by J. M. Kearl
A loud horn blows and the sounds of commotion erupt from the camp. “They found the dead soldiers,” Ehvas says and kicks her horse. Without pause everyone follows and they race into the darkness hoping they aren’t followed.
42. Daelyn
In the lead, Boaden’s sister Ehvas races towards the city of Filda where Warlord Colden lives. Daelyn looks back and sees that they are now being pursued. Whether from the pursuit or what lies ahead Daelyn feels like she can barely breathe. They aren’t supposed to go into Filda because Boaden could be punished for disobeying orders and yet they don’t appear to have another choice. Even with her power she can’t stop the entire battalion of Hesstia chasing after them.
Boaden rides up beside Ehvas. “We can’t go into Filda!” Boaden shouts.
“We must!” she yells back, as the Delhoon soldiers on the wall raise their arrows.
“I’m dressed like a Hesstian soldier,” Boaden says, slapping his chest where the Hesstian insignia of crossed swords is clear and visible. He attempts to shrug it off but at the speed Hess is running he must hold on.
Presten yells from behind them. “I brought my flag!” he pulls it from his bag and raises the black flag with the red phoenix over his head; it waves wildly in the wind. “Hopefully they can see it in the dark.”
“Just in case they can’t,” Boaden raises his hand into the air and a blast of red shoots from his hand and a phoenix forms in the air, floating for several moments before it fades.
The doors of the city wall open as they approach. “Hurry, Asha.” Daelyn presses her legs tighter against the horse, heart racing as she looks back again to see the Hesstian army marching on them. Their cavalry are gaining but the horsemen will have to stop soon or they’ll be hit with arrows.
Ehvas is first through the gates and the others follow in seconds later. Daelyn pulls back on Asha’s reins and she skids to a halt when people swarm them, demanding answers. They want to know who they are, where they are from, who sent them. One soldier reaches for Daelyn’s arm and she slaps it away. “Don’t touch me.”
“We saw the signal but until we know who you are and who sent you, you’re under arrest,” the man says.
“That’s Ehvas Exavior Veilspar!” One woman shouts from the back. “She is one of ours, captured in Norhila.”
The people around begin to mumble, a few clap, but there still seems to be some confusion as they look at one another. Some of them are soldiers, but many are villagers, dressed in plain garb.
“My name is Boaden Exavior Veilspar,” he says pulling the Hesstian uniform top over his head, leaving him in a black tunic. “I came here to rescue my sister, Ehvas.”
Daelyn hears the hushed reverence of Boaden’s name said over and over again. Word has spread of his victory in Hesstia. Daelyn wonders if her name was said, if they’d have as much admiration. It was just as much her abilities that freed them that day as it was Boaden. Do people even know her name?
Then commands from the top of the wall of, “Fire at will!” draw the crowd’s attention away from them.
“We’re under attack!” a man in the crowd says and everyone begins to scatter and scream. Crying children run to their parents, who whisk them away into nearby buildings. Some of them are homes, others are shops and inns. Daelyn notices along the walls are small tents that people run to. They must be from the nearby villages seeking refuge with nowhere to stay. This probably means that all the inns will be full.
Boaden takes his armor that’s tied to Hess and slips it on. Daelyn leans over and knots the strings at his ribcage, securing the black leather with a metal plate in between. Boaden had gotten Daelyn armor as well, which she wore over top her long sleeved black tunic. Hers has silver diamond shaped studs covering the front of it, and black metal shoulder guards. “Daelyn, can you control your magic enough to fight on the wall?” Boaden asks.
Hesitant, she answers, “Yes.” She won’t sit down here and hide. “I can.”
Ehvas is already racing up the steps with Presten and Kendoa right behind her. Daelyn follows Boaden up, heart hammering. She’d been at the battle in the south near Nordia but nothing was expected of her then, she was a spectator, told to stand behind the line of fighters.
