Hardy people, these warriors of hers. Outnumbered and enduring many days of marching, they now faced superior numbers, better weaponry, and many gifted. Gwyn said that Kayna had a cursed, but, hopefully, it would be no match for Mykel. As Nara surveyed her waiting troops, she wondered what to say before the battle began. How would she share her pride without also sharing her fear for what the day might hold? She wanted to talk of Dei, how He blesses them, and how He would keep them safe, but she knew it wasn’t true. Dei didn’t seem to concern himself with the individual sufferings of His people. If He did, the land would be a very different place indeed. No, He seemed to care only about the big picture, and she would not mislead them with false hopes.
“At ease,” she said, and the entire army moved to a wider stance, placing their hands at the small of their backs in a relaxed position.
She flared the sound rune to amplify her voice. Her words rumbled with an unnaturally deep tone. “There will be no parley today. I will not meet with the enemy general or the monster who calls herself Queen. I will strike no deals. No land exchanged for peace. This is neither a dispute between lords nor a show for political gain. This is bigger than that, and I intend to kill her.”
It was odd to hear those words come out of her mouth. She had failed to kill Kayna when she had the chance and hoped she would have the resolve to follow through this time. Her army did not sense her hesitation, however, instead cheering at her words. After a moment, she held up a hand to quiet them.
“Never have I heard of an army marching on Fairmont. The histories say nothing of rebellion against dark lords or ladies. We do something new today. We stand up for what is good and what is right.”
She walked parallel to the front line of her troops, squads of mixed infantry, soldiers, and citizens who had trained together for far too little time. “I’m proud of you. You are not here for money. Probably not for glory either. You’re here because people have suffered, and you’re willing to stand with me against a villain and put an end to the injustice.”
Nara paused, then stopped in front of a young man holding a spear. “This is Theron,” she said, trying to make her voice as loud as she could. “He lives in a village near Kinnick and joined us on the march north. A detail killed his father and kidnapped his brother while he was fishing for their dinner.” She walked along the line. “Theron loves horses. Wants to work in a stable someday. He has spent much of the march helping our cavalry care for their mounts, brushing their coats, checking their shoes. But today he holds a spear. Today he fights.”
She stopped in front of a young woman holding an axe. She was tall, broad-shouldered, and athletic. “This is Penny. She is nineteen, the daughter of a weaver, and lives near Ankar. Penny has a beautiful voice and loves to sing. A detail took her friend Paola.” Nara pointed to an older man in his fifties with a silver beard, holding a small sword and wearing a leather cap that covered his ears. “Over here is Kitt. He used to cook for the northern outpost of Ankar. He won’t feed soldiers today; he’ll fight by their side.”
Nara flared earth and rose slowly on a pillar of rocks and soil. “You are more than a citizen army. You are the spirit of this nation. Each of you represents what is good about the Great Land. You are the people who work hard every day, feeding your families and friends, and you expect a just monarch to protect you and nurture you. You deserve peace, but you’ve received persecution. I am neither a goddess, as some of you have called me, nor an angel; I’m just someone with an important job, to lead you forward into a void that must be filled. Someone must stand up for our children. For our elderly. For our mothers and fathers. That someone is Penny. It is Derik. It is Kitt. It is you. And it is me. We have a date with destiny today, and I don’t know how it will be written in the end, but know this.” She flared light and shone on them for a brief moment, then let it fade. “The power of heaven lies deep in our hearts and only fear holds us back from letting it loose to do great things. Follow me with courage and love, fight for your fellow man, with your fellow man, shoulder to shoulder in this righteous effort. Fear has no place on these slopes today. Banish it from your thoughts, move boldly forward, take heart, and we will win the day. There is nothing that can stand against us.”
The army cheered, clapping and banging swords on shields, the hoots and calls lasting until Nara waved her arms for them to stop. She hoped those words were enough. They would know soon. She looked at Jahmai, who nodded, then she turned back to her army. “Attention!”
Hundreds of bodies snapped to attention, cavalry raising their spears in salute.
