Forgotten Soldiers (5 page)

We passed halfway to our goal. The enemy soldier was scrambling out of a latrine to join his squad and came to a grinding halt. He did a double take, pointed, and opened his mouth to warn others. I withdrew a knife quickly and pounced. The edge of my blade slid across his throat. Blood poured down his neck, covering his chest.

I froze for a moment when I looked at him up close, seeing what I hadn’t seen seconds before.

The soldier looked no older than fourteen. About the age my daughter, Myra, would be now. That shook me. I ordered Hamath to dispose of the body while Dekar kept a lookout for other Geneshans lagging behind. The immediate danger of our situation was the only thing that prevented me from dwelling on ending the kid’s life. I knew his face would haunt me at a more opportune time.

By the time we reached the base of our target, the blood-red sky of dawn had passed. We crested a small rise that led to the larger hill we still needed to climb. It afforded us a better view of the battlefield. A brightening yellow illuminated the teaming masses below.

Armies swarmed atop each other like ants. Large companies attempted to flank and outmaneuver their opponent until clashing once more in a horde of steel and flesh. Despite the sweat on my skin from the morning heat, a small shiver ran up my back. Though it had been many years since I had fought in those tight presses, the smell, the fear, the general uncertainty of where death would come stabbing in from, never left me.

A scent of pine from nearby trees masked the sulfuric odor of the brilliant violet and blue flashes of sorcery. Dark shafts of crimson descended from black clouds that slowly blocked out the sun. Given the distance and the chaos of it all, I had no way to tell who held the advantage. Based on what we could hear, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. Neither side would be the same afterward.

I called for a halt behind a patch of ratty bushes.

Ava already sat with eyes closed in concentration.

Her eyes opened a moment later, and I saw something I had rarely seen before. Fear. She leaned over, trying to hide her emotions. “It’s here,” she whispered in a quivering voice.

“You want to be more specific?”

“It. The gods-cursed artifact the Geneshans were rumored to have found.”

My throat tightened. “Are you certain?”

“Pretty certain. I’ve never been around it so I don’t know its signature like I would some of our weapons. Whatever it is, it’s more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt. That must have been why they said ‘we’d know it when we see it.’”

I blinked. That changed things.

All cultures had stories of ancient weapons somewhere deep in their history, lost because of natural disasters, world events, or sheer stupidity. Everyone searched for those weapons, though few found them. In the rare cases that one was found, it almost always fell short of the myth bestowed upon it.

That was what happened to us. In the early years of the war, the king diverted resources to finding the mystical artifacts in Turine’s past, hoping they would tip the scales in our favor. All that work, all the lives lost in mudslides and cave-ins, brought us very few benefits. The artifacts did do some pretty useful things like one that always found drinkable water regardless of location. However, none of them actually helped the grunts fighting on the front lines.

Rumors came out a few weeks back that the Geneshans had found their “holy” weapon and this one might be everything it was thought to be. I never believed it. I assumed the Geneshans were feeding us a bunch of false information like we did to them. My assumption changed when I saw the look in Ava’s eyes. Whatever she felt, it had her shaken.

I blinked and then kept on blinking. I needed to do something while I gathered my thoughts.

“Tyrus?” Ava’s voice had lost some of her fear and found a bit of frustration instead.

I cleared my throat. “Give me a second.”

Like everyone else, she looked to me for a way to get out alive. The best option really wasn’t an option at all and that was to desert. Those pressed into the army hated the years stolen by war. Those who volunteered eventually felt the same when they realized that once in, they could not voluntarily leave. However, we all respected our fellow soldiers too much to just leave. And as crazy as it sounded, a part of me still believed in the ideals of our king. If he said the Geneshans were evil and needed to be stopped, then who was I to question him? I sure hadn’t seen anything to contradict that view.

“All right, what are we facing up there?” I asked her.

“Two dozen. Four D’engiti.”

“Four D’engiti?” hissed Ira.

Dekar elbowed him, but it was too late. I had been too caught up in my discussion with Ava about the weapon to realize Ira had drifted over. Heads had all turned, eyeing me closely.

“Well Ava, the D’engiti are yours,” I said. The Geneshan creations were tough, but a good mage could tip the scales back in our favor.

She licked her lips. “Sorry, big brother. There’s still a Master Sorcerer up there along with two squad level sorcerers.”

More muttered curses came from my unit than I may have ever heard in my life. I was among them, wondering how much I truly believed in the ideals of my king with each passing breath.

I wanted to ask Ava to double check her numbers, but knew she probably had already done that at least a half dozen times before telling me.

“You want me to go take a look at things?” asked Hamath.

My second’s face had turned grim. Everyone knew what the odds meant. The chances of any of us surviving this assault were slim. That being said, some chances weren’t worth taking.

I shook my head. “No. We’re going to rely on Ava’s report for now. The last thing I want is for some sorcerous trap to snag you and warn them of our approach.” I swung my head back to my sister, who had her eyes closed again. “Ava, can you draw something up?”

“Working on it.” She opened her eyes after seeing it from a distance with sorcery. “All right. Got it.”

We crowded around Ava as she drew a crude outline of the post in some dirt. I constructed a quick plan based on her map with the understanding that things might change once we got closer. Since we still had roughly another two hundred fifty yards to climb, we’d stick together a bit longer.

Hamath took point. Ava stayed a step behind him in case we needed her.

We took our time moving for obvious reasons, but especially since I had Ava cut off the concealment spell. Ava was so good at them that most of our own High Mages had trouble detecting us when she used them. Still, I wasn’t about to underestimate the skills of the enemy’s mages.

We made good time considering our trepidation and the fact that the sun left us exposed. Adding to our misery, the mud we coated ourselves with had begun to crack and peal in the heat of the early morning.

