Siege (The Warrior Chronicles, 5) (23 page)

Nervousness radiated through Shanti as Cayan must’ve wondered how this would go. He was going in completely blind, trusting her with everything he had. “Hopefully he’s good on his feet, because I have no idea what’ll happen in there.”

“Even if Tauneya did know, you wouldn’t be able to get the information to him,” Rohnan said.

The horse slowed as it crossed the threshold. The running Graygual grabbed the reins and started walking the horses off to the right. He didn’t try to open the door again.

“I hope he figured out how to wear black,” Shanti surmised.

“Let’s hope he gets an audience before they realize the woman isn’t in there,” Sonson said.

“True.” Shanti blew out a breath, working on finding calm so she didn’t add to Cayan’s turbulent situation. No doubt he sat inside, completely straight and tall, proving to his men that he was made of steel. It would help them. The reality wasn’t helping her.

“Okay, take aim.” Shanti sighted her borrowed bow. The change in personnel would happen any minute. “Wait until they are all on here.”

Sonson gasped. “The Shadow Lord just made contact.”

“Tell them to wait,” Shanti said urgently.

“We can’t communicate in the way you’ve devised…”

Shanti felt his swirl of various emotions, trying to warn them away. Instead, up over the rise in land, dust billowed before the heads of riders, and then horses, showed themselves. A line of multiple colors announced the hierarchy of battle-ready Shadow.

“
Flak!”
Shanti rose in her crouch, first checking to make sure Cayan was around the bend, and then sighting. “Here we go…” She let go of the bowstring. The arrow zipped through the air and stuck into the back of the Graygual trying to release the locking mechanism in order to close the gate.

She sent a warning to Kallon, their signal that it had begun. His answering message of
alarm
meant it was too early. “I
know
it’s too early, Kallon,” she muttered through gritted teeth. “What do you want me to do? Tell the Graygual to hold on a moment?”

“He can’t hear you from here, you know,” Sonson said. His fingers released. An arrow hit the Graygual running right in the chest. He grabbed it with clawed hands as he sank to his knees.

Fright and urgency pumped out of people in waves. “Here they come…” A swarm of Graygual ran in the direction that Cayan had disappeared, arming themselves even as they ran. One rubbed sleep out of his eyes. Another wiped off something spilled from his front.

“We disturbed their breakfast,” Sonson said, firing. He loaded again, and fired. Again. And again.

“Everyone, fire!” Shanti yelled.

Fanned out around her, bows sang. Arrows flew through the air, hitting Graygual mostly in the back as they ran to their posts. With grunts, they died or turned, staring up at the rooftops with surprise on their faces. The smart ducked for cover; the rest reached for their swords and died in the process.

“This place is about to be swarming with Inkna,” Shanti said, connecting more securely with everyone around her, and readying. She felt Cayan reach for her, obviously knowing something was happening and wanting to give her more juice.

“Not yet, Cayan,” she murmured, planting her hands securely on the rooftop and bracing.

“He can’t hear you either—”

A slap of mental power cut Sonson off. Like a blast of needle pricks, the pain hit them with force, battering their shields. What felt like acid slipped off her mind and dripped down her body, powerful enough to fray her thoughts. Another wave smashed into them, even rougher than the first. She felt Cayan’s growl of power rising, thrashing against his control.

Soon, Cayan,
she thought through the crashing of pain.
Very soon.

“Almost—” Sonson said through a clenched jaw. “Almost…”

A surge of power fed through Sonson and rushed around their connection. It locked them more securely with those across the city and turned up the punch of what was growing in Cayan.

The Shadow Lord was in range.

“Hit ’em hard!” Shanti yelled, rising from her crouch and running for the ladder. “Kill them all!”

The line of horses thundered down the lane and fanned out, aiming right for the gate. Graygual tried to run forward, desperate to lock them out. The townspeople had taken the weed, though. They were unharmed by the Inkna. Arrows sailed through the air, striking arms, chests, faces, backs. Shanti felt Sanders crossing into the city. Surrounding him came the Westwood Lands army.

Shanti spread out her
Gift,
trying to get an idea of what the enemy was doing. As she feared, Graygual were rushing into the streets, armed and ready for battle. The last of Alena’s poison had been served, but she had fallen short. They hadn’t hit enough. Or maybe the Graygual were just too many.

Shanti descended the last of the steps as a Graygual ran at her. She blocked his thrust, whirled, and struck the man running up behind. Stepping out to the side, she kicked the first Graygual’s face and got out of the way for Rohnan to jump down, slashing with his staff as he did so. The blade cut the Graygual’s face in half.

Shanti
searched,
finding five minds that could easily be the one turning. She
struck
them all, making them pause for the archers to hit.

