The Dragon's Lover (16 page)

Gunnar felt a stab of fear. “We are exposed. There is
no place to hide here. No cover.”

Raine looked around them. There really was nothing.
Even on their horses they could not outrun the approaching horde.
And as the cloud of dust spread across the entire horizon, she
realized the far edges were increasing their speed, meaning the
approaching army was going to flank them, then surround them. She
dismounted, thinking furiously.

“Elyara, your skill is with the natural world. The
soil here is soft and sandy. Can you create a wall from it? One
about five feet tall so that we can see over it?” She glanced to
Lorifal, “Well, so most of us can see over it,” she amended. “But
make it as long as possible given your abilities, but not so long
that it strains your power. I'm going to need you to maintain it
throughout the skirmish.”

“Skirmish?” Bristol fairly squealed, “Skirmish? This
is going to be a slaughter. And what good is a wall going to
do?”

Raine ignored him and continued to address Elyara.
“Make the wall slightly curved so that it bends around us like a
shield and will deflect the enemy as we move forward.”

“But how will we move forward with the wall in front
of us?” Gunnar asked.

“Because the wall's going to move with us.” Raine
turned to Idonea. “I know how powerful you are,” she said quietly,
“and I know your skills are very opposite those of Elyara's. So I
need you to bring this wall to life. Nothing fancy, just give it
legs. Short, stout legs every ten paces or so along its length,
enough that it can march slowly forward.”

Idonea pursed her lips. It was an interesting
request. That was one of the fascinating aspects of magic;
sometimes it wasn't so much the degree of power but the degree of
creativity used in manipulating it. And this was quite a creative
application. Although there were many far more elaborate spells or
incantations that could be cast, all would require enormous magical
energy, exhausting both her and Elyara. This one was quite simple
and could likely be sustained throughout the battle.

“Yes,” she said, “I can do that.”

“Good,” Raine said. “Feyden, you and I will be at the
front with our bows. Gunnar, Bristol, and Dagna, you will be behind
us. The wall is not meant to stop the Hyr'rok'kin, only slow them
down. So if they get past Feyden and me, you will take care of
them.”

Gunnar and Dagna nodded vigorously, and Bristol far
more slowly.

“And me?” Lorifal asked.

“We could make the wall a complete circle, but I
think it will move with greater ease and blunt the frontal assault
more if it is shaped like a wedge or a shield. It is your job to
take care of our rear flank, which will be exposed.”

A smile crept across the dwarf's face as he gripped
his battle ax. “Clean up. I like it.”

“If we do end up being flanked,” Raine said, turning
back to Elyara. “Gradually close the wall into a circle and close
it if need be. At that point,” she continued, now addressing
Idonea, “just drop the wall in place and we will fight from there.”
She looked around at her companions. “Does everyone understand
their role?”

Somber faces greeted her, but all nodded. The cloud
of dust was getting closer and the little black outlines of
individual soldiers could be seen. Raine spoke a few words into the
ear of her stallion, then gently swatted his flank. He took off in
the opposite direction of the cloud of dust, followed by the other
horses. Bristol gargled, nearly choking in fear and indignation.
Raine had just eliminated their only means of escape.

“Where do you want Idonea and me to stand?” Elyara
asked.

“You may stand wherever you feel most comfortable,”
Raine replied, “and the most safe.”

It did not take Elyara half a second to decide where
she was standing, which was directly behind Raine. And as much as
it pained Idonea to admit, that was exactly where she was going to
stand as well.

“Are we ready?” Raine asked, gauging the approaching
dust. They were getting very close, but she did not want to strain
Elyara and Idonea beyond their limits. But it was time. She nodded
to Elyara.

“Go ahead.”

A determined look settled upon Elyara's delicate
features. She spoke a few ancient words, held her hands out wide,
and concentrated with all her might.

At first nothing happened. Then the ground began to
quiver and shake. A split in the earth in front of them slithered
through the dirt like a snake, then straightened with a snap and
the oddest precision. The earth erupted upwards, flowing like thick
water, quivering gelatinously, then solidifying into a mass. The
mass was uneven, twisting, turning, then again solidified with that
odd precision into a wall. The wall stretched outward in both
directions, then curved about the group.

