The Undying Illusionist

by Candy Crum

  Some of the Guard would question things, in which case they would come looking for Amelia. Others would become worried and begin talking about it, some telling their loved ones who would then tell others, and soon the city would need answers. Plans. Reassurance.

  And Amelia planned to deliver all of it.

  Around four in the morning, Amelia snuck into the city, avoiding the Guard and making her way back to her house. She instructed one of the men who had been trained by the druids to stand guard in her home, making certain no one came inside.

  Not surprisingly, when Amelia arrived home, she found a dead student in her living room and char marks on the couch.

  "I don't know if you noticed, but you made a bit of a mess of my living room," Amelia joked as she stepped into the room.

  While a dead body on the floor was nothing to joke about, she could tell by looking at her friend that he needed to release some tension.

  The moment she had walked in the door, she’d seen the look on his face and looked into his mind.

  When the student came through the door, the Guard was ready, sword out. The student became enraged at seeing the Guard instead of Amelia, and began throwing fireballs. The first hit the Guard in the chest, but his armor protected him. The second hit her couch, and once he had ended the student’s threat, he was quick to take care of the flames.

  The Guard opened his mouth to explain, but Amelia put her hand up to quiet him. "Don't worry about it. I looked into your head the moment I saw your face. I know what happened. Thank you. Had you not been here, this man would possibly have killed me."

  Confusion fell across the man's face, and he shook his head. "I don't understand. It seems counterproductive to kill you like this."

  "What do you mean?" Amelia asked.

  "Well, think about it. If you're killed in your own home and Talia tries to take over the city, it's gonna be obvious what happened. Maybe he wasn't planning to kill you. Don't take me wrong, he certainly wasn't here for anything good. His face showed hatred and he started throwing fireballs before he even asked any questions. He didn't mean you any good, but I don't think he was here to kill you."

  Amelia nodded, her expression turning thoughtful. "Good to know. Now, if things go well—"

  "They are," he interrupted. "In fact, everything is going a little bit too close to our plan. We're all kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. The guards outside our group are freaking out. There was a lot of arguing in the barracks tonight when they were informed about the remnant. Some didn’t believe it, and others were ready to march toward the Madlands right then."

  "Good. Soon, they'll come to me for orders." Amelia sighed, momentarily placing her hands on the sides of her face as she shook her head. Dropping them back down, she told him, "We have to be ready. And when things really start to go down, we need to make sure Arryn is on that wall protecting the city. She needs to be seen."

  The Guard nodded his head once. "Understood."

  It wasn't much later when they heard loud voices coming down the street just before the pounding on her door started. Looking outside, they could see it was a mix of the Guard and citizens, all of whom wanted answers.

  Amelia turned to him and smiled. "Here we go."

  ***

  Several of Arryn's trusted Guard students found her outside the city in the tallest branches of one of the trees Cathillian had grown with his nature magic students—students who had been tossed aside during all of this, though it was obvious they still worked every day to grow the mighty oaks.

  "Amelia is giving orders. Everything is falling into place," one of them reported.

  Arryn quickly made her way down the tree with Cathillian close behind her. "We've been watching the east and we've seen a couple of scouts from the remnant, so this is definitely happening. If anything, we’ve learned something. They use scouts, and they are far more battle-conscious than we knew. This will be one hell of a fight."

  The Guard paused, his eyes widening as he took in her words. "Did you engage?"

  Cathillian shook his head. "If we engaged, they would know that we knew they were coming. Then they might try something subtler, and we could lose more men. Samuel says that if they believe we are completely unsuspecting, they will use their normal tactics. They will attack head-on with a horde, and we want that if we want to take out large numbers at once. They didn't get close enough to the city to warrant us giving our plan up."

  The Guard nodded. "Understood. We know Amelia is giving orders to the rest of the Guard, but we need to know what you want us to do."

