They’d be leaderless, but they’d still outnumber us ten to one, Anders warned.
With this field advantage we’ve taken and the power among us, I think we could snuff them out, Zahara said hopefully.
Anders thought for a moment, You could be right. And if we took out Lageena now that would surely draw Merglan out, which in the end is what we’re trying to accomplish. But I’m not sure if this is the way we want to fight him. If Ivan or Natalia were with us, they could help us battle Merglan.
That’s the spirit. What are we trying to accomplish here? Didn’t we come here to end this? I say we go after Lageena now and if Merglan comes, whether we get her or not, then Merglan comes and we’ll face him if that happens.
Anders chewed on her idea. He knew elements of her plea were true. What were they doing there if not to fight Merglan?
Alright, I’ve made up my mind. We’ll wait to see if Ivan or Natalia can get Lageena on their own. If she escapes, then we’ll go after her. Sound good?
Zahara purred, Sounds like a plan.
Anders watched as the fighting continued in the streets. Initially, there had been chaos among the orcs as they scattered throughout the town with Lumbapi attacking them from all angles, but as the fighting continued, the orcs began to take control along the eastern edge of the town where their numbers were greatest. Lageena commanded her forces to fall back to the collective horde that had been piling up in the space outside town. The elves from Anders’ half of the army fought fiercely to prevent as many orcs as possible from making it back outside city limits, but they were greatly outnumbered and suffered punishing casualties.
The Lumbapi and Nadir’s elves began to collect in the west-end streets while Anders’ elves swarmed along the southern slope of Ryedale. Orcs hit by the elf and human armies withdrew, backing themselves up against their own forces as they continued to balloon in the canyon’s bottom. Anders began to shift uncomfortably as he watched Lageena gather further protection from her orc army. If he and Zahara had attacked with the elves in the beginning, they would have had a decent chance at taking her out.
They’d been watching from their perch atop the shallow canyon rim for nearly an hour before Anders caught first sight of the dwarfs. They were fighting their way across the steep southern slope of the canyon, using the topography to their advantage as they held off the rear of the orc forces. Anders hadn’t seen they’d first attacked, as the line of orcs stretched out down the road past out of sight. The dwarfs must have found the rear of the vast army and struck once the sounds of battle began echoing through the canyon. He wasn’t sure how effective they’d been at pinching them into the canyon. The dwarfs were meant to trap the orcs into the canyon, but it seemed like they’d become trapped themselves.
Concern for his dwarf friend, King Remli, came over Anders as he watched several fairnheir rush up the slopes and into the group.
“No,” Anders gasped when he witnessed the beasts tearing into the stocky soldiers scattered along the south-facing slope.
To his surprise, however, the fierce dwarfs weren’t much affected by the large houndlike beasts. They’d met them in battle before, undoubtedly. Soon the dwarfs’ battle-axes were hewing through the fur-bearing animals.
Although the dwarfs fought fiercely, Anders knew they were even more greatly outnumbered than the elves and Lumbapi. Now that the entirety of the orc army separated them from their allies, the dwarfs were in grave danger.
Seeing the likelihood of success in driving the orcs back gradually lessen as the battle unfolded, Anders decided they had to act if they were going to have any chance at victory. If Merglan was going to show up, Anders figured he would have done so by now. Clearly, Lageena didn’t feel the need to alarm him or else Merglan trusted her enough to fend for herself. It was time for Anders and Zahara to join the fighting.
Anders rose to his feet. Zahara pushed herself to her feet as well, ready to make their move.
Remli and the dwarfs are getting pinched off. They’ll need to make it back if we’re going to hold the town, Anders said to her.
What do you want to do about that? she asked.
I say we attack Lageena. We can catch her by surprise if she doesn’t spot us coming. It might cause a big enough distraction that Remli and his dwarfs will be able to reach the elves and Lumbapi soldiers. Anders moved to climb on top of her back and Zahara knelt to make it easier for him. I’ll warn Ivan so he and Nadir will be ready to make a path for Remli to come in.
Anders opened his connection with the old rider and spoke in an authoritative tone, Remli’s been blocked from getting back and Lageena is protecting herself more strongly as the battle continues. Zahara and I…
Anders no, Ivan said as he heaved a heavy swing from his sword down on an attacking orc.
