The Shadow of War

by Bryan Gifford

  Men sucked into the earth, their pleas cut short. Blood and viscera mixed with the muddy water, swirling in deep browns and reds. Death filled the fetid air.

  It churned her stomach, but the killing had to be done. Their enemy would give them no quarter. Why should she?

  She just needed to break up their final meager defenses and then she could turn her attention on Markadesh. The massive stronghold lay deep in the heart of the lake at the edge of her vision. Adriel would lead her Alliance away from the swamp and south back into the mountains. The valley pass would lead her to the Crossing, which messengers said Cain and Isroc had already taken. Just a bit longer, and she could join them in the final assault on Markadesh.

  Just one more fight. One more fight and then she’d get to spend the rest of her life with her husband. She smiled at the thought.

  And then they came.

  Acedens poured from the hills to the north, swallowing the plains in black.

  The army fell upon them before Adriel could shout a warning. Lines of chariots struck first, launching massive waves of fire into the Alliance’s exposed flanks. Arrows and ballistae bolts tore through their formations as hundreds of men and women were roasted alive. Boulders soared over the field to crash into the Alliance, hurling bodies in a shower of gore.

  Then the bulk of the Acedens struck from the west. Thousands of them, perhaps tens of thousands. They smashed through the stunned Alliance, trampling burning, mangled corpses.

  As Adriel struggled to process the sudden assault, Acedens attacked from the south. They charged out from the mouth of the valley and thrust like a spear through the heart of the Alliance.

  Behind, a wall of Aceden cavalry and chariots plowed through her reserve troops, cutting down screaming men and women. The riders stormed through the camp, fires raging around them. The Acedens charged straight for Adriel and her Royal Guards. A line of Iscara rode at their front, black armored and wielding destruction.

  Among them, a man turned his wicked eyes toward Adriel.

  Malleus Taraus.

  The next morning, Cain led the Alliance deep into the canyons. His scouts reported that Markadesh lay just ahead. The way was clear; they’d make camp in the fields before the lake and draw up a plan of assault. They should have enough siege equipment to make a dent in the enemy’s defenses. If they could just—

  The earth beneath his feet rumbled. Pebbles shook, and stones dislodged themselves from the canyon walls. The air vibrated with the sounds of thousands of charging men.

  “Defensive formations!” Cain bellowed. His army jumped into position, spears and shields at the ready. Beyond, the valley mouth widened into an open plain. Markadesh hovered on the horizon.

  But the attack was coming from behind. Thousands of Acedens charged through the canyon toward the Alliance.

  Arrows and boulders blacked out the setting sun.

  Malleus kicked his horse in the sides and sent it galloping straight for Adriel.

  Harin and her Royal Guards formed a ring around her and braced their spears. A bolt of lightning cracked past Adriel and struck the man beside her, flinging him over their heads. Several Iscara peeled off from the main force and rode after Malleus. A spear of light took another brave man through the chest. The Aceden cavalry flowed around Malleus and the Iscara and continued toward the Alliance.

  One of Adriel’s Guards tossed his spear and struck an Iscara’s horse out from under him, causing the beast to fall on top of its rider. A gout of flame promptly took the Guard. The others held firm as horses descended over them.

  They died in a flurry of screams and hooves.

  Malleus’ massive axe swung at Adriel and struck her horse’s neck with a sickening thump. The momentum threw her mount back and dumped her out of the saddle. She struck dirt and rolled, her horse falling inches away. Riders stamped over her, kicking up earth as they pounded past. Bodies tumbled about her.

  She crawled to her knees and fumbled for her sword. Malleus wheeled his horse about and galloped toward her.

  Harin stumbled out before Adriel, flames consuming his body. Incredibly, he raised his war hammer. Malleus drove his axe into Harin’s chest and threw back the flaming man. But not before Harin swung and cracked open the horse’s leg. Malleus was tossed from his saddle as his screaming horse tumbled.

