Chapter 21

“Down!” Rissa ordered as the arrows and iron bolts from the ballista flew overhead. She pulled her magic from deep inside, adding it to the projectiles launching toward their enemy. “Put your magic behind it,” she yelled at the archers, hoping this time to succeed. The last attack had been blocked with a protective barrier. She hoped this time their magic was strong enough to pierce that barrier and take out some of their enemy. Holding her breath in prayer, she watched helplessly as the arrows and bolts bounced off the shield and fell to the ground.

“Dammit,” She growled, and gripped the back of her neck in frustration. Eisner’s men were strong. Stronger than she expected. But then again, out there among the grass and trees the magic grew strongest. They could rejuvenate a lot quicker than their army in here. The sandy bits of soil not covered by cobblestone and rock were already running dry. It was getting harder to pull magic.

She heard the groaning and clanging of the portcullis as it lifted to allow Trystan and his troops access to the enemy. Each clang tore at her heart. Dreach-Sciene’s troops were far outnumbered. It was pure craziness to go into hand-to-hand battle. But they had no other choice. If they stood by and did nothing, Eisner would slowly chip away at their stores. He’d practically burnt the whole castle’s supplies to the ground with that last stunt. Only Lonara and Lorelai’s quick thinking had allowed them to put out the fire. And the fire after that. It just kept coming. Eisner needed to be stopped and from behind these walls it was impossible. It needed to be done from outside the gate.

She buried her fear for Davi and Trystan and the others down deep, along with her resentment. Last night had been all for naught. She knew Davi. Knew him better than he knew himself at times. He would have sacrificed himself last night for the rest of them without a second thought. All of them would have. She did not regret for one moment Davi’s captivity if it meant keeping him alive. But all her efforts had been in vain, for he was now going into battle with Trystan against an enemy that outnumbered them in troops and magic.

And it was killing her knowing he was riding into battle without her by his side. As much as she wanted to be out there on the field with them, to help protect those she loved, she knew she was of better use here, with the archers. Once Trystan and Davi got that shield down, the archers would do their best to pick off the Dreach-Dhoun soldiers, even if they had to do it one-by-one.

The sound of the battle cry reached her ears as the Dreach-Sciene soldiers emptied onto the field below. As if her eyes had a mind of their own, they rifled through the hundreds of soldiers flowing from the castle gates, some on horseback, searching for those she loved. She saw Trystan immediately, the gold and purple of his plate mail reflecting the sun’s rays as he sat tall atop his steed. Davion flanked his right, Alixa and Avery his left. Her eyes glued to them even as her words were meant for the troops bordering the wall awaiting her orders.

“Once that shield goes down, shoot anything that comes at our troops.” She yelled, as she walked up and down the wall, her back stiff and her voice sure, while inside she quaked with fear. “Do not hesitate to kill. They won’t. We will do our part and keep our troops from harm down there. We will not give up, no matter how futile it seems or how fatigued we get. Reach deep and keep shooting. We do this for our king! We do this for our families!”

The roar of agreement rose up loud as it echoed down the ramparts. They would do this. They had to do this. No one she loved would die today. Not under her watch.

* * *

Trystan pulled his sword and screamed loud as he kicked his horse, his voice lost among those of his troops. He glanced over at Alixa as she rode beside him, her face a mask of beautiful rage, her skin a light bronze in the morning sun. The white streak of war paint ran from her forehead down between her eyes. Two more decorated her cheekbones. An addition from Lonara. A symbol of magic protection. Many of his people had let Lonara paint them. She believed in it, and truth be told they needed all the help they could get at the moment.

He tore his eyes away, choosing to concentrate on the enemy instead. It hurt too much to look at her. It hurt too much to look at any of them and wonder if it would be the last time he’d see their faces.

The Dreach-Dhoun soldiers appeared as a dark mountain range on the horizon. So many of them spread as far as the eye could see. His gaze flitted over them as they drew closer to their enemy, searching for the one who called the shots. Calis’ right-hand man. Eisner.

