He roared his defiance at the enemy. A sound echoed by the men around him, each as alive in this moment as him. The quiet of the last few weeks as they were forced to play nice had given his warriors a surplus of energy, turning them restless and quick to anger.
It was time to unleash those feelings on those who sought to destroy them.
Van sprinted past him, the man surprisingly agile for someone so big. His blond hair shown like a halo around his head as the Lion clan leader planted one foot, twisting his body and putting all his strength into his swing as he beheaded one beast, before pivoting and running through another who sought to take advantage of his distraction.
His men followed, resembling the animal they had taken their name from—a pride of lions eviscerating their prey.
Zeph battled to Fallon’s side. “Now, this is the kind of war I’d hoped for when we chose to follow you.”
The two gave each other happy grins before turning to deal with a beast.
Another leapt up, landing on Fallon and sending him to the ground with its greater weight. Fallon managed to get his sword up, preventing its claws from ripping him to shreds. He grabbed a knife from his belt and buried it in the thick neck, before using his legs to kick it off him.
Zeph was there in the next second, his sword making quick work of the job Fallon had started.
“Down,” Fallon shouted.
Zeph dropped without question, and Fallon grabbed the sword at his side impaling the bat that would have grabbed Zeph and taken off with him.
“Have to say, I’m not a fan of fighting an enemy who attacks from above,” Zeph shouted over the din.
“We need to do something about those things or we’ll continue to get picked off,” Fallon said. There was a small lull. Caden and the rest of Fallon’s Anateri fought, creating a small pocket around them.
The pathfinders were doing what they could, but there wasn’t enough room for them to effectively target the bats, and they couldn’t cover the entire area over the courtyard.
Green light flashed in the sky, streaking across the dark and bursting overhead. There were screeches of pain as bats rained from the sky. More streams of green light followed.
“Horse lords protect us. What in the world is that?” Zeph muttered, staring up in awe.
“Shea,” Fallon said in a soft voice. He didn’t how, but he knew she’d figured out a way to deal with their aerial opponents.
Zeph gave him a disbelieving look.
Fallon clapped him on the back. “My telroi has a way of surprising you.”
While everyone else was focused on the immediate task of surviving, she had deduced the problem and future consequences before coming up with an unorthodox solution. Just like she always did.
“This is our chance,” Fallon shouted. “We’re taking back the wall.”
There were victorious cries as his warriors, buoyed by the victory above, gained new energy. Fallon led the charge, his warriors at his back, each one as determined and merciless as him.
The battle grew chaotic and desperate as they fought, pushing and straining for every inch. The training over all these months to combat not just human enemies but beast as well, paid off. His men fought as a well-honed fighting unit, the likes of which these lands hadn’t seen in too many generations to count.
They cleared the stairs, with the strange green light keeping the bat creatures off them. Finally, at long last, they had control of the wall again.
Abruptly, the beasts pulled away, disappearing back down the way they’d come as if they’d never been.
“We won,” Zeph said, sounding half surprised.
There was a cheer along the wall as they celebrated their victory. Van strode up, blood and gunk covering him, his eyes alight with the thrill of battle, the same crazy grin on his face that Fallon knew was on his as well.
Van and Zeph, more than any other clan leader, were as closely aligned to the call of battle as Fallon. It was why he tolerated their difficult personalities and their constant need to push. A good warrior sometimes had to test the bounds of control and these two men were among the best.
The bodies of beasts lay strewn along the wall and courtyard, a reminder of the attack they’d just survived. They were joined by the bodies of the fallen—pathfinder and Trateri alike.
Fallon noted the number of pathfinders among the survivors and the ones still silhouetted in the windows. Much as he hated to admit it, he doubted they would have been victorious today without their help.
It was something to think about. Perhaps this alliance had more potential and shouldn’t be so easily discarded. The important question was whether he could be assured of their loyalty. Something he still wasn’t convinced was possible.
