by Rosie Scott
Gwen Alcander appeared just as Nyx described. She had pulled her long light blonde hair up into a bun to clear her view for battle, and soft blue eyes exuded self-control and confidence. A splash of freckles dotted the skin of her nose and upper cheeks, making her seem younger than she most likely was. A glimmering life guard surrounded her, and a round steel shield clad in green and black attached to her left arm as she wielded a bloodied sword with her right. The heir and general was in the frontlines of her army, fighting off risen corpses with a vengeance. Gwen's magic shield flickered with weakness due to being bombarded with hits from the dead, and Azazel noticed this. He nocked an arrow, hesitating to fire it until the magic protection was gone.
Gwen pulled her steel shield up before her face, backing up from the nearest corpses a few feet. Moments later, her flickering magic guard refreshed, becoming robust and solid once more. Yet another one of Nyx's observations was true; Gwen was a mage. Azazel readjusted his aim, instead shooting the readied arrow through the eye of a soldier nearby.
As soon as the steel shield lowered before her torso again, Gwen's light eyes scanned through the crowds of soldiers and their undead, finally falling upon me. Her nostrils flared with realization as she matched my appearance to my legend.
“Retreat!” Gwen screamed, backing toward the southern gate of Comercio. “Retreat to the city!”
I was immensely confused. I knew my mere presence could cause fear, but Gwen's army was still massive, and the heir herself seemed fearless. There was no logical reason for Chairel's forces to retreat now. As I caught up to Azazel and shot death bombs into foes to replenish myself, I asked him, “Subterfuge?”
“Probably,” Azazel replied with agreement.
“Have you seen any gods?”
“Not yet.”
Crrrk!
The iron lattice of Comercio's southern gate jolted as it rose. Gwen's army retreated to the western side of the gate, staying outside of the city but allowing just enough room for my army to advance to its entrance. It was a clear invitation for us. Gwen watched me with a measured gaze from afar as my soldiers rushed forth, eager to use the open gate to infiltrate Comercio.
“Hold!” I commanded when we were still at a distance to the gate, the word echoing over the battlefield. Most of my soldiers stopped to wait for direction. A few had been too far to hear me and ran forth to face the frontlines of Gwen's army. The heir noticed my hesitation, and her nostrils flared before she backed through her own soldiers, disappearing into the masses.
I turned to Azazel. “What do you see?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Azazel replied, though he was just as suspicious. We watched together as the few impatient allies fought with Gwen's men until someone cut them down. Our two armies regarded each other from a distance. The Chairel soldiers refused to meet us on the field, and I refused to send my men into an obvious trap.
“Ranged attacks only!” I commanded, gazing over the gate and the army waiting just below it, searching for clues as to Gwen's strategy. I held back as my soldiers sent ranged magic and arrows alike into the Chairel ranks. Some enemies fell, and others recharged their protections. I focused on giving those in my frontlines shields as arrows and spells were thrown back our way, but their men weren't advancing.
Finally, from within the walls of Comercio, just the top curves of glimmering white life shields showed the locations of two people joining the back ranks of the enemy army, and then they moved through it to the front. Men and women alike parted for the two unknowns, and Azazel's warning echoed through the air beside me.
“Goddess, Kai. With Gwen. Appears human. Protected by life magic.”
“Hold!” I commanded again, pushing through the frontlines and regenerating my own shields. Two enervat spells swirled in my palms. The life shields coming toward us were oval shaped, proving that Raphael was not present for this fight. That meant that they were normal shields, possibly given to the goddess by Gwen. I could easily take them out. There would be no reason to worry about the goddess or her powers if she was dead on arrival.
As the enemy soldiers parted to let Gwen and the goddess through to the frontlines, I finally glimpsed my foe. The goddess was quite short, standing at only an inch or two above five feet. Long, whitish-blonde hair flowed down over an ample chest. She wore no armor, only a soft white cotton dress that trailed longer in the back than it did in the front. As she walked, her hips swayed seductively from side to side. Showing no fear, she continued coming toward me with Gwen beside her, passing through their army and the field between us.
