“I can take care of her,” Baldemar offered. “I saw the arrows.”
Grolkinei nodded. “Go.”
As Baldemar started down the rocky slope leading into the battle below, Grolkinei thought how it would have been nice to have found a way to keep the dampening from affecting them so they could fly and use their powers. It had been one thing for Jean-Marc or Layla to focus their dampening on just the sisters. It was something else entirely when it came to something of this magnitude. There was no way with so many Mercesti exercising dampening abilities that it could be done without it affecting their own class.
Tradeoffs.
The first volley of Mercesti arrows filled the air as Baldemar departed. Flashes of lavender shot across the battlefield as invisible Lekwuesti shields deflected most of them. Sebastian and his class must have created the shields before the dampening took effect, like Grolkinei’s soldiers had done for him. The shields would weaken over time and the dampening would prevent regenerating them. That was why Grolkinei was still standing on the mountainside, so his shield lasted as long as possible.
“There is a strong likelihood that at least one of the elders will get killed during this battle,” Angius said as another volley of arrows flew from the forest. “That will likely destroy our chances of abolishing this plane.”
Grolkinei frowned and nodded. “I am prepared for that possibility. We cannot control everything, though we may try. We will just have to be content with ruling this plane.”
“I can live with that.”
“Why is he not fighting?” Harold asked as he dispatched another Mercesti with his sword.
Hitoshi knew the Waresti commander was talking about Grolkinei. As he disarmed his own opponent and delivered the killing blow, he responded, “Archigos Ini-herit said that he believes Grolkinei will wait and have his soldiers do his work for him rather than risk himself.”
“Bloody coward.”
They each quickly took on new opponents. Harold continued to keep one eye on the mountain, as he was sure most everyone did. That was how he noticed Baldemar’s departure.
“He is heading for the forest,” Harold realized, deflecting a sloppy blow from an axe. The weapon sank into the leg of another Mercesti. Over the resulting howl, Harold shouted, “He is heading to the archery platforms.”
Nearly halfway between Harold and the forest, Alexius led his own contingent of fighters. He heard Harold’s shout and dared a quick glance toward the mountain, where he noted Baldemar’s descent.
“Get to Olivia,” Harold ordered.
But Alexius was already moving.
Skye and Caleb waited for the battle to progress close enough that they could use their throwing weapons. It didn’t take long. Shortly after the first volley of Mercesti arrows hit the air, the flow of the battle seemed to surge back and toward them.
“We’ve taken out dozens of their dampeners,” she said as she scanned the advancing horde. “We should be diminishing their hold over us, especially with the Wymzesti and Orculesti combatting them, but it doesn’t feel like we are.”
“Grolkinei has been adding to his numbers for a long time,” Caleb said. “I’m sure he focused on building up the Mercesti mental assault at least as much as the fighting force. He knew he would be battling against both types of skill sets.”
But he shared her concern. He looked back and to the left, checking the positions of Knorbis and Malukali. The elders and their classes stood their ground, watching the battle advance. There were contingents of fighters near them, too, of course, but the non-fighters would be in rather deep peril if the battle surrounded them and they were still unable to use their mental powers. Very few of them were well-trained in physical combat. They could fall back, but Caleb strongly suspected that Grolkinei was even then arranging to have his soldiers encircle them. It was what he would do.
“What if there are more inside the mountain?” she asked then. “Dampeners?”
He turned his attention back to the battle. The arrows being released by the Mercesti weren’t reaching this far yet. A section of the battling soldiers were now within their range, though. He touched the weapons on his belt, prepared to use them.
Then he looked up at the mountain tunnels.
“Why would he leave any of them out here and vulnerable but leave others inside?” he mused.
“Well…maybe as a decoy?” she guessed. “Maybe the ones out here are considered expendable.”
He quickly ran through the possibilities. They all knew that there were more soldiers within the mountain. In response, second commanders Balduin and Frantiska and lieutenants Christopher and Edra were leading contingents to infiltrate the tunnels to begin attacking from within. It was certainly conceivable that there were more dampeners inside the mountain.
“Or maybe the ones out here aren’t strong enough to use their powers while inside the mountain,” she continued as his thoughts raced. “Knorbis and Malukali said it was an advantage to be outside near the battle because the proximity will strengthen their efforts to combat the dampening. That’s got to be true for the Mercesti, too.”
She was absolutely right. And their arrows would never reach inside the tunnels. Meaning they wouldn’t be able to lift the damper at all.
He looked again at the hundreds of Orculesti and Wymzesti and thought, Most of them won’t survive.
“We have to get inside the mountain,” he said.
“Okay.”
He didn’t waste any more time talking. He grabbed her hand and pulled her after him from their position toward Knorbis and Malukali, weaving through the rather surprised-looking Estilorian fighters surrounding them. The elders also showed their astonishment as they approached.
“What is it?” Knorbis asked in a low tone as he and Malukali hurried forward to meet them.
“We think Grolkinei is keeping a host of dampeners—probably really powerful ones—inside the mountain, out of the range of fire,” Caleb said.
