The Rahain had arrived at first light that morning, drawn in by the Brig, who had volunteered to act as bait to pull the enemy into the position they now found themselves, hemmed in by walls and hedges, their view of the battlefield obscured. Once the Brig had withdrawn to the line where the Lach stood, the lizards soldiers had formed up their shieldwall. And there both sides had remained all day.
The Brig had been impossible to win over, but the Lach had listened, and taken Killop’s defensive plan to heart. Maybe it was the fact of their fewer numbers that made the Lach hesitant to charge the Rahain lines. They had also taken up his idea of fashioning much larger shields for the front ranks, and their carpenters had toiled for days to produce enough. The front of the Lach army now resembled that of the Rahain, with a solid wall of wooden shields obscuring the sight of the warriors behind. The Brig had eschewed such measures, calling them cowardly. Brendan, their commander, had refused to forbid his warriors from charging if they thought they saw an opportunity.
As darkness began to fall, the chilly evening was lit up by the Lach setting light to two huge bonfires, which were positioned behind them, to blind their enemies while keeping their own night vision clear, and to aid their two Mages of Pyre.
‘I hate being stuck up here, away from the action,’ Keira said.
‘I know,’ Killop replied, keeping his eyes on the fields below, ‘you’ve told me a hundred times.’
‘But I’m the best mage we’ve got,’ she said. ‘The two Lach mages aren’t complete rubbish, but neither can do what I can.’
‘Aye, but you’re assigned to the Kell, and the Kell are to defend the east bridge.’ He gestured down to his right, where they could see the ranks of Kell soldiers in the dimming light just a few hundred yards away.
‘But it doesnae make any sense.’
‘Your complaining is half the reason I brought us up here,’ he said. ‘The Kell down there are jumpy enough. Most have lost someone they love, and know that their villages and homes have been destroyed by the lizards. Your shouting about how crap the leadership of the army is, just makes it worse. The Kylanna twins have a hard enough time trying to keep it together.’
‘Are they the new fucking chiefs, then?’ she said. ‘Nobody asked us what we thought.’
‘I think the usual rules about selecting a new chief might be a bit hard to enact, seeing as how nine-tenths of our country is occupied. We need somebody in charge, and they’re the most senior.’
‘Stuck up wee cows,’ she muttered. ‘I don’t like them.’
‘Me neither,’ said Lacey, sitting to Keira’s left.
‘That’s because they wanted to send you back to the Lach,’ Keira said. ‘I telt them there was no way. Even though yer not a real Kell, it doesnae matter, cause yer mine.’
Lacey grinned.
‘Aye,’ Killop said, ‘you’re part of the squad now.’
‘I’d still rather be fighting,’ she said. ‘I mean, I wish we were all fighting.’
‘Look,’ said Calum, pointing down. ‘They’re moving.’
They watched as the Lach lines started to march across the field, their new shields held out before them, the first few ranks crouching behind. The three battalions edged forwards. They reached the first low wall, and swarmed over it, shields kept high. As they moved to within longbow range, the front ranks halted, and set down their shields in a line, creating a long, continuous barrier. Behind the foremost ranks, thousands of Lach notched arrows to their bows.
‘Come on,’ Killop whispered, his fists clenched, as he watched the archers get ready.
A single fire arrow flew into the air, and landed onto an unlit bonfire, one of several between the armies that the Lach had soaked in black shale oil, and it ignited, sending a roar of flame up into the evening sky. A second later, thousands of arrows were released, tiny black specks against the light of the fire. The arrows descended into the lizard’s ranks like hail, scything them down as they bunched together, their shields lifted over their heads. Still fifty yards out of crossbow range, the Rahain army had no immediate response. Orders must have been relayed however, as the main force of infantry started to advance, their door-like shields held out in front, mirroring the Lach lines.
The other bonfires in the area between the armies were targeted by Lach fire arrows and set alight, in order to break up the battlefield, and force the Rahain to either stand and take the longbow fire, or get to close quarters to avoid it.