  Adriel shrugged off her cloak and let the snowy furs fall to her feet. She drew her sword and leapt at Malleus as he staggered to his feet.

  His axe beat her sword back with a thrum of metal. He came back around with a backhand swing that Adriel dove into, evading at the last second to stab. Malleus twisted and slapped her across the face with his gauntlet, throwing her over her still-bleating horse. His axe came down on top of her and embedded in the horse’s side as she rolled away. Adriel flipped up onto her feet and stabbed down with her sword.

  Malleus batted her weapon away with an armored forearm and swung. His axe ripped across her stomach as she tried to leap away. She staggered, hand groping at the wound. Malleus kicked her in the gut for good measure and sent her rolling back through the blood of her Royal Guards.

  Adriel stretched out for her sword just out of arm’s reach. Malleus kicked it away before hammering another boot into her chest. The force sent her back, sputtering for breath.

  Horses and soldiers thundered past them, giving them a wide berth. No Guards. No Vilant. Adriel would die alone.

  Malleus dropped his axe and knelt beside her. “I’m going to take this nice and slow.” He grabbed her by the hair. Lifting her face toward his, he growled down at her. “You’re mine, bitch.”

  He slammed her head down into the ground. Again and again he pounded the back of her skull into the rocks.

  Her vision darkened.

  The Alliance battled like mad in the wide canyon bottom. Their formations broken by the sudden attack from behind, they desperately tried to patch their ranks together beneath the unrelenting enemy.

  Fire lashed from chariots. Boulders and arrows and javelins riddled their meager defenses. Dozens of Iscara carved a path of devastation, leaving heaps of bodies in their wake.

  Cain and the other Warriors shoved their way through the press of men, shouting orders as they went. All around them soldiers trembled and cried out for mercy as they watched their comrades die. Others jumbled about to mount some semblance of order.

  But this canyon was a death trap. They had to get out of this place quickly or the enemy would destroy them. He called out the order to withdraw into the field but paused with a glance over his shoulder.

  The gates of Markadesh were open, and an army of Acedens poured across the plain toward them.

  They were trapped.

  Atonement

  Adriel felt herself fading.

  She could just give up. It would be so easy. She’d failed her people. She’d failed Tarsha. She’d failed Cain. He would understand, wouldn’t he? She couldn’t always be strong.

  But maybe that was the point. She didn’t always have to be strong, so long as she kept getting back up.

  This wasn’t over yet.

  Adriel opened her eyes, blinking through the blood. Malleus slammed her head into the rocks again. Biting through the jarring pain, she grabbed for a rock beneath her as he lifted her up once more. She swung the stone across his face with a thwack.

  The man dropped her, cursing and clutching his face. Adriel rolled over, fingers brushing her sword. Malleus lunged.

  Adriel drove her sword into the side of his leg. Malleus roared and leapt for her. She made to twist away but his fist connected with her chest. Something cracked inside her, and she dropped her sword and tumbled back.

  Malleus lumbered toward her.

  Then he fell to a knee, blood seeping through his armor. Adriel dove at him with a rock and smacked it across his temple. She swung again and hammered it into his eye. Over and over she beat him, screaming as blood sprayed up at her.

  She eventually rolled off him and laid in the dirt, panting. Malleus
gurgled something, blood bubbling. Adriel crawled toward his nearby axe. She stood shakily to her feet and managed to heft the heavy weapon onto her shoulder. She stumbled over to her foe and looked down at him.

  “You’re mine, bitch.” She swung the axe and caved in his skull. She swung again for good measure.

  Leaving the axe where it belonged, she stumbled over to Harin’s body which still smoldered among the ruin of her Royal Guards. “A good death, Harin… thank you.”

  With that, she picked up her sword and stumbled through the field of bodies to her dying army.

  This wasn’t over yet.

  Men burned.

  Isroc shoved through the dying soldiers and drove his spear through the laughing Iscara. Behind him, the Alliance pushed farther out of the valley. It was a desperate tactic—the open field before Markadesh would give them room to maneuver and avoid being crushed in the canyon, but it left them open to arrows and catapults. And of course, they would still be surrounded.

