Refuge: Book 5: Angels & Demons

by Doug Dandridge

  [We will fly over and hit them on the walls] sent the commander. [Then we will split, first flight to the gate, the other to the enemy engines.]

  The acknowledgments came back, followed a moment later by a cry of alarm. The commander looked up into the sky, to see fifteen silver dragons coming down on them out of the sun.

  [Scatter and attack] ordered the commander, sending his own mount, the largest of the group, into the air. Fireballs came down, the breath weapons of the silvers, most missing the weaving reds, one striking the smallest and burning its rider from its back. That red was injured, not seriously, but no longer under control of a rider and now flying for its life. Two of the silvers banked off from their formation and took after the red, spitting fireballs its way as they closed the distance.

  Reds and silvers came together in the violent collision of species of dragons that were natural enemies. Breath weapons hit before they brought their claws and teeth into action. The reds were outnumbered, but not by a large margin, and most of the collisions were one on one. Claws raked deep through scales while hot dragon's blood spurted, snake like necks arched and wide jaws darted forward. It looked to be a bloody and drawn out affair, until the smaller raptors came diving in to strike the enemy dragons with steel shod claws and beaks.

  The end was never in doubt once the battle hawks had joined. Three remaining reds flew off, only one with a living rider. The last effort of the evil Emperor to reinforce the bridge had failed. There were less than ninety dragons left in the entire Empire, and he would be saving them to fight the assault on the capital.

  * * *

  The sun was fading in the west and the battle was still going on. The alliance troops on the wall were resting when they could, while fresh troops carried the battle to the enemy. The second assault company was now leading at the gate, having forced their way in and spread out into a standard Legion formation. Third company had joined them, and the widened front was pushing the enemy across the courtyard. Soon they would be among the ruins of the barracks and in front of the central tower, in a fight they were not trained to win. It would devolve into one on one combat, something with which the Ellala were much more experienced.

  "Remind the battalion commander to stop before he gets to the structures," said Delgado, talking to a messenger. "If the enemy comes at them, they are to stand their ground and kill them from formation. But under no circumstances are they to break formation and follow the elves into the buildings."

  The messenger nodded and ran off. Delgado had already sent a mental command to the battalion commander, but he wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding.

  The sun had almost gone down, his own Ellala were starting to move forward to take their own part in the battle, doing what they did best, and it was almost time for the attack to go forward on the other fort.

  * * *

  "Are we ready?" asked Kurt, looking into the eyes of the other immortals around him. Jackie, Gregor and Izabella all nodded, anxious expressions on their faces. They had the best armor in the army, the best weapons. They were hard to kill, healing quickly from any wound, but invulnerable they were not. They could feel pain as well as any living creature, and they would be facing numerous enemies before they were reinforced.

  The sun had gone down an hour before, and it was starting to become very dark, just the conditions they had been waiting for. A hooting erupted nearby, followed by some whispered commands in a soothing tone.

  "Then let's be about it," said the leader of the force designated for taking this side of the attack. It went against all military doctrine for the leader to be dropped right in among the enemy, but he was probably the mightiest warrior on either side of the river, Levine the possible exception, and he was needed on that attack.

  "The riverboats are reporting a number of Ellala moving over the bridge, General," said one of the communications mages. "A great number."

  "That's what we've been waiting for," said Jackie, flashing a nervous smile.

  Kurt nodded and led the way through the brush to the landing area that was far enough away from the fort to remain out of sight during the day. Large eyes turned their way as they entered the clearing, soft hooting erupting. The riders, men and women with elf features under coal-dark skin, stared at the humans with red eyes that seemed to glow in the night.

  "Can't be any different than riding those big hawks," said Izabella Kozlowski, the oldest of the immortals after Levine, though her age was an order of magnitude less than his. Still, being in Warsaw while Napoleon rode through was saying something.

  Kurt wasn't sure he agreed with her, but this was what they had, so this was what they would be using.

  "The birds are ready," said a human in German with a strong French accent. "We are ready."