The Lach forces maintained their position as the Rahain rumbled towards them. The archers kept up their attack, sending waves of arrows towards the enemy lines.
A large black shadow flickered in front of the bonfires, and there was an explosion as a massive boulder smashed into the central Lach battalion. It had overshot the front ranks, carving a deep path through the following companies of archers. Other boulders followed, each striking into the mass of Lach warriors, killing dozens with each impact. The archers ran for cover, and their incessant rate of fire faltered.
At that moment, the Rahain crossbows reached their range, and a barrage of thick bolts rained in on the Lach front rows, battering their main shields. Under the pressure and weight of thousands of bolts hitting them, the Lach were pushed back a few yards, the warriors keeping their heads down. The boulder throwing machines kept up their steady attrition but, as the archers had dispersed, fewer were finding their targets.
The flames from a bonfire behind the left battalion rose into the air and twisted, and then drove down like a snake, striking into a section of the Rahain shield wall, setting a five-yard stretch alight. On the other side, fire from behind the right battalion did the same, as the two Lach mages unleashed their power.
Within moments, the boulder-throwers had turned their focus on the areas around the two bonfires, churning up the ground and pulverising the stone walls nearby.
‘They’re getting bogged down,’ Keira said. ‘If they don’t fucking shift their arses, the rock-throwers will flatten them.’
‘Mage!’ cried Conal.
Killop turned to look. The young runner was pointing over the hedges to the right of the battlefield. Tiny pinpricks of light were dancing to the north, beyond the farthest farmhouse.
‘You see that?’ Killop shouted. ‘They’re sending some round the side. Everyone up! Looks like the Kell are going to be in this fight after all.’
They got to their feet and ran down the hillside, just as the last of the day’s light faded, and night fell. Once at the bottom, Killop headed straight for the command tent. The way through the Kell camp was lit by torches, but was silent, as almost everyone was in position, guarding the bridge and the road junction by the standing stone. The command tent was positioned at the front of the camp, which was now at the rear of the Kell formation.
Killop left the squad as they ran to get their weapons and armour, and sprinted to the command tent. He saw one of the Kylanna twins near the entrance, talking to three of her officers.
‘Rahain are coming this way,’ he called out to Kyla ae Kylanna. ‘We spotted torches beyond the far row of hedges, heading towards the road.’
Kyla looked up at him. She was a short, middle-aged woman, her black hair cut to below her ears, and she possessed an air of stern and unimpeachable authority.
She took a moment to think, then turned to her officers.
‘You all know your positions,’ she said. ‘First through third companies are to cross the burn and take up defensive positions behind the southern wall. The fourth will follow across the bridge, and form a single column up the side of the western wall. Fifth will hold the bridge, and the sixth the camp. Dismissed.’ She turned to Killop. ‘Except you, squad leader.’
‘Boss,’ he replied, as her officers scattered.
‘I’d hoped to keep the Kell out of this fight,’ she said, ‘but if we have to, there shall be no half measures. Inform your sister that she is free to join the battle.’
‘Aye, boss,’ he said. ‘That will please her
greatly.’
Kyla snorted. ‘Aye, I’m sure it will.’
He turned to go.
‘Killop,’ she said, ‘for Pyre’s sake, son, keep her alive.’
He nodded, and ran back to the squad.
Keira grinned like a cat when he told her, and they quick marched the squad to the bridge.
She had decided to interpret the words of Kyla to mean she now had a free hand to intervene in whatever way she chose and she had several ideas, which were all bursting out at once.
‘Once we’ve dealt with the bastards heading our way,’ she was saying, as they were waiting for fourth company to finish crossing the burn. ‘We cut through the hedges, and appear bang right in the middle of the scaly wee fucks and rip right into them, or, wait, no, we run right round the back of them, and set fire to their camp. Then rush them from the rear, and hack our way through.’
‘You know,’ Kylon said, ‘when you talk about killing people like that, I almost fancy you.’
