The Gift of Battle (21 page)

Reece stood at
the bow of the ship, joined by O’Connor, Elden, Indra, Matus, Angel, and
Selese, leading his Legion brothers in Thor’s absence, and as they sailed
heading east, he focused on the destination that lay before them: the Ring. It
was somewhere out there on the horizon, and as they sailed closer with each
passing moment, his heart beast faster just to think of it. Finally, after all
this time away, he was returning home.
Home
. It was a word which had
long ago lost its meaning.

Reece felt a
great deal of pressure to reach the Ring before it was too late. He knew that
Thorgrin would return, would be meeting them there, and would need their help.
After all, the Ring was not back in their hands yet, and that meant they would
be heading into battle—indeed, the greatest battle of their lives—just as they
had when leaving it. It was likely that the entire Empire would descend on it,
and Reece knew it was likely that it was battle they could not survive—even
with Thorgrin and his dragon.

And yet still,
the thought of fighting for his homeland thrilled Reece, however bleak the
odds. The idea of having a chance to inhabit it again, to rebuild it, to start
life over once again in this place where he had been raised, where he had all
of his memories, made him feel complete, made him feel alive again. Even if he
died in the battle, it was a cause he would gladly lay down his life for. After
all, what else did one have in the world if they did not have a home?

As they sailed
and sailed, their ship felt empty without Thorgrin there, without his dragon,
their presence missed. Now they all looked to Reece for leadership, and he knew
he had big shoes to fill. He had always headed into battle with his best friend
by his side, and not having him there made him feel more alone.

Yet Selese stood
beside him, having barely left his side since she had joined them on the ship.
Reece had grown used to her as a constant presence, so grateful he’d had a
second chance with her. The two of them had sailed nearly halfway around the
world together, ever since she had emerged from the Land of the Dead, and Reece
now couldn’t imagine life without her. He had been so grateful to have her
back, to have a chance to rectify his errors, to have a second chance at love
with her.

Reese turned to
see Selese looking at him, her light blue eyes angelic, looking more beautiful
in the morning light than he’d ever seen her. She stared back, so serene as she
always was, an ethereal quality to her. Indeed, since she had left the Land of
the Dead, it was as if a part of her were not really here.

When she looked
at him this time, her eyes were watering, and Reece could sense a special
intensity to her gaze; he sensed right away that something was wrong.

“What is it, my
love?” he asked, concerned, as he reached for her hand.

She stared into his
eyes.

“This time we
have had together has made my life,” she said, holding his hand.

Reece felt a
pang of concern at her words, at their finality.

“What do you
mean?” he asked, struggling to understand.

“We were given a
second chance, don’t you see?” she said. “I was meant to stay below, in the
Land of the Dead, and you brought me back. Your love brought me back.”

She paused, and
in the silence that followed, he wondered where she was going with this.

“But there was a
deal I made,” she finally continued, “a price I had to pay. I knew I was not
meant to be with you again forever. It was always meant to be fleeting. Just a
chance for us to rectify what we had lost.”

Reece stared at
her, his heart pounding, feeling a sinking sense of foreboding.

“What are you
speaking of, my love?” he asked.

She looked off
into the horizon, and her eyes, so light, filled with tears, nearly glowed.

“Our time
together has come to an end,” she said as she turned and faced him, her eyes
watering. She reached up and touched his cheek, caressing it, her skin so soft.

“But I want you
to know that I’ve always loved you,” she added, as his heart broke. “And I will
always love you. I shall be looking down on you, always. And always with you.”

Reece grasped
her hand as hard as he could, not wanting to let go.

“You can’t leave
now,” he pleaded, a wave of desperation washing over him. “It’s not fair. I
won’t let you.”

He clasped even
harder, trying to hold on, but even as he did, he felt her hand disappearing,
ebbing away, as if there were nothing left to hold onto.

She smiled
through her tears.

“You can never
let go of me,” she said. “Nor I of you. We shall always be together.”

Selese leaned in
and kissed him, and he kissed her back, feeling his own eyes watering, as he
felt her fading from him.

“I must go, my
love,” she said softly, crying. “Life is coming for you. A new life. But for
new life to come, sometimes, death must come first.”

