Jonrell’s forces fought with passion and ferocity but despite their effort they began a cautious retreat to the inner walls, lest the surging enemy surround them. Tomalt’s men must have sensed the change. They pressed with even greater resolve, nearly climbing over each other to make it through the break in the wall.
One Above, help us.
A long, deep horn blast, echoed over the land and muted the chorus of battle. Its ominous call reached the ears of every man and caused heads to turn despite the immediate dangers around them.
Only a man from the mountains would blow such a thing. Elyse did it! She convinced Jeldor.
Jonrell quickly relayed the message to his men and with renewed strength stood as firm as mighty oaks.
Jonrell dodged a blade meant for his head. Outside the castle walls he heard a separate clash of arms, distinct from the battle around him. The horn blasted again, further girding his men. Jonrell’s opponent flinched at the noise and he made the man pay, slashing across his eyes, blade biting deep into the man’s skull. He fell in a crumpled mass.
Jonrell scrambled up a pile of stone rubble to look out over the press of men.
Tomalt sat atop his white destrier, signaling a retreat before being pinned in the middle of two forces.
Jonrell hollered out to his men. “Let’s send them to the One Below! We’ve got them on the run!”
Jonrell could not immediately climb down as soldiers rushed past him, anxious to make Tomalt pay with the battle turning in their favor. The last of the men trickled past him as he joined his men.
“You ain’t going anywhere,” came a voice from Jonrell’s right.
He turned and saw Glacar lifting his giant ax over his head. Jonrell stumbled back and tripped over a corpse. He had never been so thankful for his clumsiness as the ax came down, narrowly missing his arm. “Glacar, what in the name of the One Above are you doing?”
“Something I should have done on Mytarcis when you followed Melchizan’s every fool order for free. Something I should have done when you denied me those slave women. Something I should have done when you allowed that black devil to join us.” He paused and revealed a yellow-toothed grin amid his mess of a beard. “I’m relieving you of your command.”
Jonrell stared, dumbstruck. “Because of that, you’re going to kill me? We’ve fought together for over a decade.”
“Aye, too long to be taking orders from such a soft man. I’d much rather Ronav had never died. That man had more grit to him than you ever did.”
Jonrell rolled away as the ax blade came down again. In his panic, he left his sword behind. Hurrying to his feet, he faced the hairy beast of a man, weaponless. “So, that’s it? I’m soft and you no longer like the company I keep?”
“More or less. Though, I will say that one of those fine men you had me look into when in Lyrosene made me an offer I just couldn’t pass up. The way I figured it is if I’m going to kill you anyway, why not make some money in the process. Besides, I ain’t about to die for your cause. I’ve followed you long enough on your backward jobs.”
Jonrell and Glacar circled each other.
So that’s it. The weakness of every mercenary is money, though I thought my men were different. Who made the offer? I gave out more than a dozen names to him and Kroke. One Above, I sent Kroke with Elyse!
Jonrell shook his head.
No, Kroke may be a killer but he is a far better man than Glacar has ever been.
“Enough,” said Glacar coming to a stop. “After I kill you, I’ve got an army to catch up to. I’m sure Tomalt will need some good men, especially when he learns I eliminated you,” he added with a grin.
Jonrell dodged to his left, reaching for a sword but was cut off by the burly man. The great ax swooped down toward his face again. He had overcommitted. He knew he would never make it out of the way in time.
A blur crashed into Glacar, causing the ax to fall off its mark. The two figures tumbled to the ground, grunting and screaming curses, in a tangled mass of limbs and steel.
Where did Kaz even come from?
Jonrell grabbed a nearby sword and took a step toward Glacar. A large hand swooped in and picked him up off his feet by his shoulder, dangling him in the air like a doll, before setting him back down. Crusher looked down, shaking his head. “This is their fight.”
“Are you crazy? I’m the one Glacar tried to kill.”
“Today, yes. But Glacar has been looking for ways to either kill or maim Kaz for months. Kaz probably hasn’t said much to you because he didn’t want to cause any more problems. But now he has cause to fight back. And there is no stopping someone like Kaz once his blood boils.”
