Tordan’s gaze followed his finger. “Why?”
“Having a second wall outside the first makes this a castle within a castle, if that makes sense. You can defend the first wall until it falls, which might take a very long time. Then you have the opportunity to fall back against a second wall.”
“We actually could build a wall there, if we hurry. We have extra bricks at the back of the castle we were going to use to build another building for cyborg accommodations. It wouldn’t take much to have them dig it out and build the wall.”
“Could you divert the river so some of the water would run in front of the wall?”
“You mean like a stream?”
“Yes. It’s called a moat. It’s rare that we can use them, but since you have the stream available we might as well take advantage of it. If you have them dig a few feet deeper and a few feet wider, you can run the water down the trench like a river.”
“The earth elves could probably make the trench, and the water elves can do their magic.” Tordan’s eyes brightened. “Good thinking.”
Well, he hadn’t exactly been thinking of that. He’d been more thinking of pouring oil into the water and setting it on fire. But whatever worked to get them started on it.
The door to the palace opened behind them, and he turned to see Mordjan striding toward them. “I saw you two up here. Mind if I join in?”
“Not at all,” Zordan answered. “We were discussing the fortifications around Renwyn. The possibility of building a moat we can fill with water. I’ve been thinking about the cyborgs. They have advanced strength, communication over long distances, and possible control issues. We should make sure that there are upgraded cyborgs with every group of forces. Their responsibility will be to communicate and coordinate attacks.”
“Yes. The next group, the Renwynian elves, fight with swords, knives, bows and arrows, and magic. They can shield well, and then fight well with whatever magic is their strength. That would be either water, fire, air, or earth. But you’ll see them spar after we break our fast.”
“In my mind, the largest asset we have are the space-flying ships. It is my understanding that the Ardaks’ major weapons are deployed from space. If I could, I would spend another day in the air devising some specific means of fighting and defense. I must admit that it is beyond my knowledge. But I do know that when a foreign navy is attacking, the best strategy is to take as many of them out as you can before they land and deploy their warriors. Our focus should be on how we can get rid of as many ships as possible before they touch the ground.”
Both cyborgs were silent for a moment, so he turned to Mordjan. “Have you tried firepower against them?”
“Not really,” Mordjan admitted.
“But didn’t you say that our exoarmor could shoot through the ships?”
“Yes.” Mordjan snapped his fingers. “You’re right. But we don’t have unlimited firepower for that. I knew we could choose to use it against either the ships or the troops on the ground, and I chose the troops on the ground because I was more familiar with ground battles. Damn.” He smacked a fist against a column of brick. “I made the wrong choice, didn’t I?”
“I almost did the same,” Zordan admitted. “Until I saw the view from the sky. Each ship holds hundreds. If we can take them out before they get on the ground, that would be the best use of power.”
“I’ll make sure it happens,” Mordjan replied.
“Good. Then all we have to do is sort the elves.”
“After that, you can visit cousin Durstin up in Garthurian,” Tordan agreed.
“Durstin is our cousin?”
Both Tordan and Mordjan laughed.
“I guess we need to bring him up-to-date,” Mordjan said.
“Yes,” Tordan agreed. “We didn’t really discuss family bonds. We have several cousins. Mordjan, Valdjan, and Simban are also our cousins, as well as Roihan’s wife.”
“Why didn’t I know this before? Was everyone in the laboratory after I woke related to us?”
“Pretty much,” Tordan admitted with a grin. “Except Tristin. But we didn’t exactly have time for a family reunion.”
Zordan was relieved to see some of the weight lifting from Tordan’s shoulders as he spoke of their extended family. He was also starting to see why they were so close.
“I’ll see you both inside to break our fast. But first, I’m going to wake Lielle. Then we’ll see how well these elves can spar.”
With a grin, he opened the door and took the stairs downward two at a time. They hadn’t been apart that long, but already he couldn’t wait to see her again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lielle
Lielle woke to a cold bed, but she knew Zordan wouldn’t have gone far. He was probably out with the others, discussing the fortifications of Renwyn. This morning they were going to spar with the elves. Zordan was in for a treat. He assumed they were simply going to watch the elves spar, but that was not the elven way. She had a feeling he would greatly enjoy the exercise. As would she, which meant she had to rise.
She stretched, her mortal form sore in ways she didn’t remember from her incarnation so long ago. Of course, she hadn’t been with anyone like Zordan in her former life. His sheer size made her blush, stretched her in ways she hadn’t imagined.
Heading toward the personal room for a quick shower, she selected a different soap, and a different bottle of herbal shampoo. The smell of the elven beauty products brought back memories of her former life. There were things she would miss in the higher elven realm.
Like Zordan.
The realization was so painful that she paused and bent over, her hands still in her hair. Even if they succeeded, she would be returning to the higher elven realm without Zordan. And even if he finished his full life with his soul balanced toward the light, he wouldn’t join her there.
She’d been focused only on the elves, never considering that there must be higher realms for the other species. Until now. But even if she helped him, he would go to his own higher realm. She would never see him again.
