by Dave Higgins
Rauger staggered to a halt and lowered her again. Despite the sunshine slipping through the branches, the forest loomed dark and foreboding. It made her think of the wights, hiding in the shadows.
“They’re close. They’ll catch up soon.” Rauger groaned, then heaved her up again.
She turned her head as they jogged, watching the trees go by. If she loved him, why had she condemned him to die? He could have been happy hunting the forests for the rest of his life.
Then she realised. He’d done this to himself—not getting tied up, but the journey south. He’d gone against his whole town for her. Back when he didn’t even know her name; when he thought she was a spoilt brat. His heart was so pure, he’d try to save someone he didn’t even like.
They both wanted to save the world. They were perfect for each other. If only they weren’t about to die. Tears streamed from her eyes and washed over her cheeks.
“Are you drooling on me again?” Rauger hunched down until she was sitting.
She twisted her head around. He’d stopped in front of the fence. “How are we meant to climb that?”
“I don’t know.” He twitched, too tired for an actual shrug. “I should have thought of it, but we’re surrounded now. We’ve nowhere to go.”
“I wouldn’t worry yourselves about that.” A semi-circle of men emerged from beneath the trees, closing in from both sides. The teenage boy in their centre swept back his purple cloak in a bow before bringing a flute up to his mouth.
“Orped,” Peony said.
Rauger moved closer to the fence and turned so he was between Peony and Orped. She appreciated the gesture, but now she couldn’t see what was going on. Familiar voices mumbled nearby. If it weren’t impossible, she’d have though one of them was her mother’s.
She must be hallucinating. The ale would explain why she though they were in front of her rather than behind her. Even if it was a dream, it was pleasant to hear her mother one last time before Orped killed them. “I miss my mother.”
She sobbed. She would die on the other side of the world, without her mother even knowing what had happened to her. “Muummm!”
A loud crack sounded and the fence shuddered. The planks in front of her bowed as an axe cleaved through. Splinters bounced off her face as the axe broke through again to her left, turning the crack into a gaping hole.
If the villagers hadn’t been about to kill her, Peony would have advised them to bottle their ale and sell it for its psychedelic properties. Because the hallucination of her mother charging through the remains of the fence almost seemed real.
Chapter 22
Reunion
Edmond raised his shield, deflecting the long splinters of wood that spun away from Daffodil’s axe. He hurried through the narrow gap after her, Grew close behind.
Then staggered to a halt of at the sight of Peony tied to the back of a strange man. Beyond them, Daffodil faced off against two dozen opponents. Resisting the urge to check on his daughter, Edmond charged to his wife’s aid.
Changing angle and direction too fast for her assailants to predict, Daffodil forced them to take risks; but before she could exploit their mistakes, the volume of incoming attacks forced her back on the defensive.
Edmond took up position at her back, heading off a man who’d been trying to circle her. While parrying an incoming blow with his shield, Edmond slashed low, spilling the man’s guts over his boots.
Following through, Edmond pivoted on his back heel and let his blade lead him around to met the attacker trying to surprise him from the other side.
Three quick blows and the man fell, his neck severed and pulsing blood onto the ground. The blood glowed and sparkled as columns of flame engulfed figure after figure.
Free to take the offensive, Daffodil scythed a path through the remaining attackers.
In moments, only Orped was standing. He gulped a deep breath and raised his flute. Then screamed as it turned to molten silver in his hands.
Daffodil grabbed his cloak and laid the edge of her axe under his chin. “Where’s Imperatis?”
“South. In the mountains.”
“Where exactly?” Daffodil wiggled the axe.
Orped pointed to the dip between the two highest peaks.
With her axe in one hand, Daffodil cleft his outstretched hand off at the wrist. “Where is he?”
Orped screamed, eyes locked on the gout of blood where his hand had been.
Realising Daffodil had things under control, Edmond walked back to Peony and cut her loose from the tall man she was bound to.
She collapsed at his feet, eyes wandering.
