Zane Halloway: Omnibus Edition

by P. T. Hylton

  Lily noticed no one corrected the elf for his failure to use an honorific when addressing the king. It was that air of royal authority he possessed, Lily suspected. He had the presence of a king even though he wasn’t one.

  Zane said, “Your Majesty, I propose we engage the enemy and fully commit ourselves to this battle. The combination of the elves and our ability to direct the Craggish Army’s attack could lead to a defining moment in the war.”

  “It’s not enough.” It was Jacob who spoke. His voice was soft, the way it always was with he was deep in thought.

  The king looked at him impatiently. “Speak your mind, Jacob.”

  Jacob looked at the king, his face pale, as if he’d just realized something terrible and important. “If we are going to commit to this plan, we have to take it all the way. If we’re not going to kill Zane, we need to honor him. Make it look like he is being rewarded for his actions. Let the Craggish think we consider him a hero. We need to promote him to a position of honor.”

  “It makes sense,” Prince Christopher said. “The Craggish already respect Zane as a warrior. He did kill their former High Prince, after all. Promoting him would be seen as a sign of confidence.”

  The king frowned. “What are you saying? Make him a captain in the Army?”

  Jacob spoke slowly when he answered. “I was thinking of something a bit more lofty, Your Majesty. There is another position available.”

  The king’s eyes widened as he realized what Jacob was suggesting. “Have you gone mad?”

  “Quite possibly,” Jacob said, dryly. “Still, Your Majesty, I stand by my assertion.”

  Lily’s mouth went dry as she realized what they were talking about. No. It wasn’t possible. Not Zane.

  “It needn’t be forever, Majesty,” Jacob said.

  King Edward’s eyes narrowed. “Trust me, it won’t be.” He nodded toward the Guards on either side of Zane. “Untie his hands.” As they worked, he spoke to Zane. “From here on out, I expect cooperation. You have a plan, you run it past me first. You’re going to be on a short rope, understand?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Zane said, but Lily could see by his face that he didn’t. Not yet. She looked around and saw that of those gathered, only Jacob had a clue what was about to happen.

  The king stood up and walked around to the front of the table. He motioned to a spot on the floor in front of him. “Kneel, Ferox Halloway.”

  Zane did as the king ordered.

  “Make your vow before God and your king,” King Edward said. “Do you promise to serve your nation, performing all duties asked and laying down your life if the need should arise?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Zane said, confusion in his wide eyes.

  “Do you promise to do your best to live up to the legacy of your appointed position and the great men who served faithfully before you?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” Zane repeated.

  The king drew his sword and rested the blade on Zane’s right shoulder. “Then I charge you, Zane Halloway, with the duty of being my personal representative in combat, the responsibility of being my chief protector, and the honor of serving as the leader of the King’s Guards. I hereby bestow upon you the title of King’s Sword.”

  Zane’s eyes suddenly grew wide. The room was still, no one even daring to breathe.

  “For all our sakes, I hope your time in the position is both productive and brief.” With that, King Edward held out a hand and helped his new Sword to his feet.

  ***

  Lily and Ewrkind sat astride their horses on the slope of a hill to the east of Harken. It was the highest ground the Opeleans controlled, and the Craggish wanted it. Today, they would try to take it. The elvish army, if one could call five-hundred untested young elves an army, was gathered in front of them.

  Ewrkind’s horse stomped its feet and the elf shifted uneasily in his saddle. Lily pretended not to notice. Most of the elves were on foot. The horses they’d brought with them had been deemed unfit for battle. That was all right. The Craggish they would be facing were mostly on foot as well. Horses didn’t react well to their riders shooting fireballs. General Brewner had insisted Ewrkind ride, though, and it made sense. The added visibility and mobility were necessary for a field commander. The elf, who had mostly ridden small packhorses slowly through the crowded streets behind the Blue Wall, was still growing accustomed to the powerful warhorse he’d been given.

  Lily glanced at Ewrkind’s face and saw the tension in his jawline and neck.

