by Jeff Gunzel
Not all the ghatins had been absorbed. Those that still roamed about were hitting them from behind as they tried to deal with the giants. Cowardly, but effective hit-and-run strikes were now further depleting their forces.
A white orb came streaking in, smashing one of the giants right between the eyes. It roared, stumbling back as it shook its head. Unlike all the other attacks, that one actually hurt it! It hadn’t broken the creature, or even penetrated that granite shell, but it had caused it a great deal of pain, which was more than anyone else had been able to do so far.
After ordering the tarrins to stand down, Assirra marched out further onto the battlefield. She knew there was nothing her people could do against these things. They had already done all they could, so there was no reason to further risk their lives with nothing to gain.
She marched across the grass as glowing white spheres rotated around her head. The lerwicks had all but backed away from the giants, and were now splitting their attention between the random ghatins striking at them from behind, and this tarrin marching fearlessly across the battlefield.
What was that tarrin doing?
With the subtlest of gestures, Assirra pointed a finger and the orbs streaked away. Pounding another giant right in the chest with thundering booms, it stumbled backward against the massive blows. But other than a few burn marks on its chest, it was really no worse for wear. In fact, it seemed to be less affected than the first one.
Blinking in disbelief, Assirra stopped in her tracks. Those were direct hits, and they had done practically no damage. In a not so subtle motion, she threw her hands in the air and began twirling them in circles. More spheres formed, only these were a fiery red color. Spinning once over her head, they shot up into the sky like speeding comets. Warping, twisting, they transformed into flaming birds. Soaring around in a sweeping circle, they came streaking back down with reckless speed.
Speeding toward the giants, the screeching birds hammered into two of them. Exploding on impact, they flashed like exploding stars. The giants roared, their huge arms flailing away at their own burning bodies. Instantly consumed by billowing smoke and rolling flame, they disappeared behind a cloud of black smoke.
All looked on, watching the rolling smoke boil in place. Movement could be seen from within, and a moment later the giants came rushing out. Unharmed, but extremely angry, they charged straight toward the nearest group of lerwicks.
As if feeding off their aggression, the other giants also burst into motion. Up until now they had showed minimal interest. It was almost as if they were testing the enemy with their own bodies. Now it was time to simply eliminate the little pests.
Lerwicks scattered as the first giant rumbled in. Fast as they were, the ghatin monstrosity also moved with shocking speed. Nothing about these creatures was natural. How such beasts could move so quickly, or weigh so much when it suited them, was completely unexplainable. Those who couldn’t step aside in time were smashed into the ground.
Another roared as a fresh set of glowing spheres pounded the back of its head. It whirled about, only to take two more right between the eyes. Assirra could hurt them on some level, but she knew she couldn’t defeat them. Killing them was no longer the objective, not for her, anyway. It was time for her to make up for her years of helplessness, years of her friends and followers protecting her because she was too weak.
It was time to pay back her debt...
As ghostly faces swirled and boiled around her, she drained them as fast as they appeared. Hurling spheres, she spaced them out so they hit each monstrosity in sequence. Irritated roars signaled the success of each attack, further drawing all the beasts’ attention toward her. Downed lerwicks dared to look up as the monsters simply moved away from them, thankfully never dropping the killing blow.
Backing away, Assirra kept up with her savage assault. Again and again she pounded them, making sure to hit their most vital areas. It still wouldn’t kill them, but she could at least keep them off balance while still drawing all their aggression towards her. Unable to simply charge straight through the hammering projectiles, they lumbered toward her at a steady pace.
Waiting...backing away while drawing them in...she suddenly halted the assault and threw her hands in the air. The ground began to shake, rumbling beneath their feet like a massive earthquake. Large cracks began to spider outward along the rumbling ground.
