It would not be enough. Even Aiden could see that. There were nine other, completely uninjured Drogue Walkers not to mention the thousands of troops behind them. Despite the fierce, terrifying defense the Naiadens were putting up, there was no way they were even going to slow the enemy army down but what could he do?
Aiden looked at his walking stick, imagining the futility of slashing at the walkers with his weapon even on its highest setting. Looking back, he distractedly watched some of the Caitrel troops helping the wounded from the first catapult attack. Then his eyes drifted up, lighting on one of the floaters that had begun to drift close.
He didn’t see any others behind it, so either this was a new one or braver than the others. Still, he growled as it drew near to the injured and healthy alike. “I’ll be right back,” Aiden said, turning to go walk down a ramp. “The least I can do is stop the floaters from harassing our soldiers.”
Carol turned but didn’t stop him, letting him go. Aiden walked quickly, moving to intercept the floater before it could start feeding on the troop. He didn’t want to get too close, remembering how painful the creature’s tentacles had been. Somehow, the floating monsters could feed on the men in his normal dimension without causing pain, but they had briefly touched his skin here, it had been excruciating.
He paused, suddenly thinking of what that might mean. Why had it caused pain here? What exactly were the creatures doing and could he use it somehow? He looked down at his walking stick he’d just raised to blast the floater but lowered it instead. He needed to know more about what they were doing and how they were doing it. There was only one way he knew to try, so instead of blasting the thing from the air, he let it come closer.
As it raised two of its tentacles up, he stepped toward it and held his hand out. Bracing himself, he still wasn’t ready for the pain that coursed through his hand and arm. The scream that tore itself out of his throat felt like nails sliding inside of his neck, but he gripped the tentacle with all of his strength and didn’t let go.
He could feel the life pulling out of him. Physically, it almost felt like sand pulled through his veins where the tentacle was holding onto him, but there was more involved. A strange weakness crept over his frame and he knew he was dying rapidly. Each second that ticked by, more and more of him was pulled up into the floating devourer above him. However, he did not die. Even as it extracted his life-force, the very essence of everything around him rushed in to fill the void, healing and rejuvenating him as fast as it left.
Strangely, the creature above him started to act alarmed as it fed, trying to release its tentacle from around his forearm. Aiden continued to scream, the pain almost overwhelming him, but he gripped it back and refused to end its contact. It was clear that the creature couldn’t end what it was doing and it began to ripple along its flanks. Its color becoming darker and darker pink as it screamed silently.
And then it was over. Aiden felt when the creature died, its body somehow deflating as it settled to the ground. Aiden dropped its tentacle before looking down at his arm and body to check and see if he’d changed at all. Everything but his arm looked fine, and even as he watched, the strange, red burn mark there faded as well. At the same time that was happening, he could feel the world continue to fill him with life. It did not last long, but clearly, this was the same energy that had healed him after the wagon accident.
When he stepped back, Carol and the other to Naiadens with her were standing there, staring at him with wide-eyed alarm.
“Are you okay, Aiden?” Carol asked, slowly. “You do realize you just scared me more than those things out there, right?”
Aiden looked at her, nodding slowly but a slow smile crept across his face. “I’m sorry, but I think I might have an idea how to win this battle. At least, it’s worth trying.”
Carol looked at the dead floater on the ground than back at Aiden. Things were just about to get more interesting.
Chapter 25
It took Aiden about twenty minutes to adjust his walking stick with what wanted. The feel of the wet-sand sliding along his skin was paramount in his mind as he altered the effect it would create. In addition to the changes happening a little faster, he was pleased to note his head did not hurt nor did he feel like passing out despite the pressure he felt.
Carol had, at first, been adamant that he not do this. The Drogue Walkers, while slow, were still approaching and the Norpon on their backs had figured out if they broke their catapult fire into one or two shots, the laser defenses on the creatures shells could focus on the missiles without being distracted by the flying rocks. While they were aiming at the walls and troops there, it wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility that one might overshoot and crush him.
Finally, he’d agreed to sit on one of the Exemplar’s shields so if they needed to move him, they could. That proved to be fortuitous because when he opened his eyes, he had been transported a few hundred meters from his previous position with the Drogue Walkers looming almost over the walls of the fort.
It was both a terrifying and breathtaking sight. The Walker that the Naiadens had managed to injure had lagged behind its fellows by quite a way and was exhibiting a noticeable limp. The Norpon troops that had been marching in its shadow had all moved away from it in case it fell, but it had not fallen yet. In any case, the Naiadens had switched focus to one of the closer Walkers instead which was also exhibiting signs of damage not only from their guns but the missiles as well.
At this range, even the defensive lasers had a hard time intercepting the fiery projectiles, so more had gotten through and caused injury. None of the injuries on the Drogue Walkers were as bad as those on the first, but several of them had plates that had been sheared off from impacts. Aiden saw several of the Caitrel catapults fire, most not even aiming for the Walkers but at the troops behind them, trying to kill as many of the enemy as they could before being crushed.