Selese pulled
away from him, Reece feeling her slipping through his fingers, and she backed
up until she was at the rail. Then she gently fell backwards, over the railing,
falling overboard and into the water.

Strangely, Reece
never heard a splash.

“Selese!” Reese
called out.

Reece rushed to
the rail, the others, alarmed at his voice, went rushing over, too. He reached
it and looked over, prepared to jump in after her.

But he spotted
her already impossibly far from the ship, floating on her back, arms spread
out, a smile on her face. A mist rolled in, rainbow-colored, embracing her,
obscuring her.

Moments later,
she disappeared beneath the surface, and he knew, he just knew, that she was
gone from him forever.

“SELESE!” he
called out in anguish, gripping the rail so hard his knuckles turned white.

He peered into
the mist, wondering how the universe could take her away from him, and as he
did, out of the mist, he was shocked to see something else appearing, floating
toward the ship.

Reece did a
double-take, wondering if he were seeing this. Out of the mist there approached
a small vessel, a tiny boat with a single, tattered sail. Inside there lay a
body, unmoving.

The current
carried it out of the mist and right for their ship, until it finally smacked
against the hull. Reece stared down, baffled—and as he did, his heart stopped
in astonishment.

Death brings
forth life.

Reece’s breath
caught in his throat. He looked down and saw lying there, unmoving, a woman he
had once loved.

There, alone in
the vast sea, unconscious, was Stara.

Gwendolyn
hurried through the tunnel with the others, hundreds of them jogging through
the dark, cavernous passageway, the only light cast from the bouncing torches
held in soldiers’ hands. Gwen led the pack beside Koldo, fleeing for her life
with the rest of the Ridge, leading them deeper and deeper through a tunnel
which she only prayed led to freedom.

Kendrick and his
men ran beside her, along with Steffen and several others, Krohn at her heels,
and as they twisted and turned down the endless tunnel, voices of fear echoing
in the darkness, she realized how dangerous this was. Right now, she and
hundreds of others ran deep below the lakes, in a tunnel not used for
centuries, one that could collapse at any moment. The tunnel echoed eerily with
the sound of chaos, of panic, of people running from their homeland into a dark
unknown, only torches to light the way, hoping that somehow it would lead to
freedom. And rising above their sounds, even more ominous, was the distant
sound of something else: a slamming on the metal doors. The Empire was trying
to crash them down, to get in, to follow them, and they pounded relentlessly.
It was like a pounding on Gwen’s heart.

Gwendolyn looked
up ahead, saw nothing but more blackness, and she wondered if they would escape
in time—or if this tunnel even led to freedom.

“Are you certain
it is not stopped up?” she asked Koldo, who was jogging beside her.

He shook his
head grimly.

“I am not
certain of anything,” he replied darkly. “The tunnel was built before my
father’s time. My father never had occasion to use it. None of us had. It is an
escape route—and we have never had to escape.”

Gwen felt a
sense of foreboding.

“Are you saying
it could lead to death?” Kendrick asked.

“It may,” he
replied. “But behind us, don’t forget, is certain death.”

They all
continued running, picking up their pace, and as they did, there came a
horrendous crash from far behind them, enough to make Gwen jump. It echoed and
boomed off the walls, and it sounded as if the metal doors had been not only
bashed in, but destroyed.

Worse, this was
soon followed by a cheer—the cheer of thousands of soldiers out for blood,
inside the tunnel.

Gwen’s heart
dropped; she knew they had broken through. Already, they were closing in fast.
She could hear their voices, too close. They, after all, had a professional
army, had horses. Gwen, on the other hand, had a huge, unwieldy crowd of
civilians, moving along too slowly despite her best efforts.

As they turned
another corner, Gwen strained to see into blackness—but still, there was
nothing but more tunnel.

“We must stand
and fight!” Koldo cried out, reaching for his sword, determination in his face.

But Gwen was
equally determined; she had been in evacuations before.

“No!” she
countered. “If we fight, we shall all die in here. Behind us is certain death.
Up ahead lies the only path to freedom.”

Koldo looked
hesitant, deliberating.

