by B N Miles
“So you’re trying to bait a goddess into fighting,” Brice said.
“I guess so. I didn’t think about it that way.”
“Just be careful, Cam.” Brice ran her fingers through her hair then tugged at it. “There’s too much at stake. If we lose this…”
“I know,” Cam said.
“Gambling everything on one fight.”
“If there was another way, I’d take it.”
“I know.” She dropped her hair and leaned back. “I just want it to happen, you know? The waiting gets me more than the fighting. When I’m down there with my armor and my sword in hand…”
“You’re in your element,” Cam said. “You’re beautiful, you know.”
She gave him a small laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think so. I’m wrapped in armor and probably covered in sweat and blood.”
“Like I said, beautiful.”
Cam stood. He wanted to go around and kiss her, but there was a commotion outside. He heard boots stomping and words being exchanged. The tent flap brushed open and Key came inside. She had a sheen of sweat on her brow and her spear was uncovered and dripping with blood.
“They’re here,” she said.
Brice jumped to her feet. “What?”
“Attacking the right flank,” Key said. “In numbers.”
“Take me,” Cam said.
He followed Key out of the tent with Brice by his side. Arter followed on their heels and several more of his bodyguard fell into step. Cam guessed Arter had them ready at a moment’s notice.
The clash of bodies and metal rang over the camp. Most of the tents were empty, the campfires only ash. Cam smelled blood and sweat in the air, and the way Key hurried suggested things weren’t going well.
A mass of bodies clumped along the trench line. Cam could barely see beyond them, but he heard the noise of fighting. Wolves growled, snapped their jaws, howled in pain. Men shouted and screamed and cursed. The smell of piss and shit and death hung heavy.
“I need a better view,” Cam said. “Arter!”
Arter appeared at his shoulder. “Hill toward the rear,” he said. “Along the right slope. You’ll see better.’
Cam nodded and looked at Key. “Hold them here,” he said.
“Why are they attacking?” she asked. “I don’t understand it.”
“I’ll find out. Brice, with me.” He turned and jogged. Arter and Brice kept his pace along with the rest of the guards.
Cam ran through the camp and headed toward the hills that climbed up into the mountains. The foothills were the entryway to the valley itself, and they would give Cam a good enough view of the fighting.
He climbed as fast as he could. Few trees grew along the slope. He reached the first plateau and turned, leaning up against the trunk of a young pine, and stared down at the field.
Below them, wolves threw themselves across a shallow trench at a line of spears and shields.
The wolves shredded themselves. Their forward momentum was arrested by the line of trenches, so their charge was effectively worthless against the shield wall. Any wolf that managed to scramble up from the trench was stabbed to death and sent tumbling back down.
Soon, the trench would fill with corpses.
“What are they doing?” Brice asked, her voice soft.
“I don’t know,” Cam said.
“It makes no sense. They can’t possibly win.”
Cam scanned the horizon. More wolves stood motionless at the edge of the dense woods. They watched as their brethren threw themselves with wild abandon along an open and rocky field toward a line of trenches and shields, effectively running to their deaths.
Hundreds of wolves were slaughtered. Cam saw several wounded men get pulled back through the ranks, but none were dead as far as he could see. And the wolves continued to watch, continued to fight.
Until, at some unspoken command, they stopped.
The wolves still within the field arrested their assault. They backpedaled, turned, and fled back to the woods. The wolves standing in the tree line remained where they were, though one wolf the size of a pack horse stepped forward, its swept back silver fur shining in the sunlight.
“Look at that thing,” Brice said. “It’s huge.”
“Lycanica,” Cam said.
Brice started and stared at him. “Are you sure?”
“No,” he admitted. “When I saw her, she was in a human shape, and she was hard to look at, but that wolf…” He trailed off.
It had to be the goddess. The wolf was at least twice as big as any other around it, and all the others wolves seemed to give it some special deference. The enormous silver wolf carried its head high and seemed to look down upon the Humans.
“She’s testing us,” Cam said.
“Testing us?”
“Look.” He nodded at the trench. “There are maybe a hundred wolves down there. A tiny fraction of her full force. And she stopped before it got worse.”
“But she’s their goddess. She wouldn’t just… throw away their lives for nothing.”
“I doubt it’s nothing.” Cam took a deep breath and let it go. He turned and glanced at the guards standing behind them. He watched them shift from foot to foot, their hands gripping and relaxing along the shafts of their spears. Arter’s eyes were harder and downcast, staring at the killing field down below them.
He could see the fear, almost taste it.
If that’s what Lycanica wanted, if she wanted to make his people afraid, she was succeeding.
The giant silver wolf threw back its head. The howl it released seemed to shake the whole region. The trees vibrated and the earth shifted. Cam’s jaw clenched as the howl pierced his skull.
Brice staggered back and clutched at her ears. “Cam!” she yelled.
Cam reached for her with one hand and grabbed her arm to steady her. Some of the guards behind them dropped to their knees in horror. Arter’s jaw remained set but Cam could see the pain in his eyes.