Shouts of men and women ring out when they hit the top step. Arrows and magic fly down to the Hesstian fighters below. The Hesstians exchange arrows from behind a shield wall that is only penetrated when a magical fire ball from Delhoon hits them. From the back the Hesstian’s are pulling forward two massive catapults.
Boaden joins the ranks and starts launching arrows. A pointed object whistles past Daelyn’s head barely missing her. Daelyn begins chanting to herself, “I can do this,” over and over again as she nudges her way in beside Boaden.
She takes in a deep breath and conjures an electric ball to her hand. When it grows as large as her head, she pushes her hand forward and the energy blasts into the shield wall, knocking down ten men, and obliterating their shields into splinters of wood. The woman beside Daelyn stops firing and stares at her. “Can you do that again?” she asks, seemingly awestruck.
Daelyn nods and builds the energy sphere again. When it leaves her hand it's only seconds before it collides into the enemy and throws many of them at least fifteen feet into the air. Shouts ring out from below and Daelyn launches another, this time with fire and it leaves a few of the Hesstian’s running around engulfed in flames, screaming in agony. Guilt swells in her; she doesn’t want to make them suffer like that even if they are the enemy.
The woman next to her fires an arrow and then looks at Daelyn again. “I’ve never seen anyone release magical attacks of that magnitude, and especially not without fatiguing.”
Daelyn is only tired from traveling and the late hour, not from the use of magic. She isn’t sure what the cost of magic is for her but it isn’t energy like the others. There’s no time to try to explain so she just keeps launching spells, but soon recognizing the threat, many of the Hesstian’s concentrate their shots on her. She ducks and blocks arrows relentlessly, leaving only small windows for her to do any offensive magic. Even Boaden and the woman next to her have to take cover behind the wall and hold shields over their heads.
“Their catapults are almost in range,” Boaden says as an arrow thuds into the wooden shield he holds. “I can place a magical shield for us long enough for you to destroy them.”
Daelyn thinks it will take a few energy orbs eliminate the catapult but she believes in herself now. “Let’s do it.”
Boaden sets the shield down and creates a magical one and they both stand, arrows swarm them but they’re deflected. The woman must see what Boaden is doing because she creates a magical barrier as well and they protect Daelyn as she throws powerful attacks. She hurls the electric energy at one of the catapults and it hits just to the side, blowing up the men and spraying dirt into the air. “Again!” Boaden shouts over the chaos.
Daelyn holds back the urge to scream for missing. She puts her hands a short distance apart from each other and concentrates all her mind on creating an even greater energy mass. When it’s about the size of two human heads she fires it at the catapult, but they’d already gotten off a shot. Her attack hits but so does theirs and the boulder crashes directly below where Daelyn and Boaden stand.
Daelyn screams as the wall begins to crumble beneath them. Boaden wraps his arm around her and spells them further down the wall. The woman they’d been standing beside and many others fall to their death. Tears fill her eyes. Why didn’t they use the appearus spell too?! If I had hit the catapult the first time, the Hesstian’s would never have had the chance to... All she can do is stare at the gaping hole where she’d almost been killed, where the woman who’d only spoken a few words to her fell protecting her.
Boaden shakes her shoulders. “Daelyn!” he shouts as if he’d said her name several times already.
Her eyes focus on his face.
“You have to take out the other catapult!” Another giant boulder
smashes into the wall, shaking everything and creating a massive crevasse at the top, and killing several soldiers. One more hit in that spot and they’ll breach their defenses and enter the city.
Ehvas appears in front of Daelyn. “I’ll protect you, do as my brother says.” Her greenish nearly transparent shield pops up in front of them and Daelyn steps closer to the wall’s edge, her mouth instantly feels dry, but she conjures the biggest magic sphere yet. Boaden, panting beside her, nods, giving her the go.
Daelyn screams as the magic leaves her and time feels like it slows down as she waits to see if it will hit the catapult. The Hesstian’s have another boulder loading when it blows apart on impact. Those around Daelyn cheer, letting out whistles and yells.
Boaden wraps his arms around her, pulling her so tight it takes the breath from her lungs. “You did it!”
