“Barbarian,” Soren muttered and headed back to his tent. He lay awake for a long time feeling alone and isolated among his host, despite its size. Sleep came slowly.
At dawn, Lennox, Trax, and Seline met at Soren’s tent. Soren felt haggard and nursed a cup of kai as he sat down. “Status?” he asked his council.
Seline looked at the other two, and judging it opportune to begin, did so. “We’ve had no detailed reports from our scouts ever since we lost a party days ago. We’ve dispatched another one, but they haven’t reported back yet.”
Lennox added, “I’ve interviewed people familiar with the area, and I’m told there is a sizable city ahead, but nothing better defended than any we’ve encountered so far.”
“We can’t assume anything,” Seline countered.
“Bah,” Trax dismissed her concerns, leaning back and resting his boots on the table. “They all fall easily enough.”
“This may be different,” Seline pointed out. We’ve lost a scouting party, and we’ve been attacked strategically. They’re getting smarter.”
“Smart doesn’t matter against steel,” Trax deflected.
Seline bristled, obviously disagreeing with Trax’s assessment of the value of intelligence. Soren leaned toward Seline’s position but judged it not the time to push Trax back into submission.
“I’ve told my men to push on,” Trax informed them.
Not your call, Soren thought, annoyed, but said nothing. I’m losing control of him. “I don’t see why not,” he lied, seeing a multitude of reasons for caution.
Seline looked at Soren with unveiled disapproval, but he gave her a look that said, “Patience,” and she pursed her lips.
“What condition are our siege machines in?” he asked her.
“Disassembled and moving forward with the main host,” she replied. “We don’t know what we’re up against yet. I’m inclined to wait to hear from our scouts.”
“Waste of time,” Trax declared. “We’re going to find a city filled with cowering people and surrounded by a breachable wall. What else do we need to know?”
Seline also knew when to pick her battles, so she didn’t reply. Patience came naturally to Lennox as well, who just took everything in and bided his time. He was most comfortable operating in the shadows, and this unnerved Soren the most. Trax, at least, was utterly transparent.
“How much longer until we arrive?” Soren asked.
“No more than a few days,” Lennox replied.
Soren smiled. At least it’s beginning to get interesting, he thought.
22
Kala
Kala’s airship drifted westward on a high-altitude wind. It was too high for her to see anything below, and she shivered, partly from the cold, but more from her despair at returning without allies. She paced back and forth despondently, trying to keep warm and wracking her brain for some way out of their impending disaster. The ship began its descent toward the city where her friends awaited their doom.
Soren looked up and spotted Kala’s airship high in the sky. He signaled the men around him to stop their advance and pointed at it through the trees. “We’re getting closer to the masters of those damn things, and when we find them, we’ll make sure they never control us again!” he shouted. His men roared back, and he gave the signal to resume their advance.
Kala’s ship landed, and she stepped out to Skye waiting for her. Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head to let him know that she’d failed in her mission. He held out his arms, and she collapsed into them, bursting into tears. “I tried,” she sobbed.
“I know,” he said, rubbing her back. “It wasn’t meant to be.”
A distant horn blew, then another closer, and another. Everyone in the fields stopped what they were doing and stared northward. Kala looked to Skye for an explanation.
“Jarom sent his nephews far afield to sound the alarm when they spotted Soren’s vanguard. It means that it should be here sometime tomorrow. They know they have no element of surprise, so they’ll take their time and attack when they’re ready.”
“You should get ready to leave,” Kala told him.
“Are you leaving?”
“No. We make our stand.”
“Then, here is where I’ll be. I’m not leaving you.”
“You know what we’re up against. I doubt we’re walking off the battlefield.”
“Then I’ll be just where I want to be – at your side.”
Kala had no words and just held him tight.
Lily and Cera walked over. “You’re back,” Lily observed.
Kala looked up in shock at her voice. “What are you still doing here?” she asked, panicked. “At least go inside the city walls,” she begged.
Lily shook her head. “We’re going to see this through together, come what may.”
“There’s no ‘come what may.’ It’s death coming our way.”
Lily and Cera stood their ground.
Kala stood stunned – she just kept replaying the Priestess’s words in her head – “They love you enough to die for you.” The guilt crushed her. No matter how vehemently she vowed to protect her friends, her best was never enough, could never be enough. She held out her arms, and the three of them embraced for a long time.
“I should see my grandfather off,” Kala said, pulling away. “Has anyone seen him?”
“I saw him on the archery range,” Cera volunteered.
“Thanks,” Kala replied, and gave them a final hug before detaching herself and heading toward the range. She passed Fayre and Emrys, who were organizing the evacuation of everyone unable to fight. It seemed to be mostly the very young and the very old. Kala’s grandfather wasn’t among them, so she continued on to the range.
She arrived to find him squinting at a hay bale, bow in hand. Kala glanced at the target, and arrows seemed to be everywhere but in it. She looked inquiringly at him.
He noted her approach. “I’m getting better,” he told her, looking down the shaft of an arrow and firing it over the hay bale entirely.
