Or it might.
CHAPTER 10
Later on, we stood on the wall and gazed to the north. Anja was there with me, and she was silent. ‘This is madness.’
I nodded coldly. ‘It will be brave, at least.’
‘Madness,’ she whispered again.
‘You were always very sane in Euryale’s tower,’ I said. ‘Calculative, sharp. Yet, you once admitted to me that had Alexei and Dmitri been in trouble, you would have fought for them, no matter the cost. You would have charged a thousand enemies for them. And now you are a bitter wreck.’
‘You got us out,’ she said neutrally. ‘But the price was too steep. It changed me. I cannot make peace. And your sister’s constant mockery will not give me a chance to begin to forget.’ I nodded and looked at Dana. She did not look back, but there was a small smile on her face.
‘Did Euryale promise you to bring your brothers back? Did she?’ I asked her.
‘What?’ she hissed. ‘You really think … What did Hannea say?’
I stared ahead and finally shook my head. ‘It does not matter. I don’t want you out there. No matter how Dana coaxes you, no matter what happened to you in Euryale’s. I don’t trust you. I want you to stay here.’
She snorted and then understood I was serious. ‘Cherry, Albine, and your damned sister are going, no?’
‘Yes, and Lex and Ulrich, your boyfriend,’ I said coldly, ‘but not you. I don’t want to look at my back when we have to worry about three thousand elves and hundreds of ma tarish. We need Dana; we need Cherry. I trust Albine because she is mad or going mad. But you I do not trust. I would like to. But I don’t. Hannea was nearly killed just now. Poisoned. A guard was killed yesterday. Birds disappeared. Tiria was warned. It was a woman who did it. And it was not Cherry or Albine.’
She put her hands on her face and shook her head tiredly. ‘It’s my life on the line as well.’
‘You will stay here,’ I said. ‘And if you come out there, I have instructed men to clobber you unconscious. We will deal with all our issues later.’
‘Am I under arrest?’ she said in astonishment. ‘Ulrich—’
‘Agreed,’ I hissed. ‘He agreed because he worries for you and because many will die there today, perhaps some of us. He believes you.’
‘He does, does he?’ she said bitterly. ‘You two have an understanding these days. Don’t you?’
I maliciously ignored the question, and I think I enjoyed her uncertainly a bit. ‘Just stay in the fort. You are a … restricted guest.’
‘This is why you should not lead. You still listen to your sister, who is much more devious than I am,’ she stated simply and walked past Dana, whom she bumped into before disappearing to the courtyard below. It was teaming with thousands of men. Dana grinned at Anja’s back and stopped to stand with me. I looked at her. No, she did not do it. She was my sister.
We looked out at the Black Ring.
There was an ominous hill there, and thousands of tents dotted the countryside. The fort across the bridge was still in our hands, manned by brave men and archers. That was our way out. ‘Where is Ompar’s father?’ she asked me.
‘He is there,’ I said and pointed a finger at a surprisingly modest tent of silver and black at the summit of the hill. ‘Ompar said he looks old, but he is very strong. He will want the Charm Breaker back.’ I looked at my sister, and she grinned and rapped her fingers on the shield beneath her back. ‘Hold on to it for now. Don’t lose it. I’ll need it later.’
‘Is Cherry set?’ she asked me, her fingers still tapping the fabulous shield. Ompar did not know she had it, but she would have to kill many enemies that day, and we could not afford to lose her.
‘She is set,’ I said. ‘I cannot do spells that use fire. I cannot reach the power, and I cannot emulate Hannea’s spell, but I don’t think we have to.’
‘Hannea did an excellent spell,’ she said. ‘Our Cherry is very brave.’
‘She has been a staunch ally,’ I said softly. ‘She will have to be. Those engines have to be destroyed. And perhaps Danar killed.’
We gazed at eight ballista and strange catapults that were aimed at the doorway of the tower. Iron stakes guarded them. Maa’dark stood near them, guarding them against fire spells. ‘It looks so primitive,’ Dana breathed. ‘Without Glory or the Shades, they would be much less than an army commanded by our Lord Wellington.’
‘They don’t need technology with Glory,’ I agreed. ‘But here we are, dealing with them and their Glory. Know the plan?’
