Hope (36 page)

Not a sound escaped from the squads. The usual sound of quiet singing and the suppressed laughter of a shared joke were missing. The Knight-Commander looked around at his knights, noticing the haunted, yet determined eyes. It reminded him of Lady Kathryn’s Last Battle Sight. He felt his thoughts melt away any eagerness for the battle, replacing that eagerness with a foreboding as he again patted the neck of Laktalin.

The trek between Ralenth and Hopent dragged as in her mind Kathryn replayed the different scenarios from last night’s Sights. Using nothing but high-level lightning spells would exhaust her. She had to vary her spells as much as possible, only using the lightning spells on the armored Daemons. She'd have to use another spell, one less draining, on the other Daemons.

They glided as much as possible to conserve their strength and to avoid passing the ground units. The trip to Ralenth was uneventful; the only sound that of the horses’ hooves and the knights' wings. The ground from Ralenth to Hopent was flat and only a few miles long.

Squad leaders, cast a dampening spell on your squads to muffle the sound of our passage
. Sir Lanclor’s voice sounded within her mind.

Lak’oth ent’yart
. She cast a dampening spell so they wouldn’t disturb the night and alert the Daemons to their presence.

Sir Garrent received the order to move to the front some time later and Kathryn focused on nothing but the knights around her, making sure everything went as planned. They saw the dead village of Hopent on the horizon. An order appeared to pass through the ground troops and they began to gallop toward the bridge.

Lanclor’s squad reached it first and crossed to the other side, fanning out with their backs to the bridge, ready for any foe on the opposite shore. Garrent’s squad hovered above the bridge awaiting any form of attack that may fall upon them or Lanclor. Two more squads had crossed the bridge before the Daemons emerged. Hundreds of them flooded from the trees, some taking to the air while many remained on the ground to advance toward the squads guarding the south side of the bridge.

Sir Garrent’s squad cast multiple shield spells around the defending mounted squads, falling back to allow Hook and two of the other mixed winged squads to protect them from the incoming Daemons while they prepared more spells. Hal and the other winged squads prepared to protect Lanclor’s squads from the air, relying on the squads behind them to protect their backs.

In the time it took the Daemons to engage Lanclor’s squads, two more squads were thundering across the bridge. Close behind were the last three squads. It looked like all of the squads would make it to the other side. The Daemons and knights met with a thundering clash of metal. Sir Lanclor and his squads strove to drive the Daemons back to make room for the squads coming across the bridges. So far, it looked like none of the Daemons wore armor.

They thought the unarmored Daemons were the scouts and lower level troops. Lanclor, working with all of the winged squads, drove the Daemons back enough to allow all eight squads to exit the bridge. Now that they were all across it was time to regroup.

Lady Kathryn, we require your assistance
, Lanclor communicated in her mind.

Lak’oth ar’vat. Yes, sir. We’re on our way
. She shifted the focus of her spell to her squad.
Time to make our entrance
. They soared over the bridge and came to the forefront of the battle, the other squads parting before them.

Now, attack with everything you have. Let’s not give any of the Daemons a chance even to look at anyone else,
Kathryn ordered.

Fire and ice spells cast by thirty graywings ripped through the ranks of Daemons on the ground and in the air. As Daemons fell from the skies into the river, the Daemons continued to come, but drastically slowed down. Her squad roared in triumph, calling more spells to kill as many Daemons as possible as the creatures spread apart, finding paths to wade through their fallen.

The knights' ground forces had regrouped and prepared to advance. As Kathryn moved to the rear of her squad to recover and ready another spell, she saw the unthinkable. Hundreds of armored Daemons rose from the trees on the opposite side of the river. The knights’ confidence in the element of surprise and the Daemons’ poor night vision would be their downfall. The Daemons had them surrounded, their most powerful forces at the knights' rear.

Lak’oth ar’vat
. She directed her mind to all of the knights.
Armored Daemons at the rear, diamond formation! My squad, to the rear
! They were the best defenders against armored Daemons.

Sir Garrent and Hal’s squads remained at the front while Hook joined her at the back.

Let’s show these bastards that they won’t get the best of us.
Hook growled in their minds, forming up around them to allow them the protection of his Browns while they prepared their higher level spells.

The armored Daemons pounded their ranks, felling many knights in their first and furious onslaught. Daemon fire annihilated one of the squads to the left of Hook and it fell in clumps into the river below.

F’enk’e’alath shel’an’re melan’keltoh sel’anthia
. Kathryn and her squad threw up dozens of fire shields, determined not to let any more squads fall that way.

"Lir’eth kanen’entilix falo’entili’ai vel’on.
"
They cast lightning spells aloud in unison, joining them to enhance them tenfold and throwing them to the back of the Daemon horde to eliminate the threat of hitting any knights.

Over half of the armored Daemons to their rear fell to the ground, shriveling as they dropped. The remaining ones hit their brown lines with fury, but the knights eventually brought them down, eliminating the threat to their backs.

So caught up in the battle, the winged squads failed to notice the Daemon fire consuming the bridge until it was too late. Its boards fell into the river, hissing and smoking as they touched the water. The ground forces now had no means of retreat without leaving their horses, which they would never do. While they removed the threat from their rear, the battle continued in the front.