The goddess came up to me, her two golden eyes full of pretentiousness. I vaguely remembered holding something in my hands, so I lifted them to see what it was. I had prepared two death spells, but I didn't know why since there were no enemies in view. I glanced up at the goddess as she stopped in front of me, submissively looking for guidance.
The goddess laughed, and it was a soft, charming noise. My heart swelled with love for her.
“You don't need that,” she said to me, motioning toward my hands. “Not yet.”
I dispelled the magic, eager to please her in any way I knew how. “I'm sorry,” I managed. “I love you.”
The goddess chuckled again. “I know, Kai. That's the effect I have on people. It works on you and your minions just as easily as anyone else.” She turned to Gwen. “Kai Sera's army is now under your command.”
Gwen stared out over my soldiers with distaste. “I will be commanding necromancers.”
“You should have already thought of this,” the goddess replied. “My aura does not discriminate. Be thankful it affected them from such a distance. Your lure was a failure. I told you she'd be too intelligent to fall for such a tactic.”
Gwen glared at the goddess for a moment before turning to motion at the guards on the southern wall of Comercio. Slowly, the southern gate closed. Next, the Chairel soldiers standing just outside the gate marched over to join us. Silver bolts cut through some of them from a unit of Naharan arbalests in the south. I glared at the arbalests, feeling the tinges of anger rise in my gut.
“They threaten your safety,” I told the goddess, pointing to the arbalests.
Gwen and the goddess exchanged glances. The goddess flashed an arrogant grin and said, “One of the strongest gods alive is now in your arsenal, dear. Where will you unleash her? The Naharans?”
“Come,” Gwen replied, pointing to the southeast. As the heir walked, the goddess fell in line beside her. I followed them, along with the thousands surrounding me. Gwen continued speaking to the goddess as we crossed the field toward the heart of the battle where flashes of magic lit up the morning skies and giants roamed. “Terran claims Kai is deadliest when surrounded. She uses necromancy to refuel. We need to put her in the middle of their army.”
“She can't be in the middle of it alone,” the goddess argued. “My aura will affect the others, and then she won't fight any of them at all.”
“Your aura is not affecting me, Amora,” Gwen argued.
“Because I chose for it not to,” the goddess of love replied.
“Then do that.”
“I know who you are,” Amora retorted. “I'd have to specifically choose each soldier not to affect. Doing that one at a time mid-battle would be chaotic.”
Gwen skidded to a stop, and my army piled up behind her. “Then what do you suggest I do? You told us that you could decimate their armies. Now there are so many stipulations to using your powers I have half a mind to go back and fetch Melodi instead.”
“Melodi's powers threaten all of Comercio,” Amora spat. “The only way my powers are a threat to your men is if I am killed and my death releases my hold on this army. Let me lead Kai's men and keep me shielded. I will handle the rest. Will that satiate you?”
Gwen's nostrils flared. She glanced over at me with unease. “You are not a general, Amora. We have one chance at this. I can't have you making strategic mistakes.”
“I had already
passed my first millennial birthday before you avoided being a stain on a mattress, child,” Amora seethed. “I don't think I need your help with simple directions.”
Anger and distaste flashed through Gwen's eyes, but she withheld it from her tone. “Southeast, Amora. We will focus on taking out the Eteri forces first and work our way through to the Alderi. The Sentinels are the backbone of this battle. You can tell who they are by their exclusive armor. They are organized, intelligent. Their men consistently aid both the beasts and the Alderi. Keep the Sentinels and their immediate entourages out of the effect of your powers and have Kai focus on them from the edge of the aura. Kai knows their strengths and weaknesses; if she is after the Sentinels, she should use their soldiers to recharge and will eventually overpower them. We can make Eteri's armies lost and leaderless. If we remove Eteri's forces, the other units will be subsequently weakened.”
The two women started walking once more. The ground trembled as our army advanced to the outskirts of the major battle southeast of Comercio. Soldiers in yellow and black armor fought beside an army of beasts. Farther south, horse and hyena cavalry contended, churning up dust with hooves and paws. As hyenas tore at equine jugulars, giants and ogres battered the cavalry from the other side.
