Chapter 6 #2
There was a rumbling from behind us, and Astra said quickly, “We should probably move, you know, in case anyone else gets any ideas about taking a running start.”
We all chuckled at that, and the four of us quickly moved further out of the sand onto the grass. It was the first time in a long time I’d seen wild grass. In the pre-barrier days, we had frequented Sherbrooke, but I hadn't been outside of Altea since a few months before the barrier.
Inez came through first, and behind her we could see disembodied hands feeling around, and then heads, and then the rest of the first wave of warriors coming through. They continued to spill out, most of them looking around in wonder.
For some of them, this would be the first time they had been this far west, and for everyone else, it was certainly the first time since the pre-barrier days.
It was hard not to smile at the wonder on their faces.
The royals were watching them, but Astra was looking down, flexing her fingers.
They were glowing like normal, but on closer inspection, I noticed that for the first time since the pre-barrier days, the light was moving, weaving between her fingers and writhing around her hands.
She was beaming down at it like a long-lost friend.
Inez whistled, and we both shot to attention. I glanced over at the company and estimated that all hundred warriors were through the barrier. I would have loved to let them rest and give them time to appreciate our surroundings, but we were too exposed here.
“Which way do you recommend, Princess?”
Serena looked around before pointing resignedly northeast. “We should move to the Mirawoods.”
It was a good tactical decision, of course. The Mirawood Forest was dense and would provide the cover we needed. The forest would lead us straight toward Bancroft and to the Glacian Mountains.
Unfortunately, of the two mountain ranges in the Kingdom of Bancroft, the Glacians were the least hospitable. It was rumored that there was always snow on their peaks, even in the middle of summer, and that their passes were just as treacherous as climbing the mountains themselves.
The Ochrana Mountains that formed the border between Bancroft and Princess Serena's Queendom of Sherbrooke would have been far preferable, but she was right.
We couldn't hike straight across the rolling hills and plains of her realm if we wanted to have any chance of surprising the King’s army in Bancroft. Secrecy was more important.
Inez grimaced, but nodded before ordering the companies onward.
Astra fell into step next to me, and as we pressed on, I couldn't help noticing she seemed lighter in spirit.
I wasn't trying to pay attention to her, of course, but she was whistling.
Softly, but still. An honest-to-gods whistle.
I hadn't seen her look this happy or carefree since before the barrier.
Of course, that could be said of many of us, but as I looked over the companies, a stark difference was apparent in some.
I felt the grass rustling in a wind that had seemed to come from nowhere.
I turned around and saw a warrior grinning and making odd hand motions.
Another was taller than I remembered. I was wondering if they were a shifter of sorts until the crowd parted enough that I noticed they weren't walking so much as levitating in a forward direction.
A pair of twins, whom I had only known in the barrier days, were having what looked to be a snowball fight.
I watched in amazement as they conjured and then half-froze balls of water into malleable snow.
They were weaving in and out of the company, acting like children.
The stray snowballs hit quite a few laughing warriors.
I looked over at Inez, the Princess, and Prince, but they looked the same as always. The Princess was holding hands with the Prince, still presenting as Tris, and was having a hushed discussion with Inez.
I turned to Astra in time to see a mischievous glint in her eye that she was trying to hide.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her hand was moving, gesturing toward herself.
That was all the warning I got before one of my swords flew out of its sheath and directly into her hand.
She caught it easily as I stood there slack-jawed.
She had done far more impressive things with her abilities before, of course, but it had been years since I had seen it, and even then, she hadn't ever used her abilities for pranks.
She was grinning widely enough that I couldn't even really be annoyed. “Give it back,” I said, reaching out for it, as she predictably danced away. She was incredibly light on her feet, and as skilled as I was, I doubted I was quicker than her.
“Why don't you ask nicely?” she said, smirking.
“Please?”
She blinked in surprise, likely because of how quickly I had played along. Normally, I would have resisted longer, but it was harmless fun, and her smile was infectious.
