by Toni Cox
He had gathered valuable information in the time he had been away and he hoped it would be enough to sway the Lord Regent in his favour. The fact that he had just killed another fifty or so Vampyres and their Werewolves might also prove to be helpful.
Thinking of the General that had taken the other half of his troop on to Shadow Hall made him lengthen his stride. He wondered if they had attacked the city yet and, if so, how the city fared.
It was dark by the time he reached the outskirts of Shadow Hall. He could smell the stench of Vampyre in the air, but the city was quiet. Carefully he circled, keeping well away from the sharp eyes of the Night Watch, and found that the city had indeed battled the Vampyres. There were signs of the battles in numerous locations and he soon discovered the place where they had burned the dead.
Taking the long way around the city, he eventually reached his hiding place and then changed form. Now naked, he dug up his bags and slung them over his shoulder. There was a little stream somewhat higher up in the mountains; a place the people of Shadow Hall seldom went; and he headed there. He would clean himself up and then present himself to the Lord in the morning.
The night was long and he struggled to sleep. In his mind, he kept repeating the words he would say to Lord Longshadow. It was almost morning when his eye lids drooped and he cursed himself for not having been able to rest. He still felt a little weak from his black rage and he could really do with some sleep. He promised himself only an hour or so and then he would be on his way. His chin sank onto his chest and, before he could stop himself, he fell into a deep sleep.
It was the sound of horns sounding an alarm in the distance that eventually brought him to. It was mid-morning. Shadow Hall had to be in trouble if the horns were sounding. Quickly he strapped on his weapons and then made his way down the mountain. This might be his chance. This might be the day tat he could prove to Lord Longshadow that he meant them no harm and that he was fighting on their side.
His heart was racing, but his spirits were high as he ran through the forest towards his salvation.
Maia smelled the stench the moment she stepped into the hallway. There was a small tunnel system below the Hall of the Guardians that contained a hallway with ten cells leading off it. She could not remember any time that there had ever been a prisoner in those cells, but the rank smell coming from the cell furthest from the entrance confirmed its content.
“He has refused to speak with us,” Jaik said as they walked down the hallway.
“He said he would only speak with you,” her father said.
“Yes, he knows who I am.”
“How?” Jaik asked.
“I don’t know,” she said as she stepped in front of the iron grate.
They stood there for a moment looking at the General, defiantly leaning against the far wall. The cell was clean and the Generals’ clothes; although torn in places; were unsoiled. Vampyres had always smelled different to Elves, but they had never had such a rancid smell. She wondered if it was just this one, but then remembered that the others she fought had also been offensive to her nose. She wondered if the others could smell it too.
“Ah, thee lady ‘as finally come to talk, dje?”
“What is your name?” she asked.
“I am Lord Draken, cousin to great leader, Lord Drakul.”
“And do you know who I am?”
“Dje, you are Princess of Light. I vas to kill you.”
Maia raised her eyebrows at the Vampyre’s strange statement. Princess of Light?
“Well, you have failed. Now tell us about your army. When will they breach the Gate?”
The General laughed; a haunting sound in Maia’s ears. “Princess, you are too late. It is done. And your Prince of Darkness ‘as fallen.”
“What?” Angrily she yanked at the iron bars before her.
“’ee is dead. Gone.” The General inspected his sharp fingernails, picking at the dirt. “And your armies will fall before thee night is over.”
“Nooo!” she cried, and hammered her fists against the gate.
Jaik took her around the waist and led her away.
“Kill him,” she heard her father say as Jaik took her up the stairs.
She felt the moment the Vampyre’s life was snuffed out and she wondered who obeyed the order. She would have liked to do it herself. The anger raging within her was hard to control and her entire body shook. Blaid could not be dead; she would have felt it. The General had been taunting her. It could not be true.
“Sound the alarm,” her father called as he ran up the steps. “We will march immediately.”
“Are you all right?” Jaik asked. “I have to assemble my men.”
“Yes,” she replied through clenched teeth. “I will meet you by the stables.”
Jaik nodded and left her alone in the Hall of the Guardians. She fought to control her feelings for a moment and, once she had stopped shaking, rose from the chair Jaik put her in.
“Lady Maia?” Rothea asked, sticking her head through the door.
“It is time, Rothea. Now we go to war,” she replied, a deadly calm in her voice.
Together they ran to get their things. Maia’s leather armour was still full of punctures, but it would have to do. They changed quickly and then grabbed their weapons.
“Mother, keep Wolf with you,” she said as they left the house.
Her mother nodded and gave her a brief hug. “Be safe, my daughter.”
The city was abuzz with activity and they were not the only ones making their way to the stables. She filled Midnight in on what was happening as they ran and asked him to scout ahead. She had decided to ride into battle with the others; Midnight could do more damage if he did not have to worry about her sitting on his back. They now needed all the help they could get.
At the stables, there was pandemonium; warriors were rushing back and forth, horses whinnied in fright and supply wagons were loaded in haste. They went to look for Jaik, but were unable to find him.
