Offspring (The Sword of the Dragon) (51 page)

He spun in his saddle, drew the sword of the dragon, and held it above his head. Flames licked from the blade and a torrent of fire spat into the air. Before him, stretching back into the desert as far as he could see, line upon line of sword-wielding men cheered. Seven thousand voices shook the earth.

One thousand men emerged from the main force. In a steady, practiced line they marched forward. He raced his stallion to their lead. “Draw your swords, warriors of light!” The sweet sound of one thousand metal blades slipping out of their sheaths answered him. The desert rang with the warriors’ shout, and Yimshi glinted on their blades. A flash of light followed, and Ilfedo’s magnificent army was arrayed in white armor. Their blades glowed.

Division after division of men stretched into the distance as far as he could see. Eight thousand men ready to follow his bidding. A tremor of reality struck him, but he wheeled his mount and urged it toward the green hills.

He waved his hand at Ombre. “Will you do the honors, Commander?”

“Gladly.” Behind him Ombre called to the regular troops, and a man clad in green armor brought forward the lord’s personal mount. Midnight whinnied as Ombre slid onto his back and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Forward!”

The order passed from mouth to mouth with growing enthusiasm, and the army followed Ilfedo toward the rising terrain. He rode into the hills, stopping only a moment to cool his face in a stream and let his horse drink. The sound of eight thousand men tramping into the foreign land filled his ears as he left the stream and walked off alone into the hills. His army would need to refresh themselves at this stream before going farther.

The clouds continued to dissipate. He thought he smelled a whiff of smoke. He came to a rise taller than those around it and climbed to the top. Smoldering ruins stretched across the rolling hills, and in the distance a dark mass coming from the north descended into a valley.

“Like ants swarming on their prey.” Caritha stepped up beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Oganna is in that city. I’m certain of it.”

“What? In there!”

He dashed back to his Evenshadow and drew the sword of the dragon. The living fire lit him like a match and then returned into the blade, leaving him decked in the armor that only he wore. The warriors of light raced with him toward the valley—a line that seemed to stretch endlessly in either direction. He raised his sword and wheeled his stallion before them.

“March, men! March!” Their enthusiastic cheers deafened him, and the Warrioresses stepped up beside him. They drew their swords and walked toward the main highway. In the distance the din of battle grew. Ilfedo dug his heels into the Evenshadow’s flanks.

Patience was no longer a virtue.

T
he double doors trembled as the giants tried to break inside Ar’lenon. The surviving megatraths shook their bloodstained hides. Oganna massaged her sword arm. As sore as it was, how would she handle another assault if the giants broke down the doors? Could she and the megatraths hold them back?

The giants set up a cheer that filled Ar’lenon.

With Vectra’s help, Oganna climbed to one of the arrow slits that overlooked the ramp. Giants packed the ramp. Five of them swung spiked battle hammers against the doors.

She unfastened her boomerang, held it out the opening, and flicked it into the giants. Once again it brought down several of them before settling back in her palm. Hopefully that would make the others think before attempting to bring down the doors. “All right, Vectra, you can let me down now. They have backed away.”

Taking advantage of the giants’ hesitation, the megatraths opened the doors and sent a tornado of fire and vapors onto the ramp. The enemy retreated, and the megatraths closed the doors and rebuilt the barricade.

“Oganna, you look exhausted.” Vectra rolled Oganna’s bedding outside the tent by the fireplace. “Catch some sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

Oganna peered into her tent for a moment. Gabel lay fast asleep. She dropped the flap over the opening and went to the water barrels. She poured the cool liquid over her arm and cringed as she rolled up her sleeve. The dried blood came with it. It wasn’t a terrible wound, but it was enough to weaken her even more. Exhausted, she bandaged her wound and fell asleep.

Ilfedo raised his hand, even as he reigned in his mount. Far ahead of him, coming out of the valley and from hills to the northwest, marched an unbroken line of giant men clad for battle.

Ombre rode up beside him.

“How many do you think there are, Ombre?”

“It’s difficult to say. A few thousand at least, and there could be more in the valley.”

The Warrioresses lined up beside him.

“My sisters.” Ilfedo gazed upon them. He had to make certain they stayed safe. Caritha’s eyes narrowed, and Rose’el slapped the flat of her sword into her palm. They looked ready to do something rash. “I want you to stay by my side, Caritha. If we are going to find out what is happening in that valley, then we will first have to break through these giants.”

Caritha nodded and scanned the advancing enemies. “Night is falling.”

He glanced at the reddening western horizon. “Good. That works to our advantage.” He twisted in his saddle to face Ombre. “Send the Elite Thousand ahead of the regular troops. Their swords will give them an advantage, as will their superior training.”

Drawing his sword, Ombre signaled to Honer and Ganning. They in turn signaled to the sub-commanders, who in turn led the warriors of light by two-hundred man divisions. Two of these fanned out to the east, one formed an arrowhead to strike the enemy’s opposite flank, and the remaining two divisions proceeded toward the valley.

