Meta Gods War 3

by B N Miles

  Arter grunted and the drums banged. If anyone down below could hear them, Cam couldn’t see any proof.

  As soon as the fighting began in earnest, the flags and drums seemed to disappear. He sent messages as necessary, and a steady stream of scouts ran between the main fighting armies and Cam’s outpost, but the situation on the ground rarely changed.

  Cam felt like he was going to lose his mind.

  “Try and calm down,” Miuri said.

  Felin sat beneath a tree with her knees pulled up to her chest and stared off into space.

  “I should be down there,” Cam said. “I’m the best weapon this army has.”

  “Right now, we need you here,” she said. “We need you making decisions.”

  “You can make decisions,” Cam said. “I can fight.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “Not how it works, General. You took this position on, and that means you’re important. We can’t have you running around down there and getting yourself killed.”

  Cam’s jaw clenched but he said nothing.

  “Things are going well,” Arter said. “Lines are holding. Wolf bodies are piling up. We might come through this after all.”

  “It’s just the start,” Cam said.

  As he spoke, a shape moved down below them along the left flank. It took Cam a moment to understand that it was a mass of wolves running along the far ridge.

  He felt a spike of excitement.

  “Look,” Miuri said, pointing.

  “They’re trying to flank us,” Cam said. “Watch, they’re going to gain ground then drop down.”

  “That’s a bad thing, isn’t it?” Miuri asked, a tinge of worry in her voice.

  “Normally, yes,” Cam said. “Arter, play the drums. Let’s get Brice out there.”

  Arter nodded with a savage grin and began furiously waving a flag as the drums boomed. Cam crossed his arms and watched as the flanking wolves got into position along Stavar’s flank then ran down the slope toward them.

  Stavar turned part of his column to respond to the flank, but they were slow. The wolves hit hard and Stavar’s middle began to buckle, his front line cut off from the rest of his troops.

  Behind the flanking wolves, a host of glittering bodies emerged from the trees.

  “There she is,” Cam said.

  The heavy infantry marched in tight lines down the slope behind the flanking wolves. They slammed into their rear before the wolves even realized what was happening. Brice’s heavy infantry hacked and killed and slaughtered the flanking movement, and once those wolves were cleared out like dead brush from a meadow, Brice turned and went to meet the wolves at the front.

  “You had them hiding,” Miuri said. “How did you manage that?”

  “Branches,” Cam said. “Pine branches covering their armor. They’ve been sitting up there for hours, covered in pine needles, just waiting for our signal.”

  “Is that the whole heavy division?” she asked.

  Cam grinned wickedly and shook his head. He gestured at Arter, and more flags waved, more drums boomed.

  Along the ridge to their right, more glittering armored soldiers stepped forward from the sparse tree line. They descended the hill and smashed into the wolf flank.

  Two heavy divisions, one on either side. Brice’s division shoved their way forward and began to pinch the wolf flanks, forcing them back into an ever smaller space at the very front of the army. Captain Frant was in command of the right division, and his tactics were similar, but more savage: his men hacked, slaughtered, and stomped on wolf corpses, rolling over them like animals.

  The wolves were squeezed tight on either side but didn’t back down. They continued to throw themselves at the front lines, and their bodies began to pile up. The wolves behind scrambled over the corpses of the fallen, and Cam saw the spearmen shove the body piles over before they could act as ramps for the wolves behind.

  For a moment, Cam felt a surge. The Elves hadn’t joined battle yet, but he might not even need them. Although there were so many wolves that he couldn’t see the ground, his armored divisions were smashing them on either side and squeezing them into a bottleneck. The center and the flanks held, while the heavy infantry did their bloody business.

  “We might not need your father after all,” Cam said.

  Miuri smiled. “Looks that way.”

  “Frant’s pushing hard. He’s almost swept in front of the right flank entirely.”

  “I’m worried he’ll overextend,” Miuri said. “If he goes too far, his flank will be exposed.”