Edmond sheathed his sword and moved to help her. However, the stranger was already there, his arm around Peony’s waist.
“Shut up.” Daffodil smacked Orped in the mouth, bringing his screams to a burbling halt. “Where’s Imperatis?”
“I’ll never tell. You can cut off every limb I have and I won’t say.”
“I’ll only cut off one more.” Daffodil lowered her axe. “The shortest one.”
Orped’s face went white, and he stared at her with wide eyes. Shaking, his raised his finger and pointed at one of the shorter peaks to the east.
“Thank you.” Daffodil released her grip on his cloak.
She sent his head tumbling away with a swing of her axe before stepping back to avoid the spout of blood. Turning, she strode to Peony and yanked her into a hug.
Edmond wrapped his arms around both of them, not caring tears were trickling down his cheeks. He’d known she’d be safe. He’d told himself that a thousand times. But saying they’d find her and doing it were different.
When Daffodil broke away, her frown was back. “What were you thinking, Peony? Why didn’t you go home when you got to Amberwick?”
“I was going to. But Imperatis is evil. He’s killing everyone, taking them from their families. He needs to be dealt with before he reaches anywhere else… like Green Moss.”
From behind Edmond, a shining apparition floated through the gap in the fence.
“Kense?” Peony said. “What are you doing here?”
“Revenge.” Kense grinned, teeth glowing. “I brought an army with me.”
“That’s good.” The tall, stranger wrapped an arm around Peony again. “Because if the village we ran into is any indication, this entire kingdom has been converted to Imperatis’ cause. We’ll need an army to reach him.”
“We could use a bigger gap.” Kense pointed at the fence where Stupo hung by one sleeve from a broken plank.
Daffodil hefted her axe. “I’ll deal with that. Edmond, see what’s wrong with Peony.”
Edmond turned his attention to his daughter and the stranger holding her. “I see you found a friend.”
“I did.” Peony slapped the man on the chest and giggled. “Daddy, this is Rauger. Rauger, this is Daddy, The Defender of the Eastern Bookcase and Bearer of the Scroll Unbearable.”
“Pleased to meet you.” The stranger, Rauger, nodded firmly at Edmond. “I’m afraid she’s been drugged. She saved us both, though.”
“Silly,” Peony said. “We saved each other. Me and the handsome hunter, Rauger.”
“She should sleep it off,” Edmond said. “I need to thank you. I’m guessing you’re the reason my daughter is still alive.”
Rauger shrugged and blushed. “I did what anyone would do.”
“No.” Peony shoved him away, but then swayed back against him. “He’s a hero, and we’re on a quest.”
Edmond stepped behind Peony and stared at her for a moment, his eyes unfocused. “You are. I see you levelled up.”
She spun on the spot, trying to look at her own back. “What’s it say?”
“You gained a point in Strength and one in Constitution. Your friend, Rauger, gained one in Strength and one in the hidden stat.”
“Mysterious.” Peony stared very hard at the space above Edmond’s left shoulder then giggled again. “I think I’d like that nap now.”
&nbs
p; Edmond put up a tent for Peony to sleep in, then left her with Rauger. Leaving them alone together went against every parental bone in his body, but if the hunter wasn’t there when she woke up, she’d wander off looking for him. And the thought of not knowing where she was, was worse. Anyway, something in Rauger exuded honour. It was probably the hunter’s Charisma, but if he’d wanted to harm Peony, he could have done it a thousand times while they were alone.
Daffodil had reduced a large section of the fence to kindling and was sat on the pile putting an edge on her axe. When Edmond wandered over, she looked up and grinned at him.
“Pleased to find our daughter in one piece?” Edmond asked.
“Yes. And to find out she can make her way in the world without us.”
“Happy you got to kill more of the people responsible for taking her too, I’ll bet.”
“It was all right.” Daffodil shrugged unconvincingly, then giggled.
“Do we wait, or move on without Peony and Rauger?”
Daffodil glanced toward the Peony’s tent where Rauger sat across the entrance, cudgel resting by his hand. “Vengeance can wait.”