We came to a halt eighty yards out. Since we hadn’t encountered any traps or even a sentry for that matter, I changed my mind and decided to chance sending Hamath up alone. It’s not that I didn’t trust Ava, it’s just hard for sorcery to see everything as clearly as a set of eyes.

Hamath crawled off while we all laid low, weapons drawn.

No one made a sound.

He came back faster than I expected with both good and bad news.

He said little, not wanting to risk more noise than necessary while redrawing a map of the post. The good news was that sentries were just on the outskirts. That meant we’d be able to get closer before engaging and alerting others. Also, several of the soldiers Ava reported were actually messengers who had already slipped away down the other side of the rise.

The bad news was that Ava had been right about the number of D’engiti. Hamath had been unable to spot the sorcerers and assumed they were all inside the tent.

I started numbering off each of the men Hamath marked, starting at the farthest one on the left. Then I assigned targets to the eleven of us.

Since the tent was our primary target, Dekar would lead his team in first to draw away as many of the D’engiti from it as possible. I thought about sending in Ira’s team, but decided I needed someone a little more cool-headed for this scenario. Ira had a tendency to let emotions override his thinking. Hamath and Ira would lead the rest of the men to cover me and Ava as we rushed the tent once Dekar had engaged the others.

“I don’t like it,” whispered Hamath. “I’m going with you.”

“No. You stay with the others. Nine against twenty-one, including the D’engiti aren’t the best of odds as it is.”

“But the sorcerers are the largest threats. Unless you take them quick, those sorcerers are going to destroy us when they’re done with you, regardless if we’ve taken everyone else down.”

“You aren’t a mage, nor do you have a resistance.”

Hamath shrugged. “If this is my time, then so be it.” He paused, listening to make sure we weren’t being too loud. Considering the sudden sorcerous explosions from the battlefield, I didn’t think he had anything to worry about.

He continued. “Look, even if I do nothing more than take a hit and die the second we get in there, it might distract them long enough to buy time for you or Ava to take down the Master Sorcerer.”

“He’s right,” said Ava. “You’re resistant to sorcery, but you aren’t immune. And I’m not a god. We might be able to survive one direct hit from the Master Sorcerer, but that’s it. We need to hit them hard and fast.”

I sighed. “All right, Hamath. You’re with us. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Hamath winked. “I won’t do anything you wouldn’t.”

I gave him a look that told him I hadn’t missed the jab. Then I turned my attention to Ira. “You’re on your own then, so, control yourself.”

“Don’t worry, Ty. I got it,” Ira said, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

My voice hardened, angry at being put in the situation we were in. “I’m serious. If you don’t use your head, I’m putting my boot up your rear.”

“Only after you remove mine,” added Dekar.

Ira’s smile faded. Dekar put up with a lot from Ira. He sometimes came across as a pushover. We all knew better. Any threat from Dekar, even a mild one, sobered Ira up quick. Older brothers have a tendency to have that effect on their younger siblings.

Satisfied, I finished outlining our approach, and gave the order to move out.

* * *

Thirty yards from the top of the rise stood a brown, canvas tent. It sat in the middle of a flat patch of land with guards and messengers scattered about. Tall pines enclosed the space. Four hulking figures carried axes and swords. The weapons were so big they would have been comical if not for the creatures wielding them. Unlike the others who openly patrolled the space, the D’engiti stood motionless like stone golems guarding the entrance to some ancient emperor’s tomb. If I hadn’t known any better, I’d think their lack of movement meant I could catch them on their heels.

I knew better.

They were slower than the average soldier, but not by much. What the D’engiti lacked in speed, they more than made up for in size, reach, and strength. Plus, the abominations were specifically created to take a beating.

We got into position. Dekar and his team to the far left. Ava and Hamath at my sides. Ira and the others waited behind us to our right.

I stared at the tent, estimating the sprint to its entrance would take a good seven or eight seconds. Maybe. A lot can happen in that amount of time. Seven or eight seconds on a battlefield for a soldier who knew what they were doing could mean seven or eight dead enemies. For a soldier who didn’t, it could mean getting stabbed seven or eight times.

I silently swore to Molak and every one of the other god that crossed my mind. I had never particularly liked General Balak, but I had never hated him as much as I did then for giving us the mission. While we would deal the enemy a huge blow if we succeeded, I didn’t want to die before seeing my family again.

An elbow to the side jarred me from my thoughts. Ava gave me a look that told me I needed to focus.

I inhaled deep and gave the signal, imitating an eastern yellow-backed sparrow.

Hamath groaned ever so slightly as Dekar’s team sprinted from cover, making as much noise as possible in order to draw attention their way. We watched them take out several guards to our right while using confiscated crossbows we had picked up earlier from the officers’ post. Dekar’s team quickly dropped the weapons, pulling free swords to engage the rest of the enemy.

With the Geneshans rushing to Dekar’s location, Ava, Hamath, and I broke from cover, legs pumping with everything we had to the large tent at the center of the area. We didn’t make it far before being noticed. I raised my shield to deflect a thrown knife flying in from the left.

A crossbow quarrel zipped past my right ear. Apparently Dekar wasn’t quite as engaged with the enemy as I had hoped.

I heard Ira bark orders somewhere behind us. His team was more successful at taking pressure away from the three of us as we closed in on the tent.

The flap flew open. In the entrance stood a woman in dark blue robes with wavy blonde hair. Her fingers crackled with sorcery as her eyes darted around at the chaos. She caught us speeding toward her and raised her arm. A knife thrown by Hamath struck her in the shoulder, its force throwing her off balance. The deep purple lightning emanating from her fingers blasted off to the left.