She fumbled a few more steps until she could steady herself against a boulder. Rikky and Wylan were the only two wards still consistently fighting. Skyve would make a few attacks, before seeming to zone out, and only return when Resh called his name or shook him. Terindi and Kae were huddled together, Terindi holding a wad of fabric to her bleeding leg, Kae’s eyes blank and staring. Ki kept going, sporadically, still looking as though he didn’t even know what he was doing.
Talea’s attention fell on Yhkon as he threw aside an empty quiver. Without meaning to, she let her gaze wander to the Elikwai, and watched in alarm as a Kaydorian managed to slip a sword through one of the gaps and thrust it into the abdomen of an Elikwai. The man fell backwards with a gurgled groan, dropping his hold on the shield. Just before the barrier would have been broken Yhkon dove forward, taking the man’s place. Only seconds later another Elikwai had to be replaced by Haeric. How much longer could they hold?
As if on cue, the formation broke. Wylan grabbed her and threw them both away from the Kaydorians, off the incline into a valley of sorts on the other side. She didn’t have time to so much as regain her balance before soldiers were flooding the valley. Wylan made an electrical blade in either hand and engaged, but she couldn’t simply stand behind and let him do all the fighting. There were too many for that. Two men passed him and came at her with blades swinging. Instinct brought a burst of energy from her fingers that dispatched both of them. The tip of a sword sliced across her arm, drawing a cry of surprise and pain from her lips. She made a rod of electricity and swung it wildly in the direction of the attack, feeling more than seeing it go through armor and muscle. She knew she was moving, scrambling to get away. There was nowhere to go. With her back against the canyon wall she had no choice except to face the battle.
Wylan was gone. Blocked from view by the swarm of soldiers. But somewhere he was fighting, a sword of pure energy in either hand.
That was what she had to do. Yhkon had trained her everyday for months, trained her to fight.
Her hands trembled, but she poured energy out into the form of a blade that crackled and glowed with power, just in time to meet the attack of three soldiers. It took mere seconds to take them down, because almost any contact with her electricity killed them. But there was a constant supply. For every Kaydorian she took down, there was another. There were too many. Minimal muscle memory and instinct could only keep her alive against such odds for so long. Everywhere around her was chaos and death. Every nerve in her body was tense with fear, making her movements choppy and less efficient. Sweat made her clothes stick to her skin, along with blood.
“Talea! Where are you?”
It was Yhkon! “I’m here! Over here!” Where was he? All she could see was silver and red, blurred and moving all around her. Now that she was looking beyond her immediate foes, however, she could see the occasional flare of light. At least some of the other wards were alive.
Her distraction was an opportunity for the Kaydorians. Something solid hit her chest, sucking the air from her lungs and leaving an aching pressure in its place. She fell backwards against the rock, mind reeling, stuck on one thought: she would die. A sword would plunge through her heart at any moment. There was nothing she could do about it, stuck in this time bubble.
A sword did plunge toward her heart. But another blocked it, the iron ringing sharply. She caught a glimpse of eyes that held a savage intensity, contrasting their icy blue. Yhkon smoothly engaged all the nearest Kaydorians and maneuvered them a few steps away, giving her a moment to recover. It also gave her a moment to watch him fight. In training, his movements were precise and flowing, effortless. In real combat, they were still that…as well as ruthless. It was a frightening mixture of skill and brutality.
Most of the soldiers went to him, whether because they thought he was the real challenge, or thought he would be easier without magical abilities, she didn’t know. Some still came after her. Yhkon positioned himself with his back to hers and her close to the wall, limiting how many men could reach her. Having him there, guarding her back and helping when she needed it, made it easier to focus. To let her mind rely on the training he had given her over the months. Parrying, dodging, striking. With the advantage of an electric weapon, it was enough to keep her going.
“Yhkon!” It sounded like Grrake, distant and smothered by the hectic din of the battle. “Ahjul needs help!”
Yhkon spoke just loud enough for her to hear, still fighting. “I need you to take down as many as possible. Can you do that?”
Can I? She nodded. He lunged at the nearest of their opponents, taking down three at once. It gave her the opening she needed to gather the energy in her core to her hands and release it, letting intuition determine its form. It traveled as a shimmering vertical wave several yards ahead of them before flattening, taking down almost two dozen men.
It took its toll. Where there had been a simmering power in her body, there was a drained weakness instead. Clumsily she followed Yhkon as he sprinted through the newly made path. They were just in time to see a sword leave a crimson trail along Wylan’s midsection. He faltered with a groan of pain. Yhkon joined the fray before the Kaydorians could press the opportunity, while Talea helped Wylan to his feet.
“Yhkon!” This time it was Ahjul’s voice, urgent.
Yhkon increased his efforts, taking down multiple of their adversaries, enough that he could briefly check that she and Wylan were alright, before starting to fight his way through the crowd toward Ahjul’s voice. “Talea, Wylan, stay together!”
A scream from Terindi and an inarticulate yell from Ahjul rose above the pandemonium. The Kaydorian force had been thinned considerably, allowing Talea to see them: Terindi had collapsed, dead or unconscious. Ahjul stood over her body, surrounded by soldiers, fighting desperately.
“No, go with him,” Wylan said between clenched teeth, stabbing a Kaydorian. She cringed, seeing again the reflection of electricity on iron, now burned black. “There’s too many for only Yhkon. Go, I’m fine!”
Talea ran after Yhkon, forcing the terror that surrounded her out of her mind. Save Ahjul and Terindi. That was all she could let herself think about. Not the pain and weariness that dragged at her body, not the friends that were still fighting, maybe dying, not the hundreds of dead bodies.
Yhkon had carved a trail through the field, bleeding Kaydorians marking the path. She had almost caught up to him as he reached the base of a small knoll, near the top of which Ahjul fought. The youngest Warden groaned as a sword cut deep into his upper arm, nearly severing it entirely. Yhkon shouted something, increasing his already reckless drive, no longer taking the time to dispatch the soldiers in his way, just barreling through as quickly as possible.
That left them in her way.
Several of them charged her. Talea made another blade and engaged, but she could tell her movements were becoming more sluggish. Somewhere in the blur of iron and bodies one of them breached her defenses. Pressure squeezed her stomach. It throbbed into an ache, while a strange fear sent a tingle down her spine and pricked her consciousness. More energy traveled from her core, through her arms, into the open air as an explosion of sparks. All five of the men attacking her fell or staggered away, groaning, clutching at their faces or arms where the energy had burned them.
Thoughts hazy, Talea kept going. Had to help Ahjul. But her legs…they were shaking, muscles drained of strength. Her whole body felt like a sponge wrung dry. The ache in her stomach was throbbing, gaining intensity. Stumbling to a halt, she looked down. All she could see through misty vision was red.