Tower of Ancients

by Jaeger Mitchells

  I threw Sylvana off me onto the bed and covered us with the single sheet, hissing at the fools.

  “Would you mind getting the fuck out before I pluck your eyes out?” I growled, hitting Slayer with a piece of wood in the chest. “Now!”

  The four officers seemed to come to their senses momentarily and murmured some excuses before they rushed out, almost tripping over each other. I sighed and looked at her apologetically. Sylvana’s face was crimson red and her eyes shut. She was beyond embarrassed, I knew as much without her eve opening her mouth.

  Just as suddenly I bent over and kissed her, embracing the much smaller Elf in my arms. She didn’t speak, and neither did I. We enjoyed the moment which seemed to stretch into infinity. Real and honest.

  “It could have been worse,” she chuckled, pushing me off her. “They could have seen us fuck.”

  “Yeah, don’t mention it. The fools. They got a big and loyal heart but their heads aren’t always screwed on right.”

  “Which is more important than being disloyal and very smart.”

  I shrugged. She was right of course, so I just pushed it aside.

  “What do you think? Are you willing to become my Queen and live with me until the end of times?”

  “Oh? Don’t Vampires live much longer?”

  “I can change that for you once things settle down. I don’t think you’d be the first Vampire Elf.”

  She remained silent for a long moment, seemingly thinking about it. It was not the reaction I expected out of her, but I would respect her wish without her even needing to give me a reply.

  A sudden knocking on the door saved her from replying.

  “What now?” I growled.

  “Sir!” Calina’s voice came from the other side of the door. “The scouts have returned.”

  “We’ll be right down.”

  I laid back and planted Sylvana top me. She giggled and tried to elope my reach, but it wasn’t that much of an issue to catch her.

  “Will you join us downstairs?” Calina asked after a good minute passed. This time her voice was different. She almost sounded annoyed. Another woman I’d need to take care of. Shit, one like Sylvana was already a handful.

  “Can you have someone bring us fresh clothing and some hot water so we can wash off?”

  “Sure. Right away, my Lord.”

  Sylvana chuckled again once Calina’s footsteps receded.

  “You’re in a world of shit, Lord Raziel,” she taunted. I just grinned.

  “I got around with you, didn’t I? Give us some time and everything will come together. And there’s one thing you need to accept, though. If Sarga does come around, I’m not throwing away hundreds of years’ worth of memories with her. She’ll be—a part of us.”

  “Huh? That so?”

  “Yeah, that’s so. I won’t pressure you to stay, but as I just said, I’ve known her for centuries and that doesn’t just go away.”

  She stretched and got off me, opened the door, and waited. The sound of footsteps became louder, two pairs to be exact. Sylvana reached out and picked the bucket up, then the clothes. She bumped her ass against the door, closing it with a wink.

  “So you just offering me to be your queen doesn’t really mean much, does it?”

  “Huh? Of course it does! I’ll never let you go even if you try to run!”

  “Oh? Aren’t we the possessive type, huh?”

  “Right, that wasn’t quite the smart thing to say, but alright. You understand what I’m going at.”

  “I do, and it’s adorable to see you flustered like that, my Lord. In all honesty, I never thought I’d meet a Vampire like you. I never know what to expect next since you’re so far from the norm.”

  “Bear with me and I’ll give you the world. That’s a promise.”

  Half an hour later we finally joined the rest on the first floor in the spacious entrance. A large number of makeshift tables, benches, chairs, and tree stumps were arrayed all over. Soldiers rested while eating and drinking, chatting, and laughing. The moment people noticed me, everything died down. It hit a nerve and I didn’t like it at all.

  “Don’t mind me, that’s an order. Act as if I weren’t here,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear. Still, it didn’t work to the point where it was moments ago, but they went back to whispering. I sighed and sat next to Helena while Sylvana sat to my other side.

  “Good to see you’re up again,” Dimas chuckled. “I was already afraid you were much weaker than they gave you credit for!”

