The Lady of Toryn Anthology (Lady of Toryn trilogy) (26 page)

"Ashlyn,"
Drake interrupted gently, touching her arm. "The army awaits your
orders."

She
paused, looking at him incredulously. Being Drake, she kind of expected him to
be out of the loop sometimes, but how, exactly, could he think of the Toryn
army at a time like this?

"The
city is under attack," he said, unnerving in his infinite patience.
"They need a leader."

"And
this kid needs a healer," Aaron said. He chewed agitatedly on his
ever-present cigarette. "I'll do my best, just get the troops rallied fer
me."

Slowly
it began to occur to Ashlyn what was happening. They were telling her, in the
most respectful way possible, that she couldn't help her cousin now. They were
telling her she needed to put aside her personal ties and be a leader.

"Oh,"
she said in a small voice, the incredible vastness of her undertaking suddenly
seeming overwhelming.

Skye
seemed to notice her distress, and moved into action, as he always did.
"Aaron, move him to the pagoda. When you're finished, come back out and
Ash will assign you to your post. Ashlyn," and he put a hand on her elbow,
pulling her up to her feet effortlessly, "we need to give the troops a
purpose. Are you all right?"

"Sure,"
she said reflexively, without bothering to stop and consider, then shook her
head. "I mean…"

Skye
gave her arm a squeeze, and she glanced up at him, wishing for the millionth
time that she could read his thoughts in his eyes. He'd spent the entirety of
their undertaking with Lord Angelo leading FLD, fighting to overcome his
private demons every step of the way. Ashlyn had never realized until now how
intense the pressure must have been. He was a natural leader, but his time was
past. Now he was supporting her in the only way he could- silently.

"I'm
fine," she said softly, and turned, his hand slipping from her elbow as
she did. The cold air that hit her skin at the absence of his fingers sent a
shiver up her bicep, and Ashlyn wrapped her arms around herself, noting to
herself that the rain had started again. Defending the city would be
considerably more difficult when she could hardly see ten feet in front of her
own face.

A
blonde woman appeared in front of her then, herding a small group of children
in front of her. About twenty Toryn soldiers marched behind, solemn but obviously
scared.

"Trace,"
Ashlyn said, touching the Spartan's arm. “The kids- you're taking them to my
house?"

The
older girl looked at Ashlyn warily. "Wasn't that what you told me to
do?"

"Yes.
I mean- yes, that's exactly what I want you to do." Ashlyn stared at one
tearful little girl, clutching a ragged stuffed bear in one arm, her thumb
jammed in her mouth. "These kids are everything. Take care of them.”

The
blonde girl smiled, some of her icy demeanor melting away. "You've got FLD
behind you," she said, squeezing Ashlyn's shoulder. "I think you're
going to be fine. But thank you. We'll see you when it's over." She turned
and went back to the milling children, clucking like a mother hen as she
ushered them towards Ashlyn's home.

When
Ashlyn turned around, her friends were standing before her, minus Aaron, who
apparently hadn't returned from the pagoda yet. Just the sight of her friends,
together again, uniting in battle to help her, gave Ashlyn confidence. The
clouds had made it so dark she could hardly see their expressions, but the
sight of them was comforting all the same.

"Hello
again," she said, grinning. It would have been much, much too awkward to
be somber in the face of her doom. After all, her friends were the best
warriors in the world. There was no force on the earth strong enough to defeat
them- not Lord Angelo, and certainly not some ragtag army of magic-driven
beasts.

The
Toryn army, ever at the ready, stood behind them, clustered together in
separate groups and looking as though they were ready to be assigned. Ashlyn
wondered if her friends had had anything to do with that, and felt a rush of
gratitude.

"Okay,"
she said firmly. "I want two battalions at the path to Na Michico. That's
the most likely point of entry if they come from the northwest. Drake and
Sk-" She hesitated, realizing that it was probably better to keep Skye
close to her in case she needed some advice, and substituted, "Drake and
Aaron, I want you to take the soldiers up there and defend the path. Don't send
anyone beyond the walls of the city at any point, and try to make use of the
archers as much as possible."

