A Lich's Love (Death Knight Series Book 5)

by Michael Chatfield

  Axion was tired. Everyone in the damn army was tired. Today, they were getting reinforcements: the Ninth Army and the remainder of the Army of Light. He didn’t much care for the people from the Church of Light. As long as they did their job, he didn’t much care where they came from. His people were spread all over the place. The fortress plan was working but they couldn’t cover everything. The Drafeng led attacks all the time, looking to make their way through their lines.

  With it, he had to make sure that there was sufficient strength in each of them before they moved forward or else there was the threat that they might fall in the next surprise attack.

  The First and Third Fleet had headed off to the west to get the forces that were gathering there. The rest of the navy was moving back and forth between the isles and Cheon, supplying them with the food, ammunition, and even water they needed. Cheon was an inhospitable rock with little drinking water. The supply fort to the rear did their best, removing the salt from the water but it was more work than getting water from the islands.

  They were stripping gunners from the defenses that covered the islands. Thousands of Epan and Ilsal soldiers and sailors were now on the shores of Cheon.

  “With your army, we can add four, maybe five more fortresses to the chain we’ve created. That should take us a week or so to complete. The farther we go, the longer our supply lines become and the shorter that it is for the Drafeng. They are getting a near constant supply of reinforcements from their rear,” he explained to the Guardian who had been put in place of the Army of Light and Sun Tao from the Ninth Army.

  “The Army of Light will move supplies between the different camps. From what I hear, their combat standards and organization are somewhat lacking?” He looked at the Guardian.

  “You could put it that way.” She grimaced.

  “Then we’ll go ahead with that. We will now have supplies coming in once every three days, which should allow us to increase the pressure on the enemy without worrying about our expenditure as much. Admiral Raye should be returning in four to five days. I am told that he has a full army of Guardians as well as mages who are coming with him. That will reduce the number of cannons we have to use, increasing our firepower. And the Guardians can allow us to whittle down the Drafeng faster as they will not be able to recover as much of their strength with them handy purple flames annoying them.”

  A few smiled in the room. It was a tough fight, but the end was in sight. They were advancing on all fronts. A few weeks or months—it was just a matter of time now until they entered the area where the Drafeng doorways lay, the mysterious camp that they had been unable to look into.

  “Looks like this battle is in the bag.”

  “Not until there are no Drafeng left will we be able to say it is done,” Axion said. “They’re smarter than you would think and they’re not afraid to lose their people if they think that they can gain an advantage. A cold, professional, and ruthless enemy is not a simple opponent,” Axion warned. He had learned how the Drafeng weren’t just beasts but tacticians and good commanders.

  ***

  Khurok studied the harvesters once again. All of the tests had shown that they were working properly. In just three more days, they would take to the skies.

  Looking at the map in front of him, he saw the different camp positions that had been crossed off and the growing number of fortresses that dotted Cheon.

  Using the fortresses, the enemy was able to gain supporting fire whenever they moved. He sent as many Drafeng and chaotic beasts as he could spare to the front; there were none left in their homeland anymore. The planet was bare of anything that had once lived.

  He still needed thousands of them working on the harvesters. Nothing could slow their progress.

  “With the enemy force and positions, it appears that we will be able to complete the harvesters well ahead of the enemy reaching our main camp,” Oru said.

  “Good. Enya has done well. These races of Dena are smart. But with being smart, they think of us as nothing but dumb brutes, which will be their downfall. What of the reports from the northern passage?”

  “We do believe that the reports were right. There were Guardians who attacked and held fast, defending the main fortress that they have there. Yesterday, they used a new tactic. Using some kind of tool, they were able to deprive the area of what they call mana and the power of Dena. It has slowed the production rate of chaotic beasts significantly, though they are also unable to use their mages and have to rely on their melee fighters, familiars, and technology.”

  “Though to see if their fighters or ours are better in such an environment waits to be seen,” Khurok said.

  “This is not confirmed, but it is thought that the large force that appeared on the battlefield are Guardians. They are not among the ranks of the people who are attacking the northern pass.”

  “If they are not in the north, then they must have gone somewhere.” Khurok looked at the detailed map outlining the different cities and towns. “Two of the fleets that have been resting in our shores headed west, did they not?”

  “Yes, Leader.”

  Khurok tapped a city on the map. “The closest port to the northern pass is this Port Frostfinger.” He traced back to Cheon. “If they are coming from there, then the harvesters will be complete and active before they even reach Selenus waters.” Khurok dismissed them and turned his eyes to Cresmond Peak, putting his sharp finger on the point.

  “The other remaining main camp has been attacked repeatedly. The commander there reports that he thinks they are working to cast some powerful spell. He has been unable to break through their lines.”

  “Have them hold their strength now. Without plans in motion, there is nothing that the enemy can do to stop us now. We will head to Cresmond Peak with the harvesters. The weakest armies are there. If we can break them there, then we can send out our forces through the main continent, retaking it again, building up the strength that we need to take Shivernsin in the north. While they think that they have us stuck in these places, the harvesters will give us mobility that they can’t hope to match. They might rule the seas with their navy but it will take them time to move all of the force that is in Cheon. And if they leave, then we can just return. It will be hard for them to pin us down as we wear away their numbers,” Khurok said.