A sword caught the morning sun as it moved through the air. If it weren’t for that, she would’ve missed it. She dodged out of the way. The blade barely missed her shoulder. She swung her sword across, cutting through his stomach before Sonson stuck him in the back.

“Stay with the original plan?” Sonson yelled over the din.

Shanti felt the horde of Graygual running through the city right before a gigantic roar shook the ground. She couldn’t help a mad grin. “I hope Tauneya was true to her word and made sure people stayed in their homes.”

Shanti ran to the edge of the building, getting a look at the carnage. Arrows continued to fly, some finding their marks, some sailing away. Across the drawbridge, huge and lumbering but with size and power no land animal could match, were the beasts of the Shadow Lands.

“We take the officers’ quarters first!” Shanti ran around the bend as another roar shook the ground. Men screamed, and there followed a fierce, wet growl.

A rip of power scoured a cluster of Graygual running at Shanti on their way toward the gate. The enemy sank to their knees. There might be more Inkna in this battle, but with the Shadow Lord showing up to the party, there were three people at max power. The stakes had evened out.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Hooves thundered across the drawbridge behind them. Shanti sprinted through a courtyard and ran around a decorative hedge. The coach waited close to the front entrance. Three dead Graygual by its side.

“Not quite perfect,” Shanti said, feeling Cayan’s exertion. He hadn’t made it to the location without a fight, but he wasn’t waiting for her. He was taking his opportunity.

A push of violence hit them through the connection as another thrust of power raked the area behind them. Their people were engaged in battle. They were running out of time for a coordinated attack.

Shanti leapt over a dead body and ripped open the door. An arrow flew right past her face and stuck in the wood beside her. She
jabbed
with her power, and then followed the Shadow Lord’s lead and
scoured
the area before her with fire. A man staggered in the corridor.

“Go, go, go!” Sonson urged her.

Staying low and to the side, she ran as fast as she could, swinging her knife downward and into the back of the Graygual. Sonson sent out a blast of power, ripping a scream from two people. Denessa threw one more, taking out someone in the hallway on their right. Before them, through a series of archways decorated by the finest craftsmen, ran three Graygual with swords.

A low hum settled deep in Shanti’s gut. From it rose the spice from the
Joining.
Power simmered as Cayan went completely tranquil. A moment later, tiny sparks of fire burst through her body.

He was preparing to fight. He’d found the officer.

“We gotta move!” Shanti yelled, letting Rohnan and Sonson clear out the Graygual running at them. “The officer is bound to have reinforcements. Cayan will be overrun.”

C
ayan walked slowly
toward a man slightly shorter than himself. Dressed in black and with seven red stripes, this Graygual would be one of the best.

“Who are you?” the man asked in a rolling accent.

“You must know, if you are speaking my language.” Cayan watched his eyes. The way he moved. He was jerkier than the warrior from outside the Mugdock village, not as graceful, but he held his sword the same. His footwork followed a similar path.

A concussion of sound rocked the foundation of the building. Through the opened window men screamed right before a furious roar shook Cayan’s bones. The officer did not so much as flinch. He did not even look toward the strange and new sounds. His focus was complete.

It would also be his detriment.

“The Being Supreme has been looking out for you since you took the Inkna town. He is highly intelligent and so far ahead of you.”

“Then why don’t you have better defenses?” Cayan thrust. The Graygual blocked and danced to the side and then at a diagonal back to him, creating an attack. Cayan blocked and followed the same footwork, advancing. Fast and clean, the Graygual wiped his sword through the air, took the block but then swung back, trying to catch Cayan on the backswing. He was ready. He jumped back and immediately peeled away to the side, blocking the next thrust and creating distance.

The Graygual was stronger in his footwork. That was not the way forward.

“These are better defenses. Tell me, how did you get in?”

Cayan rushed forward, hard and brutal. He thrust, felt his sword battered away, and then threw his fist. The Graygual’s head whipped back. Cayan swept with his blade, catching air. The Graygual had dropped and rolled to the side. He was up a moment later with a red patch on his cheek and sober eyes. He hadn’t seen that coming.

Welcome to a real fight.

Cayan didn’t let up. He rushed again, using rough sword work, messy but effective. He clipped the Graygual’s sword, then slashed through his shirt, before pivoting and kicking hard. His boot hit the Graygual’s thigh, and the follow-through of his body knocked the Graygual’s legs out from under him. He fell on his side, his sword out, ready to block. Cayan kicked his hand instead, then brought his sword down. The Graygual rolled just in time, getting the blade across his back.

He kicked his legs up then out, rocking his body up and landing on his feet. He took five fast steps before he recommenced the fight.