She leaned forward for a moment before quickly dancing out of my reach again. “You'll have to do better than that.”
I sighed before deciding to really play along. “Astra, fearsome commander of the army of the Republic of Altea, with hair the color of ice and eyes that can freeze with a look, you're truly a force to be reckoned with and have bested me. Take pity on me and return my favorite weapon.”
She again was silent, and I wondered if she mistook my playful teasing for something more malicious before she said. “I suppose I can be magnanimous.”
She loosened her grip on the sword, but before she could toss it, the temperature dropped. I blinked in confusion and looked back at our warriors, wondering if any of them had weather manipulation abilities.
A few of the warriors had turned to look at the sky.
I followed their gaze and looked up to see that dark clouds had appeared out of nowhere and were moving to block the sun.
We were still half a day's hike from the forest, and there was no cover to be seen, so I was steeling myself to be drenched in the rain that was coming when I heard Astra utter, “What in the gods’ names?”
I looked at her quickly, but her eyes were trained on the skies, on the clouds.
I looked back at her, planning to make a joke that she shouldn't be so worried about ruining her hair when we were headed for battle, but the sheer terror on her face had the words dying in my throat.
Expletives and prayers were coming from behind me, and I heard someone let out a strangled sob.
I closed my eyes for a moment. These were women and men whom I had trained with for years.
Not a single one of them was a coward, and I had never seen or heard any one of them worried, never mind scared.
Astra's face alone was enough to convince me that death was coming.
I didn't want to see it, but I knew I had to look. Not looking wouldn't help anything.
I opened my eyes and slowly raised them to the skies, and saw what I had somehow missed before. The clouds weren't actually clouds at all, but writhing masses of black bodies and wings.
“What are they?” I breathed out.
“Doesn't matter,” Astra said. “They're hostile and incoming. We've got to get the warriors ready.” She started to run off to the left, but spun on her heel and yelled, “Catch!”
Thankfully, my body understood before my brain did, because my arm reached out and grabbed the hilt of my sword as it went careening back at me. “Oh, and Cierra? Try not to die. I'm starting not to mind you.”
As she ran, she yelled, “Warriors, prepare your shields.”
I turned my back on her and took off in the opposite direction. She was right. We needed to stick to our training if we were going to make it out of here alive, and the gods willing, we would.
Inez had Serena and Tris in the center of the company, and I could see that Inez and Tris didn't like whatever Serena was saying. I hoped whatever magic those three were packing might be enough to save us, but the odds weren't looking good.
I glanced back at the sky and saw that now that the creatures were closer, I could distinguish their bodies and wings.
There were hundreds, maybe thousands, enough to blacken the sky.
I tried not to focus on my fear; fear wouldn’t change the outcome.
I blinked and refocused, watching them a moment.
Judging by how quickly they were traveling, we had more or less a couple of minutes before they were upon us.
The warriors were starting to put up the shields.
Part magic, part alchemist-made, they worked on the same basic principle as the barrier, but instead of having energy generated by machines, these portable barriers drew their energy from the fairy-enhanced.
It made the shields more portable, but also less reliable and weaker.
I hoped we would get lucky, and they would hold.
“Prepare yourselves!” I yelled at the company.
“Bancroft has brought the battle to us, and today, we fight!” Roars of agreement sounded back at me.
“Today, we take back our lives and tell the demons of Bancroft, no more! No more will we let them force us into hiding! Today we fight and we win!” I thrust my sword in the air with that last part and was met with roaring.
They were as ready as they were going to be.
I felt a tap on my left shoulder and spun in that direction.
The Prince was in what I assumed had to be the form of Prince Tristan and was outfitted for battle.
I didn't have time to wonder where he had gotten the new clothes.
I was just thankful for every capable hand we could get.
I was sure Tris would have helped as well, but Prince Tristan looked grim, reassuringly battle-hardened, and ready to spill blood.
“Are they ready?” he asked in a voice deeper than I was used to hearing from Tris.
I nodded. “As they’ll ever be.”