“They won’t. I’m ready to fight. I won’t sit here and do nothing.”
“But you heard your father. He’s leaving the city in your hands. You can’t just leave.”
“That’s why I’m passing that duty to you, my friend.”
“No.” Dirk replied as he grabbed some armor. “We’re coming with you.”
“It’s going to be tough.”
“It’s what we’ve trained for. You don’t go without us.”
Bryce sighed, knowing that he didn’t have a choice and picked up some armor with us. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
I smiled and we got ready together. I had to do this for reasons I’m not sure I even understood but I was glad that they were with me. I needed them to be.
Chapter 8
Zayden
We rode to the second barricade by nightfall and everything was ready for the arrival of the Leccan troops if they were to miraculously break through the first one. Then I led the others along the road for another day to the first barricade where we were greeted by the General and a captain at sunset.
“Your majesty.”
“What’s the report?” I dismounted my horse and walked ahead of them while they explained.
“The scouts say the Leccan soldiers have infiltrated the border and are approaching from the south, just as planned. When they come over the hill, we’ll be ready for them.”
“Good. Troy, confirm their position.”
Troy looked to the south and used his vision to tell me what I wanted to know. “Position confirmed. They’re heading straight for our trap. I estimate they should be here just at dawn.”
“Excellent. Ruby go with the captain and instruct the archers as to how these things work.” I handed Ruby a bag of explosive bundles that would be attached to arrows for our guests. She would know best how to use them. “Get them ready and set them just before the hill. Fire once they’re in range.” Ruby nodded and broke away from the rest of the group with the captain. “Once the arrows are set, I’ll take the first and second companies around the right flank while they take the third and fourth around the left. We’ll close them in and they’ll have nowhere to go.”
The General nodded and walked off. The others and I headed for our tent and waited for the arrival of the Leccan army. They would not win tonight, no matter what, we will claim victory.
In the early hours of the morning, dawn just as Trever said, the General gave us the news. “Your majesty! They’re approaching!”
This was it. We readied the companies and prepared to leave. The archers were set at the hill as I asked and everything was arranged.
The Leccan army, of five thousand, was getting closer. We could all hear the sounds of their footsteps. They marched over the first hill and started walking down into the valley, not knowing that this Senian army was just over the other hill. They walked down just far enough that a scout knew they were in range of the archers. He signaled to the Captain and he would instruct the wave of explosive arrows. The archers got ready and held the strings over the fire. As soon as the Captain gave the signal, they let them burn and immediately shot them over the hill.
The sounds of hundreds of arrows went piercing through the air and the Leccan army wasn’t prepared for it. The arrows landed and exploded on their targets. At that point, they knew they were under attack and started to panic. They had no knowledge of this weapon being used against them. The sounds of bursting fire and screams filled the night, cutting down a quarter of the Leccan soldiers. I watched Ruby for a moment and could tell she was pleased with the outcome. We both were and it was almost our turn.
The air was quiet once more and only the sound of fire crackled through the chill of the dawn. That’s when I signaled for the two cavalry companies of one thousand soldiers each to swing around and close them in. Then I led the main forces of the Senian army, five thousand infantry soldiers and one thousand more cavalry soldiers, over the hill and started charging. The Leccan army seemed to stand ready but they should have known they were outnumbered and the fighting had begun.
This was just another reason why I didn’t want Seth here. I’ve never been in a battle of this magnitude. There hasn’t been one like this since before I was even born so it was my first.
Swords clashed and the sound of metal on metal echoed through the lightening sky. The Leccan army fought their hardest but my army fought harder through the cold. Leccans were falling fast yet not before they took out a few Senians on their own.
This is what we’ve always trained for. The reason my father stationed us in the mountains the year we met our wives could have resulted in something like this but we changed everything and it was everything we changed that we now needed to protect. My family was most important to me and it was what everyone here fought so hard for.
Chapter 9
Seth
We finally reached our destination and rode through the encampment at the first barricade early that morning but it was empty. It was odd like it were just abandoned but I knew that wasn’t it.
“Where is everyone, Bryce?” I asked.
Bryce stopped and looked ahead with his vision. “There.” He pointed ahead. “Just over that hill. The battle has already begun.”
We couldn’t waste any more time and I raced to the top of the hill about a mile away and looked down into the valley. It was a bloody and body filled sight as the fires of war burned all around.
“Shit.” Dirk said in awe.
The battle was massive but it at least looked like it was already half over. My worry for things I’ve seen was only growing. This couldn’t have been it but now that we were here, we would stay to help.
“Remember what team you’re on.” I said.
“Like we could forget.” Bryce muttered.
“Let’s go.”
We rode down the hill towards the battle but everyone was too pre-occupied to notice us. We just stopped on the outside and got off our horses, weapons ready. It was almost like we were invisible to everyone and the wait for someone to actually see us as threatening warriors was time-consuming.
“So, now what?” Dirk asked.
