As we huddled together, trying to stay as low as possible, I was the first to speak. "We need to do something now."

  Varek raised his hand, signaling for me to remain calm. "The worst thing we can do right now is rush into battle with no plan," Elysia added.

  I impatiently tapped my hand on my knee as we waited for the other senior officers to gather around us. When the last one arrived, Elysia spoke.

  "Given the situation we find ourselves in, I believe the best approach is a surprise attack on the Warden and his forces. He doesn't know we’re here, and this spot is too open."

  She looked around at the men. One of them spoke up. "I think we should split our forces and circle around the castle, that way we can attack from both sides."

  Elysia shook her head. "There are too many of them. I don't want us divided. Plus, going around the castle will take at least half a day and risks us being spotted."

  They all thought for a moment before Varek spoke up. "What if we take the castle?"

  Everyone exchanged confused glances, and Varek continued, "Right now, the Warden and his army have a huge advantage. If anything goes wrong, they can retreat to the castle and regroup. But," he continued, "if we take the castle, they are cut off from escape, and we’re the ones in a fortified position, taking the advantage for ourselves. We breach the walls and set up a perimeter inside, keeping the non combatants away. If any of his guards are there, they’ll either be wounded or not frontline soldiers and will be easy to deal with."

  He lifted his head, scanning the area before crouching back down. "If we do this right, it will be the best surprise attack we could hope for. Given the disparity in numbers, we could take out at least half of his men before they even know what’s going on."

  I nodded and looked at Elysia. She thought for a moment before speaking. "That’s our plan."

  She turned to the senior soldiers. "Notify your men and be prepared to move out."

  They all hurried back to their squads, and Elysia patted me on the back. "We will stop them, I promise. Please just trust us." She then hurried to the rear of the army, and Varek raised his hand in the air, patting the top of his head. His squad quickly gathered around us.

  "Listen, men, our plan is to take the castle."

  Draken clenched his fist in excitement, and Aeris nudged him to pay attention.

  "Stealth is our primary goal. Move slowly and carefully, and make sure you stay concealed. If any of the Warden’s forces spot you, you’ll have just killed us all."

  The men nodded and crouched down a bit lower.

  "Follow me and Ryker and stay silent. We will regroup once we reach the wall."

  The men nodded again, and Varek raised his hand in the air, making a twirling motion with his fingers. The men seemed to understand and carefully moved back to their original positions.

  We waited a moment as each squad leader, one by one, gave the same hand signal. Once the last signal was given, Varek looked at me, then began moving on his hands and knees toward the castle walls.

  The next hour dragged on painfully. I tried to push it out of my mind, but the roaring of fire and the sound of trees burning and toppling made every fiber of my being want to stop it right then and there. However, I knew this plan was our best shot at winning. I listened to the clanking of metal armor and the shouting of orders being given, and a few times, I thought I heard the Warden himself shouting something. I was tempted to lift my head from the tall grass to see what was happening, but I refrained, remembering Varek’s warning not to be spotted. I kept low and stayed behind him as we inched forward.

  When we finally arrived, we came upon a couple of wooden houses with thatched roofs, standing between us and the walls. I tapped Varek's shoe, and he turned around to face me.

  "What are we going to do about the people that live here?" I whispered.

  He whispered back, "I doubt they’re still home. They’re probably inside the walls."

  I shook my head, and he stared at me, puzzled.

  "They’re called 'lessers.' They might not have been allowed inside. We need to check."

  He continued staring at me, still not understanding.

  "Trust me, check the buildings."

  He sighed and nodded. He raised his hand slightly and then held up a solid fist. The soldiers behind us stopped, and he motioned for me to follow him. Crouching, we quickly sprinted to the back of the building and listened through the walls. I heard nothing. Varek pointed to me and then to the other building. I nodded and quickly made my way over there, staying as low as I could.

  I pressed my ear to the wall, but all I could hear were the sounds of battle around me. I looked to Varek, and he pointed to the door of my building before drawing his spear and quickly entering his. I unsheathed my spear and shield, then burst into the building to find a young couple with a child staring back at me.

  "Who are you?" The man said, grabbing a kitchen knife and positioning himself in front of his wife and child.

  I quickly sheathed my spear and shield. "Shh, I’m not here to harm you," I whispered, raising my hands in a sign of peace.

  "Then why have you barged into my home with weapons in hand?" He shouted, and I immediately stepped toward him.

  "Please, be quiet," I said, hurrying over to him.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  He slashed at me with the knife and began screaming for help. I quickly jumped back before wrestling him to the ground, disarming him, and placing my hand over his mouth.

  "Please, I need you to be quiet," I pleaded as he fought against me.

  The woman screamed, and then Varek came rushing in. He ran over to the woman and child, grabbing them and sending electric shocks into their bodies. They shook uncontrollably before collapsing to the floor, limp.

  The man managed to free his mouth from my grasp and began screaming again. I quickly punched him, knocking him out cold.

  "What did you do?" I said, jumping to my feet.

  Varek put his finger to his lips and hurried to the door, peeking out. He scanned the area for a moment and then reached his arm out, giving a hand signal.

  I ran over to the woman and child. They were still breathing. Varek came back over to me.

  "They’ll be fine. They’re just unconscious," he said as he began dragging them to the back of the house.

  "Help me," he said, and I grabbed the man and followed him.

  We propped them up against the back wall, and then the rest of the squad entered the building.

  Varek stood up and addressed the squad. "Pass the word along. We need a guard for these three." The squad nodded, and Rynn quickly crouched down and exited the building.

  "What does that mean?" I asked.

