by Narro, B. T.
“If Tenred and Krepps attack?” Vithos asked. “What happens?”
“If the entire Tenred and Kreppen Army came into Kyrro?” Alex repeated. “Is this what you’re asking?”
Vithos nodded hesitantly.
“I’m not sure…” Alex’s voice was quiet. He made a fist. “But that’s why we need to do as much damage as we can while we’re here.”
“Why fight?” Zoke wondered. He knew why he fought. It was the only way to live with Zeti and other Krepps. He always knew Kyrro stood little chance against the Krepps, but here they were admitting it. “Why go to war when you can’t win?”
“Zoke.” Vithos shook his head at him.
“It’s alright,” Alex said. “It’s our only choice. According to my brother, Tegry Hiller has wanted our king dead for many years. I’m sure he wants Kyrro as well. He’ll only stop attacking once we kill him or when he has no hope of winning. If we can scare him enough tomorrow that he believes we’re capable of winning, he must agree to peace.”
Zoke was confused. “But you said we can’t do that. Kyrro doesn’t have the strength to capture their castle at the peak.”
“This is an assumption my brother and other members of Welson’s staff have come to. It’s likely Tegry and his staff have come to the same assumption, but no one knows for certain. We may find our army is strong enough to attempt a takeover, or we may fail before we can bring down their wall.”
“Fail?” Vithos asked. “Fail mean what tomorrow?”
“If enough of us are killed that we’re forced to retreat,” Alex said.
“Retreat is run, right?” Vithos asked.
Reela nodded. “Yes.”
“I don’t want run,” Vithos muttered. “Shame.”
Zoke agreed silently.
“I’m sure my brother feels the same way,” Alex said.
Zoke was awakened by the rough scrape of someone sharpening a sword. Sitting up, he was surprised to find most of the Humans were up before him. Even Reela, who always slept as late as possible, was training with Alex. But as Zoke watched, her extended arm sank back to her side.
“I’m tired.”
“Please. We don’t have much time before we reach Tenred,” Alex urged.
“You’re going to be fine.” A yawn interrupted Reela. “You’ve improved a lot.”
“But you can still easily pain me.”
“Most psychics won’t be able to, though.”
Vithos took a spot beside Zoke and spoke in Kreppen. “Today we fight and kill our enemies.”
“Don’t you know how to say that in common tongue?” Zoke wondered. It was strange to hear the Elf speak Kreppen, for he’d used nothing but the language of the Humans recently.
“I do,” Vithos continued. “But some phrases sound better in Kreppen.” Vithos rubbed his chin as he examined Zoke. “You’re confused.”
“I thought you wanted to forget Kreppen. It’s the language of your enemies now.”
“Not all my enemies.” Vithos had a stupid grin. “There’s one Krepp who’ll always be my ally.”
Disgusted, Zoke couldn’t help but spit. “You like to make me feel uncomfortable with your fawning.”
Vithos’ lips twisted upward even farther. “Let’s have a hug. Come on.” He engulfed Zoke with his little Elven arms. “Don’t resist. You know you like it secretly.”
Vithos had come from the side and couldn’t get his arms around Zoke’s shoulders. But that didn’t stop him from trying, squeezing awkwardly with his forearm digging into Zoke’s chest.
When Reela and Alex noticed and started laughing, Zoke couldn’t stand it any longer and pushed his way out.
He heard a blast from a horn, just one screech of the instrument—it was to let them know they were moving. Two would be for announcements.
“This is it,” Alex said.
The Humans gathered their belongings and kicked dirt on their fires. Being in the center, Zoke couldn’t see the end of their army in any direction he looked. The growth of the forest reached into the edges of his vision, tree limbs shaking from wind as people passed under them.
Like Krepps, the sword was the easiest weapon to find on the men’s belts or in their hands. But unlike Krepps, none of the women used a sword or even a bow, like his sister did.
The worst way to die would be if Zeti killed him. Especially if it was with an arrow—before he even had a chance to speak and ask her why.