“King Hasani!” It was an urgent, terrified scream. Running from the group of arbalests and to the hyena cavalry was a single Naharan soldier, his weapon in one hand although he no longer used it. In the battle ahead, Hasani jerked the reins of his hyena back to turn and see the reason for the ruckus.
The Naharan pointed in our direction. “King Hasani! Kai Sera and the Renegades—”
Shik!
The Naharan stilled in mid-run, his head jerked back from the force of one black arrow to the eye. Hasani watched the soldier fall before his intelligent blue eyes followed the arrow's path, tracing it to Azazel beside me.
“Damn,” Amora commented, her gaze rolling over Azazel before settling to stare in his eyes. “That was a long shot. Even the mortal Renegades are talented. Beautiful, too. If some of them make it through this—”
“Amora.” Gwen glared over at the goddess as she walked. “No. There are to be no prisoners.”
“I would have no opposition to you killing him after I'm through with him,” Amora retorted. “Consider him a spoil of war.” She glanced back at Azazel again and asked, “What is your name, handsome?”
“Azazel Beriah,” he replied obediently.
“Oo,” Amora teased, glancing at Gwen mischievously. “Even his name is beautiful.”
Gwen did not look amused. Pointing forward at the Fremont soldiers, she said, “Unleash her, Amora.”
Amora turned to me, her plush lips pulling up into a charming smile. “Those men and women threaten my safety, Kai.” She pointed to the armies of Fremont, swiping her finger across the landscape to encompass them all. Anger rose in my gut until red tinged my vision. “Be a dear and wipe them out, will you?”
She hadn't needed to say a thing. I already trembled with the anticipation of using deadly force to protect someone I loved. I stalked forward, passing Gwen and Amora with my eyes on the flank of the nearest regiment of Fremont's army. I heard thousands of footsteps pick back up behind me as they followed me into battle.
The Fremont soldiers ahead were amid fighting a unit of Chairel's. I recognized two men near their frontlines. Uriel. Hakan. I was confused. I had memories of spending time with these men. Laughing with them. At one time, I must have been close with them. But they turned against me. All I knew was that my love for Amora surpassed any other emotion I felt other than rage. Uriel and Hakan were now a threat, so I would kill them to protect Amora. As I built two enervat spells in my palms, however, I felt just the slight ache of heartbreak before anger quickly masked it.
A few of the soldiers clad in yellow and black noticed my approach, but they didn't seem concerned. Uriel was in the frontlines with his men, tugging the bladed points of his spear out of the chest of a fallen Chairel infantryman. A life and death dual caster at his side replenished the healer with a spell I remembered creating. On Uriel's other side, Hakan was jittery with the excess energy of a given high and shot an ice bomb through the Chairel ranks. The element exploded against the one soldier's chest, sending spikes of ice through the crowds like shrapnel. Men and women fell at the mercy of icicle impalement.
I noted that both Uriel and Hakan had absorb magic shields, and it reminded me that Uriel knew alteration magic. Defeating him would be difficult, but not impossible. The only problem was that the life and death dual caster could constantly refuel him. But soldiers also surrounded Uriel, and not all of them were as well-shielded.
The healer caught my gaze as I finished my trek. Uriel appeared momentarily confused, but he relaxed when he saw the other Renegades behind me. “Do you need aid?” he called. When I didn't answer, Uriel frowned at the anger in my eyes and added, “...Kai?”
With a scream distorted by rage, I forced both death bombs forward. Panic flashed through Uriel's eyes just before the black magic exploded against his alteration shield and misted out to affect his soldiers. Dozens of mages fell, releasing their life force in puffs of smoke. The energy sizzled as it flew back to me. Uriel's alteration shield flickered out, but he quickly regenerated it.
“Back!” Uriel screamed desperately at Hakan. The fire and water dual caster had an alteration shield, but he relied on Uriel to replenish it. My main concern was killing Uriel. He was the general of this army, and I knew he refused to leave his men. I would let Hakan run, but for as long as Uriel protected his men, I could use them as fuel.