Trystan spotted him at the front of the line. Him and one other he had not expected to see. Briggs Villard sat atop his own horse, overseeing the battlefield like he belonged. This was not the same weak old man Trystan remembered. This man was strong. Controlled, magic rolled off of him in waves. He could almost see it. Eisner rode around Briggs barking commands, his words lost in the roar of the battle cries, the beating of the drums.

The ground shook as Dreach-Dhoun’s troops finally responded. Two armies, soldiers of all sizes. Men and women from both sides, rushing toward each other in a mad dash for survival under the calm blue sky. The two armies came together in a clash of clanging metal, bucking horses, and screams.

Trystan quickly lost sight of Davi and Alixa. They disappeared in the parade of Dreach-Dhoun soldiers. Instead, his world filled with flashes of steel as his horse reared up to avoid a mass of soldiers, bucking Trystan off in the process. He rolled to his feet as his horse trampled through the stream of soldiers.

Screams of pain, smells of blood and death. For every man and woman who fell under his blade, a tiny part of Trystan’s soul withered. But still he kept slashing and parrying. Piercing and slicing, killing anyone who threatened him or his people.

Trystan put his foot against the soldier refusing to part from his blade and pushed him off the sword. He came away with a sickening wet sound, falling at Trystan’s feet. A rush of air on his neck gave Trystan the warning he needed that he was about to meet a similar fate and he nimbly rolled sideways and back to his feet, facing his attacker.

A woman stood before him with a curved blade. Her eyes looked empty, emotionless and her awkward form told him she was no soldier. Why was she even here?

“Walk away, mistress,” he called to her, reluctant to take her life, even if she had every intent to take his. “I do not wish to see you die today.”

“Then you will die. All of Dreach-Sciene must die.”

She swung wide, but Trystan dodged her blow. “Please, just walk away.”

The woman snarled as she leapt his way again, spittle flying from her mouth. Trystan sidestepped her, and she stumbled as her momentum threw her off balance. He kicked at her backside, sending her flying to the dirt. She disappeared under the throng of bodies and horses just as Trystan was tackled and knocked to the ground. A weight fell onto his chest as a blade slashed across his throat. Trystan drew back, pressing his head as hard as he could into the grass and away from the blade. Wild, empty eyes stared into his. The soldier didn’t even recognize him. He didn’t even care. “All of Dreach-Sciene must die.” He echoed the woman word for word and Trystan had a fleeting thought.

Something isn’t right.

Warm blood rained over Trystan’s face as an arrow sank right between the man’s eyes. Lonara and Ramsey had broken the shield allowing the archers access.

The wild eyes went vacant and the man slumped over, sliding off Trystan’s chest. Trystan grabbed for his sword and made it to his knees before the same woman ran from the tangle of bodies, her sword raised high above her head, screaming as she attacked. Her blade flashed in the sun and she brought it down with both hands toward Trystan’s head. He raised his own blade just in time, stopping the woman from splitting him down the middle.

She was strong. He could feel the magic behind her attack, but it didn’t seem right. Something was off. Before he could figure out what it was, the woman screamed as a blade ripped through her chest and she fell to her knees, Alixa at her back.

Alixa held out a hand to Trystan and pulled him to his feet. Someone barreled into his back and he whirled, blade ready only to find Davi, a tight smile across his face.

“It’s good to see you still in one piece, brother,” he called out to Trystan.

“You too. Both of you. But I fear we won’t be much longer. We can’t keep up this pace. I have a theory. Briggs Villard is here.” He pointed with his chin toward the man still on horseback, his face a calm mask. “I believe he’s the one controlling these people. Him and Eisner. Find Lonara and Ramsay. We need to stop Briggs.”

Trystan saw Alixa’s brow go up in puzzlement, but she didn’t question his order. Instead she nodded toward the surrounding throng. “You heard the man, Davi. Let’s find the Tri-Gard once again.”

He felt their collective pull of magic as they barreled through the crowd, seeking the magic wielders. Trystan spotted Avery and yelled her name over the din. She quickly disposed of the soldier in front of her and headed toward him. Trystan pointed with his blade to Briggs and Avery’s face tightened in understanding. They cleared him a path, fighting their way to Eisner and Villard, Trystan praying his hunch would prove true. Some soldiers under Eisner’s command didn’t appear to be soldiers at all or even acting under their own will. Like they were being controlled by dark magic. All he could think of was the way Davi had reacted when he too had been drunk on magic. Was this kind of the same thing Villard was doing to these people?