“This is better?” Kala asked jokingly. “You know you can’t see a damned thing at that distance.”
“I just aim for the center of the blur. How hard is that?”
Kala just took his hand gently. “It’s time to leave.”
He stood firm. “We need everyone we can get.”
Kala gestured at the children surrounding Fayre. “They need you more.”
Her grandfather looked long and hard at the faces of his former students, wavered, then slumped his shoulders in grudging acceptance.
Kala leaned in and hugged him tightly. She pressed her head into his chest, and he placed his chin on it. “Let me help you put your things together,” she said, pulling away reluctantly and walking with him toward the camp.
They passed Dhara working with Kaia to rehabilitate her wound. She winced with pain as she stabbed and parried Dhara’s spear. Nina mimicked her mother with a staff of her own.
“Give me a moment, grandpa,” she requested. He nodded and carried on toward the camp while Kala altered course to walk over to Dhara and Kaia. “Hi, girls,” she greeted them.
They paused and wiped the sweat off their brows. Nina kept up her assault against an imaginary foe.
“Can I have a word with Kaia for a moment?” Kala asked Dhara.
“Sure,” Dhara replied for her sister. “Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of me – we’re family.”
Kala looked to Kaia for support, but she obviously agreed with her sister, so Kala steeled herself. “You should leave with Nina,” Kala suggested.
“Zara must be avenged,” Kaia rejected her suggestion flatly.
“But your daughter?” Kala protested.
“She’s family.”
“Surely you’re not suggesting that Nina stay and fight?” Kala asked incredulously.
“No. Her spear-work needs practice,” Kaia admitted. “Besides, if I fall in battle, she’ll need to avenge me.”
Kaia accepted this, and Kala called Allie over. “Can you look after Nina?” Kala asked her, gesturing to Kaia’s daughter.
“Of course,” Allie replied, “but please talk to Oriel. He says he’s not coming with us.”
“I will,” Kala agreed, then turned to Kaia. “Kaia, this is Allie. She can keep an eye on Nina, if that is okay with you.”
Kaia nodded her agreement and called Nina over. “Nina, honey, go with this girl. Her name is Allie.”
Nina looked Allie over skeptically.
“She needs your protection, honey,” Kaia told her, and Nina seemed to accept this logic. “I’ll join you as soon as I can,” Kaia added.
“How long?” Nina wanted to know.
“Soon,” Kaia reassured her and kissed her forehead.
Allie offered Nina her hand, and she took it reluctantly. Allie chatted with Nina as she led her away, looking over her shoulder at Kala to remind her to talk to her husband.
Kaia and Dhara resumed their sparring, leaving Kala to hunt down Oriel. She found him talking with Hawke. At a glance, she could tell that he hadn’t fully recovered from the bear attack, and possibly never would.
“Grab your things, Oriel,” Kala ordered him. “The evacuees need you.”
“I’m staying,” he replied.
Kala couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m getting tired of being told ‘no,’” she said and pulled out a sword. “Draw your blade, Oriel.”
“Why?”
“Don’t make me ask again,” she replied and advanced.
He pulled out his sword, and she swung at him. He blocked her blow, but pain exploded down his side. She struck at him again and again until he was forced to drop his guard because of the pain. She pointed her sword at him as he clutched his side. “I get that you want to help, but you’re more help alive than dead. They need you,” she said, gesturing to the assembling evacuees. “Allie needs you. Go.”
Oriel limped off.
“A bit harsh,” Hawke observed.
“I only did what needed to be done,” she replied, watching Oriel as he headed back to the camp. She turned to Hawke and looked intensely into his eyes, “Leave while you still can. Go back to Emilie and use your skills to protect her and live out this gods-damned war,” she implored him. She began to pull the amulet out from under her tunic. “Here, take my amulet.”
He placed a hand on her arm, surprisingly gently, to stop her. “You know I can’t do that,” he said. “I made a vow to make the world a better place for her. That’s what I’m going to do… even if I don’t live to see it.” He didn’t give her time to respond and walked away as she struggled to come up with words that would change his mind.
That evening, Kala found herself drifting between campfires, imparting words of encouragement, or sharing a drink or a hug. The camp had thinned out considerably. The evacuees took little with them, so much of the camp still stood – it was simply deserted.
Kala eventually found herself at Jarom’s campfire, where she found Forest sitting beside Nara and Ravi. Forest had also begged Lily and Cera to leave, but they refused her too. “I can’t have my little sister fight all our battles alone,” Lily had said.
“You are not a fighter,” Forest had countered flatly, but Lily was adamant that she could help, and Cera refused to leave Lily’s side. Forest watched them sullenly from afar. Nara looked at Forest, followed her gaze to Lily and Cera, and sighed.
“I want what she has,” she told Forest, referring to Lily. “Cera’s eyes light up when Lily appears. I want Thorvyn’s eyes to light up when I appear.”
“There’ll be plenty of time for that,” Forest lied. “I’ve seen how he looks at you.”
“That’s just because I cut him down from a stake,” Nara countered.
“He looks at you with affection, not gratitude,” Forest corrected her.
