by Nathan Roden
They made their way through the trees without a word. Finally, they heard the din of voices ahead of them. Simon and Godwin signaled for the men to stop.
They remained quiet for an hour. And then they heard the cry from the head of the kingdom’s army.
“Forward march!”
“Are you ready?” Simon asked Tanner.
Tanner threw back his head and laughed.
“I have never been more ready, my king!”
The giant wolf crashed through the trees, followed by Simon and over a hundred soldiers.
Tanner reached the men at the western end of the kingdom’s army first. The soldiers turned. They were temporarily frozen in place when they saw their fellow soldiers torn apart by the giant wolf.
The blue and white clad soldiers sliced through the kingdom’s soldiers, leaving them dead, dying, or fleeing into the forest. The former soldiers of Morgenwraithe gained strength from their victories and charged forward with reckless abandon. They encountered cannons and catapults and their crews. Those men were not prepared for an attack. Many of them tried to surrender but it was too late. They were slaughtered. The new allies of Islemar raised their hands and their swords, screaming their hatred for Sterling and his army into the skies.
A horn sounded to the east. Simon picked up a sword from a fallen soldier. He saw another dying kingdom soldier not far away, clutching a bow. Simon started toward him. He looked up and saw a line of Morgenwraithe’s archers preparing to volley.
“Archers!” Simon cried.
Godwin was not far away.
“Archers! Take cover!” he cried.
Nine of their men fell in the archer’s assault. Godwin followed behind Simon as they ran toward the forest. Simon slipped and fell when he almost ran straight into a horse galloping in the opposite direction. Simon could not believe his eyes.
“Jaclyn? What are you doing here?”
Simon noticed his fellow soldiers chasing behind Jaclyn.
Simon turned and saw Godwin raise his bow.
“No! No, Lord Godwin. These are my friends!”
Godwin signaled to his men. He glared at Jaclyn and the others.
“Get off those horses if you want to live. You’re too big a target.”
The horn sounded again, and then three cannons sounded. Simon looked hopefully into the sky, but he saw nothing.
“They know Lamont is on the march,” Simon said. “I have to find Sterling.”
Simon ran three steps and turned.
“Do not follow me.”
And he was gone into the trees.
“What do we do?” Ben said.
Boone gave a wry smile.
“We follow him, of course.”
Forty-Three
The horn sounded again, followed by two more cannon blasts. Simon checked his rear, and noticed a shadow pass over him. He looked up.
Mother. But how?
“Thank the gods,” Simon said aloud. Another shadow passed over him. And then another. And another.
Eight dragons in all. Mother was the only one fully grown, but Simon did not care. Alice was among them. Simon pondered briefly.
Sara. And Zeke. Bless you children.
When the echoes of the cannon blast died away, Simon heard other sounds—the sounds of war. Shouts. The clanging of swords. The screams of passion, pain, and death.
Simon turned away. The heat from multiple blasts of dragon fire made him cry out. He ran away from the tree-line, which burst into flames behind him. Simon glanced to the west and saw a wave of blue coats approaching.
He recognized the faces that led them.
Boone and Ben Blankenship, Helena, Oliver, Brendan and Reece,
And his brother, Lucien.
“Fools,” Simon muttered aloud.
But he had expected nothing less. He prayed he would not have to watch any of them die.
Simon had to jump out of the way as seven kingdom soldiers ran past him. None of them made it very far. Their crimson coats had been set ablaze by the dragons. They fell to the ground, one by one.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Godwin’s men engaged the enemy at Simon’s side. Simon killed a rushing soldier with a slash of his sword. He saw movement in the sky.
“Archers!” he cried.
Few of Godwin’s men held shields. A full quarter of them fell to the barrage of arrows. Godwin was struck twice. Simon ran to him. He pulled Godwin’s arm over his shoulder. He had no hope of moving the large man by himself.
“Help me!” Simon cried.
“Save your strength lad,” Godwin said. “I’m done.”
Godwin grabbed Simon’s collar and pulled him close.