Raine eyed the magical structure with appreciation.
“Perfect,” she said. “Now it's your turn, Idonea.”

Idonea would never say it aloud, but the wall
impressed her. So she rose to the occasion, spoke her own arcane
words of dark magic, and brought the wall to life.

It was an awe-inspiring sight and probably would have
been much more enjoyable had not the Hyr'rok'kin army been bearing
down upon them. But the wall began to rise, appearing for an
instant almost as if it were levitating. But the illusion resolved
itself as it became apparent the wall was not floating, but rather
was getting to its feet on its newly sprouted legs. The legs
themselves were a sight to behold, not mere appendages but vicious,
spiked limbs that would inflict damage with every forward
step.”

“Nice touch,” Raine murmured.

“Thank you,” Idonea said, stabilizing the spell, then
commanding it to move. The wall took one step, then another, then
began to slowly move forward.

“By the Divine,” Dagna said, “what an incredible
sight. We might actually survive this.”

“We will more than survive this,” Raine said, her
tone dark but confident. “We are going to destroy this army.”

That was an unlikely scenario, Feyden thought as he
took his place behind the wall. The numbers bearing down on them
were like stars in the sky. Even with his extraordinary faith in
Raine, he did not see how they could come out of this. Still, he
thought, as he turned to the beauty at this side, there was
something about her that inspired confidence. She had a look of
grim anticipation on her face, as if what she was about to face
brought her great joy, as if some part of her was born to live on a
battlefield and came to life only under those circumstances.

“Want to wager I can hit one from here?”

“I'm not inclined to bet against you, but…”

The distance between them and the Hyr'rok'kin was
much farther than the Shard scout she had taken down before. It was
not even close to Feyden's range.

Raine snapped the bow outward into place with a
violent twist. She removed a long arrow from her back, notched it,
and eyed the rapidly approaching line. The figures were still tiny
and could barely be seen in the dust. She had already taken note of
the wind speed and direction, negligible under most circumstances
but significant at this distance. She focused, breathed in,
breathed out, and let the arrow fly.

The missile could not be tracked because it was too
great a distance, but the outcome was clear. A tiny figure went
down in a tumble of limbs, taking out several more tiny figures
around him. The effect was also clear as the line slowed to a
crawl, then came to a complete a stop. The tiny, black figures
milled about uncertainly.

Raine was already notching another arrow, and within
seconds, another tiny figure grabbed its chest and went down. She
began methodically picking off Hyr'rok'kin one-by-one, moving and
firing in a constant rhythm as she kept pace with the wall. Feyden
looked back to Dagna.

“She's going to need your arrows.”

Dagna handed her entire supply to Feyden, as did
Gunnar and Bristol. Idonea took that opportunity to murmur a
comment to Raine, unheard by the others.

“If you fuck as well as you kill, it's no wonder my
mother is so enamored with you.”

Raine grinned, pausing not at all. She notched
another arrow, took aim, and another figure went down.

“Actually,” she replied, “fucking and killing are the
two things I do best, and fortunately both excite your mother.”

Idonea just shook her head, for once more amused by
the answer than disgusted.

The front line of the enemy began to move once more,
whipped from behind by their superiors. But the advance seemed more
chaotic now, less organized, less certain. Soon they were within
Feyden's range and he began firing just as methodically as Raine.
By the time he could see the blood red eyes of the beasts, he
estimated they had taken down more than five score. But this was a
huge force, much larger than any they had faced before and one
designed to end their journey. Some arrows did come their way, but
Shard archers were not known for their accuracy, especially when
they were moving. There seemed very little strategy in this attack
but rather it was a straight-forward, brutal frontal assault meant
to succeed by overwhelming force. And what arrows did make their
way into their small enclosure either met the shields of those
behind them or were swatted from the air with a twist of Raine's
wrist.

As the army neared, the Plague-Riders came into view,
gigantic bear-like creatures that Shards rode like horses. They
were hideous, with great gaping maws filled with jagged teeth.
Their hides were as diseased and pock-marked as the Hyr'rok'kin.
They snapped at their riders, they snapped at the infantry, they
snapped at anything that was in range of their massive jaws. They
were not known for endurance, but like the bear, could run
dangerously fast over short distances.

