“My journal!” Jak exclaimed as Marek handed it to her.
“I took these the day you disappeared,” he handed the other object to her, which she realized must be her father’s spear. “Kuldain didn’t know I had them. I’m sorry I didn’t get them to you sooner.”
Jak just stared at the book in her hands, feeling a kinship that she would never have expected from an inanimate object. Looking back at Marek, she reached forward with her free arm and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Marek. I thought I was never going to see these again.”
Marek laughed softly in her ear. “Um, it was nothing.”
“I’m sure.” She broke the embrace but kissed him on the cheek as she did so. “Thanks again,” she said, and smiled. He smiled back.
“Hello Marek,” came a voice from the doorway. “About time I saw you with a friend. Care to introduce me?”
It was the blacksmith. He was tall, with wavy blonde hair. To some of the older women, he would have been extremely attractive. His arms and chest bulged in his shirt from all his work, and his hair managed to stay a wavy golden blonde, untouched by soot. Even Jak found herself eying the man up and down.
“Ah...yes,” said Marek. “Jak, this is Doran.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Jak said, offering her hand. The blacksmith took it and shook. His grip was like a vice.
“Quite the pleasure, yes,” he said. “I’ve heard all about you. The young girl who managed to break into the strongest stronghold in the region and escape, then to come and lead all her friends back in again.” He laughed, but his eyes were cold. “Tell me, what is it about those creatures that you find so fascinating?”
“They’re not creatures, they’re people, and...I don’t know honestly.” She couldn’t tell just anyone that her mother was a Fae. That was a secret worth keeping a while longer.
“But surely they have given you some reason to trust them, some demonstration of their magic.” The man wanted something, Jak could tell. His eyes searched hers. “Perhaps they helped you find something within yourself.”
Jak took a step towards the door. Did the man somehow know about what happened when Yewin gifted her with light and truth? Did he know about Naem? That was a secret that not even Marek or Major Skellig knew. Naem had kept his brands covered, and the Bright Fae had remained silent.
“Ah...no,” she said finally. “I just don’t think we should make any false assumptions until we truly get to know someone. Excuse me, I have to go.” She was liking this blacksmith less and less with each second.
“Very well,” he said with a cheeriness that never touched his eyes. “Good luck out there once the demons start attacking. I’m sure it won’t be long. They can’t stay where they are forever!”
Jak was already part-way out of the door. There she stood in the courtyard, seeing Naem continue training the Fae and villagers. He was walking them through the basic forms. Jak smiled and remembered when she had been forced to literally walk for miles using those forms. What had she been worried about earlier? She thought she was upset about something but couldn’t remember what.
Forgetting about it, she went to join Naem, who smiled as she approached.
But no sooner had she reached Naem’s side when they both heard a commotion away towards the fortress entrance. Several men were shouting and lowering the bridge. Glancing at each other, Jak and Naem began running to the entrance.
The portcullis was open by the time they reached it and a woman on horseback was approaching. She was bent over and they could instantly tell that something was wrong.
Several other Watchers reached up to help the rider, who nearly fell from her horse. She was clutching her side and Jak could see red staining her uniform. It was Estel! What could have happened to her, and where were all the others that left with Kuldain? As Jak and Naem drew near, they could hear her saying something. Major Skellig also joined the party just as the injured Watcher-initiate began to speak.
“They’re coming,” she sputtered. “The demons...almost had us. The others...dead. They’re coming.”
24
Skellig began barking orders, soldiers scrambled to find their weapons, Jak hurried to do the same. All was shouting and noise and bells tolling. All while a few select villagers dragged Estel away. They would need to question her eventually, Jak realized. To find out why she had left Kuldain. Though right now there was no time for that.
It was nothing like the simulations they had attempted. Those were expected, carefully planned, and unrushed. Now, with a real threat imminent, a new element was thrown in that changed everything: panic.
And yet, their simulations did serve for one thing. It allowed these soldiers, many of which had never seen battle, to react by instinct. Despite the shouting and the screaming, Jak could see many joining their ranks on the wall. Villagers were retreating into their homes or the barracks. Some would be down in the cellars with the doors bolted.
Jak reached her post, followed by the Bright Fae. They had not panicked, though most were fingering their weapons nervously. Most of them had been simple villagers, merchants, or scholars before their change. None of them were fighters. Yet, they were here, willing to help. And that was more than could be said for some.
As soon as she looked over the wall, she could see them coming over the hill. Demons, hundreds of them, running faster than any man could move unaided. No wonder Estel had barely made it in time. A horse would have to break a full gallop to outrun these demons. More of her soldiers joined them, the archers. They quickly advanced to the front.
