“
Sir
Branston,” he corrected icily. “Don't find yourself too familiar with your superiors, Shill. It's not becoming, even for a Master of the Royal Bodyguard. As for my blades, they include myself. I am, as a matter of fact, of a peer with my champions.”
That elicited some quiet jests and jeers until the big one shifted menacingly in his saddle. The laughter died quickly at that.
Ardin wondered why Rain didn't just send him away. She seemed on the verge of doing so, the desire was plain even to Ardin. But something restrained her; some form of politics he didn't understand, he guessed.
“
Welcome then,” she said finally. “Let us hope that we won't need your steel after all.”
“
I could drink to that!” Branston lifted an imaginary drink that no one seemed willing to share.
“
I trust you brought your own food at least?” Shill wheeled his horse about to face Rain before Branston could respond.
“
Is the camp ready to move?” She asked as she turned her own horse around.
“
Within the hour, Highness.”
“
Then give the order and let's move.”
The Fisherman and Ardin wheeled into formation at the head of the column. Ardin couldn't help but notice the three newcomers staring at him as they rode out of the camp. It made his skin crawl a little... perhaps for all their formality, these people could be dangerous.
They rode with the sun scorching the hills to their right. The northern wind blew doubly hard in their faces as their horses trotted through the low foliage. What weight had been on Ardin's shoulders lifted as the wind ran tingles across his skin. It felt good, almost like galloping except for the rough nature of the trot. He would never have claimed to have mastered riding, and his uncle would have shot him down if he had, but he loved it. For all its danger. For all its freedom.
It was all he could do to keep from digging his heels in and tearing off across the hills.
Gella would have liked that too. He could tell from the restless way she chose her route. She was overflowing with energy, energy he wanted to unleash.
They spent that entire first day riding. They stopped only once to eat and find an unlucky bush to relieve themselves on. But aside from that they spent their time in the saddle. Ardin still felt strangely sick when he rode with the group. His stomach churned as if his nerves were at war with themselves. It was a familiar feeling, but one he couldn't put his finger on. Whenever he rode out from the group, however, he felt palpable relief.
He finally got his opportunity to sleep under the stars as well. He stared up at clear skies until he realized he was being woken up. The kink in his back from the knotty ground only made him smile that much more. It was so wonderfully warm outside for winter, he wondered how that worked.
They rode much the same as they had the day before, pacing their horses to last the entire journey. At streams they would allow their mounts to drink, but otherwise they pressed onwards with a singular determination.
Ardin could barely keep the grin off his face. It seemed to irritate Branston and his lackeys, but he didn't care. It made the act all the more enjoyable.
“
You really like riding,” Rain said as they worked their way along a shallow creek. They'd been working to stay off the hilltops most of the day.
“
Yeah,” Ardin said as he stood in the stirrups. The wind rushed through his shaggy hair as he shook it freely in the sun. “I love all of this. I feel... happy. For the first time in forever, I feel really happy.”
She smiled in turn, her blond hair whisking around her face as she kept pace with him. She never put it up, he noticed. It was always wild and free, much like he was discovering her to be.
Her brow lowered mischievously. “
You wanna race?”She asked, sounding much more like a girl her age than the Guardian of the West.
“
Do squirrels squeal when you throw them in a lake?”
The idiom caught her off guard. “I... do they?”
“
Yep!” And with that he was off like a wet squirrel. Gella was a beast. He realized it in that moment, almost falling out of his saddle as she lunged forward to the touch of his heels. All of the energy she'd pent up was resting just below the surface. Whether she'd sensed what was going on or was just that close to bursting forward he never knew, but he loved every second of it. They broke into a gallop within moments, the smooth stream of the world passing them by as he laughed and laughed.
The creek bed was practically straight for a good while, the ground sure in the heat of the day. He grinned as the wind tore at his face, drawing tears of joy along his cheeks and into his ears. He dared a glance over his shoulder, discovering that Rain was only a few lengths behind. He smiled at her before ducking low and urging Gella on.
Harder
, he knew he could will her to go even faster.
I know you've got it in you. Now fly!
And as if in response, she did. They never left the ground, but to Ardin it suddenly felt like gravity had no hold on him. He wrapped himself around the old girl's neck half out of elation and half from the fear of floating off. He realized then that the warmth was stirring in him, pouring itself into his horse. He looked back up into the distance laughing.
He knew it was him in that moment. That it was him doing the running – he was the one flying. God, it felt good. All he wanted was to let go now and to fly for real. He could do it. He knew he could. But before he had the chance to try, he heard a scream that brought him back to reality all too quickly. The blur of the world slowed and twirled around him as he brought Gella to a stop and turned her without a thought.
Another scream, this one a horse. He started back the way he had come. Then he saw something black. And another something black. There were creatures moving through the grass. Low, scurrying, like insects or cats –
Woads
. He knew it in his gut. He rounded the corner in time to see Rain searching the ground around her. The trees had thickened here, he realized, now that they had stopped blurring past. The tops of the hills were covered in them – but they seemed to be moving on their own as well.
Rain's huge destrier was terrified, panting, lathered and bleeding. Three long gashes showed themselves on his broad chest, oozing blood. It seeped through the cloth wrapped around him and ran down his legs. And then one of the black things lunged for Rain's horse. Its head seemed to protrude straight from its shoulders. Long legs stretched out to double its length, while jagged black talons stretched out to grasp at the horse's throat.
