Alten nodded thoughtfully, “How long?”
“They’ve been fighting now for several days.”
“The gates are open I assume?” Vala asked.
“A group of our warriors are trying to hold them so we can get our wounded out and send in fresh warriors but the mingual are constantly trying to pry them from our grasp.”
Vala nodded again, then turned to the warriors she had been travelling with, “Looks like our friends could use a little extra-”
Alten grabbed her shoulder, “You’re staying here Vala,” she opened her mouth to argue but he continued before she had the chance to protest, “your arm’s still healing and until you’re able to use it you’re no good in situations like this.”
“And what about you?” she asked feeling irritated.
“What about me?
“You’re exhausted, you’ve barely slept, you’re probably less use than me.”
He smiled, “Nice try,” he turned to the young female warrior, “Jenna, please make sure Vala doesn’t leave the camp, especially when the next batch of warriors are sent in.” Jenna nodded a little uncomfortably and Alten signalled for the warriors to make their way towards the town.
He turned to Vala, “I promise I’ll come back to you,” he said wrapping his arms round her and kissing the top of her head. He ran to catch up with the other warriors and left Vala, fists clenched in annoyance, staring after him.
Vala was restless, she switched between staring at the town and pacing round the camp while the warriors around her busied themselves looking after the returning wounded. She looked to see if Jenna was nearby and saw she was tending to some wounded warriors, then grabbed her sword and jogged towards the town to the confusion of a number of warriors.
It didn’t take her long to reach the large gates, and once there she could hear the cries of her warriors, the clang of metal on metal and the growling of the mingual. One of the large wooden doors hung awkwardly on its hinges, while the other stood ajar and through it she could see a large number of mingual warriors and the town’s citizens viciously attacking her own warriors by the gate. She saw one of the mingual bearing down on a severely injured warrior who was trying to make his way to safety and instinctively Vala swung her weapon into a high guard and ran towards them.
She threw herself in front of the mingual warrior and blocked his attack, crouching slightly as he threw his full weight against her. Vala’s left arm screamed with pain and she saw the fresh bandage begin to redden as the healing skin tore. She cursed loudly and kicked hard against the side of the mingual’s left knee, he lost his balance, releasing his attack but righted himself quickly.
Vala swung at his legs, slicing one of them and as the mingual was momentarily distracted, Vala aimed high and cut into his neck. She watched as he burst into flame, then turned to see the injured man leave the town and scanned the crowd for any other vulnerable warriors.
She noticed a group of citizens running towards her and cursed as she sheathed her sword, not wanting to fatally injure them. The first ran towards her with a sword raised above his head and she grabbed hold of it before he had chance to swing. She thrust the weapon downwards and knocked him unconscious with the pommel, then she threw it to one side and kicked a female citizen in the stomach.
Vala dodged as another citizen swiped at her with what appeared to be a meat cleaver. She punched him in the side of the head, then grabbed his arm and pulled it roughly behind his back to make him drop the weapon, she rammed her elbow between his shoulder blades, knocking him to the ground and kicked the cleaver away as the female citizen caught her from behind with a club.
Vala stumbled forwards and turned in time to duck another swipe from the female citizen; she kicked at the woman’s legs, watched her fall backwards, and punched her in the face, causing her to fall unconscious. Vala dragged the citizens towards a deserted looking building, where she hoped they would be safe, then drew her sword again and ran towards the group of warriors protecting the gate.
“Vala!” she turned to see Julen staring at her in disbelief as she smacked one of the citizens in the face with her pommel. “You shouldn’t be here!” he shouted running towards her, “look at your arm!” He grabbed her wrist and stared at the blood soaked bandage, she shook him off.
“I’m a warrior Julen, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing!” she spun as quick, heavy footsteps sounded behind her and threw her sword up and out, the point impacting with a mingual’s chin. He stood stunned, then tried to continue attacking, Vala pulled her sword, lowered it slightly as the mingual instinctively moved forwards and impaled him for a second time.
“Look,” Julen said as he attacked one of the mingual, “we’re almost at the switching point, I strongly suggest you head back to camp and rest.”
“I think you’re forgetting who’s in charge of this army Julen,” Vala pointed out, half joking and half irritated while dodging an attack.
“Forgive me Vala,” he replied through clenched teeth as he pushed the mingual backwards, “I am merely concerned for your well-being.” Julen defeated his foe and scanned the fight for another while Vala continued her fight.
“I understand that,” Vala called as Julen walked towards a group of outnumbered warriors, “but I was never going to just sit around and wait for the fight to be over!” She ducked and slipped round the back of the mingual warrior as he attacked and slid her sword into his side.
She tried to get lost among the warriors by the gate as she saw Alten running in her direction. She stared down a mingual warrior and readied herself as he charged towards her; Alten thrust his sword into the creature’s stomach as he ran and the mingual exploded in fire.
“What in the Gods are you doing?!” Alten yelled above the noise of clattering metal.
“Trying to help!” she shouted, then pushed him away and raised her sword to block an attack from a citizen; Alten kicked them in the back, dropping them to the floor.
“You’re going to get yourself killed!” Alten yelled grabbing her good arm.