  "We have a few men assigned to prisoner guard. One of them will wait here to make sure these three don't wake up and give us away. As soon as we begin our assault, they will join us."

  I looked down at the small family. "You're not going to hurt them, are you?"

  Varek shook his head. "Not if we can help it, we won't. Now, let's keep moving."

  He crouched down, and I followed as he peeked out of the door. We continued toward the wall, staying as low as we could. Once we arrived, everyone squatted down and leaned their backs against the stone.

  Varek gave a hand gesture, and Rynn pulled out a rope and grappling hook from a pack he carried on his back. He handed it to Varek, who took a quick peek at the battle still raging on before quickly throwing it and latching it to the side. He tugged the rope a couple of times, then began ascending to the top. I followed, along with the rest of the squad.

  When we reached the top, we quickly made our way down some stairs on the other side. There were no people around, and we seemed to be in a small corner with two alleyways leading out. Varek pointed to the two openings. Draken and Aeris ran to guard one, while the twins, Orin and Seti, guarded the other.

  "We need to wait here for the rest," Varek said, and I watched as soldier after soldier descended from the stairs.

  It took about half an hour for the rest of the army to arrive, and I took point with Varek and his squad. We formed up at one of the alleyways, and Varek stopped to address us before continuing.

  "Alright, listen up. We’re in hostile territory, but we need to maintain control of this area quickly. If we encounter enemy soldiers, don’t waste time. Kill them quickly and quietly. We don’t want to draw attention to our position. When we encounter civilians, order them to their homes. If anyone resists or panics, subdue them quickly but without causing harm. Once we’re in position, we need to launch our attack immediately. We only have one shot at this." The squad nodded in understanding. Varek stood to his feet and we rushed through the alleway and into the open market area.

  There were people wandering around, but not nearly as many as there had been the last time I visited. We marched with intention and authority. Varek and his men shouted commands at the civilians as we made our way through the streets. Everyone had intense lightning shooting in their eyes and that intimidation factor caused the citizens to run in fear. A couple of soldiers noticed us and ran over, weapons drawn. The twins made quick work of them with precise spear thrusts to the throat as we continued on.

  We stopped just in front of the large stone spire, and Varek pointed to the door. Several soldiers entered and began ascending to the top. I could hear the sounds of Emberguard being slain as they climbed. One at a time, Stormkin took position at the windows, looking out, while the rest of us hurried to the top of the wall. From here, we had a clear view of the battlefield, and I could see that the Warden and his army had made significant progress since we last surveyed them from the small hill.

  Elysia arrived and stood next to me. She turned around, checking in with all the leaders, and raised her hand in the air. She then turned to me.

  "When I drop my hand, hit them with everything you have."

  I nodded and faced the army. She checked behind her again to make sure everyone was ready and quickly dropped her hand.

  hundreds of bolts of lightning shot at the back of the army knocking them down in several groups at a time. Their metal armor seemed to be an excellent conductor and increased the damage done by the blasts. Dark and deadly looking stormclouds formed in the sky as a huge downpour fell on the army starving the fires and making the field a muddy mess. Lightning hit everywhere and the Emberguard started breaking formation running around in a panic.

  I scanned the soldiers until I spotted the familiar golden armor with a red cape moving across the battlefield. I aimed at him and unleashed lightning with all my strength. Then I turned to the others.

  "The one with the golden armor is the Warden!" I yelled, and several bolts of lightning shifted course, targeting him. He dodged, ducked, and blocked most of the strikes with his shield—until one bolt, descending from the sky, struck him directly. He collapsed to his knees, and I shouted again, "Keep it up! If we take him down, this battle is over!"

  The entire Stormpeak army focused their attacks on him. Every time he attempted to move, he was struck again. I saw several Emberguard rushing to his aid, but we made quick work of them. A glimmer of hope sparked within me—until the Warden managed to take cover behind one of the giant catapults.

  We continued our assault, blasting chunks of wood from the massive war machine. Elysia yelled a command, her voice ringing across the battlefield, "Keep up the pressure! We have him cornered!"

  Just then, giant flaming balls of fire shot into the air from behind the catapult, aimed directly at our position. The horrific sight was all too familiar. I quickly shouted a command: "Get to cover, now!"

  We rushed off the top of the wall and crowded beneath the arch of the drawbridge. Varek yelled, "Shields up!" We all obeyed as debris rained down all around us. Several of the Stormkin who weren’t fast enough were obliterated by the falling wreckage. I peeked my head out and saw the soldiers in the tower still casting lightning out onto the battlefield. The bombardment seemed to go on for several minutes before it finally stopped.

  Everyone slowly emerged from cover, cautiously inspecting the sky. Just then, fireballs began crashing into the large spire. They hit one after another, blasting chunks of stone into the air. The soldiers inside stopped casting lightning and desperately tried to make their way down the stairs, but it was too late. The spire groaned as it cracked apart, leaning toward the arch we were hiding under.

  Varek quickly grabbed Elysia and me by the arm and pulled us in the opposite direction. "Get out of there! Let’s go!" he yelled. As we ran, I turned my head just in time to see the massive structure plummeting to the ground. Several Stormkin were caught beneath it. We sprinted to the side, narrowly avoiding the crushing impact.

  The shockwave threw us off our feet, and I was launched to the ground. Dust and debris filled the air. As the dust slowly began to clear, I scanned the area and saw several injured Stormkin lying across the area. A few soldiers were still standing, desperately trying to help their fallen comrades.

  Varek helped me to my feet, and I saw Elysia standing beside him. He got into a defensive posture and simply said, "Get ready."

  I turned my gaze back to the battlefield, seeing the Emberguard swiftly advancing on our position, The Warden just watching from behind the catapult.