Edmond raised his eyebrows, surprised to hear Daffodil say that. Surprise that grew as he realised he agreed with her. “I’ll pitch another tent and we can rest.”
Daffodil shot him a glance dripping with innuendo. “You do that.”
He hurled the tent up before she lost her post-battle buzz.
Chapter 23
March of the Dead
Edmond kissed Daffodil on the nose, then snorted ruefully. Walking away from his wife after they hadn’t been arguing, twice, seemed a little backward. And doing it so he could undress zombies felt absurd. But Peony and Rauger needed proper arms and armour, and undead former guards and soldiers were the only source.
By late evening, Peony recovered enough to walk in a straight line and string a sentence together at the same time. She seemed so pleased by the mail vest and sword Edmond found, that he didn’t have the heart to tell her where he got them.
As soon as both youths donned their new equipment, Edmond and Daffodil strode out, Grew close behind them. Peony and Rauger hung back, talking in hushed voices. Edmond strained to hear what they were saying, then chastised himself. His daughter needed her privacy.
Behind them, the zombie horde stretched into the forest as far as he could see on either side. They weren’t stealthy, but they were fast enough once they got moving. Being in a massive group, they took ages to do anything, then surged in the same direction. Which now he thought about it, was much like the living.
It didn’t take long to reach a small village. The villagers clustered in the centre took one glance at the approaching army and fled.
“Should I stop them?” Grew asked. “They’ll warn Imperatis we’re coming.”
“He’ll spot an army this size anyway,” Daffodil said. “We should expect to face whatever forces he has.” If Daffodil’s grin had been any larger, it would have disappeared under her hair.
Edmond wasn’t sure how many soldiers Imperatis had on his side, but it would be a lot. Unless Imperatis had sent most of his forces north, the outposts they’d run into had only been a small taste of what was coming.
Moving at the shambling pace of the zombies made it slow going; but by nightfall they’d reached the foothills, where they could see how large Imperatis’ force had grown.
An army waited along the crest, ranged in both directions. There had to be thousands of them. And towering above the regular soldiers, giants.
“There are as many of them as there are of us,” Grew said. “Maybe more.”
“So it’ll be an even battle.” Daffodil brandished her axe. “All wraiths, advance!”
“No,” Edmond said. “We should wait until dark. They need to see; our zombies don’t. And they’ll be more frightened after dark.”
Daffodil tilted her head in appreciation. “Good idea, husband.”
“Thank you, wife. We array the zombies now so Imperatis’ army sees them. The anticipation will increase the chance they run away when we attack.”
“They won’t run,” Rauger said. “Those aren’t humans up there. They look like them, but their minds have been drained and replaced. Imperatis won’t have given them anything that might make them weak, including fear. They’ll stand and fight to the last.”
“Then we’ll kill them all,” Daffodil said.
Edmond sighed, wondering if that would be his wife’s approach to everything on this quest. Ever since Peony had been kidnapped, Daffodil seemed to take pleasure in ending every one of Imperatis’ soldiers.
They arranged the zombies at the bottom of the foothills, in sight of the army. It might not make the soldiers any more frightened than otherwise, but it made it simpler. Kense seemed to have control over his undead army, but every order took a long time to filter through the ranks. With only groans and moans at their disposal, the zombies weren’t great communicators. Which meant Kense had to be within earshot of each clump before they responded—at least until enough of zombies moved to shove the harder of hearing zombies in the right direction.
“Should we be in the front?” Peony moved closer to her parents.
“Yes,” Daffodil said.
“No,” Edmond said. “The zombies can take the brunt of the initial attack. Battle isn’t like a skirmish, Daffodil. This will be a slog. Your axe will get dull and you’ll fall. Or your arm will get tired and you’ll fall. It’ll take hours before this is decided. Whoever’s in the front lines will die, so let’s make it people who are already dead.”
Daffodil frowned, then nodded.
