Julianne smiled. "I'm sure you'll get used to it."
The two women stumbled to a stop at the gates, where a cluster of people milled about talking nervously. They fell silent as Julianne and Catherine appeared hand in hand.
“What's going on outside?” a voice called.
Julianne ran her eyes over the small crowd. People from Kells and Anrock mingled, shooting anxious glances toward the sounds of fighting that drifted over the solid wall.
"The remnant are here," Julianne said. "And I need you to help me fight them."
Shocked gasps and angry curses erupted.
"You can't send us out there among those monsters!"
“You told us we’d be safe here!”
"You can't expect us to go outside. We’ll all be killed!"
Julianne listened to their refusals with a growing impatience. “My friends are out there," she snapped. "They’ll die if we don't go out there and help."
"And you think we’d survive for more than five minutes?" The man who spoke looked at his friends for support, which he got it in the form of eager nods and grumbles. “You came here, and you brought these monsters with you. You got your people inside, but we’re not giving our lives for you.”
Julianne cursed. "If you want to cower behind these walls and let those bastards dictate what kind of life you live, fine. Open the gates. I'll fight them alone if that’s what I need to do."
One of the guards gave an outraged shriek. “Open the gates? You can't be serious. If you want those gates open, you'll have to go through me. I'm not letting those monsters into this town without a fight."
"Oh, now you find the balls to stand up for yourself,” Julianne muttered.
"Julianne!" Polly's voice rose above the din and she hurried over. Danil trailed behind her. “What's going on?" she asked, eyeing Catherine warily.
Julianne shook her head in frustration. “The remnant are outside and Marcus is hurt.” She frowned, looking at Danil. "Hang on… Why don't you already know that?"
Danil blushed. “I may have overstretched myself a little while I was talking to Catherine."
A new wave of fear rose, constricting Julianne's throat. She’d counted on Danil’s help to get the gates open. She pushed back the urge to rub her head to ease her growing headache. Julianne knew she didn’t have the strength to hold Catherine’s shields while creating new spells of compulsion.
"Can’t you just…" Catherine waggled her fingers. "Magic your way past him?"
Julianne shook her head. “I can't, not without unraveling the spells protecting you. And if I do that, we'll have a riot. With Danil out of commission, I’m stuck." Julianne caught Catherine’s glance at Polly. She shook her head. "Polly’s not a mental magician."
Catherine frowned, thinking the problem over. “So if you weren’t keeping my magic restrained you’d be able to get past him?”
Julianne nodded absentmindedly.
Catherine stepped in front of her. "Hit me.”
Julianne gave her a confused look.
Catherine repeated herself. “Hit me! Right in the face.” She pressed her lips together to stop them from trembling and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, bracing for the impact.
"Why would… Oh, you mean knock you out? Julianne asked.
Catherine nodded. "It will stop my magic, right? Coates always said that the only time he didn't have to suffer my curse was when I slept."
Danil shrugged, giving Julianne an apologetic glance. "It might be our only option, Jules.”
Julianne let out a growl of frustration. "Just once—just one time—could they make it easy for me?"
"For Julianne! For Kells!" The voice rang over the din outside, drifting over the wall to cut through the murmurs of dissent that surrounded Julianne.
Silence fell.
"Was that Jackson?" an old woman asked.
"Yeah," a man next to her said. "Didn't you see? He stayed outside to fight with the others.” He shook his head in regret. “Silly old bastard."
"Jackson? You mean Jackson from Kells? The old man?"
"That's him."
Julianne closed out the conversation bubbling around her. "If I'm going to have to do this, I may as well get it over with. Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked Catherine.
"Do you promise you'll—”
"To hell with it!" The old woman’s bark cut off Catherine's response. "That man has more balls in his little finger than you've got in a week's worth of pants."
The grandmother turned on the guardsman and jabbed her cane at him. "You might want to cower in here, but the people of Kells know where that kind of cowardice leads. We’re goin’ out to fight, and you’re gonna open the Bitch-damned gate so we can do it."
Julianne turned to the crowd, her mouth hanging open in shock.
"You can't! You're older than my Nan!" The guard stumbled back, almost falling on his ass as the old woman advanced.
"And do you think your Nan would be proud of you now?" she demanded.
Looking around in desperation and hoping for support, the guard was disappointed when no one stepped forward to back him up.
"I've met Jackson a time or two,” a man remarked. Julianne didn't recognize him from Kells, so she guessed he was local. "The old bag is right. If that old coot can take those monsters on, so can we. I'm sick of hiding under my wife's linens. I'm going out there with them." The man hefted an iron hoe and Julianne wondered where he’d found it.
The second guard Julianne had used earlier stepped forward and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. "We’re outnumbered. Good thing, too. I don't think I could live with myself if old Jackson died to protect our sorry asses—and outside our own damn town, no less."
Julianne watched silently, knowing that the next few moments would decide the fate of an entire city. She held her breath as the guard’s eyes darted back and forth, his mind turning over the sudden change around him.
"All right," he said quietly. "Martha?" A woman stepped forward, holding a small child in her arms. The little girl squirmed and reached for the guard.