‘I know it. Stay close,’ she said. She put a hand on my armor and smiled. ‘Shall we go down?’
We walked down the steps Anja had used in her fury. It led to the courtyard, and it was milling with men and fighting women. Lex, Ulrich, and Albine were there, swathed in chain armor, carrying shields and wearing swords, seated on horses. Ompar was there as well, and next to Ompar, there was a cloaked figure. It was Cherry, but you could not see a limb of hers. The men and women pointed fingers at me as I came down and wondered as my armor glittered in the light of Mar. Ompar strode to receive me and smiled at me as he bowed. I could not help but notice some men frown at him, and they did not all love Ompar Coinar, but would fight for me. ‘Well met, Hand,’ Ompar said. ‘This is very dishonorable, you know. Very.’
‘You are a pirate,’ I told him. ‘This is charity compared to what you do for a living.’
‘True,’ he grinned. ‘But it will be very nasty.’
‘Let it.’
‘Tell them you love them,’ he said and nodded at the thousands of people looking at us. I was shocked and confused. Surely not? They did look expectant. They all stared at me. ‘Speech?’ Ompar whispered. ‘Try to be conciliatory and not so bloodthirsty as your friend is,’ he said, perplexed. ‘We will kill elves, yes, but don’t make a demon out of all of them.’
Dana smiled at me encouragingly. I had never spoken in public. Never. I had always shunned people, been nervous to my core with them, and what he asked was impossible. Dana had shined in such duties, despite our mutual issues on Earth, but not I. Now she coaxed me with a small smile to step up. I cursed as I looked at Albine. I did not wish to have them fight for me, anyway. I felt sweat pouring out like rivers. Then I chuckled, for I realized I was much more terrified of the speech than the battle.
They all looked up to me. Some hefted their spears into the air encouragingly; others held on to their shields. There were so many of them, and the silence was uncanny. Albine pushed me. Her eyes glowed in the dark. Lex was standing on the side, a figure of a warrior with his thick blond hair, and Ulrich looked dangerous.
I pushed a horse out of my way and then climbed on cumbersomely. I had ridden on Father’s farm in Wales, but only once in Aldheim. The armor made it hard to mount the beast. Happily, I did not fall. It would have ruined the mood, perhaps. The horse was a white beast, noble of bearing, and the thousands of men made a wondering noise like a small wave hitting a beach at nighttime. I hesitated and took off my helmet. That never ceased to cause a stir amongst the humans. I sat up on the horse and raised my voice. ‘Men.’ I remembered there were women as well. ‘People.’ I called out. ‘Humans!’ They perked, and I saw Ompar shake his head. Humans. Not elves. ‘I will not lie to you. We cannot give you victory today. My friends and I, we cannot.’ They said nothing; there was not even a whisper. Ompar was nodding. ‘If there is a victory, you must achieve it.’ They nodded carefully, rumbling amongst themselves. ‘What we will give you is …’ I looked at Albine and sighed. ‘A legacy. If we die here today and fail, we will leave behind a memory of humans fighting for their right to live as they will. They will remember!’ I could almost imagine Albine waving the tricolor and singing ça ira, the iconic and hated French revolutionary song. ‘While we cannot give you victory, we will give you our hands and our skills. I am the Hand of Life. We, the few of us Embrace the Glory. We do. It is something the gods gave the races at the beginning of time, and few humans have seen the casc
ading ice and blazing fires. We see them. But even if we did not, we would still fight with you,’ I indicated the Tears. ‘We would still go out there to fight for you. For your right not to fear, to have peaceful lives.’
They cheered.
It was a hoarse cheer, and I saw Ompar was shocked. The officers were calming the troops, for the voice carried out over the bridge. They settled down slowly, very slowly, but they did. I went on. ‘They,’ I said and nodded over the hill, ‘wish to see you die silently. They do not want anyone at all to know about this uprising, about us, about me. No one. Never. Your families are not safe, and only because they fear your power. We took the Scorpion’s Bridge. They wonder what else we can take. And all we really want to take is the right to live in peace. Your Lord Ompar,’ I said and bowed to him, ‘will fight with us to make sure our day of defiance will never be hidden. If we fail to kill Danar Coinar,’ I said and saw they were all shocked at the idea, even if they already knew about it, ‘you will send people across the lands to tell them about it. Some of you have been given this duty during the combat. Do not fail.’ They cheered again, and the officers joined them. I went on. ‘I was not born here, but I am willing to risk dying here. With you. Fight well for us,’ I yelled, my stomach in knots over the idea of anyone dying for me. ‘Let’s take the Black Ring! We will go up that hill and kill Danar Coinar, and then, perhaps, we shall be free again. We have been slaves, like you!’ The Tears stepped forward and showed their arms. All were glowing with the red sigils beneath their skins, the sigils that still tied us to the dragon’s will, if not Euryale’s. Technically, we were still slaves. I removed my gauntlet and showed them my silver fetter. ‘To the Black Ring!’ It was a terrible speech. Clumsy and clunky. Naïf and silly.