  “Nervous?” she asked with a smile. She expected him to respond with a typical soldier’s bravado, denying the mere possibility of any concern for his own life. Instead, he surprised her.

  Without taking his eyes off the elves gathered in rank and file on the hill below him, he said, “Oh yes. Aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “I am.”

  They had every right to be nervous, both of them.

  King Edward and General Brewner had made clear the elves’ goal: they were to attack the Craggish Army, doing as much damage as they could as quickly as they could, engaging it for as long as possible. Because of their higher ground, General Brewner was confident the Opelean Army could handle the Tavellers if the elves could keep the Craggish at bay.

  A sound like a growl escaped from Ewrkind’s throat. “I don’t like this positioning. We are on the front lines against an enemy that just days ago decimated the Opeleans.”

  “If I remember correctly, it was you who volunteered to be on the front lines.”

  Ewrkind’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I’d do many foolish things for the freedom of my people.”

  Lily didn’t begrudge him his nerves. The king and general were counting on the surprise the Craggish would experience when they found their thorns didn’t work on the elves. Still, there were five hundred elves and three thousand Craggish. Craggish who had been training their whole lives to do battle. Yes, they might temporarily lose their composure when they found out their magic was ineffective, but they wouldn’t panic. It was a suicide mission for the elves, pure and simple.

  “I promise you, Ewrkind, whatever stories you’ve heard about the Craggish, they’ve heard even worse ones about you.”

  Ewrkind turned to Lily. “Lily Rhodes, when the war is over, will you consider coming to reside with my people in the northern woods? We’ll need a liaison. A human to deal with the human matters that are sure to spring up from time to time.”

  Lily blinked hard, a bit taken aback by the proposal. “I…would consider it.”

  “Good,” the elf said. “If I don’t survive this day, see that the king keeps his promise to my elves.”

  Lily nodded. “Of course. I’ll do what I can.”

  “No,” Ewrkind said, his voice a harsh bark. “That’s not good enough. See that it’s done.”

  She looked into his eyes. It was something she usually avoided, but she wanted to show the elf she trusted him and was worthy of his trust in return. “Aye, Ewrkind, I’ll see it done.”

  The elf turned away, satisfied.

  Lily looked back over her shoulder at the massive army of Opeleans. Even more were lined up on either side of the hill, but behind her was the most important bit. Zane sat on the tallest horse, in front of a crimson banner displaying a sword clutched in a gauntlet, the field banner of the King’s Sword. He was sure to be spotted by any enemy with a field glass. Which was the point. If things went as planned, the Craggish would attack this side of the hill.

  “Look,” Ewrkind said. He nodded toward the east. “They come.”

  It was a full minute before Lily saw for herself what he was talking about.

  It started as a cloud of dust in the distance, but soon it was a teeming mass that looked like a single organism wriggling and rolling its way over the nearest hill toward them.

  Ewrkind stood still as a stone. The tension was there in his face, but there was resolve in his eyes.

  “They’ll be here in a moment,” Lily said. “Do
you need to say anything to your troops?”

  Ewrkind smiled, and there was something like sadistic pleasure behind the smile. “They’re elves. They need no instruction.”

  Lily risked one last glance up the hill. From her angle, she could see Jacob was using a shimmer to make Zane appear a bit larger than he actually was, a tactic both to make him more visible and to make him appear more formidable, and thus a more worthy target for the Craggish High Prince.

  The approaching army was close enough that Lily could see the individual members now, and, yes, the closest group, the one heading straight toward Lily’s position, had shaved heads with only a bun of hair at the top. So far the plan was working.

  As they reached the bottom of the hill, the Craggish Army seemed to pick up speed rather than slow down. They rushed up the hill. The ones in front must have been abditus, as evidenced by their empty hands. From their feral confidence, it was clear they expected the enemy to form a line to try to stop them. They moved like an army preparing to break through a blockade.

  Lily asked, “Should we—”

  “Not yet,” Ewrkind said. He glanced at Lily. “You’ll stay behind us. Once we have dispatched the abditus, feel free to engage.”