"You do what you need to, Dan.” Martha stretched up to kiss him on the cheek. “I'll take care of Matti. Just…just make sure you come back to us in one piece."
The woman's voice broke on her last words and the child started to wail. Tears running down his cheeks, the guard strode over to the giant wheel.
Julianne called, “Wait!” and turned back to Catherine, her right hook knocking the girl out before she could even cry out. “OK, go!”
“Ready?" he called
"Pull!" came the response.
Those who had armed themselves raced through the opening doors, Julianne, Danil, and Polly amongst them. Although the amateur soldiers ground to a halt when they saw the horde of remnant, the three fighters did not. Julianne plunged into the fray, a well-placed swing of her staff snapping a Skrim off the neck of a remnant. The beast spun and yanked out the wriggling tentacle from the hole in its neck, then launched itself at a nearby remnant and tackled it to the ground, scrabbled at his foe’s neck to bestow the same gift Julianne had given him.
Julianne's eyes searched the battlefield. "Marcus?" she yelled.
"Julianne!" The response came not from Marcus, but from Garrett.
Julianne fought through a tight cluster of three remnant, one of them fighting off two others. Julianne took a brief moment to assess the situation, then rammed her staff into the ribs of one of the pair fighting together. It turned to her in a red-eyed rage and a second flick of her staff broke its nose.
The remnant howled and swiped at its face. Another jab of Julianne’s staff aimed at the swollen blue bruise on its side made the beast stumble to its knees.
It quickly pushed to its feet, wobbling as it clutched at a protruding bone.
"I'm almost starting to feel bad for your hosts." She shrugged and added, "But not enough to go easy on you.”
Julianne lunged, then planted her staff firmly on the ground and used its
leverage to push herself forward. Her boot slammed into a remnant's chest and blood and organs squeezed out through the hole in its side. She landed on top of the beast and slit its throat.
"Sorry, I don't have time to do this delicately."
Julianne rolled off her victim and saw the other two remnant still battling it out. She ignored them and raced toward Garrett.
"This would be so much easier if you were a little taller," Marcus grumped.
His right arm, roughly bound with strips of shirt and dripping blood, was wrapped around Garrett's shoulders. The other balanced his rifle on his hip and tried to aim the weapon, but Garrett's jolting movements made it hard for him to even stand.
"No, it would be easier if ye hadn’t stabbed yerself in the foot," Garrett snapped.
"I told you, it was a remnant with a knife!"
Garrett chuckled. "Admittin’ ye let one o’ the bastards get that close ta ye doesn't make ye sound any smarter. I'm sure your girlfriend will agree. Right, Julianne?”
Marcus lifted his head, heart swelling with joy to see Julianne sprinting toward them. She stumbled to a halt.
"What the hell happened to your foot?" she asked
"A remnant stabbed me," Marcus explained mournfully. "I can't put any weight on it, so Garrett here is acting as my left leg."
"Why the hell did you let a remnant get that close?" she snapped.
Garrett hooted with laughter. "What did I tell ye? Left!"
Garrett whirled to the left, Marcus wheeling around with him on one leg. Lifting the rifle, Marcus let off a round that sent a remnant flying backward to crash into another.
Garrett stopped and Marcus took the opportunity to slither to the ground. Garrett leaned on his knees, panting, and said, "Bitch of a fight we've got here."
"Doesn't look like anything we can't handle," Julianne said.
Garrett shook his head. "Ye’d think that if ye didn’t know there's at least a dozen or more behind the tree line.”
“A dozen?” Julianne asked, looking around warily. “Or more?”
“Aye. They attacked as one force, but some retreated when they couldn't get close enough to feel the sweet gift of me sword in their face."
Julianne's heart skipped a beat and she looked back. Although the villagers were holding their own to a degree, they wouldn't be able to withstand a second influx of the monsters.
As if the thought triggered their arrival, a cacophony of war cries sounded from the forest.
Garrett and Julianne cursed simultaneously.
"Well, we’re fucked now.” Garrett threw his axe down and flung his hands in the air in frustration. He turned to Marcus. “Ye'll have to sit here on yer ass. I've got work to do."
Before she could stop him, Garrett whisked his axe up from the ground and sprinted toward the oncoming horde. As he ran he lifted the weapon and swung it above his head, bellowing a war cry in some ancient and unintelligible rearick language.
"Do you think he’ll make it out alive?" Marcus asked, bored.
Julianne's breath caught in her throat. "That depends on what that second group has in mind."
She lifted a hand and turned Marcus's attention to another group of remnant coming from the east. They must have circled around the city, and now sprinted through the clear space between the thick walls and the overgrown forest.
"Now we’re really fucked," Marcus said.
—
"Danil!" Polly said, excitement rising. "Look!"
"You don't need to point, remember?" Danil said with a chuckle. The laughter died as he saw what was coming. "Bitch’s britches. We’re completely fucked!"
"Danil, if that's what I think it is, we might actually get out of this alive," Polly said.
"What do you mean?"
"Watch," Polly said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Danil darted in front of her to slice the arm of an attacking remnant. Polly hadn't even noticed the attack, too enthralled by the oncoming group of enemies.