Face and neck trembling with strain, sweat streaming from her temples, she knew she was fast approaching her limits. All her power, all her energy, was being funneled through her body. This seemed like a battle they couldn’t win. She knew she had to accept that. But if she could just draw them away from her friends and hit them with everything she had, she could make peace with her own death. It would have to be enough.
Eyes blazing as they projected a fiery orange light as bright as any star, Assirra let out a scream never heard by mortal ears. It was an earsplitting, otherworldly wail, that shook the trees and sent birds into flight.
The ground erupted as jagged cracks ripped wide open, revealing a series of deep black caverns. Ancient stones buried deep within the ground came grinding up, looking like mountains levitating in the air.
Wailing again, her arms rotated in sweeping circles above her head. Groaning as if they were alive, the mighty stones began to circle the entire battlefield. Faster and faster they whirled, hissing and whistling as they cut the air. Hair waving about, with ghostly faces rolling and boiling around her, she threw her arms down and let out another unworldly shriek.
Using their built-up momentum, the massive stones spun back and thundered into the giants, hammering them with unimaginable force. Exploding on impact, the stones shattered into powder. The sound was deafening. Crackling booms echoed for miles around as clouds of blinding dust and debris swallowed up the battlefield.
Soaked with sweat, fluttering eyelid fighting to stay open, Assirra dropped to her knees. She smiled a sleepy grin as she swayed. “I gave everything I had,” she whispered. Head spinning, she blew out a sharp breath. “It has to be enough. It has to be.” Eyes rolling back in her head as she tipped forward, her face bounced off the grass.
Chapter 26
Viola swiped at her eyes, blinking against the choking dust as she coughed and wheezed. “Assirra!” She waved her hands, trying to cut her way through the sandy cloud. “Where are you?” Although unable to see her friend, she managed to catch a glimpse of several large outlines stumbling about.
Impossible! They were still standing... How could anything have survived that?
How could such creatures exist?
Her heart sank like a stone. What was the world asking of her? How could this burden fall onto any one person? Steeling herself, she raised her hand in the air, open palm facing back. Nearby lerwicks saw the signal and began relaying it down the line by mimicking her pose.
Whether mocking them, or just no longer viewing them as a threat, the giants stood still as the haze began to thin. Even the ghatins were showing no outward aggression as they hovered like hung sheets, their bodies rippling in what could only be interpreted as mocking laughter.
Still with her hand in the air, what lerwicks remained marched over and began forming up at her back. It was a rallying cry, a last call to mount a final charge. Despite the impossible task before them, not a single lerwick had fled the battlefield. They had followed her this far, and were determined to see it to the end. Jarlen marched up with his remaining men, motioning for them to join the others while he stood by her side. Around a hundred in all, there were few options left.
Jarlen sighed, then looked down at his sister. “If I could go back, if I had a chance to do it all again, I would do it all differently. You know that, right?”
Viola returned her gaze to the battlefield, eyeing the monumental task standing before them. “Of course I do,” she said. “But none of that matters now.”
“No, I suppose it does not,” Jarlen admitted. He knew there was really nothing keeping him here. He could run
, of course, thus sparing his own life for a few extra days. But he didn’t. For some reason, he just couldn’t. This would be his last match in the pit, the one he couldn’t possibly win. Strangely, he found it easy to make peace with that.
“Follow her.”
Viola glanced over her shoulder. The lerwick at her back stood ready, blades already extended, ready to charge at a moment’s notice. Smiling, she gave Viola an acknowledging nod.
“Follow her,” she repeated, clanging her blades together one time.
Follow her... Follow her... Follow her...
Whispered at first, Viola heard those words repeated. The chant became contagious, and soon it was coming from everywhere. Blades clanged together as feet stomped the grass.
They would follow her...
And they would die at her side without any regrets.
Jarlen flexed his arms, his flesh blades extending for what would probably be the last time. Those who hadn’t done so already did the same. Viola lowered her head, one foot back.
Follow me.
Across the field she charged.
