The Ascent (Book 2) (22 page)

"That was fun," he heard Angus say behind him. He turned to laugh at the smith's statement, seeing him bloodied but alive. He was happy to see the old man.

"Aye," he replied. "It was. Fun and glorious as well."

"The men Eamon left for me did well," Angus said. "They will make a good addition to the army."

"Good," Ulrich said. "Well done, my friend. You led them with honor. You have ensured your place in Valhalla, and theirs."

Ceor returned to his King's side, nodding at Angus as he approached. "The thieves are finishing them off," he said. "They were valuable in the battle. We would have been in trouble had they not taken out the rear."

Ulrich nodded. "We should find them and thank them," he suggested. "But, for now, I'm thirsty. Where's the ale?"

Siobhan stared out the window of her chambers at the night sky. The stars were twinkling, bringing a small amount of peace to her troubled mind. But still, her thoughts were on Garret and the unthinkable deed she had asked him to perform. How could she be so selfish? How could she ask the man she loved to murder someone who reminded him so much of her? Garret had known them both when they were young, and he had been there to protect them. Now, Siobhan was asking him to kill someone he once looked after.

It was unthinkable.

She cried softly, silently asking the night to forgive her, to send the message to Garret that he could come home and forget the whole thing. She loved him deeply, and felt lost without him. He was her world, her only anchor in the chaos that was her kingdom. Only Eamon meant more to her. The son that had been fathered by the Dragon himself. Though he was born for a purpose, he was her son, and nothing would ever take away her love for him.

Siobhan turned back into her room, still sitting on the ledge of her window. She briefly thought of going out on the balcony to see her city, as it had been days since she had made an appearance. She knew that her people were used to seeing her every morning, and she wondered what they must be thinking in her absence. Such thoughts saddened her even further.

As she stood to return to her bed and finally sleep, Siobhan was startled by a sudden feeling of dread. She stopped, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, and a chill going up her spine. She breathed deeply and continued on to her bed, the strange feeling growing stronger by the second. As she sat on the edge, she had a sudden realization that terrified her.

Someone was in the room.

She distinctly felt the presence of magic before the realization, similar to the feeling she got when Tyrus had appeared in Maedoc's study a few nights ago.

"Who's there?" she called out.

She heard nothing in response. Quickly, she stood. Her eyes were locked upon the door. Her first thought was to run and open it, escaping down the hallway. But, she was frozen in place, unable to move or even breathe. Her breathing became shallow, as thoughts of terrible things went through her head. Had Tyrus returned? Had a Defiler somehow entered her bedroom?

Siobhan was terrified. Even her voice was stunted. She could not call out, could not escape. She could barely move at all. She urged her feet forward, slowly lifting them one after another to walk toward the door. She began to tremble as the fear built up within her. She was in danger. She knew it!

Slowly she inched ever closer to the door. A column to the right created shadow in the corner, and her eyes felt drawn to it. She forced herself not to look as she came closer to the door and reached out to grab the handle. Just as her hand touched the latch, she shifted her eyes to the right for a brief glance.

The hooded figure shot out quickly, pricking her neck with a sharp object. Siobhan's vision faded quickly, and she felt herself being lifted away.

Then, she faded into blackness.

Chapter Thirteen

Eamon led the Knights of the Dragon on to Argan as agreed. Farouk's words had made sense to him, and there was no reason to doubt his wisdom. Ulrich could defend Gaellos, he knew, and Traegus was not yet needed. He was also confident that Titus would be a great help in the battle for Gaellos, and also knew that he would return when the battle was over. All that was left was to free Argan, and any smaller settlements in the area, then it was on to Faerbane.

Jadhav and his men would guard the sea, hopefully intercepting any ships that tried to sail around the coast and to the Western shore. The Raj and his fleet would make short work of any standard vessels the Jindala had, but a small amount of doubt remained whether they would even have any effect on any ships that carried the beasts that were expected to land. The Enkhatar were supernatural, and the wights that would accompany them were not easy to destroy.

Along the road to Argan, Eamon noticed the improved demeanor of his knights. They had all rested well after a night of enjoyment, and Azim was renewed at the meeting between him and Farouk. Eamon knew that he had missed his brother badly. Angen, however, looked somewhat rough. He was forgiven, though, as he was much older than the rest. His years of experience with wine and women had taken their toll, and he was not as quick to recover as the others.

"Are you alright, Angen?" Eamon asked, smiling. Wrothgaar smacked the older man on the back, prompting laughs from the rest of them.

"He's alright," Wrothgaar teased. "He's just old."

"I'm not old," Angen protested. "I'm just tired. I drank a lot of ale."

"You drank less than Daryth," Brynn added. "And he's just a lad!"

"What?" Daryth said. "You're three years older than me. And I'm a much better archer."

Brynn guffawed as the others laughed with the young Ranger. Azim was amused with their antics, unfamiliar with the good natured ribbing his friends often engaged in.

"Look to the North," Angen said. "There's smoke rising from the hills."

