Nathan stood in a tower on the outer wall. Sen and Fei were next to him. His defenders took up positions across the walls, manning ballistae and mangonels. This was a conventional siege, so their training would be of far more use here.
Many of the ladders would reach the walls. The soldiers would fight them off and protect the civilians.
Anna holed up in the keep. Kuda and a handful of hoplites protected her.
The rest of the hoplites protected the keep. Initially, Nathan had planned to send them out and harass the enemy army as they charged. But he didn’t have the numbers, and two enemy Champions would make short work of his summons.
Instead, he wanted a defensive force for the keep. Sunstorm might try to sneak in and assassinate Anna, or try something related to the binding stone or portal.
As a precaution, Nathan had sealed the gate to the portal with an additional spell. The entrance to the lower levels had been sealed as well. Only he, Fei, and Sen could get down there now. Not even the summons had access, as he worried that Sunstorm would just carry one down there by force.
Rocks crashed into the barrier. Nathan’s thoughts returned to the battlefield.
The Federation soldiers jeered from a distance. Minutes passed. Rock after useless rock exploded on the barrier.
“Fei, would you join Vera on the walls,” Nathan said.
“Eh? Why?” she asked.
“There’s two enemy Champions. There’s a good chance they’ll try to pick us off one by one,” he explained. “It’s better if we’re in pairs. You can hold them back long enough if they both attack Vera, at least until me and Sen arrive.”
Fei smiled and gave an enthusiastic nod. “Of course. I’ll be off then.” She darted in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then leaped out of the tower.
Sen grumbled at the show of affection. “You let her get away with so much.”
“You can do the same, you know.” Nathan tugged at his gloves. Nothing much was happening yet, so he kept himself entertained with small talk.
“I’m beginning to realize I have to,” Sen said. “She may as well not even have her own bedroom, given she spends every night in yours. Does she even use her own clothes?”
“Her uniform?” Nathan offered.
“Sure, but other than that? She steals your worn clothes to wear when off-duty and to sleep in.” Sen grumbled.
“You seem upset.”
“Not really.” Sen crossed her arms. “Maybe a little. We sparred last night, to see who got to wake you up each morning. I lost every round, and she took pity on me and let me share anyway.”
Nathan ran a hand over his face to hide his grin. “That wasn’t smart.”
“I know that now,” Sen grumbled. “She’s so damn fast. And those flames of hers consume my magic. They’re so unfair! What kind of monogem ability are they?”
“The sort that lasts about five to ten minutes under heavy use?” Nathan explained.
Sen blinked.
“Fei’s ability is more of a bodyguard ability,” Nathan said. “If she’s away from me for too long, she’ll become less useful. Most Champions have abilities that are less power hungry, so they can operate away from their Bastion or a binding stone for long periods of time.”
“So there’s a trade-off to some gem abilities,” Sen said.
“There’s a trade-off to everything a Champion gets from a gem. Fei has a powerful gem ability, but she’s weaker than most monogem Champions when not actively using it. And an amethyst or diamond Champion can fight several battles without needing to refill their gem.”
In truth, Nathan had misgivings about Fei’s sapphire. But he had told himself not to worry about who she had been in his timeline, so he let things go. He told himself that he could adjust her sapphire if necessary. She was going to become a trigem Champion, so there was plenty of room to tweak her future abilities to make her well-rounded.
Shouts rippled along the walls. Nathan looked down to see the mangonels and ballistae begin firing. The Federation soldiers crossed the field. They pushed large wooden shields in front of them, and the frames were mounted on wheels—these were known as mantlets. Behind them came the ram and companies of soldiers carrying ladders.
Nathan scratched his chin. It all seemed like a lot of work for the Federation to put in.
“Sen, light them up,” he ordered.
“Seems a bit mean, doesn’t it,” she said, but raised her arms anyway.
“Last time I checked, they’re invading us. They didn’t even pay the toll.”
“Rude,” Sen chirped. A pair of squares hovered in front of her palms.