  Arryn smiled. "I'm gonna need my staff, bow, and quiver from the house. You guys should get your bows and quivers as well. I want all of you on the eastern wall before the sun rises."

  The men looked at one another, all of them nodding and smiling as they turned back to Arryn. "Yes, ma'am," their captain said.

  The men headed back into the city. With their own men positioned at the gate, they would all be able to walk in and out freely. The shift change wouldn't happen until well after the sun broke over the horizon, which was more than plenty of time. By that point, Arryn felt certain the remnant would already be there.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Archers, hold!" Arryn shouted.

  Her voice was the only sound that could be heard other than the gentle shifting of feet and the slight creak of bows as they were pulled tight.

  The early spring temperatures were still frigid in the mornings; Arryn could see her breath in the cold air. A light fog had descended upon the area that morning, creating the illusion that everything was calm. Peaceful.

  But with the obvious threat of a remnant incursion, it was anything but.

  Hundreds of guards stood ready on the ground and several more stood on the wall with Arryn, bows in hand, as she tried to remind herself to breathe.

  The possibility of a remnant invasion of the city had become reality.

  Thinking back on everything that had led her there, she realized that even with all the problems that lay below her, she was happy to be right where she was. Defending the city as she should be.

  That morning, she had ditched her normal garb and wore something in the black and red colors of the city, even using one of the Guard’s cloaks to conceal her on the wall. Until the remnant came, she wanted to keep her face hidden from anyone who might cause her trouble.

  As it was, no one cared too much about the archers on the wall. They believed their true strength lay with what was essentially their infantry.

  Arryn stood on top of the wall that separated Arcadia from the rest of the world and stared outward into the fog as she tried to see anything coming their way.

  “Hey, bitches,” Arryn called, holding her bow tightly and taking aim at what seemed like nothingness. “How lucky are ya feeling today?”

  She heard a laugh from one of her archers beside her. “Lucky enough not to fall off the wall and on my ass. Anything else, ask me later.”

  A smile crossed her face. “Fair enough. Let’s just hope Cathillian doesn’t get hit on by one of their chicks. They might be ugly, but Cathillian can’t deny a girl that thinks he’s prettier than she is.”

  They were getting closer; Arryn could feel it. Any moment, the remnant would shout to announce themselves and the battle would begin. Her anxiety began to climb as she began to silently pray to anyone who could hear her for the safety of her men and the safety of the city.

  She couldn't see anything, which caused her fear grow.

  But just as Samuel and Ren had told her, there wasn't a person on that wall or inside those locked gates who needed to see the enemy first. The remnant always made themselves known. It was their primary tactic—strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, get under their skin, and then rip them apart.

  But Arryn had no plans to let them win today, no plans to allow them to succeed.

  Loud gravel-voiced screams ripped through the air, chilling Arryn to the bone. She looked at the men beside her, only
to see them glancing at one another with fear on their faces. They turned to Arryn for direction, afraid of what was about to happen.

  She knew how they felt. It was up to her to be their backbone.

  "Archers, aim!" Arryn ordered. She heard wings behind her before she saw the large golden eagle who was Cathillian’s familiar fly overhead. "Echo, warn Cathillian that the remnant are here. Oh! And that the ladies will eat him alive, and not in the good way.”

  ***

  "Did ye hear that, laddies?" Ren asked. "Sounds like we’re on the wrong side of the city."

  Cathillian and Samuel shared a look just before Echo's screech pierced the skies.

  "They're coming from the east," Cathillian stated. "We need to get on the ground and prepare. Arryn will have the eastern wall covered, but they'll need us at the gate."

  As Cathillian and the rearick avoided running through a crowd on the ground, making their way across the wall toward Arryn, he sent Echo to point the other Guard toward the gates and along the walls.

  Cathillian ran as fast as he could, knowing the rearick would catch up soon enough. As he got closer to Arryn, he heard the familiar sound of bowstrings snapping. The remnant cried out as arrow after arrow pierced them.

