Cathy, however, was a rock. She remained calm and collected as she and General Kobo discussed the upcoming battle. Not once did she seem fazed by the amount of responsibility we had. She was either the greatest actress of all time or actually believed we could pull this off.
“We still have the matter of the camp on the border,” General Kobo said, drawing my attention back to the conversation. “We’ll need to deal with it swiftly.”
“I’m free tonight,” Cathy responded. “Give me a group of your warriors and the camp will perform a disappearing act the likes of which you’ve never seen before.”
The General smirked. “Donkor, assemble the Jaguars.”
“Yes, General,” Donkor said cheerfully, running out of the fort.
“The Jaguar warriors are our best fighters,” the general explained. “Fast and agile, but more importantly their hide armour protects against projectiles. It’s not a Nao hunting party, but they’ll buy you time to take down the Mages.”
“That’s all we need,” Cathy said. “Thank you, General.”
“You’re welcome, my Lady,” General Kobo said, pressing his fist to his chest. “Come back from this fight. I’d hate to not see you out on the battlefield when things get more interesting.”
“Like I’d miss that!” Cathy smiled and turned to me. “Let’s go gather our troops, unusually silent advisor.”
I chuckled and followed her out of the command centre. “That went better than expected,” I said.
“You’ve got that look on your face again,” she said, stopping me.
“Which one?” I asked.
“Like you’re worried about something,” she answered.
“Hard not to get a little worried about what is coming up,” I replied.
“True, but you’re thinking too big,” she said. “You are making it larger than it needs to be.”
I chuckled. “It’s kind of hard not to.”
She smiled. “Yes, but you have probably thought this was a ‘death or glory’ style battle, when in reality, it’s much simpler. If, and I mean IF, we are unsuccessful, Balendar and Nesqa will simply fall back and regroup. People aren’t stupid enough to stick around and be killed fighting a losing battle. As for us, we simply disappear into the forest of Ghanlar. No matter how many Evenawks they send at us, you will still find a way to hide us because you’ve had an entire childhood to perfect that skill.”
“Calling me a coward again?” I smirked and crossed my arms.
“I called it a skill, didn’t I?” she answered playfully. “The point I’m making is that this isn’t as bad as you imagine it and you need to stay focused. Maybe find a different reason as to why you are fighting this battle. Maybe something personal. Ask yourself, why are you fighting this battle?”
“Because we need...” I started.
“No,” Cathy interrupted. “Why are you fighting this battle? What are you hoping to get out of it?”
“Do I need to get something out of it?” I asked. “Can’t I do it to help others?”
“Well that’s a given,” Cathy replied. “But for every action there is an effect on you and the world around you. Preventing the enslavement and destruction of the world is big, but it isn’t personal and you need that personal connection. It’s the only thing that will keep you focused on the most important part of this fight; staying alive.”
“Cathy,” I started softly, “I’m not going to rush into this and get myself killed.”
“Aren’t you?” she asked. “This battle will need a hero and you want to be it, but I want to make sure you don’t sacrifice your life foolishly. The world needs heroes for tomorrow as much as they do for today.”
“You’re really worried about this fight, aren’t you?” I asked, pulling Cathy closer to me.
Cathy chuckled but tears formed around her eyes. “With everything I’ve done, you’d think I would be ready for anything but...I’ve never been scared by the thought of losing another person.”
“You looked so calm and collected,” I started, trying to figure out what I could say. “I didn’t realise.”
Cathy wiped her eyes. “Stupid emotions. I know what I should be doing and feeling but they keep sneaking up on me. Sorry.”
“You’re right,” I said, getting an idea. “I need a personal reason for this fight and I think I have it. I fight so we won’t have to go live in the forest anymore. If we do this, people will have to accept me, even if I am a Mage. This means no more having to hide and we can rejoin society. I fight, so we can have a life after this.”
She hugged me tightly. “Sounds good to me.”
“Kairu!” Donkor called out, rushing towards us. Cathy broke away from the hug and turned away to hide the remaining tears in her eyes. Donkor looked at both of us and smirked. “The Jaguar warriors are ready for battle. Did you need anything from the armoury before we head out?”
“Actually, yes,” I said. “I need a suit of armour. Something to protect the chest and back, but still allow me to turn my skin to scales.”
Donkor’s eyes lit up. “I’ve been saving you something for a while. I think you’ll like it.”
*****
The armour Donkor had saved for me was close to what I had hoped. A light, animal hide chest piece covered the vital organs, hide shorts that cut off at the knees and sturdy hand crafted boots. There was enough bare skin on my arms and legs for my Harden Skin spell to work effectively and enough armour to keep me protected against weapons. If I wasn’t dangerous before, people better watch out.
The only thing I turned down was an animal pelt that draped over the head, shoulders and back. It was beautiful to look at but completely unneeded and would only get in the way of the pack when it became time to travel out of Nesqa.
Donkor’s Jaguar warriors wore identical armour to me, but with the addition of the jaguar pelt around them. The pelt had been reinforced to protect against projectiles like General Kobo said but I couldn’t imagine how hot that whole outfit must have been. Once we were out in the jungle though, they ran like the wind and almost blended right into the trees around them.