“Cavalry with me,” Nara said loudly, then turned to face the army below, willing the earth to lower her back to the ground. She stepped forward, then looked at Martel at the front of the group. In time with him, she began to run forward, flaring speed to match the pace of the galloping horses. She looked to the right and saw Mykel advancing as well, the infantry forming up behind him in a spear-point formation and breaking into a run.
It took only moments for Nara’s initial thrust to cross several hundred yards of sloping terrain, and the first volley of arrows from Nara’s archers rose high overhead, coming down on the rear ranks of Kayna’s troops. Several shafts found their way through shields and struck home, men falling in response. A heartbeat later, while still in a full sprint, Nara flared earth, and the ground erupted along Kayna’s front line, the first two ranks of soldiers losing their footing. Many fell, and those that remained upright soon scattered, unable to meet the cavalry charge with their spears. Nara’s cavalry plowed through Kayna’s front lines, devastating the first few ranks of the enemy.
A few moments later, Mykel and Yury hit the other side of the infantry almost as hard as the cavalry’s heavy horses, scattering men on the unstable ground.
The battle had begun.
Nara flared speed and strength, darting among the enemy, smashing wrists and breaking ribs, thinking of Sammy as she did so. And Nilly. Of the little girl she had found near Took. Anger drove her forward. When she was deep in the belly of the infantry line, she dropped to a knee and flared motion, sending the enemy flying in every direction away from her.
Moments later, Kayna’s second line of infantry stepped forward to join the fray. Nara ran, leaping over enemies to reach her own lines once again, hoping that the initial thrust would both motivate her troops and demoralize Kayna’s.
A black banner rose off to her right, and she scanned for Mykel. He didn’t see it, fighting well forward of the rest of her troops, his back to the banner. Nara sprinted for the area and saw three enemy gifted in black tabards plowing through the lines. Gwyn was near, launching arrows at the gifted, but the shafts bounced harmlessly off the leader. The two that flanked him carried giant mauls that they wielded in sweeping arcs, crushing Nara’s troops and sending them flying.
A steelskin and two bears.
Nara flared earth. A stone pit appeared under their feet, and all three were swallowed up in an instant. The sudden impact with the rock floor of the pit wouldn’t have hurt the steelskin but might have injured the bears. Just then, one of the bears leaped out of the pit, but he no longer held his maul. Two arrows from Gwyn took him in the chest, and he slumped, dead. Nara’s troops cheered and pushed on.
From behind her, she heard “racer!” Turning, she saw a red banner in the center of the fray. She flared earth again, trying to keep her wits about her and quell the passion. The ground around the banner shook, becoming pitted and uneven. There were screams and shouts, then the banner came down. Racer dead, and because of Nara. How many more deaths would she cause today?
The rush of fear and energy from the start of the battle subsided as Nara looked about to gather her bearings, and she began to notice the screams of the wounded. Several medics were dragging victims back behind the lines for care, but there was no time for her to assist; she had to fight.
She rose on a short pillar of earth to better view the battlefield. To the right, Yury battled another racer, a ta
ll woman who was giving him quite the contest. Mykel was still at the front, crushing skulls and launching the enemy in every direction. She sensed him through the earth, confident and powerful. He’d received a few blows but suffered no great injuries. The battle was going well.
A wave of fatigue swept over Nara, to no surprise. So much activity in a short time. Her hand reached to her belt, fingers finding one of the cool bone cepps that dangled there. She closed her eyes and absorbed the energy, replenishing her strength. She leaped down from her pillar and darted to the right toward cries of alarm from her infantry, only to see two flamers, side by side, cutting a swath through her troops, burning them alive. Each held a cepp in their hand, magic that fueled their attack.
She called the magic of their cepps and it came, filling her reserves even more and robbing them of their power. Moments later, spears cut the two flamers down.