“Where were you trained?” The Graygual’s voice was devoid of emotion, but Cayan could feel his incredulity.

“I come from a long line of warriors.”

A shock of pain blanketed the room. Cayan knew this would happen, which was why he’d saved his strength.

He felt his men drop to the ground outside the door.

The Graygual’s eyes twinkled. “Alas, even warriors must bow to the
Surchine.”

Cayan
let go.
He threw off the control he’d been fighting with since Shanti had begun fighting. Almost without warning, a surge of power, so pure, so raw it brought tears of pain to his eyes, roared through his body. It bubbled out, filling the room with a force unlike any other. Through Shanti he felt all the others, including the huge force of the Shadow Lord. More power dumped into him, connecting him and making it grow. It swirled and expanded, rushing in his ears and pounding through his body. The unwieldy force whipped around him, half flirty with Shanti’s power sharing his body, and half a brutal, destructive thing that would tear down everything in his sight.

He sent a blast of warning to Shanti. He could contain this, but he couldn’t direct it. Once it was out, he was at its mercy. She would have to control the flow.

Too late now.

Another slap of pain hit him, making him take a step back. Anger rose, aggravating the power stuffed in his body. The door burst open, revealing two Graygual standing in front of three Inkna.

“You have no idea what you are up against,” Cayan said, straining.

“Actually, I think you—”

Cayan
ROARED
with the power. It thundered through the room. Walls quaked. The Graygual officer screamed and clawed at his chest. Those in front of the Inkna tried to step forward. Instead, they fell, landing on their faces and bouncing. Blood splattered from a broken nose. Red dripped out of their ears.

The Inkna stared at him, their faces white in utter shock. Their shields and combined might withstood his raw power, but would they withstand Shanti’s finesse?

He summoned more power, letting it boil out of his body and hover around him in the air. And then he felt it. Fizzing through the building. His hairs stood on end. The current tickled his neck and sent bubbles through his middle. Sparks danced within his power, set in motion by his other half.

He felt her, down the hall, running at him with all her might. Her people and the Shadow ran in behind, downing everyone ahead and killing everyone coming from behind. She bothered with none of that. She was here for him.

She thought he needed saving.

The air crackled as their collective power fed off each other. Cayan offered it up, let her assume control. As soon as he did, a surge flowed from one to the other, treating their bodies as one.

The hum between them started to vibrate. The ground trembled. The air above them sizzled. Power as cutting and agile as a whip shot out. It hit off the Inkna, making them stagger backward. One grabbed his head. The others clutched at the walls to stay upright. Another shock of power, finer this time, aiming the massive
thrust
for one tiny piece of their minds. Like a needle striking blown glass at high speeds, a crack formed in their shields and began to grow. All it would take was one more thrust.

Shanti barreled into them with bared teeth and her sword. She slashed through the first, spraying blood against the wall. A knife flew end over end, sticking into the eye of another, an excellent shot from someone behind her. Shanti kicked the last between the legs, making him bend before she hacked down at his exposed neck. He crumpled. His head rolled across the floor.

“What, you’re waiting for me to do everything?” Shanti asked with a heaving chest. “You couldn’t walk forward and stick your sword in them?”

He smiled. He couldn’t help it. Like a vision from his dreams, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life, made all the better for the splash of blood on her cheek and the fire in her violet eyes.

“I wanted you to feel good about yourself. You know, think you were doing something for the war effort.” He crossed the distance in a couple strides and grabbed her behind the neck. He planted a deep, bruising kiss on her lips, so damn happy to see her in one piece.

“I love voyeurism and all, but we have to go. My mother is old. I don’t want her to have to get off her horse.” Sonson suddenly disappeared from sight, having run to the right.

Cayan stepped away from Shanti and ran to the large, open door in time to see Sonson dig his sword into the stomach of a Graygual.

“Okay, let’s go. We have a lot of trained Graygual in this city. It’s not ours yet.” Shanti started jogging out of the door.

Cayan followed. “How many are we talking?”

“Let’s just say Sanders is probably swearing about the odds right now…”

* * *

“
B
loody hell
, they’re like ants!” Sanders slashed through a black tunic before punching someone in the face. The nose cracked. His sword slid through the Graygual’s stomach a moment later. “Push through!”

A swarm of Graygual ran at him from down the street. They were trying to push Sanders and his men back out through the gate. Only half of Sanders’ force had even made it in. This was a shitstorm that had started way too early.

“Keep going!” Sanders yelled. “Push through. Keep going!” He blocked a sword, rammed his body into the enemy, then got caught in limbs. With a growl, he jerked his head forward. His forehead smacked off the Graygual’s face. The man staggered back, ripping out of Sanders’ grasp. Sanders stabbed him with his sword, brought his foot up, and shoved him back off the blade. He turned with another strike ready, only to find Kallon’s face.