Time seemed to slow as her feet mashed into the soft ground. What was normally her top speed seemed to be taking forever as the giants slowly came up on her. Charging at her back, she could hear the thundering sound of the lerwicks streaking across the battlefield. True to their word, they would follow her to the end.
It was so loud, a booming sound like raging thunder.
How could she hear them so easily? Perhaps the rush of adrenaline had heightened her senses. The ground rumbled beneath her feet like a mini earthquake. How could so few sound like such a massive army? What was happening?
Her concentration broken, Viola whipped her head around. Impossible... How can this be?!
Humans, hundreds of warriors, had appeared out of nowhere and joined in their final charge. War cries filled the air as they sprinted next to the lerwicks. Bodies streaked with red and white paint, they twirled their spears about with savage speed.
They came from everywhere, charging up over the hills and across the field from all sides. To Viola’s surprise, the first wave tore straight through the ghatins hovering around the outer edge of the battlefield. She had never see a human hurt them before, but their weapons seemed to be destroying them just as easily as lerwick blades.
The ghatins’ shrill screams rang out as they burned, and it was music to her ears.
Viola heard a rumbling, clacking sound, one she was all too familiar with. A second later, a spray of orange projectiles fired across the field, hitting one of the giants right in the chest. Not unlike Assirra’s white orbs, the spray of energy did have some effect. The giant roared, stumbling back as its chest blackened from the energy bolts.
The first wave hit as the charging humans crashed into one of the giants. Spears and daggers slashed and pierced, each strike resulting in a hiss of burning shell. Their special weapons actually seemed to be having a modest effect on these beasts. But when the first wave could not bring it down with the initial strike, they quickly paid the ultimate price.
A thick, tree trunk arm swept down across them, clearing out dozens of humans with a single strike. Crushing them into pulp, broken body parts went tumbling through the air.
Even after watching what had become of their brothers and sisters, the second wave of A’zara came crashing in without the slightest hesitation. Stabbing, slashing, they displayed all the skill and brute force of any fighting force. These were not royal knights, nor were they mercenaries of any sort.
The A’zara had trained their whole lives for this, and were dangerous on a completely different level.
Again they struck with voracious tenacity, then quickly died for their efforts. It was the price they were willing to pay. By the time the third wave hit, the giants had backed up into each other. They were winning each confrontation but taking heavy damage in the process. Did these humans have no survival instincts? Why would they keep throwing away their lives so recklessly? Where they insane, or just committed on a level that these beasts simply couldn’t understand?
Seizing the opportunity, Viola charged forward and leapt into the air. Twisting and spinning, her whirling blackbird form drifted up toward the first giant’s head. The beast saw her coming, but could do nothing about it while fending off the wild, reckless humans surrounding it. Angry birds ripped across the giant’s face, pecking and clawing at its shelled skin.
Although it was much like trying to peck through a boulder, the attack managed to cause several scraps and cuts. Superficial and small, yet they steamed and sizzled like splashes of acid. Could it be? Were these beasts finally starting to weaken under the humans’ relentless assault?
Melting back together, her human shape reformed up on the back of his shoulders. Her legs wrapping around his neck, Viola hammered her flesh blade down into the back of his head. It howled, throwing its shoulders back in an attempt to buck her off.
Clinging with everything she had, she drove her blade down again and again. Sparks flared off with each clanging strike as tiny, jagged scratches began to expand. Sizzling, steaming with an acrid scent, they festered like so many others forming across its lower body.
More black funnels whirled past as black birds clawed viciously at the giant’s chest and face. Arms flailing, it let out a howling cry. Its many wounds began to shine a brilliant white light as if there was a shining star inside its belly. Shaking, trembling, its mouth opened wide as a stream of billowing black smoke came rolling out.
With a series of snapping sounds, its outer shell began to flake apart bit by bit. Human spears and flesh blades alike struck quickly, tenaciously. Now with only limited obstruction, they were able to bite deep into soft flesh.