But it worked.
They stared at the sigils and whispered. Then one voice called out, ‘on to the Black Ring!’ They all began to chant, and then all called it out, softly at first, then gathering momentum. The call echoed in the fort. The thousands of men and women were ready and willing, and we would go with them. Ompar looked up to the tower, his face dark with worry. He had an army hungry for elven blood, but he was one. A guard nodded his head. ‘Open up the gate,’ Ompar said darkly, and they did.
We rode.
I was in the fore with Ompar, my armored glory on show to all. The disguised Cherry followed behind and then the Tears and some hundred men. We rode down the hill and guided our horses for the towers. Across from the bridge, the elven army stirred. Guards were shouting, officers in long plumed helmets were rushing about, and the ballista and the catapults were manned. They pointed their fingers at me. ‘They must fall,’ Ompar said. ‘The engines and the maa’dark. She is strong with fire?’
‘She is,’ I said, fearing for Cherry. I could imagine her grinning under her hood, the mad thing.
We rode on, and I saw a white-haired, wide-shouldered elf stand out from a crowd of generals and officers. They walked down, and I knew they had seen my armor glittering on the bridge. A thousand elves moved to stand behind the siege engines and formed a long shieldwall, and I saw a group of ma tarish on horses and lizards halfway up the hill. ‘They have seen us.’
We reached the tower. The door opened, and we abandoned the horses. Lex was praying, and I squeezed his hand gratefully. He nodded, breathless with fear. Ulrich hugged his cousin, and then I hugged Albine. I stopped before Cherry, who looked down at me from her horse. She seemed to hesitate, and I opened my hands to her. She leaned down to me and crushed me to her, and I felt nervousness. She was strong, so strong for such a small girl, and I heard her sigh. ‘I’ve enjoyed knowing you, Shannon,’ she said, and I tensed with surprise. ‘If we don’t see each other again, know it has been my honor to guard you.’
‘What?’ I said and stood away, and she bowed her head. She had spoken? For the first time, she had. She ignored me as she sat on the horse, and I saw Dana eyeing me.
‘What happened?’ she mouthed.
I opened my mouth to tell her but stopped as Ompar rushed upstairs; the men looked tense. I’d speak with Cherry later if she were willing. The time had come to act. I walked to the gate to look out of a small hole the guard opened for me. I saw Danar Coinar now. He was behind the siege machines, staring at the moat and the upraised bridge. He was brave, as our arrows might reach him as well as our spells, but he was sure to have some protection we could not see. Hopefully nothing to endure a blade in the guts, I thought. His hair was indeed white and very long; his face had some wrinkles, evidence of very old age, and I thought he was a bit fat; the first elf I had seen carrying extra weight. There was a strange glow on his skin. He was wearing a black and golden lizard sigil on his chest armor, not a silver one, and his guards were elves of supreme beauty and strength. They were tall, champion fighters and likely could Embrace the Glory, all of them.
‘Father!’ I heard Ompar call from the ramparts.
Danar looked up at him with a squint. ‘You bastard. You would talk with me?’
‘I would, dear Father,’ Ompar answered spitefully. ‘Reluctantly, like I would to a rancid, rotten thief, but I would. It seems you have come for a visit?’
‘You have killed subjects of mine across the land,’ he said evenly. ‘You have killed my troops and shamed the family. And you killed Tiria.’
‘Technically, she killed herself, Father. Her spell went bizarrely wrong as she was trying to roast my people,’ Ompar retorted. ‘I’d say her death was justified.’
