The Marenon Chronicles Collection

Chapter Eleven





Julian, Inga, and Daewyn knelt beside a tree with the three sarians sitting low behind them. Jekyll Rock would only be about a minute’s flight away, but they weren’t sure if flying would be the wisest choice anymore.

“Did either of you know there was an army of that size headed for Jekyll Rock?” Julian asked them.

The other two said nothing, but no answer was actually needed. Of course they didn’t. In fact, the Dunarians might not have even known about it until now. The next thought struck Julian like a bolt of lightning. The Dunarians might have seen the enemy coming if he hadn’t taken the medallions from them. The thought made him sick to his stomach. Kaden would have thought about this too.

“It’s not too late to help them,” Julian said. “But how, I’m not so sure.”

Inga cleared her throat.

“How long can you hold the invisibility?” he asked her.

“I’m starting to become good at it,” she said. “We just have to stay near each other.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Daewyn said behind them.

Julian turned slightly and shook his head. “You aren’t coming with us.”

Inga and Daewyn both looked at Julian with bewildered expressions.

“Excuse me?” Daewyn said.

“All you want is someone’s life,” Julian explained. “You aren’t here to help in any way.”

Daewyn stood from his kneeling position and the other two did the same. “You should really think about what you’re doing, King Julian Hobbes,” the Erellen said.

“I have thought about it. I thought about it the entire flight here.”

“I will be king over Elysium someday. I will remember those who helped me and those that betrayed me.”

Julian smirked at him. “Your father knows what you did. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t leave his throne up for election. Besides, I probably won’t be king when that time comes anyway.”

Daewyn stared at Julian and Inga with narrowed eyes. “Humans,” he said in a bitter tone. “What’s to stop me from going into Jekyll Rock by myself?”

Julian glanced back at the battle, then to the Erellen. “Be my guest,” he said. “We’ll see if you can find Lorcan in all that mess. Or survive the walk to the city for that matter.”

Julian whistled for the sarians to join them, and he nodded to Inga. When the two of them mounted the birds, he felt the icy breeze of invisibility wisp around him. Daewyn could no longer see them nor the three sarians.

“I’m sure you can find the way back to Elysium from here,” Julian called out. “Maybe you should get a horse first.”

Daewyn cursed him in the Erellen tongue, but Julian barely heard it. They were already flying to Jekyll Rock.

*****

BOOM!

The Nestorians hammered the east gate with a heavy battering ram. Silas’ staff had remained a bow and arrow since the horde of enemies had come screaming toward the city. Kaden stood near him, looking through a scope to try and find the leader among them.

“Yeah, Mintuk is holding the Humans back,” he yelled to Silas.

Silas trained his arrow on another Nestorian soldier.

“He’s waiting to use the Soldiers of the Dead after the gate comes crashing down,” Kaden said.

Silas released an arrow, which allowed another to appear out of thin air into his right hand. He took a second to look out over the sea of soldiers. None of the ground was visible under the moonlit sky – only angry combatants.

Line after line of Dunarian soldiers shot into the army without knowing where their arrows hit. Each shot probably took down an enemy, but it didn’t seem to matter. Silas was at least thankful to have the mountain fortress at their backs so they weren’t completely surrounded. Eventually though, even the mountain wouldn’t help them.

BOOM!

A large group of Dunarian soldiers pushed against the wooden supports that held the city gate, trying to keep the enemy out as long as possible. Silas could hear Darius shouting encouragement to his fighters to hold strong.

Because of the limited number of arrows, most of the Dunarian soldiers were forced to stand and wait. Silas was at least happy to have something to keep him occupied as he aimed at the Nestorians pushing the battering ram. But he wished there was more he could do besides just shooting arrows.

BOOM!

Following the boom, a loud crack resounded through the city. The barrier was beginning to break.

Not much longer now, Silas thought.

That’s right, the voice sounded in his mind. All of you are so close to death.

Silas threw down his staff and dropped to his knees, holding his ears tightly. He could barely hear Kaden running to him, asking him if he had been hit by something.

