Slight and Shadow

by Shae Ford

  He sent a flash of light into the middle of it, bursting it before the fires had a chance to reach him. It fell to the earth in burning chunks, raining down among the bloodtraitors. They screamed, and several of them burst into flame. The battle slowed for a moment as the whole company turned towards the Spine.

  “It’s another one!”

  Kael looked in the direction the bloodtraitors pointed, and what he saw nearly dropped him to his knees.

  A familiar figure strode towards the battle. Kael recognized his thin frame immediately. He thought he could see the light glinting off his spectacles as he raised his staff.

  “Jake!” he cried.

  But Jake couldn’t hear him: he was locked in a spell battle with Finks. They sent bursts of light flying at each other, trying to break through the other’s defenses. Some of their spells exploded so violently that it made Kael’s ears ring — and the noise sent the bloodtraitors into a panic.

  “Run! Get back to the castle!” they screamed.

  All at once, the whole army turned on its heels and tore for the safety of the castle. Finks had to give up his fight with Jake and run with them just to keep from getting trampled. The heat of battle caught in Kael’s legs. He hadn’t realized that he was chasing after Gilderick’s army until the giants passed him up. They followed with a roar, swinging their scythes at the bloodtraitors’ backs. The pirates cut the stragglers down with a volley of arrows.

  But the bloodtraitors’ fear carried them swiftly, and it wasn’t long before they broke free. The first wave was nearly at the castle gates when another force struck them in the middle.

  Shrilling cries rent the air, and Kael saw that a very strange-looking army had burst from the Spine and was racing for the bloodtraitors’ flank. It was an odd mix of desert folk: some wore rags over their heads, while others were so small that he thought they might be children. He was still puzzling over it when he heard a sound that stole his breath.

  An unmistakably-familiar singsong cry — a hum that trembled furiously across the cords of his heart.

  Harbinger.

  The song glanced across his ears, ringing as sharply as the blade’s white edge. It swelled in Kael’s limbs, filling him until he thought he might burst. He lost all feeling in his legs. He couldn’t feel his arms as they swung out beside him, or his eyes as they cut through the crowd. His body went numb, and for a gut-wrenching breath, he feared he might crumble to the ground.

  Then his heart brought him back to life.

  The first beat echoed inside his chest, striking with such force that he nearly toppled over. His ribs rattled as his hope roared to life. It shoved hard against the calloused, blackened walls of his heart, shaking him with every throb. The thumping inside his chest rattled his breath, sending it gasping from his lungs. For a moment, he stood on the brink.

  And then … he saw her.

  Kyleigh led the charge. She darted into the thick of Gilderick’s army, Harbinger swinging furiously at her side — and Kael knew no more.

  He grabbed a giant’s scythe from the ground and hacked his way forward. Bodies passed him in a blur. Hot, sticky liquid clung to his shirt, but he didn’t care. He ground his way through flesh and steel to reach her. Only when they stood side-by-side did the world snap back.

  They hacked through their enemies. When a bloodtraitor swung at Kael’s middle, Kyleigh cut his legs out from under him. Another tried to charge her back — and Kael sent his head flying. He watched her movements from the corner of his eye, darting in to block for her whenever she attacked. If there was ever a gap in her defenses, he was there to fill it.

  No matter how the blows jolted his arms, he would keep swinging. No matter how the scythe trembled in his hands, he would hold on. No matter how weak he thought he was — he would be strong enough to protect her.

  He would never let anything happen to Kyleigh.

  A bloodtraitor sprinted by, and Kael swung for his back. But before his blow could land, Harbinger sprang up to block him, jarring his arms against its blunt side.

  “They’ve got men on the walls — come on!”

  Kyleigh dragged him away by his scythe. Pikes thudded into the ground at their heels as they sprinted out of range. Kael looked up and saw that the rest of their little army was already waiting for them. How long had they been defending the gates on their own?

  “You little fibber!” Brend bellowed at him. He had a nasty cut over his eye, but that didn’t stop him from grinning. “I didn’t think your wee limbs could handle a scythe!”