  “Not if he turns and pushes ahead.” Cam gestured at Arter and the drums slammed again.

  He watched as the heavy division down below them responded to the beat. They inched their line to the right, turning their flank forward. Cam felt a surge of pride in his army. The heavy divisions were like the wings of a great bird, their armor glittering in the sunlight as they slaughtered their foe. The lighter infantry pushed forward, keeping pace with the heavies, and slowly the army gained ground as the wolves fell beneath their boots.

  For a moment, the world hung suspended in the air. Cam saw the future, golden and good. He saw himself in the Mansion with Galla, with Miuri and Felin and Key and Brice. He saw children, weddings, laughter, long lives filled with hard work and joy. He wanted to give his people a future brighter than anything they’d seen before, and this would be the start of it, the beginning of something better.

  But then, the great silver wolf trotted forward from within the tree line. The wolves all around her parted and gave her space as she threw her muzzle back toward the sky.

  “It’s Lycanica,” Cam said.

  “You knew she’d come,” Miuri said. “It doesn’t change anything. She’s just—”

  Her howl tore Cam’s eardrums. He staggered back and threw his hands over his ears. The flags fell behind him as the guards dropped to the ground, their hands covering their ears. Arter roared something incomprehensible and Cam stared into his guard’s eyes. The fear there tore a hole in his gut. Arter shook him and pointed at the valley.

  Cam followed his gesture. The roar continued, a howl so loud he felt it deep within his bones.

  But down on the valley floor, something was happening.

  Cam had to stare for a few seconds before his brain caught up with his eyes. The rocky ground looked like it was made from waves. It bubbled and frothed, clumps of dirt flying into the air. The ground shook and rolled toward his army and Cam watched as the men lost their footing beneath the ripples.

  “She’s breaking the shield wall!” Cam yelled over the noise. “Arter, damn you, signal them! She’s breaking the wall!”

  Arter roared at his men and managed to wave some flags, but it was inept and useless. The howl kept going, seemingly forever, and Cam stared in horror as the front line of men began to topple and stumble and break. Shields fell from position, and the wolves threw themselves forward in a mad surge.

  “Felin!” Miuri’s shout drew Cam back to himself. Miuri ran toward Felin, grabbing at her arm as Felin tried to run forward. Felin’s eye were wide and unfocused, like she couldn’t control her actions at all. Miuri managed to grab her and wrestle her to the ground, pinning her there, but Felin continued to struggle.

  Cam’s jaw tightened as he turned back to the army. The wolves broke through the front line in the center and spilled toward the second and third line. They hadn’t formed up, and he knew they were going to fall.

  The roaring stopped and the land became stable again.

  But it was too late. The shield wall shattered and the wolves spilled through.

  36

  “I have to go down there.” Cam pulled his father’s sword from its sheath.

  “Cam, wait,” Miuri said.

  Felin stopped struggling. She let out a wild groan as Miuri backed off. Cam hesitated then trotted to their side, his sword held off to the side as he knelt down beside them.

  “Felin?” he asked.

  She looked u
p, blinking slowly. “Cam,” she said.

  “What happened?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

  Miuri sat next to Felin, breathing hard. “She sure can fight,” Miuri said.

  “I don’t know what happened,” Felin said. “I was just… something happened, and…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “It was the roar. It was Lycanica. I had to answer.”

  Cam glanced at the guards behind them and saw more than a few giving them strange looks. He shrugged it off and reached out to touch Felin’s hair. She nuzzled against his hand and chewed on her cheek.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I think so,” she said.

  “I’ll watch her,” Miuri said. “Go, do what you need to do.”

  Cam stood and gripped his sword. “Arter,” he said. “Bring half the guard. The rest of you stay here. Signal when the Elves join the fight.”

  Cam turned to descend the hill and join the fray. The center was getting pummeled as the wolves overran them. Cam saw them desperately trying to reform the shield wall in the center of their ranks, but every time they managed to get some semblance of order, the wolves would throw themselves in another wild charge.

