“Should you fall!” Von recited.
“March through the Gates!” the Raiders recited back.
“Go with your God!”
“MAY HE RECEIVE ME!” Their cheer rose into a war cry.
“Aye, may He receive me,” Von repeated under his breath. He exhaled deeply, gripping his knives and his nerves. “If you can manage any more spells, now is the time,” he told his captain as the charge drew nearer.
In reply, Elon raised a hand to the moon.“Anul ed sol soleic, at’serp em ut redop, nev Aivull Ed Soyar.”
Static pressed against Von’s skin, everything in him growing rigid. Clouds roiled overhead, cracking with thunder and flashes of light. The cavalry reached them when a rain of lightning speared the terrain between them in blazing columns.Boom! Boom! BOOM!
The blasts wrenched Rangers and horses into the air. Their frightened screams vanished with them into the smoke. Von’s ears were left ringing from the proximity of the blasts. He could only hear his pounding heart and ragged breathing. It lasted for only a moment. Then all sound snapped back into place as the wet thud of falling flesh and bone crashed around them. The twisted body of a Guard slammed onto the ground at his feet.
The Raiders broke into a cheer. Von raised a closed fist, and his men fell silent at the signal. Smoke choked the field in a thick veil, obscuring their view. He peered into it, listening.
Elon tensed. “They’re coming.”
“Ready!” Von warned the men.
He heard the beginnings of a rumble. It grew louder. And louder until it was upon them. Azure Guards burst through the haze. They clashed into them in a clang of steel.
Elon skewered a Guard through the gut and spun to behead another with a quick slash. He moved with lethal dexterity and precision, his sword severing every life it met. Abenon dove into the fray with his scimitars, leaving behind a trail of bodies.
Von ducked out of the way of a blade, inches from taking his head. He pivoted around the Guard and flung a knife at an incoming Ranger, impaling him through the throat. Another Guard paired up with two more and all three circled him. Fire glinted on their polished badges engraved with the Azure sigil.
They eyed him steadily as they moved into a practiced formation. Men of skill, given authority by the King to uphold the law. By all rights, good men. A shame they had to die here.
Von removed another knife from his bandolier and flipped them in his palms. The Guards attacked, and he let his knives fly. Two went down. He grabbed a fallen sword and whirled on the third Guard. His limbs moved on memory, past training surging through him and the weapon’s weight settled into his hand with familiarity. The blade swept through the air and sliced through the Guard’s stomach. Von turned away as he fell.
More came.
He no longer felt the weight of the weapon. It was a mere extension of him as it carved through muscle and sinew. The movements came as easy as breathing. Evade—slash. Parry—strike.
Mud and blood coated his face as he hacked his way through the ranks. He drew his blade from a fallen Guard’s chest when a Ranger charged at him on a horse, rapier waiving. Von hefted up his sword and hurled it like a spear. It went straight through the Ranger’s chest, and he dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.
Elon spoke another spell. The scattered flames around camp rose in a huge inferno. Like a tsunami at sea, it rolled over a group of Rangers and Guards, carrying them away. The fire caught on crates and tents, lighting up the camp.
The metallic stench of blood and burning grass stung Von’s nose. The forest caught fire, and the winds spread the flames. The sky bled orange and red.
The sight of it reminded him of his greatest fear.
Von ran through the blazing camp. He reached his tent only to find it had collapsed in the mayhem.
“Yavi!” he shouted over the din.
A distant scream reached his ears.
On the other side of camp, Von spotted a laughing Guard standing over a Raider—Geon, bleeding from a gash to his cheek. He took a kick to the gut. He cried out, curling into himself.
“Leave him alone!” Yavi shrieked. Another Guard struggled to hold her back as she kicked and clawed, fighting for all she was worth.
The Ranger attempted another kick.
Geon snatched the man’s leg, tripping him. He leaped to his feet and grabbed his fallen sword. “Put her down! Fight me!”
The boy had been ordered to protect Yavi, and he would do so until his last breath. Von sprinted for them, cutting down anyone who stepped into his path.
