The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4

by Spencer Pierson

  Aiden didn’t stop the beam that was causing the second Walker to writhe in pain, but he paused and looked at Stitch in alarm. “Wait, you weren’t kidding? There were men that…were dead?”

  Stitch just stared at him for a moment and then nodded slowly, pointing at one of the soldiers following along. “That man right there, the grizzled one, is Sergeant Redah. I helped carry him back myself, and both of his legs had been crushed into pulp. He’d bled out and died about ten minutes ago. Now he’s up and walking, ready to get back into the fight. He didn’t believe any of us when we told him what happened. Two more of them were going to die, and three other were already dead.”

  Right then, the wave of life force from the dying Walker once again smashed into them, making them all reel as if drunk. He could hear some of the men moaning at the supernatural pressure each of their bodies was undergoing, but this time Aiden kept his head more tightly and watched as the forest around him grew, some trees reaching heights that would take years.

  Rather than thin saplings, they were forced to take themselves around and through the trees, almost losing sight of the battle in front of them though they could hear it.

  “Carol, it looks like the Norpon troops are surging forward,” One of the Naiadens said to Carol. “They are trying to engage the wall though they have to move around the debris from the two fallen walkers. It is breaking up their lines, but not on the flanks.”

  “Aiden, do you think your weapon will work against massed troops?” Carol asked. “Keep focusing on those Walkers, but we need to get you to that wall now.”

  “I’m going to try, but I’m having trouble even seeing them over the underbrush, now,” Aiden said, frustrations clear in his voice.

  Before he could say anything further, he was picked up bodily by one of the Naiaden warriors and placed on her massive shoulders. The elevated heights let him see that the second walker had fallen, but he could hear the war cries from thousands of voices. The troops on the wall were firing their bows and crossbows madly, and the Naiadens were firing their weapons down, rather than up at the Walkers. He could only imagine what those weapons were doing to the massed troops, but there were so few of the Naiadens left.

  Oya Dihya was up on the wall, screaming orders both into her helmet and around her. Aiden could clearly see arrows and bolts lodged in various parts of her body. Covered in blood, he was amazed she was still upright. Pointing with his free hand while keeping his death ray focused on now the third walker, he tried to yell over the growing tumult.

  “Over there! Toward Oya Dihya! If I can get close enough, I should be able to help them, and she’s with the thickest collection of troops.”

  The wave of sand-like life kept flowing towards him and then flooding the ground around the walls as they moved closer. The edge of that life-force flood reached the lagging troops and immediately had an effect. Each of the soldiers perked up, moving with more alacrity as they drew and fired their weapons. But along with the living, the dead also rose.

  Those forms, pin-cushioned with the ammunition of the enemy, suddenly straightened and screamed at the pain of what had killed them. Their friends, sometimes wide-eyed and sometimes matter-of-fact, would bend to helping them even while marveling as trees and bushes blossomed. The many fallen Naiadens also rose, far more calmly than anyone had a right, and picked up their massive guns to return their fire to the fray.

  What was worse was seeing the long-dead that might have been buried along the sides of the road or in the deep muck come to life. Some would push their way up, disbelief and confusion clear on their muck-covered faces while horror grew on others at seeing the wall’s they’d given their life to was suddenly in danger of being over-run.

  It was both a beautiful and terrible sight, watching the miracle occur. Most of the soldiers ran to bolster the wall as they could though some simply sat on the ground in confusion. Though their numbers did not bolster the troops overly, new soldiers suddenly running up and taking up position on the wall helped the overall moral.

  Aiden wondered what the soldiers would make of it. What stories they might tell themselves or their grandchildren, but no matter what it might be, he could feel the renewed sense of hope thrum through them all.

  By the end of the third Drogue Walker, Aiden had made it to the wall and stepped on the platform next to Oya Dihya. Looking out over the battlefield, he watched the mass of troops beginning to bypass the slow-moving Walker’s legs. He had no idea how many of the Norpon troops had been crushed under the bulk of the three dead monsters, but it had to have been substantial. There were huge, hill sized pieces of each creature that had bounced and rolled, and in a few clear areas, he could see the number of dead bodies crushed to death by their falling.

  He couldn’t care. He didn’t have time. Instead, he raised his walking stick and coldly looked out on the enemy to send them death.

  The beam took the lives of men far faster than it could defeat the walkers simply because of their mass, letting him play it through their ranks like a water hose amongst ants. Its life-taking seemed almost to spread, destroying hundreds of lives in its passing. He couldn’t just focus on the troops, because the Walkers were still a terrible threat and he wanted to kill them before they got close enough to destroy the walls if they fell, so he alternated with killing soldiers and aiming at giant feet.

  And then it happened.

  A stray arrow, arching down from one of the doomed walkers, thudded solidly through the eyehole of his helmet. The pain was excruciating, making him cry out and stumble backward.

  For a long moment, the battlefield hushed as the Caitrel troops paused in shock and fear. As the death had accumulated, a ghostly blue energy had been seen crawling across Aiden’s body and arms and out along the death ray he’d played over their enemy. Everyone on that battlefield knew who had been wreaking death on them this day, and while the Caitrel and Banum troops held their breath in shock, the Norpon legions all stared in hope.