“You’re lucky you’re so pretty, or I would’ve run you through.” Sanders kicked a kneeling Graygual in the teeth, belatedly realizing that the whole horde around him were already sinking to the ground in agony. “You lot are wonderful to have around. Especially the ones who don’t speak my language.”

“Eat this.” Kallon thrust a shriveled black thing that looked like bark at his face.

“Get away.” Sanders pushed Kallon’s wrist away before hacking down without ceremony, killing the enemy while they were down. He’d wait to fight fair when he trained the newbie women. He only had so much restraint.

“Eat this. It’ll prevent mind power from harming you.” Kallon held the bark up again.

“Why didn’t you say so—Lucius, get your team higher. They can’t shoot anyone from there!” Sanders grabbed the tough thing and ripped through it with his teeth. “On the rooftops!” He moved the piece out of his cheek and kept chewing, using his free hand to kill whoever was close enough.

Sourness made his eyes squeeze shut before his mouth and then throat caught fire. “What the hell have you given me?”

“Xavier says it does not taste good, but it works.”

Sanders forced himself to take another bite. “Whatever helps me kill those pansy sons of bitches. I have a debt to settle with the Inkna.”

Kallon took the remainder and moved on, aiming for all the best fighters first and letting other mental workers distribute to the rest. After he had given some to Lucius, who didn’t question nearly as much as he should, and moved away, the Graygual began to rise up again like weeds.

“You couldn’t have just killed them?” Sanders asked in annoyance.

Kallon replied, but by that time the grunts and cries of agony had turned into war cries. Sanders blocked a strike, and then slashed, feeling his stomach start to gurgle as he ripped his sword across exposed flesh.

“Uh oh.” His stomach dropped and bubbled in that horrible way that warned he was about to shit his pants.

He grabbed someone’s shoulder, stuck his sword through a gut, ripped the man to the side, and tried to move off to a corner. Another Graygual filled in. Then two more. He slashed and hacked, better and quicker, and way more experienced, but there were too many.

Something feathered across his head. Like the dancing of fingers on his brain, something barely touched him. His stomach gurgled again. “Oh no.” One of the women, still climbing onto the roof not far away, froze and then convulsed into a ball. Her fingers went white on the ladder and her eyes squeezed shut.

Inkna. Had to be.

“Get that girl!” Two men on the roof sank to their knees, their bows falling out of their hands. Leilius rushed to the girl with the black bark while pointing at someone on the ground.

“Mine!” Sanders yelled, barreling through Graygual as if they didn’t have swords. He slashed and hacked, getting sprayed with blood while completely ignoring what was going on with his own body. He shoved a larger man out of the way and yanked his blade from the man’s side, letting him die in peace. He sighted three Inkna sitting atop horses up the road. “Now you’re going to learn what it’s like to fight a fair fight, you good-for-nothing—”

Sanders sprinted at them, his teeth bared. The horses started to prance and their ears flattened on their head. One whinnied and pawed at the ground.

“That’s right, here comes danger!” Two of the Inkna were staring at him, frustrated expressions on their faces. A soft prodding touched Sanders’ mind, but he barely felt it. Ten feet away, close enough to still get them if their horses started to run, and suddenly hooves flashed in his face. The horse had been spooked, and bucked.

Sanders dodged to the side, not deterred, and then froze. Another creature had bared its teeth, and it was much, much bigger.

“Oh shit.” Sanders shrank back. Another horse reared, screaming. The Inkna fell off, nearly prone as he hit the ground. The back of his head smacked off the street and bounced. Blood splattered where his skull had hit.

“No!” Sanders stabbed down through him as another horse threw its owner. The Shadow beast roared again, a sound that chattered Sanders’ teeth. The giant animal plowed into the final horse and swiped at the fallen man, scoring through his chest.

“We’ll call that teamwork.” Sanders gave the animal a salute.

The beast roared. Blood dropped from its large canines.

Sanders backed slowly toward the nearest wall, wanting eyes on that beast all the time. They were supposed to be good in battle, mostly only going for the enemy. Sanders couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do if that
mostly
turned out to be his bad luck.

Arrows flew through the crowd, sticking into the Graygual and lowering them to the ground. Another splash of fingertips raced across his forehead. A great few in the army groaned and sank as another rush of Graygual entered the square.

“Get those men the root!” Sanders yelled, running parallel to the beast. It let out a ferocious growl before swiping at the back of a Graygual. Four lines of red parted the black. He arched and screamed before the beast’s head ripped into the back of his neck.