The Shadow of War

by Bryan Gifford

  The carpenter paused, then set down his tools to look at Cain. “I’m an old man, if you hadn’t noticed. I survived the arzecs. I must leave other monsters for other men.”

  “But you’re not like most of the people here. You care about what happens to your country. I’ve seen that look in your eye every time you take a coin from an Aceden.”

  Ardon sighed and wiped his hands with a dusty rag. “Everyone here is just trying to get by. Most of them don’t have families, don’t have homes. They’re here because they can make a life here. Would you have them go to Dun Ara where they can’t even afford a loaf of bread?” He collected his coins and began counting them out on the table. “The Acedens have Kaanos, have Tarsha. It’s over, my boy. This is our world now. It’s time you start learning to live in it too.”

  “No. I refuse to just give up. I will fight them to my dying breath.”

  “Careful, I can have you arrested for that kind of talk.”

  “You won’t do it. Deep down, I know you feel the same.”

  Ardon approached, back straightening as he watched Cain with those tired gray eyes. “I don’t know who you are or where you came from, but you are no simple soldier down on his luck. You have a fire inside you, boy. Use that gift wisely.”

  Cain nodded. “I may not see you after today, Ardon. Though our time together was short I want to thank you for your teachings.”

  Ardon smiled, wrinkles rising. “It is I who must thank you.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “You’ve made an old man feel respected again. And you’ve given him hope when he’d long given up on it. Now go and finish what you’ve come here for.”

  Cain shook the master carpenter’s hand, bid him farewell, and stepped out into the street.

  The sun sank low over the hills to bathe the town in a warm orange glow. The streets bustled with activity as people rushed to finish their day’s work before curfew. Acedens gathered into formations to prepare for the night’s patrol.

  “Hey,” came a whisper.

  Cain turned to see Mithaniel approach, head bowed and colorful silks hiding his face. He wore a garish Meresi robe over his regular clothes. The two walked in silence for a time.

  “We’re getting close,” Mithaniel started. “I can feel it. Several of the soldiers talk about there being a lot of activity in the east—troop movements, supply caravans, the usual. Something’s going on out there. A few more days and I know I can find out what.”

  “I’ve heard them talk. Iscarius is moving his forces in from the rest of Tarsha, but too few reinforcements are being sent to Kaanos and Charun to deal with the resistance.”

  “Where are they going if they’re not being sent to Kaanos?”

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out. Tonight.”

  “Cain!” Mithaniel hissed, grabbing him and pulling him off the road. “You’re going to do something stupid again, aren’t you? Well, don’t. We’re close to figuring out all we need to know. A few more days of lying low and we’ll have our answers. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks.”

  “We can’t afford to waste any more time. Malecai is planning something, I know it. We need to strike fast while we still can.”

  “You are infuriating!”

  “It’s been two weeks. I gave your plan a chance, now give mine a chance.”

  Mithaniel exhaled. “Fine. It couldn’t possibly be worse than any of your other ideas.”

  ‘We’ll see. Meet me in the town square at midnight.” Cain stepped away and continued down the road, leaving Mithaniel huffing and cursing behind.

  Cain came to the town square, an open court ringed with stalls and wagons. The courtyard was empty save for a few merchants and farmers packing up their wares for the night.

  He knew the spot; he’d relived that one moment in his head every day since. And so, he knelt there in the dirt and began to dig. The ground was soft, moistened by the recent rains. He tore the grass aside and dug deeper until his fingers scraped something hard. Ignoring that, he continued to search, and soon his hands struck something cool.

  He pulled the necklace from the earth, breath catching in his throat. It was still intact. Mostly. The bronze links had cooled into odd shapes after the fire and the silver pendant had twisted and stretched thin. But bits of flawless metal still shined up at him from beneath all the tarnish.

  It was the last remnant of his wife that hadn’t been taken from him. Cain stood, brushing off the odd looks as he crossed the court. He came to one of the town’s gates, and, after answering a few questions from the guards, climbed the nearby hill.