The attack from the north shore distracted them enough for more armored Daemons to attack the mounted squads from the south. Three of the mounted squads had already fallen. They’re dying horses screamed with their riders. Lanclor’s squads could no longer advance, doing everything they could to defend themselves from the enemy.

The dawn light revealed their deaths in the valley before them. Thousands of Daemons poured out of a portal, all armored and prepared for battle. Kathryn's mind raced, looking for some way out of this losing battle. The Daemons took flight. Like swarms of locusts, they all but blocked out the light from the rising sun.

Just then, she heard a scream of a horse above the chaos. She turned her attention below to see Lanclor’s charger fall, its rider trapped beneath.

"No, this can't be happening." Kathryn felt her chest tighten and struggled to hold back her tears. The Last Battle Sight. The Sight always ended in Lanclor’s fall, signifying the fall of the Knighthood. She couldn't let that happen.

Lak’oth ar’vat. Everyone, rally around Sir Lanclor! We will not fall!
As one, all of the winged squads dove toward Lanclor and the remaining mounted squads, casting shield spells as they went, creating a protective wall around the last of the defenders. The winged squads landed in waves, surrounding the mounted squads, allowing them a chance to rest. They maintained impenetrable shields around them, knowing they would all die when the shields failed.

Looking at the scene around her, Kathryn couldn’t help but feel despair. With the bridge on fire, there was no hope of retreat. On fire. No hope. Fire. Hope. The portal. No, not a portal, a gate. It all became clear. Would it work?

Kathryn approached Lanclor, knowing the shield spells would only last another few minutes. She went around his horse so she could look him in the eye.

"The battle is lost. There’s no hope," he said, bleeding from several wounds with his left arm at an odd angle, his leg trapped beneath his dead horse.

"There's hope." Bending over to touch her hand to his chest, she said for his ears alone, "Forgive me, Lan."
Lak’oth lenk’enterun ent’me’ant zele’funt lak’oth
. Kathryn backed away, breaking eye contact with him before she lost her resolve.

Lak’oth ar’vat
. She focused on her squad around her.
Everyone, back up and form a ring around me. Keep everyone clear
. In her mind, she thought of all the hope in the hearts of the people of Av’lor. Hope burning in their souls. Hope. Burning. She spread her wings and arms.

F’enk’e’elath shel’an’re melan’keltoh lak’oth falo’entili’ai pho’nel’xelan cor’tentia ka’la’o’elath
. As she cast the Phoenix Fire spell, blue fire rippled around her body. She became a blue inferno waiting to consume the Daemons, focusing all of her fury, all of her despair, on the Daemons pictured in her mind.

Kathryn beat her wings, slowly rising into the air. The shields fell and the Daemons around them started to advance. Blue flames consumed them. Concentrating on the black mass before her, she flew toward the center of the oncoming Daemon army. In her wake, the Daemons, armor and all, shriveled from the blue flames that incinerated them upon sighting her.

She felt sadness gather within her soul, knowledge that she may never see her friends and family again. At least they'd be safe. Destroying more and more of the Daemons around her, she moved toward the center of the valley. The Daemons in flight fell from the skies like blue fire raining from the heavens.

"Rachel, Dad, Donny...I love you. Matthis—Lanclor..." Feeling an insurmountable grief, she flew into the portal.

F’enk’e’elath shel’an’re melan’keltoh cor’tentia ka’la’o’eleri.
Her level 80 fire spell destroyed the gate behind her.

Fire filled the valley, its smoke turning day to night. The smell of burning bodies was overpowering. Hal limped toward Lanclor, tears streaming from his eyes. Lanclor remained still, replaying the events of the battle in his mind. She was gone. She cast that spell, to save them all.

Hook and some other soot-covered knights gathered around Lanclor, working together to lift the warhorse off his master. Hal joined his strength with theirs, placing his hands underneath the horse’s back alongside Hook.

"Now, on the count of four. One, two, three, four! Put your backs into it, you bastards. He doesn’t weigh all that much!" Hook said.

They raised the horse while another knight dragged Lanclor by his shoulders from beneath his beloved mount. Lanclor remained silent, his teeth clenched in pain.

A healer waiting on hand assessed his condition. "Mel’int ent’bel’ak. He’s severely wounded, but he’ll survive if we heal him now."

The healer gestured to another and they began to work on him. While one of them held him down, the other set his broken arm. Even through the agony of setting the bone, he remained quiet.

It took two hours to heal him. As the healers walked away, sweat streaming from their foreheads into their eyes, Hal approached Sir Lanclor, offering his hand. Lanclor looked at him a while, blinked slowly, and then breathed a loud and exhausted sigh as he gripped Hal's hand. Hal pulled him to his feet, gripping his elbow long enough for him to gain his balance. With Lanclor steady on his feet, Hal moved away, staring at the fire in the middle of the valley some distance away.

Sir Lanclor surveyed his surroundings, shaking his head. Daemons smoldered across the valley. "Are there any left?"

Hal was silent for a moment. "Some. They took off toward the west. We chose not to pursue. They seemed to lose heart."

"I can understand why they would. Damn that woman. I told her not to use that spell." He said this last to himself, but he was sure Hal heard it loud and clear. Hal probably also heard the sound of his grief. Hal chose to walk away, showing his respect by allowing Lanclor his private mourning. Lanclor crossed his arms, angling his wings to shield himself from the other knights, framing the fire in the valley below. Gone.