This was why Nathan didn’t worry too much about the siege weapons. In a battle between Champions and Bastions, a conventional army didn’t matter. Sen’s spells would light the field ablaze. Some ladders would make it to the walls, probably because of the interference of the Federation sorcerer. But not enough to let the Federation’s numerical advantage matter.
Nathan felt something in the corner of the tower. He spun and spotted the ball of shadow.
“Down,” he yelled. He tackled Sen.
Sunstorm burst into the room. Her eyes screamed murder at Nathan. She looked around wildly, searching for something.
Or someone.
“She’s not here,” she muttered. Her gaze fixed on Nathan, who stood back up.
“You’ll do,” Sunstorm said. She pointed her sword at him. “It won’t matter if Lilac gets the catgirl’s head, if I can give yours to Master Theus.”
Chapter 29
“You seem angry. Any particular reason?” Nathan asked the woman trying to decapitate him.
Sunstorm growled at him. Her eyes flickered around the tower as she assessed her surroundings.
“I see you replaced your uniform. A shame. You looked better without it,” Nathan said. He shifted his sword across his body.
“Do you think that you can give yourself an advantage with words?” Sunstorm retorted. She twirled her swords.
Sen remained behind Nathan. The ladder to the lower level of the tower was in the center, and they needed to get past Sunstorm to use it.
Not that they would. Climbing down a ladder with a bloodthirsty Champion trying to murder him was a terrible idea. Nathan struggled to imagine dumber ways to die right now.
“You’re an assassin, aren’t you?” Nathan asked.
Sunstorm blinked. “What makes you think that?”
“Onyx gems aren’t used by front-line fighters. Teleportation, shadow doubles, the ability to hide in shadow, to create shadows: your gem ability is flexible, and screams assassin. Especially because none of it helps you hit harder.” Nathan kept a close eye on the corners of the tower, but saw no shadows. “You’re good with your swords, but that’s about it. So what else could you be?”
Sunstorm’s hazel eyes bore into him. “You seem to know a lot about my abilities given we’ve fought twice.”
“I’m observant,” Nathan quipped.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t look too deeply. Or assumed he had some other means to know about her abilities. If she escaped again—which was a real possibility given her gem—then she could spread some damaging rumors about him.
“Evidently.” Sunstorm twirled her swords again. She showed no sign of aggression. For whatever reason, she was content to hold the two here.
The reason was obvious.
If Sunstorm hadn’t interrupted Nathan and Sen when she had, then Sen would have ended this assault before it started. Her spells would obliterate the Federation siege engines.
Nathan hoped that Vera might be able to do some of the heavy lifting. Unfortunately, he heard an ominous crackling sound in the distance. From experience, he recognized that as the sound of spells countering one another in mid-air. Evidently the Federation sorcerer was talented at counter-spells. No wonder he had survived Sen’s onslaught.
Nathan found himself torn. Did he continue to stall and hope that Fei arrived, allowing him to capture Sunstorm easily?
Or did he send Sen out to deal with the attackers and try to pin Sunstorm down, hoping that he had enough power in the binding stone to weather her assault?
“You seem a little overconfident in your abilities if you think you can defeat both of us,” Nathan said.
“I’d say that you seem a little overconfident in the allegiance of your newfound ally,” Sunstorm said. She nodded her head at Sen.
A moment passed.
Then another moment.
Sunstorm frowned. “Are… Are you serious, Sen?”
“Um, did you expect me to do something?” Sen asked.
“You were supposed to stab him in the back!”
“Why?” Sen sounded genuinely confused. She looked between Nathan and Sunstorm.
“We’re allies! Friends! I promised that I would find you a place in a sorcery school in the Federation. We…” Sunstorm’s face turns red, and she glares at Nathan. Her voice dropped to an inaudible mumble.
“Sorry, didn’t catch that,” Nathan said.
“I don’t want you to hear it,” Sunstorm growled.
“Um, I didn’t hear it either,” Sen said. “But I’m pretty sure she’s talking about the time I had sex with her.”
“What?” Nathan asked.
“Don’t say it out loud,” Sunstorm screeched.