Eamon and the rest looked toward the smoke, seeing it billow straight up into the sky in a thin column.

"Brynn," Eamon said. "What's in that direction? It's too far east to be Argan."

"An estate," Brynn replied. "Galen, I think. A noble."

"I don't care much for nobles," Wrothgaar stated.

"Ride!" Eamon commanded.

Galen's horse violently trampled the Jindala swordsman like a weed. The nobleman had come to the rescue of one of his soldiers who had been wounded. The battle had raged on ever since the Jindala had marched in full force from Argan, leaving the city free of their presence. The occupying force was small, and the ruse to distract them while the Thieves' Guild evacuated the townsfolk had worked perfectly. However, the Jindala were much more organized than Galen had anticipated, and his men were beginning to tire.

As he rode over the enemy soldier, he saw his daughter, Brianna, take down three enemies in a row with her bow, and immediately strike down another with her sword. She could rapidly switch between weapons, and was just as deadly with either. She was fierce and unstoppable, just as Galen had been in his youth.

"Brianna!" he called to her. "Take the horsemen around their flanks! I'll meet you in the middle."

Brianna nodded, acknowledging the order. She obeyed without question, knowing that her father was a master strategist. She raised her sword, signaling her cavalry to follow. Galen's own riders would follow him, and the two forces would cut their way through the Jindala force, pressing them together in a tight formation. She urged the riders on, crushing through the Jindala line. Her sword sang the sweet song of death as she hacked and slashed her way through the enemy ranks.

Galen plowed into the other side, bashing the Jindala soldiers off their feet and crushing them like grass. He heard his men behind them, yelling their battle cries and cursing the enemy as they cut their way through the lines. The Jindala fought back, felling a few horses with their spears, or dragging their riders to the ground and running them through or stomping them to death with their boots.

It was a bloody battle, to be sure, but the loss of lives was worth saving those of the innocent townspeople.

Galen spun his horse around to trample a group of spearmen when he spotted the riders in the distance. He stared at them for a moment, not recognizing them, then turned back to the battle. Brianna's horsemen were nearing his position, and they had cut down a great portion of the enemy soldiers. As he met her in the middle as planned, he pointed off into the distance. Brianna followed his direction and saw the cloud of dust that the racing horsemen kicked up as they rushed to the battle. From this distance, she couldn't tell whether they were friend or foe, and, at the moment, it was the last thing on her mind.

Brianna reared back her horse, urging it on with a cry of rage. The horse kicked with its front legs, sending a spearman into the air. Just as she kicked her horse's flanks, another spearman thrust his weapon into its chest. The horse reared back again, this time sending throwing Brianna to the ground. She landed on her back, immediately rolling onto her feet and charging her mount's killer. The Jindala tried in vain to attack, but the length of spear prevented a thrust. Brianna leaped into the air and impaled him through the chest.

Galen saw his daughter thrown from her horse and rushed to aid her. Despite the fall, she was still holding her own, and was even more enraged than before. He backed off the charge and continued pummeling the surrounding enemies. Off in the distance, the Jindala archers were preparing to fire, telling him that the footsoldiers would possibly flee to avoid being skewered by their own allies.

"Don't let them flee!" yelled to his men. "The archers will fire!"

Brianna heard the order, and ran to the perimeter of the battle to block any escape attempts. Her men followed, struggling to keep up with her as she weaved in and out of the melee. She saw that the Jindala were indeed beginning to flee as the archers pulled back their bows. She raised her sword in the air, signaling her own archers to fire a preemptive volley. Galen gave the order.

"Fire!" he called. "Take down the archers!"

Brianna's archers let loose a volley. The cloud of arrows sailed in a deep arc toward the gathered Jindala bowmen. They ducked behind their shield bearers, some of them not quite quickly enough.

"Again!" Galen called, slashing downward at a fleeing soldier and splitting his skull.

The second wave of arrows flew over the battle. In seconds, half of the line of enemy archers had fallen. Yet, still the footsoldiers fled. Galen turned to the approaching horsemen, recognizing the banner of the Dragon.

Eamon and his knights plowed through the fleeing Jindala, casting them to the ground and trampling them without stopping. Galen's forces howled in triumph, and Brianna mounted a horse to chase down those that continued to flee. Eamon watched her with admiration as she cut down three of them, then switched to her bow and took down four more in rapid succession. He smiled as he watched. She was a fierce warrior; a master with a sword, and a flawless archer. He had to know who she was.

He rode over to Galen, who was rallying his men for a charge. Galen held up his hand in greeting.

"Well met," Eamon said. "I am Prince Eamon of Morduin."

"I know who you are," Galen replied. "I recognized your banner."

"What is happening, sir?" Eamon asked.

"Argan is being liberated," Galen answered.

Eamon looked at the city, and at Galen's estate, which was still smoking from a flaming trebuchet strike. "What of the people inside the city?" he asked, concerned for their safety.