The Evenawk camp was heavily fortified with watchtowers and the start of a wooden wall circling around the tents and small buildings. Unlike the camp outside of Szwen, the Mages in charge would be constantly on the lookout for any sign of aggression by Nesqa. It was fair to say that there would be a greater number of Evenawk troops as well. Far more than the twenty Jaguar warriors who accompanied us.
“What’s the plan?” Cathy asked. “I take it you’ve been working on another dance number?”
We had settled in at the edge of the forest and were checking out the surrounding area. Like the outpost we had just left, it stood in the open with no tactically advantageous position from which we could strike. No matter what we did, we would be seen doing it.
“Not enough berries in me for that,” I replied.
Donkor chuckled. “Is that going to be a great story when I hear it?”
“Yeah, you’ll like it,” I answered.
“It will have to be a traditional march right up the gut,” Donkor said, getting serious. “The Jaguars have the speed advantage to get into the camp quickly.”
Cathy shook her head. “We’d be attacked from every direction and wouldn’t last long at all. We’ve been using a tactic to draw the enemy out of the camp and into the forest. It will force the sky archers to land to get a clear shot.”
“But drawing them out is the problem,” Donkor said, rubbing his chin. “Would they simply abandon their camp to attack us in the forest?”
“Yes,” Cathy answered. “Part of their brainwashing is over aggressiveness. Whip them into a frenzy and they would follow us to the bottom of the ocean.”
“Which is why we will hybrid both of your ideas,” I said. “There’s nothing we can do but fully charge them, get them interested in us then strategically retreat back to the forest. If we’re lucky, the Mages will see through our plan and chase after the Eve
nawks to stop them. We can pick them off easily then.”
“Nesqians aren’t big on retreating,” Donkor said, looking thoughtful, “but they are big on winning fights. Give me a moment to explain it to them.”
“See if you can find anything to use as cover against those archers,” I said. “We’ll need the armour once we’re back in the forest.”
Donkor smirked, nodded and head off to his troops. Cathy turned to me and smiled. “We’ve been using the same plan a lot recently. How long before they learn and adapt to it?”
“We don’t leave any witnesses,” I said. “We can keep using it until it doesn’t work anymore.”
“Desroche would be pretty cheesed off if he found out how easily his troops were duped,” Cathy said. “We should totally tell him.”
“’Cheesed off’?” I asked.
“Old slang from a different age,” she said. “Don’t worry about it. Are we sneaking around the battle to take the camp down ourselves?”
“Not this time,” I said. “Our friends don’t know how to group Illusion the army. It’s going to be an old fashioned hack and slash and I figured you wouldn’t want to miss that.”
Cathy smiled. “You sure know how to treat a girl.”
“I’m in a league of my own,” I replied sarcastically.
“Plus it has been a while since I cut someone in half,” Cathy said excitedly.
“You mean yesterday?” I asked.
“Yeah, but if I don’t decapitate one or two people a day I get all funny feeling,” she answered, completely serious.
“Okay,” I said, a little afraid. “Good luck with that.”
She burst out laughing. “You think by now you would know when I’m pulling your leg but I can still get you.”
I saw Donkor approaching and turned to him. He was smiling as if he could see something awesome, but quickly told us that the troops were ready to march. I turned to the camp once more. “Any luck finding something to shield against the arrows?” I asked.
“A couple of logs we can split open and use to protect our heads,” Donkor said. “They don’t call it a rain of arrows because they’re wet.”
“Not your best joke, my friend,” I said, turning back to him. “Let me lead the charge. I can throw up a barrier to deflect the arrows. Save us from getting all...grub covered.”
“I think that’s my new favourite idea,” Cathy said.
Donkor nodded. “Lead the way then.”
“Be ready to call the retreat,” I said. “It needs to be perfectly timed. Too soon and we wouldn’t get everyone’s attention. Too late and we don’t have enough men to fight off the troops.”
“You can count on me,” Donkor said.
“I know,” I replied. “It’s good fighting with you again. Just like old times.”
Donkor smiled his childish grin and turned back to the forest. He waved his arms and the Jaguar warriors emerged from their hiding spots and drew closer.
“He still scares the Void out of me,” Cathy muttered.
“Just stay clear of his blade when the fighting starts,” I smirked. Cathy squinted at me and I chuckled. “Catch me if you can.”
I broke out of the forest towards the camp. Cathy was immediately beside me with a huge grin and a light blue glow. “Oh, should I slow down a bit and give you a chance?” she asked playfully.
Donkor let out a battle cry and the Jaguar warriors followed closely behind us. Squawks of alarm rose from the camp and I caught sight of Evenawks rising into the air. The ground troops remained in position.
We pressed on until arrows took to the sky in our direction. I motioned for Donkor’s troops to stop and summoned my power. As the arrows neared, I raised both hands and a dome of magic covered the area around us. The arrows bounced off the dome and fell harmlessly to the ground. I stopped the spell and we continued forward.
