Windbreak

by Derek Alan Siddoway

  Halfway through the Talon, Eva turned, wondering if they could sneak away in the twilight. But her uncles were one step ahead of her. Three riders trailed her group, no doubt to make sure they did as they were told. Eva vented a sigh and was half-tempted to try to lose them in the dark. Instead, she pointed Fury down to an open space near their tent. As soon as they touched down, Soot was at her side.

  “What’s going on? We’ve been getting reports from the front but it’s been all hearsay. Someone said the Smelterborn breached the first wall and then someone else said they hadn’t even made it up the ridge yet.”

  Eva related the battle as they’d seen from their vantage point and felt disheartened by Soot’s worried expression when she finished. His face confirmed that things were going as bad as she’d thought.

  “Only half a day and they’re already almost to the pass…”

  Shadows from the spluttering torches flickered off the rocks. The wind seemed to blow without end through the Talon, a cold bitter chinook birthed on the western sea that grew more violent and icy the farther east it went. Up in the mountains, winter still refused to give away to spring.

  “We’re doing all we can,” Eva said, trying to fight the darkening mood settling over them. “The lines can only hold for so long against them.”

  “Might not be long enough,” Soot muttered.

  Suddenly tired from a day sitting around in armor, Eva began unbuckling her harness. The weight of it had dragged at her through the day, almost driving her insane, and she wanted nothing more than to shrug it off and go to bed. She reasoned the best thing she could do right now was save her strength for when it was needed. On one hand, she wanted to do her share to defend her country and people. On the other, she knew things would be dire indeed if she and her guard were required to fight.

  Soot told them he and Seppo would keep watch — they’d spent the entire day in the forge and Eva realized their assignment had probably been even more boring than hers, although much more intensive. She convinced Soot to leave Seppo alone outside the tent with instructions to wake them if anything changed. Although he tried to resist at first, the dark circles under Soot’s eyes revealed his exhaustion and he did little more than grumble at the suggestion to get some sleep with the rest of them.

  Wynn helped Eva out of her armor and, as the cumbersome mail fell away, Eva felt better at once. Having spent the whole day in each other’s company, nagging and needling at one another, the friends passed around some muttered, curt goodnights and everyone drifted off to silence or sleep if they were lucky.

  In spite of her worries, Eva slipped into a deep slumber almost as soon as they blew out the lanterns. Sometime in the night, she dreamed she was at the mouth of the pass again. This time, however, it was almost impossible to see, the sky starless overhead.

  Eva gasped as she realized she was the only one standing in the midst of hundreds of mangled, dead soldiers and dozens of defeated Smelterborn. She felt an overwhelming urge to get help, to make sure none of the Smelterborn had made it through the pass, but no matter how much she yelled, no one answered. She realized no one was alive to answer.

  Seized by panic, Eva ran west through the pass, stumbling over hacked and mutilated corpses, sobbing at the sight of familiar faces grimacing in frozen expressions of death. On the verge of hysteria, she reached inside her tunic for her Wonder. When she pulled the necklace out, however, the white stone refused to shine.

  She reached the end of the pass and stopped, looking down to see Gryfonesse below her, its white stones illuminated by a hundred fires roaring in the night sky. Eva’s mouth went dry and she looked to the right of the city and saw the Gyr. Gryphons wheeled around its peak, highlighted by the fires in the capital below. Staring, she realized their bodies were halfway rotted, the firelight reflecting through the holes in their bodies and wings. The riders on their backs cackled and screamed, more skeleton than human.

  Look upon your doom.

  The voice came from all around and inside her head as well. Eva turned and a pitch black Smelterborn with blazing red eyes stood behind her, a great horned helm on its head, enormous smithing hammer hanging from its hand. The runes blazing across its armor burned with the flames of a thousand forges.

  I will burn the impurities from this land until nothing remains!

  A great rumbling rippled through the ground and Eva fell to her knees as a howling wind screeched down the pass, knocking the gryphons out of the sky into the inferno of the blazing city below. Their dying screams, mixed with the howls of humans and the piercing cries of sabercats, filled Eva’s ears and mind. She clasped her hands to her head and pinched her eyes shut, but could not escape the awful noise.