I tried not laughing because I understood his impatience and a Leccan soldier finally saw us standing here without a care and he came after us. I stood ready with a tighter grip on my sword and swung hard, knocking him to the ground. It was easy but I wasn’t done. I raised up my sword and drove it down into the soldier’s chest.
My heart raced and I pulled it out, seeing the blood dripping from it. I could smell that it was still warm even against the cold steel of my blade. It gave me the most generous of smiles and I shared it with Bryce and Dirk next to me. They smiled too and we headed into the battle.
Chapter 10
Zayden
“Zayden!”
Someone had shouted my name in the distance among all of this fighting. I looked around but couldn’t let myself become too distracted. I cut someone else down and I saw Adele when he fell. She looked terrified. My heart raced before I even knew why.
“Zayden! The boys are here!”
My eyes widened and my stomach fluttered. I knew she didn’t want them coming here; I didn’t want them coming here and demanded my question. “Where?!”
“They just rode down the hill!”
“Don’t worry I’ll get them out of here! Find the others!”
I turned from my love and fought my way toward the hill while also trying to look out for my son at the same time. His defiant nature was going to get him into worse trouble than he could ever imagine when I find him.
I saw Troy on my way and got his attention by yelling. “Troy!” It took him a moment just like it did with me but he looked. “Our sons are here! Toward the hill!”
He looked towards it, trying to see better than I could and hopefully getting somewhere with it. “I see them! They’re straight in front of you!”
We made our way toward the hill to our sons, killing along the way.
<
br /> Three fell in front of me and I saw Darius just lower his sword from the swing. “Darius, our sons are here. Come on.” He nodded and went toward the hill with us.
I could just barely see them ahead. They were fighting their way through the valley, watching each other’s backs but we had to get to them before something bad happened.
We fought our way towards them with only that goal in mind. It was unwise for anyone who decided to get in our way. As I killed another, I looked up and Seth was close. He turned around towards me and swung his sword but I was quick enough to kick it away. Seth fell backwards which caught both Dirk and Bryce’s attention and they saw us while I walked to Seth and stood over him.
“Father!”
We looked worse off than them, covered in the blood of war. Darius and Troy gave their sons that look and Dirk and Bryce knew that they were in trouble. I brought Seth to his feet then quickly had to turn around and kill an approaching soldier.
My anger level was high when I turned back around. “What are you doing here?! I thought I told you to stay back at the city!” He was still surprised to see me and maybe a little scared from my anger. I had to turn around again to kill someone else before I could continue yelling at him. “I want you to get out of here now! Go up to my tent and stay there! I don’t want to see you down here again! Understand?!”
Seth didn’t say anything but he turned back toward the hill as an act of obedience but I’m sure he was just as mad as me.
Darius took his eyes off his son for a moment and swung his sword around, killing two soldiers at once. He turned back to Dirk and pointed up the hill. That’s all it took for him to be scared.
Then Troy made things a little creepier for them by never taking his eyes off his son while he drove his sword back behind him. Another soldier out of nowhere fell dead and Bryce swallowed the bubble in his throat. Troy pointed up the hill with his sword as it dripped with fresh blood.
They both turned around and followed behind Seth to wait for their punishment.
They were safe for now but we continued to fight off the Leccan soldiers and it lasted for another hour until the fighting subsided and the last Leccan soldier fell. We took a breath and looked around. The soldiers who made it to see this looked relieved. It was over but I knew that it wasn’t just yet. Sedrik has yet to show himself and when he did, it would be my fight.
“Where are they?” Adele found me with a heavy breath and demanded directions.
“They’re waiting in the tent.”
She immediately started heading up the hill and what was left of the army followed. She had one goal in mind and I could hear her yelling as soon as she entered.
“What were you thinking?! Do you realize what you’ve done?! You could have been killed out there today!”
I entered with Troy and Darius and took Adele by the arm to hold her back from going after Seth. “That’s enough. We’ll take it from here.”
Adele calmed down enough to listen and pulled her arm away from me as she left mad with Ruby and Jaylyn following. I watched them leave and we all turned to our sons with our arms crossed.
“So.” I said, breaking the silence and taking a few steps forward. “Did you get what you came for? The glory? The pure gratifying sensation of a kill?”
They sat still and motionless.
“Your mother is right. You could have been killed out there today. Your reasons, whether they be true or selfish, were wrong. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”
They were still quiet but looked at each other.
“Dirk. I’m waiting.” Darius said in an angry tone.
“Don’t blame me! It was his idea.” Dirk replied, pointing as Seth.
“What! Don’t put this all on me! You’re the ones that wouldn’t let me leave without you!”
“Well, we couldn’t let you go alone! You’d get yourself killed!”
“Yeah, you know we go where you go.” Bryce said. “What made you think we’d stay?”
“Maybe it had something to do with how dangerous I knew this would be. I didn’t want to get you hurt because of me.”
“Well, it seems you didn’t plan this out very well.” Dirk said. “How could you even think about taking all the fun for yourself?”