  The left and right flanks held, but just barely, bolstered by the heavy divisions. They wouldn’t matter though, not if the center couldn’t hold.

  He began to stride forward. Arter and half the guard joined him. Wind billowed through his father’s leather armor and he silently sent a prayer to the Urspirit, begging for guidance and help.

  When they were halfway down the hill, and the scream and commotion of the fight was almost deafening, a bright flash made Cam stumble to a halt.

  At first, he wasn’t sure what it was. Cam turned and grabbed Arter, yanking him forward. “Did you see that?”

  “I saw it,” Arter said. “But I don’t—”

  Another flash of bright orange light.

  “What was that?” Cam asked.

  “Fire,” he said. “That was fire, just like yours.”

  Cam felt his chest surge. “Are you sure?”

  But another huge gust of fire screamed through the ranks of wolves. It stabilized this time, and instead of dissipating right away, it continued to grow.

  The conflagration centered on the wolves driving their way into the middle of his army.

  “Theus,” Cam said. “Urspirit helped us, it’s Theus down there.”

  “Theus?” Arter sounded shocked. “I didn’t know…. I didn’t know your father taught him.”

  “He didn’t,” Cam said, laughing wildly. “I did!”

  The fire burned bright and hot. Cam could almost feel its heat. Smoke billowed into the sky in sheets as the wolves turned to cinders and ash beneath its intensity. Theus burned a hole in the wolves and forced them back enough for the rest of his army to reform a proper wall.

  “Send a guard back,” Cam said. “Signal the left flank to send their third line to Theus.”

  “Yes, sir.” Arter shoved one of the younger guards and sent him running. “What do we do?”

  “We join the fighting,” Cam said. “Theus still might fall. I don’t know how long he can keep up that magic.”

  Arter grunted and nodded.

  Cam continued forward at a trot. They reached the bottom of the hill and came to the back lines of the center column. The men looked bloodied and broken but determined. Cam could feel the heat from Theus’s magic on his skin. He waded through the men, pulling and pushing them aside. They parted for him and a cry went up, Shaman! Shaman! The chant was barely loud enough to hear over the screams of wolves and the crackle of flames.

  Cam found Theus standing at the front of the line with his staff outstretched. He poured fire forward, his eyes lit up with ecstasy and rage. Cam stepped forward with Arter and the guards at his back.

  “Theus!” Cam yelled.

  Theus didn’t respond. More fire rolled forward, thick orange and white columns that rolled forward in waves.

  “Theus!” Cam yelled again. “You have to let it go!”

  Theus half turned and recognition flickered in his eyes. His spear dropped, and the fire fell away.

  A strange silence descended as smoke and ash blew in the wind.

  “Cam?” he asked.

  Then he doubled over in agony.

  “Oh fuck,” Theus groaned.

  Cam gestured. “Get him,” he said. “Bring him toward the back.”

  Arter sent two guards out. Theus resisted at first then allowed himself to be led away. Cam put a hand on his friend’s shoulder as he passed, a little smile on his lips.

  “You’ll be okay,” Cam said. “Trust me, it’ll pass.”

  “I feel like there’s a hammer in my skull,” Theus said. “Oh, Urspirit, it’s horrible. I just want… if I can just use…”

  “Don’t touch the priori again,” Cam said. “Trust me. I’ll be back to check on you soon.”

  Theus grunted and was pulled back through the lines.

  Leaving Cam standing a few feet in front of the shield wall. Ash and dirt and blood stained his boots as he turned toward the field. The smoke cleared as another wind swept forward.

  And a host of wolves faced him.

  Cam smiled and held his sword forward as the wolves began to charge.

  He waited. They gained on him, fifty yards, thirty, ten. Cam could feel Arter and the guards back off toward the wall.

  But when the wolves were close enough to pounce, Cam unleashed more fire than Theus could ever dream of.