“Avenge us, boy!”
“I will, my lord.”
Godwin’s body fell limp and lifeless.
Simon looked to the east; to the middle of the King’s Road.
And for Simon Morgenwraithe, time slowed to a crawl.
In one panoramic vision, the entirety of Morgenwraithe’s future unfolded before his eyes.
In the air, he watched as Mother and Alice took down rows of kingdom soldiers with passes of fire. The dragons dove toward the ground, chasing screaming men to their deaths. The savage jaws snapped open and shut, leaving heads and limbs in their wake.
The scarlet and gold cloaks continued to press eastward against the onslaught of Islemar’s army. Simon recognized his allies, one by one.
Lord Lamont. Noah. Captain Finn. Lieutenant Winston. Sir Gregory Beasley. They all roared and ran forward as if this was their final stand.
And it was.
Simon forced himself to look away from his friends. His countrymen. Those he thought of as family.
The army of Morgenwraithe had splintered. The remaining forces were conflicted, faced with only three choices; face Sterling’s wrath, death by dragon fire, or the charging mass of blue coats.
Simon’s eyes focused. He saw his ultimate targets.
Captain Raynard.
And Lord Sterling Morgenwraithe.
Simon dropped his bow. He shucked the quiver off of his shoulder and squeezed the grip of the sword. His eyes narrowed.
Everything faded into the background except the hated face of his uncle.
Simon almost paid dearly for his inattention. He heard the nearby screams at the last moment as a kingdom soldier crashed into his side. The man’s coat was ablaze, the scarlet and gold barely visible. Simon recoiled and threw out his arms, knocking the man to the ground.
Simon dropped to his knees, patting out the fire that had moved to his own coat. Bodies rushed past him. Hands grabbed him by the arms, pulling him to his feet. He caught glimpses of their faces—Lucien and Brendan.
Simon looked in every direction. Sterling had disappeared.
“No!” Lucien cried.
Reece rushed ahead. He stopped and pulled his bow.
An arrow struck Reece in his right leg. Another struck his shoulder.
Simon charged toward his wounded ally. At the last moment, he looked to his side. An evil grin spread across the face of Captain Raynard as he leveled his crossbow at Reece.
The arrow pierced Reece’s neck. He tottered for a moment and then fell to his side.
“No!” Lucien and Brendan screamed.
Boone, Ben, and Helena loosed arrows at Raynard as Simon charged forward with his sword raised. Raynard disappeared behind a row of catapults.
Two catapults launched boulders into the air. Both found their marks—one young dragon fell dead. Another had its wing broken. The wounded dragon crashed hard onto the ground. The other catapults stood unloaded and unmanned, their crews either dead or fleeing from dragon fire.
Simon saw a curious sight. And then another. And another.
Men ran about bare-chested; their coats discarded as they sought sanctuary with Islemar’s army. Simon saw Raynard emerge, screaming at his infantry. Those men targeted the new deserters. Many of the half-naked men were struck down.
A single c
annon sounded. Simon heard the report and ran toward it. Out of a line of fourteen cannons, only two had not been destroyed. Each of those had a two man crew. Simon approached them from the rear. The crew of the second cannon prepared to fire.
Simon slashed his sword against one man’s neck. The other turned, staring at Simon wide-eyed. He was unarmed.
Simon paused only briefly before burying his sword in the man’s belly.
The other crew was hurrying to reload their cannon. Both of those men had short swords at their sides.
Simon did not hesitate. He ran at the men, slashing his sword side to side. One of the men shouted a warning, drawing his sword.
The giant wolf came from nowhere and snapped his powerful jaws over the man’s head.
The second man fell to his knees, trembling. Simon ran him through.
“Thank you,” Simon said to Tanner. The wolf leapt away, chasing six more screaming soldiers into the woods.
Simon saw the familiar head of hair rush past him.
Jaclyn.
