by Narro, B. T.
They followed her into the dining hall. Although there were just as many people there as during breakfast, it was quiet. It felt restricting, making Cleve keep his voice to a whisper. “Do we know how many skunks there are?”
“They estimate fifty thousand,” Reela whispered back. “But that’s just what someone told me. Could be a rumor.”
Raymess yelled from the front of the hall. “Sit and listen. A small meal will be served as soon as I’m done.”
Cleve, Reela, and Vithos scurried to the nearest table that had enough room. He didn’t know anyone there. They were all men, a few of them with lingering looks at Reela.
“The siege will be over soon,” Raymess announced. “And when it is, we’ll have a feast.”
Everyone applauded.
“Your officers will take command. The Elves and those who came with them will report to Klaiya. All of you will be fighting, and we will win.”
The crowd applauded again. Cleve couldn’t help but compare Raymess to Terren. The young King needed much practice to reach Cleve’s uncle’s skill at delivering rousing speeches.
He was especially shocked when it was clear Raymess had no more to say. The King walked off to sit at a table with Micah and other men Cleve didn’t recognize.
A bearded man climbed onto his table near the front and thrust his fist into the air. “Kill them! Kill the skunks!”
“Kill them!” others joined in the cheer. “Kill them! Kill them!”
But Cleve could only think of Oster and felt no compulsion to shout or even stand. This battle was inescapable. Even worse, it was pointless. But too much had been set in motion to stop it. This was how it needed to happen. These men had to fight each other—kill each other until one side retreated. And that had to be the skunks. Otherwise, everything leading up to this might be for nothing.
Cleve could feel Reela’s gaze on him. Her vibrant green eyes dove into him as he met them with his own. She and Vithos knew everything he did. They shared his frustrations, his worry, and his compassion, but there was another feeling stronger than the rest. There was a deep sense of belonging, with each other, and with what was to happen here and now.
But then grief took all those feelings, squeezed them together, and took a chunk of his heart.
Rek…he should’ve been here with them. He belonged here. Cleve glanced between Reela and Vithos. He knew he was in the midst of a wave of psyche. It had taken him on a quick journey through their emotions.
With glistening eyes, Reela squeezed his hand, holding Vithos’ with her other one. “We’ll make sure all of us get through this alive.”
“We keep safe,” Vithos said.
Food was served: poached eggs, bacon, and apples. By the time Cleve finished eating, he felt like himself again. The trumpet sounded and everyone stood. Cleve shook the stiffness from his neck and shoulders, mentally preparing himself to end men’s lives with the swing of his sword. It still wasn’t an easy feeling to get used to.
Klaiya led him and the Elves into a different room. There weren’t many Humans besides Cleve, but there were enough that he found a man in each direction he looked as they clustered before their leader. These men were citizens of Goldram. Still are, Cleve corrected himself. Their commander had changed, but their allegiance to their territory had only grown stronger. These were men who truly believed in Fatholl’s cause. Some of them had been part of the Takary Army, while others were simply skilled with a sword or a bow and joined when Fatholl’s Elves came to recruit them.
It was strange how few mages there were in Greenedge. From what Cleve gathered, magic was rarely taught except by mothers and fathers to their children. There were no schools, nothing like the Academy, which meant their warriors were unlikely to be as skilled as those in Ovira.
But Cleve still couldn’t help but feel attached to Greenedge just as strongly as he did his homeland. This was where his ancestors had come from. They’d left the continent to start a new life away from the desmarls. Reela’s and Vithos’ Elven ancestors had done the exact same thing, only they’d come many years afterward and sailed to the northern end of Ovira instead of the southern.
And when Reela’s and Vithos’ ancestors were forced to return to Greenedge, nothing had changed. No one had a plan for the desmarls. The monsters continued to mate, multiplying rapidly as everyone had predicted. Cleve was determined to put an end to it. He felt resolve hardening him.