Zoke didn’t know what he would do if he saw her. If he protected her from an attacker, he would be a traitor to Kyrro. Even if he did nothing to stop her from killing someone, and one of the Humans noticed, they would never understand it was because Zeti was his sister.
They wouldn’t be able to trust me to fight with them any longer, he realized. They would either kill me or outcast me, like what almost happened when I hurt Reela.
The Humans were far more protective of each other than Krepps were. As a Krepp, Zoke had learned to protect himself before anyone else, but these men and women often held each other’s safety to be just as important as their own. Two men who didn’t even know Reela were willing to fight Zoke to the death on her behalf. No Krepp would ever do that for another unless it was a family member or a close friend.
It’s like they all share the connection that Zeti and I do. Or maybe it’s even stronger at this point. Zoke hadn’t spoken with Zeti for months. Her thoughts about him could’ve changed, especially with Doe twisting her beliefs.
He was scared, and the realization made it far worse. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, hoping with all his strength that Zeti wasn’t in Tenred.
They didn’t walk long before something started happening toward the front. Zoke heard screams of pain, of death it seemed. It was battle, but they were still among the trees. Perhaps the wall was just up ahead. No, that wasn’t it. Zoke remembered seeing open land between the forest and the wall.
Alex was the first to start running. Zoke, Reela, and Vithos followed.
“What is it?” Zoke asked, wondering if the Human knew something he didn’t.
“Must be our enemies—perhaps a trap.” Alex unsheathed his sword as he sprinted.
Zoke did the same. Then Reela and Vithos grabbed their daggers.
More screams pierced Zoke’s ears. Some Humans were shouting, but they were too far away to hear…not that he even knew whether it was allies or enemies.
Zoke tried dodging the claws of the forest—low tree branches, prickly bushes, jagged rocks. But with the ground crowded by large men, he found himself colliding into the vicious thickets and nearly tripping on the uneven ground.
Reela fell twice, Vithos once. But soon both of them seemed to spot something ahead. Pointing, Vithos shouted, “There.”
“It’s Hem Baom,” Reela said.
Zoke could see the shine of his golden breastplate. He was turned toward them, stopping his own men from passing. Zoke could hear his shouts now.
“Don’t go any further!” their commander yelled with his arms out. There were others higher ranking than Zoke farther down the forest parallel to Hem. They were stopping anyone from passing by as well.
Many were arguing. Zoke recognized one as the half-bearded man with a mallet who’d attacked him on Reela’s behalf. “My nephew is up there! What’s happening?” He held his weapon firmly with one hand, using the other to point over Hem’s shoulder.
“He’s dead,” Hem said plainly, his deep voice carrying far enough for Zoke to hear well. “And so is everyone else with him.”
Zoke peered into the forbidden area that Hem guarded. In the distance, Zoke saw a body dressed with the blue garb of Kyrro pierced by two arrows. Then he noticed another, then another.
“If men of Tenred are up there, then let’s rush them!” the half-bearded man yelled. “They’ll all die.”
Others shouted in agreement.
“That’s what they want. The area is covered with traps—bear snares, false ground, taut string, and hundreds of archers. The
y must’ve known we were coming.”
“We can kill them all easily. We are thousands!”
“We will,” Hem said. “Keep your voice down. We’ll first see if it’s possible to go around and encircle them.”
Word spread quickly to those still arriving. As they waited for the commander and officers to organize, Zoke was distracted by how Alex and Hem were standing close without speaking. They were brothers, yet—besides their stature and thick wavy black hair—there was no way to know. They hadn’t even said a word to each other. Did the blood they share not mean anything to them? Zoke found himself longing for them to give some acknowledgment to the nature of their relationship.
But why would he care about two Humans who were supposed to be brothers? He shook it from his mind when Hem left to speak to his officers.
When Hem came back, he explained they would be charging through. “We’ll move quickly. Stay close, and keep as quiet as you can while you run. Tell those behind you.”
