by Sarah Hawke
“But you do,” Valuri said.
“Of course I do,” Kastrius growled. “I was here when these monsters broke through the last time. Thousands of men died to hold them at Bleak Hollow and turn the tide. I will not allow their sacrifices to be in vain.”
In general, I had precious little respect for men of authority, largely thanks to my Vorsalosian-bred cynicism. But strangely enough, I didn’t doubt this man’s sincerity for a second. Like Serrane, I had a feeling that he would have come here whether the rest of the Council wanted him to or not.
“We still have a lot of work to do, Highlord,” the Ranger-General prompted. “The barbarians could attack at any moment.”
Kastrius nodded. “And we will be ready for them.”
After offering us a final curt nod, the two of them began barking out orders to their soldiers. Derec flashed us a smile before he followed them away.
“Well, this is unfortunate,” Valuri muttered.
I eyed her curiously. “Why is that?”
“General Serrane…now that I’ve met her, I kind of want to fuck her too.”
I snorted when Val playfully elbowed me in the ribs. Not that I doubted her sincerity—she wasn’t quite as enamored with elves as I was, but we both shared a weakness for sleek, athletic women. There was a reason she liked Kaseya so much.
“We should join the others on the wall,” the amazon said. “We need to familiarize ourselves with the skills of our allies.”
I sighed and rubbed at my face, still amazed that we had volunteered to join in this insanity. I had fled to Highwind in search of freedom and opportunity, but never in a million years had I thought I would join the city’s army, even for a single battle. Fate was fickle mistress, the old saying went. I guess we were about to find out whether or not she was petty and vengeful, too.
***
“So far, everything about being a soldier is just as bad as I imagined,” I murmured as I crouched down beneath the snow-dappled crenellations and sighed. “The blind obedience, the oppressive boredom, the terrible smell…oh, and I could also do without the nagging suspicion that I’m going to die at any moment.”
The girls shared a knowing glance and rolled their eyes in near unison. “You wouldn’t have survived a day in the Senosi Academy,” Valuri chided.
“Or the amazon training grounds,” Kaseya added.
“I choose to take that as a compliment,” I said. “But seriously though, why in the hell did we ever agree to do this?”
“Because we’re idiots,” Valuri said, slouching down next to me. “There’s no other explanation.”
I smiled and gently bumped against her shoulder. We hadn’t even done that much today—General Serrane had stuck us up here on the western wall, and other than the occasional drill we had mostly been standing around waiting for something to happen. At one point I had been so bored that I had almost volunteered to help build fortifications in the courtyard, but I knew we had been quarantined up here for a reason. The Guild wizards remained leery of fighting alongside a sorcerer, and most of the other soldiers were so starved and randy that they couldn’t keep their eyes off my companions. I didn’t completely blame them—I would have rather been back in the inn fucking the girls, too.
“There’s still a good chance the Roskarim won’t attack tonight,” I said, as much as myself as to anyone. “They could lay siege for days or weeks.”
“I doubt they are that patient,” Kaseya said.
“They may not be, but the Inquisitrix is,” Valuri pointed out. “The barbarians might not even need to attack to get what she wants.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning that just by rallying the Roskarim, she’s drawn five hundred knights away from Highwind, not to mention two of the city’s most important leaders.” Valuri sighed. “Something terrible is about to happen, Jorem. I can feel it.”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “I think you’re right.”
We huddled together against the wall, silently imagining all the horrible things that could happen to us at any moment. It had been one of my favorite mutual pastimes while living under the shadow of the Inquisitrix.
“The drums have changed,” Kaseya said after a moment, her eyes narrowing as she squinted north. “Perhaps they are finally preparing to advance.”
Taking a deep breath, I leaned back up and peered over the crenellations. The Roskarim army remained almost a mile away, well out of range of our archers. The distant sea of torches and shadowy silhouettes were still disturbing, however, and the intermittent echoing of their war drums off the nearby mountains wasn’t doing my sanity any favors.
“I don’t see movement,” I said. “I bet they’re going to sit out there for a few nights just to try and intimidate us.”
“It’s working,” Valuri muttered. “Half the soldiers look like they’re about to shit their trousers at any moment.”
I followed her gaze along the wall. General Serrane and her Duskwatch Rangers were spread out across the various archer groups, and they all looked calm and professional. Everyone else, on the other hand…
“They will steel themselves when battle finally comes,” Kaseya said.
“You really believe that?” I asked.
“If they don’t, they will die. And so will we.”
I snorted, assuming she was trying to be funny…but then I realized she was deathly serious. Ever since we’d climbed up on the wall she had fully readopted her no-nonsense, “hardened amazon warrior” persona just like she always did when battle was imminent. I wished I could make that transition half as easily. I was so anxious I felt like I had accidentally detonated a fireball inside my own stomach.
“They’re moving their siege weapons into position!” General Serrane called out across the battlements. “Wizards: at the ready!”
I braced myself against the wall and squinted out across the snowy plains. My human eyes still couldn’t make out much of anything, but I trusted her elven ones. The Mage’s Guild wizards has been preparing for this eventually all day.