Uriel ripped the war horn from his belt, shaking with anxiety as he blew through it, sending a deep warning through the skies above. His life and death dual caster was still alive due to the alteration shield Uriel had given him. If the stubborn bastard replenished them, they would only be using my energy against me. I needed to split them up.
“Kai! Why are you doing this?” Uriel's light eyes searched through the army behind me as they came to fight with his men, looking for the answers I wasn't giving. I sent two more death bombs into his ranks, and dozens of his men fell. Uriel scrambled to protect as many soldiers as he could with alteration shields as they panicked and asked questions about my arrival.
Hakan hadn't taken his lover's advice to retreat. He ran forward, his hands full of fire. I summoned water in response. Instead of throwing the element, Hakan directed it to the ground, creating a fire wall between me and Uriel to protect his lover.
“Hakan, back!” Uriel shouted. I could no longer see the healer through the wall of flames before me. I stretched my hands toward the flames to douse them out with water, but Hakan charged me first, his spiked shield leading the way.
Cling! The spikes of his guard crashed with my life shield, leaving my boots skidding over the grasses until I fell back from the pressure. I landed on the body of a Fremont mage and replenished my protection in anticipation of more hits that didn't come. I dispelled water and summoned earth. Hakan had a life shield, but it flickered. Still, he saw the boulder growing in my hands and decided it was better to defend himself than to run and leave his back unguarded. He lowered to a knee just yards away from me, holding his shield protectively before his face and torso.
HUUURRRNNNNN!
The war horn echoed out in the skies to the south, and another quickly followed it. The Fremont Army was panicking and re-evaluating due to our attack. Uriel rushed toward me from around the fire wall, his eyes switching between Hakan's defensive stance and my growing spell. He only had access to life and alteration magic. There was little he could do to stop earth.
...but I hesitated to throw the boulder. Hakan was unblemished, but his magical shield was weak. My stone would be deadlier if the guard offered no resistance. And in the frontlines of my army, Cerin had just raised the dead. Uriel skidded to a stop during his attempt to rescue Hakan as Cerin's corpses rose around the lovers and immediately engaged them in melee. Hakan's life sh
ield was chipped at by weapons of the undead as I'd anticipated, and it finally flickered out.
I reacted quickly and sent the boulder flying. Solid stone crashed straight into the spikes of Hakan's shield, and the snap of bone echoed between us as he flew back through the crowds. Uriel's agonized screams pierced the air, and I found myself confused when the noise tugged dully at my heart.
I finally stood. Far ahead on the field, Hakan was lying in a motionless heap with his shield still attached to his arm. I had little time to wonder over whether he was alive before my alteration guard was pummeled with hits.
Uriel had fought off the risen corpses of the men once under his command, and now he shot paralyze spells at me like it was all he had, still shaking with the energy of a high. It surprised me to see his eyes were full of turmoil rather than anger, and though he held his spear, he refused to use it.
“We're not so different after all,” I taunted him, regenerating my shield when it flickered.
Uriel's troubled eyes welled with tears that did not yet fall. “Why do you say that?” His voice was thick, mournful.
“We both fight to protect who we love,” I replied as if it were obvious. I leeched from his shield with two funnels, and nodded toward Hakan's body before adding, “The only difference is that I will succeed where you have failed.”
Uriel's gaze flashed with torment, but as he kept throwing magic at my shield he managed to reply, “Who, Kai? Who do you love?”
I laughed dryly. “Don't act stupid. The same goddess you threaten with your traitorous actions against me today.” I dispelled the leeching funnels. They weren't working; I was only fueling his energy. I decided to batter him back with physical force instead and summoned the same spell that worked against Hakan. Uriel watched the stone expand between my hands, and his arms shook as he reacted by building the strongest life shield he could until the high left his eyes. “You are weak, Uriel,” I taunted, spreading my palms to leave way for the growing stone. “Instead of putting everything you have into getting vengeance for a man you claim to love, you fight defensively to seek intel you'll never have a chance to use. I expected better from a Sentinel.”