Two soldiers ran at Ben and Oliver, their swords raised. Lucien fired an arrow into the face of one. Jaclyn buried her dagger into the back of the other. Four more kingdom soldiers ran at them.
Tanner attacked and killed the first one. Brendan charged at the second. His eyes burned with rage even as tears spilled down his cheeks. The blow of his sword severed the soldier’s head. Lucien ran behind Brendan until the last second. He stepped to Brendan’s side holding an arrow in his right hand. With a feral scream, Lucien rammed the arrow through a soldier’s eye.
Tanner chased after eight soldiers who fled into the woods. Lucien and Brendan took cover behind a wagon and fired arrows as kingdom soldiers ran to Raynard’s aid.
One kingdom soldier remained an immediate threat. A metal blade flashed by Simon’s left side.
“No!” Simon roared.
Jaclyn screamed as she raised a short sword above her head.
The charging soldier stopped, and fell forward, knocking Jaclyn to the ground. The soldier had an arrow in the middle of his back.
Captain Raynard stepped calmly forward. He placed another arrow in his crossbow.
“No common infantryman is going to cheat me out of my prize,” Raynard snarled.
Simon lunged at Jaclyn. He missed. Jaclyn’s cry was filled with every ounce of hatred within her as she ran at Raynard. Raynard laughed as he raised the crossbow…
The flash of black fur came from twenty feet away. Jaclyn fell backward on top of a dead soldier. Magdalena roared as she leapt at Raynard, her eyes focused on his neck.
Raynard pulled the trigger of the crossbow. His curses filled the air. The wolf cried out and fell onto its side. Raynard dropped the crossbow and drew his sword as he stomped toward the wolf that lay panting on the ground. An arrow protruded from the wolf’s shoulder. Raynard raised his sword with both hands. He paused when he heard a cry to his side.
“Drop it, you bastard!”
Captain Thaddeus Finn charged Raynard without regard for his own safety. Raynard calculated his odds. If he struck the wolf, Finn would reach him in time to tackle him to the ground. Raynard turned and dove behind a catapult.
Finn fell at the side of the wounded wolf. The wolf transformed into Magdalena.
“Pull it out,” she said to Finn. “Hurry.”
“But…”
“Do you love me, Thaddeus?” Magdalena said.
“More than life itself,” Finn said.
“Then pull the arrow.”
Magdalena pulled away and transformed to the wolf again.
Finn stood. He placed his foot on the wolf’s body. He grabbed the arrow and yanked it free. The wolf screamed in agony and changed back into human form. She leapt to her feet and charged toward the catapult, with Helena and Jaclyn at her heels.
They ran, not knowing where Raynard was. He lay beneath the wagon and stuck out his leg. Jaclyn and Helena tripped over it. Raynard jumped to his feet. Captain Finn rounded the side of the catapult. Raynard pulled a dagger and threw it. Finn dove to the ground but the dagger pierced his thigh.
Raynard raised his sword. Magdalena lay on the ground beneath him.
“Time for you to die, witch!”
Raynard raised his sword. Captain Finn pulled himself toward Raynard from behind. Finn lunged, wrapping his artificial hand around Raynard’s left ankle. Sweat poured from Finn’s brow as a bolt of pain threated to force him into unconsciousness. Raynard raised his right foot above Finn’s face.
“Are you ready to die, Captain?” Raynard snarled.
“Only one captain will die today,” Magdalena said.
Raynard looked at her and began to laugh. It did not last long.
Finn roared as he squeezed Raynard’s ankle. Raynard’s knees buckled. He dropped his sword. Finn squeezed even harder. The bones in Raynard’s legs gave way with a sickening crunch. He fell to the ground and rolled in agony, grabbing at his ruined leg.
Magdalena crawled to Finn’s side. She took his face in her hands.
“How bad is it?” she asked.
“Leg wound. I’ll be fine. You’ve stopped bleeding.”
Magdalena smiled.
“You have a magic hand, Captain.”
Magdalena stood. She reached and picked up Raynard’s sword. It was ripped from her hands.
“Belinda?” Magdalena said.