The impact alone broke the destrier's neck. Gella shied at the sight. Horse and rider were flung to the ground as Ardin stared in horror. Suddenly the entire little valley was crawling with the things. They converged on Rain with intent, few even turning towards him. Gella tossed her head, stamping the ground as the grass quivered black.
He focused on the horse then, calling up the warmth to calm her, and drove her into the fight.
T
WENTY
S
MOKE ROSE FROM THE WALLS OF
E
LANDIR IN THE EARLY MORNING LIGHT
.
The way it diffused the sun you would think the shadows were liquid themselves. But it wasn't just the walls that were burning. Parts of the city had been hit hard as well.
Major Dennan moved frantically from post to post, trying to find the unit he had lost in the night. Rather, the unit that had lost him. When the first shells had struck the walls, he had been in bed, in his home. When the rounds started landing among the city's buildings he had been well on his way to the barracks where his unit was garrisoned.
His men had been ready to move, and he had wished that he hadn't been soft and gone home for the night. They didn't get leave, why should he have taken any himself? The guilt was quickly lost in the sounds of explosions around the city, however. And when he had moved out with his men, one of those explosions had left him buried under an assortment of cement, shards of wood, and bent metal sheets.
When he'd come to there hadn't been any sign of his unit. Save the handful of uniformed corpses scattered around the area, he was alone. It had felt like he had been out for hours. The clock tower above told him it hadn't even been one.
Dennan made it to the City Guard on foot, but it had taken him far longer than he had wanted. Blood and sweat mingled on his brow and stung his eyes. His men weren't here. In fact, no one appeared to be. He ran through the long, bare halls, yelling and hollering and getting nothing in response. He rounded a corner and looked outside at the parade grounds. Half of the barracks had been decimated. In fact, the rest of the square building was leveled on that side. It made him sick to his stomach, he hoped no one had been sleeping in that half of the compound last night.
He stumbled into a wireless room and searched frantically for a working set. None of the gray and black boxes seemed to be functioning. In fact, most appeared broken at a cursory glance. It dawned on him that this wasn't the communications room. It looked like it was a repair shop of some sort. Finding no working wireless units, he gave up hope and made to leave until he heard a low crackling noise. Turning and searching frantically, he found an old long-wave unit powered on and humming underneath the desk.
He turned up the volume and was about to call out when he heard chatter come through.
“
Got 'em on the run here, sir, over.”
Crackle. “
Good work, Horton. Break break. To the south, give me a
SITREP
. Over.”
Crackling for a bit longer this time. “
Shit sir, bastards put up a fight. We never really saw them, not truly, but we pushed 'em back well enough, sir. Looks like they were leavin' before we ever got to 'em. We've got a good number wounded, but they're runnin'. Over.”
Crackle crackle buzz... the noises coming through this thing made the waiting that much harder. “
Command, command this is Colonel Gredge calling in. Command, this is Gredge. Over.”
The crackling didn't stop this time. No one responded.
“
Command, this is Gredge. Pick up your damned receiver. Whoever's at the barracks, pick up the damned receiver.”
Dennan grabbed the receiver and swallowed hard as he thumbed it into action. “This is the City Guard Barracks, sir. I repeat, this is the City Guard Barracks. Over.”
“
Command,”
he corrected. “
You're command on the damned wireless. What do things look like
in the city? Over.”
“
Sir.” Dennan wondered what the protocol was for this. If there was protocol for this. “The majority of the barracks has been leveled. Your command post has been eliminated... over.”
A long string of crackles and hums wandered the room until Gredge finally picked up again. “
Command, command. Who am I speaking to? Over.”
“
Major Dennan, sir.” He released and then clicked the button down again hastily. “Over.”
“
Good god, you're alive? Your men reported you dead. Over.”
“
My men, sir? Are they alive? Do you know where they've been sent, sir? Over.”
“
Son... damnit son if they aren't all dead. Looks like you're the lucky one today after all. Over.”
Dennan hit the floor with the receiver glued to his hand.
It's not possible,
he thought.
It can't be possible.
“
Son, I need you to collect yourself and get a hold of the Southern Tower. You tell them we need what reinforcements they can send to the port. Bastards tried to get into the city on the loop, but we've pushed them back out to the Elandris. We could use some more guns to get them dislodged from the port. You tell them that, then you get yourself on down to Horton and you help his boys move back inside. Over.”
Dennan didn't move. He had never fought an actual battle. In fact, his entire command had been one gloriously long farce. All the training, all the marching, parading, war games. What had it all been for if he wasn't even there when his men were killed?
“
Dennan, Major. Get your ass moving and make those damned calls. Are you still with me boy?”
“
Aye sir,” Dennan clicked back onto the wireless. “I'll get it done... sir?” He hesitated, the question unwilling to form on his tongue. “Any idea who did this? Over.”
“
Shit, son. We can't transmit that kind of information. Get out to Horton and you'll see for yourself soon enough. Over and out.”
Dennan made the calls in a blur. He couldn't believe any of this was happening. The first few phones he tried in the barracks were dead. But eventually he found a dedicated line that got him out. The Southern Tower was surprised but relieved to hear the news he had to offer. He thought it strange they didn't have a long-wave of their own they could be using.