Sunstorm froze for several moments, then pointed her sword at Nathan. Her breathing deepened, and she bared her teeth.
“Look, just stab him, light his body on fire, and we can go back to how things were. He’s wide open,” Sunstorm said. “This will all be over, and I can give you the future that I promised you in the Federation.”
Sen’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll do that. I’ll make a similar offer to you, though. Nathan’s a lot more attractive than this Theus guy you talked about.”
Sunstorm smirked. “No.”
“Ouch. That was a fast rejection,” Nathan said. He knew he wasn’t exactly a model, but was this Theus guy really that attractive?
Not that it mattered, he supposed.
Nathan glanced over his shoulder. The Federation had breached the walls. The fighting was sporadic, but there was a noticeable number of tan and gray uniforms fighting his soldiers. No sign of Fei yet.
He had to assume that meant that this Lilac had engaged her.
“Err, he’s a lot smarter?” Sen tried.
“… I have to give you that one,” Sunstorm muttered. “But it’s not much of a competition. The Federation is still the superior choice, Sen. Didn’t you tell me about how the Empire ignored you and your friends? The Federation would have given Derek and everybody else a chance.”
“Derek’s dead,” Sen said flatly. “And Nathan’s different.”
“Nathan killed Derek,” Sunstorm pointed out.
“And he’s offering me a future far greater than anything you can. Anything that your Theus can. You can have the same thing,” Sen said.
Sunstorm sighed. She scratched the back of her head with the pommel of one of her swords.
“I can only imagine what sweet words you’ve told her,” Sunstorm said. “Or perhaps you are more than you seem.”
“Wow. I expected you to try to stab me,” Nathan said.
“Sen isn’t the first person I’ve met who seemed unduly impressed with you. A good assassin needs to judge her targets wisely. I’ll be sure to mount your head on an appropriately sized board and make it the centerpiece of the room it’s in.” Sunstorm twirled her swords again.
Stalling over, Nathan assumed.
Fei still hadn’t appeared. He had to assume that the other Federation Champion was keeping her busy.
The Federation’s choice of tactics surprised him. Splitting up their Champions was the opposite of what he would do. Then again, Sunstorm had believed that Sen would help her.
A puff of shadow signaled the start of the battle. Nathan spun, triangles shimmering into existence over his hands. He grabbed Sen and pushed her toward the ladder. Above him, Sunstorm appeared, swords arcing toward his head.
Nathan’s spells fired off, and blades of wind deflected her swords. Nathan thrust upward. Sunstorm narrowly caught his blade between her chest and arm, but she was still falling.
Stepping back, Nathan let go of his sword. His hand flashed as he pointed it at the location that Sunstorm would hit the ground. His wind blast blew Sunstorm to literal pieces.
Tiny puffs of shadow floated in the air where Sunstorm’s shadow decoy had been destroyed. Nathan’s sword clanked on the stone floor, bouncing several times. Nathan cursed, and nearly bit his tongue off as Sunstorm kicked him square in the jaw.
The glint of metal caught his eye, and Nathan snapped his arm up to catch her sword before she took his head off. Flames overtook his vision. They cleared a moment later, leaving a charred Sunstorm staring at Sen in disbelief.
“Don’t light me on fire!” Sunstorm shouted.
“I feel you misunderstood our conversation,” Sen said.
“… You really prefer him over me?” Sunstorm muttered, her eyes widening.
Nathan saw the moment Sunstorm’s heart broke. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
The assassin’s fists tightened around her swords. Nathan worried that the threads of her gloves were going to explode. They looked awfully stretched by how tightly Sunstorm gripped her sword hilts.
“I won’t let you kill him. If you won’t join him, then I have no choice,” Sen said. “This is a war. You chose your side. I chose mine.”
Sunstorm grimaced. “I wish I could be angry. I should be angry. I don’t know what you’ve done to her, Bastion—”
“Nathan,” he said.
“… I know your name,” Sunstorm said. Her eyes bore into his again. “Do you actually care for her? Or is she your puppet, like I suspect she is?”