“The Guard has ridden out already,” Commander Lavendar, second Commander of the Regiment’s first division said. “Commander Ridgewell is over there, overseeing the loading of the weapons supply train.”
Quickly they made their way to him.
“When will you be ready to move out?” Maia asked Rowlean.
“In but a few minutes, My Lady, we are almost ready.”
“We will ride with you then,” she said. “How many men do you have?”
“There are three Regiments here,” he replied, “the other eight are already at the gate.”
Maia cursed; sixty warriors was not much to go into battle with. Her brother had ridden out with the Guard, but they were down to ten men as well, although she assumed her father went with them. Their Legion, now numbering just over a thousand after drafting the people from the countryside, was also stationed at Greystone.
“What about the Night Watch and the Sentinels?” she asked.
“Most of them will stay here to protect the city, but the rest have left with your brother.”
She nodded to Commander Ridgewell and hurried to the stables to saddle Fire. The stallion was agitated and as anxious to get going as Maia was. Soon both Maia and Rothea were in their saddles and ready to go. Fire snorted and pranced beneath her and she felt his excitement flood through her own body. She was ready.
“Move out,” Commander Ridgewell shouted and then they were on their way.
They rode at a canter; fast enough to cover ground quickly, but slow enough for the horses to keep going for a long while. At this pace, it would take them the rest of the day to reach Greystone, Maia hoped it would be in time.
“The dragon riders have flown ahead,” Commander Ridgewell shouted across to her. “They will send a scout back with news as soon as they see something.”
In the heat of the moment, Maia had forgotten that the Guard and two Regiments of Thala Yll had been at Shadow Hall when they sounded the alarm. That was fifty-one extra warriors, plus the
ir dragons, and extra eyes in the sky.
Soon all they heard was the wind rushing in their ears and the horses’ hooves pounding the ground. The earlier excitement was overtaken by calm determination and Maia could concentrate on what lay ahead. She thought of all the people already at the Gate; they had been there so long, she hoped they had not become complacent. She wondered whose armies were still present there. Most Lords had left their Legions at the Gate, but had withdrawn most of their Regiments. She hoped it would be enough. In her mind, she saw again the vast number of tents at the Vampyre compound on Naylera. If all their forces had arrived, then they were about to be overrun by thousands and thousands of Vampyres.
She thought about the last war; they had estimated the Vampyre numbers to have been between thirty and forty thousand. It had also been a surprise attack and it had taken their army two days and nights of solid marching to reach the battlefield. Tired as they had been, they had still won the war. There was hope; always.
If her calculations were correct, then Shadow Hall alone was providing in the region of about one thousand six hundred warriors. Most of Thala Yll’s forces had now re-joined them, so they numbered around one thousand eight hundred as well. She hoped the numbers of the other cities to be as large, but, even if they were, they would still be outnumbered if Naylera sent an army as large as the last one. And, one should not forget the Vampyres already in Grildor. They knew not if Dragonfort and Rathaés had been taken and if those Vampyres were now on their way to join the battle. And there might yet be more in hiding; her father had ordered a search of the areas on the map Maia had pointed out after going to Naylera, but only a few of them had yielded results. For all they knew, there could still be hundreds, if not thousands, of them out there somewhere.
A large shadow passed over them and Maia felt a shiver run down her spine. She had been so deep in thought she had not felt Midnight approach. He flew high, so as not to spook the horses and quickly relayed to her what he had seen so far. In her mind the Yllitar Plains spread before her; the Grildor-Bron Mountains to her right, Greystone up ahead in the distance. As if marked in red on a map, she saw clearly the patches where there was a concentration of life. Through Midnight’s vision, she saw the land with thermal sensors and the red was the blood pumping through the peoples’ on the ground.
She gasped as she beheld the picture he showed her. Off to the east, a large force of Vampyres had attacked a returning Regiment; probably that of Braérn. Just up ahead, the warriors of Thala Yll and their dragons were engaged with another large group of Vampyres and their hounds. Midnight thought her father was amongst those fighting there. Further towards the west, a horde raced to cut off the advance of her brother and his men, who were galloping towards the mountains. At Greystone, everyone was fighting and it looked like utter chaos. Further to the south, there were also small patches of fighting and, to the south-west, close to the dark forest, there was another battle in progress.
Maia gasped as she beheld the enormity of the situation; how could she be in so many places at once? And why was her brother riding for the mountains?
“Commander Ridgewell,” she yelled over the noise of the running horses. “Call for a halt.”
“Halt,” he shouted, raising his fist.
His order was repeated down the line. Their group came to a halt in a cloud of dust.
“What is it, Lady Maia?”
“The Vampyres have commenced their attack,” she said and then quickly explained what Midnight had shown her. “Where do we go?”
Commander Ridgewell only thought for a moment. “I believe that our main aim is to prevent more Vampyres coming through the Gate. Let us assist your father and the people of Thala Yll and then we must ride for Greystone. It needs to be held at any cost. May the Mother be with the rest of them.”
Maia agreed with the Commander’s decision; they needed to protect their Lord, yet it was also imperative that they protect the Gate.
