“Take the shot Lea,” he whispered looking up at the sky. Mercifully, it had not rained the last few days, though who knew how the wind blew.
“Not yet,” she hissed irritably. This was her battleground, her responsibility and her moment. She waited a few breaths longer. The flame flickered in her eye line. Dancing frantically in the breeze, she wished it a safe journey.
“I’ve got this,” she whispered.
She fired the flaming arrow.
Serenity Valley
It flew like a firefly that had come out to play long before any others. It caught the wind and it hit its mark. It struck a tree with a gentle thud and few attackers took notice. Even fewer gave it a second glance. Lea was already relighting a second arrow. She held the bow out and aimed a little higher. She let it fly and the yellow streak screamed silently into the forest and embedded itself in another tree much further back. She smiled as this one caught quicker.
She sent two more after it. Only one missed its mark, landing a little wide and ending up in a little bush, but with so many coats of burning oil applied to so many trees it didn't really matter. She turned to the slope and sent one into a spike. It soared up in flame straight away and took an astonished attacker with it. The flame took hold of his leather armour and when he tripped over some oil laced kindling trying to pat down the flames, he managed to do all the hard work for Lea in one fell swoop. The killers who had not yet entered the battlefield began to notice the rapidly growing flames all around them in bewilderment. They tried desperately to extinguish the flames but all too quickly the fires began to engulf the wood and themselves included. Perhaps had their thirst for death not blinded them, they may well have noticed the oil soaked kindling on the ground leading all the way up the slope, or the sloppily painted tree trunks stained with the volatile fluid.
The Warriors stood side by side with torches in hand and waited patiently for the attackers to cross over the summit. Caught in the frenzy of attack, the first few over the top never thought to look behind them and in truth, why would they? Victory was in touching distance. When the torches were thrown at the bottom of the rubble and the freshly oiled surface took light straight away, they began to sense a problem. Moments later, they were burning like the blockade itself.
The fire spread rapidly through the green. The first groups to flee the barricade’s fire were trapped in a crush and were engulfed by the swirling flame as it followed behind. Some brutes charged the burning spikes by the riverbed but very few were able to break the wood down. Of those that did get through, many dropped into the deep waters, and drowned as their heavy armour dragged them to the bottom. Scores of attackers who managed to avoid the fire were blinded by the billowing smoke, which eventually sucked the air from them. They met their end in a deep sleep. Erroh and Lea watched it all from the finest view in the town and relished in their demise.
In the first hour alone, half of the great army perished. Those who managed to break through the burning forest and escape back to their chaotic camp licked their wounds by their tents. The smell of cooked meat filled the valley and the sky shimmered from the heat. However, there was a cost to this final desperate move. By nightfall, the cavalry spikes had burned away to nothing and though the forest and barricade still burned, the slope became a charred ashen mound resembling the fate of the ancients’ world.
All that would hold the enemy’s final march was the burning barricade with flames twenty feet high. They began to stock up with the last of the town’s furniture near the furnace: tables, chairs, beds, and barrels. The town had been stripped clean. If the residents ever returned to live in Keri in the far future, they would struggle terribly to refurbish their homes, but it would be a golden age to be a carpenter.
The defenders watched the sky and set their weapons down. They took seats on mismatched chairs and couches, and listened as Erroh addressed them.
“When they breach the gap, all is done my brothers,” he said and the congregation agreed.
“I would like to leave,” one defender muttered. His eyes were drawn and he nursed a deep gash across his chest. He would never fight again with such an injury.
“Every one of you has earned a reprieve,” said Erroh.
Quig didn’t agree.
“Does anybody really think if those fukers march in here without spilling some more blood, they won’t hunt us all down? Anyone who can’t fight can leave, but I will not lead doom upon the rest of the town. Fuk this, I’m staying.” The big man snarled.
“And I will be with you brother,” Erroh said and left them to make peace with his mate while the rest began discussing the score.
“Are you done Lea?” Erroh hissed holding his cheek.
She slapped him a third time. “Not yet.”
He took a step back, just out of range. She stepped forward and delivered a fine crack across his cheek.
“I did what needed to be done,” he said, aware that leading her down the side street away from eager ears was a futile gesture as they were making more than enough noise for the rest at the fire to hear. He’d hoped for a few heated exchanges and then a few embraces after. Maybe a last kiss? She wasn’t ready to forgive heroism. Sometimes Alphalines just didn’t play well together.
“It would have been a stupid death. You searched for glory like your father,” she shouted and prodded her finger in his chest. He’d desired warmth and reassurance and instead received chastening. Was spitting bile how she wanted to spend her last few hours with him?
“I did what was needed,” he cried and pushed her away before spinning around and marching off. She didn’t follow.
He thought about climbing up to watch the burning forest but the fear that she would appear was too great so he headed back to the closest thing he called a home. In a dark empty kitchen, he recovered some dried salted meats and some bread. Lighting a near dead candle, he ate heartily but still left her a portion, muttering a few curses as he sliced the meat. In the lowlight, a weariness struck him like never before. His body craved straw and cotton sheets but the cold ground with a few blankets was all he had. Still, he was asleep in a few breaths.
