Elysia lifted her hands into the air and summoned another storm in the sky. Lightning crackled and struck down, taking out several Emberguard as they advanced. I positioned myself in front of her as a group of Emberguard quickly approached us. The one in front tried to shoot a wave of fire, and I countered with one of my own, causing them to collide and explode between us. As soon as the smoke dissipated, I ran forward, jumping through the haze. I took out the first one with my spear before drawing my sword and making short work of the other two.

  I glanced toward where I had last seen the Warden but he was not there. I scanned the battlefield trying to spot him but was interuppted."Ryker, let's go. Follow me!" I turned to see Varek retreating back toward the wall, where the rest of the surviving Stormkin were already heading. "That's right, run away, cowards!" I heard one of the Emberguard yell. I quickly followed him and Elysia as they made their way through a small cut in the debris to the inner courtyard.

  "Why are we running?!" I yelled.

  Varek lifted his hand, silencing me. "Everyone gather around," he ordered. I noticed we were down to about thirty Stormkin at this point. I scanned the group and was relieved to see that everyone in Varek’s squad had survived to this point.

  Varek spoke quickly. "The only way in is through that cut we just came through. The Warden's forces still outnumber us three to one. If we stay here, we can take them out one by one as they enter." I glanced back at the cut, then at Varek. I had to give it to him—his battlefield tactics were exceptional. He pointed to the twins, Orin and Seris. "You two, watch our back. Everyone else, form up in front of that cut. Wait until they’re all the way through before engaging—we don’t want the rest of them to know they’re walking into a trap."

  The men nodded and took their positions in front of the entrance. Elysia stood toward the back and raised her hands to the sky once more, summoning another thunderstorm. I watched as the sky darkened again, and lightning struck just beyond the wall. One by one, the Emberguard entered, and one by one, they were struck down as the Stormkin killed them, making skilled thrusts with their spears.

  The bodies of the Emberguard began piling up as they entered the courtyard, only to be met with death. Soon, the Emberguard’s entry became less frequent, and eventually, it stopped. The air grew eerily silent as we all waited in suspense. I turned to Varek, who was still focused on the small entrance.

  "Is that it?" I asked.

  He shook his head. "I think they figured out what we’re up to."

  Then, I heard the sounds of the catapults being launched again. Without thinking, I rushed through the cut.

  "Ryker, wait!" I heard Elysia yell as I emerged on the other side, immediately blasted by a powerful wave of fire. It knocked me back against the wall. Struggling to my feet, I lifted my shield to block the onslaught of attacks from several Emberguard. There were around fifty of them, all waiting for me. I desperately blocked and dodged as swords and blasts of fire slammed into my shield.

  It was too much all at once. My shield crumbled apart when a sword hit it directly, splitting it into pieces. The soldier raised his sword for a final strike, and I quickly thrust my spear through him. Slamming my arm back, I unleashed a wall of fire, followed by several bolts of lightning. The guards closest to me were knocked back, giving me a moment to regain my composure.

  I charged with my spear at the ready, swiftly taking out six of the Emberguard in quick succession as they struggled to their feet. A notification popped up in my vision, but I blinked it away and continued my attack. The guards rushed me, and I shot several bolts of lightning at them, causing them to fall and convulse on the ground. I kept this up as the Emberguard took a defensive posture, quickly backing away from me.

  Suddenly, lightning shot at them from behind me, and I turned to see the Stormkin had followed me out. They took positions at my sides, and Varek yelled out a command. "Send them to their ancestors, men."

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  With that, we charged in and after intense fighting the Emberguard all lay slain at our feet. We all took a moment to catch our breath, but it was short-lived as Orin and Seris shouted, "Several Emberguard are approaching us from the rear!"

  I scanned the area and saw a large opening to the side of the wall, where most of the Emberguard force was piling through. It seemed that after they figured out our plan, they sent most of their forces to flank us while a small group stayed behind to guard against our escape.

