All twelve of the battle stations within the iron and stone fortress were now manned. The brave warriors who’d joined Taleoek were charged, along with their thirty-nine brethren still surrounding the chamber, with maintaining our ruse long enough to draw the advancing griffin forces to the very center of our trap, fighting to the death as they would if their queen was truly in labor. Taking point for a platoon wandering through the hostile jungles of Vietnam at the height of the war—blindfolded and without a weapon—wouldn’t have been half as dangerous.
At a silent command from Taleoek, they drew back their long bows and let loose a barrage of arrows into the onslaught of griffins advancing across the sky like an approaching front of a hurricane, casting the battlefield into an unnatural darkness as if it was suddenly twilight even though it was only mid-afternoon. Dozens of the half eagle, half lion chimeras tumbled from the sky into the choppy sea below, our archer’s arrows finding the small gaps in their leather armor at the neck, beneath their clawed two tone arms, along the top of their thighs and across their lower abdomen, in addition to their completely unprotected sprawling white wings.
Our warriors surrounding the chamber interlocked their shields to form a protective wall in anticipation of the griffins answering volley, but they were spread far too thin for the defensive maneuver to be effective against such an overwhelming force. At least a thousand arrows rained down upon them from every conceivable angle, striking all but those in the very center of the formation. A malignant pain blossomed inside my chest like I’d swallowed a grenade of death and sorrow, hollowing me out while I watched nineteen of the bravest men I’d ever known slip beneath the surface, their souls seeking eternal refuge in Caelum.
Taleoek and the other soldiers inside the birthing chamber did their best to provide cover for the hopelessly outnumbered and exposed survivors, firing off arrow after arrow as fast as they could draw their bows back, but for every griffin that was slain a hundred more closed in closer to their prey, launching lethal salvos of their own. Soon even the enormous Teresoleen sun was swallowed up by the advancing swarm. By the time the first griffins to reach the surface of the water had exchanged their bows for spears—in preparation for breaching the chamber—the last of our soldiers who’d braved the onslaught outside the protection of the steel fortress had fallen. At Taleoek’s telepathic command, the eleven solemn warriors inside the chamber mouthed a prayer to the gods for their fallen brothers and silently slipped beneath the waves, abandoning their gallantly staged defense to join us at the sea floor.
The griffins had fallen right into our trap; only the stakes were much higher than we’d anticipated. With such a large percentage of their forces now committed to an unwinnable battle, we were no longer just looking to inflict enough damage to make griffins second guess if they should attack Syreni females they believe are giving birth going forward or flee from the area as fast as possible fearing another trap. We had the opportunity to alter the entire course of the war. Possibly even end it altogether.
After watching the griffins fervently launch spears through the armament openings and storm the birthing chamber—only to find it abandoned—I focused my Goddess sight on General Gherian in the northeast corner of the kill box. Our troops were organized into three lines spanning the entire front in both directions, the soldiers spaced roughly five feet apart. All sixty thousand of them held their long bows in hand and were firing at will into the panicked griffins close enough to the front to see they’d been trapped. The handful that made it past our warriors while I watched were quickly picked off by one of the thousands of raptors circling behind our lines. With no clear avenue for escape, the griffins in range of our bows soon changed tactics, forcing their way forward toward the birthing chamber. Chaos spread through their army as the retreating chimeras smashed into others with reckless abandon, their golden beaks open wide as they called out for help. When there were no longer any targets in range General Gherian issued the command to our regiment commanders to move their men forward. We were tightening the noose.
Things seemed to be going equally well for General Sheriolac and the sixty thousand Syreni warriors under his command along our western and southern fronts. They’d already advanced far enough to allow us to form a fourth line from the men no longer needed to span the length of the shrinking front, the four sides converging on the birthing chamber at the center of the killing zone. Griffin carcasses littered the vast swath of crimson water stretching out before our soldiers like a climactic scene from some apocalyptic Sci-Fi movie. While the three rear lines continued to assail the griffins retreating with reckless abandon toward the ever dwindling refuge surrounding the chamber, which was, for now, at least, still outside the range of our bows, the soldiers in front methodically dealt with the wounded, running the beasts through with their swords or removing their eagle-shaped, feathery white heads. This wasn’t a battle. It was a massacre.
