Chapter 13 The Battle of Erétria
Chapter thirteen
THE BATTLE OF ERéTRIA
Amira
Castor would not, or perhaps could not, elaborate on why he thought someone might be trying to lure me into battle. Only that he had received some correspondence from one of his spies in Erétria that worried him to that effect.
I could not decide how I felt about any of it, and I did not have time to figure it out.
Once Riordan had finished imparting his instructions to the commanders, the griffins all shifted for flight.
Riordan flew west to retrieve the rest of the army in the Highlands with the intention of meeting us on the battlefield, and we went south toward Erétria.
We had flown over the belt of mountains that split the territory of Kórinthos to the northwest from that of Erétria to the southwest in the City-States.
Now we flew over an immense grassland that was vivid and lush and liberally veined by countless rivers.
I had learned about the critical role of the River Flats and all its networks of Zoí Rivers.
Much like a railway, both árgos and Erétria used the Zoí to trade by way of river barges that travelled between all the major ports along the biggest waterways.
It carried grain, legumes, meat, and fish from Erétria and returned with wine, fruit, cheese, and art from árgos.
Even goods such as raw minerals, jewels, lumber, silk, cotton, wool, and olives were passed from the easterly City-States of Thíva and Siracusa to Erétria through central árgos.
My musings about trading between all the City-States were interrupted when I saw smoke on the horizon.
Several fierce eagle cries pierced the air around us as the warriors behind reacted to the sight. Orion uttered a sharp retort that vibrated through my body as he seemed to remind them to compose themselves.
Our speed increased quickly, and I gripped the leather straps of his armoured bevor more tightly as I leaned into the griffin harder. His feathers seemed softer than silk as they brushed my chin and hands, and it reminded me of my time curled up with Riordan by the lake.
I closed my eyes to focus on summoning my power, determined to help them as much as I was able.
“Do not singe my feathers.” That was the only request Orion had made before he shifted, and it still made me smirk as my power built. I found myself wishing once again that we were connected in the way I was with Riordan so we could communicate when he was shifted.
We got close enough that I got my first look at Erétria, which I’d learned so much about but never had the chance to see for myself.
The city seemed bigger than the tower of the Mountain City in Kórinthos because it spread along the base of the mountains, but I knew the population was actually lesser.
It was also much prettier with its red clay tiled roofs and pale brick buildings with hanging gardens and open archways filled with fluttering curtains.
There was a massive wall around the city that was typically for protection against flooding in the springtime. Now it was functioning as a barricade against a writhing horde of monsters that looked like an infection upon the lush land from our height.
“Oh my god,” I breathed, horrified by the sight.
Orion gave a huff of what I assumed was agreement before he uttered a louder cry.
I saw some of the divisions and individual companies peeling away from the main bulk of the army under the command of their lieutenants and colonels.
A perfectly coordinated departure of formation that was as graceful as it was practical.
I watched in awe as our army descended upon the vastness of the Fuath with a vicious precision.
Some warriors shifted in perfect synchronization so they hit the ground running in wave after wave of coordinated attacks that crashed into the Fuath on two sides.
We had brought mostly Ktínos, since most Imítheos were evidently housed in the Highland garrison.
But the mages we did have with us all went to the ground since they could only use their magic in their two-legged forms. And they certainly used it to our advantage as they began stealing air from the lungs of the enemies around them, which made the Fuath into easy pickings.
I knew, from what battle briefs I had attended, that the strategy was to give them an option to flee.
Fuath were dangerous in such numbers, but they were unorganized and scattered easily if they sensed a battle was not going in their favour.
Driving them into a frenzied retreat made them easier to pick off from the air.
And they could often be counted on to trample many of their own as well.
While the ground forces smashed into the Fuath with immense force that sent a shock wave of fear through the mass of Fuath, the aerial companies began their assault.
They swooped and began picking off Fuath so relentlessly that many of the enemy were cowering on the ground in fear of being crushed or eviscerated by passing talons.
Both attacks on land and from the sky concentrated on the right flank of the Fuath in the hopes of overwhelming them there, and it was working.
I could see the Fuath on that side were already starting to waver.
I was eager to do whatever I could to help push them over that precipice into complete and utter panic.
But despite the fact Fuath weapons were only good at close range, Orion seemed unwilling to get any lower.
“I did not come to watch a battle! I need to be closer if I am going to hit anything!” I shouted at him.
He made a rumbling sound that vibrated through his ribs and into my thighs, but he obliged me.
We swooped low enough over the Fuath that I could hear their jeering while I tried to work out how best to hit them without striking Orion or his wings.
I also noticed another griffin behind us whom I guessed was likely Ares shadowing us to protect me, and I did not want to hit him either.
Frustrated with my position, I twisted my hips in the hopes that Orion understood what I needed.
He growled again in obvious objection, but he twisted his wings so we were almost sideways.
The abrupt shift threatened to send my stomach into an instant revolt, but I clung to him with my knees and the help of centripetal force as he arced.
Thankfully, he had changed our trajectory in a way that seemed to press me into his back even more firmly.
I forced myself to focus and unleashed the power that had been building and pressurizing in my veins since we flew out from Kórinthos.
At our new angle, I was able to direct it at the ground without risking Orion or the griffin flying right behind us.
And it was clear it was more potent than ever thanks to Riordan when it hit the enemy.
I was not on the ground of course, but I could tell the ball of flame hit the earth with a thunderous impact when all the Fuath abruptly stumbled.
The fire rolled through them and spread with an unnatural speed as it consumed with acidic ferocity.
The screams of horror rose under Orion’s wings as we banked upward, and I was satisfied with the swath of charred corpses I had left behind us.
The griffins in the sky agreed with sharp excited cries and renewed vigor in their own attacks.
Orion seemed to purr, which I could feel more than hear before he swooped down again.
It only took us three passes over the Fuath before the beasts were practically crawling over one another to get out of our path. I was so focused on what we were doing that I almost missed the movement nearer to the city.
I jerked my head and saw rocks and trees exploding on the side of the mountain right above the city. The debris rained down and buildings were crushed under the slabs of stone that were sheared off the mountain.
“Orion! The mountain!” I shouted with all my might, hoping he could hear me over the wind of our accelerated speed as we passed over the army.
Thankfully he did. Orion’s eagle head snapped up in the direction of the city in time to see another explosion rocking the mountain above it. This one was bigger and the far away boom reached us in a delayed echo.
Orion gave a sharp cry that had a company of griffins changing their course quickly to follow us toward the city. As we flew over, I could hear the screams of civilians and saw the destruction that had already been wrought.
My fury rising, I was ready to unleash a fireball that would have consumed all the Fuath on the cliff who were preparing to unleash another landslide on Erétria. But at the very last second, I caught sight of flickering green.
I squinted, fighting to control my magic for one more second as I tried to decide what those gleaming green vats were before I hit them with an explosive fire.
And the longer I stared, the louder my instincts began screaming at me.
It was too painful to hold back such an expulsion of my power completely, but I managed to redirect it straight up into the sky in a useless discharge. But at least that way the blast had not inadvertently destroyed the city we were trying to defend.
Orion made a chirp of concern for me, so I patted his neck in reassurance.
“I think they wanted me to hit it!” I shouted against the wind that stung my eyes. “There is a strange element down there! I don’t want to risk the mountain exploding if it’s flammable,” I explained, hoping he could hear.
I could not help worrying about what Castor had told me about how he thought I was drawn here on purpose. But I firmly pushed it out of my mind. I needed to focus, especially if there were booby traps in this battle.