  I turned, scanning the battlefield, and saw the Warden still next to the catapult, with only a handful of soldiers around him. I took a defensive stance and waited for the Emberguard to emerge from behind the wall.

  "You and Elysia go after the Warden. We'll stay and handle this," Varek said, lowering my spear with his hand and taking a position in front of me.

  "There's at least one hundred of them. You're going to need my help," I pleaded, but Varek ignored me, still focused.

  The rest of his squad took positions at his side, and Draken smiled and nodded at me."We got this Ryker, go and kick the Wardens ass, we will deal with these stupid Emberdorks."

  I hesitated as I watched the Emberguard pouring out from behind the walls and rushing toward our position. Elysia grabbed my arm and started pulling me in the opposite direction.

  "Come on, Ryker, let’s end this."

  We both started running toward the Warden, and I turned back to see Varek and his squad bravely fighting the Emberguard. Lightning bolts were shooting in all directions, and they seemed to be holding their ground.

  Elysia glanced at me. "They’ll be fine."

  We continued on, and as we approached the giant catapult, we stopped short. Elysia summoned another thunderstorm, and the rain began pouring down, quickly extinguishing the fire on the massive ball.

  The Warden turned around and looked in our direction. He pointed his finger at us, and the remaining Emberguard around him charged toward us.

  I quickly turned to Elysia. "Keep that storm going, and I’ll deal with these guys."

  There were ten of them. I brandished my spear in one hand and my sword in the other. As they approached, I cast lightning bolts that hit their metal armor and froze them in place as they convulsed. I then rushed in ending them quickly. It was only about thirty seconds of fighting before the last one standing stopped and dropped his weapons, putting his hands up. He quickly took off his helmet revealing that he was Haralds son Jorik.

  I motioned for him to move out of the way and as he started the Warden did a quick swing of his sword decapitating him. I watched as his body fell to the ground lifeless and The Warden shook his head. "Traitor."

  A twisted smile came across his face as he casually walked over to me. A bolt of lightning came down from the storm but he lifted his shield deflecting it. He focused his gaze on Elysia and I placed myself between them staring at the Warden as intensly as I could.

  "You really think you can kill me." He said. Elysia stopped her storm summoning and took a defensive stance next to me. The Warden continued.

  "You know, I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed. This whole time, I thought you were dead. Somehow, you managed to recruit Stormkin to aid you in overthrowing me and taking power for yourself."

  I shook my head in disgust. "You think this is about power?"

  The Warden threw his hands up. "What else would this be about? My war with the elves has nothing to do with you. You could have lived your life somewhere else, away from all of this, but you chose to raise an army and try to take everything I’ve built away from me."

  He tightened his grip on his sword and shield. "I won't let you interfere with my plans anymore."

  He charged at us with a downward sword thrust and I slapped it out of the way and returned a blow of my own.

  He slung his head back avoiding it and Elysia shot at him with a thrust of her spear. He blocked it with his shield and threw a wall of fire at her.

  I quickly threw one of my own and they collided with an explosion dissipating between them. I ran and jumped through the smoke with a spear thrust followed by a swing of my sword. He avoided both and then staggered back as Elysia hit him with a bolt of lightning.

  I followed up with several bolts of my own and he blocked them with his shield countering with another slash of his sword. I rolled to the side and he rushed toward Elysia.

  I quickly followed behind him as he slashed at her with his sword, she blocked the attacks with her shield but the Warden was much more powerful and the force of his blows knocked her to the ground.

  I stabbed at his back with my spear and he pinched it between his arm and his body and quickly spun around breaking my spear in half. I swung at him again with my sword and he leaned back as it swung by and then hit me hard with his shield sending me off my feet and onto the ground.

  I started to get up but he was quickly on top of me with his hands around my throat.

  I clawed at his hands trying to pry them off my throat but he was too strong. He smiled as he tightened his grip. "This time I'm going to watch you die."