  I laughed with him, not taking offense from such a great Vampire as himself. After all, he used to be the top Warlord under Lefrand for centuries.

  “Yeah, how about a match later to see who’s better?”

  “Deal!” he roared, slamming his fist down on the large, round piece of wood. It cracked in three places but luckily didn’t crash down along with the drinks and food.

  “Right. So, who’s going to tell me what we’re dealing with?”

  “A large Vampire army is approaching and it isn’t good,” Sentinel said, taking the chance to brief me. It was almost a tradition by now to have him do it. I knew him too well, and that’s what I liked about the man. “They’re separated into three groups and are led by three Lords from what the scouts could tell. They have no idea who they are, but one of them is a dark-haired woman. A good number of her troops are female. I think you already know who she is?”

  “Yeah, Sentinel, I do. What about the other two?”

  “An elderly Lord and one that almost looks like a child.”

  “Ugh, not Ferdinand and Dredge. That kid is nasty as shit and doesn’t care what anyone has to say but for Lefrand. He’s as loyal like a watchdog but as mad as a—mad dog.”

  “What about that Ferdinand?” Dimas asked. “Is he easily rattled?”

  I shook my head.

  “No, he isn’t. He’s the last to leave the battlefield and only if he sees that it’s hopeless. Dredge, however, he’ll fight until the end.”

  Everyone went quiet, knowing very well what this meant. And it wasn’t just the Lords, they also had their own officers and pets as some of them liked to say.

  “So, how do we take them on?”

  “I hope we don’t have to, but I don’t really see any other way. I’ll take Dredge and you get Ferdinand. The sisters can take on Sarga if she goes back on her word. We’ll have Minotaur rush in and do whatever he can to cause disarray. Other than that, the only thing we can count on is to dig ditches, set up spikes, and defensive traps so we don’t get overrun.”

  “I don’t really like to go at it without a real plan, but I don’t have anything better to add either,” Dimas growled. “We’re outnumbered by three to one in raw manpower. Not much we can do.”

  “No, we can’t, but I know someone who can. We’ll have to decide on one of two things, though. Either we allocate our blacksmith half the troops to help with getting us an edge, or we use everyone to set up defensive measures.”

  “I think it’s best if we split in two,” Dimas said immediately, scratching his scruffy beard. “The tower is in a great position to weather an attack from the West. The Palisade is mostly up and can easily house a couple of hundred archers. What we lack is defenses against cavalry.”

  I nodded knowingly.

  “You’re right, but it’s not like we’re going to meet them out in the open. Then we’ll do it like this. Everyone who is assigned to manual labor will get a bit of Vampire blood to help with stamina and strength. The others won’t need any of it. You think your family can handle it?”

  Dimas nodded.

  “They can. As long as we have a couple of Humans who are willing to be drained of half of their blood, we can provide. And let’s be clear about something. We don’t have any time left. They’ll be here in a day at most so we need to start right away.”

  “Relay the orders to your troops. The archers will prepare for battle and once they’re done, they’ll join Harlan at the smithy. The infantry
and cavalry will do manual labor. A couple of hundred archers is more than enough to help with whatever he can come up with.”

  “My Lord!” they replied in unison, got up, and started ordering people around. Any soldier who was milling around ran outside and started following orders. It was an interesting thing to see. There was no fear on their faces, nor was there any talk of loss or death. All of them believed in the battle and that we would win. After all, why not? We never really lost over the last few decades.

  “Dimas, you go get your Coven to do what they need to do. Once they’re done, I want to see as many logs as possible laid out along with spikes against the cavalry.”

  “Will do, Raziel. Meet me outside in ten minutes. I want to see for myself what Harlan has to offer.”

  “Alright.” I waited for him to leave and turned to either sister before looking around, searching for Minotaur. “Where’s the monster?”