The ache she’d been pushing away since last night bloomed through her, bringing tears to her eyes. The knowledge they were doing this for all the other souls in the universe was bitter when she looked ahead into her own future, spending eternity alone in the higher elven realm.
She thought of all the other elves, how they had mated with the cyborgs. Did they know they were doomed to spend eternity apart? If they had known, would they still have made that choice?
Should she still make this choice?
If she were smart, she would cut it off with Zordan before it went any further. But then she remembered the darkness in him the night before. He needed to regain his balance, to overcome his conflicted emotions if he was to go to the higher realm the Siirtians were destined for.
And she had to help him win this war.
Her decision made, she stood upright and began rinsing the herbal liquid from her hair. She would help him regain his balance and win the war. Then she would return to her realm, leaving him free to be with whomever he chose.
Bootsteps on the floor drew her attention just before Zordan swept in, lifting her and spinning her in a circle, ignoring the water and kissing her soundly. “How are you this morning, beautiful?”
She cupped his face in her hands, smoothing over the fine lines at the corners of his eyes with her thumbs. “Now that you’ve returned, I’m just fine.”
She kissed him again, wrapping her legs around his waist and letting her lips linger against his.
It would be heartbreaking, but she would have memories like this one to remember him by.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Zordan
Only minutes later, Zordan emerged from the portal first, ready to see the elves do battle. Lielle stepped out after him, fully dressed in battle armor, her eyes bright as she searched the forest beyond. They’d emerged where the elves should be, but he didn’t see anything for long moments.
>
Gradually his eyes adjusted, finding the elves by following the rustling of the leaves in the trees and bushes. They were part of the forest, as silent and cunning as the animals themselves. He adjusted his ocular implant to infrared, and then he saw them. Specks of heat and magic, crouched among the trees. They were emerging once in a while to move, exchanging blows faster than he could see with his normal eyes, then disappearing again. It was sparring unlike any he'd ever seen before.
There was a yell, and they all emerged from their hiding spots, sparring in full view. They hurled shards of ice and fiery arrows, throwing up their hands to shield themselves from the same. They ran up tree trunks, jumped over fallen logs, hurled boulders and stones at their combatants.
An elf materialized beside him. The male's armor was fine, much finer than any he'd seen before, save the exoarmor the elves had made for the cyborgs. A metal breastplate with reinforced ribbing crossed his chest and joined metal plates over his shoulders that protected his upper arms. Chain mail peeked out beneath it for extra cover. Metal guards went from his wrists almost to his elbows, the same ribbing that would make it light yet strong. Metal ribbing protected his waist, with chain mail following his thighs to leather leggings beneath. Supple leather gloves protected his hands and leather boots on his feet went all the way up to the knees. His long blond hair was tied back at the top, then allowed to fall free around his shoulders. His stance was light, yet perfectly balanced.
Finally, he'd found an elf prepared for war.
“My name is Lohein, and I'm the leader of the warriors of Garthurian."
Zordan reached out to clasp his arm. "How many warriors do you have?" Zordan prayed he would say at least a thousand.
"Not enough, I'm afraid," Lohein admitted with a grimace. "Our outpost was never large, our need for warriors never great. I’d say about three hundred. But let's not waste time bemoaning that. Would you like to join in?"
Zordan drew his sword, and to his surprise, Lielle held up her hands. "Are you also going to spar?"
"I'd better see what I can do, hadn't I?" She shot him a look. "War is coming, after all."
“Take it easy on the newcomers!” Lohein shouted, drawing his own sword and sprinting for the trees.
Zordan snorted and Lielle let out a quick shout of laughter as they followed the elf into the forest.
For a few seconds, all was quiet. Then an elf materialized in front of him, delivering several hard and fast blows with his sword. The elven blade was solid, and he wielded it with a speed and dexterity that most humans would have difficulty matching. Before Zordan could gain ground on him, he evaporated back into the trees.
Another appeared to his left, hurling an arrow of fire. It was slow enough that Zordan knocked it aside with his sword, but he knew that anyone who fought the elves without shields was at a grave disadvantage. He would have to ask if the Ardaks had shields and set the armorers to making as many as they could. The elf sent another arrow, then drew his sword and they began to spar. He fought with all the moves he knew, but the elf was faster, and Zordan found no entry point to land a satisfactory blow. Swords clanked around him, and he caught flashes and shadows of the others sparring.
A shard of ice and an arrow of fire both came in his direction. He spun to avoid the arrow, knocking the shard of ice aside.
Lohein materialized from the trees and shouted, “Behind you!”
He jumped aside in time to avoid a good-sized boulder that had been coming at his head. A second later, Lielle was there, her hands sending a wave toward the boulder that caused it to stop dead and fall to the ground. "Nice," he complimented.
"Thank you," she replied, then threw up her hands again, and he saw that three fiery arrows were coming at them. They hit an invisible wall and disintegrated against it.
He raised his brows. “Is that your shield?”
She nodded, out of breath. “Yes, but I should have been faster.”
“It looked okay to me,” he said.
