Resurrected Soldiers: The Tyrus Chronicle - Book Three (35 page)

“He’ll look like a genius for sending us out to watch over the High Mages if we do have to kill them.” He paused. “And if you die in the process, the memory of all you’ve done will fade from people’s minds all the sooner as he takes control of what’s left of Turine.”

“But what if we all die and fail to stop the High Mages?”

Hamath shrugged. “Then it won’t really matter what people think of him. Gods, I hate that man.”

I shook my head. Hamath always had his conspiracy theories about Balak’s intentions. Often I had trouble fully believing them.

It did make sense though. Balak never cared for me personally. Everything had always been about his victories.

A slap on the back jarred me from my thoughts. “All right Tyrus. Looks like I have my orders, or at least my objective. Best I get back to my unit and let them know what’s going on.”

“Yeah, I need to do the same after I tell the other elite units the news. Before you go though, plan to meet me outside of camp on the north side at dusk. We’ll talk more strategy then where we won’t have to worry about eavesdroppers.”

He nodded and left.

Dekar’s unit, or rather my unit again, grew attentive as I approached. Ira was the one to speak first. He seemed to have recovered from killing that lieutenant a few weeks back and was back to his old self.

“Prax’s balls, Dek. Whatever we’re about to hear ain’t good.”

“Am I that obvious?” I asked, taking a seat near the center of the unit.

“Pretty much,” said Boaz.

I sighed. “Well, then let’s just get it over with. You want to hear the bad news, or the really bad news?”

Ira cursed. “How about instead you go take a walk and come back with some good news first?”

Reuma elbowed him. “Bad news.”

“Well, the bad news is that Balak wants me to take back command of this unit.” I gave Dekar a frown. “I’m sorry. It has nothing to do with your performance.”

Dekar shrugged. “I don’t take it personally. I’d rather have you beside us anyway.”

“Well, if that’s the bad news, Ty, then I’m not really too concerned about the really bad news. Spill it,” said Ira.

I lowered my voice so others outside our unit wouldn’t hear and told them of Balak’s plan and what our orders were.

“I lied,” said Ira. “I am concerned. How about next time you say something like, ‘I’ve got some surprising news and some really crap news?’ That would be the better description.”

Dekar cleared his throat. “You got a layout of the city?”

I recalled the model in Balak’s tent. “I do, but I don’t know if it will matter much. Most everything inside the city’s walls are rubble. Just a few standing buildings here and there and none of it around where the Sky Tower used to be. The artifact is going to be in that area. We’ll need to follow the High Mages to lead us to the right spot.”

“Or our deaths,” whispered Boaz.

“Good attitude—don’t trust them. But if they turn on us, it won’t be until after they get the artifact. Before then, they’ll want all the help they can get.”

“What if the Geneshans find the artifact before we get there?” asked Reuma.

“I’d act as though they already have it to be on the safe side. In some ways it would be ideal if they have already located the thing. It would mean we wouldn’t have to do any digging or searching with a finite amount of time to save the main army.”

“Won’t they use the artifact against us?”

“Possibly. If they can. However, based on what I know of their religion, I’m betting the Geneshans would want to go through their sacrifices first to make sure they can better control its power. So unless we come across a rogue Master Sorcerer, which isn’t something you see often, we should be fine.”

Boaz snorted. “Considering what happened last time we thought we could use it, I don’t know how this is a good idea.”

I shrugged. “The High Mages are adamant they can harness the power now.”

“That’s worth nothing to me,” said Ira.

“And they only need to do it once to defeat the Geneshans,” I added, trying to convince even myself of the plan.

“It was used only once last time,” said Dekar, low.

Silence hung over that remark.

“Atta way to keep people up and at them, Dek,” snorted Ira.

Dekar cracked a smile at the comment, but I could see he was still thinking a lot about the situation and the mountain of uncertainty involving it. I didn’t blame him.

I was doing the same.

We had a lot to work out before we left for Hol.

I stressed the need for secrecy.

High Mages weren’t stupid. You didn’t become a master of the power by being an idiot. I’m sure they expected something like what Balak was planning for, possibly even a double cross as well.

