Honor and Blood

by James Galloway

  With a gut-based fear, Tarrin pulled his projection away from that evil black mist, afraid to get inside it as it drifted over the walls, reawakening the dead it touched. In a move of sheer desperation, Tarrin wove together a Ward that would only allow living beings to pass through it and set it so it rested only a span above the ground. It wasn't very large, only covering a few square blocks, but he set it in the greatest concentration of friendly forces. It would prevent the undead from standing up, making them crawl outside the area of effect, and that would slow them down long enough for the defenders to pull back safely. That weave also began telling him how tired he was getting, and after one look at Jenna, who was panting and sweating, he realized that they'd also done things the way they had to wear out the Sorcerers before unleashing this new, very nasty part of their plan.

  It was a disorganized, ugly, and very dangerous retreat. The black mist swept over the field, terrifying the defenders until they realized that it wasn't lethal, but it caused the bodies of the dead to begin to move. Not just the Goblinoids, either. All the Goblinoids and the humans, even the dead defenders, were awakened by that black mist and began to rise up. The bodies of those who had fought against the ki'zadun were now rising up to do battle for their cause. The bodies of the Wikuni, Selani, Vendari, Centaurs, Fae-da'Kii, and the very, very few Were-kin who had managed to be killed did not awaken. That, at least, was something. The newly formed undead found they couldn't stand up, so they crawled towards the living, many of whom were screaming in fear and fleeing back towards the city in a near rout. Tarrin couldn't blame them, for he found the scene horrifying enough on his own. To someone without exposure to magical phenomenon, it would be a terrifying, demoralizing sight. Men hacked at arms that reached out for them, some going down after being stabbed in the legs by the undead, who were then torn to pieces as their screams and cries of agony spurred the remaining men to retreat that much faster. In a matter of only a few minutes, the defenders withdrew from the main battle areas, away from the newly formed army of undead bodies that were rising up all around them, shuffling forward in a slow, ungainly advance, but they were chaotic, disorganized, and many of them were running away in terror.

  And then Darvon was there. Atop a massive black charger, the aged Lord General of the Knights began shouting orders, waving his sword around. The defenders of the city rallied around the Lord General, formed into organized lines, and then withdrew step by step, using the Arakites and their large shields on the flanks of their formation to protect them from the reaching hands of the dead. They pulled back along the grand avenue leading in from the east gate, towards the Fountain of the Swans, which was about half a longspan along the avenue. Jenna and the Sorcerers that had been moving around the battle, helping where and when they could, joined the formation as it retreated cautiously and methodically. Darvon had stopped a panicked rout and turned it into a careful retreat, which would save many men from being the victim of their own fear. Tarrin brought his projection down to the ground as the army retreated towards the fountain, interposing his projection between the defenders and the slowly advancing undead, and he was starting to feel weary. Maintaining the projection had turned out to be more tiring than he had anticipated, but he had enough for one more spell. After that, he would have to release the Illusion and return to his own body. He mentally summoned back his Fire Elemental and told it to attack the undead--it would last about five hours with the magical energy he had bestowed upon it when weaving its shell--and then started weaving one more spell. It was quick and easy, a one-flow weave of pure Fire, and he unleashed it as a vast explosion of fire that erupted from in front of his projection and billowed out into the multitudes of the walking dead. They didn't dodge it or run away, and after it was over, the ones that had not been burned beyond the ability to move still shambled forward as their bodies burned like oil-soaked logs. The burnings ones that walked forward kept coming, even after all the flesh was burned from the bones, but some of them collapsed when the fire ate into the skulls, or burned their necks in half.

  "Fire doesn't work, Tarrin!" Jenna called. "You have to take off their heads!" She moved out beyond the retreating lines and began to weave, and Tarrin knew what she was doing before she was done. She slashed her arm across her chest in a backhanded motion, and a slicing scythe of pure Air released at the motion, slashing across the entirety of the avenue before her. She aimed it at a relatively middle level that would take the heads off those of average height, and it was brutally effective. The weave slashed into the buildings on each side of the avenue, collapsing them as it cut them neatly in half, and it sliced through the undead shambling forward without impediment. Many of them were hit in the neck, but the taller ones were cut off at the upper chest and shoulders, and the shorter ones had only portions of their heads cut off by Jenna's spell. Regardless of where it hit, Jenna's weave stopped every undead body on the avenue, causing them to crumple bonelessly to the ground in one vast, seemingly coordinated motion.