“Does my answer matter to you? I feel like you’ve made up your mind.” Nathan couldn’t deny that Sunstorm’s opinion of him hurt. He cared for her, even if she hated him right now.
“Hmph. True,” Sunstorm grunted out. “In the end, I suppose we can only determine this with swords and magic. If you’re half the Bastion you appear to be, then Sen’s fate will be in your hands. If you’re the lucky charlatan I think you are, then I’ll take her back and give her life she deserves.”
Nathan felt that Sunstorm was being a little fatalistic, but that was natural for her.
Before Sunstorm moved, Sen hit her with another blast of fire. Sunstorm shouted something about it being “unfair,” but Nathan didn’t care.
He grabbed Sen by the waist and leaped from the tower. They soared through the air. Soldiers scurried about on the wall below them. Not all of them wore Empire uniforms.
Nathan’s body glowed as he pumped magic into his body. He crash-landed on top of several Federation soldiers. They screamed as his magically empowered legs shattered their bones. Sen’s flames obliterated the rest.
A battle raged around them. Thousands of Federation soldiers charged the walls, climbing across ditches and hiding behind the wooden mantlets they brought with them. A familiar crackling sound filled the air. Vera and the Federation sorcerer were still going at it, countering each other’s spells, and neither had found an edge.
Stones pummeled the Federation soldiers. Arrows and crossbow bows pierced them. Ballistae pinned them to the ground. A handful of magic users from Anna’s private guard unleashed what little firepower they could, and lit fires along the front of the walls.
Hot oil poured down the ladders, knocking soldiers off and sending them screaming to a painful death below. The oil stuck to the wood, making the climb even more difficult for future climbers as their hands slipped and the oil dripped onto their skin. Immediately after, the defenders threw down hot sand. It burned faces, slipped between armor, and stuck to the oil on the ladders.
But the sheer number of ladders was too much. The Federation climbed the walls. The fighting had thickened, and Nathan had dropped right into it.
Elsewhere, the
ram crept up to the gate. Ear-shattering booms resounded throughout the fortress as its enormous steel cap slammed into the reinforced gate.
“Get back here!” Sunstorm screamed from the top of the tower. She vanished into the shadows of the tower. Within moments, she would be down here with them.
An arc of blue fire in the distance caught Nathan’s attention.
Fei fought with another woman, only a few years older than she was. Lilac, Nathan assumed from the amethyst.
Lilac had the same olive skin and dark hair that Sunstorm did. Another Champion from the Kurai Peninsula, he realized. The Federation had taken in many people from the Kurai Peninsula after its invasion by demons decades ago.
The duel should have been short, in Nathan’s opinion. Lilac moved quickly, and her blows were strong. She knocked Fei’s scimitar aside with her curved longsword—Nathan had been told by Narime and Sunstorm that it was called a katana. But Lilac couldn’t follow through on her blows for one simple reason.
Fei’s flames would turn her into ash.
Pieces of Lilac’s lacquered wooden armor bubbled and peeled. Fei hurled flames with every swing and dodged backward rather than press the attack. She knew that Lilac was stronger and faster, but it didn’t matter. The difference wasn’t enough for Lilac to strike a killing blow. The amethyst Champion grit her teeth and swung her sword countless times, scoring scratches and glancing blows. None of them made a difference as her armor peeled away.
Then it happened. Fei held back an attack. No flames swept out from her sword as her scimitar swept high above Lilac’s head. She darted back and raised her guard, but the damage was done.
Lilac glanced behind her and saw the Empire soldiers. They kept their distance from the dueling Champions, but were desperately fighting against Federation soldiers.
With a grin, Lilac darted into the melee taking place on the wall. Fei followed with a shout. Empire soldiers dropped like flies as Lilac’s sword cut them to pieces.
Even when Fei caught up, she didn’t use her flames. Couldn’t use her flames. If she did, she’d burn her comrades to death instantly. Lilac deflected Fei’s weakened blows and slashed at her with renewed vigor. Blood streamed from Fei’s chest as she took deeper wounds.
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