by Rosie Scott
Uriel's light gray eyes clouded with sadness, and finally, a tear escaped its duct and trailed down his cheek. I took a few steps back while emotion distracted him, allowing me the space to throw the boulder.
Solid stone crashed into Uriel's robust life shield, sending him flying through his own soldiers, his guard only dissipating when it collided into enough bodies on its trek. The boulder hurtled into Uriel's torso once he had no protections, and I heard the resulting crack of bone. The healer yelped with internal trauma, grabbing onto the rock as it finished its trajectory to the edge of battle. Cream-colored energy bled out from his fingers just before he crashed to the ground west of the major skirmish where the grasses were untouched.
The boulder landed on Uriel's head and upper torso, and I waited a few moments for the resulting release of blood to ensure he was dead. If his skull was crushed, there would be a lot of it. When Uriel jerked with movement and pushed the rock off of him like it weighed nothing, I cursed with irritation, connecting the energy he'd sent into the stone in mid-air to the alleviate spell I taught him myself years ago. I stalked after him, raising the recent dead of his army and refreshing my reserves with the life force of his men.
Uriel sat up on the battlefield. I could hear the wheezing of his breaths, and the way his stomach sunk in unnaturally informed me that at least one rib was broken. The healer appeared panicked and traumatized as he watched me approach, backing over the grass helplessly at the mercy of a mangled leg. I assumed it broke in his fall because my boulder had only collided with his gut.
A shuddering sob escaped Uriel's lips as I closed in on him. Desperate sadness and resignation exuded from his eyes as he prepared for death, deciding to trust me with his last words.
“When this illusion releases you, please remember that I remained your friend until the very end,” Uriel said thickly before another sob. “I forgive you, Kai. I know you are not yourself.”
“I need no forgiveness,” I retorted, building death magic in both hands. “Your death will be quick.”
Eighteen
Uriel shook with sadness as he continued to back away from me. He knew it was hopeless when he was crippled, but he tried to save himself anyway. I found this pathetic. The whole display was pathetic. Sentinels were supposedly strong and valiant warriors and mages, and yet this one hadn't offered much of a challenge at all.
Uriel cried pitifully, surrounded only by an absorb magic shield now that his other protection was taken. Leeching from him would break the shield and give him energy, but that didn't concern me. He had at least two broken bones keeping him grounded, and even if he threw magic my way, I had my own shield for him to get through. He was easy prey. It was part of the reason I'd offered him a quick death; this felt more like an execution than a true battle.
The Sentinel was only yards away from me when I was suddenly seized with anguish. My heart felt like it was ripping from my chest, and I fell to the ground, memories of the past few minutes rushing back in a new light. Suddenly, I was all too aware of the reality of everything that had happened. I knew that I'd been charmed.
A tortured wail escaped my lips, and I barely caught myself from falling forward with both hands. I shook immensely with self-loathing and horror, staring at the grass as if it could protect me from the memories of turning against my friends.
“Kai. Kai,” Uriel called, his own voice still trembling with sadness.
I lifted my face, catching Uriel's gaze with my own. His panic faded when he realized my mind was clear. A new wave of heartbreak flooded through me as I remembered incapacitating Hakan and taunting Uriel about it. A rumbling sob rolled forth, and I crawled the remaining distance to my friend, grabbing him in a desperate embrace. I shook up against him as I sobbed, “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” I gave him more apologies, but they were lost and muffled as I buried my face in his long hair.
Uriel could barely move with his injuries, but he reached up with one arm, returning the gesture as best as he could. “Your mind was taken from you,” he murmured, shaking with mourning and pain. “I understand, Kai. Both why this happened and how you must feel. Don't apologize to me. Mourn with me.”
A sharp pain sliced through my gut at those words. “Please don't lose hope, Uriel. I did not see him die.”
Uriel pulled back from me, his eyes teary as he searched my face. He knew I spoke of Hakan even though I hadn't said his name, but he seemed too afraid to ask for clarification aloud.
