CHAPTER 11
Ammi drew upon the well within herself, and used it to jump over the parapet.
After spending well over half of her life working the power of the divine, magic consumption had become like a sixth sense to the woman. It didn’t matter if she was performing a great feat in battle or doing something as trivial as opening the gate, she knew exactly how much power to pull from within her personal reserve in order to perfect a spell without underfueling it or worse, blowing it up with a flood of too much power. As she fell down the outside of the 20 foot wall, she sent a well calculated dose of power to her lower extremities in order to cushion them and keep from crumbling on impact.
Warm tingling sensation flooded her feet, knees, and hips a second before she hit the ground, sending a dull shake through her body that was devoid of pain, as her allotted power did its job.
She didn't let the landing stop her, and rolled forward in a practiced tumble around Brand, allowing the cushion of power to move along the ground and her body, propelling her forward and catching all of the shock from the drop.
The second she was on her feet, Brand was out and steaming as she charged, ready for engagement on any side. Her battle awareness sparked to life like a kicked hornet’s nest, and she felt twenty five years of hard training struggling to overpower the past ten years of peace. Her brain buzzed, and her hilt prickled in her hand, sword just as ready for trouble as she was.
Despite her proximity from the drilling and quests of her past, Ammi felt her body fall into pace easily. Adrenaline and magic can do a lot to sharpen your mind, but experience- that is what set Ammi apart from the peaceful Champions of the City of Trees. Her time she spent in Coastlund was not full of guard duty and theoretical practice. Ammi had seen real combat, scouted against actual enemies, and helped lead garrisons of Champions on dangerous missions before, and as she raced to the aid of Brooke, her only other ally in this situation, her mind began running through it’s natural course of deduction and planning.
Something on the edge of the wood had advanced on Shields, meaning that her enemies wanted the pass between meadow and forest clear. That most likely meant that they were waiting somewhere near that pass to attack. Birdie was the only other person they could be waiting for, and she was still in there- unaware of the trap waiting for her. Ammi’s bes bet would be to grab Brooke and make a run on the woods; hopefully their enemies would be taken with enough surprise that the women would make it. Ammi doubted they would encounter too much trouble. Whoever had Attacked Shields had done a sloppy job, as Shields was left with enough power to send up a signal flare before falling.
She felt her heart churn, but snuffed the rising emotion out before it could affect her power output.
He might not be dead, she reminded herself. The detect life cantrip I used works only on larger life forces in order to block out the noise of birds and rodents. He might just be injured. Perhaps if I find him…
No. There was a time for wishing, and a time for action. As far as Ammi was concerned, Brooke was her top priority now that Sheilds was no longer in action. What he would want she did not know- or frankly care at this point. He was a good man. But Ammi knew what it was like to face victory with survival nipping at her heels. It was her turn to take the reins, and Ammi was ready to make some tough choices.
She cursed under her breath, wishing she had a company’s worth of support to watch her back and go after Shields. The names of at least a dozen of her former Champions sprung to mind, each one would be a huge asset right now.
Focus on who you have! I have Brooke. I can also have Birdie if I can get to the woods in time… This meadow is just a death trap…
Birdie was most likely the target. Obviously. But Ammi was no longer sure if Gabriel was the culprit. She’d wagered her guess before that he had somehow convinced the hunter party to help him grab the girl- and she could definitely see the Hunters being willing to spite the Champions by taking Birdie. But after seeing the hit on Shields, she wasn’t too sure…
Gabriel was troubled. But was he so disturbed that he would attack Shields? Or had one of the hunters gone rogue? There were too many variables- Ammi would just have to regroup with the rest of her champions and make a plan in the safety of the forest. Their enemy- no matter who they were- would not try to confront her there. They would be foolish to try. The divine might have been physically limited to his shrine, but his power still haunted the entire wooded area. Their best shot was to flee to the woods and force that useless divine to offer support. The wall should protect the people…
If they are smart enough to stay inside, and if the divine doesn't go quiet…
She hissed a curse and a prayer, hoping that Camcenan would take the hint about the situation and do something to keep the people contained. As for the divine…
What happened ten years ago was an exception. Not the rule. He wouldn’t abandon us…
Her feet found rough gravel and hard packed dirt as she finally reached the path that led to the forest clearing. Brooke’s torch was bobbing high, the girl must have been holding it aloft to make sure she would be seen.
“Brooke!”
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“Ammi!” The girl hissed, whirling around towards her as she came careening into range of her lantern light. The young champion stood with her silver sword in hand, her eyes wide and frightened as she stood bravely against the pressing darkness.
“We need to get to the woods now!”
“Why did Sheilds send up a signal?” Brooke asked, picking up her pace as the two raced to the dark line of trees in the distance, “I lost his lantern light!”
“Something got him. His color faded from detect life.”
