by Mark Albany
One thing that I did not miss was the portals that she was able to open. Even though it was a fantastically quick way to travel, and in our particular case was rather necessary, I found myself dreading the thought of being pushed into one of them again.
The sensation of being tugged against my will, twisted, pushed and pulled through space like a piece of driftwood caught in a whirlpool was not a pleasant experience, and if there was ever anything that I could describe as a necessary evil, that was it.
Those damn portals.
I sighed softly, watching Aliana gather the power that she needed to open the portal, gripping my sword in one hand as the rest of my group stood in close, waiting in silence.
From what we could see of the battle below, it appeared to be raging well into the night, with no sign of stopping even as the hour grew later and later. The assumption that the monsters would not pause in their assault, not even for rest at night, appeared to be a good one.
“I’m ready,” Aliana said softly, looking around to the rest of us. “Take my hand.”
We did, coming in close and taking hold of the djinn as the crackle of power could be felt all around us, and then the damn portal opened. I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes, feeling it dragging me forward, making it painful to breathe for a moment.
But thankfully, just for a moment. After that, the cold was gone, replaced with some semblance of warmth, and the sounds of fighting and screaming around us. The blasts of heat could be felt all around me as my eyes opened, taking in what was clearly a battlefield all around us.
The others appeared to be trying to get a grip on our surroundings as much as I was. It looked like we had just landed in the center of the battle lines, where the fighting appeared to be the fiercest. I could see the imperial army holding their line behind a shield wall, pushing the monsters back as well as they could while the war engines that they were protecting continued to rain fire down on the back lines of the creatures that were rushing forward with no intention of protecting themselves from it.
Archers were lined up as well, with groups of cavalry hugging the flanks of the infantry lines, ready to pounce forward whenever it looked like the lines that they were supposed to be protecting were in danger of being outflanked.
As military coordination went, it was actually rather good, especially since Abarat appeared to be content to throw his monsters forward in numbers, hoping to bend the line to the point of breaking it. If the line could be broken and the engines could be disposed of, there would be little for them to do but pull back from their current defensive position and hope to have the time to set up new ones.
The undead had jumped into the pits that the humans had dug, piling themselves on the spikes to make it easier for the creatures coming in behind them. It was horrifying, yet effective.
Most of the other lines were holding their ground, since they weren’t being attacked with the same kind of intensity, but none of the commanders or captains thought that it was a good idea to take numbers away from the outer lines to help the center.
It would end up with Abarat just focusing his attacks there instead.
I gripped my sword a little tighter, narrowing my eyes and steeling myself. Despite the fact that I had slept and been healed by Norel, I still didn’t feel entirely rested, but at this point, there was no time to regroup. We had what we had, and it would have to be enough.
I moved towards the line, flooding my sword with power, illuminating the runes in the blade and letting the white light catch the attention of the creatures that I was charging towards. I could hear the howl and the hiss of Braire’s beasts coming in behind me, and lightning bolts were already flickering through the air, bashing into the golems that were just now realizing that a new threat had taken to the field.
It was gratifying to watch as one such distracted creature was suddenly impaled by a massive bolt the size of a large man, which cut through the clay that formed it and almost completely tore the head from the golem’s neck.
There was a moment of stunned shock as the rest of the undead appeared to lose their focus, but it didn’t last. I assumed that one of Abarat’s other monsters took control of the beasts and had them turning away from their main assault on the imperial line and turning instead to face us.
All in all, I was glad to have the opportunity. In avoiding violence for Aliana’s sake in the cave, I had been denying myself the ability to let loose once more, and all that was going to be coming out in this attack. No need to hold back here.
Well, maybe there was a tactical need, but I already knew how to work that.
A flash of power cut through the closest two monsters that approached me. I sidestepped a third, twisting my wrist in a deft swing that sent the creature’s head to the ground well in advance of the rest of its body.
I didn’t need to look to know that the rest of my team was coming in close behind me. It was odd not to sense Aliana’s presence, but the sight of her wings giving her a hint of flight as she jumped over a group of the undead before cutting into them with her daggers was one that I had sorely missed.
Faye had turned her weapon back into a spear, guiding it to cut and stab with precise, controlled thrusts and slashes to keep the monsters clear of her, working in tandem with the serpent, as both smoothly interwove their strikes to leave no opening for a counterstrike.
For Braire’s part, she had jumped up on her wolf’s back, using her blades and blasts of energy to keep its sides and back clear of the beasts that were attacking us while the wolf made sure that there was nothing but bits and pieces in the front.
That, paired with Norel and Lyth managing to keep their distance and deliver the damage from behind, as well as keeping the arrows and projectiles launched in the area away from us, we were a powerful team. I found myself working close to Aliana, watching and studying her movements while trying not to let my own slip up.
She had been my first instructor, after all, and I was going to be damned before I disappointed her.
