by J. N. Baker
He picked up one of the rifles, his dark blue eyes scrutinizing it. “These hunks of metal will inevitably become useless to us the second they run out of ammunition. Perhaps we, too, should stick to what we know.”
Ryuu picked up a bazooka from one of the crates marked explosives and I instinctively took a step back. “I don’t know, William. This doesn’t look very weak to me, nor does it look useless. I bet we could do quite a bit a damage with these bad boys before we ran out of ammunition. It would be foolish not to use them.”
“While I don’t particularly like them either, William,” Alec said, “Ryuu is right. We might as well use these tools to our advantage while we still can. It might just make up for what we lack in numbers.”
I nodded. The general wouldn’t expect it. If we were going to beat Baldric, we needed to use every element of surprise we could; otherwise, we’d all be dead within an hour. “Hand out the firearms to the humans, make sure they have all of the ammo available to us,” I instructed. “The melee weapons should go to the vampires. Outside of us, they stand the best chance at close range attacks. The best of our archers will get the bows. Any blades left will go to the humans to use when they run out of ammunition.”
“And the explosives?” Ryuu asked, juggling a handful of grenades in the air. Could it be called juggling if he didn’t use his hands?
“That, my friend, is where you come in.”
“What are you thinking, Lady Zoe?” Godfrey asked, his level of formality making me more than a little uncomfortable. I was not noble in any sense of the word, nor was I some sort of royalty. I was just a monster. But that was a conversation for another time—if we were still alive to have it.
“Ryuu, the map.”
Ryuu stepped forward, handing me the rolled-up parchment. I flipped it open across the top of one of the still-closed crates, smoothing it out. “If they stay the course that Ryuu said, then they will be coming at us from the west, through the open land on the other side of the lake.”
“Knowing that piece of shit Baldric,” Markus interjected, “his men will most likely change course. They’ll try to surround us, giving him the upper hand.”
“Exactly, we can’t trust them to hold their original course, especially not with them knowing that two of our scouts escaped. They will likely change their route. And because of that, we will have Baldric exactly where we want him. We are going to lead them directly to the castle, only we won’t be here—not really, at least.
“Jade, you will duplicate yourself as many times as possible here,” I said, pointing to a spot on the map. “And then you will go within the castle walls where William will be casting out illusions of even more fighters. It will give the appearance that we have six to eight hundred people standing at the ready outside the castle walls whenever Baldric’s men come, leading them straight for the castle and directly into our trap.”
“And where will all of our people be?” Godfrey asked.
Markus smirked. “Surrounding the fuckers.”
I begrudgingly returned his smile. “Precisely. The rest of our people will be in the trees,” I continued. “That way, no matter what course Baldric takes, whether he stays to the west or tries to surround us, we will end up surrounding him. We will take his people out from above, though, only those taking up the rear, so as to not give away our position too early.”
“It’s good,” Alec said, looking at the map. I sensed the but coming long before it did. “But I’m not sure it’s enough. He has an army of Sythen.”
“I think that’s where I come in.” Ryuu took a step forward, a huge knowing grin stretching across his face. I understood his elation on a very personal level. Nothing would make me happier than seeing Sythen body parts scattered across our land. Especially one Sythen in particular.
“Yes, you will also be in the castle, though you will be on one of the watchtowers. I want you to take all the grenades you can find here and scatter them through the air. When the time is right, blow Baldric’s precious pets out of the sky.”
Ryuu bowed. “With great pleasure.”
I turned my attention to William. “Do your illusions cause any structural damage?”
“No,” he replied. “They are nothing more than a mirage.”
I nodded. “And can you make a separate illusion—a very big one—while you create troops around Jade’s doppelgängers?”
He nodded without hesitation and I thought I saw a glimpse of the old warrior he once was flash across his eyes. “What would you have me create?”
“You told me once that the Sythen were the only living descendants of dragons. Did you ever see one? A dragon?”
“Of course,” he replied, his eyes narrowing on my face as his brows pulled together.
“I want you to make one.”
His eyes widened if only for a split second. “Pardon me?”
“When Ryuu blows the sky to shit, I want you to create a dragon,” I said, holding his gaze. “The biggest fire-breathing beast you can possibly create. I want the enemies’ eyes glued to the sky. That’s when we will attack. They will be distracted and therefore, vulnerable.”
“Damn, not half bad for a noob,” Jade whispered, sounding rather astonished.
Alec put an arm around my shoulders and smiled down at me.
“And what about our humans?” Annie chimed in, distracting me from the fire growing in Alec’s golden eyes. “They are our weakest people and you would have them fight?”
The defender of the defenseless. It suited her.
“They will be surrounded by vampires and shifts,” Markus answered for me. “With us is the safest place for them. And most of those weak ass humans have a stake in this war too. Baldric killed their people and destroyed their homes just as he did the rest of ours. You’d be amazed what a good dose of vengeance could do to a man. They’ll be fine—or they’ll die trying. Either outcome is better than hiding like spineless cowards.”
