King Arik gave the message to Prince Midge and sent him on his way. He then asked David Jaynes to assemble the Red Swords so that he could explain the new battle plan. Once the men were assembled, the king explained to them what he expected from them. When he was finished, he drew the Sword of Heavens and held it high over his head.
“The Red Swords are among the finest fighters in the world,” the king said loudly, “and tonight you will get the chance to prove it. You will be called upon to ride faster than you ever have and kill quicker than any man should be expected to kill. You will show the enemy no mercy, for if we fail this night, Alcea will die. Only your speed and expertise will win this battle, but I know that you will prevail. You are the Red Swords!”
“And you are the Warrior King!” shouted one of the men.
All of the men then shouted, “Long live the Warrior King!” The shouting was so loud that King Arik was sure that the Baroukans up the road must have heard it.
* * * *
Colonel Sawar arrived at the shield wall and tied his horse to a tree. He then walked the entire line telling the men to prepare for an attack. When he reached the end of the line, he turned around and began walking back. He was almost halfway along the shield wall when he heard the distant shouts. He stopped and stared at the road passing through the middle of the shield wall. The clouds had passed away from the moon, and he could see a fair distance, but there was nothing for him to see. The road was empty.
“They’re coming, aren’t they, Colonel?” one of the men in the wall asked.
“I suspect they are,” the colonel replied with a curt nod. “Let’s show them what a Federation shield wall can do when properly assembled.”
“For the empire!” shouted one of the soldiers.
“For Barouk!” shouted thousands in response.
A smile appeared on the colonel’s face, but it didn’t last long. As the sound of the shouting died, he heard the distant thunder of thousands of hooves. The Alceans were coming, and they were not coming slowly. They were galloping towards the shield line.
“They are coming in fast!” he shouted. “Stand firm and deliver death to the enemy! Hold this line!”
Colonel Sawar squinted into the night, focusing intently on the Coastal Highway. Far in the distance he saw shadows moving, and the pounding hooves grew louder. He watched as the shadows resolved into visible forms, Alcean riders hunched low for maximum speed. He could tell that the Alceans were planning to slam into the shield wall at full speed, but he also knew that such a tactic would fail. He had chosen a place for the shield wall that would allow for maximum exposure to the enemy with little room for cavalry maneuvering. So many archers would be concentrated on the charging column that none of the horses would even reach the shield wall.
“Tighten the line in the center!” he shouted as he watched the charging Alceans draw closer.
Suddenly, a blast of wind roared out of the south. The wind was far greater than what he had personally experienced earlier in the night. In fact, it was far stronger than any storm he had ever experienced. He immediately moved back and grabbed onto a tree. The men in the shield wall could not do so. The wind tore into the Federation line with tremendous force, and men were lifted off the ground and carried away, but curiously, only in the center of the shield wall. Within seconds, there was a gaping hole in the shield wall, and the Alceans galloped towards it. Colonel Sawar gripped the tree tightly with both arms and sheltered behind it so he could still see the road.
A sudden sound split the air. It was a sound that the colonel had heard only once before in his life, and it sent a shiver racing down his spine. It was the roar of a dragon. He swallowed hard as a flying shape appeared over the approaching Alcean column. With disbelief, Colonel Sawar watched the dragon approach. The monstrous creature glided almost silently, its huge wings nearly touching the trees on both sides of the road, but the greatest shock to the colonel was the sight of the Warrior King upon the creature’s back. Shouts of fear roared from the mouths of the shield wall, but King Arik and his dragon did not attack. The dragon soared over the shield wall and continued northward. Seconds later, another dragon appeared with the Warrior Queen on its back. As they passed over the shield wall, the queen’s arms flew out to her sides. Tremendous gusts of wind tore from her fingertips in both directions. The men of the shield wall were blown away from the road, cascading into one another like falling dominoes. A moment later, the colonel watched as flames leaped from the queen’s hands, the sheets of flames streaking, not into the soldiers of the shield wall, but rather into the trees lining the road behind the shield wall. The trees burst into flames as the vanguard of the Alcean column raced through the gaping hole in the shield wall.
Colonel Sawar gasped in amazement as he watched the Alceans gallop through the shield wall. It took several moments for him to realize that the wind had dissipated. He let go of the tree and watched his men scrambling away from the forest fire. It took another moment for him to realize what was happening. Not a single Alcean attacked the shield wall, and if any of the Baroukans had fired an arrow, they had missed. There was not a single Alcean body on the ground. Suddenly, he understood the Alcean plan.
“Rally to Bledsoe!” the colonel shouted. “Rally to Bledsoe!”
Chapter 48
Day Thirteen
“Enemy sighted,” growled Wyka. “Are you sure I can’t eat them?”
King Arik strained to see General Bledsoe and his three regiments of reserves, but his eyes were not as good as the dragon’s. “You may kill with abandon,” he answered, “but you will not eat a human. There will be more horsemeat on the battlefield than you and Rylana can possibly devour. Quit complaining.”
“Grump,” retorted Wyka.
“Light the battlefield as soon as you see it, Tanya,” called the king, ignoring the dragon’s banter.
Hearing the king’s command, Rylana put forth a burst of speed and rose over Wyka and King Arik. “One thousand paces forward,” she said. “Can you see them?”
Queen Tanya did not reply. She took the dragon’s word as accurate and raised her arm. A brilliant light flared to life at her fingertips and arced into the sky. When it reached the prescribed distance, it burst into a brilliance like a tiny sun hanging high over General Bledsoe’s position.
“That is sure to announce our arrival,” quipped Rylana.
“Then let the killing begin,” the queen replied stoically.
And begin it did. The Federation soldiers of the reserves gazed upward, holding the reins of the mounts standing beside them. They gawked at the magical light above them as the two dragons glided silently towards them. Wyka and Rylana split up upon reaching the clearing where General Bledsoe had decided to make his stand. Wyka banked left and Rylana banked right. From opposite sides, the dragons swooped over the reserves, their talons reaching down and goring the heads of the soldiers. Flames leaped from their mouths searing scores of men, while Arik and Tanya threw Lanoirian stars as quickly as they could pull them from the pouches on their waists.
Chaos swept over the Federation troops as man and beast tried to react to the sudden attack. Men shouted in alarm, and horses screamed with fear. Some men tried to mount their horses; some drew their swords. Still others, seeing the threat as too distant for close combat, dropped their reins so that both hands were free to handle bows and arrows. Free horses broke in every direction as the two dragons raced over the reserves, and the din of confusion and terror made it impossible for the officers’ orders to be heard. At the end of their run, both dragons banked sharply, Rylana shooting high into the sky to avoid the arrows being nocked below. Wyka, however, was not done toying with the soldiers. She maintained her sharp bank for another pass.