“See to the captain,” Belinda Jacobs said. She glared at Raynard.
“If I get nothing else out of this war, I’m getting my one piece of vengeance.”
Raynard’s energy was spent. His screams had turned into a soft cry. Belinda walked to his side. With the heel of her boot she stomped on Raynard’s open right hand. He screamed again.
Belinda held the sword at his throat.
“Sterling’s. Right. Hand. Your right hand is now useless, Captain. You did nothing while Sterling’s monster left a trail of dead bodies everywhere he went. One of those was my dear husband. There has been no more important person in this kingdom in a hundred years. And he was slaughtered like a pig.”
“Just kill me,” Raynard said through gritted teeth.
“I’m so sorry, Captain,” Belinda said. “You may not have noticed, but you are no longer in charge.”
Belinda leaned closer. Raynard flinched when Belinda’s hand reached toward his face. She swiped one finger at the side of his eye. She stood straight and touched her finger to her tongue.
“Oh, my,” she said. “You would think all tears would have a salty taste. But yours, Captain…are particularly sweet.”
“Kill me, bitch!”
“Did you even know my husband’s name, Captain?”
Raynard’s lips moved, but he was overcome by a surge of pain.
“I didn’t hear you,” Belinda said.
“No.”
“His name was Arthur,” Belinda said. “I want to hear you say it.”
“Mis…erable bitch!”
Belinda placed the tip of the sword against Raynard’s neck.
“Arthur,” she said.
Raynard fought to catch his breath. He opened his mouth.
“Ar…thur.”
With both her hands, Belinda shoved the sword through Raynard’s throat and into the ground below. She spit into his open eyes.
“Take his name to Valhalla with you, you son-of-a-bitch.”
Belinda joined Magdalena and Finn. She patted Magdalena’s shoulder.
“Thank you, dear. Now, let’s get this handsome young man back on his feet.”
Simon breathed heavily as he watched Raynard’s last moments. Lucien stepped to his side.
“I am truly shocked by the passion that beats within the hearts of the people,” Lucien whispered. “I had no idea.”
“Royalty is an invention of men, Lucien,” Simon said. “Inside, we are all the same. We want love. Peace. And happiness.”
“I believe that,” Lucien said. “Let us make a new beginning.”
“I am with you, Bro
ther.”
Forty-Four
“Sterling is close,” Simon said. “His forces are failing. I know it and he knows it. I can feel it.”
“Have you seen him?” Lucien asked.
“Only minutes ago,” Simon said. He pointed. “There. He was dismounting a horse.”
“Did he move east or west?”
Simon shook his head.
“I don’t know. Raynard showed up and…”
“He would have fallen back,” Lucien said. “Behind his defenses and closer to Morgenwraithe.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am not sure of anything,” Lucien said. “Are you?”
Simon held out his hand.
“I am sure of only a few things. One of those is that I am glad to call you my friend…as well as my brother.”
Lucien shook Simon’s hand and squeezed it tightly. They looked into the sky and saw five dragons swooping down and breathing fire.
“That is well and good,” Lucien said. “But we need to find Sterling quickly—while we still hold the advantage. As long as Sterling breathes, he cannot be trusted.”
Simon saw movement to his left. He raised his sword.
“It’s me, Simon!” Caleb said. He bent over, breathing heavily.
“I know where Sterling is.”
“Show me,” Simon said.
Caleb ran to the southern edge of the King’s Road. He followed it to the south. He raised his hand and stopped.
“Just over this ridge. He is surrounded by a half-dozen men. They are heavily armed.”
Simon heard sounds to his rear. He looked over his shoulder.
Lucien, Boone, Ben, Helena, Oliver, and Jaclyn followed them. Magdalena and Tanner also appeared, in their human forms. Tanner was now his normal size.
“What…?” Simon said.
Tanner shrugged.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “It almost happened at a very bad time. I was chasing down ten men as my furry self. If they had turned around before I fled, they would have cut me into pieces.”