  “Outside, and please don’t call him a monster,” Helena replied. Her voice was strained as if she was holding back from snapping at me.

  “He needs to join the battle. He’ll be one of the main assets we have.”

  “Alright, but don’t even think of abandoning him outside if he gets hurt. Promise me!”

  I nodded.

  “I will, Helena. I promise to treat his life as my own and if he is threatened to get out there in person and save him.”

  “Good. He’ll fight then. I’m sure of it.” She still didn’t seem so convinced but decided to play along.

  “And so will we,” Sylvana added. “I think we need to go have a chat with Anya and see what we can come up with. We have some interesting ideas, but it all depends on how and where they attack us.”

  “Good. I’ll go talk to the creature and see if he’s good to fight, then I’m out to see Harlan. Behave, you two.”

  “You should know better by now,” Sylvana chuckled as she got up and pulled Helena along. “See you in a bit.”

  I walked out to see the state of preparation for myself. After being down for two days, I had no idea what was going on except for what they told me. To be honest, I was surprised by what they managed to do in the meantime. The palisade looked quite sturdy and well made. The wall was double-layered and had towers erected every thirty feet. In between was a walkway that connected the towers and held hundreds of quivers filled with arrows. There was enough room for the archers to stand in two rows.

  “Shit, how the hell did they manage to do this in just two days?” I whispered, wondering about the way they handled it. What’s more, the forest edge was quite far out. It must have partially been done thanks to Mervan’s troops. Or at least I liked to think so.

  I looked around to try and find Harlan. The man was ordering soldiers around, giving them tasks, and screaming at everyone and everything. Then it got me thinking. Why the hell was he even here? He stayed behind at the camp.

  “Harlan!” I yelled, drawing his attention. He put up his hand and waved me over. I obliged and walked up to his improvised smithy. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “We left an hour after you guys did. I thought hard about everything and knew you’d need help. And if you were dead we would die too eventually, so here we are.”

  I snorted and shook my head in disbelief. The man was loyal to the bone.

  “It’s good to have you here in any case. So, do you think you guys can give us an edge?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve made improvements to a couple of versions of arrows. I’ve shown these idiots how to make them, so it will depend on them how effective the arrows are. Luckily, there are all kinds of interesting things in the lower levels of the tower so we managed to get ahead while you were resting.”

  “Good, good. What else? Do we have anything against cavalry?”

  “Not really. I’ve been trying to come up with something, but I have no idea how it’s going to work out. It’s a war machine and untested. If we manage to make it on time, we can try it out and maybe make another. But don’t keep your hopes up.”

  “I’ll be more than happy with whatever you can give me, Harlan. If we survive today, I think we’ll have some breathing room.”

  “I sure hope so. I’m sick of moving my family around. Even though they’re not complaining and working their asses off, only a blind man wouldn’t see the pressure they’re under.”

  I nodded, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt. It wasn’t—yes, it was my fault. Who was I kidding? They were my responsibility and my ‘property’ if you could look at it that way. Still, stuff always managed to happen that fucked things up for us. Unexpected things like the Trolls and the Blight the Shaman mentioned. This continent and world were far greater than I ever had imagined and its secrets dark and vile. Surviving Lefrand’s troops were just going to be the start.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Dawn arrived pretty quickly. What followed next was the ground shaking slightly as Lefrand’s army set up camp not even three miles out. They left the forest’s cover behind and came out in the open. Only if I had some way to blow them all to kingdom come, but it wasn’t possible. At least not yet. It would have been a sight to see such a large group being taken care of at once, though.

  Roughly fifteen thousand soldiers stood in formation as a much smaller group milled around, putting up camp and large tents. I found it a stupid thing to do as they were getting both restless and tired from all the marching and weight, but Vampire Lords had never been the smartest, at least not the newer generations.

  The three Lords moved on horseback, galloping from one side to the other and tried to pep their troops up, or at least that’s what I would have done. It didn’t make much sense to the ordinary onlooker, but I guessed the three knew what they were doing.