Human shouts rose up over the squawks and the ground units finally started running towards us. Another wave of arrows was heading for us and I motioned for Donkor to move ahead of me.
“Get ready to fight,” I said to him, the power building in my arms. “I’ll keep the arrows off you. Stay close.”
I raised my arms and deflected the arrows with another dome around us. I took a deep breath and focused on maintaining my energy. The squawking from the sky archers was getting louder as they realised their attack was useless.
The sound of iron hitting iron drew my attention as the battle started in front of me. The Jaguar warriors’ attack was fierce as the first round of Evenawks fell to their swords. I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to pull off a convincing retreat until I saw the next wave of ground troops heading for us. I turned my attention to the sky and deflected another round of arrows. The fact that the sky archers would launch a round of arrows into their own troops showed either their growing rage or the Mages’ reckless leadership.
As the second wave of troops joined the fight, Donkor called the retreat. The Jaguar warriors started falling back and I stepped forward to launch a massive Pulse at the Evenawks. With some separation between the groups, I sprayed a wave of fire onto the ground and followed Donkor back to the forest.
The squawks of rage were deafening, but I smiled at the success of our plan. The Mage leaders wouldn’t be able to control the Evenawks and we would lead them into our trap. I kept looking back at the Evenawks to deflect any arrows and watch the ground troops. The archers were shooting their arrows with no control or aim. Many flew wildly as they flapped their wings to catch up.
We broke through the tree line and many of the warriors started to climb the nearby trees. Donkor and the remaining warriors took cover and Cathy pulled me behind a tree with her.
“This is exciting,” she smiled.
“Kairu,” Donkor called out. When I looked at him he threw me a short sword still in its sheath. “You’re going to need it.”
I turned to face the oncoming horde. I was going to need more than a sword.
Chapter 28
The horde stampeded towards us but the Nesqians looked excited about the upcoming battle. With Cathy also showing no fear it felt like it would fall upon me to be the responsible adult and worry about the outcome like some sort of mother. It was only a matter of time before I told everyone to be careful and bring a sweater, or whatever mothers say.
I unsheathed my short sword. It was traditional Nesqian design; thinner blade with a slight curl. The belief was ‘thinner blade, faster attacks’ but anyone will tell you that speed is a combination of strength and skill. The sword was lighter than its Balendar counterpart, but I wasn’t skilled enough to use this to its maximum efficiency.
I checked on the horde’s progress and they had just broken through the tree line. Blabbing on about swords had helped me shake some of my nerves and I was ready for this fight. I watched Donkor, ready for his signal.
The first Evenawks rushed past us and I covered my bare skin in scales except for my left hand and forearm. Thick ice covered that area as I prepared the Ice Fist spell into a shield. I wanted to pace my use of magic in this fight as much as possible. After the Evenawks, there was still the matter of the Mages to handle.
Donkor shouted a war cry and I reached out with my ice arm and felt an Evenawk run face first into it and drop to the ground. In a blur of blue, Cathy rushed by me and the crowd split as she ran over everyone in her way.
The Jaguar warriors with Donkor had engaged the enemy but the ones in the trees remained hidden. They waited for the sky archers to drop below the tree line before throwing rocks at them to force them to land.
A couple of chuckleheads had broken from the main group to get revenge for me breaking the ice with one of their faces. They closed in with their spears pointed towards my chest. I backed up a little bit while I decided how to fight them.
I sent some power into the short sword to see if I could enchant it like Cathy’s. There was a small effect but I would have to use more magic than I was comfortable with to get what I wanted.
I dropped the power and focused on the closest Evenawk.
A tiny glint in his eye showed recognition of who I was but the poor Evenawk was powerless to fight the brainwashing. He knew of my folklore status and a small part of him would be happy to have his torment come to an end. Perhaps he was happy to have his end by my hand.
I pushed these thoughts out of my mind and returned to the cold truth of battle. Kill or be killed. Sidestepping to the left, I knocked the Evenawk’s spear towards his partner with my sword, hoping to prevent the partner from getting in a clear shot and charged towards my target. He brought his spear around again and I turned to stop it with my ice covered hand before spinning around to slash the Evenawk across the shoulder. He squawked in pain and his arm jerked away. Left wide open, I plunged the sword through his chest and pushed him towards his partner.
His partner shoved the body aside like a rag doll and pressed forward, attacking outward with his spear. With every deflection, the Evenawk was quick to press his attack, but with every move I made, I closed the gap between us. When I was in arm’s length, he swung out with his fist. I dodged it and sent him some icy love with my own fist. His head snapped back and I knocked the spear out of his hand. He staggered back until he regained his footing before lunging at me in a rage. I side stepped and slashed out with my sword, cutting open his throat. He dropped, coughing and I took a couple of steps away to distance myself from the horribly depressing sound of his death.
A quick survey of the battlefield showed Cathy heading towards Donkor and the Jaguar warriors’ position, but left me on the wrong side. Cathy’s frenzy had drawn the attention of most of the horde but some were getting bored of waiting for their turn and realised I was closer. I wouldn’t survive long if the horde turned on me so I checked the nearby trees to find a climbable one.
The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 Page 22