  He made his way to the cluster of trees at the top. The surrounding fields glowed like fire in the orange and reds of the setting sun. The grasses rippled in the breeze, tossing light and shadows. The oaks stirred to sing their quiet songs.

  This was where he’d asked Eileen to marry him. That felt like a lifetime ago. Yet he could still feel her, her gentle embrace and captivating smile.

  He knelt beneath the trees. Maybe… maybe if there was something beyond this life, whether it was this Forgotten or something else, she might be there. A place free of the pain and horror of the world, a place where people could have peace. There had to be something more to this life than endless fighting and a meaningless, bloody death. It had to have purpose.

  He didn’t know what that purpose was, but he knew that if there was a place beyond death, she would be there waiting for him. Her and Aren and Joshua and so many others. They all were waiting for him.

  He wondered what his life could have been like free of war and death, to spend his days growing old with the woman he loved. He wanted to watch his son become a man. He wanted to hold his grandchildren in his lap as he laughed and told them stories.

  But he’d never know that life. That life had died in his arms, and he’d had to carve a new one in the flesh of his enemies.

  Despite all of that, Eileen was still there in his heart. She’d been there for him through everything, keeping him alive and moving when he’d wanted nothing more than to give up. She had saved him even when he couldn’t save her.

  Cain hollowed out a small hole beneath a tree’s roots. He’d let go of his anger and guilt. Now it was time to let go of the pain.

  He placed the necklace in the hole and gently covered it with soil. He patted down the cool earth, tears stinging in his eyes.

  The only way for him to end the war was to bury the pain, the rage, the self-loathing, and finally find peace in his heart. Eileen would always be there, but there was nothing more he could do for her. He had to hope that she’d want him to move on.

  The wind picked up, blowing hot against him and sending the grass shuddering. The final rays of sunlight bathed him in a moment of peaceful clarity.

  Cain stood and breathed in the summer winds. He smiled, then turned back toward Andaurel.

  Isroc squinted into the darkness. The gate to the second floor was just ahead, barely visible in the pitch black. Acedens patrolled the walls overhead and guarded the closed doors. He thought he counted at least two dozen of them. How were they supposed to get in there?

  Armeth limped up beside him and peered around the building. “It’s time.”

  Isroc grabbed his arm. “Wait, how can you be sure this will work? Our entire army is relying on us to get in there. If we don’t get past those guards, then we’re sending all those people to their slaughter.”

  Armeth smirked. “Then we best not mess this up.” He staggered out into the road with a scream.

  Isroc jumped out and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him as he tried to wrestle away. Isroc evaded a swipe and tackled him to the ground.

  The Aceden guards shouted and rushed toward them, spears raised. Isroc made to run away but not before Armeth jumped to his feet and slammed a fist into his cheek. Isroc stumbled back against a building and the Acedens were on him. They had him on the ground in moments with hands bound.

  “He… he tried to rob me,” Armeth br
eathed, rubbing his neck.

  “Good thing we’re here, old man,” one of the Acedens replied. “Hey, isn’t this that Eriasan they’ve been looking for?”

  “Matches the description,” one of the others said. “This will look good for us. Come on, let’s get him to a cell.”

  “Hold it,” another said, pointing to Armeth as he tried to slip away. “You’re not supposed to be out past curfew. You’re coming with us too.”

  The guards bound Armeth’s hands then escorted the two of them to the now open gate. They passed through the arch and came out onto the second floor where several other Acedens waited. Isroc was all too aware of his lack of weapons, surrounded by dozens of enemy soldiers. He choked down that uncomfortable feeling of hopelessness. He had no choice but to rely on his friends now.

  Armeth had reached for an Aceden’s daggers as soon as they turned. The captain fell in a gurgling mess and his men cursed and fumbled for their swords.

  Isroc shouldered a man aside and ran for the gate, Acedens chasing after him. He threw himself into an Aceden and knocked the two of them back into the closing doors.