‘Ew,’ said Lacey, wrinkling her nose. Kylon winked at her.
Keira scrunched up her face in disgust. ‘Fucking weirdo.’
Killop pointed. ‘We still have to fight that lot.’
Ahead, the torches of the Rahain detachment were now visible at ground level, swaying and moving across the field towards them.
The last of the fourth cleared the bridge, and headed left to their position, out of sight by the western wall, and Killop led the squad over. They jogged to where the six hundred Kell of the first three companies had assembled, behind a long drystane dyke that ran along the top of a slight rise on the northern bank of the burn, following its course for several miles.
The front row had their shields up, resting them on the low wall, creating a solid barrier a hundred and fifty paces long.
Behind them were two rows of archers, all with longbows.
They passed by another bonfire, as yet unlit, and found Kelpie, the other Kylanna twin.
‘I see my sister has released you, High Mage,’ she said. ‘Good. May I ask what you plan to do, and how best we can assist you?’
Keira smirked, not used to being treated with deference by the powerful.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘I was really just intending to burn the fuck out of the lot of them.’ She shrugged, and rubbed her chin. ‘I suppose, when they’re about sixty paces away, before they can use their crossbows.’
‘Splendid,’ Kelpie replied, nodding. ‘We’ll hit them with the longbows, they’ll have to advance or get cut to shreds, and when they get close enough, you can take over. Just let us know before you cut loose, so we can get our heads down in time.’
‘Will do, boss.’
‘No, High Mage,’ Kelpie said. ‘On the battlefield, you are in command.’
Keira raised her eyebrows. ‘Right, well, carry on,’ she said. ‘Me and my squad will be at the corner of the walls where they meet. We’ll build our own wee fire there. My brother will take charge of the front lines. Send a runner if you need us.’
Kelpie nodded, then turned to face her officers.
Killop and Keira trooped their squad back to the bridge and took up position on the far left of the Kell line. Conal, Kalma, Lacey and Koreen had each carried armfuls of treated wood from Kelpie’s prepared bonfire pile. They used rocks from the dyke to make a circle on the grass, and stacked the wood there. Conal and Kalma ran back for more, while Lacey took charge of getting the fire lit.
‘Not yet, hen,’ Keira said to her. ‘Shale oil burns so fast, it’ll get through that pile in no time at all. You’ll have to light it just before I’m ready to throw.’
The young Lach warrior looked up.
‘Don’t worry,’ Keira said, ‘Killop will spark you if he has to.’
‘Of course, if it comes to that,’ he said.
‘Will you stay close, boss?’ Lacey said. ‘Just in case?’
He nodded.
Kyleen and Keira sat down next to Lacey, while the rest of the squad went to the wall to watch the Rahain approach. Killop joined them.
Looking down along the long line of Kell faces next to the wall, he could see the inexperienced mixed with those who had some understanding of what was going to happen. Fear and bravado were present on both sets of faces. They were the last coherent body of Kell folk of fighting age and strength, he thought. Men and women ready to fight and to die for Kell. How many Kell civilians had fled to safety in Brig, or Domm? Enough to continue a viable and distinct Kell clan? Even if the best possible outcome of that night’s battle came to pass, and the Rahain were annihilated, would the Kell survive, or would they be swallowed up by the other clans and forgotten within a few generations?
He looked out over the wall. The Rahain soldiers were now visible in the flickering torchlight. He couldn’t make out their numbers, but there looked to be at least as many as there were Kell. They were armed with their smaller, more mobile shields, rather than the huge door-sized ones the main army were carrying. Killop guessed their plan was to rush to the third bridge, and come at the Lach from the rear. However, they had seen the Kell up on the wall, and their advance had stopped. They formed up in ranks, their shields up, and their crossbows levelled.
‘Fuck,’ said Calum. ‘Are they actually going to charge us?’
‘Stupid bastards,’ Clara said. ‘They’ve got a hundred yards to run before they even get into crossbow range.’