“We all knew the likeliness of this battle when we started north,” Klaiya said. Being nearly Cleve’s height, even those in the back were able to see her. “This is the first battle involving both Elves and Humans, and it certainly won’t be the last. We cannot fail. Lake Mercy must remain under the control of Goldram and Zav. I know it will be difficult fighting and killing men who will eventually be joining us. But we must. Morality is layered. It has a surface, a middle, and deep down there is a center—the last act and the source. In our case, the desmarls are the center. Every choice we make is so we can exterminate the desmarls. We’re nearing the middle layer right now, almost there. Trust the plan. Protect the frogs and each other.” She gritted her teeth. “And be merciless.”
“Baymi allo,” said the crowd.
“Baymi allo,” Cleve, Reela, and Vithos joined in, as the Elves repeated it two more times. He’d heard the saying before. Have honor in fighting.
Chapter 29:
JEK
In recent days, Jek had felt the Sartious Energy around him increasing. In the air, from the ground, from the trees, he could feel it like wetness on his skin the moment before a cold winter rain. The only other time he’d felt this much SE was when he was near desmarls in the underground tower that men of Waywen took him and Lisanda into, and when he went north to face the beasts. He’d killed ten and brought back their eyes for her now dead—Jek had to keep reminding himself of this—father.
But he knew it couldn’t be desmarls now. They wouldn’t reach Lake Mercy for another hundred years. So what else could it be? Could the SE in the forest be increasing?
His dreams were worsening. His darkness had taken on new shapes, often showing up as a giant. It kicked Jek, crushed him, grabbed him and squeezed until all the bones in his body shattered. It made him once again fear falling asleep. Jek figured these dreams had to do with the cure Cleve had brought, as if his darkness knew it was finally about to be challenged and hopefully beaten. He didn’t care what was asked of him after the battle was over. He was leaving. The evesal seeds needed to be planted, and he needed to see Lisanda. Whatever repercussions that caused, so be it.
Harold was the officer in charge of Jek’s group. He was thankful to be following instead of leading in this case. Part of Jek’s training as the King’s Mage involved learning to command men and women during battle, but he hadn’t practiced enough to be comfortable yet. He wasn’t used to worrying about thousands of enemies and allies at the same time. He’d never even been in such a battle before. What his instincts would tell him was still a mystery.
His group was made up of archers and a few mages. Red mages, Jek found out—specialists in Bastial Energy. He was relieved. Although Sartious Energy was abundant, it was easier to control without others near him interfering. His group walked up a twisted path to the top of the mountain. The lake was behind them, far, far below.
“This is too high,” Peter complained. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to hit a skunk without killing one of our own.” He was nervous and already seemed to have forgotten one of the first things Harold had explained.
“We’re up here to shoot them before they engage with our swordsmen…while they’re far away and still among the trees,” Jek said. “Do you remember now?”
“No, I was having trouble listening.” Peter’s hands were shaking. “What’s going to happen after they reach the clearing?”
“Then we’re going down, closer to the base of the mountain. We have the least dangerous task, Peter. We only have to worry about arrows and fireballs.” And one or two
rock slingers, depending on whether Cleve made his shot last night. Jek decided not to add that. “Calvon and Cleve have to worry about those things and all the swordsmen. We need to relax and focus so we can assist them.”
“Right.” Peter shut his eyes and took a deep breath. But he jumped when Harold shouted an order.
“Archers, ready your arrows!”
Peter cursed and sucked in air quickly.
Squinting, Jek could see skunks in the gaps between the treetops. It was impossible to tell how quickly they were moving and even how far their army stretched. Somewhere among them was at least one rock slinger. It should’ve been easy to spot, but Jek didn’t see it.
The rest of Jek’s allies were at the base of the mountain, waiting for the skunks to emerge from the trees. It was so quiet that Peter’s rough breathing was distracting.
From the forest came a squeak, then a growl, then a squeak, then a growl. Rhythmically, the two sounds continued to alternate.