The line below him staggered back and nearly broke to pieces.
The howl lingered in the air. It tore along the ground and grasped at every inch of Cam’s body until the silver wolf dropped its face and the noise slowly dissipated.
“What was that?” Brice asked, a hint of panic in her voice. “What the hell was that?”
“Lycanica,” Cam said, his face grim. “Come on. We have work to do.”
Brice didn’t move. She stared down at the giant silver wolf as it turned its back on the camp and sauntered back into the trees.
“That’s a real goddess,” she said, her voice heavy with awe. “We can’t fight that, Cam. We can’t possibly fight that.”
“We can.” He squeezed her arm hard.
She grimaced in pain and looked at him. Surprise mixed with anger in her eyes until her face softened. Cam relaxed his grip.
“You’re right,” she said. “We can. We have to.”
“Come on,” he said again, and began to lead Brice and the guards back down the slope.
Watching from above had given him an idea. The wolves were going to come, sooner rather than later, and he had to use that to his advantage. Lycanica was impatient and she was angry, and Cam would use that against her.
Goddess or not, Cam would fight.
34
The morning came slowly, begrudgingly. Sunlight spilled over the camp as the commanders woke their troops early. Cam stretched his back as he stood on the far ridge overlooking his army.
Arter and the guards stood behind him, holding a series of colored flags and drums. Miuri and Felin lingered in the shade of a pine, speaking quietly to each other. Cam paced along the ridge as the army pulled into formation below him, his entire body tingling with anticipation.
There were three main sections. The left flank moved along the far side of the valley, the men in a long shield wall and set in three separate ranks. The front ranks were the most inexperienced men, mostly those that had fought with Key over the past weeks in the rearguard. Behind
them were the main veterans of the army, the most experienced and hardened fighters. And at the very back were the oldest warriors within the camps, those that had long experience but weren’t in the best physical condition anymore.
“I want to be down there,” Cam said as he strode past Arter.
“I know you do,” Arter said. “But you’re better here.”
“Signal Key,” Cam said. “Tell her to move the right flank further out.”
Arter nodded and gestured at the guards. A series of flags and drum beats rang out over the valley. Below them the right flank of the army began to wheel out further right, filling more of the valley and moving closer to the tree line.
The land in front of the army was flat but pocked with stones, rocks, and boulders. On either side, the wings were covered by steep, clear hills, and if the wolves attempted a flanking maneuver, Cam would be able to spot them.
Across the field, the tree line stood quiet and empty.
“When they’re in position, call a halt,” Cam said.
Arter grunted in response.
“He knows, darling,” Miuri said. She walked to him, her hair streaming in the breeze. “Don’t worry. It’s a good plan.”
“Too much can go wrong,” Cam said, stopping his pacing. He stood with a straight back, his hands clasped behind him. “Too much depends on this going right.”
“I know.” She put a hand on his arm and tried to smile. “But you have the right people down there. Key and Theus and Stavar can handle it.”
Cam grunted in response. His eyes swept over Felin, who remained standing in the shade of the trees, her eyes squinting past the blinding sunlight and down toward the valley. He could see her tension, the way she held herself erect, her hands working in front of her.
“How’s she holding up?” Cam asked in a soft voice.
Miuri glanced at Felin. “Okay, I think,” she said.
“This has to be hard for her.”
“I was with her yesterday, when Lycanica howled.” Miuri hesitated and a mask of worry flitted across her expression before floating away again. “She didn’t take it well.”
“What did it mean? I wanted to ask her, but I thought it was better to let it go.”
“She only said that it was difficult to hear,” Miuri said. “But when it was happening, it was like she couldn’t control herself. She fell to the ground and pressed her face against the grass, and I swear every muscle in her body was straining. I don’t know what it meant, but it made her want to do… something.”
Cam let out a breath. “Keep an eye on her,” he said.
Miuri nodded.
He hated having to order that. He trusted Felin and loved her. She’d done nothing but work to help him and had gone out of her way to do what was necessary. But Lycanica was a different beast entirely, and Cam wasn’t sure Felin would be able to resist the call of her goddess.
He felt relieved Miuri was around at least.
“Have you heard anything from your father?” he asked.
Miuri shook her head. “No, but I didn’t think we would. They’re out there.”
“They have to be,” Cam said. “If they’re not…”
“They’ll come. He knows the plan.”
Cam nodded and began to pace again. Miuri watched him before walking back over to join Felin in the shade.
Below them, the army pulled into position. It was like watching three huge blobs move in unison. It wasn’t as organized as he would have liked, but by mid-morning the army was more or less in position and ready.
They stood under the sun and waited.
A lot depended on what the wolves did next. He hoped they’d take his challenge and meet them in the field, but there was no guarantee. They might not come at all during the day and attack the camp at night, or they might make Cam bring his army out again and again, wearing them down a little at a time.
Which wouldn’t be so bad. At least he knew Haesar and the Elves would be in position if the wolves delayed.