  Kael didn’t have time to answer him. He ran his eyes over the giants’ heads, trying to guess how many men they had left. Bodies lay strewn across the Fields behind them. And he saw many more piled up at the castle gates. Most were the ironclad bodies of Gilderick’s soldiers, though he saw several ragged slaves lying amongst them … and a few smaller forms of pirates.

  When he saw them lying, broken and bleeding in the grass, Kael’s knees began to shake. He might’ve collapsed under the horror of it all, had it not been for Kyleigh.

  Her hand squeezed his shoulder tightly. The pressure reminded him that the battle wasn’t over, just yet. There was still much to be done.

  He searched the crowd for the faces of his companions, sighing in relief when he saw they were all there. Lysander and Thelred were scraped up, but otherwise unharmed. Most of the pirates had gathered behind them. Aerilyn jogged in from the Fields, the archers following along at her back. There was a determined set to her chin as she eyed the castle gates.

  Brend and his giants had torn ragged strips from their tunics and were trying to bind their many wounds with makeshift bandages. Their thick fingers moved clumsily, though — and those with wounds on their arms had to try to bind them one-handed. That’s when the little people from the desert stepped in.

  They drove their spears into the ground and cut in among the giants. Their smaller fingers moved surely, and some even tore strips from their own garments to use as bandages. The giants hunched over and grunted as they worked, their filthy faces lined in surprised. Kael might’ve laughed at the sight of it, if he’d had the time.

  “Are Morris and Jonathan —?”

  “They’re with the women,” Thelred answered shortly, glaring up at the castle. “If things go badly, they’ll be able to lead them out into the wilderness.”

  Lysander rolled his eyes. “Things aren’t going to go badly,” he said, with a sharp look at his cousin. Then he turned a tired grin on Kael. “We’re ready when you are, Sir Wright.”

  “Hail, Witchslayer!” a number of gruff voices echoed.

  Kael leaned around the pirates and was surprised to see that the men with rags on their heads weren’t desert folk at all: they were shipbuilders. Shamus’s wide grin stretched between his bushy sideburns as he raised a fist in greeting.

  Battlemage Jake stood off by himself at the edge of the force, leaning against his staff. His spectacles slid down his long nose when he nodded.

  There was only one person that Kael didn’t see. “Where’s Declan?”

  Brend pointed behind him, and he turned.

  Declan paced back and forth in front of Gilderick’s castle. His bare feet dragged a line through the dirt path; his scythe hung poised at his side. His shoulders were bunched up tightly. His deep, gasping breaths made his chest swell to nearly twice its normal size.

  And he was covered from head to toe in blood.

  His head whipped around, and his bottomless black eyes lighted on Kael. “We’ve sent our enemies fleeing — we’ve got them trapped,” he growled. “What are we waiting for?”

  Kyleigh’s shoulder brushed against Kael’s as she shrugged. “You know, I’m not sure.” She met his eyes, and he tried to keep his heart from flying out of his chest when she smiled. “What are we waiting for?”

  “Nothing,” Kael said. “Not a blasted thing.”

  Kyleigh nodded. And still smiling, she called over her shoulder:

  “Jake? Get the door
.”

  Chapter 44

  Into the Keep

  Jake’s spell blew the gate wide open. The clenched teeth of Gilderick’s front door burst into splinters, and chunks of his wall blew skywards. The minute the path was clear, Declan charged headlong for the castle — and the giants followed him with a thundering cry.

  Kael knew the giants would keep the bloodtraitors occupied, but there were still other enemies they couldn’t reach. “There’s a witch in that tower over there,” Kael said, waving to Jake. “Make sure she doesn’t cause us any trouble.”

  Jake left at a trot, and the army of little people followed along behind him.

  Aerilyn seemed to have appointed herself over the archers: she dropped her arm, and the pirates sent a volley of arrows towards the castle walls — forcing the bloodtraitors to duck. Without pikes to stop them, the giants leapt over the shattered gate and poured into the courtyard.

  “What’s our plan?” Lysander said.