He watched the elders consider this. Knorbis’ gaze scanned the approaching Mercesti soldiers and watched another volley of arrows soar from the forest toward the mountain. Caleb knew the elders were considering their dismaying lack of progress in breaking the hold the dampeners had on everyone’s power even after so many fired shots.
“I think you are right,” Knorbis said at last. “Grolkinei will have his strongest dampeners hidden as well as possible. They are what he considers his key to success in this battle.”
Malukali shook her head. “He will try to protect them, I agree. But they cannot be too well hidden. Their powers would not work sufficiently if they cannot see the field of battle. It would be like casting a net into the ocean. They could never guarantee complete coverage.”
“So it sounds like they’re either standing near the edges of the tunnels closest to the field of battle, or they’re hidden deeper in the mountain and there are possible spots around here that aren’t under their influence,” Skye said.
“They’re at the edges of the tunnels,” Caleb said firmly, looking at the mountain. “Grolkinei would never risk the chance we could encounter a spot where we could use our powers against him.”
“Agreed,” Knorbis said. “And we probably would have found a few such spots by now.”
“We have to get to the tunnels and stop those dampeners,” Skye said. “Knorbis, Malukali…can you break through the dampening long enough if the four of us combine our efforts so that I could teleport us to the tunnels? I only need a moment.”
They exchanged a look. Then they nodded.
“But we’re coming with you,” Knorbis said.
Caleb and Skye simply reached for the elders’ hands.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Olivia and James fired their arrows tirelessly. She lost count of the number of dampeners who fell. Their fellows took out a large number of the Mercesti archers at the mountain, as well.
But it felt like they were making no progress.
She knew something w
as wrong. Their contingents of Wymzesti and Orculesti should have been able to combat the effects of the dampening by now. Surely they outnumbered the Mercesti mental attackers at that point, and there was no way there were Mercesti stronger than the combined powers of Knorbis and Malukali.
Were there?
She occasionally shot an arrow toward Grolkinei, hoping his shield would wear down. Although she couldn’t make out his expression from her distance, she also hoped she was irritating him.
The noise of battle was overwhelming. She couldn’t help but wonder how many of the shouts she heard were death cries, and how many of those might be from her friends. But she had to shove those thoughts to the side to concentrate on her shooting. Her arms were tiring, but she couldn’t imagine stopping and leaving others at risk. She would shoot until she dropped.
Growling from beneath her platform alerted her to trouble, distracting her. Turning her gaze from the mountain and lowering her bow, she studied the movement of the battle as it neared her position. She saw Alexius fighting his way in her direction.
Following his intent gaze, she saw Baldemar advancing. And she saw him look right at her.
She barely had time to leap out of the way before a throwing axe whipped right by her head and thudded into the tree trunk. Her dive had her sliding from her platform toward the ground. Her breath left her in a wild rush, preventing her from shouting to James.
She quickly realized with wide eyes and a thundering heartbeat that she wasn’t just facing Baldemar, but a small host of Mercesti. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she heard the sound of steel clanging as the guards around her platform engaged the charging enemies. Aurora and Titan released chilling panther cries as they also entered the battle. The smell of blood and shouts from the injured and dying filled the air.
“James!” she called out at last, but she knew as his name left her lips that it wouldn’t be heard from this distance over the noise.
Baldemar ignored everyone around him as he fought his way to her. The cats were held at bay by several Mercesti wielding spears and maces. A few of the Estilorians tried to get to Baldemar when they realized his target, but he easily deflected their blows and shoved past them.
As soon as he had a clear path to her, he pulled out another weapon. This one a black-bladed dagger. She poised to evade, her breath escaping in sharp gasps of fear. He hurled it even as he advanced.
She realized she had chosen the wrong direction to leap the instant she started to move, but she was committed by then. She watched the dagger fly toward her head even as she fell. And then suddenly there was a flurry of color in her peripheral vision. A solid mass collided with her, shoving her more quickly to the ground. She crashed to the earth with a teeth-jarring, breath-stealing thud.
Alexius rolled off her almost as soon as they hit the ground. She was hurting, but trained enough to know she had to move. Baldemar was only feet away.
Shoving herself up, she grabbed her bow and turned to face him. She registered that Alexius was slow to rise and moved to block him from the Mercesti commander. Although she hadn’t spared him more than a quick glance, she understood that Alexius had been struck by the cursed dagger intended for her.
The knowledge imbued her with outrage.
“Aurora, Titan—get James!” she shouted, hoping the cats would understand.
They both turned from the Mercesti around them and raced to the base of James’ platform.
Baldemar drew his sword. She would have moved into the thicker part of the forest in hopes the more dense trees would prevent him from using his weapon, but that would mean abandoning Alexius. So she stood her ground.
He didn’t even break stride. He simply got within striking range and brought his sword down in a swinging arc with the clear intent to separate her head from her body.
Amber and Gabriel both addressed the first Mercesti to reach them with equal fervor. Neither of them had been content to wait while everyone else fought the battle. They wielded their swords with well-practiced skill, culling through their attackers.
