Chapter 65
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
Ianto
I didn’t have an answer for that as the gargoyles circled overhead before Indon landed in the center of the field. He folded his tattered wings as he turned to survey the soldiers.
When this started, a no-mercy rule was in place. They were better armed and trained than us. We couldn’t do anything other than slaughter anyone in our way, but they were defenseless now, and many were falling to their knees and placing their hands behind their heads.
We couldn’t slaughter unarmed men and women, but we had no dungeons to place them in and no other way to keep them secure. We couldn’t waste our time and manpower on watching them when we had to dig our friends out from under a massive pile of rubble.
If any of our friends had lived through that, then we had to free them.
The approach of feet slogging through the puddles and sucking out of the mud drew my attention to Tucker as he came to stand beside me. With his matted, filthy hair and haggard appearance, he looked as exhausted as I felt.
“What do we do with them?” I asked.
“They can’t form a new army,” Tucker said. “They have no one to lead them and no weapons.”
“There are still leaders out there, generals and lieutenants, and whatnot. They could find weapons and still be a threat.”
Tucker rubbed his chin as he surveyed the field. “They could be.”
“I can’t kill unarmed men and women who have surrendered.”
“Neither can I, but where do we put them? We can’t set them free.”
And we’d circled back to the dilemma that had me standing here when he arrived. Indon launched himself off the ground as he took flight again. He swayed unsteadily in the breeze as his wings made a flapping sound that wasn’t there before.
He settled before us and closed his wings. “What do you intend to do with them?”
“That’s what we’re trying to decide,” I said. “They’re not a threat now, but we can’t guarantee they won’t become one in the future.”
“May I make a suggestion?”
“Of course,” Tucker said.
Indon gestured at the woods behind us. “Let the forest judge them.”
I shifted toward the thick edge of trees a hundred yards behind me. I’d made further progress across the field than I’d realized as I’d fought my way through the soldiers.
The dead littered the ground between us and the woods. I couldn’t see beneath the thick canopy of trees, but I sensed the poltergeists there… waiting.
The section of woods closest to me hadn’t caught fire, but thirty feet to my left, only charred remnants remained of the first fifty feet of trees.
“You are not the only ones these amsirah tried to harm,” Indon continued. “The Revenant Woods deserves a chance at retribution too.”
When I turned back to the gargoyle, I tilted my head back to take him in. It was unusual for me to have to look up at anyone, but I did so with this creature.
“What if the Revenant Woods sets them free?” I inquired.
“It won’t be on purpose, especially with the poltergeists,” Indon replied.
“That’s for sure,” Tucker murmured as he studied the woods. “Most of them won’t survive. The ones who do will be few, and I doubt they’ll be capable of raising an army.”
“If they survive the forest, they won’t survive the towns and villages. The amsirah will kill anyone they find, but at least then they’d have a fighting chance. Plus, they can’t leave Tempest,” I said.
“Eventually, they’ll get what’s coming to them. And if they do try to raise an army, we’ll destroy it and them,” Tucker said.
“I’m so tired of fighting and death.”
“Me too,” Tucker sighed.
“They will not be allowed to rise again now that we are here to defend Tempest,” Indon vowed. “If we’re to help our friends, we must decide quickly.”
“Were there still gargoyles and amsirah in the dungeon when the palace collapsed?” I asked.
“Yes. One of us remained inside with a handful of amsirah.”
“Are they… were they killed?”
“No, they are trapped, though. I do not know about the amsirah.”
“Shit,” I muttered as I surveyed the ruins and the guards. “We have to get everyone out of there. Let the soldiers go into the woods; the forest can decide their fate. We need to get to our family.”
Tucker cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “The guards will enter the woods or be slaughtered. It’s your choice to make!”
The soldiers exchanged glances, and many paled visibly.
“We need men and women to make sure they enter the woods while the rest of us head to the palace to dig out any survivors!” He turned to Indon. “Can you spread our plan amongst the gargoyles?”
“I already have.”
As he spoke, gargoyles landed on the field. They nudged the soldiers in the back with the tips of their wings as other amsirah joined them in escorting the guards to the woods.
I debated helping with the punishment, but I was too eager to get to the palace. They had this under control, but no one was helping the others yet.
Before we started across the field, I tried opening a portal out of the realm to see if it would work. It didn’t, but after everything we’d accomplished, I didn’t feel defeated by this.
As we started across the field, my exhaustion faded. We strode past the broken-looking guards shuffling toward the tree line and, most likely, their death. A whole new mission rose before me.
Tempest was free. We were free. We still couldn’t leave our realm, but we didn’t have to suffer in it anymore. I wanted to shout my joy to the heavens. Instead, I focused on the goal ahead as I jogged across the field and on toward more death and uncertainty. I couldn’t stop to enjoy our win.