A great roar from the rear of Kayna’s army caught her attention. She looked toward the middle of the enemy throng and spotted a giant soldier in white armor, shield, and helm charging directly up the middle of the formation. Nara used her vision and was nearly blinded by the light from his armor. Imbued bone armor! He held a giant war hammer, and when he hit the front line, he swept the weapon back and forth, decimating Nara’s infantry, knocking soldiers back dozens of feet with each blow. Ten fell in a heartbeat. Another ten. Many broke ranks and fled toward the flanks. He was huge!
Then he turned and looked at Nara, his eyes burning like hot coals. He bellowed and sprinted straight for her, even knocking some of his own troops out of the way as he ran.
Kayna’s cursed.
Nara flared earth, and a wall of rock erupted from the ground in the monster’s path, but he flared strength and charged through it like it wasn’t even there. She summoned another wall, thicker, and it held his initial charge. But instead of going around, he just struck the wall with the hammer, the stone shattering under his awesome strength.
He ran for her again and she noticed that both the armor plates and the shield had runes on them. It was the variant of the protection rune that also decorated Mykel’s staff. Nara reached out to the armor, calling its magic to her as she did to the king’s armor so long before, but it did not respond, the protection runes blocking her. She tried again, commanding the magic to be hers, but it refused.
Nara flared speed and protection as the monster came close. Some of her infantry tried to intercept, but the beast sent them flying with a strike from his hammer and a bash from his shield. The rest broke and ran.
Three steps away from her, the beast screamed, and she dodged his initial blow easily, dancing to the left. He looked even bigger up close, towering over her. Easily eight feet tall, the monster dwarfed everything on the battlefield, its footsteps thundering as it moved. Arrows bounced off the enchanted armor, helm and shield, as did spears, swords, and axes.
She dodged another strike, and the beast screamed in frustration. As it pursued her, it engaged her infantry, crushing those who attempted to intercede. Nara retrieved a fallen sword and darted in, dodging the monster’s attempt to shield-bash her and stabbing between two armored plates, finding its ribs. The bellow of pain it gave nearly knocked her to the ground as she passed by, looking back to see it whirl, undeterred. It charged her again, and she saw it flare health. Health! A cursed with strength and health and bone armor she could not drain.
She flared speed again, hard, with all the strength she had, and launched forward at the beast, dodging another blow from his hammer and searching for a weakness in the beast’s armor. As she passed, she flared strength and sliced at a hook that held two of the back plates together. The plates came apart slightly, exposing the underlay of padding.
Just then, a body flew into the monster at full charge, knocking it to the ground. Nara dropped the speed rune and watched as Mykel engaged the creature, the staff now whirling and striking it but the blows having little effect against the armor. The beast howled in rage and charged Mykel, sweeping wide with both shield and hammer, missing repeatedly as it passed. Though his blows seemed to have little effect on the beast, Mykel had the sight rune and could dodge his enemy’s attacks.
They battled, trading blows as the monster swung in a wide, sweeping arc with its long arm, finally catching Mykel in the shoulder with the hammer at end of a lucky swing. Mykel tumbled a dozen yards before flaring health. He reengaged, landing blows on the beast’s back where Nara had damaged his armor. But with both Mykel and Nara distracted by the monster, they were no longer pressing the attack against Kayna’s troops, and the enemy was now gaining ground.
Nara looked at the battle lines. Enemy cavalry were picking apart her left flank, easily outnumbering Jahmai and his heavy horses.
The beast bellowed again, slamming its shield to the ground. Mykel lost his footing momentarily, then took a shot from the giant hammer directly in his chest. The blow was incredible, sending Mykel flying straight back into a group of enemy soldiers, bowling them over. The beast turned again to Nara, anger in its eyes. She could feel the hatred rolling off the monster, directed squarely at her. It charged, snarling. Why did it loathe her so much?
She flared speed again, hard, knowing that to conserve her energy at this moment would mean failure; the creature was moving too fast. If Mykel could get his arm around the beast’s neck, maybe he could strangle it into unconsciousness. She would need to get that helmet off, first. Straight forward she ran, then leaped high, sweeping her sword at the monster’s neck where a strap secured the bone helmet to the breastplate. A somersault in the air carried her gracefully onto the earth behind him, then she turned again. It bellowed and spun, frustrated that it couldn’t get its hands on her. Nara flared earth with her failing strength, and the ground beneath the monster came up to encase it in a thick cylinder of rock, paralyzing it in place, encasing both its shield and hammer. The rock wouldn’t hold it long, but it might be enough for a moment or two.