Raine did not see any Marrow Shards, of which she was
glad. But there was something worse she was looking for, and
thankfully she did not see it or smell it yet.

The first Shards struck the wall and Raine braced.
Both Elyara and Idonea staggered as if they themselves had been
hit, but the wall held and with little more than a stutter step, it
kept marching forward. Raine kept firing, pleased with the mages.
The Shards came over the wall, blood and phlegm dripping from their
mouths, and for every two that she took down, one would get past
only to be cut down by those behind her. Elyara and Idonea were
pressed close behind her and Feyden, and their constant stream of
arrows created a funnel of protection for them. Dagna, Bristol, and
Gunnar guarded the edges of this funnel, cutting down everything
that came their way. Lorifal stood in the rear, smashing anything
that was left.

The army was starting to swarm around them and Elyara
slowly began to close the wall. It was becoming more elliptical
than circular in order to protect their flanks, and it was more
like a wedge than a shield in order to keep its forward progress.
But the wall was slowing due to the sheer number of Shards throwing
themselves against it. Lorifal was getting overwhelmed with the
Shards flowing around it, so Dagna turned to aid him.

Idonea was having difficulty keeping the wall moving.
The spell she was casting was not particularly difficult because
she was not actually bringing the earth to life but rather was
simply animating inanimate material. So she was acting less a god
and more a puppet master at the moment. Because of this, she felt
she could add to the spell without completely draining her power.
Spiked arms sprang from the wall, slithering outward like
tentacles, and the arms began to smash, impale, and strangle the
Hyr'rok'kin attempting to crawl over the wall.

The arms were a glorious addition but Raine was
concerned that Idonea would grow tired. She could see that Elyara
was beginning to fade as well. A quick assessment of her
surroundings told her it was time to go to her sword, and she
retracted her bow. She drew the shorter double swords because of
the close quarters and began slicing through everything around her.
She glanced to the sky, saw what appeared to be a dark cloud, and
grinned. Feyden saw the flash of her white teeth in the haze of
dirt and blood and followed her gaze.

A cloud appeared to be diving toward them. At first
Feyden could not fathom what the strange formation might be, then
began to see the individual parts that made up the whole.

It was a gigantic flock of birds. Large birds. Birds
of prey.

The hawks strafed down over the endangered rear flank
of the party, some at so great a speed and angle that when they
struck, they took the monstrous attackers to the ground. Others
skimmed over the tops, their razor sharp talons slicing wounds
through heads and shoulders.

An enormous hawk took out a Plague-Rider and the
Shard on its back, pinning the Shard to the ground. The magnificent
raptor turned to Raine, who was yelling something to it in a
language Feyden had never heard. Raine was also motioning, pointing
to her own eyes, and the raptor gave a piercing cry of
acknowledgment, one heard easily above the din of battle. The
raptor, and all others, began plucking the eyes from the Shards,
the simplest and most effective way of rendering them helpless. The
newly blinded combatants screamed in pain and fear, swinging their
axes about and endangering their own comrades far more than the
small band tightly ensconced inside the wall.

Feyden felt giddy. Not only might they survive this,
they were slaughtering this army from what had been an exposed and
indefensible position on the plain. If they could beat the
Hyr'rok'kin here and in Smuggler's Breach, they could beat them
anywhere.

Raine, too, was starting to feel a cautious hope.
Although still vastly outnumbered, the Shard commanders were having
difficulty keeping the low-level troops in line and many were
fleeing. A blinded Plague-Rider was rolling and thrashing about,
taking out infantry all around it. The hawks were still plucking
out eyeballs, gulping them down like treats. Lorifal was joyfully
surrounded, smashing the Shards who came too near, his dwarven
helmet pulled low over his eyes and dripping with blood. Dagna and
Bristol fought back-to-back, Dagna with sword and shield and
Bristol with his greatsword. Feyden was still at her side, he, too,
having moved to a short sword and dagger. Gunnar was swinging his
greatsword about, at times slicing, at times smashing. It seemed
they might be victorious.