  Tarrin felt his projection begin to lose its integrity. He gave Jenna a single look that she understood, and was forced to abandon his Illusion and return his consciousness to his body. He did manage to hear a sudden tumultuous shout rise up from the defenders for Jenna before he withdrew his consciousness.

  Tarrin opened his eyes and felt his weariness. He hovered within the Conduit, which was again glowing brightly due to his presence, and he managed to get his feet on the ground and step out of it. His exhaustion hit him much harder when he left its power-rich confines, separated from energy that sought to infuse him even without him trying. He put his paws on his knees and tried to catch his breath, feeling sweat drip down out of his hair, over his nose. Tarrin didn't sweat anymore unless he was engaged in heavy exertion, since he wasn't affected by heat. And he was pretty certain that even the sweating wasn't really necessary, probably only a side effect or leftover reaction of his body to heavy work. Jesmind was standing near the Conduit with Jasana, and to his surprise, Triana had joined them. His bond-mother looked drawn and pale, and he realized that summoning that Elemental had pushed her powers to the limit. It had taken everything she had to do it.

  "Are you alright, beloved?" Jesmind asked in concern, and he could tell she was just itching to rush over to him. But he had given her an explicit warning not to come any closer to the Conduit than where she was now. Not for Jesmind, but to keep Jasana away from the Conduit. Given her strength, he didn't want her anywhere near the Conduit. That Conduit had been what had awakened his power of High Sorcery, and it had nearly killed him. Jasana was even stronger than him, and he doubted that she could control that much power flooding into her. And he was too tired to do it for her.

  "I'm starting to wear out," he panted. "That damn Kravon, they had a plan all along!"

  "What happened?" Triana asked in a shallow voice.

  Tarrin quickly explained what happened, and it was enough to make Triana frown. "That was damn clever," she said with a grudging respect. "Wear us all out, then make us fight the same enemy twice in a row, but this time they're not as easy to kill."

  "Shiika said that marilith was smart. I guess I underestimated her," Tarrin admitted. "Darvon rallied the troops into an orderly retreat. They're going to reset at the Fountain of the Swans and face the undead there." He blew out his breath. "But I'm wiped out. I don't think I could weave a spell to light a candle at the moment, and I know Jenna's almost as tired as I am. The Sorcerers are going to have to do without me until I can rest."

  "What happened to the mouse?" Jesmind asked. "I saw them carrying her in at the end of the passageway just before you came out of that, whatever it is."

  "The same thing that happened to Jula," he replied. "They had to bring her off the field. Where is Jula?"

  "In our apartment, or so Miranda said," Jesmind replied. "Miranda's with her now."

  "Mother, I know it's alot, but could you find whoever's in charge of the men here on the grounds and convince him that they need to send some
reinforcements to Darvon?" he asked. "And make sure they send some fresh Sorcerers, and maybe some Priests."

  "Camara Tal is commanding the forces on the grounds," Triana said. "She'll do it if I tell her to do it."

  "They're going to need some extra help, Mother," he told her. "They're about to engage a horde of undead about four times their number."

  "Alright, I'll go track her down and tell her, if Darvon hasn't gotten the message to her already."

  "Thank you," he said gratefully. She nodded and padded off, and Tarrin went over to his mate and daughter. Jesmind put his arm around her shoulder and supported him as Jasana put her paws on his leg, looking up at him with concern. The little girl looked terrified; she'd been unnaturally quiet and nervous since the Goddess hijacked her, and she realized that what was going on was deadly serious. He reached down and picked her up, holding her close and stroking her back, trying to get her to calm down. "I'm fine, kitten, just a little tired, that's all," he assured her when she looked fearfully into his eyes.