  Eva collapsed and thrashed on the ground, wishing anything — even her own death — would make the sound stop. She rolled over and saw the black-armored Smelterborn standing above her. She grappled for her Wonder and thrust in front of her like a shield, but the chain and stone crumbled to dust in her hands. Laughing, the golem hefted its mighty hammer overhead. Eva curled in a ball, prepared to be crushed and —

  “Wake up!”

  Yanked from her dream, Eva jerked upright. Her breath came in ragged gasps and sweat drenched her shirt and hair. Eyes wide with fright, she looked around the tent and found everyone staring at her.

  “What in the sky were you dreaming of?” Sigrid asked. “We thought you were going to break something the way you were thrashing around!”

  Wynn stared, eyes almost as wide as Eva’s and Chel made the sign against evil. Approaching Eva like he might a sabercat, Ivan held out his hand and muttered a kenning. Green light floated from his hand and enveloped Eva in its soothing glow. Eva took a deep breath and relaxed. She reached for her Wonder and was reassured at the warmth pulsing from the stone.

  Between Ivan’s rune magic and the Wonder, she felt better at once. Even so, the memory of the midnight golem with the blazing red eyes loomed in her mind.

  “It spoke to me,” she said in a faint, cracked voice. Tears ran down her face.

  “What did?” Soot asked. He knelt beside her and placed his callused hands over hers. Eva reflected later that she’d never seen him so concerned. “Eva, what did you dream?”

  Unable to speak, Eva glanced at Ivan. Their eyes met and she saw the same terror in his eyes. He gave the smallest nod and she knew he’d seen the same thing in his visions. The Scrawl swallowed hard and his face drained of color.

  “It’s coming,” Ivan whispered.

  Horns blasted in the distance and a big iron arm reached inside the tent, followed by Seppo’s round head. “Hello,” he said, in the same voice he might wish them a good morning. “Please pardon my intrusion, but I believe something bad is happening at the wall.”

  Chapter Eleven

  After another kenning from Ivan, Eva was able to stand and made her way outside with the rest. Soldiers rushed by them, running to the east. Soot grabbed a passing soldier, nearly yanking him over as he wheeled him around to face them. “What’s going on?”

  “The Smelterborn have broken through the eastern wall, sir,” the man said in a hurried voice. “King Adelar and Lord Commander Andor have called for reinforcements as the men try to pull back to safety behind the fortifications in the middle of the pass. My commander was ordered to commit our reserve at once. The Scrawl, Maizoro, and Pandion companies are doing the same.”

  Before the man could finish, Eva ran into her tent and began dressing as fast as she could. Wynn followed in behind her and together they pulled the mail over her and buckled on the rest of the armor as fast as they could. Although it was only a few minutes later, to Eva it felt like hours before they were all dressed in their gear. Outside, the gryphons shifted nervously in the mounting chaos, eager to be off the ground. As Eva strode back out of the tent, Soot and Seppo stepped in front of her.

  “Where are you off to, missy?” Soot asked, folding his arms on his chest.

  Eva frowned. “I’m going to help,” she
said. “They’ll need everyone they can get.”

  Soot shook his head. “Not a stormin’ chance. You get back to the city, Eva. Adelar and Andor need you there.”

  “I can help here,” Eva said, trying to control her mounting temper. “No one else —”

  Another series of horns sounded, followed by distant shouts and screams echoing down the Talon.

  “Something is wrong,” Soot said, face growing even more grave.

  They rushed forward up the earthen rampart until they stood atop the wall. In the faint torchlight, it was hard to see much farther down the pass. Now and then, a blast of fire streaked across the sky or shot down from the sides of the pass, briefly illuminating companies of soldiers rushing east. Eva shuddered, the scene conjuring memories of her nightmare. She guessed it was still a few hours before sunrise, although not even a faint glimmer of light showed in the eastern sky. A pale sliver of moon provided scant light. They couldn’t have been asleep for more than a couple of hours — what could have gone so wrong?

  “We should get back,” Soot said, reaching for Eva.