Trystan was almost there. A small gap in the crowd allowed him open access to his enemy, and he made a run for it, only to skid to a stop as an ox of a man carrying a thick, metal chain stepped into the clearing, blocking the way. The chain snapped forward with enough force to crack Trystan’s head open like an eggshell if he hadn’t flattened himself to the ground in time. The chain missed him and snapped back into the man’s hands. Before he could attack again, Trystan was already moving forward, acting before even thinking about what he would do. With a loud cry, he leapt and landed on the humongous chest. The force of his momentum as well as his weight knocked the gargantuan flat on his back. Trystan allowed himself to fall with him and landed straddling the man’s waist. Without wasting a moment and allowing the giant a chance to recover, Trystan raised his sword with both hands and brought it down hard, infusing it with as much magic as he could muster. The blade sank through the man’s chest and the roar on the man’s lips faded along with the light in his eyes. Trystan jumped from the dead man and landed in the barren circle surrounding Briggs’ horse. The circle was barren of any life, the grass withered and brown, the soil parched and dry.

Briggs stared down at him in contempt. “Impressive, young king. Trojo was my strongest bodyguard. You’ve grown in your abilities.”

“Stop this now, Villard,” Trystan yelled above the din of the battle at his back. “Whatever you are doing to those people, release them. I know you’re controlling them through magic.”

Briggs narrowed his eyes. “You are wrong, Renauld. The people of Dreach-Dhoun hate you and all you stand for. I’m not controlling them, I’m just, shall I say, enhancing that hatred.”

Trystan snorted in disbelief. “You lie. The people of Dreach-Dhoun no more want war than we do. You are doing this. All of it. You and Calis are imposing your will on these people for your own vile reasons.” Trystan took a stance and held his sword at arm’s length. “I command you to get down from there and fight like a man instead of the coward I know you to be.”

Briggs threw his head back and laughed. He actually laughed as if the piles of bodies and stench of blood did nothing to affect him in any manner. Trystan growled and coiled, aiming to knock Briggs out of that saddle and onto his ass.

Excruciating pain jolted through his arm as the blade sliced deep. Trystan cried out, dropping his sword and gripping his arm as Eisner rode past him, his blade dripping with Trystan’s blood. The little man grinned, his eyes glittering with the mad taste of revenge as he leapt from his horse and approached the now weaponless king.

“Not yet, Eisner,” Briggs ordered, and Eisner halted in his tracks, though his eyes glared over his shoulder at Villard in disappointment.

“Spoils of war, Villard,” Eisner snapped, the tip of his sword pointing Trystan’s way. “He killed my son. An eye for an eye.”

“I said not yet.” His icy gaze reverted back to Trystan. “You’ve surprised me, boy. We expected to scare you into submission. Have a little fun with you and this siege. I thought you’d crumble like a dried leaf. I really did not expect you to fight back.”

Trystan raised his chin in defiance. “You will never take Dreach-Sciene. Not while I still stand.”

“Well, that isn’t the plan.” Briggs arched a brow. “Not today anyway.”

As if on cue a bugle echoed over the valley as soldiers on horseback came flying out of the forest all along the tree line. Trystan feared for a moment it was more of Calis’ men and his heart sank to his knees. They wouldn’t be able to take on more. But then he saw the banners of Aldorwood snapping in the breeze and he grinned in relief. Whitecap Troops.

“Dear me, time to go,” Briggs called out to Eisner and without another word, yanked his horse’s reins and rode away. Eisner stared after him, a look of disbelief etched on his face. “Wait!”

Briggs kept riding.

Eisner quickly overcame his shock. Pulling a horn from his saddle he blew two loud whistles. “Fall back!” he yelled as he tried to mount his horse. An arrow whizzed over Trystan’s head and struck Eisner in the back of his leg in the stirrup. Rissa’s doing, Trystan had no doubt. His leg crumpled, and he fell out of the stirrup and hit the ground hard. Another arrow hit the horse’s rump and it neighed in panic and bolted, nearly crushing Eisner’s head under its hooves.

