Wrath Games

by B. T. Narro

  The feeling slowly faded over the next hour in which I heard nothing more from them. I couldn’t wait patiently any longer and decided to approach.

  “Sir?” I questioned.

  He gave me an irritated look. “Strategy takes time. Go back and wait.”

  Another hour passed before the commander beckoned to me. I hurried over.

  “It will take two days just to reach the villages again,” he said. “They could be decimated by terrislaks by the time we get there. We need to stay in the hills.” He pointed south, where they’d walked around the hills naked of trees. “Our archers and mages are strong. We might have a chance against twice our numbers, so that’s what we’ll do.”

  “The terrislaks couldn’t reach the villages in two days. I would’ve seen them coming if they were that close. I could reach the villages by midday tomorrow on horse. Have your men come south, and you’ll get my support as well as the villagers’ in addition to the protection of their walls.”

  He shook his head as if I didn’t understand something. “There’s no support for us there. One in fifty owns a sword. One in a hundred owns a bow. One in a thousand knows how to use either. Their roofs are made of straw. They’re weakened from hunger and angry at us for the food and lodging we required as we waited for King Quince’s message. They’re on the verge of running out of sustenance because of the rain, many slaughtering their last pig as we speak. Battle would sweep through their land like a hurricane, terrislaks or not. The villages are not where we want to be.”

  “I’ll take care of the terrislaks and then help you fight. But I can’t help you unless you come.”

  “You might be able to soar like bird, but you’re still only one man. I’m going to march my men back to the hill we crossed, and that’s where we’ll stay.”

  “And if Marteph’s men travel around you?”

  “Then we’ll let them pass.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Rao and I crossed many miles before the cold night forced us to stop.

  By morning, we seemed close enough for me to get a good look at the rural land of these villages. I lifted myself into the air for a glimpse, my cloak whipping behind me in the wind.

  Scattered within the wide oval of trees ahead appeared to be four distinct villages, each separated by a few rows of pines. Coming from the north, we would be approaching the oval of trees’ long side, meaning the time it took to ride straight for a village on the end rather than in the center would be negligible.

  Either by luck or as a sign I was improving, I came down only twenty feet from where I’d left the ground. I told Rao what I saw, then asked him to tell me which village was Maywair so we could go there first, figuring Lord Crall could help me gather everyone to fight.

  Maywair turned out to be near the center anyway, though my heart sank with disappointment when I saw it up close. The houses appeared fragile enough for bad weather to take them down, unpainted wood unevenly built with roofs of thatch. Seeing the hungry faces of the inhabitants nearly made me lose hope until I bundled it back together, now tightly holding on.

  The exact placement of Lord Crall’s mansion had slipped Rao’s mind. Fortunately its height, being twice that of any other home in the village, made it easy to find. Made of brick and surrounded by a wooden fence painted white, it stood out like a farmer using a hoe made of crystal. It just didn’t belong.

  “What would Lord Crall do if he saw you?” I asked the child.

  “I can’t say, but I don’t imagine him leaving me alone.”

  “Then you should wait here where you won’t be seen.” We’d put several farms between us. “I’ll come back for you.”

  “Find out about Brijit.”

  “I will.”

  A man in his thirties stood in the rain at the mouth of Lord Crall’s fence. He showed me an even stare as I approached.

  “I’m Neeko, a mage in King Quince’s army. I need to speak to Lord Crall about an imminent attack.”

  After a quick lift of his eyebrows, the guard motioned for me to walk with him. “Who’s attacking?”

  “Terrislaks first, possibly an army of ten thousand after that.”

  He grabbed my shoulder. “Is this some sort of jape?”

  “It’s the truth.”

  He had a quick laugh. “Your conversation with Lord Crall should be amusing if nothing else. Let me first take your weapons.”

  I handed him my two short swords, then my dagger.

  “And your wand. Where is it?”

  “I’m not that kind of mage.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What kind doesn’t use a wand?”

  “I’ll explain everything to Lord Crall. You’re welcome to listen.”

  “I’m only letting you in if you don’t mind me staying close.” He pointed his chin at the sword on his belt.

  “I’m here to protect this land, just like you.”

  He showed me an abashed smile. “I’m here to protect Lord Crall, not this land.”

  “Does that mean you and his other guards won’t help me fight?”

  “Not unless he gives us the order. Neeko, you said?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m Payce.” He deftly wrapped his arm around all three of my weapons to free his hand so we could shake.

  “Let me ask you something,” I said as I grasped his strong hand. “Is there a young girl here by the name of Brijit?”

  “I can’t tell you that.” He nodded as he spoke.

  “Thank you.”

  “How many days before the attack?” He pulled a key from his pocket.

  “One, maybe less.”

  Another swordsman appeared surprised when we stepped inside Lord Crall’s mansion. He pointed at me. “Who’s he?”

  “Neeko of the king’s army,” Payce answered. “Needs to speak to Lord Crall about an attack. Fetch him, will you?”

  “He’s just about to eat.”

  They shared a look that made it clear he couldn’t be bothered.

  “There’s no time to wait,” I said.