Mykel sensed her intention and leaped in, landing on the shoulders of the monster to grab the helmet. Good. He pulled it free, falling onto the ground near Nara, and they both looked up at the monster’s face.
Recognition struck her in the breast like a physical blow. The monster’s features were misshapen, but the face was unmistakable. As if to confirm her suspicions, the beast looked around, scared for a moment, flaring strength to break one hand free. Then it scratched its chin. Exactly like a certain boy she knew. A beautiful friend she thought to be dead.
Dei, no.
The straight black hair, the big brown eyes, the high cheekbones. It was Sammy.
Nara looked at Mykel, who rose to his feet slowly, eyes focused hard on his brother. Then Mykel screamed and dropped the helmet he was holding.
The eight-foot-tall snarling, raging monster was a ten-year-old boy. Sammy flared strength, screaming, and broke the stone that bound his other arm, then freed his legs. He charged at Nara again. Mykel was still frozen in place, shocked. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, confusion, fatigue and grief overwhelming Nara. She couldn’t move, so overwhelming was the shock of this. She flared protection just as Sammy grabbed her, his mammoth hand around both her ankles. He lifted her and smashed her to the ground, her head impacting the hard earth. She flared protection and strength, trying to wrest herself from his crushing grasp but was unable. He was just too strong.
“Sammy,” she said. “It’s me–”
He smashed her against the ground yet again, stunning her. Unable to move, she flared sight to get a picture of her surroundings and saw Mykel on Sammy’s shoulders. Mykel’s arm slipped around Sammy’s tree-trunk sized neck and squeezed. Sammy smashed Nara on the ground again, crushing her against the earth. Her head swam, her strength drained by the protection rune that was keeping her alive, and her thoughts faltered. But Mykel’s chokehold was having an effect, and Sammy’s grip loosened. She reached for the remaining cepp on her waist and absorbed the energy, flaring health as she did so, clarity returning.
/> The beast that was Sammy slumped forward on its knees, Mykel’s arms still around its neck. “Stop, Sammy. Stop. It’s Nara. And me!” Mykel cried in frustration as he strangled his brother. Sammy finally let go of Nara.
The battle raged around them, Kayna’s superior troops, in greater numbers, gaining ground fast as Nara rose to her feet. They were losing. Kayna had broken their hearts, and Nara hadn’t seen it coming.
She flared sight and imagined the attack on Dimmitt, concentrating on Sammy as she did so. The vision came quickly, aided by Sammy’s proximity. Nara saw children and adults gathered around the stage near the church. A man atop the platform pointed at a boy who fidgeted with a snare. The boy placed the snare in his pocket as he climbed the steps, but Nara couldn’t see his face. A harvester reached for the boy, holding a ceppit in the other hand. The harvester said something, then the boy began to suffer. She concentrated harder, focusing on the boy. For just a moment, she saw the face. It was Simon, Sammy’s friend. It wasn’t Sammy at all. Lina was wrong.
Nara’s heart sank. This monster was indeed Sammy. Kayna had captured him, altered him, turned him against his own family. The cruelty of it stabbed deep, sapping her of resolve, and revealing her own folly. She had been fooled, and her ill-advised anger had tainted every choice she had made since Dimmitt.
She stood and looked at the carnage that grew about her, soldiers running, screaming, and dying on spears and swords as the enemy advanced. It was all her fault. She’d had a sense of the mistake, back in Keetna, when building the cavern. She knew this path was wrong but hadn’t trusted herself. Instead, she’d plowed ahead, thinking violence was the only way to resolve this conflict. Another mistake on a huge pile of wrongs committed by her hand. But there was no turning back now.
Finding Kai Page 21