  The power swept through him and made him gasp with the sudden jolt of it. He let the fire roll down his sword then form a thick wall before him. He pushed the wall forward, sweeping away any wolf that came close, turning them into ash, vaporizing them in an instant. The wolves were swept away for fifty yards again, and Cam flicked his sword to the side, releasing the spell. He grimaced as the Need hit, but he weathered it and turned to the men behind him.

  “Forward!” he shouted.

  He had to get them back into position. They were behind the front lines of the left and the right flanks, and if they didn’t close the gap, the wolves would be able to flank the army’s wings.

  The shield wall marched. Footing was bad and uneven, but the fire had turned most of the corpses into ash, which made it easier. They stomped through the cremated wolves until another wave of the creatures stormed forward.

  Cam could tell they wouldn’t make it. The wolves closed too quickly and the wall was too clumsy to hurry. He could use magic again, but it would cripple him, and he thought he might need the power again at some point.

  “Hold!” Cam shouted as he stepped back and joined the front line. His guards melted in behind him and joined the second ranks. Arter was right on his back, a hand on his belt. “Hold!” Cam yelled again.

  But before the wolves reached them, a new shout rang through the valley.

  37

  The charging wolves slowed to a trot. Some turned their heads back, staring out across the field toward the tree line.

  “Forward!” Cam shouted and began to push and march. The rest of the column responded and surged ahead to close the gap.

  More shouts came from across the field, back toward the trees, where the bulk of the wolf army was encamped. Screams reached him on the wind. Cam looked toward the flags and found them waving like mad, flashing green.

  “The Elves,” Cam said, looking back at Arter. “That’s the signal.”

  Arter looked up and a joyous laugh tore from his throat. “My god,” he said. “They’re really here.”

  “Forward, come on!” Cam yelled. The line surged again, and although the wall lost some cohesion, they managed to reach the position equal with the wings once again.

  They formed up and faced the wolves as the creatures stood seemingly frozen midway across the field, their snouts in the air, sniffing at the breeze.

  Cam turned to Arter. “Send men,” he said. “Send them to Key and Stavar and Brice. I’m in command of the center now, and th
ey need to push forward as hard and as fast as they can. The Elves just joined the fight.”

  Arter nodded and grabbed more men, shoving them away, sending them sprinting off. Cam’s honor guard was dwindling, but it didn’t matter.

  He had the whole army at his disposal.

  For a long moment, he held position. The sounds of shouting, howling, and growling drifted over the field as the wolves lingered in the center of the open space. The ground was scorched black. Men beat spear against shield. Cam felt his heart hammer a steady rhythm. He pressed away the Need and focused on what he had to do.

  Then the drums came from the ridge. And the whole army began to march forward.

  The wolves ahead turned to fight, but it was too late.

  Their lines met with a clash and a scream. Men shoved and stabbed and blood made the ground slick and sticky. Cam shouted at his men, urging them onward, as the wings surged under the pressure of the heavy divisions. Cam could just barely see the glinting armor off in the distance, and he felt his chest surge and swell with joy.

  This was it. They were doing it. After so much planning, so much hard work and fear and anger, they were finally doing it. The wolves were trapped between him and Haesar’s forces, and there was nowhere for them to run.

  He’d destroy them, every one of them, and kill a goddess if he had to.

  His sword slashed out, sending waves of fire ahead of him. Not too much, but enough to drive the wolves back. The animals faltered, their charges weakened, and Cam could sense the confusion in their ranks. Foot by agonizing foot, the army rolled onward, taking the field and compressing the wolves, leaving a trail of corpses behind them.

  Bodies piled up. His men shoved them over.

  It was a slaughter and the drums kept booming.

  They pressed hard for an hour. Inch by inch, foot by foot, wolf by wolf, until the tree line was in view. The cacophony of the battle was deafening. The wolves got desperate and threw themselves at Cam and his men, but they were cut down, the inevitable march pushing onward.

  The wings began to contract toward them, sweeping in over the field. The heavy infantry slaughtered and looked unstoppable as the wolves thinned out before them. The horde turned into a trickle.