  The first row of soldiers stepped forward suddenly, lift their weapons, and slit their own throats. I cursed under my breath, recognizing what they were doing. Sarga was blessing the remainder with extra battle power using the hatred and resentment of those who just died. After all, over two hundred of them bit the dust from this little stunt.

  “They’re barbaric,” Sylvana said as she cuddled up to me atop the palisade walkway. She wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t right either. Sarga knew what she was doing, and from what I could see, she made her choice. Or someone had made it for her.

  “Yeah, you can say as much. But why does it bother you? Haven’t the two of you seen enough over the time you served Lefrand?”

  “Bah! Don’t mention that filth ever again, please!” Helena hissed. “And yeah, we have, but that doesn’t mean we got used to it.”

  “Exactly,” Sylvana added. They were right. It wasn’t an easy thing to get used to no matter how many times you witnessed it.

  “Used to or not, we need to get in position. They’ll be attacking soon.”

  “We’ll stay up on the central tower so we can use our magic and bows.”

  “Good luck you two. And don’t you dare die.”

  “As you wish, my Lord,” Sylvana winked and blew me a kiss.

  I winked back and turned to face my army who was stationed inside the palisade. I didn’t see any reason to keep them outside, shivering and getting anxious by the size of our enemy’s army. I took a deep breath and addressed my men and women who were anxiously awaiting the battle.

  “The enemy is at our gate. There is nowhere to retreat. There is nothing left to do but rest until the enemy comes for us. Stay vigilant. Stay proud. Stay strong. We’ve been through many a battle, and this is just another one of them. For those who survive the day, you can loot as many corpses as you killed during the battle! Fight well and fight hard!”

  “For Lord Raziel! We fight! We kill! We win!”

  It was the same thing every time I held a war speech or something similar. Every time they would bellow the same thing. I was sure it carried to the enemy camp, ticking them off and showing them that our morale was far from low.

  “For your families! For the Coven!” I yelled, using my
full vocal power.

  “For the Coven!” they replied as one. It was a beautiful sight to behold and sound to hear. They really meant it, and that’s what made me so proud. Days of a forced march, fighting, and hard labor finally paid off. We had a moat, trenches, obstacles, and hundreds of spikes that rose from the ground. They were pointed in the direction where the enemy would come from, or at least that’s how we set the defensive measures up.

  “Despite having done what we could, I have a bad feeling about this,” I whispered as Sylvana snuggled up to me up on the walkway moments later. It was a gesture I would have preferred not done in front of the troops, but hundreds of smiles crept up on their faces. They must have seen themselves in us or thought about their families.

  “You’re not the only one. But yeah, I’m afraid as well. I’m afraid of your previous lover. If she’s as strong as I think she is, and I can feel her power radiating all the way here, we’ll have a hard fight on us.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it,” I murmured. “Speaking of which, don’t kill her if you have the chance. I don’t want to see her head on a pike, at least not yet.”

  “And what if it’s her or me?”

  “Then she dies. It’s simple as that.”

  But it wasn’t simple. Emotions stirred within me, conflicting with each other. Sarga was a Goddess in her own right. She was great with the sword, with magic, curses, and sacrifices. She rivaled me in every way and yet she’d always been on my side, protecting me until the moment I took the first spot over Crozan. Was I thinking too much into it? Surely not I hoped.

  “You say so, but you don’t mean it. Still, I won’t hesitate to kill her if our lives are on the line. You need to know that.”

  She wasn’t aggressive with her statement, no, it was just that—a statement. It was what she intended to do and I was alright with it. I had to be. If this army’s leader couldn’t hold his shit together, who could?

  “Lord Raziel!” a voice rang out from below. I looked down and saw Harlan, Dimas, and a couple of his children pulling and pushing two war machines. They looked rather strange to me as I’d never seen anything like it, but anything that worked was better than wishful thinking.