Andronicus frowned. Nothing had changed. There was still no way in.
“Come out here, to this side of the Canyon, and face us in battle like real men!” Andronicus boomed, his voice echoing throughout the Canyon, as the hundreds of McCloud men stood at attention on the bridge, all in perfect discipline, none of them daring to move. They were too smart for that.
The two armies stood in a silent standoff. Andronicus was feeling desperate.
“Let me across this bridge,” Andronicus boomed out, trying another tactic, “and I will give you all riches beyond what you could ever dream. You will become Empire soldiers. You will have ten times the gold. Each one of you will become generals in my army. Anything you wish for will be yours.”
Once again his proclamation was met with nothing but tense silence, as the soldiers all stood in perfect attention, none of them moving. There was nothing but eerie silence, and the howling of the wind. The mist of the Canyon blew over them in waves, enveloping them, coming and going as they stared out.
Andronicus was stumped. He suddenly snatched a bow and arrow from one of his soldier’s hands, pulled back and fired it at the closest McCloud soldier.
But the second the arrow hit the invisible shield of the Canyon, it disintegrated.
Andronicus grabbed a dagger from his belt, and threw it.
That disintegrated, too.
He leaned back and roared, in a rage, not knowing how to cross. It was the one spot left in the world that stumped him, the one thing left he could not have.
Andronicus had no choice. He had to turn back home. He had been duped, and he had to admit it. He would have to find another way, another time, to cross the Canyon, to subdue the Ring. The longer he waited here, the more time he wasted.
But before he left, Andronicus had to let his bad mood out on someone. So before he turned to leave, he grabbed one of his common soldiers, raised him up high above his head with two hands, then ran for the Canyon, and threw him over the edge. As his body crossed the edge of the Canyon, Andronicus expected the man to disintegrate, to crumble into ashes, as the others.
But Andronicus was shocked as he watched this man’s body fly through the air, over the rim of the Canyon, perfectly intact, then plunge down below, screaming and flailing all the way down to the bottom, to his death.
Andronicus stood there, blinking several times, not understanding what had happened. It was as if the shield had suddenly been turned off.
Andronicus grabbed another soldier and shoved him, this time right down the center, towards the bridge. The man was terrified, seeing what had happened to his peers, but Andronicus jabbed him in the back of his neck with a spear, and the man ran obediently, bracing himself with his hands before his face as he ran towards the bridge, expecting to die.
But this time, something different happened: the soldier kept running, right onto the bridge, not disintegrating as the others had. He stood there, in the midst of the McCloud soldiers, alive.
The McCloud soldiers all seemed shocked, too. They jumped into action and attacked the lone soldier, killing him on the spot.
They then turned and looked at the Empire army with a whole new respect-and fear. No longer was there a barrier between them. Something had happened.
The hundreds of McCloud soldiers slowly stepped backwards, began to retreat, looking nervous, not understanding what was happening.
Andronicus could not understand it either. The shield was down. It was really down. What had happened?
He would not wait to find out.
“CHARGE!” he screamed.
Thousands of his men rushed forward, onto the bridge, stampeding it, slaughtering the McCloud men as they went. The remaining McCloud soldiers turned and ran.
Andronicus watched, waiting to see what would happen, if the shield would somehow come back up.
But to his amazement, his men were fine. They kept charging, all the way across the bridge, and onto the McCloud side of the Ring. They continued charging, standing firmly on McCloud soil.
Safe.
The shield was down.
Andronicus smiled, happier than he’d ever been in his life. He drew his sword, and charged with them. He blended with the stampede, and he killed some of his own men on the way across the bridge, just for fun. He felt like a little boy again.
In moments he landed himself on the McCloud side of the Ring, feeling the soil of the Ring beneath him for the very first time. It was a moment he had dreamed of his entire life. He could not believe it.
He was here.
Andronicus knelt down and felt the soil with his palms, as all his men rushed past him, then leaned over and kissed the earth.
He looked up and saw, on the horizon, the McCloud city.
He grinned, wider than he ever had in his life.
It was time to pay McCloud a visit.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
As Thor rode back for King’s Court, Gwen on the horse behind him, Reece, O’Connor, Elden and the twins riding alongside them, he felt weary but overflowing with gratitude. The second sun was setting and they all rode at a comfortable trot into the magnificent sky. Thor felt beyond weary, every muscle in his body hurting, as if he had just been through a war.
But having Gwen with him, feeling her hands clutch his chest, her cheek resting against his back, took all of his weariness away. Having her with him made him feel that all was right in the world. He was beyond grateful that she was alive, that she had not been injured, that the Nevaruns had never had a chance to have his way with her. He was grateful that they had survived the encounter, and that he had been able to save her-and that she had saved his life. He felt as if all of his prayers had been answered.
As they rode back towards King’s court, Thor felt triumphant, but also the sting of tragedy, as he thought of their three Legion brothers who had died in battle, whose corpses they carried home now, slung over the back of their horses. And while on the one hand he felt like a returning hero, he also felt a sense of apprehension, as he did not know what they were returning to. After all, it was Gareth, the still lawful king, who had arranged for Gwen to be taken away-and it was to Gareth’s court that they were returning. Gareth was increasingly unhinged, that much was clear, and now that there was a full-fledged rift between The Silver and these new men Gareth had brought in, the tension had never run so high. It felt as if King’s Court was on the verge of a civil war, and that all that was needed was a spark. And as Thor charged back towards the place with Gwendolyn, in defiance of Gareth’s orders, he could not help but feel as if maybe he carried that spark.
Thor braced himself. He was too weary for another battle now. But that might be just what he was walking into.
Thor knew that Gwendolyn and the others had to either find a way to depose Gareth, or that they all had to flee King’s Court for good and find a new home, setup a new court elsewhere. It was not safe here anymore.
As they neared King’s Court, Thor knew that the first place they had to go was the Hall of Arms, to meet up with the Legion and see whichever soldiers were currently here. He knew that many of them, like Kendrick, were still stationed in the field, rebuilding and refortifying the Ring. But several fine warriors, including Kolk and Brom, were still stationed here-and Godfrey was here, too, their best hope at finding the proof they needed to indict Gareth.
As Thor and his men trotted through the open plaza of King’s Court, crowds of onlookers gathered, watching the ragtag group in wonder, and Thor could feel the stares, feel word already beginning to spread. He knew it was only a matter of time until word of their arrival reached Gareth and his men, and he turned sharply towards the hall and doubled his pace. He needed to rendezvous with them before anything happened.
Thor and the others entered the plaza before the Hall of Arms, and several members of the Legion and The Silver were milling around outside of it and looked up at them in surprise as the group rode in on their horses, covered in blood, wounded from the battle. One of the Legion members called out, and soon many more came rushing over, as Thor and the others dismounted.