‘They are my humans, and I do with them as I please,’ Danar grunted. ‘You forget you belong to me. I think I will have to sire more children soon. Hannea dead?’
Say yes, I thought. It would help us.
‘She died on the way here, Father,’ Ompar said sadly. ‘She did. But you still have my brother. Where is the murderous Strife? Not here to wipe your nose and to fawn over you?’
‘His whereabouts are no concern of yours, son. What do you want? I was about to eat,’ Danar called out. ‘Oh! I will want my shield back, boy. You stole if from Tiria, didn’t you, or she would not have died by Glory.’
‘I use it as a piss pot, Father. But you are here for her, are you not?’ Ompar called out, meaning me.
‘Yes, I want her, boy. The Hand is mine. Now,’ he said, ’I cannot promise you will receive mercy after I get my hands on her. I cannot. I feel very slighted, Ompar Coinar, my son, by your refusal to abide by the rules of our race and especially of our house. Perhaps if you give her over and come to the Gold Hall on your hands and knees, then perhaps, I shall make Lowpass a prison for you and your people. It will be a justified hovel of disease and hunger where you may rot for the rest of your days with your human filth.’
There was silence. The beautiful elven army did not stir. Ompar was giving it a thought, but only to make the deception perfect. ‘You will let them live?’
Danar laughed mockingly. ‘Yes, you damned bastard, you human-loving piece of dung. I’m pretty sure you never came out of my cock, boy. Your mother must have rutted with a dog, but no, that is not possible, since your brother is a true Coinar.’ He took a deep breath and laughed softly. ‘See, I forget proper decorum, that is how upset I am, son. Not very comfortable, but I’m sure you have heard worse on your ships.’
‘I’ve heard you speak to Mother like that right in the middle of the Gold Hall, Father, so I am not shocked,’ Ompar said darkly. ‘I will send her.’
‘You will send her?’ Danar asked, surprised. ‘Truly?’
‘I am not you, Father. She wants to spare our lives, and I will obey her if not you,’ he said. ‘You heard them cheer her just now. She gives herself up for us.’
He chortled. ‘I heard pigs grunt. Fine. On your hands and knees, Ompar my boy. All the way to Gold Hall, and they will live,’ Danar said. ‘Send her out before you begin your knee-breaking journey.’
Ompar appeared at the top of the stairs. ‘Signal everyone to be ready,’ he said softly. ‘Cherry?’
The swathed figure nodded
. She struggled with her cloak and tore it off. On the horse sat a copy of me. She wore my armor, though in reality it was a lie of magic. Hannea was a mistress of illusions, and her art had been perfect to the slightest of details. Men around us stared at us in wonderment, and I wondered myself. I resisted the urge to lift my hand to check I still had my armor on. Cherry waved her hand at me. She clutched a short sword of fine make, the point sharp as a needle. Ompar grunted. ‘Hannea made it possible for Tiria to enter Himingborg in stealth. She learned this spell very young, and used it to steal cakes from the pantry.’
‘I thanked her,’ I said, nervous. ‘Are the men ready?’
He nodded. From the top floors, men began to arrive. There were the hundred we had brought with us, but we had sneaked hundreds more inside that night, and while they had been extremely crammed, they looked eager. ‘You know the plan,’ Ompar told the officer, a hulking man in chain armor that covered his face, save for his eyes. ‘Do it.’
Men opened the door just a bit. Cherry calmed herself visibly and then waved at me. I bowed to her, and she guided the horse out. Some men followed her and started working on the bridge. I stared out of the hole, and the others waited. Cherry was riding around calmly while the drawbridge was being lowered. Then she rode over it, and the men raised the bridge slowly.
Cherry rode the muddy road for the siege machines. The elves looked at her, and few, no doubt, knew she, or rather I, was a human. She passed elven soldiers guarding the siege machinery, she guided the horse past the stakes, and then she was in the midst of the engines. Danar Coinar bowed to her stiffly, and she bowed back.
I felt it.
I felt her gathering the firewall spell. She was doing her best, taking in so very much power, braiding it together just right. She was powerful, much more powerful than I had thought possible.
I felt her release the spell. And then I saw it.
Eye of Hel: Stories of the Nine Worlds (Ten Tears Chronicles - a dark fantasy action adventure Book 2) Page 14