  The doors swung open and Kaanosi soldiers rushed through the gateway to the fearful cries of the Acedens. Isroc climbed to his feet and kicked his foe in the face, knocking the man out. A soldier cut Isroc’s bonds and he soon found Armeth wiping his bloodied knife on a slain Aceden. Together, they watched the surviving Aceden guards retreat up the road, shouting for help.

  “We’ve got to hold this gate, no matter what,” Armeth said, catching a sword tossed his direction.

  Isroc waved for a spear. “Adriel hasn’t launched her assault yet, she’s behind schedule! We can’t possibly hold this gate long enough.”

  “We don’t have a choice, we stick to the plan!”

  Isroc nodded, silently cursing as alarms tolled throughout the city. It’d only be moments before the entire city’s garrison descended upon them. He leveled his spear as soldiers formed rank beside him. There was no use looking back now. It was time to turn the tide of this war.

  Silas slammed Sitare into a passing rider’s chest and threw him from his horse with a wail.

  Vilant and Aceden cavalry clashed in the fields before Dun Ara, a churning eddy of hooves and screams. Silas cut through the thick of this. Blood specked the night air. Dying cries punctuated the thunder of hooves. Above it all, the city’s alarm bells clanged the call-to-arms.

  Aceden cavalry speared in and out of the battle, flowing around the Vilant’s smaller force to crash into formations of waiting infantry. Their horses knocked shields and bodies aside and drove swathes through the panicked masses.

  Silas cursed and called out an order for his cavalry to strike at the flanks of the nearest enemy formation. In response, the enemy riders pulled from their butchery and met them head on. Hundreds of horses smashed together with a tremendous thud. Men flailed through the air. Horses tumbled screeching.

  Both sides slowed to a virtual standstill as the bodies piled under hooves. Silas set to work with Sitare, hacking and bashing, using his knees to guide his horse as he cut through the growing press of men.

  Massive bolts roared overhead. They shredded through the Vilant, tossing bodies into the air like red ribbons. Acedens on the city walls reloaded their ballistae and aimed down at them. Silas shouted for his men, but his order was trampled beneath the clamor of hooves. Bolts shot down around him, hurling men and horses.

  Reining through the pelting bodies, Silas retreated from the fight and led his riders back into open ground. Aceden cavalry rumbled past them to smash into the Vilant’s hasty defenses. Silas waved for his remaining men and charged the flanks of a nearby column of horsemen.

  The Vilant had been fortunate to get as close to the city as they had. The Acedens had sent out cavalry to harass their advance, but both sides knew that the Vilant were too great in number to stop in time. Instead, the Acedens had used their greater cavalry to slow their march and buy time for Dun Ara’s defenders. They now whittled away at the nearly defenseless Vilant, striking in and out for maximum casualties as munitions rained from above.

  Silas glanced over the raging sea of helmets. Dun Ara squatted in the darkness beyond. He never thought he’d be on this side of the walls, besieging his own city and putting his own people in harm’s way. What was the world coming to where he had to raise his blade against his countrymen?

  There she was! Shara’s riders stormed across the field and struck the Aceden cavalry’s other flank. Silas waved Sitare overhead and pulled from the fighting. His cavalry rallied around him, and together, they galloped straight for the city.

  The enemy clearly hadn’t expected such a brazen move. With the Acedens completely focused on the Vilant’s main force, Silas’ cavalry galloped across the remainder of the field undeterred. Soldiers atop the walls frantically adjusted their ballistae and rained bolts down on their charge. A few struck true and sent bodies bowling through the formation, but most fell short with a spray of dirt or howled harmlessly through the air.

  Silas had never really thought of himself as a leader—he preferred to let others make the painful mistakes. But he’d served under Cain long enough to know the basics: hit hard and fast and try not to get hit.

  And that was exactly what he did.

  Silas led his Vilant into the city’s gulley road where Aceden reserve cavalry scrambled to meet him. He leveled Sitare and struck with the full force of his gallop.

  He drilled into the enemy, arm jerking as he ripped through steel and flesh again and again. Bodies smacked against him and slicked him with blood, but he gritted his teeth against the press and shot out the other side. Dozens of his riders gathered at his heels and followed him up the road.