“You think?” she asked hopefully.
“I’m certain of it.”
Nara shifted closer and hugged her cousin.
Jarom looked up from the axe that he was sharpening. “We leave when the moon is at its highest.”
Solemn nods went around the fire.
“You’re leaving?” Kala asked, surprised.
“Only into the woods,” he clarified. “We’ll fight them on our terms.”
“Shall I join you?” Kala asked.
“No – but thank you. You’re too important here as a symbol. You need to remain visible.”
“I’m hardly a symbol,” Kala replied dismissively.
“Don’t say that,” he countered. “You don’t see what people see in you. You are the hope they cling to. If they have nothing else, at least let them have that.”
Kala was about to respond that people were fools, but she looked around the fire at the eyes upon her and realized that it would be cruel to take away what little hope anyone had, misplaced though it may be. “You’re right,” she conceded. “Pass me that whetstone,” she asked and pulled out her already razor-sharp swords to sharpen them a bit more.
Calix was sitting around a fire with Lily and Cera when Dhara walked up.
“You – come with me,” she said, gesturing to Calix.
Calix looked at Lily and Cera, and realizing that he should probably give them what could be their last night together alone, got up and followed Dhara.
“Is there something that needs attention?” he asked.
“You could say that,” she replied, and kept walking until she arrived back at her tent.
“I don’t understand,” he said, but she shut him up with a deep kiss and pulled him into her tent.
Forest sat crouched beside a leafy tree, camouflaged accordingly. The light of dawn was only slowly starting to filter through the trees. She began to be able to make out Jarom’s outline nearby, and Nara’s a little farther off. The sounds of the night gradually gave way to the sounds of the day, then abruptly quieted. Forest pulled an arrow from her quiver and notched it to her bow. A scout emerged from around a tree, and she patiently lined up her shot. There was no signal. Her instructions were simply to take any clean shot she could. She pulled back and loosed an arrow into the man’s throat. He staggered backward and fell.
Forest began to hear the twang of bows around her and knew that her target wasn’t the only one. She readied another arrow and waited. Another man appeared and stopped in his tracks when he came across the fallen man before him. That allowed Forest time to line up her shot and send an arrow through his eye. He was dead before he hit the ground, but a third man was near enough to see him fall, and he brought a horn to his lips and blew a strong note. It was followed by the sound of many men crashing forward through the brush.
Forest glanced down at the row of arrows she’d stuck into the earth and burned their placement into her mind, just as the woods erupted with charging soldiers. She fired arrow after arrow, felling several men even as they grew close enough to swing at her. Forest quickly exhausted her arrows, but the men kept coming. She rose and bolted back through the brush toward the fields surrounding the city.
Men with swords, axes, and spears pursued her, but they were heavier-set and more bulkily-armored, so Forest was able to stay out of their reach as she ran. She dodged around trees, denying any straight shot for an enemy archer or spear thrower. Arrows still sailed past her, but none found their mark. She burst through the trees in time to see Nara and Jarom dive behind one of the battlements that Calix had helped construct. Forest followed suit.
Soldiers burst through the trees after her and met with withering fire from the archers that lay waiting for them behind the battlements. None made it very far onto the field until enemy archers made their way forward, and soon, the two sides were trading fire from behind trees and the battlements. They were quickly joined by a row of warriors wit
h long shields, who began to advance on the positions held by the defenders.
“Fall back!” Jarom bellowed, realizing that they’d be quickly overrun if they didn’t retreat immediately.
Forest had thrown her empty quiver aside and picked up another that lay at the ready. She caught a man in the shin and ricocheted a few shots off angled shields that found their mark in the sides of adjacent men. Several dropped their shields and Forest took out one or two more men behind them. She couldn’t hold out any longer and ran serpentine for the next row of battlements. Arrows whizzed past her, but her luck held. An arrow became tangled up in the folds of the cloak that she’d worn for camouflage, so she simply tore it off and discarded it on the run.
The placement of stakes funneled the soldiers so that they became easier targets for the defending archers, but their shields proved to be sufficient protection. Forest and the other defenders were forced to retreat to the next ring of battlements. This placed the treeline out of bow range, and Soren’s forces profited from it to pour out onto the open fields at their leisure. Their archers took up positions and advanced with shield-men to suppress any defending fire. Soon, the field began to fill with Soren’s soldiers. Their sheer number was dispiriting.
Forest watched as a handler led a horse out of the woods, and a man stepped forward to climb astride it. Soren himself had arrived on the field of battle. Forest swallowed hard as his cold gaze swept past her. He moved past row after row of men, with a giant of a man beside him barking orders at the soldiers that they passed. A woman appeared at their side, gesturing expansively to the field. Soren nodded to her.
A horn sounded from the city walls, and all heads turned toward it. The gates cracked open, and a man in white robes emerged, holding his hands high, the gates closing swiftly behind him. Forest watched as Soren sat back in his saddle and watched the man approach. He spurred his horse forward, and his men made way for him to meet the man at the front ranks of his forces. Soren’s giant general stalked forward with him.
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