The men in the line, seeing our attack and realizing that we were on their side, rallied with a loud roar, pushing forward at the weakened attack, straightening out and bowing out with the cavalry rushing in from the left to collapse the attackers from behind. They moved around us, not wanting to be caught up in what was happening around the five newcomers.
It wasn’t long until it looked like the beasts were pulling away, their leaders turned to dust and mud and no others to pick up their slack. I wasn’t quite sure that I believed it myself, keeping my guard up and ready to continue the fight if was it was needed.
I knew that it would be necessary before too long, but it looked like we had some respite for the moment. The soldiers moved back to the trenches, pulling the undead bodies off of the spikes as well as they could, making sure that each one was properly dead. A group came in from behind, where they had been resting, to gather those that had fallen, coating them in pitch before setting them alight.
“I guess that’s to keep them from rising again,” Braire said, patting her wolf gently on the neck and inspecting for any wounds that he might have taken during the fighting. “Abarat is powerful, but even he can’t turn ash into soldiers.”
“It is a good idea,” Norel agreed. “I wonder who thought of that?”
I had a few theories, but any chance I might have had at putting my words to the test were dashed as the sound of riders approaching us drew our attention away from the macabre cremations that the undead were being given. We turned to see the horsemen approaching us, wearing heavier armor than the rest of the cavalry, with the leader wearing armor that looked like it was made of pure silver.
Likely not, but it was still an impressive sight, and I could guess who the man was before he even removed his plumed helmet.
“Damn, but it’s good to see the five of you again,” the emperor said with a laugh. “We’ve been putting fires out all along the lines today, but it’s good to see that there are more that can come in and deal t
he finishing blow to these heavier attacks.”
“You’ll have to forgive me, your grace,” I said, taking a moment to clean my sword. “But there are six of us now.”
The man blinked, looking around to count our number, and realizing that there was indeed one more than he had thought.
I would excuse the man for his error, of course. He did look like he had been through one hellish day. The closer he got, the more I saw that his armor was covered in dents and soot. The lance that he was carrying was bloodied and he looked genuinely tired. He was a powerful mage in his own right, but when it came down to it, fighting a battle for the duration of a day was a tiresome business.
There weren’t a lot of men in his position that would do the same. Even in the position that we were in, where all people, be they elf or human, rich or poor, powerful or not, were faced with the same dangers, there would be those who thought of themselves as too important for the war effort to be on the front lines.
It appeared as though the emperor and his troop of elite forces had been circling around the line, helping those groups that needed aid holding the defensive position.
“Correct you are,” the emperor said, gently bowing his head to Aliana. “Apologies, my lady. It lifts my heart to know that you are among the living and fighting at our side once more.”
Aliana smiled, shrugging her shoulders. “It was the least I could do, I suppose.”
The man on horseback smiled, turning his attention back to me. “Am I to assume that your return to our forces means that you found a way to reach Abarat, and stop this fighting, by whatever means necessary?”
I nodded. “It does indeed, your grace.”
“Excellent,” the man replied. “It looks as though, for the moment, we have a bit of respite. I suggest that you take advantage of it and get some rest. It will be in short supply.”
“Thank you, your grace, I think we will,” I said, bowing stiffly at the waist as the emperor pulled his horse around and headed back to where the rest of the troop had started to make camp.
There was no promise that the attacks would not continue for the night, but the man was right. Rest would be difficult to come by, and we should take advantage of whatever chance we could get.
18
As we pulled away, it was easier to see the mass of troops that had been assembled. Coming up with a verifiable count would prove difficult, but it was easily one of the largest armies ever assembled.
Even so, it paled in comparison to the horde that they were facing. In numbers, at least.
I could see evidence of the fighting continuing along positions that the humans had set up, but the intensity had faded, with them just apparently keeping up the pressure through the night. I had no idea how Abarat was going to be controlling these beasts for such a long time. As powerful as he was, it didn’t seem that crazy to assume that even he had to sleep eventually.
There was still so much that I didn’t know about what we were up against. The others appeared to know a great deal about Abarat and his capabilities, showing no surprise as another shift of soldiers headed out to the front line to replace those that had been fighting over the past few hours.
“Looks like they’re going to have to keep it up all night,” I said. “How did the emperor know to organize the troops this way?”
“Well, he had to know that an army of the undead don’t need rest,” Braire said with a shrug. “Maybe he knew from when he was under Abarat’s control, having picked up on whatever strengths and weaknesses our enemies might have. Best not to underestimate the man. You don’t get to be the emperor of an empire and then trust it into the hands of power-grabbing politicians without knowing a thing or two about consolidating.”
That was a good point, but I still wanted to know a bit more about how the whole system had been developed, and how we were going to be able to help, if that was even a part of our plan. We had Aliana at our side once again, but we hadn’t spoken about what we would be doing next. Would we be tracking Abarat down? Did Aliana know where he was?