  Before Cathillian had even reached her, he saw Arryn staring at the remnant, her eyes never leaving them and her face fierce. She looked strong, like she was built to lead in battle. She lowered her bow and stood before shouting, "Archers! Move south toward the gate!"

  Arryn ran and her men followed, stopping every fifty feet or so to loose another barrage of arrows into the horde moving southeast toward the gate.

  It was obvious that the remnant had had no idea the city had archers, which was why they had approached the eastern wall directly before moving south. It gave them the best opportunity for a sneak attack. Coming directly toward the south gate, they’d have been seen a long way off.

  But they weren’t prepared for Arryn.

  As Arryn and her group stopped again and took aim, Cathillian turned and raised his hands, causing vines to shoot from the ground and snatch a dozen or more by the throat. He roughly yanked his hands downward, and the vines pulled the remnant to the ground, breaking their necks.

  He couldn’t summon so much magic very often, so he decided to only do it once more and to save the rest for the battle on the ground.

  "Cathillian!" Arryn called. "Glad to see you join us."

  They ran another seventy-five feet down the wall before Arryn stopped the group again and loosed another barrage of arrows. It seemed strange, but her tactic was working well and thinning them out as they charged toward the gate.

  Her men weren't the best archers, but they were able to hit their targets. Whether it was in the legs, arms, or something vital in a few cases, their arrows found the enemy.

  Once again, Cathillian used his magic to take out some of the horde. With more than a hundred and fifty of them, it was the largest group he'd ever heard of.

  "What's the plan once they hit the front gates?" Cathillian shouted.

  Arryn pointed toward the southern wall as they drew closer. Magicians stood on the walls raining fireballs down on the remnant.

  "It looks like Amelia has already begun!" she shouted back.

  Right then, a gust of wind blew through, pushing the hood of Arryn's cloak back to reveal her face. A few Guard on the ground took notice and began shouting her name and pointed her out to the rest.

  "It's her! It's the murderer. She's come back!" one of them shouted loudly enough for Cathillian to hear.

  The moment he heard it, Cathillian became enraged. His hand whipped out to his side and a vine burst from the ground and snatched the man up to bring him face-to-face with Cathillian.

  His eyes revealed just how angry it made him to see Arryn defending the city she'd dreamed of coming back to for so long, only to be treated so harshly.

  "She's no murderer. She's defending the city. Defending you. In case you hadn't noticed, she managed to take out several of the remnant before they have even come around the front of the city. Why don't you spread that? Because she's about to be your fucking hero."

  The man's eyes were wide, and Cathillian didn't give him a chance to respond before lowering him down far enough that the remaining drop wouldn't hurt him. At that point, the vines released him and dumped him on his ass, giving Cathillian a small amount of joy.

  He ran hard to catch Arryn, the woman who was strong enough to put her life on the line to save the city after being framed for murder and ostracized. At that moment, he wished more than anything that her parents could see her. He knew they would be proud.

  ***

  "All right, ya skinny little bastards," Samuel shouted at the Guard as he made his way through. "Lots of ye are about ta get yer arses handed ta ye, but ye can prevent that if ye keep your eyes open and fight with yer head."

  Samuel had never seen most of these men before, so he had no idea what their skill level was, but he hoped it was higher than beginner. He watched the men glancing at one another before nodding and focusing on him.

  "You're a rearick," one of them said. "I'm sure you've fought them before. What do we do?"

  "Stay low. Stay outta the reach of their weapons, and go fer the legs. The legs might be big, but that’s the weak spot. They use their upper body more than anythin’—it's why they prefer weapons. Make no mistake, they're fast and they're strong, but if ye keep yer eyes open ye'll survive ta tell the tale."

  "Rearick must be pretty crafty to go against them, little as they are," one of the men told him. "Not to mention weird-looking."