  Lily flashed him a smile. “By the time you’re through with the abditus, you’ll have to look ahead to see me.”

  For a moment, she thought Ewrkind was going to argue, but he didn’t. He turned his gaze back toward the approaching army. “I suppose it’s time.”

  There was the smallest hint of a shake in his voice.

  “Your army awaits, Lord Ewrkind,” Lily said.

  She’d meant it as a joke, perhaps a subtle boost to his ego, but his eyes flashed with anger.

  “Elves don’t have lords. We don’t have dukes or princes or kings. And do you know why, Lily Rhodes?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  He raised up in his saddle and turned to face the enemy. “It’s because every elf is noble.”

  Ewrkind opened his mouth and let out an inhuman shriek that sent a wave of terror through Lily. Five hundred shrieks answered, and the hillside reverberated with the horrifying sound of it. As one, the elvish army rushed forward. Ewrkind kicked his horse into motion and the beast galloped ahead. He suddenly looked so natural in the saddle that Lily wondered why she had ever doubted him. He was an elf, after all, the people of the trees and the beasts and the waters. Of course he could ride.

  Lily stayed back. Her time would come in a moment, but she wanted to watch the first clash from here. She moved her gaze from the elves to the line of abditus at the front of the Craggish army. They were almost in range.

  Lily had to hand it to the Craggish: they did not slow their assault as the howling opponents rushed toward them. They must have heard about the elves. Surely the Tavellers had spies in the Opelean camp same as the Opeleans had spies in theirs. They must have known the warriors rushing toward them were not human. Still they pressed on.

  As one, the abditus raised their hands, and even from this far off Lily saw the glint of the sun reflect off their many rings and bracelets. Through some unspoken, unseen signal, they all fired their thorns at the same moment. A hundred fireballs, each the size of a large watermelon, erupted from the front of the Craggish line and flew through the air toward the elves. The site of them stung Lily’s eyes, but she didn’t turn away. She needed to see this. She needed to see if they’d just sent five hundred elvish warriors to an instant death in a single wave of fire.

  The elves charged head-on toward the fireballs, and, in a moment, the fireballs hit the elves. The fire disappeared, like a candle flame snuffed out by a breath. The instant the fire touched the elves, it was gone.

  Now the Craggish line faltered. The Craggish warriors, whether unaware or unimpressed by what had just occurred continued on apace, but the abditus who comprised the front line reacted to the unexplainable ineffectiveness of their magics. Some turned away from the foes, heading either to the left or the right. Some attempted to stop, only to be pressed forward by the throng behind them. A few continued straight forward, firing their thorns again and again, seemingly oblivious to the lack of results and to the fact that most of their ally abditus had turned from the assault. The result was a broken, disjointed front line.

  As the gap between the two armies closed and the initial clash appeared imminent, Lily decided it was time to act. She sprinted forward ten steps, just enough to get a good head of speed behind her, then leapt into the air, touching the glide on her finger as she did so. She soared, her momentum carrying her forward and the glide preventing her from losing any altitude as the hill fell away below her. She glided over the heads of the elves and toward the enemy. None of the elves seemed to notice her passage, but some of the Craggish did. Most of them stared at her, mouths hanging open and eyes wide, having likely never seen a glide in action, but a few of the Craggish fitted arrow to bowstring. The Craggish were legendary crack shots, but Lily wasn’t worried. Perhaps she should have been, but she couldn’t muster even the beginnings of fear. Up here, she felt invincible.

  The first goal of the elves had been accomplished: withstand the abditus. But now the unfair advantage of the elves had passed its most useful moment. The shock and awe at the magic resistance of the elves and, to a lesser extent, at the flying warrior woman, was still there, but it’s poignancy was fading. Now would come the tough part. Now they would have to fight.

  She was high above and still a little behind the front line of the elves when the two armies met. The clang of steel on steel rang out in the air, and the earth shook with the power of the two forces colliding. Lily could feel it even from up in the air. She heard the cries of the abditus, most of them unarmed but for their thorns, as they met their deaths under the elves’ swords. A tiny part of her felt empathy at their cries—these were members of her profession, after all—but only a tiny part. They had chosen to engage in war, and they were paying the warriors’ price. Lily would expect them to feel no compassion for her if she were killed during the battle.