“You are a
leader now, Koldo,” she added. “You must decide as your father would—not as a
warrior would. These people are yours. They are your responsibility. They don’t
have the luxury of valorous decisions. You must think of the general good. We
must not stop.”

She could see
Koldo would consent, though unhappily. Behind them, the Empire voices grew
louder.

“I shall give it
one more bend in the tunnel,” he said. “If the exit does not appear, then we
shall turn and face them. And we will die as men—not as dogs with our backs to
them.”

Gwendolyn ran
with the group, her heart pounding in her mouth, praying that as they made the
turn there would be a change in the tunnel, something, any sign of hope, up
ahead. She knew if they stopped and fought the Empire, they would all die down
here, trapped underground. She did not mind dying—but she hated to see all
these innocents die, and she felt a responsibility to them.

Gwen was all for
valor; and yet, she knew great leaders had to pick their battles. As a Queen,
she had been in that position many a time. Koldo might be a great commander,
but he had never before had to think as a ruler. And being a ruler, sometimes,
was humbling.

They turned the
corner, Gwen gasping for air, her lungs killing her, not sure how much further
she could go on, and as they did, her heart lifted with relief to see, in the
distance, a shaft of light. Up ahead there was a small opening in the tunnel,
leading back up to the desert floor. It was but a hundred yards away.

Koldo looked at
her, and she could see the relief on his face, too. He nodded at her in
respect.

“A wise
decision, my lady,” he admitted.

With the
cacophony of the Empire growing ever louder behind them, they ran for their
lives, all of them picking up the pace for the final stretch, and soon they
reached the exit. Gwen stepped aside with the other warriors and let the women
and children pass, followed by all the citizens.

When everyone
had passed through Gwen prepared to leave—when Koldo raised a hand and
gestured.

Gwen looked up
and followed his finger and saw, high up on the wall, a huge iron wheel, rusted
with age.

“Before we go,”
Koldo said, “why don’t we leave them a little parting present?”

Gwen looked at
him questioningly.

“What did you
have in mind?” she asked.

She heard a
shout and looked back over her shoulder and her heart dropped to see the Empire
army turn the corner, now in sight and racing right for them.

“The tunnel lies
beneath the lakes,” he said, “and that wheel opens the valves.”

He looked at her
with a serious expression.

“We can flood
this place,” he added.

Gwen looked up
at the wheel in awe.

“It will not
keep them back forever,” he said, “but it will buy us time.”

Gwendolyn nodded
in approval, and as she did, their men broke into action. They followed Koldo’s
lead as a dozen of their best warriors, including Koldo’s brothers and
Kendrick, jumped for the wheel, yanking at its rusted iron crank.

They pulled with
all their might, and at first nothing happened.

Gwen turned and
looked with apprehension at the army closing in on them, now less than a
hundred yards away, then turned and looked back to the tunnel exit. A part of
her wanted them all to leave it be and dash to freedom—but another part knew
they had to do this to assure their safety.

The man yanked
again, straining and groaning with the effort—and this time there came a
creaking noise, and Gwen’s heart leapt to see the wheel start to move. At first
it moved a few inches—then a lot more.

The men gave one
huge pull, shouting, and suddenly the wheel spun in a full circle.

There came the
sound of a steel valve opening, followed by rushing water, and Gwen turned and
watched, amazed, as water began pouring out from pipes on either side of the
cave.

The men pulled and
turned the wheel, spinning it in several circles, and water suddenly came
gushing in, flooding the tunnel.

It swooshed and
swelled in every direction, and Gwen yanked on Koldo’s and Kendrick’s arms,
realizing their exit would soon be blocked.

“IT’S ENOUGH!”
she cried.

They all turned
and ran with her as they scrambled to get up and out of the tunnel, barely
making it through the exit as the water level rose, and as more valves opened
and more water gushed through.

Outside, in the
safety of the Waste with all the other survivors, Gwen stopped with the
warriors at the entrance to the tunnel and looked behind her one last time.
Inside, water gushed like a river through the tunnel, and the Empire soldiers
stopped, faces frozen in fear, and turned to flee. But it was too late. Their
shrieks rose up, echoing, as they were swallowed by the water like a tide.