  "Come on, my mate. Let's go find you a bench or something," Jesmind said. "Somewhere quiet."

  Tarrin didn't want to go someplace quiet, he wanted to go where he could keep track of what was going on. Jesmind glared at him, and then a short, heated argument ensued. Jesmind cut the argument short by simply pulling him off his feet and turning down a side passage that led to the kitchens, taking advantage of his weakened state to physically force him to go where she wanted him to go. Tarrin was too tired to fight her, and that meant that she won the argument. If she knew she was capable of getting her way, she would do it, and when he had no way to fight back, he was at her mercy.

  "Tarrin, tell your Elemental how to kill the undead!" Jenna's voice reached him. "It's just flailing around out there!"

  "Alright," he said, mentally instructing his Elemental on how to go about killing the undead soldiers. He also told it to accept commands from Jenna also for the time being, that he was off the field and unable to direct it as well as she could. It replied its acknowledgement to him. "Jenna, the Elemental will obey you," he said aloud. "If you need it to do something, tell it, and it'll do it."

  "Alright. We've reached the fountain and are in the middle of reorganizing, but the undead haven't reached us yet. Your Elemental is doing a good job of slowing them down. Maybe now it can kill some of them."

  "Alright. Tell Darvon I asked Camara Tal to send you some reinforcments and some fresh Sorcerers. They should be getting there soon."

  "Darvon already sent a runner asking for them," Jenna chuckled. "But if you did the same, then they'll get here alot faster than Darvon expects. The runner just went out a minute ago."

  "Who are you talking to?" Jesmind asked.

  "Aunt Jenna," Jasana replied. "Can't you hear her?"

  Tarrin gave his daughter a suspicious look, then looked to his mate. "Jenna," he affirmed. "She's using magic to talk to me."

  "Aunt Jenna said Papa's, uh, el-ee-mint-ul--"

  "Elemental," Tarrin corrected absently.

  "That, that it's slowing down the bad people, but Papa had to tell it what to do to kill them." That was what he said. Jasana could hear whispers? Then again, that shouldn't have been a suprise. She was so powerful, and already so close to the Weave. "Papa told it to listen to Aunt Jenna, too."

  They reached one of the smaller dining rooms not far from the kitchen, and Jesmind entered it and sat Tarrin down at the closest chair. Just sitting down made him feel alot better, and he felt his strength begin to return to him slowly but steadily. Jesmind grabbed a servant running down the hall and told her to bring them back some food and drink, and do it right now if she wanted to remain healthy. Jasana put herself firmly on his lap, looking up at him in concern, holding onto the end of his tail and wringing it in a rather painful manner.

  "Cub, that's my tail, not a washrag," he chided her, leaning back when Jesmind put her paws on his shoulders and began to rub them, trying to get him to relax. But it was hard to relax, knowing what was marching down the streets of Suld. He was glad that the civilians had been evacuated from the eastern sections of the city, that they were all packed into the buildings between the Tower and the harbor, out of the likely paths of the advancing armies. That, at least, was not a worry. Jenna may have to do some serious damage to the city in order to attack the undead advancing on them, and that way she'd only be destroying buildings, not the people who lived and worked in them. He wanted to be out there with them, out defending the city, protecting the people, but he could not. Even if he were strong enough to do it, the Goddess had told him specifically that he could not leave the grounds, and he was not about to disobey her. He could leave using a projection, but that had turned out to be a very expensive means of lending his support. Had he been there in person, he'd still be able to throw magic. The extra effort of weaving through the Weave had tired him out prematurely.

  Jesmind's powerful fingers seemed to find the greatest knot, and he felt his muscles relax under her expert ministration. He rested the back of his head against her belly as her paws did what he could not, to relax and allow his body a chance to rest without expending nearly as much energy in nervous tension as it recovered by sitting down.

  It was at times like this that he really appreciated his mate.

  She patted him on the shoulders, leaning forward so she could look down at him and smile without her breasts getting in the way. "Is that better, beloved?"

