Valaan saw Aleena dive into a roll and immediately transitioned to defense, materializing shields when needed. Two Urlowens were directly ahead with their rifles centering on Aleena, and he sent a stream of white-hot energy directly into the barrel of each rifle. The plasma generators in the weapons overheated, and a burst of ionized gas ripped through the magnetic field containment in the weapons, engulfing the soldiers.
Alex took cover behind a tree as the Elves ran straight toward him. “I think I hit her,” he said through the multiband to Zavier.
Zavier was about fifty feet forward of Alex. “Looks like you grazed her,” he replied. He fired a few shots at the older one, but each were blocked. “This isn’t working!”
“Let them pass you,” Wren responded. “Then follow them. Traven and I will move up ahead of them. We’ll try to surround them deeper in the woods.”
Aleena came out of her roll onto one knee, launching energy spheres at the troops who were firing off to her right. Each connected, laying the soldiers flat on the ground. The fire stopped momentarily when Aleena and Valaan entered the tree line, having cleared out all the troops within their immediate vicinity. She took a moment to run through the enchantments to increase her strength just as she had done so many years before while being chased by the Guard.
“You all right?” Valaan asked.
“I’m fine. Just grazed my side. I think we got their attention.”
“That we did.”
Kalma was about three-quarters of the way around the edge of the clearing when he watched Aleena and Valaan slam through the Urlowen line. Valaan’s earlier stunt, literally pulling a ship out of the sky, had surprised him as much as anyone else. For a moment, he wondered if he’d made a mistake orchestrating Valaan’s rescue and delivery to the Alliance.
He’s just one Elf, he told himself, brushing the thoughts away. I’ll take care of him in due time.
As he continued to make his way around the clearing, unnoticed by either the resistance or the Urlowens, he listened to the communications chatter running through his multiband. The Elves were certainly making short work of the Urlowen troops, but Kalma didn’t really care. Standard troops were a dime a dozen, and they served their purpose well. Most importantly, his team was holding their own. He’d begun growing fond of this particular set of Guard, though he wasn’t sure why.
He ducked under a large, low tree branch and jogged around a thorn bush. At this rate, he suspected he’d make it to the other side in just a few minutes. After that, he’d find a place to wait until it was time to reveal himself.
Chapter 31
Ethan, Grant, and Allison waited at the edge of the clearing as Aleena and Valaan had instructed. They watched, first in trepidation and then in astonishment, as the Elves made their way across the field. Once Aleena and Valaan had crossed into the forest on the other side, the three ran into the clearing toward the others. They refrained from firing wildly at the Urlowen front, not wanting to accidently hit Aleena or Valaan somewhere in the forest beyond.
Most of the Urlowens had given chase to the two Elves and disappeared from the edge of the clearing, but a few were still sending volleys of plasma toward the resistance. Micah’s troops were holding their own against the remaining enemy.
Ethan spotted Micah straight ahead, hunkered down behind a large boulder, and ran to him. The tall grass made it difficult to run, and every few steps an Urlowen shot would whiz by him, nearly taking him out. When he got close to the boulder, he dove behind it, landing at Micah’s feet.
“Nice to see you made it,” Micah said as Ethan scrambled to his knees. “I suppose we just saw the friend you were looking for?”
Ethan laughed. “Yeah. He apparently knows how to make an entrance.”
“He certainly does.” Micah pulled out the small black phone he carried and entered his code. The phone scanned his fingerprints, and then a line opened. He spoke into the phone, not waiting for a greeting. “Things have quieted down out here. Where’s that transport?”
A scraggy voice answered almost immediately. “Transport’s inbound, ETA three minutes. The phoenix squadron’s pushing the remaining Urlowen fighters back. Seems most of them turned tail a few minutes ago, just after all our sensors glitched. Something must’ve affected them as well.”
Micah looked relieved. He pulled a second direct link communications device from his pocket. “Ethan, take this com and tell Leon and the forward positions to start pulling back for pickup. You, Grant, and Allison help give them some cover fire.”