Harold’s men pushed out their necks as they listened. No one offered a guess as to what it could be. It went on and on, squeak then growl, squeak then growl, until eventually someone said, “They’re cutting down a tree.”
Soon they heard the sound of cracking wood as a single tree fell. A rock slinger was revealed in the opening it created, too far for Jek to reach with a fireball.
“Fire at the siege weapon!” Harold commanded.
Jek saved his energy and watched his allies let loose a barrage of arrows. They rained down on the forest, at least half getting stuck in the trees without coming close to the opening. Still, Jek heard screams in the distance.
“Keep firing,” Harold commanded.
But the moment he spoke, a crack thundered out from the trees. The rock slinger’s rod jerked and flung a boulder. For the briefest of moments, Jek almost laughed, as it looked like the skunks had thrown the jagged rock straight up to land on themselves. But it spun and tore through the air as it grew bigger and bigger.
Bastial hell, it’s going to reach the mountain!
“Look out!” a few voices shouted.
It crashed into the mountain halfway up from the base. The rumbling ground knocked Jek to his knees. He heard the boulder bouncing down and slamming against the dirt at the bottom. There were screams, but Jek couldn’t tell if they were from fear or pain.
“Get up and fire,” Harold ordered all those who’d hit the ground. “Don’t stop shooting! Mages, can you reach the siege weapon?”
Instead of answering, the red mages grunted and thrust out their wands as they hurled fireballs as far as they could. None even came close. The fireballs got caught among the bushy treetops and burst apart.
There was another crack of the rock slinger.
“Incoming!”
Again, the arc was deceptive. There was no way for Jek to tell how close this boulder would land until four or five rapid heartbeats before it struck.
When this one sailed over their heads, slammed into the mountain, and rolled down into the lake—breaking the water with a shattering splash—Peter spoke Jek’s exact thought. “I think they’re aiming for us!”
“They must not want to come out of the trees until we’ve moved,” Jek figured.
“Then we should move.” Peter looked at Jek desperately.
Does he expect me to take over as commander? “We will when we’re ordered to. Keep shooting until then.”
More arrows were released. Hardly any screams followed. Jek began to wonder if they were wasting arrows.
Come on! Jek shouted in his mind. Come fight us.
The rock slinger cracked again. Each time, it sounded like some part of it was breaking. The arc of this rock looked to be somewhere between the last two…it looked to be coming right toward them.
“Jek…” Peter muttered. His voice rose as the spinning boulder started to come down. “Jek! Jek!”
The mountaintop was uneven and crowded. The men bumped into each other and tripped in their mad attempt to flee. It made it even more difficult to focus as Jek visualized the spell he wanted to cast. He wouldn’t be able to hold the Sartious Energy for long, and his aim needed to be perfect. So he waited, hoping Peter wouldn’t pull him out of the way, as the boulder was coming down right above him. Everyone around him screamed and tried to flee, bumping into his arms and shoulders, but still he waited, gathering so much energy that a shimmering green cloud formed around him.
Before it completely blocked his view of the hailing boulder, he formed the heavy energy into spears, focusing to press their flat ends hard against the uneven mountain while their tips were sharp and spaced a fist apart. There wasn’t enough time or SE to fill the gaps between them.
Screaming to focus, he put all of his effort into maintaining the hardness of the spears. Like claws reaching out from the ground, they rose until they were twice Jek’s height. The boulder crashed into them and made a sound as if ten shields had shattered at once. Rock and hard SE exploded, pelting Jek as he turned to hide his face behind his arm. Gray and green dust mixed in the air. Fragmented rock tumbled down the mountain.
Jek’s heart had stopped. He clutched his chest and fell. The burning agony of it made him gasp. He didn’t have the energy to cry out. Just before he felt Peter’s hands on him, his heart started beating again, shuddering in complaint. Too much SE. Jek didn’t know exactly when his heart had stopped, most likely right before he cast.
“Bastial hell, are you alright?” Peter helped him up.