Our Syreni forces weren’t the only ones who’d benefit from the ground we’d taken. Every square mile we eliminated from the war zone would allow Genevolet to further concentrate his forces and strengthen their vertical containment web. When I peeked in on the raptor king I found him riding a thermal current high up in the cloudless sky, providing me with a far better vantage point to gauge our overall progress, a task that was made much easier by the built-in GPS capability my Goddess sight provided. We’d already closed to within two and a half miles of the chamber in several areas along the eastern and southern fronts, and were within four miles of our target across the board. With the battlefield less than half the size it had been at the start, the raptors had been able to form a second band of circling patrols around the entire outer perimeter, flying in the opposite direction to make it even more difficult for a griffin to try to navigate between them. Genevolet was working with three of his regiment commanders to add a third layer of security directly above the battlefield, the most likely direction for the cornered and desperate griffins to flee in. Every minute that went by with the beasts still trapped further diminished the chances that any of them would make it out of this alive.
I’d just finished passing along my upbeat battle assessment, delivered with the eager gyrations of a high school cheerleader, to a far more pragmatic Aristos and Taleoek when I found myself looking at the world through the eyes of the raptor commander closest to Genevolet. No time seemed to have passed since I’d last looked in on raptor king. The scene was so familiar that I briefly wondered if I’d accidentally shifted my focus back to him, until I realized that I couldn’t alter the point of view. Unable to intervene, I watched on in horror as the vision unfolded. The remainder of the griffin army rose up like a tornado in a mile wide inverted funnel from a point directly above the birthing chamber, well outside the range of our archers, laying waste to thousands of raptors positioned above them. Including the raptor king.
Their full scale retreat hadn’t been an act of cowardice as I’d so arrogantly concluded. They’d been regrouping, rendezvousing at a strategic rallying point for a counterattack intended to deal a crippling blow to our allies before the griffins broke containment and fled back to the safety of their birthing grounds with the bulk of their army still intact.
When the vision ended I found myself surrounded by Aristos, Taleoek and my entire Royal guard, all of them giving me a wide birth out of respect for my obviously tranced state and the hundreds of lethal appendages I had at my disposal. I couldn’t exactly accuse them of being overly cautious given my track record, even if my soulcras were well behaved this time around. Commander Sennika still bore a very visible scar from the previous warning I’d received from Athena, when I’d watched myself get eaten by a cutterfish.
I filled them in on the griffins’ imminent plans for a counteroffensive as quickly as I could. Orders were immediately dispatched to half the Syreni regiment commanders to move their troops forward, swimming at full speed toward the birthing chamber to form new lines within range of the consolidated griffin army. We
sent word through our telepathic communication chain to Genevolet and the raptor commanders as well, passing along key details of the pending attack and informing them of our plans. It would take dozens of precious seconds for the orders to be delivered, and far longer for our troops to respond to them, swimming up to three miles in full battle armor. It was up to me, Aristos, Taleoek, my Royal guard and the hundred-and-eleven warriors we had with us to figure out a way to hold back the roughly fifty-thousand remaining griffins long enough for the cavalry to arrive, assuming I could convince my fiercely protective warrior prince that I couldn’t remain on the sidelines any longer.
If Genevolet dies, the agreement I negotiated will likely die with him, if not our entire alliance.
I know. Aristos closed his eyes and leaned his head forward so our helmets were touching, kissing me on the tip of my nose.
Without the raptors help, the griffins will quickly learn to fly above the reach of our arrows all the way to the chamber in case it’s another trap, not coming into range until they confirm the chamber is still occupied. We’ll be back to square one.