Despite these small victories, the Caitrel, Banum, and Naiaden troops were suffering withering fire from bolts and arrows raining down on them. The dead and wounded were spread all along the wall. Many that some sergeant or lieutenant thought could be salvaged were carried away from the lines and towards several large wagons not far away from where Aiden was sitting. They were close enough that he could hear their moans and cries of agony and when he looked over, he saw Stitch amongst the men and women working to save their countrymen.
Carol and the two Naiadens with her were watching the damage with grim looks on their faces, so they did not see him stir until he came to stand next to them. Even so, Carol didn’t look away from the fighting as she spoke. “Did you make the weapon that you hoped? Once you appear, you will become a target, Aiden. We’ll go back with you and make sure you stay safe.”
Aiden nodded, looking out at the battle. The wall’s had collapsed in several places by stones, and there was even a small section that was fully down. The Norpon troops would have little difficulty making their way through the wall once they reached that breach though he was certain the Walkers would make many more simply by walking through it.
“I don’t think I have a choice, Carol,” Aiden said, sadly. “If I don’t do something, many of those men will die and once they break through to the grassland, what do you think will happen? I’ve heard too many stories about what their troops do to the people of their conquered lands.”
“They will have begun the second fort by now, I’m sure,” Carol said, her voice even though Aiden could tell she didn’t believe it. Aiden just looked at her until she finally nodded for him to take them back.
The transition seemed to be agonizingly slow, but when Aiden smelled the stench of death, and the screams of the dying became that much more real, the Drogue Walkers hadn’t moved that much closer to the walls. They were about a hundred meters away by that time and the fire from the Walker’s shells was taking its toll on the defenders. There were more holes in the walls now, and it appeared the live defenders were outnumbered by the dead. Even the
Naiadens with their faster healing and reflexes were falling. Many of the guns had fallen silent, unable to be picked up or handled by the smaller Caitrel soldiers.
Aiden watched as a few of the Caitrel and Banum troops begin to come down off of the wall. Some of the soldiers were still trying to fire their crossbows and arrows at the Walkers and those on their shells, but some had already turned to flee.
Grim-faced, Aiden raised his walking stick at the closest walker. Despite having no way to help him aim, there was little chance he could miss one of the mountain-tall creatures. He couldn’t see the flow of the beam he fired at them at first, but as it struck, he could see the effect clearly enough. He had aimed at one of the legs that looked to have some damage, and the creature paused for a long moment. Its tentacles pulled back and up all at once, beginning to flail like a child hit in the face with a pale of water.
That is when the Walker started to scream. Several of its tentacles ended in huge, cavernous mouths which all opened at once, letting out a tri-tonal bellow that, despite the size of the creature, came out several octaves higher than any noises it had made before, almost tearing their way out of its cavernous inside. The others, which Aiden could now see were tipped with eyes, simply began to flail madly. He could see even from here why that was the case because the thing’s leg began to turn a dark, charcoal black. The wound with the orange-pink flesh flashed from its ripped-raw color to that same dark ash.
At the same moment, Aiden could feel the line of power that connected his walking stick to the beast begin to swell, and as if watching a distant flood traveling directly toward him, he could feel a massive wave of that wet-sand moving toward him. The volume of what he was taking from the creature felt like a tsunami that swelled within the field and rushed closer while sucking the Walker dry. He began to be worried what would happen once it reached him.
The image of the dead Floater on the ground came back to him then. Its capacity was limited, and it had died from the overdose of whatever it had taken from him.
“It’s working, Aiden,” Carol said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “The thing is obviously dying. Whatever you are doing is spreading through its whole body.”
Aiden moved his attention back to the creature, watching as the blackness began flowing through its flanks and even up to where its head would be if it had one. As the darkness reached the base of some of its tentacles, they broke off, bits and parts of it exploding into what looked like dust as the weight of the member pulled it free. And then the monster began to fall.
Its leg, the one that Aiden had targeted, simply shattered as the thing tried to turn away from him. The weight of its body easily broke the leg and scattered dust and ash below it. Even in death, the poor beast tried to resist and reached out with some of its tentacles for its fellows, trying to hold itself up, but by then it was far too late. The darkness had spread to all of its tentacles and even up onto its shell where it appeared it was affecting the troops on top. He could see what he thought were men and woman casting themselves off of the shell, preferring to face a falling death than whatever was happening to their fellows.
Then the massive wave of energy he was pulling from the creature impacted against him. He could feel his whole body swell to bursting with what felt like life! It felt both wonderful and terrible, but quickly transitioned to a bloated, too-full feeling. He realized later that he wasn’t the target of that massive wave. It was hitting his walking stick which sent the wave of energy out and around him like a flood.