“Get out!” Silas screamed. “How can you do this from so far away?”

Shouting will do nothing for you. I am here to stay.

Silas wished he could pound the noise out of his head, but he knew physical treatment would do no good. Somehow, Hroth had access to his mind. Silas took a deep breath, ignoring Kaden’s questions.

Silas would just have to talk back.

You know this is your last day, Hroth continued.

I know, Silas thought back. But at least I will have fought to the end. At least my existence will have meant something!

How did you come to that conclusion? How will you mean anything when you have died, crushing the hope of those whom you have promised to deliver? You know you will die, Silas. You will die, and your life will have been for nothing.

Silas stood calmly. He gave Kaden a nod to let him know he was all right. Silas bent down and picked up his staff and it changed to a bow and arrow.

CRACK!

The east gate had been broken. The Nestorians would try one more time to break through completely. Darius sounded a horn from below, signaling all but the last few archers to join them in the fight that was sure to come within a moment or two.

My servant Mintuk is about to destroy your precious Dunarians.

Silas ran down the stairs to the bottom of the wall and toward the east gate to join the others. Kaden was next to him, probably thinking of how he could have done things differently to prevent this day. Silas moved as though his thoughts weren’t clouded with the voice.

You killed Maroke. You killed Saul. But we have recovered. You are now witnessing the beginning of the end of Humanity in Marenon. I now have no reason to speak with you, Silas Ainsley.

It was almost like a headache that suddenly vanished into the air, giving him sweet relief. Hroth’s taunting words were no doubt true, but Silas wouldn’t let it keep him from fighting the enemy to his fullest potential.

He looked around him, seeing his friends. Part of him wished Inga were there, though he was glad she wouldn’t face the same death as he. But she would have been invaluable this night.

CRASH!

The battering ram broke through the wood, splitting it into thousands of pieces. At first, everyone expected to see a flood of soldiers coming in, but this didn’t happen. The exposed Nestorians were quickly shot down, but the others dragged the battering ram out of the path and away from the broken gate.

No Dunarian moved as Darius held up his sword, commanding all of them to hold position. There seemed to be a dead silence from the other side of the gate. Dunarian soldiers looked at each other, asking one another what was taking so long.

A bowman from the top of the wall let them know. “They’ve opened up a path from the gate to the back of their ranks!” he yelled.

“Mintuk is making the Humans charge first,” Kaden said in realization. He walked next to Darius at the front of the steadied Dunarians.

“Dunarians!” Kaden shouted. “The Soldiers of the Dead are charging first! I know these are Humans, and they look like you and me. But be assured, they are already dead! Feel no remorse in striking them. Cut them down like you would any Stühoc! Show no mercy, for you will be given none!”

The end of his order came with the increasing sound of grunts and moans. The Soldiers of the Dead were coming.

Silas couldn’t help but cringe when he heard the charging dead. He looked back and caught a glimpse of Coffman, Alric and Nalani. Earlier that day, Coffman had told him about how these people had been changed. The three of them had been there when the transformation took place. They had stood in front of the weapon, a glowing sphere that sucked the souls out of Humans, killing them instantly. The one in control could then command their dead bodies, and have them follow any order.

They now followed Mintuk and were instructed to devour the Dunarians.

They poured through the destroyed opening of the east gate like bees out of a hive, not caring about the others around them. Their skin had begun to pale, and their feet were bloodied from the endless running without shoes.

Silas was surprised to see how easily they could be taken down. None of them possessed any weapons, but their ability to overwhelm seemed effective.

Biting, thrashing, clawing their way through the first line of Dunarians, the Soldiers of the Dead never let up.

Silas’ staff had changed to a broadsword, allowing him to cut through anything that came at him.

One hundred or more Dunarians fell, but Darius was able to make them regroup and form an effective wall against the undead fighters. The Dunarian commander was a masterful leader, orchestrating his troops to maneuver in such a way as to limit their casualties.

