Ieduin smacked his shoulder. “You’re not dying here. Your da would want you alive.”
“Might not have a choice,” Peter replied. “Too many.”
The last of the Greymark survivors scurried by and the three of them hunkered down, pressed tight against the branches. Trintan soldiers followed not long after, stomping through the forest, weapons drawn, so hungry for blood not one looked at their feet.
They found the spike pits first, screaming as they fell in two, three at a time. Soldiers started looking around, bodies tense. Their advancing line hesitated until a commander shouted for them to march forward.
“Anyone who disobeys that order will be executed!” shouted the Brotherhood knight in command.
Ieduin frowned, scanning the line of soldiers as they carefully, slowly advanced.Where is Rixxis? She should be here.If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.
The line advanced, becoming less of a line and more spread out the further they want. The thick tree cover and heavy underbrush weren’t kind to the knights on horseback either. Many of them dismounted, giving up their advantage.
There was a sudden whoosh, and a crack, followed by a scream cut short. A Brotherhood knight nearby cursed and turned. “There’s—”
Before he could say traps, he stepped on one himself. Two heavy branches swung down from the treetops, landing on half a dozen troops each. They screamed, their legs and torsos crushed beneath the weight of the logs. Another trap went off, sending more branches down.
Ieduin gave the first signal for archers to release their first volley. As arrows rained down on their enemies, Ieduin drew his own bow and joined them, picking out the biggest targets he could find. Many of them were so heavily armored that the arrows bounced off, but a few found their marks. More dead and dying men fell to the forest floor.
Peter raised his hand, a blue light sparking on his fingertips. The few mages they’d brought with them unleashed their power on the unsuspecting soldiers below. Vines curled away from trees, wrapping around limbs and necks, choking the life out of soldiers. The Trintans tried to hack at them, but there were just too many. The ground opened beneath them, swallowing men whole.
The Brotherhood fought back, countering spells with their gauntlets and breaking traps on the ground whenever they saw them first. In the dying light, however, they would be difficult to spot.
Ieduin gave the signal for the next stage. Several Crows dropped from the trees in complete silence, armed with knives. They grabbed soldiers before others pulled them back into the trees, carrying the kidnapped soldiers with them. The Crows slit the soldiers’ throats before dropping them back on their own men.
Confused screaming followed and men started turning around, searching the treetops.
“Aim for the trees!” someone yelled. “They’re in the trees!”
Several arrows whizzed by, but the archers were shooting blindly into the mist. From their perches, the Crows and Greymarkers could see down into the forest, but the soldiers on the ground couldn’t see beyond the lower branches.
“Now?” Peter signed.
Ieduin shook his head. Too soon, and it wouldn’t work. Too late, and they’d lose the advantage he was hoping to gain. His timing had to be exact.
He waited for more troops to pass beneath them. They were swatting at everything green, cutting through foliage as if they’d find a ghost behind every leaf and stick. Just a few more and…
“Now!” Ieduin gave the final signal.
Everyone not armed with a bow or magic leapt from the trees. Some of them had nets that landed over dozens of Trintan soldiers at once. The nets had been spelled to be damn near indestructible to anything but magic. In one move, they’d effectively trapped hundreds.
The Crows and surviving Greymarkers rushed those who remained on their feet, cutting the confused soldiers down.
Ieduin nocked an arrow and found Rowan below, tracking him. He shot the soldier Rowan was about to engage. Rowan spun and scowled up into the trees.
“You’re welcome,” Ieduin muttered and shot another.
In the thick forest and the dark, the Trintan numbers counted for almost nothing. They fell by the dozens, Crows picking off two or three for every one of them that fell. It was looking like they might have a chance of winning this.
Then one of the Brotherhood knights broke through the netting holding the other soldiers back. They came pouring out from under the netting like reinforcements.
Rowan turned, engaging the two attackers at once. Ieduin tried to line up a shot, but they were moving, and it was a difficult angle. If he missed, he might hit Rowan.I can make this shot. I know I can. Why am I hesitating? My fucking arm is shaking!
He unleashed the arrow and held his breath until it hit one of the men, punching through a weak spot in the back of his leg armor. The soldier went down, and Rowan took care of the other. Ieduin let out a relieved sigh and readied another arrow. Just keeping him alive during this war is going to be a full-time job.
He swung his bow toward a sudden shout, but held his fire as he saw Rixxis break through the tree line, sweating and panting. He was relieved to see her, but what was she shouting? He could barely hear over the din of swords meeting and men dying.
She put her hands to either side of her mouth and bellowed loudly, “The dead are coming!”