  She shrugged his grip away. “I’m not running anymore. Let’s get the others and see what’s going on — that’s the only way we're going to find anything out.”

  Soot frowned, the wrinkle on his bald head spreading like cracked earth. “Eva you know —”

  “If there’s something we can do to help, we have to try,” she said, cutting him off.

  Wading back through the soldiers rushing eastward, Eva and Soot found the rest of her guard awaiting their return by the tent.

  “Well?” Sigrid asked, arms folded. “What’s going on?”

  Eva shook her head. “Can’t tell but we’re going to look. Everyone in?”

  Sigrid pumped her fist in the air, eyes shining with the familiar glint she got every time the prospect of battle drew near. Ivan grinned and cracked his knuckles, shaking out his fingers in preparation for working magic. Chel gave a solemn nod and Wynn tried to put on a brave face, but Eva could see the trepidation in the girl.

  “Anyone who wants to wait here with the gryphons can.” Eva looked away from Wynn so it didn’t appear she was talking just to the younger girl. Although she was technically Windsworn now, Eva knew Wynn had never been in a real battle before. Then again, neither had Eva, at least not one of the size they fought now. She looked at each of them in turn but no one wanted to stay behind.

  Satisfied, Eva walked over to Fury and the other gryphons, knowing they were as restless as the humans to join the fray. But in the darkness, the chances of them being wounded or killed weren’t worth the risk.

  “You’ve got to stay here,” she told Fury, taking a step back as the gryphon tossed his head and hissed. “I know, I know, you don’t like it either, but they’ll be plenty of fighting to go around. Now promise?”

  Fury reluctantly dipped his head. Eva wasn’t sure she could trust him to stay but had no more time to press the issue. Returning to the tent, her body groaned as the weight of her armor returned. Fully armed, Eva faced them again.

  “Let’s go.”

  With Eva, Soot and Seppo in the lead, they picked their way through the chaotic mass of men and women heading for battle. Passing over the ladder of the rear wall — Seppo merely jumped over, landing hard enough to shake the ground — they made it halfway to the second wall before meeting the wounded soldiers in retreat. Eva grimaced at the gruesome injuries on the living as well as the mangled dead. The expressions of the men and women they passed ranged from terrified to dull blankness, the latter the most unnerving.

  Each step she took, Eva grew sicker and sicker as her surroundings became more like those of her dream. She reached a trembling hand up, put it down the front of her mail and wrapped her fingers around her mother’s Wonder. Unlike her nightmare, however, the stone shone with its familiar, reassuring light, giving Eva new resolve.

  Within a quarter mile of the second wall, the cacophony rose even louder. The screams of the dying, officers bellowing and clangor of arms and armor resounded throughout the canyon cutting through the dark night.

  A fresh batch of retreating soldiers rushed by as fast as they could, burdened with the wounded. Soot grabbed one soldier on the shoulder who limped by, using a spear as a crutch. “What’s going on up there?”

  “They — they took the western wall!” the man shouted. “We were holding but then this — this thing came! A golem three times the size of the others! Smashed through our soldiers like they weren’t even there! They said the lord commander and his gryphon went down fighting it. I didn’t —”

  “Eva, wait!”

  Eva ignored Soot’s call and ran as fast as she could, pushing through the soldiers. Thumping footsteps told her Seppo followed at her heels, but Eva didn’t glance back to see if the others were keeping up. Nothing mattered but finding her family.

  Even aided by frenzied panic, Eva soon slowed, lungs and legs burning from the weight of her chain mail, sweat running down her back, soaking her padded tunic beneath the armor. Dropping her hands to her knees, she sucked in a couple of deep breaths. Before she could stand up, Seppo swept her off of her feet as if she weighed no more than a baby.

  “I’ve got you, mistress Eva!” His voice lacked the slightest hint of exhaustion, and he hadn’t even broken his stride to pick her up.

  Eva started to protest, then realized hitching a ride with Seppo was probably the fastest way to the front lines. She glanced back to see the rest of her guard trying to keep up. Looking ahead, she saw men and women surging to the top of the wall, before being thrown back just as quickly by advancing Smelterborn. In the thick of the battle, she spotted Adelar and Andor both still standing. The pair fought back to back, their gryphons swooping down at the golems from overhead.