“I’m fine!”
Alten dropped her good arm to take hold of her bandaged one, “This does not look fine. Please Vala,” he said his expression pleading.
She shook herself free of him and sheathed her sword, “Alright,” she said clearly irritated, “but you had better come back!” She ran from him before he could reply and made her way back to the town gates, reluctantly avoiding the enemy and instead assisting the wounded who were trying to make their way back to safety.
Vala tapped her leg impatiently as Jenna cleaned the wound on her arm and stared towards the town where the battle raged,
“When are they due to return?” she asked Jenna who was frowning at Vala’s wound.
“In a few hours,” she replied as she wrapped a fresh dressing around Vala’s forearm; as soon as she was finished Vala jumped up from her seat and walked round the campsite restlessly. Jenna watched her for a few minutes as every few paces she stopped and began rubbing the bandage.
“Vala please,” she said resting a hand on her good arm, “you must stop fidgeting or it won’t heal.”
Vala’s eyes dropped to her wound and she drew her hand away quickly, “I’m sorry,” she said looking at the younger woman apologetically, “I’m not used to just sitting around.” Jenna nodded and made her way to a large tent where the wounded were being treated.
Vala walked round the camp for what felt to her like days before she saw the warriors around her begin to mobilise ready for the changeover. She hovered nervously and impatiently at the edge of the camp and watched as the warriors inside the town began to exit. There were a number of other warriors around her who were not equipped for battle and they scanned the returning group for those who were wounded and in need of assistance.
Vala helped where she could but she was distracted, still scanning the warriors for the familiar face she was so concerned about. She saw Julen jogging towards her and smiled in relief, he was relatively
uninjured but Vala continued to look past him until the stream of returning warriors trickled into nothing. Vala’s face fell and her heart began to pound as the fresh warriors charged into the town.
She turned to Julen as he reached her, “Where’s Alten?” she asked nervously, her mouth suddenly dry.
“He’s okay Vala, don’t worry, he chose to remain a while longer,” Julen placed a bloodied hand on her shoulder; she felt no sense of relief from his answer.
“You must tell me what’s happened since we parted,” she said trying to take her mind off Alten. They walked towards the centre of the camp where the healing tent was located and sat outside while Vala tended to Julen’s minor injuries as he recalled the last few days events.
“As soon as we arrived we knew there were citizens and mingual inside,” he explained as she wiped a damp cloth over his forehead. “Mingual patrolled the walls and the citizens tended to them throughout the day. We had no way of knowing how many were inside, for all we knew the men from Diapanm were in there too. I spoke to a couple of the other senior warriors and that’s when we came up with the idea to split the army.” He shook his head as she wrapped dressing round a wound on his shin, “perhaps it was a foolish idea.”
Vala looked up from her task, “No Julen, it was a brilliant idea,” she assured him, “this way there’s less chance they can rest and re-organise themselves.”
He smiled weakly at her, “Then how is it they don’t seem to be tiring? It’s been three days, nearly four and they don’t seem to showing any sign of slowing down.”
Vala shrugged, “Don’t you remember Denward? We fought for days and they never seemed to tire, even when we rested they were preventing our escape, but we managed to defeat them and we will again.” He looked unconvinced as if he still doubted his decision. “If you had sent the whole army against them at once then eventually you would have had to pull them all back to rest and that would have given the mingual a chance to attack the camp. This way they don’t have that opportunity, all they can do is keep fighting until we’ve killed every last one.”
She could see from his expression that he felt reassured and she smiled affectionately at him. They had been through a lot together and she was beginning to think of Julen as a younger brother. “You’re a good leader Julen, stop second guessing yourself, every decision you’ve made is exactly what I would have done.” He finally smiled.
Chapter 30
The roar was deafening, the armed men threw their hands over their ears and tried to raise their weapons at Aurora, who stood by the locked doors. Tom waved at them to lower their swords and reluctantly they obeyed but they eyed her with renewed suspicion. There was a shout from the wall as the roar died away and Tom looked questioningly at the gruff voiced man.
“They’re retreating,” he said in surprise, then he turned to Kiræ who stood next to Aurora, her fingers in her ears, “what is she?” he asked suspiciously but with no malice.
“She’s a dragon!” Kiræ pulled her fingers from her ears, “sorry.”
The gruff voiced man stared at Aurora with a cynical expression, “She doesn’t look much like a dragon,” he said eyeing her up and down.
Aurora turned to stare at him and folded her arms, “Give me time,” she said almost threateningly, Kiræ placed a warning hand on her arm while Tom turned to the gruff voiced man.
“We’ve probably not got much time until they decide to advance again, you might want to get the rest of your men together.”
The gruff voiced man looked surprised, “These are all we have,” he said waving an arm at the small group around them.
Tom cursed silently under his breath, “What about those on the walls?” The gruff voiced man spoke quickly to a couple of the citizens and they hurried off in different directions.
“We should go on the offensive,” Kiræ whispered to her brother.
“Why bother endangering ourselves if we don’t need to.”
“What if they break through? There’s bound to be more of them than us.
