Incarnation: Wandering Stars Volume One (46 page)

Shapes moved in
the darkness before them;
colorless patches of random
forms
, shifting in the shadows.

The
Iryllur
ym
approached rapidly, breaking into the mass of bodies
as a wave
of
sharpened metal.  The blades of
Sariel
’s
v
aepkir
jolted
in his hands and rammed into his forearms as they sliced through the flesh of the enemy. 
Following the narrow channel around a bend, the winged angels pulled up and out of the corridor j
ust b
efore their forward motion stalled, pumping their wings
to
propel
themselves into open air.

Looking out across the cove, Sariel could see the tower of
Aryun Del
-
Edha
rising from the center of the water
like a multi-pronged
spear
head
.

The
Iryllur
ym
quickly
banked to the east as the other groups did the same, each having made their first pass.  Now approaching from behind the gate, the
Iryllur
ym
descended once more, positioning themselves for a second pass.  On the ground below, a mass of bodies swelled behind the gate, filling the side corridors and blocking the main entrance.  But something looked strange from this new vantage point.

“
THEY’RE HUMAN!
” Sariel shouted.

Atop
the wall, at the base of the northern
guard tower, a low horn
sounded
, blanketing the
cove
with an unmistakable warning call.

“Pull up
!
  Pull up
!
” Nuathel commanded.

At once, the
formation
leveled out
.

Sariel looked down in disbelief
as they
passed over the
entrance
while human
soldiers gather
ed
behind the gate. 
N
ot only did Semjaza know they were coming, but he had enough foreknowledge to amass an army that the
Amatru
weren’t authorized to
kill
.

“We can’t
attack
them
!
” Nuathel shouted only a second later.

“We have to warn the
Anduar
ym
!
” Sariel shouted back.

Following Nuathel’s lead, the
Iryllur
ym
dropped into the mountain pass and
banked to the south
,
follow
ing the
road leading away from the gate. 
Quickly,
they came upon the
Anduar
army and dropped to the
ground
in front of the
soldiers.

F
er
-
Rada Danduel ran from the front lines to meet them.

“A human army guards the gate,” Nuathel explained quickly.

“Humans?” Danduel asked.  “Are you sure?”

“
Yes.  Hundreds of them.”

“But we’re not authorized—” Danduel began
. 
His once wide eyes
suddenly
narrowed and he spun around to address his approaching army.  “The gate is guarded by a human army
!
” he shouted above the din of marching footsteps.  “We are not authorized to kill humans, even under Semjaza’s leadership.  But we must breach that gate!”

The army halted.

“Push them out of the way.  Throw them to the ground.  Injure them if you must.  But do not kill them.  We will take this gate tonight!  Semjaza’s deception cannot stop the
Amatru
.”

“
Rada
Talad
!
”
came
the
unified
response.

Danduel turned back to
Nuathel
.  “Can you carry them away from the gate without killing them?”

The Fim
-
Rada
thought for a moment.  “It will be much slower, but yes.”

Sariel
replaced his
v
aepkir
,
safely tucking one under each wing.
  A sudden noise
brought
his attention back to the gate where hundreds of humans now came pouring out of the entrance, massing in front of the wall.

“We’ll take care of these,” Danduel said.  “You j
ust concentrate on those corridors
so they’re clear by the time we reach the entrance.”

“Yes Fer
-
Rada.”  Nuathel
replied,
then turned to
his own soldiers.  “
Back to the gate
!
”

Sariel unfurled his wings and leaped upward
to join the other Iryllurym.

*   *   *   *

With Danduel at the point of a tight
wedge
formation, the
Anduar
ym
advanced quickly upon the gate.
 
Semjaza had formed an army from the
Kahyin
, the tallest and
strongest of the human species.  But
they were no match for the
Anduar
ym
, who were approximately twice
their
height.  The wedge concentrated the force of the
Anduar
strength at the center of the opposing army, dividing the humans into two groups who were now faced with a solid wall of shields.  With each flank protected, the
soldiers
marched quickly to the wall and entered the main passage.

Once inside, Danduel and the others at the point of the wedge pulled back and formed a line
, while the flanks of the wedge pulled inward
to create
a column.