Ethan took the com from Micah’s hands and relayed the message to Leon. Allison and Grant were behind a nearby tree, lying in the grass. He waited until there was a lull in the enemy’s fire, then made a break for their position.
An unearthed root caught his foot just before reaching Allison and sent him face first into the dirt next to her with a thud. Ethan let out a groan loud enough to be heard over the fighting.
“You all right?” Allison asked.
“I’m fine,” he replied, even though his knee had smacked the ground pretty hard and was shooting pain up his leg. “We need to lay down some cover fire so Leon and the others can pull back. The transport’s almost here.”
Allison could barely hear him but got the gist of what he wanted her to do. “All right,” she yelled back. “Are you sure we won’t hit Aleena and Valaan?”
“They’re probably out of range by now,” Ethan responded. At least, he hoped that was the case. Even after watching the two walking straight through the Urlowen line without a scratch, he was uneasy about shooting in their general direction. Unfortunately, it had to be done.
Allison could tell Ethan was unsettled by the thought, as was she, and hoped he was right. “All right.” Grant was lying in the dirt next to her, so she reached out and tugged his arm.
“What?” Grant yelled back at her.
She relayed the instructions, and Grant gave her a thumbs-up. A second later, his rifle was in the air and he was firing at the Urlowen troops. Allison and Ethan joined him. It wasn’t much, but it helped a little.
Leon had tiered the lookouts into three rows at varying distances from each other. The back two rows directed suppressive fire toward he enemy, allowing the first row to retreat several yards behind them. These men would then become the back row, open fire, and allow the next tier to retreat. They continued this backward leapfrog until all of them reached the center of the clearing.
As they were pulling back, the air was filled with a loud rumbling that nearly shook the trees. The roar grew in intensity as an enormous Alliance cargo ship emerged from the tree line behind them, the bottom of the ship nearly scraping the treetops. Four phoenixes darted past the transport, one on either side and two from above, serving as the ship’s escort. It lumbered to a stop just above the clearing, nearly blotting out the clear blue sky from those taking cover below. Its underbelly housed twenty hatches, which opened and dropped ropes to the ground below.
Seconds later, a full company of Alliance rangers were rappelling down the ropes at breakneck speeds. The first soldier on the ground ran straight to Micah. The others scattered at regular intervals into the tall grass, setting up a front line.
Ethan watched with excitement, impressed by the precision of the professional soldiers. He estimated about a hundred of them but didn’t have time to do a full count. He couldn’t hear what Micah and the captain were saying, but it only lasted a few seconds. The captain spoke through a communications link fitted snugly around his neck, sensing the vibrations of his vocal cords. In the next moment, small groups of soldiers began moving toward the families that were hidden behind boulders and in the grass throughout the field. The rest of the troops began advancing toward the forest.
The ropes the soldiers descended were pulled back into the ship and a new set was dropped. Three harnesses were secured to each line, two at the bottom and one farther up. The rangers began escorting the families to the lines, strapping them into the harnesses and th
en hoisting them up to the ship above.
Enemy fire from the forest had nearly stopped as the advancing Alliance soldiers cleaned up the remaining Urlowen troops at the edge of the clearing. When they reached the edge, they took up defensive positions.
Jumping to his feet, Ethan ran over to Micah and the captain, who had left the protection offered by the boulder and were now standing in the open. “Why did they stop?” he asked between breaths.
Micah placed a reassuring hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “They’re setting up a defensive front to protect our retreat.” He pointed up to the people being hoisted through the air into the ship above. “When you’re on that line, you’re target practice for the Urlowens. The rangers out there will provide a more imminent threat to shoot at until we can all load up.”
“What about Aleena and Valaan? They may need help,” Ethan replied.
“From what I saw a few minutes ago, I doubt it.”
Ethan’s face started turning red with anger.
“I’ll send a couple squads out to retrieve them once everyone else is aboard,” the captain offered.