Another soft kiss, this time on my cheek. I know.
They’ll kill Vanessa, Ris. I can’t let that happen.
His trembling emerald lips settled over my own, all of his love and fear flooding into me through our emotional embrace. I know, my beautiful, brave compar. I’ve known you were a warrior from the very first moment we met. It’s what I love most about you.
Aristos’s rich chocolate eyes took on a feral look that instantly transformed his irresistibly handsome face into that of a vicious predator as he drew his sword from its scabbard, held it out in front of him with the blade pointed down toward the sea floor and bowed before me. Taleoek and the others quickly followed suit. Take us to war, my queen. We are your soldiers to command.
*******
Our rapid ascent soon brought us within earshot of the fighting. We settled beneath the birthing chamber rather than surfacing so I could do some reconnaissance with my goddess sight and devise a strategy. The scene I observed from Genevolet’s vantage point high above the birthing chamber was utter chaos. Word of the griffin counterattack had clearly reached him and the raptor commanders. They’d switched tactics from passive containment to a direct assault on the swarming griffins still attempting to form the inverted funnel I’d seen in my vision in spite of the ongoing battle all around them. Seeing that the raptor king had refused to abandon his warriors in spite of the direct threat he faced made me respect him even more, even if his stubbornness would make it far more difficult to protect him. Thankfully that job wasn’t mine alone. With the third vertical containment layer now completely formed he had nine full regiments patrolling the skies beneath him. The twenty-seven thousand, hundred-and-eighty pound, twenty-three foot wingspan black-and-crimson birds all but blocked out the sun.
Without our support both sides were suffering heavy losses. The raptors closed in on their prey at incredible speed as they dove, their four foot wide talons impaling their unsuspecting target and holding it captive while their razor sharp, hooked crimson beak bit through the back of its neck and severed its head. But the griffins could wield weapons. Their archers spread out around the perimeter of the metal and stone birthing chamber cut down wave after wave of the diving raptors, our allies’ cougar-sized, unprotected bodies and massive wings making them easy targets. With the ocean at their feet, the chamber on one side and hundreds of their fellow griffin archers packed in tightly around them it made it difficult for the raptors to even get close. Little did they know the danger that lurked just beneath them. Just as I was about to lead our small band of warriors into the fray I noticed a flash of movement inside the chamber.
Switching my visual reference point to that of the griffin archer closest to the birthing chamber, I peeked inside through the armament opening next to him. The griffin king, unmistakable given his crimson feathered head and neck, was holed up inside along with six of his generals, orchestrating their counteroffensive from the safety of the heavily fortified position while his soldiers died all around him. Fucking coward. If he was so hell-bent on killing me and my unborn daughter it was time he got his own hands dirty. King versus queen.
After a quick conference with Aristos, Taleoek and Sennika we settled on a plan. Taleoek and our hundred-and-eleven warriors would take out as many of the griffin archers as they could in close, hand-to-hand combat while Aristos, my Royal guard and I stormed the chamber and killed the griffin king. For Taleoek and the others it was all but a suicide mission, the goal being to keep the band of enemy archers distracted from what was happening inside the chamber and weaken them enough to give the raptors a fighting chance until our reinforcements arrived. The morose mission we outlined didn’t stop a single warrior from swimming forward to volunteer the moment the choice was presented to them. Taleoek gave Aristos and me a very un-militaristic suffocating hug as he told us how proud he was to serve such a worthy general and queen, then drew his sword and, with a mighty stroke of his jet black tail, charged into battle, the rest of his soldiers right behind him.
I waited until the fighting was in full swing before drawing my battle axe and raising my shield. Sennika, Kilas, Vanimure and Fryliwan, surface inside the moat and take out the four griffin generals positioned along the western and eastern edges of the chamber. They’re currently straddling the moat on their hind legs, facing north, and have spears in their hands. You shouldn’t have any problems ambushing them. Ris, you and I will propel ourselves up the platform a half a second behind them and take out the two griffin generals in the center along with their king. None of them have a weapon drawn at the moment. It’s time to move.