“Don’t worry,” Edmond said. “There’ll be plenty of killing left over for everyone.”
Once night had descended, the last rays of the sun a memory, Edmond waved to Kense. The zombie horde shambled up the slope toward Imperatis’ force.
The opposing army remained a dark smear against the foothills. Edmond couldn’t see how they were reacting, but he guessed they barely noticed yet. If he was lucky, they’d charge when they saw the attack, rather than keep the high ground; but not even his Luck was good enough to affect that many.
Beside him, Daffodil shifted from foot to foot, shoulders angled forward. He put his hand out and squeezed her arm, drawing an irritated glance from her.
As the zombies climbed, torches sparked along the opposing army. Not enough to shed light on the battle, but Edmond suspected that wasn’t their purpose. As the zombies came within three hundred paces of the army, troughs of oil burst into flame, revealing ranked archers. Clouds of burning arrows arced into the sky. Each shot found a mark in the shuffling mass and stuck, the zombies too stupid to pull them out again.
Undead caught light, their clothes burning away, but the flames weren’t hot enough to destroy rotting flesh. Unaware they should be falling in agony, the zombies shuffled on.
At two hundred paces, Imperatis’ army advanced. Their centre charged straight for the zombie forces, while the wings swept in to engage the zombies from the side.
A regular army would have been terrified to be outflanked. The zombies only turned to claw at whichever threat was closest.
Edmond realised that the zombies were going to lose. The soldiers had shields to hold the undead back and swords to dismember them. The zombies might not feel the pain, but they still needed limbs to act. If they broke the line, they might overwhelm the enemy a chunk at a time. Against an army that didn’t fear them and outnumbered them, that wasn’t likely though. “Grew, what can you do?”
“Not much without hurting our own forces.”
“Forget the zombies. Do whatever you can. We need to get that army to break or we’re finished.”
Grew nodded and held his hand out to Daffodil. “I need a partner.”
“A partner?” Daffodil said. “I’m not a dancer.”
“I’ll do the hard stuff. Follow my lead.”
Daffodil sheathed her axe and took Grew’s hand. As soon as sh
e did, Grew sprang to life, twirling her around then drawing her close. Daffodil followed his lead as best she could as the routine became more complex. Together they wove in and out, moving as one, then as two.
Edmond fought down a spark of jealousy within him. He and Daffodil had never danced like that. There’d been parties, feasts, and receptions with prepared routines that avoided any kind of magic. Each of them had been clumsy affairs that made Edmond feel like he had two left feet.
Grew and Daffodil whirled apart a last time, then bowed to one another. Above Imperatis’ army, the stars disappeared as clouds boiled up. Then seemed to return as drops of pure fire rained down. Unlike the flaming arrows, each of these blazed hotter when they found a target.
Reacting from instinct rather than implanted memory, soldiers scrambled for the nearest edge, their shields raised above their heads.
Without the shield-wall to hold them, the press of zombies clawed at the nearest soldiers. With fire above and teeth below, the army fell back a step.
But before it became a rout, the fire rain ended, and the clouds thinned.
“Again?” Grew said.
Edmond considered the horde. Between the enemy and the fire rain, it had become more of a dribble. “We’ve lost. We need to fall back.”
Daffodil scowled. “I didn’t even get to fight yet. We can still turn this around.”
“No,” Edmond said. “The zombies are almost gone. It’d be thousands against one. Plus, Imperatis hasn’t used his giants yet.” And Edmond knew why: if a giant were bitten and turned into a zombie, it’d cause more problems for Imperatis than even this large a force could handle. “We should retreat and come up with a new plan. This isn’t over, but we’ve lost the battle.”
Chapter 24
Caught Up
Daffodil wanted to stop at the first village they came to, but Edmond recommended they keep going through the night. He was surprised when she agreed without argument.
They moved faster without the zombie mass, passing the fence and reaching Amberwick by dawn.
As they made camp, Kense floated up, edges flickering. “You ran off. Left my zombie army to die. I barely got away with Stupo.”