“We will do our best to take out as many of the general’s men as we can from the start,” I said as confidently as I could. “The more we kill, the better our chances will be. This is nothing more than a numbers game. Take out Baldric’s army—take out him.”
The sky came alive with the sharp crack of thunder as the snow turned into rain. It started with a drizzle and then the black sky above opened and showered upon us until we were practically swimming. The snow on the ground quickly turned to slush under our feet and the humans began slipping around the castle grounds as they scrambled to gather their weapons from Jade and James.
Markus came up beside me. I watched his large frame from the corner of my eye. His hands were tucked neatly behind his back, standing straight as a board as his hard eyes watched our people take their new weapons and slip into the protection of the trees.
“What?” I started. “Not going to shift into something fitting like a jackass?”
He released a short burst of laughter and then shook his head. “No, I won’t be shifting for this war.”
That surprised me. I turned to face him. “Why not? You’re an experienced shift, or so you say.”
“One of the best you’ve got,” he said with a wink. “But these people need someone to lead them and they know I can do that. Not to mention, I want my face to be one of the last ones that asshole sees before he dies. I want to see the look on his face the moment he realizes he’s going to lose. I just hope I live long enough to see it.”
“You don’t think you’ll survive?”
His eyes met mine. “I’m not as big of a fool as you think I am. But don’t you worry about old Markus here. I never considered myself to be a godly man, but I’d like to think that despite all of my many, many sins that I will get to see my little girl’s face again.”
I watched the ex-military man turn and walk away. There was no fear written on his tired face, no sign of worry or doubt etched into his big body. He’d already accept his death as I’d come to accept mine. I guessed we weren’t so different, him a
nd I.
“Annie,” William called, “just like we planned before. I want you to take the children to the cellar. Do whatever it takes to keep them safe. Protect them with your life. And take whatever medical supplies you can find. We will be sending the injured to you. Find that nurse, she is assigned to your post. Keep her alive. We will need her.”
Annie nodded. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed William’s cheek. A spark of life flashed over his eyes and he smiled down at her. With that, she was gone.
William caught my eye and sighed. “You were right, Zoe. I was failing her by sheltering her the way I did. But it is too late now. She is nowhere near ready for battle. If she fights alongside us, she will surely die. I could not bear to lose her because of my own selfishness.”
“Next time,” I said, trying to smile.
“Next time,” he echoed.
I wasn’t sure there’d be a next time. I was going to get my wish. I was finally going to die. I wouldn’t hurt anyone else ever again. And my vision of Josh would never come to pass.
Next stop, Hell.
Twenty minutes later, our people were scattered high in the trees surrounding the castle grounds. I stood with Markus, Alec, William, Ryuu, and Jade at the castle gates as the earth began to vibrate beneath our feet, the distinct sound of marching traveling on the wind.
“It is time,” William announced. “The three of you must leave—now.”
“Stay alive, old man,” Markus said as he reached out and shook William’s hand.
“That’s a brilliant plan,” Ryuu mused. “How about we all stay alive, shall we?”
“Let’s not get carried away,” Markus retorted. “This is war, not a damn tea party.”
I rolled my eyes and elbowed his freshly broken rib. He grunted and I smirked. I turned my attention back to the others, quickly sobering as I looked at each of their faces. “Good luck,” I told them. God knew we were going to need all the luck we could get if we were going to pull this off.
“Yeah, you guys, too,” Jade said before following William and Ryuu to the west side of the castle.
“Prepare for battle, soldiers!” Markus bellowed into the night as he turned away from Alec and me and headed to the eastern tree line. “Tonight, we dine with death!”
“Let’s go,” Alec said, taking my hand and pulling me toward the trees to the north. We each had our post: Markus to the east, me to the north, and Godfrey to the south. Alec would teleport around as needed to make sure everything was going according to plan.
I glanced over my shoulder to take one last look at the castle that had quickly become my new home and my feet faltered. Jade stood in front of the castle walls, a black cloak draped over her shoulders, hood pulled up tightly to conceal her face. A gust of wind and rain smacked into her, blowing up the edges of her cloak as one Jade became two, and two became three, and three became four…until there was easily three hundred Jades standing outside the castle walls. An army of Jades—what a terrifying thought.
“We need to go, Zoe,” Alec whispered as the sound of marching drew closer. “They’re coming.” He yanked on my arm as Jade—the real Jade—collapsed to her knees.
“Shit! She needs help, Alec.”
His grip on my arm tightened, practically dragging me toward the trees as Ryuu ran to Jade’s side, scooping her into his arms and rushing her into the castle. “See, Ryuu has her. She’ll be fine. But we won’t be if we are caught out in the open like this.”
I nodded absently, letting Alec pull me along backward as I watched the scene play out before me. “Holy shit,” I breathed as the plan I’d laid out in my head came to life. From William, troops began to materialize around the many Jades, seemingly appearing out of thin air. Men and women with various weapons, shifts in different forms, a few catapults. He even put archers on the watchtowers. Damn, William was good—good enough that I might have to compliment him—if we survived. Between Jade and William, it looked like we had eight hundred-plus troops standing on the western side of the castle—ready for the fight of their lives.