The minutes ticked by in silence while a few hundred of the distant torches crept closer to the wall. The catapults slowly became visible as the half-moon rose in the night sky, and the barbarians loaded the weapons with spongy, oily boulders. I braced myself, my heart pounding in my ears, as their shaman conjured wisps of fire and ignited the oil.
“Oh, shit,” I muttered.
The catapults fired a moment later, and we all watched helplessly as the flaming boulders streaked towards us. Most crashed down short of the wall, but a few were perfectly on target. Just before impact, the Guild wizards conjured a protective bubble of Aetheric energy across the entire length of the wall, shielding us beneath a sparkling blue dome. The boulder smashed into the barrier and exploded, showering everyone below in tiny, smoldering bits of debris.
“Zor kalah !” Kaseya gasped as the barrier faded. “We cannot retaliate from this distance!”
“That’s the point, Red,” Valuri said, scowling and lifting her head back above the battlements. “This is when we hope they run out of ammunition before they open a breach.”
I forced myself to take a deep breath as the catapults reloaded. From the bits and pieces of conversation I’d heard earlier, General Serrane had planned to send a small sortie against the attackers in an attempt to sabotage their catapults, but the Highlord had warned her against it. Without more men, he wasn’t comfortable risking even a small number of his elite soldiers.
I understood his logic, but the thought of sitting here doing nothing while their catapults bombarded us over and over again was about as appealing as bashing my skull against the battlements. I had always secretly assumed that I wasn’t cut out for war. This confirmed it.
“Incoming!”
The General’s voice reached my ears a split second before the Roskarim fired another volley. The result was roughly the same as the first. Most of the flaming boulders shattered upon the barrier, though a few mor
e crashed into the wall beneath us. The stone rumbled as if we had been struck by an earthquake, and I genuinely wondered how long these old stones could hold out…
“These wizards aren’t going to last long,” Valuri warned, peeking her head back up. “Look at them—they’re already tired.”
We were still segregated from most of the other soldiers, which meant they were far enough away that I had trouble reading their features through the smoke and fog. But their body language more than made up for it—I recognized channeling fatigue when I saw it. If the Guild had sent twice as many wizards this wouldn’t be a problem…
“We can’t just sit here and wait to get pulverized,” Valuri said. “We need to—”
“Quiet,” Kaseya hissed, holding up her hand. Her brow furrowed, and I could feel her reaching out through the Aether. “Something is wrong…can you feel it?”
I pursed my lips and stretched out my senses. I didn’t detect any strange Aetheric echoes, but I did hear a distant thumping that sounded oddly familiar, almost like banners flapping in a stiff wind.
“Escar’s mercy,” Valuri breathed. “What the hell is that?”
I reopened my eyes and focused on the horizon. Thanks to the moonlight, I could make out several blurry, black blots rising over the edge of the mountain. At first I thought the shadows were just playing tricks on me, but then a monstrous, high-pitched shriek rang out across the battlements.
“Wyverns,” I gasped. “No one said they had wyverns!”
I watched in silent horror as four of the huge, dragon-like creatures slowly took form. Every one of them had a rider on its back—probably a Roskarim shaman—which would have been bad enough on its own. But then I spotted the large, rectangular crates from the barbarian camp clutched in their talons, and I belatedly understood.
“They’re filled with Roskarim warriors,” I breathed. “The wyverns are going to drop them over the wall!”
I swore under my breath and turned, planning to sprint over to General Serrane and tell her what was happening. But she had already figured it out for herself, and she was frantically reorganizing her rangers to target and fire at the wyverns before they got any closer. The wizards tried to adjust as well, but they didn’t have time—another volley of flaming boulders was already on its way.
“Get down!” I screamed, grabbing onto the girls and tackling them to the stone. The wizards, distracted by the new threat, couldn’t erect their barrier in time. The fortress trembled as the boulders smashed into the walls and battlements, and the closest group of archers to our right screamed in panic a second before they were pulverized. As smoke and ash flooded my nostrils, I reached out to the Aether and conjured my own protective mantle in the hopes it would protect us…
“Jorem, the wyverns!” Valuri’s voice cut through the cacophony. “You have to stop them!”
Gritting my teeth, I rolled back into a crouch and squinted against the stinging smoke. All four wyvern-riders were swooping hard towards the fortress in order to take advantage of the chaos. A few arrows arced through the air to meet them, but most deflected harmlessly off the beasts’ thick brown scales. Even the ones that struck true wouldn’t be enough to actually slow the creatures down.
Which mean that this battle—and probably the entire fate of Icewatch—was now officially up to me.
The Aether surged through my arms, and I felt Kaseya open our bond like she had done back in the mountains, transforming her body into a reservoir of additional power I could tap into without running the risk of overchanneling. I hurled fireball after fireball as if I were a hill giant tossing stones. The first detonation struck the lead wyvern dead-on, vaporizing its head and neck and sending its rider and crate spiraling into the wall. The other wyverns instantly scattered, though the barrage of explosions still seared their wings and scales. One rider completely lost control and actually fell out of his saddle, an another was unexpectedly struck in the neck by an arrow. I turned just in time to see General Serrane leaping through the flames on the wall, nocking and firing more quickly than seemed elvenly possible…
And then it was too late. One of the riderless beasts still lurched over the walls and released its payload. The enchanted crate slammed down onto the battlements and skidded into one of the towers before it shattered open, freeing the swarm of Roskarim warriors inside. They charged out into the fortress in search of prey. A moment later, another crate followed the first, though this one landed in the courtyard and crushed several hapless knights beneath it. Highlord Kastrius barked out orders in an attempt to organize the defenders, but I couldn’t afford to split my attention and see if they would hold the line.