  Oru let out a noise of agreement.

  Chapter: Port Frostfinger

  Aila thought she saw a familiar face. “Su?”

  “Huh?” The goat kin man looked around, his eyes meeting Aila’s. “Aila!” he called out with a laugh and bowed to her.

  “Huh, it is Caravan Leader Su,” Tommie said, wandering over.

  Anthony and Troga, who were behind him, wandered over as well.

  “Gus! You won’t believe who I ran into!” Su called out.

  “Who is it?” Gus, the elephant kin guard, walked around the caravan and saw them. “Hey!” He gave them a big smile. The rest of the people from the caravan turned and came over, greeting them.

  “What are you doing here?” Aila asked.

  “Well, I guess that we are your drivers once again. We just got up here with supplies and now we’re heading to Port Frostfinger,” Su said.

  “These must be the two from the caravan who you saved from cultists,” Troga said, standing beside Anthony.

  “You heard all of that? That was weeks ago,” Anthony said.

  “Woke us up, it did. Well met.” Troga held out a fist to Su and Gus.

  The two of them met his fist with serious expressions.

  “Thank you, Champion,” Gus said.

  “Ah, just a guy with a voice in my head.”

  “What was that, you ungrateful!” A large ox appeared above Troga and hit him on the head with his cane.

  “Hey! Don’t knock my head off, old man!”

  “Who are you calling old man, you whippersnapper!”

  Champion aura now firmly tarnished, Troga and his clan spirits argued at one another as Anthony shoo
k Su’s arm.

  “Well, we’ll be relying on you and your people once again,” Anthony said.

  “It would be our honor, Guardian Anthony,” Su said with a smile as Kagan’s clan spirit was dodging the large ox kin’s hands and battering his helmet, criticizing his “dodging technique” and “lumbering efforts.”

  ***

  The undead regiments of Guardians departed Shivernsin. The mages walked and then rode in the carriages, sleeping as the Guardians pulled them. Being undead, they didn’t need to sleep or eat.

  They talked and caught up. They asked the mages about members of the supply train and the people they saw about Dena; they heard of how the land had changed. Groups would break off to deal with issues in the area. Banditry had started up from deserters in the army. There were creatures that had once been kept down by the people in the area; now with the strong men and women off to war, there was no one to keep them in check. Wild and wandering Drafeng and chaotic beasts and hidden doorways could be found across the land.

  They cleaned the land as they passed. On the morning of the second day, they looked down the final hill upon Port Frostfinger. It was a major port in the northern reaches, though if it were on the eastern or western side of the main continent or the isles, it would be called a small fishing port.

  Ships were moored out in the protected bay, flying the colors of the Island Alliance navy.

  Claire led the Guardians, with Aila by her side. All of them accepted Claire as their leader still. They knew the judgement that had come down on her and not many of them agreed with it. It was because of her that they had a second chance at life, that they had been able to help the people of Dena once more.

  Hearing what she had done from Damien, they disagreed with the previous leaders of the Guardians and followed her orders.

  She might be a necromancer, but did it matter what one was? Or was it their actions that needed to be weighed?

  ***

  Admiral Raye was talking to one of the ship captains when the door to the tavern opened.

  “Admiral Raye.” Claire walked into the tavern where they were meeting with the leader of the navy.

  Admiral Raye bent the knee, as did the other officers within the room. “Your grace,” he said.

  “You know that Tamarra is the high judge, right?” Claire sighed.

  “She might be, but you are the true weight behind all of the high judges.” Admiral Raye didn’t know all of the secrets of this land but Tamarra had shared the truth of the high judges—that although they were indeed picked by the other judges, there was one final person who needed to approve their position: the leader of the mysterious judges, the shadow judge. A woman who had looked over the islands for hundreds of years.

  Her name was Claire.

  “Been a tiring job, keeping you lot in order! Now, come, Admiral Raye, we have work to be done. There are Guardians and mages eager to help the fight at Cheon. Also, how are the children—Dill and Persephine, right? Complicated name for a girl.”

  Admiral Raye coughed slightly. He wasn’t expecting that someone of her position would care or even know about his life. The name of his children—just how much did this woman know?, just amazing!

  “They are both doing well, back on Epan with their mother. As for the ships, we have a slight issue. The port isn’t large enough to take all of our ships, so we will need to use the smaller boats to move people from the shore to the ships that are moored offshore. It will take longer.”

  “Well, why don’t we just go for a walk?” one of the Guardians with Claire asked. They wore armor but one could see their undead glowing eyes under their helm.

  “That would work,” Claire agreed. “The Guardians will walk out to the ships, just make sure to have nets down the side for them to climb up.”

  “Walk out to the ships? It is a sea out there,” Raye said.

  “We’re undead—don’t need air,” the Guardian said.

  Raye swore that they were grinning. “Ah.” Raye didn’t know how to reply to such a statement.

  “Well, let’s get a move on,” Claire said.

  ***

  “Never done anything like this before,” Troga said.