“Yes.” Jek felt the steady rhythm returning.
Peter laughed. “It looks like you confused them. They haven’t loaded another rock.”
Good, it’ll give me more time to recover in case they hurl another.
“Archers, keep firing!” Harold yelled.
Peter scrambled to load an arrow.
“Mages, if you can’t reach the skunks, then set the trees on fire. Cast now.”
Jek saved his energy as he watched five fireballs spiral down from the mountain and explode against the trees. The heat wasn’t concentrated enough to set them ablaze. It fragmented into chunks and fizzled out.
But the archers continued to shoot, and the mages didn’t stop casting. The top of one tree was soon ablaze, then another deeper into the forest, then a third even farther away. But would the fire spread? And if it did, would the skunks finally come out to face them, or would they retreat to fight another day?
Jek didn’t have time to tell. Another rock was in the sling.
The enormous wooden pole flew forward and slammed against some sort of stopper, hurling yet another boulder. How many did they have? Jek told his heart to be strong and readied more Sartious Energy.
This jagged rock seemed as if it would strike their mountaintop just like the last, only not on top of Jek but far to his right. He sprinted, pulling the Sartious Energy in a trailing cloud as he gathered even more than last time.
“Don’t block the green mage!” he heard Harold shout. “Let him through.”
People screamed as terror seized them, but they managed to make space for Jek. The boulder was spinning violently on its way down.
Unable to get beneath it in time, Jek prepared his body for the torture of holding Sartious Energy steady from ten yards away. He screamed and grunted. His knees shook. In a blink, the SE pressed into itself so that fifteen thin spears the height of short trees rose, as if out of the ground. They took the force of the boulder and shattered apart, breaking the rock with them. A cloud just like the last one dispersed. Shards of stone tumbled down the slope.
Jek grabbed his heart in anticipation. It stung and shivered, then thrashed against his chest and shot his pulse up to his throbbing forehead. But soon it had calmed.
Let that be the last boulder they hurl at us. He didn’t know how much more his body could endure, especially now that his army was relying on him to stop each one.
A strange mixture of relief and fear grabbed his unsteady heart at the sound of skunks chanting. He couldn’t disting
uish what they said, but their tone was undeniable. A charge was coming.
Another boulder flew into the air, surprising Jek, though he soon saw this one wouldn’t reach them. It flipped at a dizzying speed and came down onto one of the crooked mountain paths. Bouncing, it tore off chunks of rock and dirt that rained down with it in a hail of stone. Jek heard his allies yell but knew nothing of their fates.
Skunks flooded from the trees, looking like ants. He almost started down the mountain until it occurred to him the order hadn’t been given yet.
“Fire!” Harold demanded.
The archers let loose a flurry of arrows. Jek and the other mages followed with fireballs. He watched as he drew more Bastial Energy into his body. The balls of magma were mostly intercepted by the skunks’ raised shields. Many arrows had the same impotent outcome. But some enemies were struck, in their shoulders, legs, and chests, though it wasn’t very many. Half of those hit kept running as if nothing had happened.
The next wave of arrows and fireballs did about as much good as the first.
Jek’s allies below, clad in green armor, charged to meet the skunks. Somewhere among them were Cleve and Calvon.
“Stop firing,” Harold yelled to the archers and mages. “And follow me down the mountain!”
Chapter 30:
JEK
Hearing swords clashing and men dying at the base of the mountain made descending at a safe pace impossible. Jek ran after Harold, with Peter just behind him. There were places where the path was so thin that Jek’s two feet didn’t fit abreast. When he almost slipped off, and the man behind him grabbed his arm and pulled him back, Jek was amazed that his heart hadn’t leapt into his throat. Did his body not fear death? He considered it a strength and pushed it out of his mind.
Horror stopped him when he heard a scream come from behind, not from below like the others. A frog was falling over the edge. His limbs flung in every direction, reaching for something solid. The mountain came out to catch him, though it did more harm than good as he bounced off and started to flip.