by Hal Emerson
“Wha - reinforcements?”
Leah didn’t respond – she was busy trying to dispel more blue lines that had clouded her vision.
“Not now!” she grunted harshly at herself, and once more the lines disappeared just as they formed into the vision of her brother, Davydd, sitting astride a horse between his Ashandel partner Lorna and the Kindred Commander of the Light Infantry and Horse, Autmaran.
“Davydd?” she asked, stunned, of no one in particular.
“Eshendai!” Tomaz called down to her, pointing over the side of the Wall.
For the first time, she was able to actually take in the sight before her. Soldiers in the tan and gray colors of Tibour surrounded the whole gate and accompanying section of wall. There were thousands upon thousands of them, and the size of the army was breathtaking. The whole of the Outer City was gone as if it had never been, and all that remained in its place were the dying embers of the towering wooden shacks the Commons had once called home, now smoldering and letting off huge gouts of smoke and steam as the rain continued to pour down out of the sky. A huge swath of the resulting muck had been cleared from the main road, giving the Imperials a perfect path up to the gate, and even from this distance Leah could see they had piled up twisted, burnt forms along the side of the road that had been found in the rubble.
Some of the Commons never made it out.
But beyond this, past the broken ring of wooden teeth that encircled the gapping maw that was now Banelyn, was amassed another force, one that was charging forward through the rubble, riding under the streaming banner of the Kindred.
As soon as Leah recognized the rose and sword banner, she turned and ran forward to the waiting siege ladders that were still spewing forth Imperial soldiers, Tomaz hot on her heels. They killed three soldiers apiece before those around them realized what was happening, and this spurred the others to action. Shouts went up all around them and the battle began anew, the Kindred heartened and the Imperials panicked.
There can’t be more than a few thousand out there, Leah thought to herself. It can’t be reinforcements from Vale. Where else would we have –?
The image of Davydd came to her again, and this time she saw him wounded, struck in the shoulder by an arrow and knocked from his horse. His face was different though – it was half burned, with golden veins that pulsed and seemed to hum. Blue lines covered him, and suddenly she saw him facing off against a Wolf, full grown and powerful. Davydd attacked; the Wolf caught his arm in its teeth, pulled him to the ground, and crushed his throat between its jaws.
The images faded.
“By the Veil – why does everyone need saving?!”
She ran forward to the nearest ladder, dodging between confused Imperial soldiers, who followed her only to be cut down by Tomaz from behind.
“Where are you going?” he called out above the fray, sounding frantic.
“Davydd and Lorna and Autmaran are leading that force!” she cried back. “They need our help – we need to get them past the Wall!”
“What – how the hell are we going to do that?”
“Just keep them off my back while I clear the ladder!”
Without a further word, she turned to the huge siege ladder and looked down. Men were still climbing it, at least a dozen on the ladder itself and three times that number behind them at the bottom, waiting their turn.
Leah drew a deep breath and silenced her mind. She reached into her daggers, pulling her consciousness out of herself and sending it into the two curved blades. She could feel the steel – it was a part of her, like any of her arms or legs. With a shout, she leapt to the top of the battlements, so far out now that one wrong step would send her sprawling to her death, and hurled her daggers downward.
The first man raised his shield, thinking it would save him. The daggers sank into the wood and kept going. Leah grunted with the effort, and growled out a string of curses. The daggers sliced through the man behind the shield, and he fell sprawling backward, knocking loose two others with him. With a quick tug of motion, Leah pulled the daggers back to her with her mind, and they came spinning through the air to her hands. She repeated the process again twice more in quick succession, even as arrows flew up at her, one even coming so close that it cut a line of red pain across her cheek.
But those at the base of the ladder had far more pressing things to worry about, and so quickly gave up the fight against the Spellblade girl. They ran from the Wall, trying to form up a double line of attack, even as Kindred bowmen brought down scores of them in their confusion. The Imperial horns were blowing, trying frantically to turn the host about to confront the charging cavalry force, but it was too late.