  The Guardians were lined up at the base of the lighthouse at the edge of the breakwater, the closest point to the moored ships.

  Anthony grinned and ran forward.

  “You sneaky bastard!”

  The Guardians charged after Anthony, picking up a lot of speed as they then hurled themselves off the cliffs and crashed into the sea below.

  They sunk to the bottom. Some of the mages created lights in their hands to illuminate the muddy silt. They started to walk through the bottom of the sea.

  They passed wrecks, rocks, and sea creatures that looked at the new intruders in alarm, flitting away in random directions.

  After a few minutes of walking, they stopped and looked up at the faint shadows above.

  The mages cast new spells; magical circles appeared on the sea floor. They stepped onto these magical circles and then shot upward, leaving a trail of bubbles behind as they rose.

  Dozens of Guardians appeared among the ships. They grabbed onto the rope ladders that were down over the side. They climbed up the side of the ships, the crews of the ships looking at them in apprehension.

  They poured out water and a few had fish or other creatures in their armor, good times!

  Anthony called up Penelope to heat his armor up. Steam rose from him and he dried off in quick order.

  “Couldn’t you have just flown over?” Troga took off his boot and poured out the water.

  “Well, yeah, I could’ve but come on—walking on the bottom of the sea, that’s pretty cool!”

  “Yeah, it is, isn’t it? Look at the sailors—damn well near peed their pants!” Troga snorted.

  ***

  With the Guardians able to board the ships that were moored, the loading process was a lot faster.

  Admiral Raye had the mages loaded up and the supplies that the supply train had brought with them.

  The ships rotated out and moved away from the port as more ships came in to take people aboard.

  Some of the mages worked together, creating ice bridges to the ships and boarding them in quick order. In just a morning, the entire fleet was loaded up.

  “Well, I guess that we should get a move on.”

  “Yes, Admiral,” Captain Devra said.

  The signal officer had the colors ready. They were hoisted high and the two fleets started to unfurl their sails. The wind caught the sheet and they started to move away from Port Frostfinger, to trace the shore eastward as they headed for Cheon.

  The fleets got organized and into their formations as they left.

  Admiral Raye looked over the ships all under his command. He could see the blue eyes of the Guardians and feel the thick mana aboard with so many mages from different races.

  “Time we cleared Cheon once and for all.”

  ***

  “Huh?” General Mora turned to the scout who had rushed into the room.

  “The Drafeng—they abandoned their forward camp and then retreated. We looked at the other camps that they made in the area but there was no sign of them in those camps either.”

  “Where are they? Send up the alarm. Have all of the fortresses report in. Have them all scan their areas. The Drafeng might be trying to sneak through us and hit our supply lines again.”

  The orders went out and Mora felt tense. The Drafeng were smart but they weren’t unpredictable. With them abandoning their positions after they had been defending for so long...

  What has changed? Is it because of the fleet that is on its way? They could go back through the doorways and then emerge from another point.

  “Guardian! Talk to the Guardians at Cresmond Peak and the Northern Basin. I want to know what the situation is there.”

  The Guardian nodded and created a Guardian Flame, talking to the other positions as another messenger stepped forward to be
recognized.

  “Speak.”

  “The Drafeng are not among our fortresses. It looks like they really did retreat.”

  “Contact the other generals,” she snapped to another Guardian.

  The first Guardian waved the flame off their hand, getting her attention.

  “The Northern Basin—there haven’t been any major changes since the last report. Cresmond Peak—the Drafeng have taken on a defensive posture and are holding the peak while the United Army is looking to complete their spell.”

  “What is their plan?” Mora looked at the map in front of her. Looking at it didn’t give her anymore clues.

  “I have the other generals,” the second Guardian said.

  Mora nodded to the Guardian and they threw out their hand. The four other generals on Cheon appeared in front of her.

  “I have learned that the Drafeng have retreated from the front lines. I had the different fortresses check to see if the Drafeng are in there. It appears that they aren’t.”

  “So, where did they go?” Sun Tao asked.

  “To the rear?” Axion asked.

  “It certainly looks that way,” Mora said.

  “Why would they suddenly retreat? Don’t they have a number of camps that they can retreat to?” Nagithar asked.

  “We still don’t know what their camp looks like or what is going on there,” Axion said.

  They all fell silent before Kolvar cleared his throat. Everyone focused on the elf.

  “Well, we have two options. One, we push forward. Two, we hold our position. I vote for the second. The Drafeng are acting against how they have before. They have made traps for us in the past to fall into.”

  “Push out the scouts in the area. See if we can see where they went. Push up to their camp if we can. I want to know what is happening there. Send messages to Tamarra to let her know about the situation and alert the other forces of Dena,” Axion said.

  The meeting quickly came to an end as scouts headed out from the different fortresses and headed into the rocky hills and crags that covered Cheon.

  ***

  Khurok stepped onto the large crystal structure. There were three such platforms. They were covered in conversion towers. Only a few of them were functioning; the power in the area wasn’t dense enough for them to all work. There were fighting pits for the chaotic beasts to challenge one another and new Drafeng to emerge victorious from. There were also warrens and tunnels built into the crystal platform for the Drafeng to stay in.