  The hills towered high to either side and men fought atop their walls, the sounds of their clash echoing in the gulley. Bodies dropped around him and stray torches consumed, tearing at walls and towers alike.

  The wind whipped and sucked as he rode, pounding in his ears. Faster, faster. The grass and cobble blurred beneath him. Faster. Arrows pelted down around him but he kept his gaze locked on the approaching gateway.

  Silas could only hope that Darian had managed to open the gate. If not, then he and the rest of their army would smack head-first into the walls to be picked off by the Acedens. He could only hope…

  It was open! Darian and his resistance fighters clashed with a growing mass of Acedens before the gate. Bodies piled high here, but the doors remained open. Silas let loose a bellow and led the charge into the city. Kaanosi and Aceden alike leapt aside as the cavalry stampeded through the gateway.

  Silas crashed into the screaming Acedens. All around him, more and more of his cavalry joined the charge. They fanned out through the enemy formations and pushed them back across the courtyard. Behind, hundreds of Vilant cavalry now funneled through the doors. The Acedens were thick here; they’d clearly planned for the assault, but they hadn’t expected an attack from within. Or hundreds of cavalry riding through their gates and over their faces.

  Silas trampled over bodies and swung Sitare, throwing back several Acedens to open a gap in their ranks. He leapt out of the conflict and shot down the road. He cast a glance over his shoulder to the maelstrom behind him. Shara raised her axe high and met his gaze as if to say “go and take back your city”.

  He would. No matter the price.

  Silas led his cavalry in a mad gallop through the buildings of lower Dun Ara. Columns of Acedens filed down the road towards them but were caught unawares by the sudden throngs of horses. Most decided to save their skins and leap out of their path. A daring few fell into phalanxes to try and slow their charge. These were quickly crushed.

  Arrows and spears zipped past Silas as he sped up the road. He ignored them, face held low against the whipping wind. He crashed through several other groups before climbing the slope to the second floor.

  He breathed with relief as he saw Armeth and Isroc and a good hundred men fighting with them to h
old the inner gate. Their line was breaking, and they were bruised and bloodied, but they still held firm.

  “Now!” Silas bellowed.

  At this, Isroc’s men caved, and Acedens broke through their formation. The enemy poured through the gate like blood from a stanched wound. Right where Silas wanted them.

  He drove his horse straight into the jumbled mass of men, wailing Sitare about him. Horses crashed head on with the Acedens and bodies crumpled.

  The sheer weight of numbers pressed against Silas, nearly slowing his horse to a stop. The other riders formed up behind him, spears and swords cutting swaths through the Aceden lines. Blood wet the cobble beneath his horse’s hooves and bodies riddled the path, but he inched his way through the masses.

  How many Acedens were there? It seemed as if their blackness smothered the city, and yet more still came from the surrounding barracks. Archers gathered along the walls above and others readied their ballistae, aiming down on Silas and his men. Spears jabbed at him, forcing him to a stop as he swatted desperately against the enclosing weapons. The Acedens hemmed them in from all sides. Horses and riders began to drop, their cries buried beneath the pounding of boots and shields and bells. He had to hold here. Just a little longer!

  A spear took his horse through the breast and sent him tumbling into the Acedens.

  Adriel drew her sword and thrust it into the wind. She galloped through the front gate with her army charging at her heels. They dispersed through the city and met the waning Acedens with a wall of horseflesh.

  They made short work of those still in the courtyard and dashed up the main road. Acedens met them here, this time prepared for their tricks. Soldiers knelt with spears braced and archers loosed volleys into their charge. Adriel reined her mount through the toppling bodies and dove into the awaiting spears.

  Her horse’s armored breast deflected the blades, and Adriel came down swinging. A head rolled up past her, and she led her cavalry to plow through their formations. Her infantry took up the rear and cut down anyone still standing in their way. Vastly outnumbered by the thousands of Vilant, the Acedens in reserve turned and retreated up the road. Adriel gave chase and rounded the bend to the second floor.