The call for retreat seemed to stun everyone. Dreach-Dhoun and Dreach-Sciene soldiers alike glanced around, not understanding what was happening. The sight of Briggs fleeing was the catalyst for some. For others it was the sight of the approaching Whitecap forces that made them run, but soon the field was filled with fleeing soldiers.

Eisner limped to his feet, trying to make his own retreat, but Davi appeared out of nowhere and his blade under Eisner’s chin made him halt in his tracks.

“Don’t think so, mate,” Davi narrowed his eyes at the little man.

“Trystan,” Alixa called in panic as she and Lonara ran to Trystan’s side.

“I’m okay,” he assured her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Lona, Briggs is escaping.” He pointed to the horse off in the distance and Lona reacted immediately. Closing her eyes, she hit the ground with her palm. You could see the power ripple through the ground and the fleeing soldiers in its path fell over one by one. But Briggs remained unaffected and he disappeared through the mountain path toward Isenore.

“My apologies, Trystan. Breaking through the barrier and trying to keep our people alive has drained me.” She truly looked distraught and Trystan gripped her shoulder with his good hand, leaving a bloody handprint. “You did well, Lona. You and Ramsey both. And we are not empty handed.” He pointed his chin at Eisner, still hovering at the tip of Davi’s blade.

Trystan felt Alixa stiffen beside him. Without a word she walked toward her father, hatred on her face deepening with every step. Stopping at Davi’s side, she stared at Eisner in silence. Gripping the tip of Davi’s blade she pushed it down, away from her father’s throat. Eisner sighed in relief. “Thank you, daughter.”

“Davi won’t kill you, father,” she said as she raised her own blade and stuck the tip against his heart. “For he knows that honor belongs to me.”

“Alixa.” Eisner’s eyes filled with fear. “You don’t mean that. I’m your father.”

“You are no father of mine.” She spat at his feet. “You lost that title when you took my mother from me. When you took everyone I have ever cared about from me.”

“Were you there?” His demand lacked any power behind it as he looked at his daughter. “Did you watch these vile people slaughter your brother?”

She clenched her jaw. “You mourn Royce but you can’t give a care for my absence. Do you know why I betrayed you, father? It wasn’t for any loyalty to Dreach-Sciene for I held much contempt for the prince. No.” She pressed her sword harder against him. “It was because of my hatred for you. You drove me away. But I don’t need you. I’ve never needed you. This will not end well for Calis, father. And it’s already ended for you.”

She stepped back, her sword still raised. No emotion shone in her eyes. With a blank coldness, she nodded to Davi and lifted her voice. “Duke Eisner of Isenore is now a captive of the realm. Take him away.”

Davi used his magic to give Eisner a push forward toward the waiting guards. “Take him back to the palace. Make sure he doesn’t draw any power from the earth and lock him in the farthest cell from any exposed land.”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison as each gripped one of Eisner’s arms.

Trystan studied Alixa’s face once her father was out of sight.

She sent him a scowl. “Don’t you dare ask if I’m okay.”

Trystan held up his hands in defense. He knew when to back off. Adrenaline still coursed through his body, stronger than any magic he’d ever felt. Most of his soldiers lacked much power as well. Just because the land held magic, didn’t mean it gave it freely to all who desired it.

Yet they hadn’t been bested in the fight. For the first time, he felt like not having the kind of power Rissa possessed didn’t make him any less able to lead this army. He still knew how to fight.

Lord Coille rode up beside him and dismounted from his horse.

“Your Majesty,” he said in relief as he gripped Trystan’s shoulder. “I feared we would be too late. Like Isenore.”

The relief Trystan felt at seeing Coille curdled in his gut at the Lord’s words. “What do you mean, Coille? What about Isenore?”

Coille wiped a weary hand across his face. “The attack on the castle was a distraction, Trystan. They never meant to take the castle. They meant to keep you occupied. To keep you from aiding Cullenspire. The real attack happened in Isenore. Cullenspire and all of Isenore has fallen to Calis.”