  Silas’ barricades and pikes helped slow the enemy and keep them from being immediately destroyed, but it would happen anyway. Isroc intended to make them pay for it.

  “Hold the phalanx!” he cried. “Protect the archers! Get those catapults firing!” He was a flurry of steel and muscle, pounding against the endless shields of the enemy. “Stop those Iscara!”

  He pulled back behind the line of pikes and grabbed one of his officers. “We’re going to try and push to the left side! If we can take part of the field, then we can avoid being surrounded. Go! Go!” His officer ran off through the army, shouting his orders. Soon, banners raised, and the Alliance flowed to the north, focusing their attack on the enemy there.

  That wouldn’t be enough. They had to take Markadesh. Since the Aceden army was mostly outside now, that meant… well, it was worth trying. They were dead either way.

  Lightning crashed through the line of soldiers before him. Isroc stumbled, vision white. Body parts beat against him as he made for Silas.

  “Silas!” he shouted, ears ringing. “We have to take Markadesh!”

  “How in the bloody shit are we supposed to do that now?” he cried back, stabbing Sitare into a charging Aceden.

  “Take Mithaniel and your Outriders and some of my scouts. Once we take the north section of the field, swim across and scale the walls. My scouts have some of those grappling hooks. Use them. Once you’re in, it’s up to you to take the gate. We will make our way inside and try to use their walls against them.”

  Silas cursed as he knocked back a spear. “You’re crazy, you know that? We’ll do it!”

  Isroc nodded then rushed back to the gap in their formation. Vilant hurried to block the opening but their bodies quickly piled high as an Iscara hurled blast after blast of lightning into their ranks. Cain appeared, majestic Ceerocai catching an attack and crackling with blinding light. Cain lobbed the bolt of lightning back at the Iscara and waved for a group of spearmen to fill the gap.

  Isroc clapped his friend on the back and joined him in the fight. Together, they led their army in a bloody push onto the field.

  Adriel’s army was in shambles. Iscara pounded at them from all sides. Boulders and javelins and arrows rained down around them, and fires consumed.

  They were driven back into the swamp. Already, her soldiers were falling through the water and buried in the mud. Many died right alongside their enemy. They wouldn’t last long.

  Unable to reach them, and her body feeling thoroughly jumbled and broken, she did the only thing she could do. She raised her sword.

  Positioned on top of a hill, her army could see her standing there stark against the red of the setting sun. She probably looked like she’d come back from the dead—a ragged mess of tattered, bloodied white. That didn’t matter.

  Their queen lived.

  The Alliance cheered at the sight of her, even as they died. They fought with even more fervor, like animals backed into a corner.

  The Acedens noticed her too. Many turned and pointed, and soon, they were charging across the field.

  Adriel raised her sword in defiance of the army crashing down around her.

  Mithaniel jogged across the field and left the embattled Alliance behind. Three other Iscara, four dozen Outriders, six scouts, and Silas ran beside him.

  “What kind of braindead idiot came up with this idea?” Eritha grumbled. “And who was stupid enough to agree to it?”

  “That’d be me,” Silas said, hand raised.

  “Great. I don’t even know you and I already don’t like you.”

  “You’re not the first woman who’s told me that.”

  One of the Outriders chuckled.

  “Pay attention,” Mithaniel said as they reached the lakeshore. “We need to get across that water before the Acedens catch on to us. The Alliance took the north side of the field and is holding them back for now, but we need to be well away if that changes.”

  Eritha crossed her arms. “And you expect us to just swim across that massive lake completely unnoticed, climb those rocks, grapple our way up the wall, fight through an army, capture the gate, and then hold it while our own army storms the place?”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “No,” she sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Mithaniel stepped into the lake, frigid water climbing his calves. Unfortunately, he needed to keep his clothes and armor on for when they reached the other side. That meant swimming in heavy steel. He inhaled and dove into the water.