  The Immortals wouldn't be the only riders in this attack. Almost a hundred former members of the French Foreign Legion and their Dark Elf allies would be coming along. The commandos wore light armor of great enchantment, made to work as camouflage in the night, blurring the lines of the wearer and making them indistinct targets, as well as giving them protection just slightly less robust than plate. They carried dark elf crossbows that had been modified by the Earthers to make them fast firing weapons, capable of being cocked with two pulls of the lever. Bolts in quivers protruded over their shoulders.

  "Are the gate assault teams ready to go in?" asked Kurt, looking over at his aide.

  "Yes, sir. And we have sent out the signal to the hawk teams. They are ready as well."

  "Then let's get this over with," said Kurt, waiting as the Dark Elf ground crew motioned them to their birds.

  The giant owl looked down curiously at its temporary rider, a calm look, disconcerting in a fierce predator. A Dark Elf was already strapped into the saddle, her own crossbow in one hand.

  "We are ready, my Lord," said the rider in French, nodding to the rope ladder.

  Kurt climbed the knotted rope and swung a leg over the saddle. The elf smiled back at him as he settled himself in his seat, snapping the Earther-made belt around his waist. We didn't only bring our advanced tech with us, technology that no longer works, thought the immortal. But we had so many simpler ideas, still advanced of anything they had, which are proving useful. Like this simple buckle.

  It took some minutes to get everyone aboard. As soon as the last commando was settled a loud hoot announced the command to lift. The bird under Kurt spread its wings, flapped hard twice, and sprung into the air. Loud flapping sounded from all sides, and the forms of the great birds soon surrounded Kurt's owl, rising up and leveling out over the trees, heading toward the walls of the fortress.

  The birds stayed low, their natural inclination. The hawks were high fliers, owls weren't, and they were also predisposed to be quiet. But no matter how quiet they were, they would be seen. Or they would have been, if not for the field of darkness that was now surrounding them, the gift of the Dark Elf priests who tapped into the power of their Chaos gods. Still, the wall of darkness rolling across the open area in front of the fort had to be something someone would notice. Hopefully it was something that would confuse them long enough.

  The owls and their riders had no trouble seeing through the darkness. They were creatures of darkness, and even though it had an adverse effect on that vision, it was not enough to harm their ability to operate.

  A fireball lit up the night, very little light reaching through the field of darkness, though the heat of the ball was felt as it flew by. One owl hooted in terror as the ball came too close, singeing its feathers and sending it off at an angle to strike one of its fellows.

  A couple of arrows came flying through the formation, not hitting anything, seemingly launched without a target. More followed, a few hitting by random chance. One owl hooted in pain, a Dark Elf grunted. Another fireball flew through and one of the owls went up in a torch, flapping away in agony, carrying its burning passengers with it.

  Kurt was readying himself for the storm of projectiles that
would soon be heading for him when the owl's rider motioned for him to unbuckle and get off. He looked down, seeing only darkness, not knowing how far off the ground he was. It could be a hundred meters, but he had to have faith that it was close enough that he would land uninjured.

  The Dark Elf fired his crossbow at something, then cocked it and quickly set another bolt on the tray. Kurt pulled the buckle, then pushed himself to his feet and jumped from the bird. The ground came up faster than he had expected, seconds after he pushed off. His feet hit the hard stones, the darkness was no longer around him, and it was no longer time to think about anything but fighting. There were a dozen Ellala in the square still on their feet, most with swords, some bowmen firing at random into the air. More were looking down from the walls, bowmen pulling their strings, swordsmen looking for the quickest way down to the courtyard.

  The other immortals landed, along with over ninety of the French and Dark Elf commandos. The commandos aimed and fired their crossbows as soon as they had targets, most at the men already in the courtyard, some at those along the wall. As soon as they fired they knelt, cocked their bows and set the next bolt in place, aiming and firing as soon as they were ready.