Soon it was time to move. Zoke ran nearly full speed next to Alex as they followed his brother. Hundreds more were on either side of them.
Eventually they turned. “Watch for enemies,” their commander said, his head looking up toward the branches in the moments he didn’t need to watch his feet for stones and roots.
Zoke heard a whistle somewhere ahead of them, then more whistles. There’d been no discussion of a whistle. It had to be their enemies.
Arrows and fireballs rained down from the trees. Screams filled the air. People began to fall, and the ground shook. Dirt erupted into Zoke’s face with a blast of heat. Hem had been knocked on his back.
Alex grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up. “Are you hurt?”
Hem had a blank look.
Alex frantically looked into the trees. “Mages!”
Zoke found them, two in one tree. They wore green as camouflage, but their wands were glowing and pointed right at him.
Zoke sprinted, remembering Effie had told him mages have far more difficulty than archers hitting moving targets or aiming over long distances. Both fireballs came at him. Neither struck directly, but one hit the ground just in front of him and caused him to stumble. He feared they would fire again before he could reach them. But when he regained his footing, he saw they were climbing down the branches in an attempt to flee.
All around him, enemies were descending from the trees now. The arrows and fireballs had stopped. The men and women wearing the color of the forest were fleeing. But Zoke wasn’t going to allow them to get away.
Everyone from Kyrro was chasing them now, except for those lying dead or injured. To his side, Zoke saw some of the slower mages and archers from Tenred being tackled. A brawl broke out between them, with clangs of steel and grunts of panic.
But Zoke didn’t slow to assist in his enemies’ inevitable deaths. There were still too many ahead. He was gaining ground. His enemies were slowing. They didn’t have his strength or his speed. He thirsted to drive his sword through them.
Trees became sparse. It was the edge of the forest. The sun came through and blinded him for a blink, but he kept going. Shielding his eyes, he found nothing but open land. The ground was flat with soft dirt. He drew his sword, nearing an archer.
But then he caught a glimpse of something that stopped him so quickly he nearly tumbled. Perhaps he heard them first, and that’s why he looked, for the noise they made was near deafening. Thousands of Humans stomped their boots, banged their swords against their armor, and chanted in a deep tone that Zoke could feel shaking his heart with each burst of rhythm. They were lined perhaps one hundred long and maybe forty deep, protecting their dilapidated wall.
They know we’re here to knock it down, he realized.
The archers and mages fleeing turned and laughed at Zoke. Their taunts did nothing to provoke him, though. He backed away, knowing there was nothing he could do until the rest of his army joined him.
He did study their faces, just to make sure they weren’t Brady or Sawdar. He searched through the rest of his enemies, but it was too far a distance for him to distinguish anything except that some Krepps were mixed in. For every female Krepp he found, his heart jumped toward his throat.
I don’t even know if I’ll recognize Zeti if she’s there. She’s shed her skin since I last saw her. She’ll be taller as well, stronger.
Others started emerging from the trees to stand at his side.
“My Bastial stars,” Reela uttered. She and Vithos were panting. Zoke barely could hear her over Tenred’s chanting.
Alex and Hem came through next.
“Is he alright?” Zoke asked, screaming to be heard.
“I’m fine,” Hem answered for himself. He left them to find his officers.
“He was just dazed,” Alex said. “Damn, there’s a lot of them.”
“How many of us did they kill?” Zoke asked.
“Hundreds, I’m sure, and nearly all of them escaped.”
Sneaky bastards. Zoke found himself thinking in common tongue at times. It was an eerie sensation, one he didn’t like. He had the same feeling when he looked at the Krepps on the opposing side. He was the only one fighting for Kyrro. He knew what they must think. They certainly didn’t understand. To them, he was nothing but a traitor. But it was Zeti’s opinion that mattered most.
Vithos put his hand on Zoke’s shoulder. “If she here, we find and move her safe place.”
“If she’ll allow it,” Zoke replied.