They formed an unofficial alliance as they continued to spar with the elves. Zordan used his swords, and Lielle would shield them from incoming magic. Every cyborg would need an elf, he realized, if they were to do any real damage. "How many elves do we have to pair with the cyborgs who remain on the ground? They would make good partners on the battlefield.”
"I could round up about fifty for you," Lohein replied. "Although, we haven't practiced that way. But I was thinking along the same lines, watching you spar. You two make quite a team."
Zordan eyed Lielle, whose face was white with strain. She had done the magic, but it had taken a toll on her. “Do the Ardaks fight with shields?” he asked.
“I've never seen an Ardak with a shield," Lohein rubbed his chin. “But I’d have to ask the cyborgs to be certain.”
“Then we might have a definite advantage using anything that shoots. Arrows, guns, spears, and magic—tell the elves to practice with anything related to long-range magic.” He thought for a moment. “We also need to get our own weapons smiths making shields. What thickness would it take to stop the ray guns?”
“About the width of your thumb.”
"We'll need at least fifty that are large enough for the cyborgs to reasonably wield."
Durstin nodded, so he turned back to watch the sparring, which had continued without them. An elf flung an enormous boulder at two others, who threw up a shield against it. They were partly successful, and ended up flinging the boulder into a tree.
“Could they work together to hurl it farther?” he asked Lohein.
“Yes,” the elf replied. He raised his voice to call to them. “Team up. Show Zordan how far you can get those boulders to fly.”
A tall elf, muscular for his race, grinned over at them. “All right. You’d better duck.”
Zordan frowned, glancing at Lielle. “Don’t fling it in this direction.”
The elf chuckled. “I wouldn’t think of it.”
The elves worked together and flung not one, but several boulders across the length of the sparring field in front of the trees.
“Wow,” Zordan said under his breath. The range was that of a cannon, and that was something he could work with. “Can we light them on fire while we do that?” he asked Lohein.
The elf shrugged. “Sure, if you have something to coat it in. Rocks don’t typically burn.” He grinned.
“What about wind? Valdjan said the merchildren can create tornadoes or hurricanes. Could the elves create one with rocks?”
The elf scratched his head. “We could, but it would be dangerous. After it got going, we wouldn’t have control over the individual boulders. They’d be flying off everywhere.”
“Great. Practice that. We’ll need as many as you can send through the Ardak ranks when they disembark from their ships.”
The elf's lips thinned, but he nodded grimly.
"Think of anything else you can do from afar, either on the plain to the west of Renwyn, or if necessary, the plateau to the west of Garthurian. If I were the Ardaks, those are the two places I would land and deploy ground troops."
Lohein frowned. "You believe they'll attack Garthurian?"
"It might be invisible, but in Lielle’s vision, the Ardaks attacked there as well," Zordan replied.
A hand landed on his arm and he turned to see Lielle, her face white.
"Zordan?"
He caught her as she fell, lifting her into his arms. "What is it?"
"I feel another vision," she panted. "But I'm so . . . drained. I don't know if I can follow it."
He took in her pale face, the circles that had appeared beneath her eyes, and cursed himself for letting her fight. "Do your best. But protect yourself. You can always have another vision—but we can't get another seer."
She nodded once and closed her eyes, her body going slack.
"Why don't you take her back to the castle?" Durstin suggested. "Get her out of the cold. I'll follow up on the shields, and Lohein will find your elven shielders."
> Zordan nodded, his eyes never leaving Lielle's face. He carried her back toward the castle, hoping against hope that this vision would give them something better than the last.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lielle
Lielle found herself on a ship, standing next to the bird of paradise.
He stiffened and sniffed the air, arcing one eye in her direction. "Back again, I see."
"Yes." Lielle perused the room, where ten elves lay dead in front of three wooden boxes. "What happened to them, Pharadis?"
The bird stiffened. “Call me Paradiso in this form. It’s… easier.” He kicked the first box with one three-toed foot in a gesture reminiscent of his male form. "Lack of food, lack of water, lack of air. Who knows? This ship has flown for five hundred years, carrying the crystals from Baihu."
"Why didn't they land on a planet?"
He shook his head. "Only the gods know. But I can guess. The crystals weren't the only prize on board. I found these three chests once I'd moved them to the Crystal Cave."
Lielle looked closer, recognizing the inscription. "The chests from the Cave of Knowledge."
Although he didn't have eyebrows, she could have sworn they rose. "The Cave of Knowledge?”
“Yes, in my time, these chests are in a cave.”
The bird clicked his beak. “Well, in this time, I haven’t created a place to put them yet. Do you know where this cave is located?"
"Yes," she nodded. "To the west, belowground."
The bird held out a wing. "Close your eyes and take me there."
"Will that work? I mean, usually I have to portal."
"It will work," he assured her. "Surely, you realize that we are not operating by the rules of the mortal realm right now."
She nodded, although he couldn't see it. Hesitantly, she reached for his wing. His feathers were exquisitely soft, the purest white she'd ever seen, and the bones beneath her fingers were thin and delicate. She closed her eyes and imagined the cave.
"We're here. Good job," Paradiso said absently, tapping his way across the underground cavern on his long, thin legs.
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