Swearing again, I whipped my head around and glared at the last wyvern rider as it streaked over the wall. I hurled another pair of fireballs, one from each hand, and struck the beast squarely in its flank. The explosion was so bright I could barely make out anything aside from the now-flaming crate landing deeper in the fortress. More barbarians poured out, though the immolated wyvern and rider crashed into a tower and vanished in a disgusting cloud of gore.
“They’ll head for the gate to try and open it from the inside,” Valuri said, drawing her crossbows. “I need a boost!”
I opened my palm and blasted her with a quick spark of energy. The instant her eyes began glowing, she vaulted up onto the stone railing along the stars and slid down towards the courtyard, firing the entire time. She caught a few of the barbarians by surprise before they clashed with the Silver Fist knights, but there were plenty more targets to choose from.
“She will need help,” Kaseya said, sliding her bow onto her back and drawing her sword. “Come on!”
I didn’t have a chance to argue before she dashed down the steps and joined in the fray. I reached back out to the Aether and bolstered her strength and speed, keenly aware of the warning tingles in my muscles. Every spark of power I mustered from this point on ran the risk of overchanneling, but it wasn’t like I had much of a choice. Val was right—if we couldn’t hold the gate, Icewatch and everyone inside its walls was doomed.
While the girls joined in the frantic melee below, I focused my efforts on the stragglers. Balls of flame and strokes of lightning erupted from my palms, blasting any Roskarim caught out in the open without cover. Overall, we still had an overwhelming advantage in numbers; the barbarians had only been able to pack about a hundred warriors across the various crates. But the sheer shock of their landing combined with the ferocity of their attacks had tipped the scales, and the two surviving wyverns plucking our archers from the walls wasn’t helping. Biting down on my lip, I summoned two more spheres of flame into my hands and waited for the wyverns to loop back and present themselves—
At which point yet another volley of flaming boulders rained down upon the fortress.
I didn’t even have a chance to panic before I saw the meteor appear above the wall and streak towards me. I dove out of the way and reinforced my magical defenses, praying to any god who happened to be listing that it would be enough.
It wasn’t. My vision blurred as the explosion hurled me through the air, and if not for my spell armor I had no doubt that I would have ended up a bloody smear on the wall. I wasn’t sure exactly what happened—in one second I was flying end over end, flames and smoke enshrouding my face, and in the next I was lying face-first in the dirt with my head pounding like I had just had my skull bashed in by a shovel. When I finally mustered the strength to lift my head, I saw a Roskarim warrior charging straight for me, his mighty greataxe clutched in both hands. I tried to conjure a fireball, but I couldn’t concentrate through the pain. I opened my mouth and screamed instead, waiting for the darkness of oblivion to claim me…
Just before the man chopped me in half, an arrow burst through his chest. Wincing at the spray of blood, I rolled out of the way an instant before sheer inertia propelled his corpse into the wall behind me. I frantically wiped the back of my hand across my brow to clear my eyes, fully expecting to see Kaseya standing in
front of me. But to my surprise, there was a blonde elf woman there instead.
“If you can’t get that wyvern out of the sky, we’re all dead,” General Serrane growled, offering me a hand. “Now get up!”
She yanked me back to my feet with surprising force. Wiping the blood from my eyes, I searched for any signs of Valuri and Kaseya. The former was still crouched up on the stairs firing her crossbows at any barbarian who exposed himself, while the latter was charging towards me from across the courtyard. Her armor was smeared in blood, though thankfully very little of it was hers.
“Here it comes,” Serrane warned. “Take it down!”
The last of the Roskarim wyverns whipped past overhead as it dove towards the few surviving defenders on the battlements. The rangers fired to no avail—their arrows still couldn’t penetrate the beast’s flesh. Serrane fired a shot at the rider instead, piercing his leg and effectively pinning him to his mount. But it still wasn’t enough.
Sucking in a deep breath, I reached out to the Aether and channeled every spark of power I had left into a single bolt of lightning. The crackling blast burned straight through the wyvern’s chest, disintegrating half its internal organs and killing it instantly. The creature’s momentum carried it straight into the eastern watchtower, and the rider’s eyes gaped in terror as Serrane’s arrow held him fast to his saddle.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the strength left to watch and wait for the dust to settle. My muscles seized and my lungs burned as the Aetheric backlash finally overwhelmed me, and the last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was Kaseya’s warm hands cradling my face.
***
I had no idea how long I was unconscious, but when my eyes fluttered back open I could still hear war drums pounding in the distance. But since I didn’t hear the clattering of swords or the cries of the wounded, I could only assume we had repelled the first wave of attackers.