  Samuel laughed. "Ye'll find there's beauty in bein’ short and ugly. Fer instance, that pretty face o’ yers is gonna be the first thing they notice. I'm bettin’ the remnant will find ye pretty appetizin'. If I was you, I'd rub some dirt on that face."

  The smartass turned pale as he quickly ran to the side and began packing dirt all over him. The rest of the Guard laughed at their fellow soldier before it was cut off short by the scream of the remnant at their gates.

  Samuel headed toward the front gate, motioning for the men to follow. There were already dozens of men waiting directly in front, but Samuel wanted to bring up more.

  As he got closer, he saw Amelia standing on top of the wall, giving the orders for the magicians to fire. The sounds of explosions rang out from the other side of the wall as hellfire rained down on the remnant bastards.

  "Brace for impact!" Amelia shouted just before twisting her body to the side and leaning back, narrowly avoiding a spear thrown in her direction.

  It sounded like thunder hit the gate as the remnant crashed into it, but as Amelia had told them, the Guard on the other side were ready.

  Again and again, the remnant bombarded the gate, the sound of splintering wood echoing throughout the immediate area. Several magicians on the wall had been hit with spears, axes, and other weapons that could be used as projectiles, but Amelia continued to fight.

  Arryn soon joined the fray with her archers, firing arrow after arrow.

  “Hey, short and handsome,” Cathillian said, finally making his way to the front lines. “How’s it going up here?”

  Samuel gestured back to the men behind him. “This lot likes ta think they’re funny. Pickin’ on a short, old man. I’ll show ‘em.”

  “That’s not nice. Bastards.”

  “Thanks, lad. Appreciate it,” Samuel responded with a nod.

  “Yeah! No problem. Making fun of you is my job,” Cathillian said, turning back a moment to size up the men. “Talk about lack of job security.”

  The wood began to crack, the sound echoing out around them. It wouldn’t be long.

  "Brace yerselves, lads!" Samuel shouted. "The remnant are coming."

  "From what I've heard," Cathillian told him with a wink before looking back at the men, "that's not necessarily inaccurate. I hear they like to have fun with their new toys after all."

  "Wh-what?" a scared Guard behind Sam
uel stuttered. “When you say fun…”

  The rearick had heard him make nasty remarks about his people at some point or another. So, he was happy to have Cathillian’s quick humor at his side right then.

  Samuel pointedly looked the man up and down, raising his eyebrows. "Yeesh. Lad, I'd suggest maybe ye should rub some dirt on that face of yers, too. Better safe than sorry and all that."

  Cathillian couldn't hold back his laughter, enjoying the rearick's ability to give people a hard time to matter what the situation.

  ***

  Amelia's chest grew tight as she watched as the remnant succeeded in smashing through Arcadia’s gate from her perch on the wall.

  Her instinct told her to throw fireball after fireball, but at this point, her people were mixed with theirs. She couldn't risk hurting anyone, and using that much magic this early in the game was a bad idea anyway.

  "I'm out of arrows," Arryn reported. "I'm out of arrows, and I'm not as good with the vines as Cathillian is. Mine are wimpy. Tell him that, and I’ll smack you myself. I'm gonna have to get down on the ground."

  Arryn turned to leave, but Amelia grabbed her by the wrist. "Can you call a storm like you did the last time? A few lightning bolts could thin out their ranks. Look!"

  Amelia and Arryn both turned to the horde of remnant threatening the city. Arryn and her men had killed fifty or so, but there were still more than a hundred about to crash the gate.

  "I can't call on magic that big without a surge of emotion—you know how it works. I might be angry right now, but I'm sure as hell not blindly raging. That, and I don't know if it would be wise to use that much magic this early," Arryn told her.

  Amelia knew she was right, but she also knew Arryn was right about something she’d said a long time ago. The Guard wasn't ready, not for this. A dozen or so of the bastards, sure. Maybe even fifty. But there was no way in hell they would survive an onslaught by more than a hundred remnant, even with hundreds of their own men.