I expected all of that and worse. Too much time had been spent over the last couple of months working toward this goal for me to take a lackadaisical approach to it. I’d be up late thinking about every awful thing that could go wrong and how to plan for it. I had to. It was the only way I could keep my sanity, and prepare myself to complete the mission.

I couldn’t screw it up. If I did, I’d never see my family again.

And Molak-be-damned, I promised them I would.

CHAPTER 38

I made the sound of a swallow. Hamath and his unit were to our right. He gave me a look and shook his head with a grin. I smiled a bit myself. He and I had never seen eye-to-eye on my animal calls.

The sound signaled our halt. We had entered Hol on the east side of the city, the part least protected by Geneshan forces, but also the one farthest away from the Sky Tower where we expected to find the artifact. We had traveled for over three hours, trying to sift our way through the decay and rubble as best as we could without drawing notice.

High Mage Amasa led the way as he was most familiar with the city. He had cast a cloaking spell to help conceal our movements, but with so many Master Sorcerers roaming about we couldn’t rely on the spell completely.

The army had traveled toward Hol with only minor harassment from the enemy. That was a puzzle because they had to know of our approach. Why not try to attack from the get go? I assumed they felt confident in their abilities, or worried an attack would make them susceptible to some trick on our part.

Let them worry. Their careful attitude had made it easier when we split off from the main force undetected earlier in the day.

Hol looked just as bad as the models had shown. The high walls that once surrounded the city still stood in spots, but wide gaps filled with debris from the gray granite of those walls and outer buildings blasted away were more common. I noticed that the only part of the gatehouse remaining was the outward facing wall covered with cracks. It could topple at any moment.

Once inside the city, we saw that most structures had suffered similar fates. None were unscathed. Many were nothing more than piles of wood and stone.

A cool wind blew about Turine’s capital. It seemed to strengthen as we journeyed inward and in spots, swirled. I didn’t know enough about weather or sorcery to confirm, but I had a feeling the uniqueness of the wind was related to the artifact.

Besides carrying smaller pieces of debris and kicking up bits of ash, the wind brought with it the smell of death. Burning death to be more specific. Though I couldn’t see smoke or fires present inside the city, it smelled like the funeral pyres I had stood before so many times after a great battle.

I shook off those thoughts before I became lost in them and walked up to High Mage Amasa as he rested against the remains of a wall that might have been part of a tavern. He spoke with High Mage Datan in low tones. Their conversation ended once I got close.

“Yes?” Amasa asked, almost bothered by my presence.

“How much longer?’

“Not long. Less than an hour at our current pace,” he huffed.

I frowned seeing him put almost all his weight on the wall he leaned against. Despite the cool air, sweat beaded his brow.

“You all right?”

“I’m fine. It’s just because we’re in proximity to the artifact. We expected it to grow stronger, but the power that it’s radiating is much different than even we considered. I have to adjust the concealment spell almost constantly.”

I understood. We had to stop twice already so those with a resistance could reduce the side effects on our regular members. Even I suffered a skull-piercing headache.

“Hamath will take point from here on then.”

The High Mage’s eyes narrowed. “That won’t be necessary, I—”

“You will support his unit, cloaking them only. That should make it easier for you to maintain your strength and not become so affected by the artifact. High Mage Datan will use a lesser spell on us, just enough to confuse rather than conceal.”

Amasa pushed himself off the wall and stood taller. He had me by at least two inches, not that it made a bit of difference in what I thought of him.

“We are the experts on the artifact, and the city for that matter.”

“And I’m the expert on running missions like this. I’ve done this for a decade while people like you hid behind our reserves telling Balak it wasn’t time to get involved yet. Besides, Balak instructed you both this was my mission. I’ll defer to you on certain matters, but ultimately, what we do and how we do it is my call. Understood?”

“Do you realize how much power I could harness as close as we are to the artifact?”

He asked the question softly.

I took a step closer. “Do you realize how many of the people I killed were Master Sorcerers? All were better prepared than you are right now. You’re struggling as we get closer to the artifact.”