Despite
the
efforts of the
Iryllur
ym,
humans
continued to pour out of each corridor and attack the flanks of Danduel’s
formation
.  They came forward with reckless abandon,
throwing their spears which shattered harmlessly against the shields of the
Anduar
ym
.  The few unfortunate souls who ran at the
angels
were easily turned away or knocked down.

Within minutes, Danduel’s ground force
s
had driven through the passage and w
ere
now only yards from breaching
the land gate of
Mudena Del
-
Edha
.  As
the Fer
-
Rada
crested the hill and caught sight of the bay glittering in the
moonlight
, he saw Semjaza’s
Anduar
ym
waiting.

“AMBUSH!” he yelled.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the stars were blotted out by shadows from above.
  At the same moment he recognized the enemy Iryllurym, o
ne of the soldiers at
his
side fell, pierced through the neck
with
a spear.
 
Danduel
quickly
realized that h
e was trapped. 

More of Semjaza’s
Anduar
ym
were arrayed along the top of the wall, casting their spears down into the
mass of
vulnerable
angels
, who were unable to protect themselves from multiple directions at once.  Danduel gritted his teeth.  If he pressed forward, he and his soldiers at the head of the column might be cut off from the bulk of their force still outside the passage.  With the objective so close, yet unattainable,
he
shouted
in frustration.

Suddenly,
the humans
pulled back into the side corridors while
Semjaza’s
Anduar
ym
advanced
down the center passage
, picking up speed
.

Danduel knew that at any moment, he would see them coming from the side corridors as well.  And then the battle would be over.  He was
now
faced with the
painful
realization
of Semjaza’s strategic brilliance. 
There had been almost no information
available on
the Pri
-
Rada
, which
mean
t
that his missions were classified. 
From
the design of this fortress, to his deceptive strategies and efficient utilization of soldiers, Danduel could
now see clearly that
Semjaza was a master
of battlefield tactics.  Danduel was out of his league.

“
D
r
eg aftur
! 
D
r
eg aftur
!”
Danduel yelled, moving his shield over his head.

His orders were relayed along the column of
Anduar
ym
, and slowly,
his
army backed out of the passage, leaving behind the bodies of fallen comrades.

Th
e
front
line of enemy angels
came forward, marching quicker than the retreating army
.

Danduel
knew that they wouldn’t make it out of the passage in time. 
“
Varnir, h
o
rfa
!”
he shouted.

The column, responding immediately to his orders,
pulled themselves into a denser formation, interlocking their s
hields
to present thems
elves as an armored wall with protruding spikes.
  The column continued moving slowly backward, using the standard retreating front defense formation.

Semjaza’s soldiers crashed into the front line and used the high ground advantage to push the invading force out of the gate faster than they could retreat.

One by one,
Danduel’s
soldiers were thrown off balance and either trampled or impaled as soon as they fell to the ground.
  Danduel flinched as his
left
shoulder
was
thrown violently forward, followed by a sharp pain.
  Grazed by a spear
from above
, he now felt warm blood flowing down his arm.

“
D
r
eg aftur!”
he
shouted again
.

*   *   *   *

At the rear of the column,
Ananel
heard the command to pull back being
passed from soldier to soldier.
 
Semjaza’s
Anduar
ym
were now
atop the wall
, casting their weapons down upon the confused Amatru
.
  The Iryllurym on both sides of the conflict were swarming overhead.  Inside t
he passage at the center
of the wall
, a frenzy of movement was taking place. 
T
he original plan was
being abandoned
.
  Semjaza had b
een prepared for their coming.

As Ananel
looked around
at
the other Myndarym huddled within the protective lines of
Anduar
soldiers, another idea came to mind
—one
for
which Semjaza would surely not be prepared.
 
H
e could now see Danduel exiting the passage
with his shield over his head
.

“Step aside
,” he shouted.  “
I have to speak with the Fer
-
Rada
!
”

T
he sky began to lighten
in
the east,
while
shouts of retreat could be heard across the battlefield.  Having fought for hours to break through the angelic force holding the
land
entrance to
Semjaza’s fortress
, Danduel’s
soldiers
had sustained much damage.  Though they
originally
outnumbered Semjaza’s forces
two-to-one
, the high ground and arrangement of the passage gave a considerable advantage to the enemy.  Danduel’s numbers had been steadily whittled down to roughly
sixty
Anduar
ym
and he was no longer able to maintain the attack.
  His Iryllurym had sustained even greater casualties.