The mounted Kindred struck the line where it was weakest – the bowmen had been pushed into the center over the weakened gate, where they could best bring down the defenders trying to attack the battering ram that had just moved into place. A pair of Earth Daemons flanked it, and they did not falter in their task, but instead began to pound away at the gate, throwing the huge cluster of tree trunks into the weakened gate over and over. The Kindred tore through the archers and ripped apart their lines in a matter of seconds, and then were into the confused lines of the infantry behind them. Cries filled the air as the battle began in earnest, and Leah saw her opening.
“Let’s go!” she called to Tomaz. She jumped over the Wall, grabbed the smooth sides of the ladder with her leather gloves, and let her feet go out from under her.
She shot down the ladder, her hands burning even through the gauntlets, and with a thud that resonated up her legs and shook her entire body, came to a rest in the debris and mud covered stone of the Outer City. She looked up and saw the huge form of Tomaz jump off from the wall, and she quickly dodged away as the giant came shooting down behind her.
She turned and ran for the fray, her daggers at the ready, knowing Tomaz would be only moments behind her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw others following them, men and women in the green, gold and silver were streaming down not just this ladder but others as well. Arrows continued to arch out from the Wall by the hundreds, taking down the Imperials in droves as they tried to form up to defend themselves from both sides.
She hit the first line of Imperials and passed right through, using the bulky armor of the soldiers to her advantage and simply sinking her daggers into the armor chinks that appeared when they turned their heads. Two others stepped up to engage her, but a shadow passed overhead, between whatever faint torchlight was left and them, and Leah threw herself to the ground as Tomaz’s greatsword Malachi parted the men from their heads.
And then other Kindred were there with her, a huge wave that continued to grow as more descended the ladder, and she was leading the charge through the Imperial force, looking frantically for her brother, Davydd.
How are we going to get them back over the Wall?
Blue lines once more crossed her vision, and formed into an image of the Earth Daemons at the Wall cracking through the gate with their enormous ram. She shook her head and the lines disappeared, just in time for her to duck a sword blow and slice the throat of the man behind it.
She shot a glance over her shoulder and saw the gate still closed. The metal was twisting, and even though the wood was holding strong, it was only a matter of time. But if the Kindred could take the area around the gate at the same time the Daemons broke it open….
“TOMAZ!”
“WHAT?!”
“GO KILL THE DAEMONS!”
“What the – WOMAN, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!”
“JUST DO IT!”
Tomaz ran off in the direction of the gate, fighting through Imperial soldiers as he did. As she watched him, something caught her eye off to the side – among the mounted Kindred force were men and women fighting in Commoner brown, bringing their number from a couple thousand to twice that number.
Shadows and fire, where did they come from?
More Imperial horns began to sound – but not the call of retreat
.
The men she was fighting heard the horns and immediately disengaged and fell back – not toward the opposing Kindred forces, but instead sideways, further along the Wall. Leah jerked her head around to the other side of the battle and saw that there too the Kindred had been left chasing a force that was making it’s way farther down the Wall.
By the gods, that’s clever. This is the farthest forward the Wall goes – if they run far enough and we pursue, our archers will be out of range and they can bring their numbers to bear and squeeze us in the vice we just had them in.
“FALL BACK TO THE GATE!” she cried to the gathered Kindred. “The enemy is regrouping – fall back!”
Those who saw her and knew her listened without question, and those who didn’t were dragged along. The two Kindred forces had met and mingled now, having cracked the enemy down the middle and temporarily cleared a space before them. Leah turned and searched the crowd frantically. A figure on a rearing stallion caught her eye.
“Davydd!” she cried and ran for him, but before she’d even arrived she saw the profile was wrong. The warrior turned to her, and she saw that it was Autmaran.
“Autmaran!” she called, rushing forward. “Where is my brother? Is he safe?”