“That’s only because I’m doing too many things at once in a new environment. Once I focus on the artifact, things will be different.”

“We have to get the artifact first. Just understand that by the time you got halfway through a spell, my knife would be in your throat.”

His face twitched. That was good. He understood. Datan next to him seemed to be waiting on Amasa to respond. That was also good. He wasn’t going to try something stupid on his own.

“Now, can we get back to the task at hand? Remember, we are on the same side.” I paused. “Or if you must, we can keep up with this contest of measuring what’s between our legs.”

I smiled, waiting.

After a moment, Amasa grunted. “We are wasting time.”

He walked away, and after his back was to me, I relaxed. Slightly.

I glanced around at the other units in the area. Most were keeping a lookout, making sure no one sneaked up on us as we rested. However, a few individuals, those who had the most experience under their belt, had eyes on me. Dekar, Ira, Hamath wore grim looks.

Ira inclined his head in a silent question. I nodded that things were all right. For now.

I gave the signal for us to move out.

* * *

We came across the enemy roughly two blocks from the Sky Tower. We assumed they were meant to act as a lookout for others, but if so, they had done a poor job, not noticing us until we were practically on top of them.

We moved fast and struck hard.

There were three Master Sorcerers and several other lesser sorcerers among them. My unit and Hamath’s singled out the closest Master Sorcerer. We confused her with a charge from multiple angles.

Three soldiers died. One from my unit. Two from Hamath’s.

But their sacrificed lives weren’t in vain. I provided the killing blow, a dagger through the woman’s heart.

I took a hit myself in the process. My arm ached where I fell from the brunt of the concussive blast she threw at me.

People think that a resistance to sorcery is synonymous with immunity. I can attest that has never been the case, though it does appear that way when someone with a particularly strong resistance combats lesser sorcerers. Against Master Sorcerers however, any attack hurts tremendously.

Some could kill.

An arcing line of blue lightning raced toward me from my left as more of the enemy entered the field. I dove to the side, and the lightning from another Master Sorcerer struck the stone I had leaned against. After the strike, it no longer stood.

“You all right?” I heard someone shout.

It sounded like Boaz. I wasn’t sure. Too many voices were yelling or shouting, Geneshan and Turine alike. Some yelled orders, but most just yelled.

I threw my arm forward. “Move out! Now!”

My voice carried over the chaos of sorcery from the two remaining Geneshan sorcerers as well as our two High Mages. Thankfully, I had inherited a booming set of vocals from my father. I had refined them over the years from yelling over the cacophony of battle.

My unit ran forward, splitting into three small squads of four. I dove as another bolt of lightning came at me, striking the ground where I had been a moment before. I crawled the last few feet forward to take shelter behind a low pile of debris.

“Gods, Tyrus. He’s targeting you specifically,” said Boaz.

The stress in his voice was thick. I didn’t blame him. I had kept him close to me for safety. Inadvertently, I had placed him in more danger.

“Probably has something to do with me killing the other one a few moments ago,” I said.

A low hum sounded above. I looked to the sky as a ball of blue light hung in the air.

“Spread out!” I yelled.

The ball dropped, spreading out like a blanket as it fell. We dispersed in various directions, running and scrambling, then diving. The blanket of blue light covered an area approximately thirty feet in diameter. Where it touched, smoke rose from an intense heat. The fumes of scorching rock worked its way into my nostrils, turning my already uneasy stomach.

I peeled myself off the ground and looked to the Master Sorcerer. He was some hundred feet away and closing in with quick, deliberate steps. He had a small, barely perceptible globe of protection around his person. I didn’t need to see the details of his face to confirm the rage he so clearly wore in every step he took.

“Molak-be-damned,” I muttered, risking a glance toward the body of the dead woman not more than fifty feet behind me.

I turned my attention back to the Master Sorcerer. He sent half a dozen small, rapid, balls of blue fire. I jumped aside to avoid them.

The Master Sorcerer yelled, magnifying his voice. “You’ll die for what you did to her!”

Molak-be-damned, he was pissed.

Based on the venom in his voice, the anger wasn’t because I killed his ally. The woman must have been a sister. It was common for siblings to share a talent for power after all.