The Hesstian’s sound a horn and begin to retreat. Shouts of victory erupt from the Delhoon soldiers. Many of them turn to Daelyn and shake her hand, some pull her into a hug and move on to their comrades to celebrate the victory. Others ask who she is, and want to know how she is able to wield her magic.
Daelyn’s head swivels at all the people grabbing at her and patting her back, offering praises. “You are the reason for our victory,” one man says, shaking her hand.
Daelyn smiles and repeats her name more times than she can count and then she looks to Boaden to get her out of there. He pushes past her adoring fans. “Everyone should tend to the wounded,” Boaden says and takes her arm, pulling her towards a stairwell.
“I knew you could do it, my love,” Boaden says, kissing the top of her head.
Ehvas is grinning when she finds them. “That was really something. It’s Daelyn, right?”
“Yes,” she replies.
Boaden hits his palm against his forehead like he’d forgotten something. “We didn’t have time for proper introductions before. Ehvas, this is my wife.”
Ehvas cocks a dark brow, her green eyes moving back and forth between them. “I’m a little upset you didn’t let me meet her before you married her, little brother, but so far I approve. Your wife is a bold warrior.”
“She is,” Boaden replies. “Speaking of bold warriors, how is it you got that kirune off you so fast?”
“I’d been chipping away at it my entire capture so it only took a few heavy swings with a hammer by a man down that way to break it.” Her eyes flick down the stairwell. “Anyway, I should help some of our wounded. I’ll speak with you both later.”
43. Madison
Madison pulls her horse, Smoke, to a tree at the top of the hill and ties her there. Jordane and Nebba stand at the base of the dam staring up at the rock structure while Madison walks over to the water’s edge. A serene lake spreads out for miles above the dam. She believes that this was at one time a waterfall because of the natural drop off. The dam is about fifty feet in height and from the top she can see it’s at least her height in thickness
A swelling of giddiness rises within her and a smile touches her lips. So many years looking for a way to ruin the kirune mines and it’s finally happening. There were many days in the past she’d wanted to give up hope, but it was one of the only things she had to look forward to. She thought Jordane to be dead when it had been assigned to her, and Midlan could never fill the gaping hole that tragedy left so all she had was her missions. And the biggest challenge up until they told her that Daelyn was to marry the prince of Hesstia was finding the mines. She had enjoyed searching for the information. Secret meetings in dark corners, whispers of what might be the most treasured location on the continent. For Hesstia it meant reassurance of their power, the one thing besides numbers they had over Delhoon. For Delhoon it meant fear, and weakness; fear of the taking of their abilities and the emptiness of that. Had it been easy to find maybe she wouldn’t feel so excited now. “Get up here!” Madison shouts down to her companions.
She can crack this dam from the top using magic and the damage will cause it to crumble, or at least that is what she’s anticipating. Jordane and Nebba ride to the top of the hill and Madison walks along the dam’s edge to the center.
“Madison, that is dangerous,” Jordane shouts at her.
“I have to break the center.” She isn’t at all worried. She squats down and feels the rocks beneath her hands. Jordane folds his arms but he trusts her and her abilities, so does Nebba. Daelyn may be an anomaly when it comes to magical strength but Madison’s talents are earned. She stands, lifting one fist into the air and takes in a deep breath. With the force of all her weight she drives her glowing red fist into the dam and with a loud crack, the structure begins to rumble beneath her feet.
“Get out of there!” Jordane shouts, waving his hands.
Madison doesn’t know if one power blast was enough so she hits it again and then a visible split appears; she runs. Pumping her arms and moving her legs as fast as she can, the rock wall begins to give way under her feet. Her breath comes heavy with the sprint but she won’t make it, the loud crash of water spews out and she whispers “appearus” and lands on her knees beside Jordane.
Breathing hard, she reaches up and grasps Jordane’s hand. The three of them watch the water spill over the land below. It will only take minutes to reach the mines at the speed the wall of water is moving.