Galen laughed. "The Thieves' Guild has evacuated them. They are being led into the catacombs beneath. They are safe. We lured the Jindala out so that the battle could take place out here, on my lands."

"Are there any enemies remaining in the city?"

"Only one," Galen replied. "A noble we trapped in the guard tower."

A Sultan, Eamon guessed.

"Let us finish," Eamon said, holding the Serpent's Tongue in the air. The knights raised their weapons, encouraging Galen and Brianna's troops to rally.

"Charge!" Galen cried.

The combined forces shot off toward Argan, closing the gap between them and the fleeing troops quickly. As the horsemen caught up with Brianna, she and Eamon locked eyes for a moment when she turned to join the charge. Eamon felt a strange sense when he saw her, as if they were connected somehow. Given the current situation, he put those thoughts aside and concentrated on the battle.

Brynn and Daryth had their bows out. The twang of their strings echoed as they fired arrow after arrow into the Jindala ranks. The enemy had stopped and turned to fight, but had scattered to avoid the charge. Nevertheless, the horsemen rode down many of them. Azim and Wrothgaar rode together, cutting down the archers that remained. Eamon let loose his battle cry and leaped from his horse to fight on level ground.

He charged two Jindala who had rushed to meet him. He slashed right, then left again, attacking the two enemies at once. They deflected his attacks and countered simultaneously. Eamon blocked both strikes, then countered with a blinding slash. The Serpent's Tongue sliced through one enemy's blade, shattering it to pieces, and laid open his breastplate. The man choked and fell to his knees as his chest was sliced open. Eamon then spun and slashed backhanded at the other warrior, disarming him and finishing him off with a thrust through the gut. He raised his sword again, crying out in challenge as the two warriors fell to the ground.

Brianna parried and struck repeatedly at the enemies around her. She fought her way to the knights, standing to fight at their sides. A swordsman launched an attack at Angen, who blocked the attack and punched the attacker in the face. Brianna sliced him open as he fell back, winking at Angen as she bounded off into the fray.

Galen led his horsemen around the battle to charge the archers who remained. They were pummeled by arrows as the archers fired to defend themselves, but luckily no one was hit. They crashed into the line, hacking and chopping their way through. Galen slashed downward on either side, alternating his attacks as he rode through their ranks. He knocked shield bearers out of the way, dodging their spear attacks and cutting them down as he passed.

Wrothgaar bashed a berserker with the butt of his axe, knocking the warrior down. He then chopped downward, splitting his sternum. Still, the berserker squirmed as the Northman ground his axe from side to side to open the wound. The berserker finally fell still when the axe pried his chest open. Wrothgaar, winced at the man's seeming invulnerability, but pulled out his axe and smashed his way into the thick of the battle once again.

Azim drew shocked looks from the Jindala as he faced them. The sight of one of their own standing against them caught them off guard, and Azim used it to his advantage. Leaping from his horse, he landed behind a small group who had surrounded two of Galen's men, smashing through them to join his allies. They jabbed with their spears, shouting curses at Azim. He slapped their spears away with both scimitars, urging Galen's men to spread out. As a spear came close to his head, he quickly leaned to the side, slicing off the spear point with one sword, and countering with the other. He struck the attacker's knee, then spun back to slash at another with his other blade. The two opponents fell, and Azim continued his spin to thrust at a third.

Just then, Wrothgaar came crashing through, knocking the remaining two men out of the way, and continuing on through the battle. Azim chuckled, then followed.

Brynn and Daryth fought side by side, their swords working in perfect unison. As Brynn forced an enemy to the side with a feint, Daryth would finish him off, and then return the favor. Their enemies never knew who was going to attack, and who would defend.

Daryth eyed an elite soldier who ran into the clearing they had made. The enemy charged, slashing a large scimitar in alternating, diagonal arcs. Daryth skillfully parried, quickly spinning his katana to block each attack. Then he feinted right, drawing a counterattack from the soldier. But the attack didn't land. Daryth ducked around to the left and slashed at the man's waist, laying open his gut. Brynn finished the man off with a beheading strike, then spun around to deliver an impaling thrust to another Jindala who attempted to pass by.

"Hey!" Daryth protested. "He was mine!"

"My apologies," Brynn joked. "I thought you were done with him."

Eamon brutally chopped off a Jindala's arm, continuing his attack with an upward arc that sliced the man up the side. As he kicked his opponent out of the way, the Serpent's Tongue began to vibrate. The sensation was the same as when the Sword of Sulemain was near. He looked around for Azim, thinking that his friend was within range. He parried and countered several attacks as he scanned the chaotic crowd, but the former Jindala was nowhere in sight. Shrugging, he went back to the battle.

Brianna ducked in and out of the groups of fighting men, striking quickly and unseen. Though she was occasionally attacked, she was able to disappear into the crowd and reappear to counter seconds later. She attacked low, as she was small, and kept herself crouched as she moved through the battle. Like Daryth, she was a master of stealth, and was able to slip in and out of sight quite easily.