Gwen turned and
looked at Koldo, Kendrick, and the others, and they looked back at her, all
sharing a look of satisfaction as they turned, mounted their horses with the
others, and all began the journey away from here, away from the Ridge, and
somewhere north, toward freedom.

*

Gwendolyn kicked
her horse, urging it to go faster, excited at the sight before her as she
crossed with the great throng through the Waste. They had been riding all day,
and now, before them, was the sight that Koldo had promised would come: there,
on the horizon, were the Crystal Lakes, the pools of water that branched out to
the all the rivers of the Empire. It was a vast body of water, nearly
translucent, shining, reflecting the desert suns, and now, finally, it lay
several hundred yards away. She was so grateful it did; she did not know how
much longer this throng could have tolerated the Waste.

Gwen was in awe
at how meticulously the King had planned this escape route from the Ridge,
prepared for a contingency like this. She looked out and saw all the ships on
the horizon, hidden at the shores behind the branches of willow trees, and she
realized that the King had planned for it all. He knew it would not be enough
for his people to only exit the tunnel into Waste. He knew that, in the event
of an invasion, his people would have to flee somewhere far away, across the
Empire. And those dozens of ships at the water’s edge represented their
lifeline, their ticket out.

Gwendolyn looked
out at the sight with relief; they would finally have a way out of here, back
out of the Empire, away from the Ridge. They would have ships and rivers that
led to open water, to the open sea, to a chance for freedom. She could not help
but think of Argon’s master’s words, of her leading this people back to the
Ring, and her heart quickened at the thought. It was all happening. It felt
surreal.

And the idea of
embarking on a journey to return
home
, after all this time, made her
ecstatic. It filled her with a new sense of purpose—especially if it meant a
chance to be reunited with Thorgrin and Guwayne again.

They all came to
a stop beneath the grove of trees beside the ships, they and their horses all
winded. The suns hung low in the sky, now, and Gwen watched the hundreds of
people dismounting, kneeling at the water, rinsing their faces and necks,
drinking, and making their way to the ships, in awe.

The ships
remained concealed, as the King must have planned in his wisdom, perfectly
sheltered behind trees and in large caves filled with water. Unless one knew
they were there, they would never be found. There were dozens of ships, enough
to transport all of these people. Gwen could feel the King looking down, and she
was in awe at his foresight.

Gwen glanced
back over her shoulder, out at the great Waste, and she thought of the
thousands of Empire soldiers somewhere out there, surely pursuing them. For now
all was empty and still, but she wondered how long it would be until they all
caught up. She knew there wasn’t much time.

“Do you think
the flood killed them all?” she asked Koldo, who came up beside her.

He shook his
head, glancing back gravely.

“Those valves
only run so long,” he said. “The first wave of water will kill the frontline.
But the rest will make it through soon enough. They are probably halfway across
the Waste by now.”

“But they have
no ships,” Ludvig said, stepping up beside them.

Koldo gave him a
look.

“The Empire’s
unstoppable,” he replied. “They will find a way. They have one million men;
they have tools. They can build ships.”

He sighed and
studied the landscape.

“They are
perhaps half a day behind us. With a day without wind, without our sails at
full mast, they can catch us.”

“Then there’s no
time to waste,” Kendrick said, joining them and walking for the ships. They all
fell in beside him.

“Let us each
take command of a different ship,” Koldo suggested, looking at Gwen and
Kendrick and Ludvig and Kaden. “We need strong leaders on each one.”

They all agreed
and they broke up, each heading in different directions as they boarded the
sailing ships, each large enough to hold perhaps a hundred men. As Gwen reached
hers, Steffen beside her and Krohn at her heels, she reached up, grabbed hold
of the long rope ladder dangling down, and pulled herself up. As she reached
the top, she turned, and Steffen reached up and handed Krohn to her, and soon
they were both up over the rail and onto the deck.

They were
followed by dozens of soldiers and citizens of the Ridge, all filling up the
ships, one at a time. They all pitched in, realizing the urgency, each of them
setting to work to immediately raise sails or grab oars. They were all
wordlessly a fine-tuned machine, each united in their desire to flee as far from
the Empire as possible, each of them determined to find a new shore, to make
another life.

“And where shall
we go now?” came a voice.