  Seppo waded through the soldiers, a couple swinging at him until they saw his blue eyes and realized he wasn’t attacking them. Even so, Eva insisted he put her down at the bottom of the earthen mound, the errant swings a little too close for comfort. On her own feet, she climbed the mound, pressing through the knot of soldiers to reach her uncles.

  “We need more spears to the left!” she heard Andor shout. “Where are the reinforcements from Maizoro?”

  “Stay strong, men and women of Rhylance!” Adelar added. “We can hold! We must hold!” He turned toward Eva just as she reached the top of the bulwark, eyes widening in surprise.

  “Eva! What are doing? Get out of here!”

  “We came to help!” Eva looked over the rampart and saw masses of Smelterborn just a stone’s throw away, jammed in tight, shields up, pushing forward.

  “You’ve got to get out of here!” This time it was Andor yelling. He waved a hand, signaling one of his wing to come and no doubt escort Eva back to the rear. Seeing Tahl approaching, Eva almost collapsed in relief. It took everything she had not to rush forward and throw her arms around him.”

  “No!” Eva shouted again as the rest of her guard reached her side. Both Andor and Adelar gave Soot a dirty look as if to say they had expected better of him, but the smith was doubled over, huffing and puffing and didn’t notice.

  “What happened?” Eva asked. “We couldn’t get a clear story from anyone.”

  “We held the front wall for most of the evening and into the night,” Andor said, shouting to be heard over the battle. “But then this enormous golem came out of the trees. We’ve never seen it before. It cut through our defenses like they weren't even there. We’ve been pulling back ever since — our weapons can barely slow it down, let alone damage it.”

  Eva looked out over the mass of Smelterborn pushing against the wall and for a brief moment thought of all the dead and dying trampled beneath their iron boots.

  “We can’t hold much longer,” Adelar said, pulling her close to talk in her ear. “You must return to Gryfonesse and prepare the city’s defenses.”

  “I don’t —”

  Before Eva could finish, shouts of alarm rose to their left. Smelterborn s
urged over a gap in the defenses, cutting a wide circle on top of the wall as more climbed up behind them.

  “Go!” Andor yelled. “Tahl, get her out of here!”

  Tahl grabbed Eva’s elbow. She jerked away and drew her sword to enter the fray but before she could take a step, the pass reverberated with a deafening thunderclap.

  BOOM

  Everyone — men, women, and Smelterborn — halted. The ground shuddered beneath Eva’s boots.

  BOOM

  Eva look to the sky, expecting to see lightning flashing above. The thunder reverberated through the pass and Eva wondered if the Scrawls had decided to collapse the mountain on top of them.

  BOOM

  All eyes turned toward the eastern end of the pass. Barely visible in the darkness, a monstrous shadow approached towering over the other golems as if they were children.

  BOOM

  Rooted to the spot, Eva stared in horror at the colossal Smelterborn lurching toward the wall.

  Chapter Twelve

  The regular-sized Smelterborn parted before the colossus, lining a wide path down the middle of the Talon. When the enormous golem passed, the others filled in behind it, marching as fast as they could to keep up with its lengthy strides. Horror flooded Eva as she saw its armor, black as the night surrounding it, and deep red eyes burning with the ferocity of a thousand chunks of molten iron. With every step, the colossus beat a mace the size of a tree against a shield as big as a wagon, the cause of the thunderous booms.

  “Run, Eva. RUN!” Andor shoved her away, but Adelar grabbed Eva’s hand and held it tight.

  “Promise me, Eva,” he said, blue eyes piercing through her. “Promise me you’ll hold the city.”

  Overcome with shock, Eva only nodded. The colossal golem drew closer, arrows and spears falling from its armor like straw thrown at an anvil.

  “Eva, come on!”

  Tahl’s worried face drew Eva to her senses. She drew her sword, scooting sideways down the earthen slope as the rest of her guard filled in around her. The Smelterborn resumed fighting and flanked the soldiers on the wall. In such close quarters, and without the aid of numbers on their side, the human warriors fell left and right, their weapons all but useless against the golems.