  “We can’t let Gilderick escape.” Kael turned to Shamus. “There’s only two ways out of the castle: Jake has the kitchen tower covered, but I’ll need you and your men to watch the front gates.”

  He nodded and quickly passed the order along.

  “We’ll follow you,” Lysander said, when Kael turned to him. “We pirates have to stick together, after all. And I’m rather looking forward to seeing the look on Gilderick’s greasy face when we sack him!” he added with a grin.

  Kael turned to Kyleigh, who stood quietly by his side. “You know I’ll come along,” she said, flicking Harbinger in an arc. “I say we end this.”

  So with a cry, Kael led them to the castle gates.

  They leapt over bodies and chunks of jagged rock. Once they were inside the courtyard, Kael slowed. He realized that the Sowing Moon maze was still set up: walls of stone and debris stood in their path. The giants clogged nearly every twisting passageway with their battle. There were so many bodies pressed together that Kael had no choice but to lead his companions down a much narrower path.

  They sprinted to the end of one passage and a tumble of giants nearly blocked them in. Kael had to take them down a sharp turn to avoid getting caught in the scuffle. When they came around the next corner, they found a bloodtraitor waiting for them.

  He charged. Kael nocked an arrow, Harbinger screamed from behind him — and then a brown blur shot over the top of their heads. Kael watched in disbelief as a tawny mountain lion slammed into the bloodtraitor, digging in with its claws and wrapping its powerful jaws around his neck. The bloodtraitor tumbled out of their path with a scream.

  Before Kael could think to do anything, Kyleigh shoved him forward “Keep moving — there’re more coming in behind us! He’s on our side,” she added, when she saw Kael staring at the lion.

  He didn’t see how a mountain lion could possibly be on their side, but he didn’t have time to ask questions. They twisted their way around another curve, and three more bloodtraitors leapt out to skewer them.

  It happened so quickly that Kael hardly had a chance to take it in: he heard the hiss of something flying overhead, and all three dropped to the ground — grasping at the knives buried in their throats.

  Kael spun and thought he saw a flash of dark hair as somebody ducked behind an overturned wagon, but he couldn’t be sure. Kyleigh shoved him on, and he forced his legs forward.

  When they came to the charred passageway, he suddenly remembered how to get out. He retraced the wild steps he’d taken during the Sowing Moon, careful to avoid the grappling giants that tumbled into their path. He could hear Brend’s voice bellowing over the fray:

  “Finish them off, lads! Don’t leave one of those spineless snakes alive!”

  There was only one snake that Kael didn’t want to meet in the maze — and that was Dred. He thought it was strange that the general hadn’t shown up at the battle that morning. Gilderick was probably keeping him close. He wouldn’t want to be taken prisoner, if his castle fell. And a battle with Dred would certainly give him enough time to escape.

  Kael realized that if he wanted to reach Gilderick, he’d probably have to find some way to get through Dred. Though he didn’t see how he was going to do it.

  He pushed this thought aside as he sprinted through the maze. Instead, he focused on the twists and turns, keeping his eyes wide to the dangers around them. Then after several minutes of desperate weaving, they broke into the open courtyard.

  Kael spun to make sure his companions were still following, and when he turned back around, the keep doors stood only a few paces in front of him. Unfortunately, the doors were shut tight — and barred by a small mountain of iron and meat.

  Just as he’d suspected, General Dred stood before the doors. Half a dozen bloodtraitors gathered at his back, pikes lowered in a menacing wall. When he saw Kael, Dred’s stony eyes widened in recognition.

  “His Lordship should’ve killed you,” he growled, his shredded lip twisting in a snarl. “But since he didn’t, I suppose I’ll have to do it for him. Make it count,” he added, when Kael drew his bow. “You’ll only get one shot.”

  One shot was all Kael needed. He locked onto Dred’s left eye, and as the general lumbered forward, he prepared to take his shot —

  “No!”

  Declan strode out from behind a ruined stone wall, a small army of glaring giants following at his back. He was so covered in blood that his feet left a dark trail behind him. He had his scythe gripped in both hands, and gore trickled from the end of it.