  The others followed suit and swam toward the underside of the bridge. Fortunately, the bridge was large enough to hide them from view of the fortress walls and the long, evening shadows masked the ripples in the surface.

  “I probably shouldn’t have agreed to this,” Silas sputtered. “Seeing as I can barely swim.”

  “Use the support columns,” Mithaniel said as he grabbed onto one of the stone pillars that held up the bridge. “We’ll swim from pillar to pillar, you should be fine.”

  And so, they swam, moving in the shadow of the bridge. They paused frequently, clutching the sides of the pillars to listen to soldiers pounding overhead or to take some of the weight off their soaked clothes. It was painfully slow going, the near freezing water making their motions lethargic, the weight of their clothes constantly fighting to drag them under.

  They reached the island at long last. They swam out from under the bridge and made the short distance toward the rocks. Boulders and javelins soared overhead.

  Muscles numb, Mithaniel forced them into action and pulled himself up the jagged stones toward a small outcropping. He plopped down there, panting with exertion. The others clambered onto the rocks beside him. They rested for a short time as they wrung out their clothes and dried off with cloths from their rucksacks. Mithaniel fought the urge to glance at the distant battle. He knew it looked bad, and he had to stay focused on the task at hand.

  “Let’s go,” he whispered as he pulled a grappling hook from his bag. He swung the rope and tossed it up along the wall. Eritha propelled it further with a jet of air, and the hook clanged secure in the battlements. One by one, the others tossed their grappling hooks, Eritha helping to launch them high enough to hook over the wall.

  Mithaniel tested his weight against the rope, then hoisted himself up. Aching muscles protesting, he climbed higher and higher, the wind cutting through his soaked clothes. The rope bit into his hands until his fingers rubbed raw, but he fought through the pain and numbness, and at last reached the top.

  He hung there until the others were level with him. Then, he threw himself over the battlements.

  The wall walk was empty save for a few charging soldiers. Mithaniel launched at them with a sudden burst of power that surprised even himself. He deflected their attacks with his shield and sent them reeling back with a whip of light.

  Mithaniel’s soldiers came up beside him and together they descended a nearby set of stairs. Eritha led them through the winding streets of ancient brick and
towering buildings toward the entrance gate. Bells sounded the alarm. They’d been discovered.

  Archers lined the walls above them, shooting ineffectual arrows down on them as they ran. A few of the more experienced soldiers turned their ballistae from the battle outside and aimed down at the intruders.

  Mithaniel spun around a massive iron javelin as it shot into the bricks. Arrows splintered in the air overhead. He didn’t know how long he could keep his shield up; he felt close to passing out as it was. But he supposed that didn’t matter, so long as he opened the gate.

  Acedens rushed up the road to meet them. The Iscara beat them back with wind and light, tossing men through the air as they ran. Eritha waved her hands at an incoming javelin and redirected it sideways into a rank of men, hurling them back and sending others scattering.

  They slid around a corner and came out onto the entrance court. A small army gathered here, preparing to storm out onto the field and hit the Alliance’s exposed flank. They turned to see Mithaniel bear down on them with a bellow.

  He lashed out with a wave of light that shook the air and rippled through the enemy formations. He laid about with his shield, shoving a small path through the Aceden ranks. Men smashed together and tossed overhead as the other Iscara fought on nearby. They led Silas and his Outriders straight for the gate. If they could just get to it, then Eritha could—

  Mithaniel raised his hand in time to block a whip of fire. The blow hammered into his wall of air, threatening to sweep him off his feet. Around him, bodies of Aceden and Outrider alike burned. Mithaniel swatted away another crack of flame and lashed out with a blade of shadows.

  The enemy Iscara swatted it away and lobbed a ball of light at him. He dodged this, but the attack struck a man behind him, sending him flailing through the air. Several other enemy Iscara appeared, throwing fire and light of their own at Mithaniel and his Iscara.