“So this is where you hid yourself,” Lea said. She sat with her legs crossed beside him, the solitary hanging candle lighting the little plate of cold food in front of her. He didn’t reply as feigning sleep seemed the smarter move. She sighed loudly and he heard the sounds of eating. He wanted to end the argument and take her in his exhausted arms to kiss, love, and sleep with, but he was still a vengeful little Alpha who had been shouted at a little unfairly. He’d turned the battle. How could she criticise him for that?
Women.
“Oh just wake up Erroh,” she muttered, finishing the last mouthful. He was asleep on his back and she could tell from his breathing that he was pretending. She slipped her leg across him and sat down on his lap. She loved him so much that it hurt. Life was so unfair.
“Wake up idiot,” she shouted mockingly. You’re my idiot and I need you.
“I think you’ve put on weight,” he whispered as she leaned over him and let her long hair brush his face. He felt stirrings immediately.
“I forgive you,” she said gently.
“Will you get off me now?”
“No,”
She leaned in and kissed him delicately on his lips.
“I forgive you too,” he said.
“You were amazing today,” she said gently. The candle flickered as it neared the end of its life. He thought she looked magnificent in its dying silhouette.
“I thought you disapproved,” he said.
“I was proud as you tore through them. It was the thing of legends. If I survive all of this, I aim to spread word of your heroism,” she whispered touching his chest.
She kissed him again, biting his lower lip slightly.
“I was terrified,” he admitted.
“So was I,” she said and her face turned serious. “I will never become mated with another man. I wish to be known as only Er
roh’s mate for life. It’s a title which will serve me better than another man,” she said quietly and held his gaze. He could tell that she wouldn’t be swayed on this matter. He wanted to argue that she was so young and many seasons of life were still ahead of her and that she deserved happiness, but he held his tongue.
“As you wish my beo,” he said gently and stroked her face.
“Thank you my Erroh,” she said and she finally smiled.
The hanging candle hissed and the room fell to darkness and he decided to reveal his own plan. “If you die though and I survive, I’m going to kill Wynn, mate with Lillium, and keep Roja as my concubine.”
She tugged at something delicate and he yelped in reply.
“I think you could choose a finer concubine,” she hissed but he could hear her smile hidden among the words.
“Besides I don’t think you could beat Wynn, not to mention that he’s far prettier,” she informed him. “In fact, in this light, perhaps you could pretend you’re him for a little while?” she asked, straddling him gently.
“I love you Lea,” laughed Erroh, gripping her tightly.
“Shush, Wynn wouldn’t say that,” she said scolding him as he lifted her off him and pinned her down in one smooth motion. She couldn’t help but be further aroused. As he kissed her, she thought of him staring down an entire army and them blinking first. Her Erroh, nobody else’s. Deep down where her naivety lay with childish hopes and dreams, she believed that if any man could survive the final attack it would be her Erroh. She would keep her oath and flee and she would survive for him. She would do her part and expect him to do his.
The following day Erroh sat on a comfortable couch near the flames chewing on some freshly barbequed steak. He was not alone.
“I’ve craved some barbeque since we cooked the bastards yesterday,” muttered Quig and then realised he had spoken aloud. He sat against a timber barrel stained with old wine holding a slab of charcoaled steak. It was burned to a crisp on the outside and crimson right through. “I suppose that makes me a cannibal,” he admitted guiltily and wiped some juices from his beard.
Aireys started to laugh.
“I did as well,” she said biting into her own steak fiercely. She took another of the honeyed onions and tore a few strips free. A few of the Warriors with them began to snigger in agreement.
“So the smell of our burning enemies brought a great hunger upon us all? That’s some fine savagery right there brothers,” Quig said.
“Magnus would approve,” Erroh said and the sniggers turned to giddy laughter.
“War has changed us. It’s probably better that we all die soon,” he said laughing.
“You sure this is the last of our stocks and definitely not some poor fool’s leg?” Aireys asked their chef.
Erroh laughed and bit into his meal while Quig eyed his meat suspiciously. Lea reached over to take it from him and he snatched it away from her grasp. “My leg,” he hissed as if a hound with a bone. A leg bone.
“Cannibalism is underrated,” Cass said, letting a smile creep slowly across his lips. He was sitting among the Warriors on a patch of soft grass enjoying his homecoming. The Riders hadn’t located the break in the valley after all and they had returned to dispirited comrades nursing burns and heartache. Aye, when the fire went out they would charge but that was tomorrow and tomorrow was another day for the convoy to escape. He accepted another slab of still burning steak from the archer Azel.
“You’re a fine chef, Azel,” Cass said.
“I aim to please, friend,” said the chef winking at the Regulator and lancing a few more pieces of meat onto a skewer and putting them against the flames.
Their great defence was at an end so they ate the last of the supplies and drank whatever alcohol they could find as if it were the last night of their lives. The mood around the bonfire was boisterous with a dignified sense of acceptance. The work they had been charged with was to hold and delay. They had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.