  “I’ll do what I can,” the other man said dubiously.

  Soon Payce and I were alone in the entrance room. He gently set my weapons against the wall and put himself between me and them. “This is more for LC’s sake,” he said, sounding even friendlier than when we first met. “I trust you.”

  I didn’t feel as if this was just a tactic to keep me behaved. Payce saw something in me that he took to mean I was honest. I found myself able to trust him because of it.

  Based on what I saw in the mansion, though, I doubted Crall would show me the same respect. The lord’s opulence appalled me. His estate was ten times the size of anyone else’s around him, the inside of his home covered in sumptuous furniture, the walls adorned with glass cases containing all sorts of prodigal weapons: crossbows lined with silver, daggers with handles too intricate to be held, a shield encrusted with gems. I couldn’t look at them.

  A servant walked by the doorway ahead of us with a silver tray. It carried an enormous cut of steaming chicken beside a pile of rice large enough to serve a family of four. I waited several long minutes before the man who’d left to fetch Crall came back and told me to follow him.

  Payce came with me to the dining room, where Crall glanced up at me and pointed his knife toward an empty chair on the other end of the table. I sat.

  “Quince is recruiting young now, I see,” he said with some disdain. “I thought I was done with you annoying army men. You come here, impudent, eat my people’s food, sleep in their houses, all the while taking from my land. As if the endless rain isn’t going to kill my people soon enough.” He stuffed his mouth with meat.

  Did he really expect me to believe he was concerned about the people he lorded over when he feasted like that? I kept my annoyance out of my tone, though.

  “Your people are in danger. Terrislaks could be here within hours. Help me gather everyone so we can fight.”

  His head snapped back. “Terrislaks? I doubt t
hat.”

  So I explained the theory as I had done with the unit commander. Crall barely looked at me as I spoke, filling his already gorged belly.

  He pushed aside his empty plate by the time I finished. A waiting servant took it away.

  Crall belched and pointed at the guard nearest to him whose name I hadn’t learned. “Go see if terrislaks are coming.”

  “I won’t be able to see over the trees to the east.”

  “So walk there.” Crall’s voice was irritated.

  “It’s four miles to the edge,” the man reminded him.

  I would take to the air and have a look myself soon enough, but it wasn’t worth the trouble of explaining pyforial energy to this lord. It was easier just to let one of his men confirm the news.

  Crall stared at him until the man bowed and excused himself.

  I tested Crall’s honesty with a question, “Do you have any children here who’ve been abandoned by their parents?”

  Suspicion came into his eyes. He didn’t speak.

  I pretended I could read him. “So you do. Will you keep them protected during the battle?”

  “How old are you? Seventeen?” His voice carried malice.

  “Sixteen.”

  “You come onto my land and act like I can’t protect my own daughter. Are you even a mage as you say? You don’t look like one.”

  “I apologize, I didn’t mean any insult. I must be leaving to warn the others.”

  “Are you even a mage!” he shouted, gesturing with his hand. Payce blocked me from leaving. “I bet you’re not even with the king’s army,” Crall mocked.

  I couldn’t contain my frustration any longer. “I’m here to save the people who pay your taxes, lord. The people who probably built this mansion for you.”

  “Oh how wonderful you are to come save them from pretend monsters so they can live long enough to starve. Quince needs to start the sacrifices again, not send sixteen-year-old boys to my land. If you value your life, you’ll leave my house now.”

  Staying would be a waste of time, so I stepped around Payce. He followed me to the door. We nodded at each other in understanding of Crall’s behavior as I gathered my weapons.

  “I’ll be returning,” I warned him.

  I hurried back to Rao and told him, “I need to lift myself into the sky to see how much time we have. I might need your help warning everyone, so wait here.”

  He grabbed my cloak. “What about Brijit?”

  “She’s there, though I never saw her.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “Yes.”

  “How’s Crall going to protect her during the attack?”

  Probably won’t, I thought, but telling Rao the truth meant losing him to Crall when he went after his friend. “I’ll tell you as soon as I land.”

  “Tell me now.” He grabbed my shirt with his other hand.

  “I don’t think you want to do that. I’m capable of lifting us both, yet I doubt my shirt and cloak could support your weight for long.”

  Biting his lip, he let go. I gathered py beneath my arms and soared.

  I spotted the terrislaks immediately. Gray and monstrous, they seeped out of the trees covering the hills to the east. Their speed was slightly faster than a traveling human. Soon, they would reach the pines guarding the easternmost village.

  I landed and ran to Rao, his face showing panic as soon as he saw mine. “It’s starting,” I told him. “Stay to the southwest. Run at the sight of terrislaks or an army dressed in black if I don’t return.”

  “What about Brijit!”

  “She’ll be safe if I can stop the terrislaks. Don’t go inside Crall’s mansion.” I didn’t wait for his response.

  On my galloping horse, I shouted to anyone who might hear, “Terrislaks are coming from the west. Bowman and mages are needed!”

  I pointed at two people, a young man leaning out from his doorway and his father with a hand around the boy’s chest. “Tell anyone skilled with a bow or a wand to meet me at the eastern edge of these villages.”

