Chapter 56

Incursion Tala rode beside Karn, on the mount of one of Mustaffa’s former officers. She had tried her hardest to disguise herself as a young man. She wore a suit of scale armor, which helped to cover all hints of her female form. She donned a forged steel helmet that enclosed most of her face and kept her yellow-green hair tucked safely away.

The rocking motion of the horse rattled her loose-fitting armor and drew the occasional glance in her direction from the men nearby. Although she kept her head down, occasionally, when Karn would gaze at her, he would catch a glimpse of her lips, a smile so bright that even in this precarious moment, he could not help but return it.

Everything has gone as planned. He had to remind himself to breathe. Uncertainty nagged him deeply. Even an hour ago, when a whistle and a hand gesture dispersed his team of thirty-five soldiers through the forest’s edge, he wondered if this plan was the best for the situation.

With another glance at Tala, Karn felt his stomach knot. She lied to me, he thought. I know she did. Elven tradition? I doubt one exists where it’s the woman’s responsibility to go to battle with their man. I should not have let her come.

Try as he might to ignore his fears of imminent doom, he felt that these were his last days, and he did not want to spend them alone.

Karn gripped and re-gripped his horse’s reins. This is not the time to question yourself. Everything has gone as planned. Mustaffa led his army straight into the gap between the dense forest and steep hillside. And just as you assumed, his soldiers broke ranks to enter the forest to relieve themselves.

Karn looked forward again.

It all seems too easy. Within the span of an hour, my entire squad has infiltrated Mustaffa’s army. Karn closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. Too easy.

They rode in silence through the forest until sunset. Karn kept a surreptitious watch on the enemy around them, looking for any sign that their ruse had failed. He knew he may not have been a soldier before he was enchanted, but he was observant.

As Karn scanned the crowd of soldiers, he came to several points of interest. One, the enemy footmen were divided. Two-thirds marched behind him, and one-third marched in front. Karn stared forward into their massive numbers; one man blurred into the next with each step.

After a time, he realized that the footmen marched in both eerie dead silence and perfect formation. Either Mustaffa has an extremely disciplined army or one that fears him immensely.

I wish I knew where the man himself rode. I’d give anything—

“Perhaps we could send one of our troops to scout ahead for… the target,” Lieutenant Hart whispered as he rode up beside Karn, as if he read his thoughts.

“Nothing would make me happier, but it’s too risky,” Karn said out of the side of his mouth. “I’ve been studying Mustaffa’s troop movements. Except for small repositioning and breaks to relieve themselves, very few of the cavalry even shift position.”

“Such formality for an informal army,” Lieutenant Hart replied.

“Another thing. Our reports of other races, giants and deinosuchians, I’ve seen no likes.”

“Agreed.”

“I know firsthand there’s at least one full squad of shadow elves in Mustaffa’s employ.”

When Karn said this to Lieutenant Hart, Tala spoke. “I don’t think there are any shadow elves here, not now.”

“Eh?”

“I’m certain I would sense them,” Tala explained.

“Anything else you care to share with us?” Karn asked.

“A small troop of deinosuchians are following us, but they are far downwind.” Tala wrinkled her nose.

One of the elves in Karn’s squad signaled Lieutenant Hart, but Karn had already spotted what the elf attempted to warn them about; a rider approached from the front of the army.

“Light the torches! Quicken your pace! March faster! We camp soon!” Mustaffa’s general barked out commands as he passed.

“It’s time.”

Lieutenant Hart agreed.

“Tell everyone to follow orders when we set up camp, then regroup afterward, Lieutenant.”

***

When the entire army stopped its march, the commanding officers instructed the divisions to their chores.

Although it had been a long, nervous ride, Kel Tora’s squad merged perfectly into Mustaffa’s ranks. They were good soldiers, and they followed Mustaffa’s officer’s orders just as well if not better than most of the enemy leader’s own troops.

Karn, along with more than half of Kel Tora’s crew, received orders to tend to the horses, whereas Lieutenant Hart and two of the elves that accompanied them were told to gather firewood from the tree line.

While Karn secured the horses for the night, he tried his best to keep an eye on his squad. Unfortunately, his own plan made it almost impossible to do so, because Kel Tora’s men blended so well into the enemy ranks. Each time he looked away, he lost track of one of them.

He sighed and tried to calm himself. Everything has gone as planned. No need to worry, he thought as he stared down at the knot he tied. Everyone’s doing their best, even Tala. I just wish I knew where she was…

Karn finished his duties, and although it might have seemed like an eternity, it did not take him very long. As he scanned the crowd, he watched a group of five soldiers rush to action. Their sudden motion spiked his nerves, but it was not an attack; those men just went to the aid of others who struggled to hoist the canvas of a commanding officer’s tent.

Karn stared so long that his eyes began to blur. There were thousands of soldiers, and they all moved about with purpose. It made him feel hazy, almost mesmerized by the motion. He was so caught up in it all, he all but missed a signal from one of his men.

Lieutenant Hart had returned to the campground, his arms full of firewood. Karn saw Hart tap his forearm with his fist—the signal that meant he was with other soldiers from the squad.

Karn answered with a nod and rubbed his eyes. He wanted a head count. As Lieutenant Hart piled the wood, he took a moment to hold up three sticks. Good, Karn thought, three more men accounted for.