Silas somehow found his way to the front of the line. Three of the dead came at Silas with brutal force, but a quick slice was all he needed to bring them down. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kaden who had been surrounded by a large group of them.

Spinning and swinging, Kaden was holding his own against the unskilled fighters, but they kept coming at him as if his death was their ultimate goal.

As he charged, Silas wondered if Mintuk had indeed instructed the undead to attack the leaders of the group first. He didn’t know how it was possible, but he didn’t put anything past the enemy.

He smashed into the group surrounding his friend, blood flying in all directions as he and Kaden swung liberally. The piles of bodies created steep mounds as each was dispatched one-by-one.

Silas’ weapon changed from sword to arrow to sword again, proving the staff knew the best defenses.

The undead seemed to charge in for hours, without an end in sight. The Dunarians had not lost too many of their good soldiers, but they were tired. Silas knew this had to be the enemy’s plan. Once the Dunarians could barely stand, they would be faced with an opponent who actually possessed the skill to think and fight with their own instincts. First, the undead would wear them down, then the Stühocs and Nestorians would come.

Silas found that as long as he stayed alert, the Soldiers of the Dead could not take him down. Their fighting technique was predictable and easy to counter. But more and more, as the troops began to weaken and tire, the fighting dead were able to overcome even the sharpest sword.

In several instances, Silas saw a man or a woman tackled to the ground, only to be jumped on by ten more mind-controlled Humans. They never stayed on a body for too long either. Once their enemy lay lifeless on the ground, they would move on to the next victim. Then the next.

Silas’ sword changed into a shield more often as the enemy grew in number. Everywhere he looked bodies and blood covered the ground. He finally heard Kaden call out for him to break away from the fighting and meet him at the top of the east wall.

Silas followed his leader up a large flight of stairs, though not without taking down several of the ravenous Humans. When he finally joined Kaden at the edge of the wall, the man pulled him aside to the corner, out of view from the fighting. He held an arm against Silas’ shoulder and wiped the sweat from his brow as he glanced over the wall at the enemy.

“The Stühocs are in line behind the Soldiers of the Dead,” Kaden said.

“Why did you call me up here?” Silas asked, trying to catch his breath. “We should be helping the others.” He tried to push by Kaden, but the man grabbed him by the cloak and shoved him hard against the stone wall.

“I’m fulfilling my last duty in The Reckoning,” Kaden said.

Silas gave him a confused stare, waiting for the man to continue.

“I want you to head down to Marenon’s Map. It’s completely secure.”

Silas shook his head vigorously. “No.”

“Silas, don’t argue with me. I swore to protect you and help you become the one you were prophesied to be. I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you about your meeting with the Gatekeeper, so that means only you and Inga know how to finish what was started.”

“Kaden, I don’t want to leave these people! What am I supposed to do, stay below Jekyll Rock? For how long?”

“There is a way out,” Kaden assured him. “It’s in one of the rooms down there behind a bookshelf. I haven’t actually used it in a long time. Your grandfather, Garland, showed it to me many years ago, and you can use it to get out of here.”

“I don’t feel right about leaving all of you behind,” Silas said.

“It doesn’t matter how you feel,” Kaden answered him. “You have a responsibility to finish this. And you can’t do that here!”

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. Would this be the last time they ever saw each other? Silas hated the thought. But Kaden was right, and the man didn’t even know that there was a possibility that Silas could die in all of this.

He reached out a hand and placed it on Kaden’s shoulder, not knowing what to say to someone who probably wouldn’t survive the night.

“Just go, Silas.”

Silas did as he said, refusing to look back at him. It wasn’t fair for anyone else that Silas had a chance to live through the night.

Several Soldiers of the Dead stepped in front of him before he made it to the fortress at the end of the wall, but they fell easily enough.

He opened the nearest door and slipped in without notice. His sword turned into the original polished staff, showing he was safe from harm. The last sound he heard from the outside was the screaming Stühocs charging in to finish off the Dunarians.

If only I had the six medallions, Silas thought, then the enemy wouldn’t stand a chance.