  She set her eyes on a spot behind the front lines, a gap between the first wave of soldiers and the reinforcements. If she dropped in there, she could do some real damage.

  As she descended, something troubling caught her eye. The Craggish Army was drifting north, toward the Tavel forces. If they managed to join with the others, the plan would be ruined.

  She engaged a shimmer to mask her landing. This particular shimmer was one of Jacob’s favorites. It didn’t make her precisely invisible, but it did make her blend in with her surroundings. Unless someone looked directly at her for a few seconds, they were unlikely to see her. She kept the shimmer activated and slid her sword out of its scabbard, turned toward the Craggish soldiers, and went to work. She was an assassin, silent and deadly, just as she’d been trained to be. Though Zane had never imagined her working like this.

  Lily lost track of how many she killed. She struck down men and women, old Craggish, and those who seemed too young to be on a battlefield. Her blade cut through all of them.

  A few caught sight of her, but in the din and confusion of battle none saw her for long. It was hard, grueling work, and she took no pleasure in it, except perhaps for the pleasure of using both her skill sets, that of a ferox and that of an abditus, to their fullest.

  She heard a series of barked orders, and she noticed the army around her shifting. She looked up and saw Zane, still made unnaturally large by Jacob’s shimmers, had moved to the south end of the hill. And, just as he’d hoped, Nicholas was moving his troops toward Zane and away from the Tavel Army.

  Lily pushed forward, and soon she started to catch glimpses of the elves in front of her. It made her happy to see at least some of them were still on their feet. Then she saw Ewrkind astride his warhorse. His eyes were fixed on a spot to the east of Lily, and he was moving toward it with a purpose.

  She took a deep breath to steel her resolve, raised her sword, and went back to work.

  CHA
PTER NINE

  The Sword and the Shadow moved along the edge of the Craggish Army, swift and unseen.

  Zane turned to Jacob and whispered, “Are you sure we’re still covered?”

  Jacob was short of breath, and he answered in short halting sentences. “Yes. Stop asking that. The shimmers work. Keep going.”

  Zane nodded briskly. Of course the shimmers worked. They were the best in the world, from the royal armory. But Zane had spent so long distrusting magic, avoiding its use except in the direst of circumstances, that trusting the success or failure of the battle to a magical device irked him.

  The elves could see them. That much he knew. The elves they passed kept giving them strange looks, no doubt wondering at these men who crept through the battle as if trying to sneak into bed without waking anyone in the house.

  Zane glanced up toward the hilltop where the illusion Jacob had created still stood. It was eerie looking up there and seeing himself. Even though he knew it was not real, it was disconcerting. Of course, he could have stayed up there for real, served as Nicholas’s real target, but that wasn’t in his nature. There was a battle going on and his king needed his best men in the field.

  His king. Even though the appointment to the role of King’s Sword was a sham, a trick to manipulate Nicholas, Zane found himself taking the responsibility of it seriously. As such, he had to be out here. Let Nicholas go after the illusion. Nicholas wasn’t Zane’s real target. The real target was Caleb Longstrain. Zane silently vowed to himself that by day’s end he would see to it Longstrain was either captured or dead. The boy was too much of a wild card, operating on the periphery, working towards goals Zane did not yet understand.

  As they moved along the edge between the Craggish army on their right and the Tavel army on their left, Zane saw the battle was progressing more or less as planned. The smashing of the Craggish abditus seemed to have had a psychological effect on even the Tavel troops. The Opel army was pushing forward, pressing the attack and gaining ground. The elvish army, on the other hand, seemed to be doing little more than fighting the Craggish to a standstill, which was still impressive considering they were outnumbered six-to-one. The elves weren’t required to defeat the Craggish for the plan to work. They just needed to keep them engaged and away from the Opelean troops.