“My main concern was not him. It was you,” I said, funneling all of my focus into Uriel's wounds, both to aid him and avoid his eyes. “I had all of my knowledge of you. I knew you were a general. I looked to kill you first. Hakan did his best to defend you, but he was merely in the way. I know I broke his arm. I don't know if he's dead.”
A mixture of a gasp and a sob escaped his lips. “Okay,” Uriel breathed, trying to give himself hope. “Okay.”
“Amora is the goddess responsible,” I informed him, keeping him focused on something other than worry. I loosened the armor around his torso to allow me access to his broken rib.
“The goddess of love,” Uriel breathed, lying back flat on the grass to make it easier for me to heal him. “So Nyx's intel was right.”
“Yes. About both Amora and Melodi. I haven't yet seen Melodi, but Gwen didn't seem to want to use her unless it was a last resort. Whatever her powers are, they will not discriminate.”
“How were you affected by Amora?” Uriel asked softly, breathing slowly as he tried to calm himself.
“An aura. The last thing I remember doing when feeling normal was preparing enervat to kill her. Then she was walking toward me and I felt like I was in love with her. My whole army's affected, Uriel. She simply needs to be close enough to you and it affects you. The aura could not be avoided by my shields. I don't know how it works.”
“But we were fighting, Kai, and her powers weren't affecting me,” Uriel said.
“Amora has ways of controlling it. Gwen wants Fremont's armies taken out first because you are aiding everyone else. Gwen instructed Amora to use me to kill the Sentinels to leave your men leaderless. It's also possible you were out of the barrier.”
“Why did Amora release you from her aura, then?” Uriel questioned.
I stilled. In my desperation to heal Uriel from the wounds I'd given him, I hadn't thought of that. Amora said that her death would release her magic, but if she had been killed, I expected Cerin and the others to catch up with me by now.
I turned to look back at the battle still raging on the field I'd thrown Uriel over with my magic, and the answer to his question was soon clear.
“I followed you out of its barrier,” I murmured, before standing abruptly.
In the battlefield I'd left behind, the Seran Renegades and my men were advancing toward Uriel and me. Amora's aura was much more obvious to see now that I was outside of it, for the army moved like a large collective circle with the goddess at its center. I could faintly hear Gwen and Amora screaming angrily at each other as they realized I'd unintentionally escaped the aura amid my fury.
Allied soldiers scattered back from the charmed army in confusion and horror as they noticed former comrades meant to fight them. Some soldiers who fought defensively along the exterior of the aura were absorbed into it as it advanced. Charmed soldiers shot arrows and ranged magic into unaffected allied ranks. Azazel and Cerin proved to be the most deadly; black arrows and magic alike were felling our soldiers by the dozen. Nyx must have thrown so many stars into our men that she'd run out because she was no longer fighting. Amora had Maggie close to her at the center of the army, using her as a temporary bodyguard and shield given her immense strength and stature. At first, I didn't see Holter. I remembered hearing the screeching of his blood-kin when I'd first seen Amora, so I knew he had changed into his oozlum form after I'd healed him. But there were no charmed allies in the skies above the goddess.
Then, I found him. Holter had transformed back into an elf, and he wore
just a bloodied cloak he'd looted off the battlefield. He pointed frantically at my charmed army and rambled intel as he neared its flanks with Calder and Dax on either side of him.
With some relief, I realized Holter must have flown out of Amora's aura in his pursuit of a foe, and the goddess had let him go, perhaps not realizing his rank and importance. Holter had immediately delivered the news to allies he thought could help.
And help they did. Holter was all too aware that Amora's focus was on me, so he'd requested Calder and Dax stall the goddess's advance as I healed Uriel. Calder was a powerhouse of a fighter on the sidelines, recycling energy from the life force of Chairel's soldiers into mass paralysis spells with which to disable my men without killing them. Spells were thrown his way in retaliation, but the lizard-kin kept himself protected by an alteration shield. When arrows peppered into his life guard, Dax reached over to regenerate it.