“He’s more than safe!” the commander called out in a fit of exhilaration that had him laughing even as he gasped for air. He flung his arm out and she saw Davydd and a group of men engaged with what remained of the Imperial force. Something about them tickled something in the back of her mind though, and suddenly she was afraid.
The colors … the colors are too dark. Why are the colors dark?
And then one of the men moved and the personal standard of Dysuna, in a deeper tan and gray than the common infantry, was revealed behind it.
“NO!”
She ran forward with all her speed, leaving Autmaran behind her. As she approached, she saw Dysuna herself step forward and unsheathe a pair of curved daggers, almost identical to Leah’s but longer and thicker.
Blue light flashed across the scene, throwing off her sight and disorienting her. It came from the sky – lightning. The rain had tapered off, but the clouds were still black and roiling. Lightning flashed again, crackling directly above them, no doubt drawn by the presence of the Daemons and the Bloodmagic that powered them. The thunder was so loud it shook the ground and threw a number of sword swings wide. The energy in the air was so intense it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
She turned her eyes earthbound once more. The fighters had shifted, and Dysuna was gone, but she could still see Davydd’s group – could see his broad Valerium sword cutting down soldiers with frenzied haste. Leah readied her daggers and went for him, cutting her way between two men who stepped across her path.
The crowd parted, and she saw Dysuna again; a spike of excitement that reeked of vengeance and hate flashed through her like the lightning above, and she saw her chance to end this all right then and there. She reached inside herself to quiet her mind, to touch her daggers and activate their Spellblade enchantments, but something stopped her at the last second. There was that other part of her now, that new bundle of energy hanging suspended inside her. It was a blue haze, nebulous and flowing. Even as she noticed it, she felt it reach deeper inside of her, coiling around her insides, ingraining itself, making it indistinguishable from who she was. What she did next felt so natural – it was like opening a door in her mind that had been locked since birth, a door that gave flashes and glimpses of brilliance to her, but never fully formed comprehension. She reached out and touched that door, and it disappeared in a flash of sapphire light.
Blue shapes and figures exploded across her view of the battlefield, rushing, expanding, multiplying before her eyes, until they covered everything, all the men and women fighting on the field of Banelyn.
But the haze didn’t touch the woman in gray – the Prince of Wolves. Dysuna stood alone, untouched by the Aspect, a gray fighter with a helm shaped like a weeping woman, with feet and hands bare and glowing with savage gray halos, grim as a reaper’s blade.
I can’t touch her – I can’t break through.
She continued forward, seeing in blue fore-images everything that would happen along her path. Men attacked her, only to find themselves half a second too late, with a dagger already in their throat. An arrow fell from the sky and would have taken her in the side, but she stepped away and it thudded harmlessly into the muddy ground.
But fear still filled her. Davydd dispatched the last Imperial soldier between him and Dysuna, and stepped forward with a manic grin on his face. Dysuna fell into a ready stance, and Leah suddenly realized Davydd wasn’t wearing armor; he’d been relying totally on his newfound power, trusting in his luck.
But the Talismans didn’t work when they were next to each other.
“Davydd! WAIT!”
She saw it happen twice, once in the blue haze of fore-vision and a half-second later in the harsh light of reality. An arrow, shot from the Wall, went wide and fell toward the pair of them. Davydd didn’t turn – didn’t even see it coming. But in that moment, standing so close to Dysuna, his luck failed him, and the shaft pierced his side all the way to the feathered haft. He didn’t cry out, didn’t make a single move. The only thing that changed was his expression: shock and disbelief replaced contempt and condescension. He fell to his knees, and as he did Dysuna stepped forward and pulled off her helm, staring down at him with a snarling, feral animus ten times more woeful than the crying mask she’d just removed.