‘I hope we have enough arrows,’ said Kallie, checking her quiver.
‘Don’t worry lass,’ Clara chuckled. ‘If we run out, Keira can smoke the rest for us.’
They heard the harsh sound of a horn being blown, and the Rahain soldiers began jogging towards them, keeping their shields to the front.
‘Ya fucking beauty,’ Calum said. ‘They’re doing it.’
Killop jumped up onto the wall, and watched as the Rahain detachment raced towards them. He turned to face the massed lines of Kell on his right.
‘Warriors of Kell,’ he shouted, pointing his sword at the enemy, ‘there they are, the bastards that destroyed your homes, killed your dearest, and turned our green land into a desert. Now we get to pay them back for it. Not for all, but enough to make them hurt!’
The Kell roared and shook their weapons in the air.
‘Tonight,’ Killop called out, ‘they are charging us, and we’re going to do to them what they’ve done to us so many times. No one on this line will move one fucking inch forwards or backwards, and we will rain death down upon them, until they are fallen, or they flee.’ He glanced back at the Rahain, who were entering longbow range.
‘Archers!’ he bellowed.
Four hundred Kell longbows were aimed into the air. Killop lowered his sword, and the released arrows flew over the shoulders of the warriors in the front row, and punched deep into the forward ranks of the Rahain, knocking and spinning them backwards, and throwing them to the grass, where they were trampled by the soldiers charging behind. At the rear of the Kell, the giant bonfire was lit, and its flames illuminated the lizard soldiers as they approached.
‘Loose at will!’ Killop shouted, and jumped down from the wall. He grabbed his longbow, and stood next to Kallie. Her face was focused in concentration. She was picking off any that made it through the hail of arrows that the main Kell ranks were aiming into the Rahain mass. Next to her, Kelly, Calum and Kalma were doing the same. He picked up an arrow, and lost himself in the rhythm of notch, draw, aim and loose, paying no attention to what was happening over the wider field of battle. He tried to keep count, but soon lost track of how many Rahain he sent to their deaths, before he reached out and realised his quiver was empty. Conal rushed forward with a fresh set of arrows for him, and he took a moment to look around.
Still the Rahain charged, and he heard disbelieving snorts, and even laughter from some of the Kell, as if they couldn’t believe the enemy was running into their longbows to be slaughtered, and it hit him that this was how the Rahain must feel whenever the Kell charged them, and fell in their
hundreds, and thousands, to their unceasing crossbows.
He frowned, and resumed shooting.
After a few more minutes, as the lizards slogged their way forwards, Lacey yelled out a warning.
‘Ware the Mage!’
Killop turned. Their campfire was ablaze, and Keira stood next to it, face downcast, her left index finger pointed high into the air. A tendril of fire whipped over from the flames at the top of the campfire, all the way to her finger, where a tall pillar of flame was building.
‘Everyone down!’ Killop cried, dragging Kallie by the shoulder into the lee of the wall.
As he huddled against the lichen-covered stone, he kept half an eye on his sister. The pillar was now at an enormous height, at least a hundred feet; a glaring beacon for miles around, revealing that here was a true high mage.
The camp fire subsided and went out, the entirety of its fuel consumed. Lacey shouted over to Keira, who looked up and smiled. Her left index finger was still pointing upwards, at the end of her reach, but she started to lower her arm towards the Rahain, many of whom were standing and staring at the pillar of fire.
She swung her finger down, inscribing the shape of a smile in the air, and the column of fire flew forward from her hand like a cast spear, ripping down and scything from left to right through the ranks of Rahain, gouging through them, and incinerating everything from the front ranks to a distance of fifty yards back.
She fell, but Lacey caught her, and lowered her to the ground, Kyleen’s shield covering them both.
A signal arrow was fired from the area of the rear bonfire, and the fourth company, who had been concealed behind the western wall to their left, emerged with their longbows notched, and two hundred arrows slammed into the flank of the Rahain, cutting down the survivors of the firestorm.
The Magelands Origins Page 37