Dax focused on refreshing protections for Holter and Calder, and he appeared to be waiting for the opportunity to whittle down Amora's shields with his throwing axes. One of my friends had given him an alteration guard, allowing him to build reserves from offensive hits to keep the other two men protected.
Though Holter left his bow back with our supplies, he'd looted one and a quiver of arrows from the battlefield and sent arrows flying into the center of the army at Amora's shield. It was a good idea; using elements against the goddess while she was surrounded by my men could be dangerous for our allies. After all, Maggie was right next to her, and the engineer no longer had the shields I'd given her. Gwen was not regenerating protections for anyone other than herself and Amora.
Holter and the others needed help to take out the goddess's shield, for Gwen kept regenerating it and it was hard enough to hit from over the distance of the aura. My eyes scanned over the battlefield, finding Hasani leading his unit of arbalests over to us from the west. I built two strong shields to protect Uriel against both physical and magical attacks.
“I need to direct Hasani,” I told the Sentinel, who was still disabled on the grass. “His arbalests can take out Amora's shield from afar without being affected. I can only protect my Renegades by killing her. I will come right back.” Even as I said it, I gave him a look of regret.
Uriel shook his head. “You need not explain yourself to me. Protect them, Kai. I'm in pain, but I'm not bleeding out. I'll wait for your return.”
I reached down to rest my hand on the top of Uriel's head, dulling his pain with illusion magic. “Thank you, Uriel.”
Uriel smiled sadly at me and replied, “Thank the gods you came to when you did.”
My heart ached at the turmoil on his voice, and I felt a new wave of concern for Hakan. I nodded with agreement and spun toward Hasani's nearing army in the southwest before emotion could overcome me. Anxiety cluttered my chest. I had regained my mind before killing a friend, but the knowledge that Uriel had refused to turn on me even when he thought I'd killed his lover weighed down my heart and ate at its tissue. The words Uriel had meant to be his last repeated themselves in my head like a taunt. I could only imagine having to hear them in my subconscious for the rest of my life after killing him. If I felt any positive emotion after the ordeal, it was gratefulness that the worst had not come to pass.
The Naharan arbalests were on foot as they followed their king's orders to the outskirts of battle. As Hasani saw me jogging toward him, however, he kicked his hyena into a trot.
“Sister!” Hasani called. “Are you of mind?”
“I am,” I yelled back, before pointing at my army. “The goddess of love is responsible for this. It affects most of my army. I need your aid!”
Hasani nodded and looked over the chaos. His dark hyena lifted its bloodied snout toward the action before baring sharp teeth and chuckling. “My arbalests attempted to warn me, but they didn't understand what was happening. Who do I target?”
“There are two women at the army's center. Gwen Alcander and Amora. Gwen knows life magic and is keeping the two of them shielded. They both have blonde hair. Amora is short and wears nothing but a white cotton dress. My allies are attempting to break through her guard and kill her from afar. If you or your men cross into her aura, it will affect you. If we kill her, it will save my men and release them from her magic. Please target no one else. She has one of my greatest friends right beside her.” Thinking of Maggie's blonde hair and looking to avoid confusion, I added, “My friend is half-giant. Amora looks human.”
“I can see the effects of Amora's aura from here,” Hasani said, glancing back as the army of arbalests caught up with him. He urged his hyena forward once more. The king gave me a look of confidence that meant to reassure me and said, “Don't worry, sister. I will teach the meddler a lesson for daring to dampen our reunion.” Bright white teeth glistened as he smiled at me and added, “It feels glorious to see you again.”
Despite our current troubles, Hasani's words were beautiful to hear. It had been far too long since I'd seen him last and heard his unique Naharan accent. “You as well, brother.”