“Aye,” she agreed, “we will ride with you. I will send Midnight ahead to assist the others where he can.”
“Thank you, My Lady,” he nodded to her. “Forward,” he shouted and they rode on with haste.
He reached the outskirts of Shadow Hall and was immediately confronted by archers in the trees. “Let me pass, I have news for the Lord Regent,” he shouted up to them.
“State your business to us and we will see it passed on.”
“No, I need to speak to Lord Longshadow in person.”
“The Lord has gone to war. The troops left this morning. State your name and we will get your message to him.”
“I will give it to him myself. Thank you for your help,” he said to the archers, which he assumed to be Sentinels, and took off running.
I am too late, he thought as he ran through the trees, circling the city.
When the alarm first roused him, he assumed that Shadow Hall was under attack. It would have been the perfect opportunity for him to show the entire city where his allegiance lay. Now Lord Longshadow had gone to war and Maia went with him. The thought of her in danger drove his feet to greater speed.
He considered his options; he did not want to change into the wolf, because he did not want to be left without his weapons, he could not shadow travel, as he would not be able to track where Maia had gone. He needed to make haste if he wanted to catch up with them.
What he needed was a horse.
He reached the stables and read the signs. Two separate groups left from here; the first of about eighty riders left shortly before the second. The second was made up of just over sixty and it was this group Maia was riding with.
He fervently hoped the rest of the armies were still stationed at Greystone and that they would be able to deal with the worst before Maia reached them. Frantically he looked around, but the stables were deserted; every one of their riding horses had been taken. He knew there were probably more horses somewhere out on the Grazing Grounds, but most of those were mares in foal and definitely not war horses. He scanned the surrounding paddocks and noticed a few foals occupying the second last paddock that flanked the ridge. They were crowding the fence, away from the stables, probably still traumatized from the earlier commotion. One of them whinnied; a small sound, frightened; and it was answered by one of the wildest calls Blaid had ever heard in his life. Curious, he watched them for a moment longer; knowing he should get going, but unable to resist seeing what had made that eerie call.
Then she stepped out from under the trees and into the sunlight. She was the biggest and blackest mare he had ever seen and she now walked over to the foals; to reassure them he thought; and then nipped them all on their rumps, scattering them all over the paddock. Her teeth were bared, her nostrils flared and her ears laid flat on her neck. She was nasty and she knew it. She was absolutely perfect.
Without thinking, Blaid grabbed the first saddle and bridle he could find and sprinted over to the paddock that held the black beast. The moment she saw him, she turned and fled to the safety of the trees. The paddock was not large and the fence high; there was no place for her to go.
He placed the saddle over one of the fence rails and climbed through into the paddock, hiding the bridle behind his back with his left hand. Turning his right shoulder towards the mare and looking at a spot just in front of her feet, he slowly approached her. She stomped her feet and snorted at him. He kept his demeanour as placid as he could as he approached, but she watched him with suspicion. When he was about fifteen strides away from her, she attacked. She came at him with an open mouth and her front legs kicking. Blaid had never seen anything like it.
Quickly he turned and she ran harmlessly passed. Upset that she had missed him, she wheeled around and screamed at him, stomping her feet. Blaid stood his ground, but he now knew why this one had not been selected to go to war. She was probably used as a brood mare and he was sure she produced quality foals. She was absolutely magnificent.
“Whoa, there, my beauty,” he said gently and, at the
sound of his voice, her ears shot forward.
Surprised by her change in demeanour, he carried on talking as he approached. She snorted again and took a step backwards, but then she stood still for him. He stroked her sweaty neck and felt the power beneath his hands as she trembled. She was perfect in every way and something within her spoke to him, like no other animal ever had. He knew she felt the same.
Gently he lifted her forelock to the side and looked into her eyes. The deep brown eyes looking back at him reached something deep inside of him and he knew, at that moment, she was his horse.
“I have need of you now, my beauty,” he whispered as he put the bridle on her.
She champed the bit and shook her head; he was sure she had never worn a bridle before; but then she stood still as he fastened the straps. He walked her over to the fence and gently lifted the saddle onto her back. Her ears flicked back and she snorted, but allowed him to cinch the girth.
“Come then,” he said as he led her out of the gate, “we have a war to go to.”
She stood still before him as he put his left foot into the stirrup, but he felt the tension within her. She was tall and strong and her black, damp coat gleamed in the sunlight. She was perfection.
He swung his right leg over the saddle and gently lowered himself into the seat. Her entire body quivered, never having been ridden before, but Blaid gentled her with his voice. He felt as if she had been made just for him; the only other living being that made him feel like this was Maia. Just as Maia was to be his mate in life, so was this horse to be his friend.
“Are you ready?” he asked her and she snorted in reply.
Without having to ask her, she jumped into a gallop and ran down the side of the paddocks, past the stables and out onto the open Grazing Grounds. He felt her powerful muscles propel her forward and her speed almost took his breath away.
She wasn’t running; she was flying.
Leaning low over her neck, her mane whipping into his face, he followed the trail left by Maia and her companions.