We’re going to create a distraction, Anders finished and then he blocked Ivan from his communication link. He unsheathed Lazuran and flexed his grip around the hilt of his sword. Let’s go.
Zahara leapt over the canyon rim, spreading her large wings as they sped down toward the former elf queen mounted on her black horse. Anders locked eyes with her as she became aware of their presence and he began to summon the shared energy between himself and his dragon.
A blinding display of white light flecked with blue illuminated the narrow canyon. Anders summoned a pulse of electric magic. Shooting it out in a wave, he directed their combined energy at Lageena. She’d reacted more quickly than Anders anticipated, holding her crystal out in front of her body like a weapon. When their pulse of battle energy closed in on Lageena, it shattered into thousands of reflecting shards as it collided with the barrier she’d summoned through her enchanted crystal.
Zahara rushed headlong toward the bright explosion of light, never wincing or turning from her target. Anders already held the sword in his hand, ready to strike when they came within distance. He intended to kill the queen, or seriously maim her. The pulse of energy directed at her was their first swing in the surprise attack on the traitor queen. He knew it might come down to the sword in the end if they weren’t able to make a successful attempt with magic. He also knew that if she had to hurry to defend herself with the crystal, she wouldn’t be ready for the attacking swing of Lazuran from the back of a speeding dragon.
The shards of refracted light bounced off Zahara’s iridescent scales as she barreled along the path of their ineffective magic attack. Making an impulsive decision, Zahara rolled as she passed just over the heads of the orcs surrounding Lageena. Anders sensed her move and hooked his legs under her wings. While holding onto the saddle handle with one hand, he let Lazuran be thrust above his head, watching the shifting tip point groundward.
For a moment he saw the wide-eyed elf hesitate as she saw the inverted dragon crashing down on her with Anders’ elven blade coming swiftly toward her exposed head. While he pulled the sword through the air, bracing for its impact, Lageena suddenly laid back, releasing her feet from the stirrups. She flattened herself on her horse’s rear end as Lazuran passed through the air where her head had been a split second before.
Anders cursed as he whiffed forward and nearly launched himself out of the saddle. As he felt his legs lifting out of Zahara’s armpits, he secured the magical lashing to the seat of the saddle and gripped the handle tightly as she righted herself.
Once Zahara had rolled around to flying upright again, Anders shouted in frustration, “Ahh!”
You missed? Zahara asked in disbelief.
Anders looked over his shoulder as he adjusted back into a comfortable position in the saddle. Yes. I had her, but she fell back on her horse. My blade must have missed her by inches, he said in disgust.
It’s not likely that we’ll get an opportunity to strike at her like that again, Zahara said in frustration.
I know, I’m sorry. I can’t believe I missed, Anders said. He kept his eye on Lageena’s movements as Zahara flew in an arching turn back up above the canyon rim.
To his surprise, the former elf queen had already moved her mount away from Ryedale and closer to the riverbank. Her orc army had swollen to the entire width of the canyon bottom and extended east down the road much farther than he’d imagined. Looking down at the entire battle from this new vantage point, Anders saw how greatly outnumbered their mixed army really was. He glanced to see that the dwarfs were taking advantage of the distraction. Remli was leading them quickly along the top of the rim while the orcs were all looking to the sky, watching the dragon.
Encouraged by their plan's effectiveness to draw attention away from their dwarf allies, Anders turned back on Lageena. Let’s give her another go, he said to Zahara, her body already turning toward the open space where the traitor queen had fled.
Lageena had rushed her horse out near the banks of the river, away from any visual barriers that might offer Anders and Zahara advantage launching another attack, whether physical using Zahara’s power or using their combined manipulation of magic.
Her horse stamped nervously as she shouted commands in Grug to the orcs. It was apparent that she'd ordered everyone to clear a space around her.
Zahara speared back down along the canyon wall, trying to gain speed before Lageena could prepare for their second attack. She sat mounted in a circle of trampled grass, surrounded by a sea of orcs parting ways around her as they continued into town. Lageena held her horse steady, facing Zahara and Anders’ approach.
Zahara tucked her wings and Anders focused on Lageena’s position. He began to summon more energy as they approached. He knew she would likely be the one to attack this go-round and he wanted to be ready to deflect whatever she attempted to throw at them.