One by one, members of the raiding party returned to the spot designated by Lieutenant Hart. As one of the elves in the raiding party approached, he signaled Karn with a melodic whistle—Tala’s whereabouts were known. Relieved, Karn watched her and another elf approach with water. Thank the gods she’s safe.

“I followed her,” the elf reported quietly. “I knew you would want her watched.”

“You have my thanks.”

“That’s not all. While at the tree line, I decided to climb up and look. It appears that one-third of Mustaffa’s army has passed through the tightest part of the valley between the forest and hillside. We are almost outside.”

Karn slouched some, as a group of four enemy cavalrymen walked by. “Our plan is working well,” he said when they had passed. “Our fires may be able to block off part of the army. We have to coordinate our escape without error, though, or we’ll be separated from Kel Tora’s forces.”

The enemy troops had begun to queue up at the mess tents for their supper, so it was easier for Karn and the others to talk freely. After he dismissed the elf, Karn walked to the campfire where Lieutenant Hart and Tala stood.

“Remind me, why did I allow you to come along?” Karn whispered to Tala from behind.

“Because you cannot live another moment separated from me?”

He smirked. “True.”

Lieutenant Hart circled the fire while he motioned to Karn and the rest of the squad to be seated. Ten of Kel Tora’s soldiers went to the mess tent to get food for the rest of the party, which sat patiently.

“I have to admit, sir, although this is moving smoothly, I’m still scared to death,” one of Kel Tora’s men said to Lieutenant Hart.

“As am I,” Hart replied. “Just remember, if we follow our plan, we should all be fine.”

“Food’s not bad,” the oldest man in the squad joked as he returned to the group, his mouth full.

Karn looked around the fire for the elf that had accompanied Tala earlier, but he was gone. “We’re missing an elven soldier,” Karn whispered to Lieutenant Hart.

“Pissing?” Lieutenant Hart guessed.

“No, he’s signaling someone again,” Tala said, obviously unaware she revealed something scandalous. “From that tree,” she added with a point.

One of the other elves from the group slapped Tala’s hand, then glared at her.

“Who could he be signaling?” Karn said as he leaned in toward Tala.

“Quiet, traitor,” said the elf who had slapped her hand.

“Quiet yourself,” she snapped. To Karn, she added, “It’s an old elven trick. You have nothing to fear; only other elves would notice it.”

Lieutenant Hart raised his sword slowly and aimed it at the elf. “I will tolerate no lies,” he said coldly. “Speak up.”

“Atop that hill, there’s a small group of my people,” the elf revealed, with an angry glare at Tala.

“Why risk our mission to signal your people? Why? What is so damn important?” Karn asked. “Who is being signaled?”

The elf averted his eyes. “Hunters.”

“Hunters? Hunting what?” Lieutenant Hart interjected.

Tala shrugged. “I guess we’re not the only uninvited guests in this valley.”

The elf who had spoken moments before looked around the group a moment before he fixed his eyes on Karn. His deep stare added to Tala’s words; Karn needed nothing more to decipher it. Mages.

“Mage-hunters. You mean the mages are here too, don’t you?”

“The outcome of this battle—”

“Is a big concern of theirs,” Karn finished. “Damn them.”

“Lieutenant Hart, if the legendary mages have come from the mountain, what side of the battle have they chosen?” asked a young soldier.

“I’m not sure.” Hart turned to Karn. “What do you think, General?”

The men around the fire grew silent as they looked at Karn. They want an answer. What answer do I give them? The truth, a lie, or one of the hundreds of possibilities in between?

“Their own.” Karn felt it was the best answer he had.

Over the course of fifteen minutes, Karn explained what he knew of the High Council of Mages. He told the squad the abridged story and held back the fact that he had been their pawn. To be safe, he avoided any mention of Opal at all.

As Karn finished his tale, one of Mustaffa’s officers approached the group and heartily slapped Tala on the shoulder. “You men fight well!” he drunkenly bellowed and continued to the next group.

Tala grumbled. Karn could not tell what she said; it sounded like another language.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m tired, dressed in silly human armor, manhandled by some cretin, and it might rain… What do you think?” she replied.

“Did you say rain?”

“Yes,” she sighed.

Karn turned to Lieutenant Hart, who explained strategy to two of the younger men, but a sudden cry rang out from the front of the army. A calm silence followed until a second, closer cry was heard, with yet another even closer after. Then, like a wave crashing upon the shore, the sound of armored men on the move overwhelmed Karn’s ears.

“What the hell’s happening?” one of Mustaffa’s soldiers screamed from a short distance.

An officer rode from the front on a white horse that kicked dirt in every direction. His shout sounded like the howl of a distressed animal and alerted every soldier around to the news.

“Kel Tora’s army has been spotted on rapid advance toward our position! They’ll be upon us soon. Ready yourselves to march! Double pace!”

Karn froze as things raced around him.

“This is bad,” Lieutenant Hart grumbled. “Essex has been spotted already. We haven’t started our attack yet.”

The cool breeze made Karn shudder. His eyes dropped to his feet; for a second, he thought they had sunk into the ground, that ivy-thick, thorny, brown veins had curled up his legs. He lifted his foot and shook it. His muscles ached and an odd sting in his stomach grew stronger. The pain was joined by another, and another, and soon Karn felt as if he was being pierced by a dozen blades. I died… I remember dying…

“General?”

Karn heard him but did not reply. It was all he could do just to look.

“General Karn?”

“We cannot let the enemy army funnel through the pass—we must act now,” Karn said, and then paused for a second before he shouted, “Go!”