  Nearly the same scenario repeated countless times as I rode on for a few miles, my heart never calming.

  I had passed Crall’s guard a while back, though he was too far to my right for my voice to reach him. I looked behind me several times, only once finding a person following me. He was just a boy on foot, maybe twelve or thirteen, a short bow in his hand. He ignored his mother’s screams to stop.

  I finally let my poor horse rest as I came to the last line of trees and left him untied in case the terrislaks broke through. I hoped he wouldn’t wander too far.

  Running between the trees, I heard nothing from the other side. Good. I needed time to let the others I’d recruited get here.

  But as I came through the trees, my stomach flipped. The first terrislak was no more than fifty yards from me, a line of them behind it at least a hundred long. Just because I’d killed one with Eizle and Shara didn’t mean the sight of the creatures was any less terrifying. The front terrislak saw me and broke into a run. It let out an aggressive screech, the one behind it joining in.

  Soon the ground shook as all of them came at me, their gray and distended stomachs vacillating, their man-sized hands open and ready to grab. I had to remind myself that the creatures, being more than twice my height, made them easier targets. You’re prepared for this. Go out and meet them before they get too close to the villages!

  I ran into the open land, drawing my two short swords and wrapping two discrete clusters of pyforial energy around both handles. I extended my arms at the first terrislak and the sword hovering by my right hip cut through the air. The terrislak didn’t even have a chance to get its hands up before the entire blade embedded into its chest.

  I pulled it free as I sent the second sword at the next beast. I missed low, impaling the creature’s stomach instead of its heart. The first had just fallen as I stabbed the second creature again, this time piercing its heart.

  I ripped both swords free, then sent one into the massive thigh of the next closest terrislak. It tripped and crashed to the ground, screeching as I took down another beside it. I finished off yet another by piercing its chest, then drove my blade into the top of the first creature’s head before it could get up.

  There were hundreds more still, but I was beginning to make a pile. They couldn’t get over the fallen bodies, their enormous black eyes nearly as wide as their mouths as they screeched with rage. Coming around from both sides of the pile, they were too far from each other for me to kill two at once anymore, and there were too many for me to stand my ground.

  I used my mind to will my swords into my hands, then transferred the pyforial energy beneath my arms and took flight. Lacking precision, I used all focus to move through the air horizontally, going faster than I could run.

  I created about thirty yards between us before I accidentally began moving the pyforial energy quicker beneath my right arm than my left, causing me to spin. Being not too high off the ground, I let it go.

  Momentum forced me to roll. I jumped up and took both swords again with py. All the terrislaks had me as their target, as their prey. From the twitch of their screeching mouths, no doubt these creatures hungered for more than my flesh. They wanted vengeance.

  I felled four of them with four strikes of my swords, my arms mimicking each motion I wanted the weapons to make. Backing up, I struck down two more. Fear of death should’ve sent the next three into retreat but they only charged harder. Were these creatures intrepid? Years of devouring every land animal in Sumar must’ve given them unrivaled confidence.

  No, foolhardiness. I would use it to my advantage.

  But as quickly as I could kill them, others gained on me, even as I ran backward while slaying them. I made a turn to take them away from the trees bordering the villages.

  The terrislaks didn’t seem to tire, maintaining the same speed as I drew shallow breaths.

  They started to close the distance, but being nearer only made it easie
r for me to kill them quicker as my two swords whirled from one beast to another. I cut them down with single strikes to the chest. One tripped over another’s carcass and fell onto its gigantic hands as mud erupted. It still came at me on all fours until I drove a sword between its black eyes.

  I seemed to be holding my ground. The pile of bodies grew, getting in the way. I’d lost track of how many had fallen; forty, maybe fifty littered the ground. But one creature finally became aware of my two swords. It batted one, the blade piercing its hand. It let out a howl of pain as it staggered. I ripped the sword free, but the beast swatted it down as I aimed for its chest. When the blade ended up in the monster’s leg, the terrislak grabbed it and yanked out as it shrieked. I moved the other sword between us and then shot it forward into its chest.

  I pulled it out before the terrislak collapsed, but its dead hand covered my other sword. Still in touch with the pyforial energy around the faraway weapon, I focused and grunted to yank it free. The creature’s hand flopped like a fish on land but turned out to be too heavy to lift from my distance. I needed to get closer to free my sword.

  I ran at the others while they screeched in premature victory at my approach. I let go of the energy wrapped around my trapped sword and made a new pyforial handle around my dagger’s hilt. My remaining sword still did its job, piercing hearts with carefully placed attacks. But the dagger was only good for jabbing their legs to slow them.

  There was no brutality in my actions, no joy. These were slayings of strategy. I only had so much time before exhaustion would finish my task, no matter how many of them were left. I could feel my body edging closer to complete fatigue as the stabs of pain in my chest worsened.

  The terrislaks began to surround me as I ran toward them. I sent my knife at the nearest one. It pricked the beast’s boulder of a knee but didn’t stick. I let go of my grasp on the py around the weapon.

  Noticing something coming from my other side, I willed my sword first and turned to see what I’d done second. It had impaled a stomach.