“Thank you, sir,” Ethan said, his anger tempered just a bit. He hoped they could hold out that long. He looked eagerly at the captain. “I want to go with them.”
“Absolutely not,” the captain responded. The reply made it clear that this was not open to discussion. “My orders are to pick up and transport everyone safely to our forward base. My troops don’t need you getting in their way.”
“Yeah, because you’re all doing such a bang-up job in this war so far,” Ethan retorted. He knew it was a mistake, but the words were already out of his mouth before he could stop them.
Micah glared daggers at Ethan, but that was tame compared to the captain’s reaction. “If you want a ride out of here, then you better shut your mouth, son. Maybe on our way back, we should drop you off on the front lines, see how long you survive.”
Ethan bit his lip. I bet it’d be longer than you once my training’s over. He looked down at his hands, imagining a surge of energy forming into the spheres Valaan and Aleena created with ease. For now though, he knew the captain was probably right. He was a decent shot, and his hand-to-hand combat was improving, but the rangers were fully trained soldiers. His meager skills were no match for their years of training. It would hurt his ego to admit it, so he did what he was told and kept his mouth shut.
Leon unknowingly broke the tension by walking up and clapping Ethan on the back. “Where did you dig those two up, and how in the hell did they pull those stunts off?”
“Um, it’s a long story,” Ethan replied, his anger waning. “All right, it isn’t actually all that long of a story. I’m just not so sure you’ll believe me without Aleena here to corroborate.”
“Try me. After what we just saw, I’m open to about anything. I’ve been racking my brain and can’t think of any tech that can do those things.”
“I’d like to know as well,” Micah added.
Ethan looked at the three of them, feeling a bit sheepish. “I know this is going to sound crazy,” he began, “but it was magic.”
“No, seriously, Ethan,” Leon replied, rolling his eyes. “How did they do it?”
Ethan felt as though he had been through this before. He looked over at Allison, who was chatting with Grant only a short distance away. “I am being serious. It was magic. Aleena and Valaan, that’s the older Elf’s name, they can use magic.” He cringed, realizing he’d just called them Elves. That was not going to help his case.
“Did you say Elf?” Leon jumped on his comment. “What’s wrong with you? Just tell us how they did that stuff.”
“I’m telling the truth!” Ethan responded, exasperated. “They’re both Elves, and they wield magic.”
“Wait, now Aleena is an Elf too?” Micah asked. “As in the kind, cute, normal Aleena you’ve been training in the woods.”
Ethan felt like a captain going down with his ship. This conversation was a losing battle. “Aleena was training me in the woods. Didn’t you recognize her when she walked past you?”
“Honestly, I was in such shock from what they were doing that it didn’t even occur to me,” Micah said.
“What about two minutes ago when I said Aleena and Valaan might need our help?” Ethan replied.
“I thought you misspoke, or maybe they happened to have the same name, or… I don’t know. Give me break, this has been a crazy afternoon,” Micah said.
“Never mind, we’ll have to ask them ourselves when they get back,” Leon said. “They are coming back, right?”
The captain, who had been observing this entire exchange, answered, “If they aren’t back by the time everyone’s loaded, my men will go get them. I won’t leave anyone behind.”
It only took a few minutes for everyone to be extracted to the cargo ship above. Ethan and Allison were strapped into the two harnesses at the end of one of the ropes, while Grant took the one a little farther up. A ranger checked that the harnesses were secure, then gave a thumbs-up to the man standing in the bay door above. A moment later, Grant was hanging in the air and Ethan felt the tug of the harness on his hips. Allison wrapped her arms around him as their feet left the ground and they began the hundred feet journey upward.
Slowly rotating as they ascended, Ethan used the opportunity to scan the forest for signs of Aleena and Valaan. The forest was too dense to make out anything even as they approached the bay door high above the ground.
“They’ll be all right,” Allison assured him.
“I hope so,” Ethan replied, worry clouding his thoughts.