We just stood back and watched this argument unfold and saw so much of ourselves in them that we broke down laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Seth asked.
“You three are so much like us, it’s scary.” Troy said as he sat.
Darius laughed again as he sat too. “Yeah, I remember when we were like you.”
“We?” I sat as well and had an argument of my own. “You mean you two. As I recall, I was always the one separating you. It was an endless battle being your leader. When they were younger, I would have to pull them apart at least twice a day. It was horrible.”
“Oh, we weren’t that bad.” Troy said.
“Yeah you were. You fought about everything from women to what shade your eyes were.”
Darius laughed. “It wasn’t that bad!”
“Did you ever fight over our mothers?” Dirk asked.
We looked at each other, taking the conversation a completely different way.
“No, that was one thing that we all agreed on.” Darius said.
“The signs were pretty clear as to who got who.” Troy explained.
“What, was it like a game for you? You got to pick which one you wanted?” Bryce asked.
“Well, I think that’s a story for another time.” I said.
“Oh, come on, father. How come you never want to talk about that anymore?”
“Like you don’t already know all about it.”
“I know but it’s still a good story.”
“Some other time, okay? Right now there are more important things we need to focus on.”
“Like what? Didn’t we already win?”
“Not quite. We’re still waiting on—”
“Your majesty!” The General stormed in unannounced. “The Leccan King has shown himself.”
“Him. Stay here.”
“But father—”
“No! We haven’t forgotten what you’ve done.”
“I know but here.”
He held out two very familiar weapons with a distinctive design of a wolf head as the shafts. “You’re weapons? You figured it out?”
“The spark just hit me, you could say.”
“Thank you, Seth but I can’t use them.”
“Why not?”
He looked severely curious but I didn’t have the heart to explain how they’d cause worldwide war.
“Just take them father.”
I gave in but in my mind, I knew they couldn’t be used. “All right.”
I put them in my belt and headed outside.
“Zayden.”
“It’s all right, Love.”
Sedrik was here and walked through the encampment alone. As he approached me, Senian soldiers closed in around him but I stood comfortable even when he stopped fifteen feet away. There was a long pause and he just stared at me.
“You’re either really brave or really stupid to come here alone.” I said.
“Eighteen long years I’ve waited to get you in my sights and you’ve taken my main army in less than a night. I’m impressed but you haven’t won.”
“Why have you come?”
Sedrik took a few steps closer. “To finish what we started so long ago. I’ve come for her.” He pointed at Adele and she grabbed my arm. “Just let her come with me and I’ll leave you unharmed. Refuse and I’ll fight you for her and you alone, till death.”
I looked at Adele and she looked worried while watching Sedrik speak like he thought he was the one in control. “You mean a battle of the Kings? You’re serious because you know I won’t just hand her over.”
“Does that worry you? Are you afraid you’ll lose her to me?”
I got mad. I couldn’t let Sedrik try and make me look like a coward in fro
nt of my own soldiers. “No, so if it’s a fight you want than it’s a fight you’ll get.” I pulled out my short staffs and held them at my sides. “I accept.”
Everyone seemed shocked that I accepted the challenge, especially Adele. She took my arm tighter and pulled me to her. “What are you doing? Are you insane?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let him take you. Trust me.”
She let me go and I stood ready in front of Sedrik. The circle got wider as he pulled out his sword and we started walking around each other. Sedrik looked upon me and waited for me to strike first. I obliged.
I stepped toward him and swung both my weapons. Sedrik bent backwards and dodged them as he flipped back to his feet. He landed low, dodging my other swings then brought out his leg and swung at my feet as he spun up to his. I jumped over his leg and took another swing at him as the spikes came out. It caught him on the side of his face and the spikes ripped open his cheek. He fell to the right as blood sprayed from his face. He was back to me when he climbed to his feet. He turned his head so I could see the gash and he touched his face, seeing the blood on his hand.
“You’ll have to do better than that.”
He then quickly pulled out a dagger and turned as he threw it toward me. I reacted quickly and caught it by the tip of the blade and threw it right back. It hit him in the shoulder and he brought his hand up around the blade. He looked up at me and smiled and I saw that the wound on his cheek was completely gone.
“Oh, Zayden, you do realize this is pointless.”
“The Healing Heart.” I muttered to myself.
Sedrik grabbed the handle of the dagger and pulled it right out. It didn’t even seem like it bothered him at all and he threw it to the ground. We started walking around each other again and my method had to change. I knew what his weakness was and I had to use it.
Sedrik made the next move. He stepped forward and swung his sword. I kicked it to the ground and stepped on the tip. Sedrik was still holding it as he looked up. I hit him twice in the face, once on each side and he fell back. I stepped to him while he brought up his sword and I clasped my weapons around the blade then spun it out of his hands. I then used the handle of his own sword and hit him in the head. Sedrik fell to his back and he laid there helpless and out of weapons.
Autumn Dawn (Fate's Intent Book 11) Page 4