“No!” The break in Brooke’s voice was from more than just running, but Ammi prayed the girl would hold together long enough to get to cover.
“We need to regroup. Find Birdie and set up a plan with her and the divine-”
Her periphery detected the movement a moment before Brand acted. Her boots slid through the path, scattering dust and pebbles as whe whirled and swung, hearing a dull hiss and a thump as a projectile slammed uselessly into the broadside of the sword.
“Get down!” Ammi hissed.
Immediately Brooke dropped her lantern and the light went out as it bounced away into the pasture. A rustle sounded behind her as the girl dove into the tall grass and disappeared. Ammi backed towards the cover as well, her eyes prying through the darkness to find the archer.
“Focus sound!”
As soon as she whispered the cantrip, she heard the wind in the grass as if it were speaking to her. The distant chorus of forest life grew loud enough that she might have been able to count the crickets by song alone should she choose to. She crouched on the path, just outside of the gras and listened with all of the focus she could muster, closing her eyes. Brand tugged at her, making her palms feel of pins and needles, but not yet.
There.
To the south east, between her and the forest, something was moving. She heard the strained sound of a bow string and dove just before the thwang and wizznig rush of an arrow soared above her, lodging noisily into the tangle of grass behind her. She released the spell, and her hearing returned to normal.
“Ammi! Those are hunter arrows!” Brooke hissed.
“There are two of them, one ahead and one to the right and behind.”
“What do we do?!”
Ammi placed the broadside of Brand on her shoulder as her mind churned.
Whoever is orchestrating this is a poor strategist. The hunters can't just fire into the thicket to find us, or they might hit one of their own. They can see in the dark, but not through the grass. They chose to ambush us after I got to Brooke instead of stationing someone to do the job at the same time that they got Shields.
In fact, the more she thought about it, the less impressed she felt. This was sloppy work, and as long as their assailant didn’t have some grand miracle hidden up their sleeve, their odds were looking pretty good.
“We bolt. Stow your sword so you can be ready to cast a ward if you need it, but and cast Astajri and hold it above your head. Run directly to the woods, don’t worry about finding the trail. Stick close to me and do not stop until you get to the stairs.”
Ammi saw Brooke nod resolutely, her lips pressed into a thin line that didn’t match her wide eyes of worry. She couldn’t help but remember herself twenty four years ago, crouching in the wilds with her company on her first expedition. She had been scared witless, drenched in sweat and rain, shaking so hard that her bones threatened to rattle to pieces. Desperation and stubborn pride kept her from quitting then, and she saw a similar hunger in the face of the young Champion before her.
Ammi prayed Brooke was better than herself.
“Now!”
They tore from their clump of grass and flew as fast as they could to the treeline. Ammi muttered the spell for starlight, and funneled as much power as she dared into the action before holding her hand aloft. There was a crisp crack like the sound of lightning as blinding light erupted above her, while her palm remained empty and warm. A moment later, Brooke did the same, her light not as bright as Ammi’s but good enough. The ground before them now clear as day, they opened up their stride, putting on speed.
An arrow smacked into the ground before her. Another streaked in front of Brooke and slashed into the grass to Ammi’s right, clipping Brooke’s cast ward shield as it went. She heard footsteps break onto the path behind them and a crashing of movement to her left.
They couldn't aim through the gale of light so they were running after them. She’d gotten them. They were only ten yards from the treeline now. They were going to make it.
Before they could get any closer, her eyes filled with a new light. A deep red beam beat out the brightness of their cast starlight, and it blinded her. An unseen force slammed her back so abruptly that it felt as if she’d taken a flying leap at the city wall. She couldn’t stop as a cry escaped her mouth on impact, and she rebounded bodily, putting up a shield of power just before slamming back into the path behind her. The magic spared her the pain of the fall, but she still ached all over from whatever she had hit, and her head spun; had she hit a tree? A torch post? What stopped her.
She heard a groan from beside her and realized Brooke was there too, fallen to the same fate. The girl’s whimper snapped her back into action and she scrambled to her feet, feeling a slight twinge in her knee, which she buried under layers of power.
Their starlights had gone out. She was blind and in pain. In the darkness she could hear movement closing in on all sides. They were surrounded.
“Brooke.” She demanded.
The girl made a strangled affirmative response, and Ammi heard her stagger to her feet, and saw the flash of silver as Brooke followed her lead, readying her weapon and standing with her back to hers. She could practically feel the poor thing shaking through the ground as they stood together.
“Detect Life!”
She felt the buzz of the spell in her eyes, saw Brooke’s rosy hue blossom in her periphery, so why then, did it seem to fail her? She heard them. Their stalkers were drawing closer and pressing in on all sides, but there was no rosy hue in the darkness to give them away.
A horrific chill pierced her heart.
Whatever these are, they are either dead, or hold powerful magic.
Brand tugged at her palm, and this time she obliged.