"I know the odds seem pretty stacked against us," Danil said. "And it feels like there’s no hope, and therefore no point… But I still need a little help here."
"What? No! Danil, you don't understand.” Polly grabbed his arm and pulled him back to face her. She squeezed it hard, trying to get his wandering attention. “I think they're coming to help us!”
Danil spun to face another attacker, wondering if the situation had finally caused Polly to lose her mind. Still, he couldn't help but watch as the two remnant hordes collided.
"Oh. My. God." Danil watched in awe as the two groups erupted into battle. A nearby Skrim-controlled remnant spun in shock, then broke off mid-fight to run toward the battle.
"What the hell?" Danil asked.
"I told you!” Polly dropped his arm to clap excitedly. “Danil, the remnant hate the Skrima even more than they hate us. Remember back in Kells? You didn't believe me, but I know that remnant changed after that Skrim infected it."
"Well paint me pink and call me Polly," Danil muttered.
"Sweetheart, this isn’t the time to be discussing your fetishes. We’ve got a battle to win!"
Danil erupted into laughter, almost falling over with the force of it. "Come on," he wheezed once he had himself somewhat under control. "Let's go give your new friends a hand."
Danil and Polly took off running toward the battle as confused men and women watched.
"For Kells!" Jackson yelled from nearby.
Polly darted a glance over her shoulder and saw him running with them.
"For Anrock!” The guard, Dan, waved his sword in the air in solidarity and dashed toward the battle.
"For humanity!" Polly screamed, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she reached the unlikely battle.
She plunged into the messy, noisy press of bodies, slashing and stabbing and swiftly spinning to block attacks from the remnant who turned on her.
She swung high, then leaned back as Danil swung low. They slammed their backs together, slowly turning in a circle as their weapons flashed, striking and parrying as their enemies died.
Bodies fell and Skrima shattered. With the help of their mortal enemies, the people of Irth fought for their lands.
And they won.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Julianne yanked her sword back in time to avoid taking off a nearby remnant’s nose.
The beast spared her a dull-eyed glance and gave a brief nod before it crushed the red shell in its hands. Blood and ichor oozed between its fingers, and without bothering to wipe the mess off the remnant flicked the crushed Skrim’s body to the ground and bounded away.
As the dusty silence of a battle fought and won slowly crawled over the field, Julianne stumbled toward Marcus on tired feet. She gratefully accepted the arms he wrapped around her and sighed into his chest.
"I'm still trying to decide if I'm dreaming or if I've gone mad," Marcus commented with a sigh of his own. "Were the remnant really helping us?"
"I don't think they were helping us so much as destroying the Skrima. They came for a purpose, and for whatever reason, they decided to leave us alone when they were done." Julianne looked up at him through tired but happy eyes. "We were just lucky. So very, very lucky."
"Are ye lovesick fools comin’ in or what?" Garrett barked at them. "Ye look like yer both about ready ta have a nap on the grass. Nothin’ wrong with sleeping outside, mind, but this muck ain’t fit fer a pig."
Julianne looked down at her boots, pulling a face at the blood, slime, and broken red shells beneath them. "I wouldn't sit in this, let alone lie down in it."
She pulled away from Marcus and took his weight on her shoulder as they walked back toward the town they had just rescued. Both raised weary hands to wave at those they passed.
Far from a trained army, the soldiers on this battlefield were battered and bruised. They bore not only the wounds of a tough fight but the twin burdens of age and frailty.
That only made Julianne's chest swell further. "Marcus,
did you ever think we would find such brave people?"
"After what happened back in Arcadia? I never doubted we’d find other brave souls or good people, but this? This has exceeded my wildest expectations."
“Mine too,” Julianne whispered as they looked around. “Look—there’s an old cart over there. You can rest in that.”
Marcus wrinkled his nose. “It stinks of moldy hay.”
“Trust me, it’s an improvement. Hold on—”
Marcus waited patiently as Julianne’s eyes glowed. She nodded, then blinked as if startled. After a shake of her head, her eyes cleared.
“Who was that?” Marcus asked, quite familiar with Julianne’s silent mental conversations.
“It was Bastian.” She frowned and cocked her head to one side as her eyes glowed briefly again.
“Over here!” Polly called, running over with Danil.
“What is it?” Danil asked, still short of breath.
Julianne still looked slightly bewildered. “Bastian just contacted me. He wanted to check if everything was going all right.” She paused.
“And?” Danil asked impatiently.
“And…Hadley’s with him.” Julianne fell silent again.
“Hadley?” Danil asked incredulously. “Wasn’t he with Hannah? Last I heard they’d gone to where the snow never ends. Why is he back?”
Julianne lifted serious eyes to her friends, worry etched deeply into her face. “He’s come to ask us for help. Ezekiel needs us. To send Hadley all this way? Something is very, very wrong.”
FINIS
If you like boxed sets and The Age of Magic, you might also enjoy the Tales Of The Feisty Druid Omnibus, available now at Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.
Available now at Amazon and on Kindle Unlimited
Author Notes Amy Hopkins
May 25, 2018
A New Dawn- Complete series Page 109