This had to work, I thought as Alec and I stepped among the trees. There was no other option, it simply had to work.
“We will take the back,” Alec told me as we moved farther into the dark forest. I could feel eyes on us from above, following us as we passed by each tall tree. I hoped that Baldric’s men didn’t get that same sense of being watched or this whole plan was dead in the water before it had even begun. As we neared the other side of the shallow forest, Alec pulled me to a stop in front of a large evergreen tree. “Now, get up there.”
But instead of pushing me up into the tree, he pulled me into his arms. His lips came crashing into mine with an urgency I hadn’t felt from him before, as if he were worried it might be our last moment together. Moth to the flame, I couldn’t help but be drawn into the kiss. After all, this was the man I was supposed to be with—my fated mate.
The pull that I felt toward Alec was real and strong. But it wasn’t the only pull I felt. I might not have known yet what I wanted—or perhaps I did, but just knew I couldn’t have it—either way, I at least wanted more time to figure it out. I just needed more time. He stepped back, pressing his lips to my forehead. “Be safe,” he whispered into my hair and then he vanished.
I steeled my legs and ascended into the tree’s branches—into the unknown, where I prayed to a god I hoped was still listening to me that my plan wasn’t about to get all of these people killed. My own life was one thing, but I couldn’t be responsible for the death of someone else. Not again.
The treetop canopy only did so much to protect against the buckets of rain that poured. I pried my long hair from my wet face, tying it into a knot at the base of my skull before drawing my sword. I scanned the trees around mine. Hundreds of arrows pointed out through the leaves, rain dripping from their sharp points. I had a feeling our people weren’t alone in the trees.
One of the forest nymphs shifted in the tree beside mine, confirming my suspicion. His dark brown skin blended into the tree trunk as he positioned himself on a thick branch, the vines that coiled around his arms flexing as he pulled back on his bow string.
The sound of marching grew even closer until it was blaring in my ears. And then, suddenly it was gone. The marching completely stopped until all I could hear was the rain beating down. I shifted to get a better look and the forest nymph in the tree adjacent to mine slowly shook his head, his black eyes boring into me. And then I heard it, the crunch of boots directly beneath me.
Peering down through the branches, I saw them. Baldric’s men crept through the forest, twigs snapping under their heavy footfalls. They crouched low, dropping formation as they weaved in and out of the trees, moving straight toward the castle. Within minutes, I had lost count as the seemingly endless army pushed forward. And to think this was only a portion of them. I had no doubt they were coming at us from all sides. Markus was right, they were trying to surround us, and falling right into our trap.
A large hand clamped roughly over my mouth and I whipped my head around to find golden eyes staring back at me. Alec pointed to the troops below as they began to thin until only a handful of stragglers remained. It was time. I nodded in silent understanding and began to climb down the tree as quietly as I could. When the last troop stepped past me, I dropped to the forest floor in a crouch.
Standing on steady feet, I moved forward through the thick mud, reaching out and grabbing the nearest soldier. I wrapped my hand around his mouth and ran him through with my blade. With one quick swing, I removed his head. My eyes shot up, making sure none of his comrades had noticed.
They marched on in the distance, none the wiser, and I smirked. As long as they continued moving forward and the rain kept pouring down, they didn’t seem to notice the fallen troops they left behind. Perfect. I crept forward once more, a predator stalking her unknowing prey.
An arrow sailed past my head and another of Baldric’s men taking up the rear fell to his knees. I glanced
up to the trees as a second arrow let loose and another soldier fell to the muddy ground. Alec appeared beside me and cleanly removed one head while I removed the other. We couldn’t take any chances with an army made up of mostly vampires, now, could we? Alec gave me a stiff nod and we pressed on.
Our people began to drop from the trees, taking out Baldric’s men left and right. We trailed after them in the pitch-black forest, eliminating a good two hundred or so troops from our northern position. As the torchlight of the castle came into view in the distance so did our own “army.”
And so, it began.
“Charge!”
Baldric’s men raised their weapons and roared like wild beasts as they ran forward. As the last of his army erupted through the trees, our people held back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
The beating of wings circled overhead and the sky came to life with the screams and shrieks of Baldric’s beasts. I could hear them swooping in from all sides, gnashing their teeth. Their cries amplified as their numbers grew until it seemed the whole sky was alive with them.
Thousands of bodies barreled toward our little kingdom, swords drawn. They came from all sides, with the bulk of their army coming from the open fields to the west, splitting around the small lake like Moses parting the Red Sea.
As they drew closer, they sounded like a stampede of raging bulls and I quickly realized that the lives we’d taken in the forest were nothing more than a mere drop in the bucket of all that was Baldric’s “legion.” The warrior within me ached for battle, longing to defend our people, even if it was seemingly hopeless.
I forced myself to stay in the cover of the trees. It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was damn near impossible. It took everything I had to stay put. I couldn’t jump the gun. Not yet. We had to stick to the plan. My fingers tightened on my sword’s hilt as Baldric’s massive legion headed straight for the castle.