  "To the gate," yelled Kurt, pulling Lenoris, his Paladin's blade from the sheath over his back. The blade started singing as he swung it, a song of divine power and terrible rage. A couple of arrows struck his armor, bouncing off, including one glowing magical penetrator. He, like all the immortals, was wearing the best armor his side possessed. At first he had balked at the thought of taking armor that could protect a worthy man who didn't heal as he did, but it had been drilled into him that it was important that he remain functional on the battlefield, since he and the others of his kind were each worth more than a score of any other warriors. So he ignored the projectiles and concentrated on cutting his way to the gate, his great blade singing through the air to slice through the armor and flesh of the defenders, leaving at least one dead with every swing. He moved in a blur, impossible speed for one so big, kicking his system into overdrive. It was an ability of his kind, and one that could lead to temporary damage to his nervous system and permanent destruction of memories as his body overheated. Nevertheless, it was necessary at the moment in time.

  Two Ellala in their plate and chain armor attacked the immortal, swinging their blades in to clang off his heavier protection. Kurt swung his blade with one hand, slicing through the shield and armor of the first elf, his blade hitting the much better shield of the other. Just because it couldn't cut through didn't mean the blow wasn't effective. It lifted the elf from his feet and flung him ten meters away to crash into some of his fellows and take them all to the ground. The big man reversed his swing and hit another Ellala, this one a bowman, on his top right arm. The Paladin blade screamed as it cut through the chainmail, and continued into the arm, through the bone, and into the chest cavity. The elf was lifted from his feet and thrown away, already dead.

  Jackie fought beside her lover, her twin katanas flashing through the air. The right hand blade was Fire, burning into the flesh of her opponents. The left was Ice, freezing flesh and armor, leaving them vulnerable to the other blade that hit to shatter the target. She was faster than Kurt, though not as strong. Which meant she was both faster and stronger than the Ellala she fought, and she carved a path through to the gate piled to both sides with the bodies of her enemies.

  Kurt took a brief moment to admire the grace of the beautiful woman, his chosen bride on this world. Her ice blue eyes, the same color as his own, flashed his way for a moment, while white teeth shone in her brown face. Then she was back to business, as was Kurt, skewering an Ellala on the point of his blade and throwing him into a group of warriors running in, disrupting their attack.

  Gregor and Izabella were also fighting as a team, keeping the enemy from massing in enough of a formation to take out the commandos. Gregor used a massive ax that would have taken both hands of a strong man, crushing multiple enemies with each swing. Izabella, who had trained in the age of Napoleon as a swordswoman, smashed faces with her small shield while the point of her blade darted like the paw of a cat, taking a life with each thrust.

  A fireball washed over Kurt and Jackie, thrown from the walls, where archers and a few mages were trying to turn the tide of the fight in the courtyard. The Ellala still in contact with the pair burst into flame with screams of agony piercing the air. To Kurt it felt like the warm air from a clothes dryer had flowed over him, and he thanked his immunity to magic for keeping him from becoming like the elves around him. A trio of crossbow bolts hit the mage, who fell from the wall before he could complete another incantation.

  The commandos were still in the game, but they were getting the worst of it as more Ellala entered the fray. If not for the immortals, they would have been almost instantly overrun. The French weren't the close in fighters the elves were. Though the Dark Elves were on par with the Ellala, they were heavily outnumbered. As strong as they were, the Ellala kept swarming in the way of the immortals as they fought toward the gate.

  Kurt had to admit that the elves were brave. They had to realize that any that got close to the immortal humans would not be in the land of the living for much longer, but they continued to throw themselves in the path of the fighting machines. If something didn't break soon, the four would find themselves alone in the courtyard and surrounded. They were very hard to kill, healing almost instantly from any wound, but enough damage could bring them low enough to be swarmed under, and once captured he was sure the elves would come up with some way to dispatch them for good.

  Kurt cut down three more Ellala and thought the gate in reach, when more rushed out of the guard towers to push them back. He did the only thing he could, strike and strike again, each blow killing one or more of the seemingly endless mass of enemies keeping him from his objective.