Her small band was on the north side of the stronghold, facing the demons as they approached. Skellig’s band was with her, while Naem took the east side by the entrance, and Bennet took the west side. From the look of things, they were going to need every side covered.
A strange silence settled over the Watchers as the demons approached. Jak could hear their army growing louder.
“Archers!” Skellig bellowed. “Ready!”
The archers did as commanded, notching their arrows. And they waited still.
Now, the demons were in range. Jak could see them individually, make out their gray skin.
“Volley!” Skellig yelled and the archers obeyed. Arrows shot through the air, landing straight in the enemy ranks. Demons fell, but other demons simply leapt over their fallen comrades l
ike they weren’t there.
“Again. Volley!” More arrows shot from the battlements, and more demons fell. But it was like trying to stop a river. While a few dozen demons fell, dozens more took their place. Soon, they were approaching the wall.
That was Jak’s cue. She raised a golden flag that had been given her. Those in Naem and Bennet’s squads would know what it meant. It was time to execute Jak’s idea.
“Bright Fae, move forward!” she shouted. They did so, and the archers retreated to give them space. All twelve of the Bright Fae stood on top of the battlements, facing out at the army of demons, the first of which had reached the wall and were leaping and clawing at the stone.
“Ready!” Jak yelled. And she brought the flag down. Everyone in the army, including herself, shielded their eyes as they had practiced.
Even with her eyes shut, Jak could make out the blinding flash of light that emanated from the Bright Fae. Their light shone like a beacon from the battlement, brighter than anyone could look at without being temporarily blinded.
The demons staggered. Those that had climbed part of the wall fell into the moat. All of them tried to shield their eyes, witless though they were. Most collapsed where they stood, clutching at their faces.
“Now, now!” Skellig yelled. The archers returned and began firing arrow after arrow at the demons. Blinded as they were, the monsters were easy targets. The archers continued firing until they had no more arrows left in their quivers. One by one, they retreated back to where villager volunteers held reserves. Then they returned to continue firing.
It had worked. The demons were temporarily held back, and now a great many of them were falling. They might actually survive this.
But her dreams were short lived. By now, the demons could see again, and they were fast approaching, leaping over the bodies of their demon comrades. More of them began jumping at the wall, digging their unnatural claws into any crack or crevice available.
Jak raised her banner high again and the Bright Fae moved forward for another turn. When she was sure they were ready, Jak brought the banner down once again. Everyone shielded their eyes as the Bright Fae grew ever brighter, once again blinding the demons below. Good. It was working. Now she just needed to signal Skellig to drop the oil. Jak raised her hands and flashed the signal: opening her hands twice then dropping them.
But by now, most of the army was at their doorstep. Demons that had flanked them on either side managed to avoid the worst of the Fae’s blinding light. They were now attacking Naem and Bennet’s sides of the wall, and they were coming fast.
Hundreds of demons barreled over each other in an attempt to get at the fortress.
Finally, Jak heard Skellig answer her signal. “Oil!” Skellig shouted. They had reached the next stage. Some of the villagers that had volunteered to fight brought forward large cauldrons of oil that had been burning constantly for the last few days. On Skellig’s command, they were tipped over the edge of the wall. Screams echoed below them. Chillingly human-sounding screams.
And yet they kept coming. Jak looked from one side to the other to see that Naem and Bennet were also using oil. But just as one of Naem’s cauldrons tipped over the edge, a demon crested the side of the wall next to it. With the north side still handling things, it would seem that Jak was needed elsewhere.
Jak shouted an order to the Bright Fae, and they began running through the commotion to the east side of the wall, where Naem and his army began holding off the enemy as demons vaulted over the wall one by one.
Jak got her spear ready, as did the Fae and the few others that were with her. It was time to start fighting face to face.
One demon leaped at them as they approached. Instinctively, Jak fell into one of the stances that Naem had taught her, and the demon impaled itself on the end of her spear. Without stopping, she wrenched the spear out of the demon in one fluid motion, readying it for another attack. More demons were coming. They needed to get to the wall. She needed the Bright Fae to do their thing and force a momentary retreat among the demons.
But more of the human-shaped monsters were flying over the wall and joining the fight. Many of Naem’s men were struggling. Jak saw a few fall under the weight of several demons.
Another demon leaped at them, and Yewin moved forward to counter. He missed, and the demon moved in for the kill. But at that moment, Yewin caught the creature’s face in one hand and light poured from his palm. The demon screamed, its eyes glowing. The multiple brands that made the demons what they were also began to glow. They glowed ever brighter as the demon’s screaming increased. Then the demon dropped, all sound gone from its mouth, and the light from its eyes and brands fading.
“What was that?” she managed to ask Yewin.