“We’re unarmed,” he reminded her, “what exactly do you propose we do?” she looked at him in disbelief and gestured with her hands.
Tom was silent for a few moments, then shook his head, “We don’t even know our range.”
She sighed in exasperation, “Then let’s find out,” she said clearly irritated, “we have a chance to help these people.” She dragged her brother up the stone steps and onto the wall where they looked out at the large group of rebels. She estimated there were probably a good fifty of them about a hundred feet from their position. She grabbed her brother’s hand and linked fingers; together they began to breathe deeply while the citizens on watch stared at them in confusion.
The twins raised their hands, exhaled slowly and pushed away from them; about twenty of the rebels who were closest to the wall flew backwards and crashed loudly into their comrades. They scrambled to their feet and looked around them in confusion. The twins grinned and the citizens around them backed away in fear.
Tom had mischief in his eyes, “Okay, let’s have some fun,” they raced back down the steps and told the gruff voiced man to open the gates.
“You want me to what?!”
“Look, we can scare them,” Kiræ explained but the gruff voiced man began to look suspicious again.
“I give you my word we are not going to betray you, all we ask is that you trust us,” Tom said trying to keep the excitement from his voice. The gruff voiced man remained silent for several minutes, then called to one of the men on the wall who told him the rebels weren’t advancing.
He nodded to one of the citizens on the ground who began to unbolt the doors and the twins raced towards them, Aurora came to their side and shot them an, ‘I dare you to stop me’ look. They said nothing but glanced at their other friends who also began to move towards the gates.
The gruff voiced man approached them slowly, holding their weapons in his arms, “I don’t know why, but I trust you,” he said returning their weapons. He gestured to the citizens, who approached the gate, fully armed and readied themselves.
The twins were the first out of the town, they walked slowly hand in hand with purpose and determination, Aurora followed breathing deeply, her eyes shifting to amber. The rebels eyed them but began to smile as they realised they vastly outnumbered the small group from the town.
The twins raised their hands again and pushed towards the rebels who were sent hurtling backwards, landing roughly on the ground and their comrades. Those still standing raised their weapons instantly and stared at the twins in fear and disbelief. Aurora roared. It took the twins by surprise and they crouched, covering their ears; Kiræ glanced up at her friend, squinting slightly and thought her skin was changing colour.
Aurora silenced herself and grinned at the twins who stood upright, “Sorry about that,” they smiled at her, understanding her feeling of excitement. The rebels, steadied their nerves and began to advance. Kiræ and Tom released one another, drew their swords and stood their ground as their enemy approached. The first rebels reached them wielding large swords.
Aurora inched forwards, ducked unnaturally fast as a large blade swept the air above her and slammed the rebel with her shield throwing him backwards into several of his comrades all who crumpled under the force. Kiræ blocked an attack and kicked the rebel in the stomach causing her to double over, then she smacked the heel of her palm into her face with the assistance of air. She glanced at Aurora, whose skin was now a clear shade of aquamarine; she had grabbed one of the rebels, lifted him above her head and hurled him at a group of his comrades toppling them like skittles. Kiræ was amazed at the strength Aurora was able to access when in human form, she wished she could watch her friend in action but a group of rebels were heading her way.
Tom appeared at her side and held out his hand; she grabbed it and together they threw the group backwards. Several of the rebels yelled, but Kiræ realised it wasn’t directed at her and Tom; she turned to where Auror
a should have been and saw a large, aquamarine dragon instead. Aurora opened her jaws and Kiræ covered her ears as she emitted a load roar.
Tom grabbed her arm and dragged her back towards the town where their friends and the citizens were now gathered. They watched as Aurora stared down at the rebels who were looking at her with a mixture of fear and awe. One man, towards the back of the group, who was quivering in fear accidentally loosed an arrow at her. It bounced harmlessly off her scales but she snapped her head round to stare at him, narrowing her eyes.
She opened her jaws again and Kiræ covered her ears but no sound emerged, instead a stream of dancing turquoise flame shot towards the rebels. There were screams of terror and several rebels fell to the ground covered in a layer of glistening ice. The remainder turned and fled as Aurora began beating her wings, sending them tumbling into the snow as they tried to escape. She slowly took to the air and began circling above them, watching carefully as the rebels continued to retreat and once she felt they were a safe distance away she roared with joy.
Aurora glanced down at her friends, who suddenly seemed so small and insignificant, then turned from them and began to fly north towards the Seul Mountains. Kiræ stared in disbelief as her friend flew away from them, she tried to run after her, shouting her name desperately but Aurora either ignored her or couldn’t hear her and it wasn’t long before she was lost to the horizon.
Kiræ turned back to the town gates and saw the armed citizens thanking Tom and her friends, she walked back towards them and forced a smile as the gruff voiced man shook her hand.
“I don’t know what you two did out there but it saved our town,” he said, then nodded towards the sky, “and your friend of course.”
Kiræ forced another smile and turned to her brother, “What do we do now?” she asked in a hollow tone.
“I don’t know,” he said shaking his head; the gruff voiced man overheard them and opened his arms wide.
Forgotten Magic (Elementals Book 1) Page 26