  A few yells from the wall caused him to look up for a moment, all he could spare. The birds had arrived with their loads, and dwarves were fighting their way along the wall while the Conyastoya along with them were firing down into the courtyard. Scores of Ellala fell to arrows, and the battle started to stabilize, not quite swinging in the way of the attackers, but no longer headed for disaster.

  [We're outside the gate] came the message by mindspeak to Kurt.

  [And that's great, but we're not to it yet] he sent in return, bringing his blade down on the shoulder of another Ellala.

  [Over here] sent Jackie as she killed another defender and reached a lever on the wall. She pulled it down and some of the huge bolts holding the valves closed started to retract. But not all of them.

  Kurt joined her and set his back to the wall, defending the lever from the Ellala who realized they must get to it or the gate would be opened. Gregor and Izabella had reached the other side, and with a quick motion the Russian pulled the lever while the Pole guarded his back.

  The second set of bolts withdrew, and now nothing was holding the door closed. Kurt sent a message over mindspeak, while he set his hands on one of the valves and started to push as Gregor, almost as strong as the German, pushed on the other. The doors were perfectly balanced, and could be pushed open by a couple of the much weaker Ellala. The two immortals shoved the gates partially open while the women guarded their backs. Kurt felt a couple of blows on his back, one a light tap that had to have been caused by an arrow, the other the heavier blow of a swung weapon. There were several shrill screams as the attackers were removed. Men outside the gate grabbed the valves and pulled them open, leaving the way clear for a company of legionnaires to come rushing through, Paul at their head. The largest of the immortals had a hammer that had been forged by one of the lesser gods, sparks of electricity dancing along its head.

  Paul ran to the gate in the other wall, that was just being pushed shut. He swung his war hammer into the left portal with a thunderclap of power, blasting it open and flinging the defending Ellala back. He was through the gate in an instant, beating down the elves that were tr
ying to get him out of the way so they could close the gate. A handful of dwarves came through with him to form a shield wall.

  "Follow me," yelled Kurt, leading the way, just as he done with his panzaergrenadiers on the Eastern front of the Great War. He led the way across the courtyard on the run, knocking Ellala out of the way with his sword, not even attempting to kill at the point. The only thing on his mind was getting to the other gate, the one set in the tower which the road ran through on its way to the span of the bridge. That gate was currently open, and some Ellala were still running into the courtyard to join the battle. Kurt was willing to let that happen, since elves in the courtyard were easier to kill than those holding a tower.

  The immortal reached the leftmost valve as it was still in the process of closing, the other already shut. He grabbed the valve with gauntleted hands, setting his feet and pulling against the many Ellala on the other side. Something heavy hit one of his hands. It didn't penetrate the armor, but it hurt like hell, and he gritted his teeth and forced himself to hold on and pull. The gate resisted for a moment, then started swinging out as his strength overcame that of the men on the other side. With a hard grunt he jerked it away and open. Releasing the gate, he grabbed his blade from the ground and ran through the opening, his sword knocking dozens of Ellala to the turf.

  The other immortals ran in after him, and soon Gregor was pushing the other valve open, Paul striking down doomed men with his hammer, while the legionaries came rushing in. Kurt fought his way across the chamber, to reach the other gate, assuring himself that it locked from this side. He pulled the one partially open valve closed and set the locks. Leaving the gate under the charge of a squad of legionnaires, along with Paul, he led the assault on the tower, running to the wooden door that guarded the way up and shattering that portal with a single blow.

  He found Jackie had rejoined him, while Gregor and Izabella took the door on the other side of the chamber and started up that way. The fight went on, level after level, stairway after stairway, door after door. The Ellala fought hard, but they could only come at the immortals a few at a time, and a few at a time were no match for the two immortals they faced at every turn. It was tiring and thirsty work, but the exhausted immortals continued to battle their way up, until they hit the last doorway and ran up the steps and onto the top of the tower. Over a score of warriors waited for them, and Kurt let them have no chance to prepare, taking the fight to them in an instant, Jackie by his side.