Cam continued to pace as the army stood out in the morning sun.
Hours passed. Quiet from the far tree line. Scouts came and went, aides gave reports, message flags waved. Miuri stood next to an anxious Felin and kept an arm draped loosely around her shoulder.
At noon, Cam sent down the order.
“Food where they stand,” he said. “Water as needed. Pass it along.”
“Cam, they’ve been on their feet for hours,” Miuri said.
“And they’ll be on their feet for longer,” Cam said. “Lycanica’s smart. She won’t attack right away. The longer we delay, the more precarious things get down there. I can’t wait for morale to break.”
Miuri said nothing. The men ate where they stood.
Midday came and went. Cam finally stopped pacing and crouched down on his heels, staring out at the valley, trying to keep his mind from reeling too far into a black abyss of fear and anger.
He could only imagine what the men below him felt.
There was a good chance many of them would die, and that was the best outcome. At worst, they’d all end up slaves for the wolves, spend a few years in horrible agony, and then end up dead.
All the while they knew their families were at stake. Their children, their wives, their mothers and fathers. Cam thought that was the only thing keeping them down there. The fear of battle was so palpable that Cam felt drunk on it at times. He knew the terrors men went through in the hours before fighting. He knew just how deep their madness could go.
But none would break. He was sure of that. Because the pressure of losing was so much stronger than the pressure of standing and fighting. Sometimes, death wasn’t the worst outcome imaginable.
A noise broke through his thoughts. He scattered the clump of grass and stood. A scout ran toward them, a boy no older than twelve. He stooped over, breathing hard.
“Wolves,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “Wolves coming.”
“Where?”
“Scouts found… not far…”
“Take a breath,” Cam said.
The boy stood, hands behind his head. Sweat rolled down his reddened face.
“In the trees,” he said. “Right in the middle. They’re coming, a lot of them, they’re coming.”
Cam nodded and looked over at Miuri and Felin. Miuri looked back, but Felin’s eyes were hooded and distant.
“Report to General Theus,” Cam said. “Tell him this: today’s the day to find it.”
“Yes, sir.” The boy straightened then sprinted off back down the hill.
Cam turned to Arter. “Drums,” he said. “Signals.”
The drums began to boom across the valley as a series of flags flashed in the sunlight.
The ranks below straightened. He thought he could hear the general staff shouting at the men to prepare themselves.
Cam could only imagine their reactions. Vomit, piss, crying.
And yet they stood. And yet they’d hold.
He gripped his sword and wished he could be down in their midst.
“There,” Arter said, pointing. “Look, right there.”
Cam followed Arter’s outstretched hand and saw a line of wolves appear just beyond the trees. They were fifty yards away from the army, and their ranks fell back deeper into the forest.
“Ready the archers,” Cam said. “Don’t fire until they charge.”
“But they’re within bow shot,” Arter said.
“Hold until they charge,” Cam said. “If they fire now, half the arrows will be lost in the trees.”
Arter grunted and gestured for a messenger from the gaggle of them standing off near the drums. A boy sprinted off down the ridge toward the ranks of archers that stood behind the main infantry. Cam only had a few hundred archers, which wasn’t nearly enough, but they’d do some damage.
And when the hand to hand started, he’d make them join in.
Drums pounded. Flags rippled. The wolves drew up.
Nothing happened as the army face
d its foe. The field was open before them. There was nothing holding them back.
“Why don’t they come?” Cam asked.
“They’re waiting.” Felin spoke, her voice soft and shaky.
“For what?” Cam asked.
“For her.” Felin pointed.
Cam looked down at the field. It was the silver wolf again, monstrous and beautiful. It walked forward out of the trees and stood in front of the army, its head held up proudly toward the sun. It opened its mouth and released another howl, but this was truncated and weak compared to the howl the day before.
The wolf army took up their call.
Felin stepped forward, her mouth open. Miuri held her arm and leaned forward. “Remember where you are,” Miuri said.
Felin clenched her jaw and said nothing.
“They’re coming,” Cam said, gesturing at Arter. “Signal the men to hold ranks. They’re going to charge.”
Flags waved again. The drums were barely loud enough to be heard over the howling.
Abruptly, it stopped.
Silence fell thick on the valley. Cam thought he could hear whimpering coming from the assembled men.
And then a massive roar as the front line of wolves launched itself forward.
“Archers,” Cam said.
The arrows flew skyward and dropped. The unarmored wolves took arrows directly into their flesh. Wolves tripped and stumbled, falling to the rocky ground, as the wolves behind them tripped on their bodies.
But so many more came behind them.
The arrows fell as fast as the archers could fire.
The wolves hit the front lines a moment later with a sound like breaking bone. Cam felt it in his chest.
The center buckled but held. Wolves gibbered, screamed, threw themselves at spear and shield.
Bodies ripped open and blood sprayed into the air.
Chaos down below.
35
Cam stalked across the ridge as the fighting grew desperate.
“Key needs to draw her line forward,” Cam said. “They’re starting to dip back behind Theus.”