Ilfedo kept his eye on the two moving to attack in the east. Suddenly the giants cheered, and the hills trembled as more marched from the valley. Their ranks swelled to the east and directly ahead. “Well, Ombre, how many are there now?”

His friend hesitated and started counting. At last he stopped. “Who cares?” He adjusted his breastplate. “Let’s go get them!”

The Warrioresses stretched their arms and twirled their swords. “The battle favors the bold.” Caritha’s blade glowed. “I second Ombre’s motion.”

“Yeah, and I’m hungry for a good fight with whoever has done anything to Oganna.” Rose’el grunted. “If we stay here we’ll end up on the defensive—and I
hate
being on the defense.”

Ilfedo rode ahead, and the Warrioresses ran after him. Ombre, Honer, and Ganning led the Elite warriors in their wake directly toward the heart of the opposing force. Ilfedo reached the giants first and cut into their ranks but found that he had left everyone else behind. Alone he battled the enemy, and on every side the large men fell beneath his sword.

He hacked and burned his way back to his own force. His warriors were locked in battle, unable to get past the giants and into the city.

“Fall back!” He led an ordered withdrawal and then summoned messengers. “It is time to bring all our forces to bear.”

The messengers ran to carry out his orders. The Elite Thousand regrouped, and the regular army stormed into position behind them. Their ranks covered the hills. He set his mouth in a firm line. The army of giants was formidable. He wanted every one of his warriors to go home to his wife and children. But to the army of giants he shook his head. A heavy price would be paid for the future queen today.

Dismounting, he sent his Evenshadow to the rear of the army and unsheathed his sword. With the living fire licking his armor, he marched down the highway. Eight thousand men shouted behind him.

The giants marched toward him, then broke into a run. He let them eat up their energy. As they drew near, he sprang upon their front line. His sword cleaved the first giant’s shield in half, and he stabbed him through the heart, then spun his blade behind him, impaling another.

Caritha sprang to his side, and Rose’el followed. Laura, Evela, and Levena brought down three giants simultaneously. Six strong, they advanced at the front of the army, stabbing and slashing until the giants’ hammering blows slowed the Warrioresses.

Ilfedo stabbed his sword into another giant and grabbed a fallen spear. The sapling-thick shaft made him stagger under its weight. He felt the sword of the dragon infuse his muscles with energy. He lifted the spear with a shout and threw it into his foes. It pierced a giant’s breastplate, passed through the body, and impaled another standing behind the first.

Several giants leered down at him and cracked their hammers and swords against his sword, driving him to the ground. The darkness of night settled around him. He could see the divisions of warriors with swords of light pressing upon the giants, but they battled beyond his reach.

He drove his fiery blade into a giant’s chest and severed the man’s head before his body hit the ground. Another giant stepped up and stabbed at him with a sword. He brought his blade down and cut it in two. Fire shot from his sword’s blade and set the giant’s head aflame. He ran the man through and turned to the next opponent.

Suddenly a wave of winged men sprang from deep in the giants’ ranks. They soared high, a hundred of them at least. Ilfedo grimly watched as another hundred Art’en sprang into the air, joining their fellows. Their screeches shot across the field of battle as they dove in one massive horde toward his army.

“Archers!” the call rang through his army. “Take aim! Fire!” A cloud of arrows rose over the warriors of light. The Art’en flapped their wings as if trying to stem their descent. The arrows found their marks, and the wave of flying creatures fell from the sky into the giants’ ranks.

Blood ran down Ilfedo’s blade and collected at its tip, dripping to the ground in a red stream. The light of his armor lit the area around him as bright as day. One of the giants came at him from behind and smashed its battleaxe into his helmet. He fell to the ground as his opponent pulled out a sword to run him through. Twisting away, he jumped back up, grasped the giant’s arm, and thrust him through his heart, dropping him like an oversized bear.

He felt his helmet with his fingers, running them along its unmarred surface. If he hadn’t had the dragon’s armor protecting him, that blow would have killed him. Three giants raced upon him. He arced his sword behind his back, holding it with both hands, then brought it to forward at their knees. They too fell, and Ilfedo drove deeper into the enemy lines.

It seemed that mere moments had passed when a dreadful cheer startled Oganna awake. Neneila the viper slipped around her neck. She rose and made her way out of the tent. Morning light streamed through the windows and arrow slits along the citadel walls. “Vectra?”

The megatraths stood facing the doors, their claws digging into the stone floor. Vectra ambled over to her side and spoke so low that only Oganna heard her. “I happened to look out the slit in that wall when the giants cheered. There is a new arrival in their ranks. I think this is the one Gabel called Razes.”

“Razes?” Oganna rubbed the sleep from her eyes and drew the Avenger from its sheath.

The doors groaned and shook. Outside the cheer rose again, stronger, and then the wood splintered into millions of tiny chips. A cloud of dust hindered her view for a moment. When it cleared, the figure of a giant stood alone on the ramp.

He was at least ten feet tall, though he seemed taller because of a steel helmet on his head. He cleared his throat and looked down on her. “There now, you must be the little dame about which I have heard so much.” He curled his fingers tighter around the long metal staff in his hand.