Well, maybe they had some idea, but I still didn’t know what we were doing next. I had told the emperor that we had a plan with a great deal of confidence, but I still needed that to be backed up with a few facts.
We headed into the camp where some of the soldiers were preparing to head out onto the battlefield as others were settling in for the evening. None looked relaxed, however. There were a few drinking and laughing around campfires, looking like veterans to this kind of situation, but a feeling of tension hung over the camp as palpable as the smell of smoke.
A couple of guards intercepted us on our way inside, guiding us to a large tent that had been set up in anticipation of us joining the war effort, where food and accommodations had been set up.
They weren’t quite what was to be expected from the imperial palace, of course, but were miles better than what we had been getting along with over our travels. It was warm and the food was fresh and easily washed down with cool water.
Most of the meal was spent in silence, but once we were finished, it was time to discuss our plan of attack.
“Well then,” I said, looking around to the other five, “I told the emperor that we had a way to beat Abarat, but... I guess that comes down to you, Ali. Do you know where he is? Is there a way to find him, and beat him?”
She nodded, although I noted a nervous flutter of her wings. The inability to feel what she was feeling forced me to try and remember what I could to interpret what her body was telling me. I tilted my head, waiting for her to be ready to speak her mind.
“Well, his location is a little obvious, I think,” Aliana said finally. “You remember the fortress that you saw in the pocket world? Where Faye’s true form was trapped?”
“Oh, you must be joking,” Faye grumbled. “He’s holed himself up in that place? Does he have no sense of creativity in him at all?”
“I think he wanted to be someplace that he knew, a location that he was comfortable in,” Aliana explained. “He’s using a great deal of power to control his army; he would need the place to help him focus.”
Faye shook her head, looking disgusted.
“He is there,” Aliana continued. “But not alone. He has protection, and familiars. Elves that never wavered from being at his side, no matter what spells or incantations he tried. They are powerful, but those able to use magic will be tied to Abarat, letting him use their power to help control the horde. Those that are not will be manning the walls, trying to protect him.”
“Should be easy enough to move past them,” Norel said. “But the difficult bit will likely be what we find inside.”
“Indeed,” Aliana said. “If you want, if that is the plan, I can get you there, but I think I’ll need a night of rest before then, and possibly a bit of replenishing to my power.”
“If the emperor is to be believed, we should have the time to rest,” I said. “We can’t be sure how long we have, but I would say that the sooner we can get going, the better. Lives are at stake, after all, and the longer we wait, the more people die. Not to mention that the longer we wait, the chances grow of us losing the battle, and making what happens when we find Abarat somewhat moot.”
“That’s a good point,” Norel said. “If there is anything that we can do to help Aliana replenish her power, we should do it.”
My mind flickered almost immediately to what Aliana had once described as the best way to restore one’s magical energy, followed quickly by my eyes settling on the immodest attire that she was still wearing. I had forgotten just how distracting it could be, and while it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, I couldn’t help but think that it was especially distracting now, when focus was a necessity.
She saw that I was staring and didn’t bother hiding a pleased grin and a wink in my direction. She did appear happy to see that she still held some appeal over me.
It wasn’t difficult to admit that there was something about her that drew a certain, instinctive and
utterly primal side of me out and towards her.
And I could tell the attraction was mutual.
Licking my lips and trying to take control of the urges that I suddenly had a hard time keeping in check, I brought myself back to the situation at hand.
“Well, we can figure that out eventually,” Braire was saying. “If we all put our heads together, I’m sure it won’t be a problem. The real question, I suppose, is that getting there isn’t really the most difficult bit.”
“It’s what happens when we encounter Abarat,” Lyth said, completing the Beast Mistress’s thought. “Even while controlling his horde, Abarat will be a great deal more powerful than he was when we met him before. He’ll have a full troop of familiars to gain power from, and almost nothing hampering his power.”
I didn’t want to think about that. I knew that facing Abarat was pretty much inevitable, but it was still a terrifying prospect to me. I didn’t know if it was just having learned my lesson from having stood my ground against him the last time, but I couldn’t help but feel that if I tried something like that again, Abarat wouldn’t bother toying with me this time.
It wouldn’t take all that much for him to be able to squish me into paste. His curiosity about the plucky human would be gone and all he would see was an obstacle in his way.
Faye noted my mood taking a turn for the darker, moving across the tent and sitting next to me, placing her hand on my shoulder and pulling me in closer to her. It didn’t really need to be said, but this time I wouldn’t be facing Abarat alone. The last time, the priority had been to free the emperor, and Abarat’s appearance there had come as a surprise, forcing us to improvise.
Well, me, anyways. I had ended up taking the brunt of the punishment from that, and it was how Aliana had ended up being his prisoner in the first place. I didn’t want anything like that to happen again, of course, and if we were all working together to keep Abarat contained, working to beat him together, I had the feeling that we would have at least a fighting chance of beating the evil elf.