He heard gasps, first from Carol and the Naiadens as they shook within the fountain of energy, but then from the injured men and women over by the wagons. There were screams, though he could not focus on them. It was taking all of his effort to remain standing upright and keep the beam on the dying Walker. Gritting his teeth, he tried to focus on his skin which felt like a bursting sausage. The life filling him was also flowing out of him in a reverse of what he’d experienced with the Floater.
As suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. The blackened, ash trailing body of the Drogue Walker completed its fall to the earth in a slow, lazy arc. Impressive even in death, Aiden could feel the impact of its body strike the muddy earth, shaking it with a massive series of tremors. He gasped, along with Carol and the other Naiadens, recovering from the odd encounter but his eyes focused on the strange sight that appeared all around him.
Trees, grass, and bushes all flourished, filling his sight for fifty meters in all directions. He had been too preoccupied to notice them growing right before his eyes, but there they were and while not tall yet, were threatening to break is view in several directions. He could hear cries of awe and disbelief off to his left where the injured had been. He could see some of them moving around but was having trouble making them out through the small forest.
“What…happened?” Aiden asked, staring around himself at the sudden growth.
He looked over, watching Carol’s equally baffled face before she turned to him. “I think you made seeds in the ground grow, Aiden,” she said quietly, still looking out over the greenery surrounding them. “I’m not entirely sure, though. Look.”
Aiden looked at where Carol was pointing. Amidst the grasses and brush was a cast-off spear that had branches growing out of it. On the opposite end of spear from the point, roots had dug into the ground.
Aiden moved toward it, reaching down and pulling on the shaft of the spear but it was locked solidly into the ground. He stood, still looking down at the odd sight, but when he looked back at Carol and the other Naiadens; they were looking to the left where it appeared some soldiers were trying to cut their way through the unexpected brush.
At the forefront was Stitch, hacking and cursing at the plant life. His dagger made short work of what was in front of him, and when they’d finally reached close enough to see who it was, he gave his characteristic scowl as his eyes rested on Aiden.
“I should have known,” he growled, shaking his head as he picked his way closer. “Only you would be at the heart of something so impossible, kid. What did you do now? We watched one of those monsters fall, but when the grass and trees started growing, and the men healed, you gave us all a terrible fright. Not that I’m not thankful,” Stitch said, holding up his right hand and wiggling the fingers, “Just a bit surprised, is all.”
“Stitch! Your right hand is back!” Aiden said, smiling at the unexpected sight.
“Yeah, imagine that. Darkest day of our lives, imminent defeat at the hands of our hated enemies, and suddenly I’m surrounded by the dead brought back to life and a new hand.” Stitch frowned. “You don’t make things easy for a man, do you kid?”
Aiden shook his head, grinning when Carol stepped up. “Friend if yours, Aiden?”
“Yes, in an odd way,” Aiden said, turning and almost tripping over some plant life. “This is the man that kidnapped me but then helped us escape from a pirate ship. His name is Stitch.”
Carol nodded politely, giving Stitch a long look before turning back to Aiden. “I do know who Stitch is. Romald was going on about him, Aiden. You should talk to him. He may have some interesting things to say. In the meantime, the Norpon troops are not giving up.”
Aiden turned, looking towards the front line and the newly opened hole in the sky where the fallen Walker had been. Carol was right; they didn’t have time. He could see some soldiers still cheering that they’d killed one of the massive beasts, but most of them hadn’t noticed the small forest that had erupted behind them. Their attention had been reclaimed by the renewed heavy fire from the remaining walkers.
Gritting his teeth, Aiden began to make his way through the burgeoning forest, pushing toward one of the larger holes broken into the wall. As he walked, he raised up his walking stick, pointing it toward the second Walker that had drawn closer. The beam once again reached out and splashed against the animal which was already skittish from having one of its compatriots decimated next to it.
He aimed the beam higher this time toward t
he shell and man-made fortifications built into it. Almost immediately, he watched the men who had been firing over the crenellations stop and their tiny shapes writhe in pain. He was sickened to watch some of the forms cast themselves over the side again, plummeting to their deaths, but the beam became blocked as the pain filled Walker ponderously reared up on its hind legs.
“By the Gods, Aiden, what are you doing to them?” Stitch asked, having accompanied Aiden forward and trying to help him clear a trail.
Aiden’s face hardened as he stared at the death he was causing. “Exactly what they were doing to you and your men, Stitch. I found they were using creatures that you cannot see to drain your men of life. That is what the plague was, these things feeding on the soldiers. You should have seen them, dipping their tentacles into your men’s heads.”
“Sounds terrible, kid, but I’m not going to ask how you saw that. It’s just more thing on that list that just keeps growing. I don’t suppose it will stop anytime soon, eh?” Stitch paused in his hacking, turning to look back at Aiden. “So is that life force what brought my hand back? And what about the men over at the triage camp? Some of them were very dead, but I watched them sit up, looking better than they did before an arrow took them out or a catapult stone crushed them.”
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 87
