“As long as you’re trying,” Rune said.
Taking control of the crowd who’d hung around the edge of the impromptu conference, Rune and the other leaders began shouting orders for everyone to return to their posts. They asked one squad of soldiers to remain at the house.
Among the mass of people turning to leave, he saw Bo and ran to talk with him. “Bo,” he said catching him by the back of the shirt.
Bo looked at him, “Anders? What Tony said, I know he doesn’t mean it. He is just blinded by anger right now.”
“I know, that’s why I didn’t strike him,” Anders said. Bo started walking down the street again when Anders said, “You know I saw you back there.”
“With Thomas?”
Anders shook his head, “No, with the demon. That was brave of you to try to chase it away.”
“I wasn’t trying to chase it away, I was trying to keep it from ripping open your cousin,” Bo said.
Anders frowned, “Thomas was there? Oh no.”
Bo nodded, “He must have found it in the house because it was already chasing him when I saw them. All I did was run at it. Suddenly this crystal shone really brightly, and then you appeared and began running it down.”
“Where is he?” Anders asked. “I shouldn’t have left him alone.”
“He’s at the docks with Kirsten.”
“That’s where you’re going?” Anders asked.
Bo nodded.
Anders continued with Max’s brother, thinking in silence about what Thomas had been through that night. I wish there was something I could do to help prepare them for what’s coming, he told himself. Then an idea began to grow in his mind. Kirsten can use the crystal’s power, just like Thargon and Lageena could. Maybe I can teach others to use it, too. If Thomas had known a basic protection shield, he could have defended himself. By the time the port came into view at the end of the lamplit street, Anders had made up his mind. He was going to teach anyone who wanted to learn how to use the crystals’ powers.
Chapter 80
Aquina
Maija looked out over the rolling grasslands stretching east from the Westland coastline. With the knowledge that so many skilled fighters had come to their aid in Brookside, she thought of the thousands of innocent people living throughout the Bareback Plains. Imagining Merglan’s massive army of orcs, kurr, and mercenaries marching toward a hostile takeover of Westland, she could see that Aquina would be the first community to be wiped off the map or overtaken.
Raffa, we must make a stop along the way back to Brookside, she said.
He hadn’t been in the cabin with Maija when she spoke with her sister, but she shared the memory with him. Afterward he asked, Won’t Anders and the others need the information you gathered as quickly as possible? If we are gone too long, they might begin to retreat. With the limited scope they can see, those in charge might already be sending people away.
Think about the thousands we saw in the city at the heart of the plains, she responded through her thoughts. When the riders who’ve gone south find that the crystals have been taken, they’ll send word to Merglan. He’ll begin the march on Westland at once. Aquina will be the first place to be attacked.
How can you be so sure he’ll go there first? Couldn’t he send his army over the mountains and down into the Riverlands to attack Anders there? Raffa asked.
Sending that many on foot through the rugged terrain would take longer than going around. His army would suffer more casualties. Considering the number of ships we saw, the fastest way he could launch an attack would involve shuttling his army to the open grasslands where their travel would be uninhibited by forest. The first major city they’d reach would be Aquina. Seeing as how the attacks began at sea in the West, they likely wouldn’t expect a land attack. They’ll be caught off guard and easily overcome. Maija paused, waiting for Raffa’s reply. Before he could comment, however, she added, It won’t add much time to our travel and if we’re successful, we’ll have at least saved more innocent lives.
Would their horses be helpful in the war?
They could be what turns it in our favor, Maija answered truthfully. I might not have a lot of battle strategy experience, but I’ve read up some on it in the dragonriders’ library outside Cedarbridge. A cavalry can turn the tide in a battle of foot soldiers.
Maija could feel Raffa’s unease about diverting from their course again, but he conceded with a groan, I’ll change our course inland.
She smiled and thought, We’ll be changing the course of history.
Darkness fell before they’d reached the city along the Bareback River. Maija elected to land before they flew too close to Aquina.
I’ve heard that humans are quick to attack that which they can’t see. We don’t want to cause undue panic. Perhaps it would be best to wait until daylight to try to make contact, Raffa suggested when they saw the distant yellow glow of fires among the urban sprawl.
Agreeing, Maija held her grip on the saddle and prepared for landing. Pushing down into her stirrups with her feet, she raised her butt in an attempt to absorb some of the impact; Raffa’s body was large and he usually landed with force.
Stepping out and climbing down to the ground at his side, Maija began to walk. A sidelong breeze rolled in with a chilling bite. She thought she heard something moving in the grass. Wishing she still had her heightened sense of hearing that she’d had when Merglan was close, Maija glanced to her right and started searching with her mind. Before she could feel what it was, she was struck from behind.
Dazed, Maija hit the ground and rolled to the side. Her face instantly felt wet and her vision blurred. She felt the warmth of blood washing into her eyes. Orange and yellow flashes streaked out into the darkness, giving her a slightly clearer vision of what was happening. Maija forced herself up onto her knees, trying to react quickly and orient herself in the confusion. Through the bursts of firelight coming from her dragon, she saw Raffa rearing on his hind legs with his wings flapping and a shower of molten dragon’s breath descend onto four horned creatures.
Kurr, she realized as their black bodies became charred in fire.
Not having the time or sense to determine where they came from, she reached for the elven sword she’d taken from her parent’s tack room. Rising and withdrawing her blade, Maija squinted through her blurred vision and poised herself in a defensive stance. The vibrant and electric sensation of magic in her veins brought a vigor to her stance she hadn’t felt before. As if the world around her were moving more slowly, she could feel the movements of the hairy beasts behind her before they could come down on her.
Maija’s heightened mind told her to step left. She did and a kurr with its horns lowered, rushed by, missing her by inches. Spinning, she faced another kurr, this one only beginning to lower its enormous blockhead. Crouching, Maija dropped and thrust her sword tip out at the creature. The sharp tip sank deep into flesh and she heard its animal cry as the heavy kurr toppled into her. Though blood from her forehead still masked her vision, the magic from within worked to heighten her other senses. She allowed the creature’s momentum to carry through and she rolled backward, somersaulting through the toss. Waiting until she was on top, Maija sprang up from the dying kurr and landed on her feet with her elven blade still gripped firmly in her hand.
Wow, that worked? she thought, figuring she would continue to roll with the kurr.
Wiping her eyes clear, she found the kurr she had first dodged rounding on her. In a panic, she started to run. Even with her elven speed, she wasn’t able to outrun the beast. The dark was only lit by sporadic bursts of fire from Raffa as he took on the majority of the group, which made it difficult for her to see the terrain underfoot. With blood trickling through her eyebrows and stinging her eyes, Maija began to feel a sense of panic. Without realizing it, she slowed.
The sound of the kurr’s pounding hooves gaining on her caused a reaction she hadn’t yet felt. Acting on instinct and responding to a burning flow of heat through her chest, Maija turned on a dime to face the creature head on. Without realizing what she was doing, Maija shot her arm up and felt the burning electric charge pass from her core into her limb. Before she released the energy at the kurr, Raffa’s massive jaws appeared from the darkness overhead, closing around the dark creature with a SNAP! Maija flinched, closing her eyes at the sight of the kurr being severed in half. She felt the electric pulse of magic fizzle and spark as it died in her palm.
Raffa flung his head to the side, opening his mouth and letting the still-moving upper-half of the kurr soar though the darkness and out of sight, thudding to the ground in the distance.
Are you alright? Your face appears to be broken, Raffa’s voice sounded in her mind.