  His black eyes locked onto Dred. “No … this one’s mine.”

  With a howl he felt in his gut, Declan charged — and Dred’s face went white with terror. He turned and ran for his life, leaving the other guards to fend for themselves.

  Declan chased after Dred, and the giants fell on the remaining bloodtraitors, shoving them away from the keep doors. For a moment, Kael thought they might’ve actually won.

  “The Fallows!” Brend called. He stood on top of a pile of rotted barrels, and he thrust his scythe towards the Fields. “They’ve broken out — the Fallows are coming!”

  “What in blazes is a Fallow?” Kyleigh said, trying to crane her neck over the nearest bit of wall.

  Kael’s stomach twisted in a knot. “Believe me, you don’t want to know. Come on!”

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the keep doors. In two sharp kicks, she broke the lock. Kael shoved her through, and Thelred and Lysander fell in behind them. They stumbled around for a moment as their eyes got used to the damp gloom of Gilderick’s castle.

  “It’s dark in here,” Thelred grumbled. “Why is it so blasted dark?”

  “Well, what did you expect? Did you think he’d have merry little lights dancing in the hallways?” Lysander said. He shoved the doors closed and wedged a nearby chair against the lock. “That’s not going to hold for long. Let’s get moving.”

  Kael couldn’t have agreed more.

  He led them through the passages, his ears pricked against the unsettling silence. Kyleigh kept a hand in the middle of his back, as if she was prepared to hurl him out of the way if somebody tried to attack them. But they walked for several minutes without a guard in sight. And Kael began to get worried.

  “Perhaps he’s gone,” Lysander whispered. Even though they were alone, he kept his voice quiet — like he thought the halls might have ears of their own.

  The hand on Kael’s back twitched as Kyleigh shook her head. “No, he’s still here. I can smell him.”

  “Then why don’t you lead?” Kael said to her. His stomach flipped when she laughed.

  “I would, if you were going the wrong way,” she said quietly. “Keep moving — we’re nearly there.”

  A faint light glowed at the end of one passageway, and Kael followed it to a closed door. Though he gestured for his companions to stay back while he opened it, they flatly refused.

  “Then at least be quiet,” he whispered as he turned the knob. “We may only have one chance at this.” When
they nodded, he shoved the door open.

  A long hallway stretched out in front of them, and a man stood at the end of it. Kael already had an arrow trained on his chest before he realized that it wasn’t Gilderick waiting for them:

  It was Finks.

  He stood guard before a second door at the end of the passageway. A purple, waving shield hovered in the air in front of him. “Your arrows will do you no good, rat,” he hissed, his eyes wild. “You’ll have to step a little … closer.”

  Kael knew better than to do that.

  But Thelred didn’t.

  He shoved past Kael, yelling at the top of his lungs and waving his sword through the air. Kael lunged for him, tried to snatch the back of his shirt, but he missed. “No! Don’t —!”

  An explosion shook the hallway. Thelred flew backwards, slamming hard against the wall. Hot, sticky drops sprayed in every direction. Kael stared at Thelred’s crumpled body and for one heart-stopping second, he thought he was dead. Then he rolled over.

  “My leg!” he screamed.

  Lysander was already at his side. He’d begun to tear a strip from his shirt when Kael stopped him. “Let me. Kyleigh — watch our backs.”

  She stood bowlegged in front of them, Harbinger clutch in her hand — a hand that trembled as her fingers tightened around the hilt. Kael couldn’t see her face, but he could see the red spreading across the back of her neck. And he could only imagine the sort of look she was giving Finks.

  “Fix it!” Thelred screamed, grasping at his knee. His face was white with pain, and he grit his teeth so hard that Kael feared he might actually crack them. “You have to fix it!”

  There was no way Kael could fix it. Thelred’s leg had been blown off just below the knee, and now lay across the hall in pieces. The best Kael could do was try to stop him from bleeding to death.

  “Grab his hand,” he said to Lysander.

  The captain wrapped both of his bloodied hands around Thelred’s, and he squeezed tightly. “Steady on, Red. Let Kael stop the bleeding.”