He sprinted at me with more balls of fire streaming from his hands while his robes billowed behind him.

That sprint took me off guard more than the fire. It was so unlike a Master Sorcerer. Magic-users did not often place themselves in the middle of action. Most preferred to affect things from a distance. But even when a battle dictated they get more intimately involved, they rarely moved with reckless abandon.

I swore again.

Maybe the woman had been his lover or wife.

That bit deep.

Woman or man, I never enjoyed killing. But woman or man, I wouldn’t hesitate ending a person’s life if mine or my friends and family’s were endangered. There was no question I did the right thing by killing the woman, but I also felt sorry for the raging man.

A web of blue lightning targeted me next.

The man’s continued attempts to kill me dampened any shred of sympathy I had for him. I ran in the opposite direction of the pursuing web, ducking behind another pile of stone and wood.

However, my hiding spot didn’t work as well as it had before.

Blue light blinded me as the web wrapped around my body. It gave off a tremendous heat. The smell of searing leather filled my nostrils as the sorcery scalded my armor and clothing. Hints of burning hair came next.

I remained calm, despite the implications. Sorcery of that strength would have killed most people instantly.

I took a deep breath, made myself into a ball, and focused on the blue light binding me, hoping that I could magnify my resistance. I don’t know if what I did worked or the spell was just not solidly put together, but the heat subsided and the bonds fell away.

I tried to get my feet under me while pushing myself away from the debris, but I was too slow. Something struck me hard in the back between my shoulder blades.

The impact sent thousands of little jolts through my body. I grunted while struggling to take in air.

A flash moved across my peripheral, but I was again too slow. The boot of the Master Sorcerer connected with the side of my head. The blow flipped me onto my back.

My head spun.

The Master Sorcerer stood over me, seething. He held a long, thin knife in his hand. He either wanted my death to be personal or he had finally understood my resistance to sorcery.

Perhaps both.

It wasn’t the first time in my life as a soldier, I wished I also had a resistance to steel.

He said something in Geneshan, but his accent was thick and his anger muffled his speech. I did catch what I thought was a name and the Geneshan word for love. Then he pulled his arm back for the killing blow.

I didn’t have much strength at the moment to defend myself. Resisting sorcery was not without consequence. Neither was taking a kick to the head. But Molak-be-damned, if I was going to just lay there.

My hand went to the hilt of the dagger at my waist as I moved my other arm under me for leverage. If it was the end for me, I wanted to take him down too.

More than half a dozen shadows came out of nowhere. The shadows belonged to soldiers. They slammed into the Master Sorcerer just as he drove his blade down.

They fell in a pile.

I sat up while eying the swarming mass. Closed fists, knees, and boots rained down unto the convulsing Geneshan sorcerer at the bottom.

Then a hand rose up higher than the rest. It held a dagger. It descended.

The fighting stopped, and the pile broke apart.

Each of the soldiers was a member of my unit. They breathed heavily while staring at the dead Master Sorcerer. Reuma was at the man’s head, inches from where the hilt of the dagger, her dagger, protruded from the man’s eye socket.

She looked at me. “You all right?”

I nodded, sitting taller. My strength was returning, and the pounding in my head lessened. “Never better. Just glad to see that my plan of distracting him for you lot worked.”

Ira snorted. “If you were any more full of crap, Ty, it’d be coming out your ears.”

“Already coming out his mouth,” added Dekar.

I snorted as Ira slapped his brother on the shoulder. It was rare for Dekar to take a good setup like that.

The rest of my unit grinned.

“Where are Saba and Tovit?” I asked while taking stock of those in my unit around me.

I regretted the question the moment I asked it. I already knew the answer. Yet it pained me all the same when Boaz hung his head and said, “Dead.”

Molak-be-damned.

I looked over the rubble we hid behind to see.

Hamath ran toward me. The rest of his unit hot on his heels.

“Tyrus!” he raised his voice as he got closer.

I raised a hand. “I’m fine.”

He looked relieved as he jumped down with us. His unit stopped short and kept a look out for more danger.

I glanced around and saw the survivors from other units doing the same.