The commander looked around and saw that the four men were somehow alone in the shadows of what remained of the castle’s outer walls. Outside of the walls, the fighting carried on and he heard Jeldor’s horn booming, signaling an inevitable victory. He was glad to have such reassurance because he could not take his eyes off the two men circling each other, one as heavily built as a bear, the other as agile as a panther. They faced each other, ax against sword.
Seeing the hate in their eyes, Jonrell replied. “I understand.”
Kaz wiped away spit from his cheek.
“That’s right you black devil, you’re nothing to me,” said Glacar, grinning. “Killing you will be one of my favorite tales to tell.”
“Then you’ve lived a pathetic existence,” said Kaz.
Glacar roared. Their pacing ceased amidst an eerie silence in a space that had only moments before been riddled with sounds of death and disorder.
They collided in a maelstrom of slashes, and thrusts, weaving in a blur that left Jonrell dizzy as he tried to follow their movements. He had seen Glacar in battle many times over the years, but never had he witnessed anyone match the man’s ferocity and combat instinct. But with every swing of Glacar’s ax or stab of the spear-headed pommel, Kaz’s sword deflected the blow and countered with startling speed. The rumors of Kaz’s deeds in battle no longer seemed so farfetched to Jonrell.
Within moments after their initial clash, Kaz had taken the upper hand and forced Glacar to step around and over the mangled bodies and melted granite that littered the ground.
A faint voice from above startled Jonrell, whispering, “I’ve never seen any man fight like him. He should have been born a Ghal.”
Jonrell shook his head. Never had he heard a Ghal make such a claim, as the race lived in a constant state of war. But unlike Crusher, he found little joy in the duel. Glacar had tried to kill him. They had always had a bit of a shaky relationship, but he was still a member of the Hell Patrol. To see two of its members fight in such a way made him nauseous.
The man who put him up to this will die. I will see to that myself.
He seethed in anger, not only at the betrayal, but because he felt helpless watching Kaz fight a man Jonrell knew he could never defeat.
I would already be dead if not for him. I’ve made many bad decisions in my life, but Kaz was not one of them.
Kaz pushed Glacar to the ground. He hit hard with an expulsion of breath, but managed to throw a fistful of dirt as Kaz closed. Kaz stumbled back, wiping his eyes, curses tumbling from him in his native language. Glacar pushed himself up, chest heaving.
In a panic, Jonrell attempted to intercede but Crusher reached out and grabbed him once again. “Where are you going? I told you this fight is between them,” said the giant.
“Glacar is going to kill him.”
“This is the way Kaz would want it to be. No interference.”
Jonrell saw the finality in the giant’s eyes. Crusher didn’t remove his hand from Jonrell’s shoulder.
Jonrell turned back to the fight as Glacar flashed a savage smile, hefting his mighty ax with both hands. Kaz shook his head rapidly. Even blind, he tried to ready himself.
Jonrell cried out. He ripped his shoulder painfully free of Crusher’s grip as the wide blade descended. But it never found its mark. Kaz’s arm shot forward, his sword penetrating through Glacar’s mail until it protruded from the mercenary’s back. Glacar’s mouth hung agape and blood dribbled from it. Kaz jerked his blade free. Glacar clutched at the mortal wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. He locked eyes with Kaz. “You’re still a black devil.” He crashed into a heap of stone and his body relaxed.
Kaz stood over the body with his massive shoulders rising with each intake of breath. Kaz rubbed at his eyes with the palms of his hands.
How did he do that?
The horn sounded again, long and low, three successive blasts announcing victory.
We won.
Jonrell looked at the bodies of his men and those of Tomalt’s strewn about, enemies who months before had been countrymen. His gaze kept returning to Glacar.
But at what cost?
Chapter 30
Light headed, Elyse sat on the splintered remains of an old siege tower. She had ridden through the charred ruins of Cathyrium with Kroke shortly after the battle. But in her haste to see her brother, she avoided the carnage around her. Now as she surveyed the battlefield and looked over the thousands of corpses, the blood and gore assaulted her senses. She found her legs weak and her mind in a whirl.
It reminds me of that day in the courtyard when Nareash killed without prejudice. The day everything changed. Only this is worse.