With a violent twitch, the giant’s body exploded from within. A spray of smoke and sparkles filled the shell before oozing out onto the ground. What was left of the beast toppled over while humans and lerwicks kept stabbing away.
They had done it. They had actually killed it!
Viola whipped her head around, scanning the battlefield to try and evaluate their status. Yes, through a massive effort that came at an unthinkable price in the form of lives lost, they had killed one. One... But there were several more, and those giants were now taking this organized resistance quite seriously. Holding back nothing, the giants were on the attack.
Everything felt like a dream, a hazy reality creeping along in slow motion. With movement coming from all directions, it was hard for her to focus on any one thing. Giants stomped and clubbed, killing humans and lerwicks at a frightening pace. Orange projectiles slammed one’s chest, driving it back a few steps. But it quickly regained its balance and kept on killing.
Arrows and bolts continued to rain down from the city wall. The humans had not yet fled back into the city. And although their attacks were futile, they continued to fight for their lives.
She watched her brother leap up onto the face of another, stabbing wildly while skillfully dodging every attack thrown his way. A’zara surrounding it fought like titans, then died with the next clubbing sweep. Tobias flashed about, appearing to be in multiple places at once. Slashing and dodging with speed and precision, he would fight by Jarlen’s side until the bitter end.
And all she could do was watch as wave after wave met the same fate.
The scene was surreal.
A dream, it’s all just a terrible dream. This can’t be real.
Frozen in place, Viola couldn’t find the will to move. It wasn’t fright that paralyzed her—in fact, she felt nothing at all. The surrounding death, the endless violence, it just didn’t feel real.
You can’t just stand here. They need your help. She wanted to charge back in, to die at the side of her brothers and sisters if need be, but her legs betrayed her. Mind in a fog, her attention shifted across the battlefield, past the giants, past the humans and lerwicks still giving up their lives.
How can it be? Her legs unable to sustain her another second, Viola dropped to h
er knees as a flood of emotions threatened to consume her. Was it really him? It shamed her that it was the only thing she could focus on while her brothers and sisters were dying. But in that fleeting moment, the battle seemed to disappear from her vision.
Side by side, Xavier and Aurabelle came marching down the far hill. Their eyes were stone cold, expressionless, focused. Drawing closer to the battle, their bodies began to change. Scales crept down the sides of their faces as one eye blackened, and their arms withered into vines.
With a roar, they suddenly broke into full sprints.
Galloping like panthers, they charged the first giant. Their withered arms snapping like whips, they each wrapped one of his legs. The beast howled as its legs began to smoke, their touch alone proving to be incredibly toxic. Squeezing like boas, they cut straight through the outer shell as if it weren’t even there. Sizzling, smoking, both legs were instantly crushed before being torn off completely.
Screeching, its broken torso hit the ground as swarming A’zara worked to finish it off. In a flash, Xavier and Aurabelle had practically killed the creature all by themselves.
Xavier reared back, then drove his arm straight into the ground all the way up to his shoulder. His glowing white vine of an arm came bursting back up near the feet of another giant. Twisting, wrapping it like a snake, the vine coiled its way up around the beast’s entire body. Squeezing, crushing, it cut deep into its body.
Swarming humans backed away while lerwicks jumped off its back. This was a one-man show, and if anything, they might get themselves killed by getting in the way.
Brilliant white light came pouring out from the deep wounds as the vine continued to squeeze. Shrieking in pain, it threw back its trembling head as waves of rolling black smoke came spiraling from its mouth. The vines collapsed in on themselves, completely crushing its body in a spray of sparkles and smoke.
Aurabelle marched along the other side of the battlefield, her withered arm snapping and cracking like a live whip. Severing arms and heads with each snap, she left a path of pure destruction wherever she went. The beasts would have run if they could, but the lerwicks and humans had them fully engaged, keeping them in place while cutting off any possible retreat.