  "You spoil me, my mate," he told her with a lazy smile. He lifted his head off of her stomach and gave Jasana a reassuring look, and the smell of food heralded the arrival of the servant, carrying a large tray laden with what smelled like cold beef and tankards of water. The middle aged woman, dressed in Tower livery, set the tray down without a word, then bowed hastily and scurried away as quickly as she could.

  "Cold," Jesmind snorted as she sat down beside him and picked up a slice of beef.

  "I doubt the cooks have much time for cooking," Tarrin told her. "There's a battle going on outside right now, love. They're probably out on the grounds repairing the fortifications the Demons tore down getting inside. And doing it very fast, if I know Camara."

  "That Amazon reminds me so much of mother," Jesmind chuckled.

  "I think that's why they're such good friends," Tarrin agreed, taking a bite out of a cold piece of roasted beef. It was a bit dry, probably from having sit out in the open, but it was good enough for right now. He had to stay calm, eat and rest, so he could use his magic again if it was necessary. Tarrin handed a piece of beef to Jasana, who took it from him and immediately bit into it. But she made a face, almost spitting it back out. "It's dry," she complained.

  "It's all you're going to get for a while, cub, so eat it," Jesmind told her, taking a bit of beef herself.

  They ate the beef, not particularly enjoying it, and were washing it down with water when the scent of Kimmie reached them. They all looked to the door as she filed in quickly. Her shirt was torn almost in half, leaving her left breast bare, but she hadn't bothered to find something to replace it. She had alot of blood on her clothes, but had no visible injuries outside of missing all the hair she'd had below her shoulders. Someone had hacked off her ponytail, and it had yet to grow back. She didn't smell particularly good, either. Were-cats didn't mind the smell of blood, but she had Troll blood on her, and it stunk just as bad as they did. Jasana wrinkled her nose when the full force of the smells Kimmie was carrying around reached those sitting at the table, and Jesmind waved her paw in front of her face.

  "You're a mess, Kimmie," Jesmind noted.

  "It's a mess out there," she blew out her breath. "They sent me to find you, since nobody knows where you are, Tarrin," she said immediately, scrubbing at some blood in her tabby fur on her left arm. "I am so wanting to take a bath right now," she said. "I got Troll blood all over me, and I can't get rid of the stench."

  "Just go jump in the baths," Tarrin told her. "Changing out of those clothes would help."

 
"Bah," she snorted, pulling the remainder of the shirt off and throwing it to the floor, leaving herself bare-chested. Kimmie may have been turned, but she had long ago adjusted to the Were-cat indifference to showing skin. "I don't have time to visit, Tarrin. I'm going back out in just a moment. They wanted you to come to where the fence was breached. That's where they're concentrating their forces, since it seems that the magic of the fence is still working everywhere else. If they want to come in, they're going to have to come through that hole."

  "I'm too tired to use magic right now, Kimmie," Tarrin objected. "I wore myself out fighting the Goblinoids at the wall."

  "I saw that," she grinned. "Tired or not, they want you there. Whether or not you go is up to you, of course."

  "Kimmie, don't leave that vile-smelling thing laying on the floor," Jesmind warned.

  "Sorry," she said, reaching down and scooping it up. "Is that water? Can I have some, please?"

  Jasana held out her tankard of water, and Kimmie advanced on them and took it with a grateful look. Jasana blew out her breath as Kimmie downed it in what looked like one swallow. "Go back over there, Aunt Kimmie!" Jasana ordered shrilly. "You smell too bad!"

  "I think I will go jump in the bathing pool," Kimmie said ruefully, putting the tankard on the table. "And maybe find a chain jack and a sword."

  "What do you need those for, girl?" Jesmind scoffed.

  "I had a Troll cut off one of my breasts with an axe," she said with a wince, putting a paw over her left breast defensively. "Trust me, Jesmind, that was not a very pleasant experience. I didn't think it would hurt that much."

  "You have to watch Trolls, Kimmie, they're alot faster than they look," Tarrin told her.