“Are you ok?” asked Jonrell sitting down next to her. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I’m fine. I need to do this. Some of these men gave their lives to preserve my rule. The others to end it. The least I can do is walk among them where they’ve fallen and pay my respects by saying a prayer to the One Above for their souls.”
Jonrell nodded. “You’ve changed a lot in the weeks since you’ve been gone. You’re stronger.”
Elyse shrugged. “Circumstances forced my hand.”
“The assassination attempt?”
She nodded. “Yes. The whole process was a turning point of sorts I guess.”
“You kept your head in the end. And because of that we won here today.”
Elyse cast her gaze upon the destruction before her, watching soldiers strip the dead before throwing the naked bodies into massive piles where they would later be burned. “Victory is an awful thing.”
Silence stretched as neither said a word. They sat there for some time together and Elyse realized she clutched her brother’s hand like she so often did as a child. She smiled at him. “It’s so good to have you home. I missed you.”
He squeezed her hand tight. “I missed you too.” He let out a sigh, barely audible.
“You don’t sound completely convinced.”
“No, it’s not that. I was thinking about the attempt on your life and then Glacar’s attempt on mine. Both would have succeeded had Kroke not been watching over you and Kaz over me.”
She nodded. “They are both good men. You are lucky to have found them.”
“Aye. But the death of your guards and that of Glacar puts me no closer to discovering who was behind the deception. I’m almost inclined to believe that the same person had a hand in both attempts.”
“Was Kroke unable to help? I saw you questioning him.”
“He doesn’t know his letters and Glacar had carried the names I had them look into while in Lyrosene. Kroke was only following Glacar’s lead.”
“So that person is still out there,” said Elyse, a bit of fear in her voice.
“Yes. And given that they were able to sway your guards and a member of my crew, even a disgruntled one, tells me that the person has a great deal of power.” He turned to his sister. “You need to be extra cautious going forward.”
“As do you,” she added.
He smiled. “Of course.”
“So what’s next?”
“I’ve sent messengers for Jeldor to return here so we can regroup. I know he wanted to keep pushing Tomalt, but with his supplies so far behind his main force, he’s going to find himself in a less favorable position than Tomalt in two or three days. Besides, our forces need as much time to mend as Tomalt’s does. I expect Jeldor to arrive in a few hours.”
“But won’t Tomalt just retreat back to Namaris and wait for us there?”
“He’ll try, but when he gets there he’ll be quite upset with what awaits him.”
Elyse noticed the slightest of grins. She cocked her head to one side. “What are you hiding?”
“Oh nothing. I gambled a bit while you were gone and only moments ago discovered it paid off.” He pulled out a smooth, polished, light green stone from his boot. He handed it to her.
“What is it?”
“A little something I had Krytien make for me before I sent him away. I sent him to Floroson shortly after you left for Ithanthul and commissioned Lady Jaendora to release several thousand troops under his command.”
“But he’s not a soldier.”
“Maybe not in the traditional sense but he understands strategy better than most. Anyway, I knew Tomalt would leave only a small garrison behind to defend Namaris when he decided to finally march against Cathyrium. So I tasked Krytien with retaking the city. Tomalt will think twice about attempting another siege on Namaris with Lady Jaendora’s troops garrisoned there and after his losses here.” He gestured to the stone. “That green color is telling me that Krytien succeeded.”
“But if I hadn’t been able to convince Jeldor of an alliance, or if we hadn’t arrived on time, you may have lost and Namaris would hardly matter then.”
Jonrell shrugged. “Perhaps, but you did convince Jeldor so that’s a moot point.”
Elyse nodded.
He is so sure of himself, even with a gamble. A good commander has to trust their gut and go with it, never looking back.
“What else is there to do?”
“Plenty,” said Jonrell, pushing himself to his feet. “But first, I need to help my men. There are still a lot of pyres to build. Then a solid meal and a good night’s rest. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”
* * *
The door closed with a click and Jonrell turned to face his room. He found himself staring down the sight of a cocked crossbow aimed at his unprotected chest. He had just given his armor to Cisod for repairs.