“Any regrets?” Quig asked Erroh.
“I wish I could forget what pigeon meat tastes like,” he said drinking from a bottle of wine. A bitter red but after the last few days, it was ambrosia.
Someone muttered “they were good in a pie” and Erroh grimaced. He’d take their word for it. In truth, he regretted the obvious things such as his probable death and fear for Lea but, as with most young Alphalines who took to the road to find themselves and an eventual mate, there was nothing left unsaid or done. There were no regrets for the life he had chosen. He passed the bottle to a warrior on his right.
“Well I wish I was mated to an Alpha that was better in a fight,” said Lea dejectedly, leaning against her man. Many Warriors nodded in mock agreement. Jests were made at their general’s expense and laughs were boisterous. Far away, the rumble of thunder began to roll. A sleeping giant was rising from its slumber.
“Sounds like a storm is coming,” Aireys said gently.
“There’s enough of a storm already here,” muttered a Warrior.
“It can pass right by,” said another.
“If the rains come at least we’ll be clean,” growled Quig.
“I regret that Erroh didn’t wash more,” said Lea and everyone laughed.
“I regret not hitching a lift with the convoy,” muttered Erroh enjoying the banter. All that was needed was a deck of cards. Maybe he would hop down to the enemy camp and ask them if they had a spare pack on hand.
They spent the last night eating and drinking their spoils of survival. They could hear the thunder miles away but refused to let it sully the cheer. The closest the mood came to dropping was when Lea declared she had killed most with the flames and Quig announcing, “Had I not been saving Erroh, I could have killed at least twenty more.” Voices were raised as the numbers were called out and final bets were made. Before the night came to a close Aireys stood up and said what needed to be said. She silenced everyone and dipped her head in the direction of the two Alphalines who had led them.
“Thank you,” she said, careful not to let her voice break.
“You were worth standing with,” said Lea bowing in return. Erroh and Lea slipped away before the last drink was finished and lay together with armour and weapons at close hand in their little kitchen. The floor was hard but they only knew comfort while holding each other tightly. They fell asleep beside each other one final time.
Dying Embers
It was the first few hours of morning when the heavy clouds descended and with them came the end. It started as an innocent little bit of drizzle hissing lightly as it came in contact with the weakening flames but soon enough in a dreadful peaceful hiss, the heavens opened up and the heavy downpour covered the world. The Warriors of Keri faced each other one last time. It had been an honour.
The Riders took to their saddles.
Quig and Cass rolled the last of the carts straight through the muddy, glowing mound. They drove them as far into the dying embers as they could as the deluge turned to a tempest. The first Rider led his beast over the slippery mound and crashed into their territory. Ash the colour of death flew and the last few sparks of defence were extinguished. Aireys reacted first and leaping wildly took the attacker’s head off with a fine swing of her blade but the mount continued its frantic run. It crossed the cobbled bridge and into the town square long before anyone else and stopped by a trough to take a drink. The headless Rider remained atop still holding the reins.
High above Lea watched them swarm around the defenders. She screamed as her friends formed up into a pack of cornered animals and met each attack with valiant acceptancy. More and more Riders charged clumsily over the barricade breaking a pathway for the soldiers to follow. The final piece of good fortune was that each Rider continued their charge down to the town in the hope of catching fresh game instead of running down the last few defenders at the wall. Infantry followed behind them and surged through. Erroh was fierce, heroic and surrounded. He swung his blades furiously in th
e last few moments of his life and she screamed to the absent gods for him and fired down at the enemy and then Aireys was gone.
Aireys plunged her blade deep into the chest of an attacker but as the cur fell backwards, he took her weapon with him as a final gesture of hate. She scrambled for it, breaking their last line before a stray glove reached out and gripped onto her armour. She managed to let out a little shriek of contempt before it pulled her into the masses where they fell upon her aggressively.
Quig followed Aireys. Emir would have wanted him to be beside her, when she died. The big man leapt forward, slashed with his great weapon, and cleared a space almost immediately. His mind was reeling with sorrow, hate, and the counting of numbers. He had never thought himself a killer or warrior but now he aimed for first place. He swung again and roared like the true champion that he was, and raised his tally.
Cass and the last of the warriors leapt into the path of the swarm to take out as many as they could. The Regulator took a small dagger to the chest and as he collapsed backwards into the raging black water, pulled two of the killers with him. The unforgiving current took all three. Those with him were met by the final charge on Keri and were sent into the darkness beyond. They never screamed out.
Lea roared at her archers as brutes began to scramble up the valley edge towards them. Their time was done. On both sides, they swiftly disappeared into the cover of the thick foliage while she waited a few more breaths to take out a killer bearing down on her mate. Behind her, the noise of scrambling brutes grew close. She unsheathed her swords.
The nearest brute thought she was an easy enough kill. He raised his blade and charged while the two others searched for the cursed archers. In a blur, she slipped under his strike and he felt a horrible tearing pain across his belly. He dropped his sword trying to stop the contents of his intestines from spilling out, but it was a futile final task.
Spark City Page 39