Aristos took full advantage of the seconds we spent waiting for my Royal guard to move into position, ravaging my mouth with his devilish tongue and slick, sultry lips. By the time he pulled back I was left drunk with lust. I love you, Cami. The gods truly blessed me when they brought you to my world. Whatever happens, know that I am yours for all of eternity.
As I am yours, my love, I replied, delivering a final soft kiss to his swollen bottom lip. The corners of his mouth turned up in my favorite dopey smile as he traced seven familiar letters along the armor above my heart, mirroring the name forever branded into my skin. I let out a chirp of a laugh as I bit down on his captured lip. Still proud of that, are you?
His predatory growl sent delicious shivers down my spine. More than you can possibly imagine, babe. Let’s do this.
We swam hundreds of feet toward the bottom before starting our ascent, providing the extra-long runway we’d need to overcome the significant drag from our armor and shields and generate enough momentum to clear the entire birthing platform. Aristos issued the command for my Royal guard to attack just before we reached the submerged metal edge of the platform and catapulted ourselves out of the water. I focused my Goddess sight on the griffin king as I sailed through the air, the stable image allowing me to assess our enemy’s movements with far more clarity than the blur of images racing past my own eyes.
When I hit the stone floor I cradled my shield against my chest and threw myself into a controlled side roll, coming out of the fourth rotation directly behind the lion-shaped hind legs of the griffin general closest to the platform. He’d risen up to confront Sennika and drawn a spear from between his wings in response to the first wave of our attack, leaving his back exposed to me just as I’d hoped. With a wide arcing swing my tempered steel axe chopped clean through both femurs. No longer able to bear his immense weight, his mutilated legs crumpled, causing him to collapse in a heap as his spear sailed wide of its mark. Unfortunately I was now face to face with a very pissed off griffin.
The edge of my shield slammed into its snapping beak a split second before it could rearrange my face, but there was nothing I could do to prevent its talons from digging into me through my chainmail, the creatures featherless orange forearms curling around behind me in a bear hug. Uneven lines of white hot pain spread fro
m the small of my back outward to my ribs on both sides of my body as I jammed my sword into its exposed gut on a sharp upward angle. After the fourth powerful thrust the indomitable beast finally stopped shredding my flesh and stopped moving. As I laid there bleeding, thanking my Goddess that I was dealing with a series of deep gouges rather than torn apart organs, I took back all the snide remarks I’d grumbled under my breath about Aristos bundling me up in chainmail like I was a petulant child wanting to play in the snow. Being an apprentice of the Goddess of war, I was beyond lethal in my human or Syreni forms, but fighting on a dry surface with a tail was just plain awkward. It would be nice if I could breathe, too, come to think of it. The whole experience made me realize I needed to add a whole new facet to my training.
Setting aside my growing list of everything that sucked about this situation, I quickly sat up and raised my shield just in time to deflect a spear that was headed straight for my baby bump. If I’d been livid before I was downright feral now. The soon to be extremely dead assailant stood over Fryliwan’s torn apart body readying another spear, the corpse of my guard member only recognizable by his pastel pink tail and fiery red ponytails. In one motion I withdrew the perfectly balanced dagger from the sheath at my waist, rolled toward the bastard who’d killed him and fired the blade into its feathery white chest, aiming for the exposed spot at the base of its neck where its leather armor ended. It choked out a single gurgling caw through its beak, bloody bubbles accompanying the eerie sound, as the spear it had been holding slipped from its clawed hands and clanged harmlessly against the stone floor. Vanimure was there to deal the finishing blow, his blade taking the beast’s head, issuing him a far more humane death than he deserved.
Kerrigan's Race (The Syreni Book 1) Page 40