At the edge of the forest, most of the soldiers began to retreat toward the pickup zone. Two squads, however, motioned several hand signals between them, then reorganized into several groups of four, taking up positions at intervals in front of the tree line. With one last signal from the squad leaders, the teams disappeared into the forest.
Ethan stood in the hatch as a soldier helped Allison out of her harness, looking down at the captain below. The captain, seeing Ethan in the bay door, gave him a nod. He had sent the squads to find the two Elves, just as he said.
Chapter 32
Aleena ran full speed at two Urlowens in front of her, deflecting their shots with translucent shields and then dropping to the ground, knocking the legs out from under one of them. Springing to her feet, she slammed her fist hard into the second, throwing him backward into the tree behind him. She’d amplified her strength, so the solder’s collision knocked him cleanly unconscious. The first soldier, struggling to get back on his feet, wouldn’t be so lucky. She levitated a nearby rock about the size of a loaf of bread and sent it slamming down onto his head.
Valaan was similarly engaged with four other Urlowens. Two stood before him, while the others made for his sides. A moment later, a pulse of energy was expelled from his body, throwing all four soldiers to the ground unmoving.
Valaan and Aleena pressed deeper into the woods, driving the Urlowens farther from the clearing. Aleena wasn’t sure how far they’d traveled, but she didn’t care. These people destroyed everything she held dear, and she was consumed with vengeance. Her new friends weren’t going to die today, even if that meant killing every Urlowen soldier in front of her. At the moment, she was certain that was exactly what she was going to do, but so far, it’d been too easy.
“Where’re the Guard?” Aleena called out to Valaan.
“I was wondering the same thing,” he called back. “Be vigilant, they’re probably setting a trap.”
There was no lack of targets. Every twenty or thirty feet, Aleena and Valaan would send an energy sphere into someone’s chest, throw them into a tree, or crush them with objects found scattered through the woods. So it came as a surprise when Aleena looked up from her last mark to find no one shooting at her. She looked uneasily at Valaan.
“Is that all of them?”
“I don’t think so,” he answered, slowly taking in the forest around them. They were nearly at
the summit of a hill that blocked their view to the other side.
“What next?”
Valaan eyed the hilltop. “Forward.”
When they reached the top, they found the Urlowens waiting on the other side. About halfway down the slope, they’d set up a U-shaped formation among the trees.
Valaan turned to Aleena while maintaining an acute awareness of the looming threat. “See the large dead log directly ahead?”
Aleena peered down the slope and found the downed tree trunk. It was easily big enough for both of them to stand on and still maneuver in all directions. The top was mostly flat, having been trod on by animals over many years. “I see it.”
“That’s where we’ll make our stand. Just like in the field before: you defend, and I’ll attack.” It was standard Elven battle strategy; each could focus on one task rather than splitting their attention between both defense and offense.
Traven had taken his position to the right of the formation, waiting patiently for the Elves to reach the top of the hill. He was hidden behind a tree with peeling bark whose trunk pushed against a waist-high boulder. Partway up the hill was the log he had seen many times in his vision. He’d waited for battles to resume in the past, but this time it was different. This time, he’d already seen, at least partially, what was going to transpire.
He looked around at the men in the formation. Most of them would die in the next few moments. He lowered his head, helpless. It wasn’t a feeling he was used to having. To make it worse, he had nowhere else to go. He could tell Wren to retreat but knew it would be futile. They’d lost a lot of soldiers already, but not enough to warrant a full retreat, and the Council wouldn’t look favorably on a retreat established from a vision.
No, this is meant to happen. I just need to survive. He looked through the formation and saw Wren to the left, using two trees that grew together as one to serve as his screen. On his multiband, Traven pulled up Alex’s and Zavier’s positions. They were on the far side of the hill where they’d been following the Elves at a distance and would try closing in behind them when the fighting resumed. Kalma was nowhere to be found. Apparently, he’d turned off the tracking functions on his multiband. Traven wished Kalma and Malik were with them. This fight was going to take everything they had to survive.
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