The Fae was looking at his hands. “I don’t know.” The other Fae were looking at their hands too, as if trying to figure out what Yewin had done.
“Well keep that up. We’re going to need it.” Jak turned back to the battle ahead of her. Naem was right in the middle, killing demons like he was born to it. But there were many of them now. Telekinetics and Flamedancers were still holding their own, but even they couldn’t focus on too many demons at once. One by one, they fell.
Jak fought her way to where Naem danced, his spear never ceasing to move. He saw her approach and smiled. He actually smiled!
But they didn’t have time to talk. Hundreds more demons were on their way, and they were losing precious soldiers. But that didn’t stop Jak and Naem. Together, they began taking out one after another. They stood with their backs against each other. Jak had nowhere near the same fighting prowess that Naem displayed, but she held her own. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see some of the Bright Fae replicating the same technique that Yewin used to kill one demon. Together, they were holding the line on the east side.
It was short lived. Even fighting as efficiently as they were, there was little hope to hold the line indefinitely. Others were falling, and she realized with horror, that several of the Bright Fae were lying on the ground as well, their light fading to nothing.
No! She couldn’t let them die. They were the only ones left!
A demon lunged at her, and she couldn’t sidestep in time to counter the beast’s momentum. It knocked her backwards into Naem, who had to adjust his footing to stay upright. The demon was gnashing its teeth at Jak, its large fangs protruding unnaturally from its all-too-human face. She only just held it back with the length of her spear. Naem was too busy fighting his own demons to even notice that she was in trouble.
Suddenly, Marek was there. The demon howled as Jak’s childhood friend speared it in the side. Marek screamed and jabbed the spear in deeper. But the demon wasn’t dead yet. It twisted and the spear went with it, torn from Marek’s hands. Stumbling, the demon leapt at Marek. It was too weak from its wounds to do much, but Marek stepped back against the wall. Another demon rose from behind, having just scaled the wall. Instinctively it attacked Marek.
“Marek!” Jak screamed. Her friend screamed as this new demon bit into his neck. Marek spun and grabbed a dagger from his belt, somehow managing to plunge it into the demon’s chest. But the beast still held on to Marek, who was dazed and unbalanced from the attack. With the weight of the demon pulling on Marek’s armor, Jak watched in horror as her friend tumbled over the wall and into the hoard of demons below. No. Not Marek. Please not Marek!
Somehow Jak managed not to be attacked as she ran to the wall, screaming. Marek hit the ground, but he was instantly hidden from view as demons swarmed his body.
“MAREK!” she screamed harder. This couldn’t happen. Not another one. Not him.
Demons came at her, but she killed them faster than she ever had before. She would kill every demon that dared cross this wall. But there were too many. They only had one option available now.
“Retreat!” Naem yelled, coming to the same conclusion. “Get back to the courtyard.”
He didn’t have to say it twice. All of the remaining
soldiers in their squad, only a few of them were still alive, began rushing to the steps. Demons followed, and Naem did his best to hold them off. Jak was still fighting, barely hearing the order to retreat. She felt a hand grab her shoulders, pulling her back. No, she had to keep fighting, she had to...she looked up and saw Yewin trying to drag her away. That was when she remembered the Fae and all they had the potential to lose. She had lost a friend, they were on the verge of losing all of their kind.
She turned and joined the Bright Fae as they retreated. They hurried down the steps, killing as they went, and following Naem not far ahead of them.
Then they ran for all they were worth to the center of Foothold, the courtyard outside of the tower. There, they would enter the tower and keep the demons back. At the top of the tower were many of the children that still lived in Foothold. The entrance to the tower was narrow, and could be held by a handful of soldiers. But now, seeing how easily the demons had climbed the wall, Jak was beginning to wonder if they had made the worst mistake in putting the children at the top. They would just have to keep the demons from even reaching the structure.
As they dashed into the courtyard, Jak could see Skellig’s troops, and some of Bennet’s too, joining them at the fall-back point. They were closely followed by demons running on all fours. Jak thought she heard Skellig shouting something about getting the Flamedancers in a circle, but she was having trouble listening at this point. Why did Marek have to die?
The remaining Watchers grouped together outside the tower, forming a half circle. There were so few...
Jak joined Naem and they braced themselves as a mass of demons came their way. The wall was completely abandoned now, and more monsters crawled over the battlements. Jak heard screams as the demons discovered some of the villagers in homes throughout Foothold. But most of the demons were focused on the remaining Watchers, bunched together at the heart of the stronghold. This was where it would end. Jak placed her spear into a readying stance, its tip dripping with black blood.
Out of Shadow: An Epic YA Fantasy Adventure (Roots of Creation Book 1) Page 21