“You did it,” Jordane says and pulls her to her feet.
“What if they try to rebuild the dam again?” Nebba asks, arms folded over his chest.
“We now know it’s location, we’ll destroy it again.” The advantage Hesstia had was the secrecy and remote location of the mines. There is not a city around for at least a week’s ride and with the rough terrain, no one would venture this way.
“I wish I could see Enden’s face when he gets this news.” Madison can’t hold back her grin. He’ll be furious. Though he had a softer temperament than his brother, he still had fire in him.
“What now?” Nebba asks, walking over to his horse. “I’m ready for a nice warm bed and some hot food.”
Madison is still fascinated by the power of the water, taking down trees in its path, and won’t take her eyes off of it’s destruction yet.
“We’re a week away from that.” Jordane puts his arm around Madison’s waist.
The warmth of his body feels good. Madison suspects it will snow soon. The nights have been cold with temperatures freezing the grass around them, but the frost burns off in the sunlight; it won’t for much longer.
“Exactly, which is why we should get going. We’re closest and likely safest in the Outlands. If we head south again, with that guard who escaped, they might catch us.”
Madison finally turns away from the broken dam. They will have to head for the Outlands which means they may as well go fight in the north. Madison squeezes Jordane’s butt cheek. “I’m in a mood to shed some Hesstian blood. We should pay our old commander, Warlord Colden a visit.”
44. Enden
Enden slams his fist on the desk as hard as he can, and then shakes it, to relieve the pain he caused. “How could this happen? How could they have found the location of the mines!”
Peter purses his lips staying silent, taking the verbal lashing as the bearer of bad news does. Enden knows there’s no explanation that Peter can give him but he still wants one nonetheless. “I asked you a question, Peter.”
Peter clears his throat, and stands taller. “Sire, all we know is that there were three Delhoon warriors that came and the slaves turned on our men and helped them achieve victory.”
“And everything is under water?”
“Yes, Sire,” Peter says. “They broke the dam.”
Enden can’t believe what he’s hearing. Those mines have been used for hundreds of years. Papers beneath his palms crumple when he tightens his grip, but then he takes in a deep breath. He can’t let this cause their momentum to falter in the war. There is nothing that can be done now, but the dam can be repaired and in some years the water will hopefully recede. “No matter. W
e have countless kirune weapons, more than we need to win this war. This means nothing.”
Peter nods, but the look on his face says he isn’t sure if he agrees. “Yes, Sire.”
It will only matter for future generations and he doesn’t have time to worry about them right now. He needs updates on what is happening on the battlefront. “What’s the news in the south?”
“We took Sanlaiya with difficulty. We lost approximately a thousand men. We need to send more to hold the city and push onto the next.”
He turns to Jershon who is writing, “Send a thousand men to Sanlaiya in the south of Delhoon.”
Enden nods in approval. “And in the North? Have we taken Filda yet?”
Peter clenches his jaw, making the muscles in his thin face tense before he answers. “We’ve just received word that we had to retreat and that the Delhoon healer escaped.”
Enden’s face burns with anger. He doesn’t understand how his men are so incompetent that they can't keep one woman from getting away. One single woman who can’t even use her magic. He’d specifically ordered that she would have to wear a kirune manacle. Maybe they didn’t follow my orders and let her use her magic. He yells as much to Peter and Jershon, pacing around the room.
“How did she get away?”
Peter holds a letter in hand and rubs his thumb on the back of the page. “According to this she had help, Sire. Someone dressed as a Hesstian soldier, and they made it back behind the walls of Filda.”
Enden clenches fists at the thought of it. “And how were we then defeated? I ordered catapults to be assembled after we couldn’t breach their walls the first assault.”
“It’s reported that they have an exceptionally powerful magic user who was able to destroy the catapults, Sire.”
Enden’s mind instantly flashes to Daelyn. He saw what she had done the day she was to be executed. She knocked down everyone in the city, something no one thought possible. “Was it Daelyn?”