It
seemed like she should say more, give them a specific plan of action, but for
some reason she was drawing a complete blank on what else she could say.
"You can send runners if you need help," she said finally. "It's
possible that they may only attack from the south, but if you should see them,
contact me immediately. Don't be afraid to request reinforcements."

She
opened her mouth to assign everyone else to their positions, but suddenly there
was a giant
boom
behind her, followed
by an intense wave of heat that flattened her like a rice cake. She hit the
ground hard, smacking her forehead on the grass, and sprang up immediately,
spinning on her heels, the breath torn from her body in a single instant.

The
pagoda was on fire.

A
shadow fell over Ashlyn, blocking the light from the burning temple, and she
didn't stop to think- she dropped to her belly, scraping her elbows painfully.
She flattened herself to the ground as a bear leaped over her. The bear was
unable to stop his forward motion enough to counter her quick maneuver, and his
claws only shrieked on the surface of her sheath and shredded her shirt. Ashlyn
jumped up and threw a straight jab, then another, and kept going when the beast
roared its anger. She ducked a swipe from the first bear and hit him with an
uppercut, then spun in a leg sweep, knocking him to the ground. She followed up
the assault with a high-pitched yell, completely focused on casting her magic
as fire rolled up in great flames around her opponent.

Ashlyn
spared a glance to her right, recognizing only Restlyn in the midst of dozens
of soldiers, sparsely intermixed with the beasts. The brunette was fighting
smoothly, her movements flawless and calculated even as she shouted orders to
her soldiers. Ashlyn looked to the left and swallowed, seeing only wave upon
wave of beasts and Toryn soldiers coming towards her. The monsters were
ridiculously outnumbered. This fight should be easy enough.

Motioning
to the soldiers behind her and shouting for them to follow, she was off and
running before reality sank in. How the
hell
was it possible that there
were even a few dozen of these creatures? The
shift
magic was indigenous; no one but a Li could wield its
strength!

She
vaulted into the river and came up the other side, lashing out with her sword
in a series of short leaps that cut down the single monster she came upon. Her
attack was halted abruptly when something hit her from behind and pushed, and
it took Ashlyn a moment to realize that she was being shoved along by frenzied
Toryn, far too quickly to see if the enemy was anywhere near.

Someone
grabbed her hair and yanked, hard, and she yelped as she was hauled back
mercilessly, catching herself with her hands behind her, digging in her heels
and somehow managing to stay standing even as she was bent over backwards. She
struck out with the heel of her fist, catching her assailant in the throat, but
lost her balance when he let her go, and fell on the ground, landing with a
splash in a huge puddle of rainwater.

She
choked as the breath was knocked from her, and lay there for a split second,
trying to get her bearings.

A gleam
glinted out of the corner of her eye at the same instant that a bear grabbed
her by the front of the shirt, pulling her up. Her sword! Ashlyn twisted
sideways- there went her shirt, completely this time- and hit the ground again,
narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws of yet another monster. When she snatched
up her sword, the weight of it was comforting in her hands.

A bear
bent over her, snarling, spittle flying everywhere, and lifted its massive paw,
preparing for a lethal swipe. Ashlyn skittered sideways, sending tiny waves of
red-tinged water splashing across the ground, and rolled. She didn't know where
she was going, but she hit a succession of legs and tripped a fair amount of
soldiers in the process.

She
leaped to her feet and turned, grabbing onto the corner of Heaven’s roof with
one hand and hauling herself up onto the thin wooden railing that ran the
length of the bar. Turning, she sheathed her sword and narrowed her eyes,
struggling to see well enough to take aim in the pouring rain. Water and sweat
dripped down her face. She wrinkled her nose, trying to escape the tickling
sensation.

One…

Ashlyn
jumped over a lash-out from one of the monsters, teetering precariously as she
found her footing again on the narrow railing, somehow still managing to throw
a kick at her assailant and knock him away.