Most of their army was out of the forest by then. Men in armor pushed through to the front. The half-bearded man bumped Zoke’s shoulder with his mallet as he passed by.
“Watch it,” Zoke warned.
The man turned and seemed to notice Zoke for the first time. “You haven’t fled yet. I suppose you must be an ally after all. But let the real men take the front. I have revenge to deal for my nephew.” He screamed and slammed his hammer down into the dirt. The force of the blow throbbed halfway up Zoke’s legs. “They will pay!”
Others nearly the same size as the half-bearded man flanked his left and right sides, although these men wielded swords. Zoke thought it was idiotic to bring a mallet, but he kept that opinion to himself.
Now that their whole army was there, Zoke dug the claws on his toes into the dirt and pushed his heels off the ground to gain some height. He wanted to see what their army looked like in its entirety compared to Tenred’s. Humans stretched in each direction, wider and deeper than the enemy.
We have at least twice as many. Zoke grinned. They’re stupid to face us outside their wall.
Zoke wore the blue leather tunic that Warrior Sneary ordered for him. He hadn’t seen the instructor marching with them. However, Zoke had seen Terren several times at the front of their advancing army. He noticed the Human’s blond hair once again among the officers conferring with Hem. But then a shout turned Zoke forward.
“They’re coming!”
The rhythmic chanting had been replaced with the drum of Tenred’s boots as they charged. But Zoke still hadn’t received his orders. Someone screamed to the officers, and they spun to witness it for themselves.
Frantically, they separated, hustling to get to their spots. Zoke felt a smile curl his lipless mouth when Terren stopped in front of them.
“All those with shields, rally to me,” the Academy headmaster announced. He held a shield that was light blue with a gold crown outlined in silver.
The warriors separated. Half-Beard grumbled while he let the other men by.
“Archers, mages, psychics, do as we’ve discussed in case of a charge,” Terren said.
Reela, Vithos, and the others without swords hurried to get into place. They were running out of time. The stampede of steel and flesh was close, the shouts of their enemies booming.
“Other warriors, be ready!”
Zoke remembered the plan. He pushed through to ensure he was directly behind Vithos.
“Brace yourself!” Terren screamed. The warriors in front l
owered their bodies behind their shields. “Range, go!”
But all their enemies halted, except a few male Krepps who seemed just as confused as Zoke when they realized their comrades had stopped short. Arrows were exchanged, then fireballs…until the air was clouded by both. The few Krepps who didn’t stop were first to fall, and not many followed. The massive shields held by the men at the front of both lines absorbed nearly all projectiles. Only when the force of a fireball or an arrow was too much would someone fall backward, leaving those behind him unprotected.
Zoke was confused. Why would Tenred charge all this way just to stop short and let the archers and mages do all the fighting? Even the psychics were too far away to be of use.
“Chemists!” Terren screamed. “Shoot the chemists!”
Zoke saw them then, men and women hurling glass vials as far as they could. The vials spun through the air and crashed ten to twenty yards in front of Zoke. He and the others twisted away, unsure of what the substances would do.
Mutterings of confusion spread through the ranks when nothing but smoke arose from the liquid. But Zoke recognized it as the same smoke he’d seen twice before, once atop the Fjallejon Mountains and again within the Academy, which had led to Brady’s escape.
Many of the archers and mages were still firing until Terren shouted at them to stop wasting arrows and energy. The smoke rose high enough to block all but the top of Tenred’s stone wall. But then even that was consumed as it became too dense to see through.
All went quiet. Half-Beard’s heavy breaths were the loudest noise in that moment.
“Stay and be ready,” Terren said.
No one else said a word. A few who’d been caught by arrows or fireballs already were dead. Zoke saw one man trade his two-handed sword for the shield and short sword of the fallen man in front of him. He crouched over the dead body and prepared for combat.
“The cowards have fled!” Half-Beard complained. “They wouldn’t even face us.”
Terren ignored him. “Psychics, do you sense anyone ahead of us?”