“THIS IS FOR MY BROTHER!” she howled, the words echoing over the battlefield. She raised her arm –
Leah broke through the final crowd of soldiers; both of the Exile girl’s daggers sliced through the air toward Dysuna’s face, and both struck true. Dysuna was impaled, both through the neck and the left side of her head. She fell, and didn’t rise. Leah ran to Davydd, and saw immediately there was nothing she could do for him. The shaft was too deep – this was beyond battlefield healing; they needed a surgeon. Even moving him would be risking much – but he couldn’t stay here.
Leah looked up and reached out to the nebulous blue light of her Talisman – and found it missing.
Wait … why would – ?
Davydd’s eyes suddenly shifted and focused, breaking through his shock and pain – focused on something behind her –
“Leah,” he gasped, “move!”
She spun and rolled, and felt a tug on her hair as a pair of daggers cut through the space where her neck had been mere seconds before.
Dysuna stood there, the wounds in her neck and head glowing with gray light. As Leah watched, her daggers were pushed from the wounds and fell, harmless, to the ground.
Her Talisman works!
The Wolf Talisman, the Talisman of endurance and will, died down to the glow of banked embers seen through smoke, and Dysuna lunged at Leah. The Exile girl moved back, dodging and weaving with all her skill, but still the Prince of Wolves scored a dozen hits across her arms and legs in as many passes. There was no way out of this – no way to escape a truly skilled knife fighter. Leah knew it – she was one of them.
Dysuna’s daggers flashed again, leaving another stinging laceration along her arm.
Shadows and fire!
She rolled, reaching for her daggers with both her mind and her hands, but as they flew toward her Dysuna struck both of them from the air and sent them flying in different directions.
It was over – there was no way Leah could win this without her weapons. She rushed Dysuna, and the Wolf simply moved aside and tripped her, giving her two new gashes along the side of her face as she went.
A white axe smashed into the Wolf’s side and sent her crashing to the ground.
Lorna, Davydd’s Ashandel partner, yanked the axe from the body of Dysuna and swung it high to bring it down in a killing blow. Blinding light pulsed from the Wolf’s side, and she rolled away as Lorna came after her again. Lorna pursued, only stopping long enough to lock
her stoic, implacable gaze on Leah.
“Get him out of here,” she said simply.
Leah nodded once, and Lorna spun away, roaring a challenge at the fallen Child. Leah pulled her daggers with her mind, and they finally came spinning all the way back into her hands. A rush of relief went through her, and the wounds she’d sustained no longer seemed so dire. She turned to Davydd. He was too big for her to carry; she needed help.
A group of Kindred were fighting nearby, engaged with the last remaining Imperials in a small pocket of empty space. Leah threw her daggers, killing two enemy soldiers. The Kindred turned to her in surprise, and she immediately motioned them forward.
“Is that –?”
“Yes! Grab him – hurry!”
Two of them picked him up immediately, ignoring his shouts of pain, while the others spun, scanning the area for approaching soldiers. Leah took the time to look at the distant gate again – she saw the form of the Daemons fighting a man that was larger than life, a man that flowed with a blood red light. She glanced too at the two sides of the Imperial army and saw they had finished their maneuver. Horns sounded again, and the two halves of the enemy army charged toward the Kindred in the center.
“Go for the gate,” Leah told them. “Sound the retreat – get everyone back!”
The rain began to fall again in earnest, and Leah felt the heavy weight of Aemon’s Blade still slung across her back, weighing her down. Somewhere in the mess of battle was Raven. He needed that sword – why, she didn’t know. But somehow, in her heart of hearts, in that door that had opened deep inside her, she knew that without it, something unspeakable would be released. There was a darkness descending over the field that was more than physical, more than a simple absence of light.
And somehow, with a growing sense of dread, she knew Raven was at the center of it.
Chapter Five: Loyalty
Lorna raised her gore-covered battle-axe and stove in the head of another Imperial Defender in the gray and tan of Tibour. With a quick twist, she spun the double-bladed weapon free and turned back to face Dysuna, only to find the Wolf gone.