“He sent the equivalent of children,” he called to her after a while, his voice laden with disgust as he dispatched another opponent. “These aren’t his skilled fighters.”
“He wants to wear us down,” she responded as she deflected a strike from her attacker and then countered. She had already come to that realization herself. “So he’s sending out those he thinks are expendable.”
“Where are the other fighters?” he asked as he swung and cut down another Mercesti.
That was certainly the question. She had to guess they were in the mountain, awaiting word from their leader to charge. As she killed her opponent, she conducted a quick scan of the battleground before the next Mercesti approached. It looked like chaos. The world was a flood of bodies moving in some form of attack or defense. She couldn’t see beyond three bodies deep to know what was occurring on the outskirts of the field of battle. Her gaze lifted briefly to the spot she had last seen her youngest sister.
“Skye and Caleb are gone,” she said, lifting her sword to address another attack.
Gabriel didn’t turn to look until he killed his opponent. When he did, a troubled expression crossed his features. She knew he was wondering, as she was, where they had gone. She also knew he was worried, as she was, that something had gone wrong. None of them were supposed to leave their positions.
Her arm felt the vibration of the powerful sword strike by her latest opponent. She countered with several quick moves of her own blade, switching instantly from defend to attack. He fell two seconds later.
“Why can’t we hear each other’s thoughts yet?” she asked in frustration.
“I don’t—” he started to say.
Then they saw the flashes of holy light within the mountain tunnels. And they knew.
Grolkinei also saw the flashes of holy light. His eyes narrowed. Skye.
“Do you want me to go after her?” Angius asked.
Grolkinei debated the idea for half a minute. Then he finally reconciled himself to the fact he would allow no one to kill her but him.
“No,” he said. “Lead the second wave of fighters into the battle. Have them target the Orculesti and Wymzesti to give our dampeners more time. I think you have waited long enough to have your final confrontation with Saraqael’s eldest daughter.”
Angius’ red eyes flashed. “As you wish, my lord.”
When the commander turned to fulfill his orders, Grolkinei turned to enter the tunnels. He had his own daughter of Saraqael to hunt.
Skye faced an incredible challenge trying to transport the four of them to one of the tunnels housing the Mercesti dampeners. For one thing, she had never been into any of the tunnels on this side of the mountain, so she couldn’t do it off memory. For another, she had to time it so her most intense concentration on the teleport coincided with the tiny sliver of time Knorbis and Malukali managed to eke out through their combined efforts at reversing the dampening. And just to make it even more interesting, she would probably be unable to defend herself when she got them there.
Piece of cake.
As the sounds of battle neared, she gripped Caleb’s hand on her left and Knorbis’ on her right. Malukali stood in front of her and placed her hands on both of hers. Skye closed her eyes and thought of the tunnel she had seen from a distance that appeared to house the least number of Mercesti. She pushed out every thought aside from that one and prayed Knorbis and Malukali were quick.
She got her wish. Within a minute, they were all standing in a tunnel and surrounded by Mercesti. As she staggered from the energy drain, Caleb and Knorbis positioned themselves to defend her, drawing their swords. Malukali scanned the Mercesti who turned to look at them with baffled expressions.
Then the Orculesti elder pulled a dagger from her belt and threw it at the closest soldier, killing her instantly.
Caleb and Knorbis started attacking the Mercesti in the tunnel. Skye watched them as she sat limply on t
he ground, struggling to command her limbs to move. Malukali had a short sword of her own that she put to use, killing a couple more dampeners. And when the last one fell, Skye sensed a distinct lightening of the dampening.
She closed her eyes and focused intently on healing herself, pushing whatever energy she could manage into it. And before long, she was on her feet.
“To the next tunnel,” Caleb said when the last Mercesti fell.
They turned and ran. The tunnel beside them was also full of dampeners. By the time they had killed all of them, she felt another level of the dampening fall away, like a layer of an onion.
“It’s working,” she said.
Unfortunately, the next tunnel was more prepared for them thanks to the noise created by their dying peers. A host of arrows flew out just as they started to enter. Caleb had a near miss and Malukali’s upper arm got sliced as they all dove for protection. But they were all highly trained, and the second the arrows flew overhead, they were all on their feet and fighting.
Skye ran right past the dampeners, who stood rather ineffectually against the sides of the tunnel to avoid the archers, and went directly up to the archers themselves. They hadn’t even pulled their next arrows from their quivers before she attacked.
She yanked the bow right out of the first archer’s hands and used it to strike him in the face. When he was stunned and on the ground, Caleb finished him off with his sword even as he kicked another archer in the groin. Malukali and Knorbis used similar tactics to keep the other archers from firing.
Skye turned and saw some of the dampeners moving toward the exit. Grabbing daggers in each of her hands and striding after the fleeing Mercesti, she flung the weapons, impaling two of the dampeners right through their necks. She reached for two more daggers and aimed again. She heard a body hit the ground right behind her as she released the weapons and killed two more. Caleb surged past her and took down the last two dampeners in the room.