She
couldn't see any creatures beyond a circle of twenty meters.

Why
were they all attacking
her?

Two…

Grabbing
the edge of the roof again, she hung onto it as she swung off the wall. She
wrapped her legs around the neck of a bear who was clutching a Toryn man,
holding him up loftily as though the poor man were some kind of trophy. Ashlyn
clamped her knees as tight as she could and twisted violently, breaking the
monster's neck. It was so easy that she almost lost her balance, but still maintained
her grip on the roof and stayed upright.

Three!

Ashlyn
steadied herself and stared out at the flustered army. Pulling a handful of
small bo shurikens from the pouch at her belt, she threw them carefully,
deliberately, and the tiny spikes didn't disappoint her. The gleaming shuriken
cut through the rain and embedded themselves in the chests of of one, two,
three, four monsters, and a fifth shuriken hit a tree with such force that a
hail of dry leaves came raining down.

Ashlyn
gasped as something smashed into her legs from behind. It happened so quickly
there was no way to react, no reflexes to save herself, and Ashlyn's legs
flipped out from underneath her, sending her tumbling backwards. She landed on
top of the bear who had hit her, and Ashlyn screamed as she felt his sharp
fangs sink into her bare shoulder.

She
brought her left foot up in a straight back-kick, almost bending herself
completely in half in an effort to land a hit over her shoulder- but her
movement was limited and she couldn't connect. The bear's teeth dug deeper into
her flesh. Ashlyn swallowed a scream and kicked out desperately, pushing
against the wall, sliding them both across the ground a few inches. Not enough
to deter her attacker. His massive paw came around to rest heavily on her
breastbone, pinning her down even more securely.

She
could feel the blood loss now- her vision was snapping with sparks and her
entire body was shaking. Out of sheer desperation, Ashlyn grasped the arm
across her chest, digging her fingernails under the stane lodged within his
armband. She didn't know if it was possible to remove a stane during a
spell-casting, or even if it would shape-shift him back into human form if she
was successful, but it was her only option. Her fingernails splintered under
the frantic pressure, but at last the gem popped out of its slot, sliding
smoothly into Ashlyn's hand.

Beneath
her, the beast roared and began to spasm.

She
gritted her teeth and hauled herself up, bracing her arms and legs against the
floor and forcing her body up in a sort of crab-walk position. Unable to
support itself, the bear stayed on the ground, and it released its hold on her
shoulder. Ashlyn could hardly believe that such a simple trick worked, but she
wasn't going to ask questions- and she rolled to the side, drawing her sword
and climbing to her feet, only to drop to the ground again as what looked like
a giant black cat leaped straight at her.

Not
waiting to see if the cat was going to chase her, she sprang up, vaulted over
the railing and ran as fast as she could- which admittedly wasn't very fast,
considering she was, in her desperation, fighting her way through throngs of
soldiers
towards
the pagoda.

Her
head was still spinning from blood loss and the awful pain. Ducking behind the
sparse shelter of a tree beside the stairs leading to the bell tower and pagoda
platform, she tried to push the
shift
stane
into her pocket, but her shorts were too tight and her hands were shaking, both
from blood loss and the intense cold. Ashlyn deliberated for a split second-
she couldn't just leave it lying around if her ultimate goal was to destroy the
magic. Putting it into the single empty slot in her armband went against her
better judgment, but there was no other option.

She
angled it into the slender metal band and then turned her attention to her
shoulder, which was still bleeding profusely. Cursing under her breath, Ashlyn
took a deep breath and shivered, trying to center herself for a healing spell.
She didn't have much time, and that scared her.
Heal
was helpful in the fact that it could turn a life-threatening
injury to a mere flesh wound, and could almost completely heal anything lesser,
but battles were won and lost depending on the enemy's perseverance. If
injuries couldn't be treated immediately and the spell-caster didn't have time
to call for magic, even small wounds could mean defeat.