Hasani turned from me and urged his men forward. The arbalests followed their king just north of where Uriel waited, still protected by my shields. A shuddering exhale of desperate relief escaped my lips as I noticed he was no longer alone. Hakan crouched by his lover's side, tanned fingers skimming over the healer's whitish-blonde hair as Zephyr healed the wounds I'd given him. I noted that Hakan's arm was mended, and though the spikes on his shield were dented from our fight, he was otherwise unmarred.
The trio glanced up as I approached. Zephyr exhaled with uneasiness and said, “I haven't been so terrified for a while, Kai.”
I swallowed hard. “I'm sorry,” I replied, before meeting Hakan's eyes and repeating the sentiment.
Hakan shook his head as if to shrug off my concern, but he was shaken. “I am one of the few who can say I survived your wrath. Barely. I consider myself lucky.”
I smiled sadly at his attempt to calm the mood. Uriel held onto his lover's arm like he would never let go again, and I felt the burning pain of emotion behind my eyes before I inhaled sharply to keep it at bay. “Uriel, I said some things during our fight—”
“Kai,” Uriel cut my explanation short. “That was not you.”
I nodded shakily. “No. No, it wasn't.”
“I told you that you would never be at the other end of my spear,” Uriel said. “I meant it.”
“You are an honorable man,” I said, my voice shaking with a mixture of emotions. “And a wonderful friend.” I pulled my attention to Zephyr. “I must go aid the others before we lose more people. Do you need anything before I go?”
Zephyr noticed my trembling. She didn't seem to know whether it was due to emotion or a high, so she asked, “Do you have any energy? I haven't been refreshed since healing Hakan.”
I drained the rest of my high into a charged spell and passed it to her. Zephyr thanked me before I hurried over fields of the dead. Most of the Fremont casualties nearby were caused by my hand. I raised them from the dead as I headed toward the Naharan arbalests, desperate to regain the advantage in this battle.
Cerin had once told me that he'd hated being charmed, for he remembered every bit of it. I knew that my memories of turning on allies in this battle would stick with me forever. So many were dead. Flashes of surprised or panicked faces of allies who once trusted me as they realized I meant to kill them ran through my head. The Battle of Comercio started in our favor, but Amora's arrival had sent our armies into a panic. My army was taken out of the fight and added to the ranks of our enemy, and multiple Sentinels were tied up dealing with the aftermath. Marcus was the only Sentinel left on the field, and Cyrus was forced to take more soldiers under his wing now that their generals were temporarily out of commission. There were still multiple enemy armies fighting, and now they began flanking Cyrus's unit and the undisciplined Alderi. Our only saving graces came in the form of the dragon-kin who took advantage of the hordes of enemies with large-scale meta
l attacks, and Rek's orc army as he ate his way through our foes from the north.
“Halt!” Hasani's booming voice echoed over the battlefield. His arbalests stopped advancing behind him and automatically spread into a formation that would allow them to alternate their aim between their first and second lines. As the arbalests prepared their weapons, Hasani trotted his hyena to the unit's flank. “Only target their shields!” he commanded, pointing one dark finger to the center of Amora's still-advancing army. “Do not fire unless your aim is certain! The goddess is surrounded by our allies!”
Calder and the others on the sidelines of my army noticed Hasani's approach. While Calder and Hasani had an alliance, they had never met; however, it seemed the lizard-kin connected the king's appearance and authority to his role and decided to aid his plan. Calder built two trembling mass paralyze spells in his webbed hands, thrusting them both toward the allies separating Gwen and Amora from Hasani's view. Dozens of soldiers fell, including Nyx and Cerin. The spells hadn't disabled the others, but the path to the goddess was now clearer.
Hasani tugged a metal javelin out of the quiver hanging from his saddle, his light eyes on the approaching goddess. “First line!” he commanded. “Fire!”
The first line of arbalests loosed a volley of glimmering bolts. Though they started their trajectory spread out like the soldiers, the bolts raced toward one another in the sky until they were all pointed at the same target.