  So it was, that when Aiden simply stood back up and ripped the arrow from his eye socket, the blue energy once again wrapping him in its embrace, despair finally broke the Norpon army.

  For the first time in their recent history, they well and truly retreated from the battlefield in fear. Even the Drogue Walkers attempted to turn and follow, but they moved too slowly, and Aiden was easily able to wipe the last of them from the field before they could escape.

  Only when the last Walker was destroyed, and there was no enemy left moving on the field, did Aiden drop his arm. Around him, a new forest of tall, ancient trees seemed to stretch for hundreds of meters. The green encompassed and filled the land between the swamps. It was so thick that the enemy wouldn’t have been able to reach them, taking hours to hack through to the walls that were also now green growing trees. Below, there came the sounds of men calling and crying out. Probably many of the old-dead enemy who awoke in a forest they could never have believed possible.

  When he looked around, even Carol was staring at him in awe and some hint of another emotion. Fear. Captain Jackob and Stitch were standing nearby, with Oya Dihya towering above them.

  It was Oya Dihya that broke everyone out of their numbness, her deep, smokey voice ringing out over the now-muffled camp.

  “Captain’s, Lieutenants, and Sergeants gather your men. There will be stragglers, so take them in and come along the wall toward my voice. If you see any of the enemies be sure to take them hostage.” She paused, looking out across the new forest towards the embittered plains beyond where thousands and thousands of bodies lay. “There has been enough killing this day.”

  “Aiden,” said Gavin’s unexpected voice from Aiden’s belt pouch. “Aiden, are you there? We’ve found the Ambassador’s ship.”

  Chapter 26

  It didn’t take Aiden long to find his way to the Betsy though Carol made him promise that he would return to the battle site as quickly as possible. There was a strange look on her face when she had asked, stating that this time mo
re than ever he should attend the death ritual. It was a rite the Naiadens practiced to witness the dead after a battle. He wasn’t sure why she was nervous, but he trusted her enough to know she had a good reason.

  Still, standing on the small deck of the Betsy looking down into the darkness of early morning, he couldn’t help ponder the look Carol had given him before he left. It wasn’t fear. He really couldn’t imagine Carol being afraid of anything, but it was one of caution, and it bothered him. Sometimes, it just made him crazy wielding all of these powers, but still being young. His world was becoming one where the adults, the ones that he had always looked up to, were no longer treating him as a youth. Could he blame them? He had just single-handedly decimated an entire army.

  Gavin stood next to him, with Markam a few steps from the railing. He was holding up the strange, boxy contraption they had taken from the pirates which had attacked them several weeks earlier. They had been sailing to Riften at the time and had been baffled when the pirates had managed to follow them closely at night. This tool that Gavin used now was the reason and allowed to see their target.

  “We found them an hour ago hiding in this deserted bay. Everyone else was searching as far out as they figured the ship could go, but knowing that Ambassador Carsh would want to return your mother as soon as he figured we’d done as he asked, I suspected he might just have ducked in someplace to hide instead of running.” Gavin said, lowering the device and grinning at Aiden. “I was right.”

  “Can you make out anyone on deck?” Aiden said softly, trying in vain to pierce the night and see the ship that had made off with his mother.

  Gavin shook his head, raising the device once again to his eyes and looking through the two glass-covered holes toward the ship. “No, not much. I can make out some figures on the deck at this distance but little else. I want to see what we’re dealing with before we move on them and I’ve called the Stormdancer to meet us here. It will take a few hours.”

  They’ll see us if we’re here when the sun rises, though, won’t they?” Aiden asked, not happy at having to wait. Truthfully he wanted to swoop down right then and there.

  “Yes, but we’re going to move down and hide behind that point of the bay until the Stormdancer arrives. I’ll station a few of the men in the trees within sight of the ship in case they try to leave, but I’m not expecting them too. I think Ambassador Carsh is well and truly convinced his idiot plan is working like a charm and you’re busy saving Caitrel like a good boy.”

  Aiden gritted his teeth. “Isn’t that what I just did?”

  “Gavin nodded, clapping him on the back. “Yes, but you did it because you were going to anyway. Which, by the way, I am happy you did. The people of Caitrel don’t deserve to suffer for one person’s bad idea.”

  “I know. Okay, so it will be a few hours yet until we can save my mother?” Aiden asked.

  “Yes, so you might as well go get some rest, Aiden. I don’t think you’ve slept for a whole day.”

  Aiden nodded, realizing what his friend had said was true. What scared him a little was how fine he felt. He supposed it was just one more effect from traveling through that strange other-realm. However, he knew that if he went below, he would just twist and worry, preferring instead to stay on the deck with Gavin and Markam.

  The crew had quickly accepted Gavin as their new Captain, having survived being chased by the Trench Serpent under his command; they had quickly transferred their loyalties to the youngest son of Duke Terek. Gavin took to it well, falling easily into the leadership role that Aiden had seen hints of at school.

  The skimmer slipped down and hid in the trees and rock outcroppings around the point of the bay. They let two volunteers out on shore to make their way up to the ridge and keep an eye on the Ambassador’s ship. After they had settled, Aiden took the time they had waiting for the Stormdancer to tell Gavin and Markam everything that had happened at Caitrel. By the time he finished, both young men were staring at him wide-eyed.

  “Thousands?” Gavin muttered. “You killed thousands of their troops and the giant beasts?” He leaned forward peering at Aiden’s face as if searching for something. “And you took an arrow to the eye. Aiden, I don’t see even a scar. That had to have hurt, right?”

  “Yes. It hurt quite a lot, actually.” Aiden said, grimacing at the memory. “To tell you the truth, it happened so quickly. I was standing there and suddenly there was this blackness and pain. I didn’t even know what happened for a moment until I saw the shaft with my other eye. I thought it had just grazed the side of my head and stuck in my helmet.” Aiden paused, shivering. “It just kept hurting horribly with a strange, buzzing sensation all on the left side so I reached up and pulled. It hurt, but also felt like removing a scab. Before I knew it, I yanked it out and threw it. I remember thinking there was way more blood than I was expecting. Then I could see again.”

  “Gods, I can’t even imagine seeing that much less doing it,” Gavin said softly, shaking his head. That’s got to have been a sight. Eh, no pun intended.”

  Aiden nodded, looking out at the dark forest nearby. “I think a lot of people saw it. After I pulled it out and began attacking again, there were a lot of the troops on our side looking at me.” Aiden sighed softly, leaning on the railing of the skimmer. “I didn’t like some of the looks I saw. I don’t want anyone to be afraid of me.”

  Gavin started to tell Aiden not to let it get to him, but Markam interrupted quietly. “They will be, Aiden. There will be a lot of people that will be afraid of you now. You killed thousands of troops and creatures no man has any right to be able to kill. By yourself. There’s no way that people aren’t going to see you and think of that. You have to prepare yourself for it, because a lot of things that men fear they also begin to hate.”

  Aiden and Gavin just stared at Markam for a long moment until finally Gavin nodded, letting out a long breath. “He’s right, Aiden. Truthfully my father would say the same thing. As good of a man as my father is, he’s powerful and no matter what he does, there are a lot of his subjects that would spit in his food if given a chance, or worse. There’s just no way to sit down with each and every person and talk to them, and a lot of people can’t understand that and see it as disrespect.”

  “Maybe that’s why Carol was looking at me like that before I left,” Aiden said glumly. “I don’t think she’d fear me, really, but how could you not think someone might become a monster after doing something like that?” Aiden sighed and then looked askance at Markam. “I liked you better when you just glowered at me.”

  Monster. Who had said something like that recently? It toyed with him just on the edge of his consciousness for several minutes, but he couldn’t remember, try as he might.

  It was about then that the Stormdancer arrived, coming in low over the waves. It had been light for over an hour, but from the direction it came in they were sure that neither the Ambassador nor his crew had seen the massive skimmer.

  After a brief consultation with each other, both Skimmers simply rose above the trees and moved quickly over the sea-bound vessel. As expected, the Caitrel sailors put up no fight while the overweight Ambassador stood on the deck with his hands behind his back, smiling at them as the boarding ramp tapped lightly on their deck.

  “Ha! I didn’t think any of you Terek folk would be smart enough to figure out my little trick!” Carsh barked, smirking at them as if he was the one that had cornered them. “I’m happy to be proven wrong. Quite happy, really. Now, before you come any closer, I’m going to have to ask whomever your ranking officer is if your Duke has come to his senses and told his pet wizard to help us. I’d hate for something unfortunate to happen to his mother. Say, a knife slip too close to her eye, which if you continue to come any closer, I’m afraid will happen.”

  Stelios held his hand up, keeping the troops back though there were quite a few crossbows pointed at the Ambassador and his crew. Not a few of the Ambassador's sailors were sweating and had quickly laid down anything tha
t might even remotely look like a weapon. After Stelios had made sure the few soldiers he’d brought onto the ship, along with Aiden and Gavin, had stopped, he took a half step forward and set his dark brown eye critically on the Ambassador.

  “Ambassador Carsh, I assure you if that were to happen, I very seriously doubt if there would be much more left of you or your men to put back into a box to be sent back to Duke Caitrel. A small box,” Stelios said, holding his hand out with a finger and thumb held only a small ways apart.

  “Please, Captain,” Carsh said with a well-practiced sneer, “leave the threats to the practiced, won’t you? We both know you and your men won’t be doing anything to me now that you’ve caught my men and me.”

  “But you haven’t surrendered, Ambassador,” Stelios said evenly. “And I’ve happened to have told my soldiers how you treated our Duchess. My female soldiers have been quite keen to have a discussion with you about that. Besides, how are we supposed to give you proof that the Duke’s pet wizard had done anything you’ve asked? Or hasn’t just shown up at Caitrel castle and reduced it to rubble.”