CHAPTER 7
Braith held the torch that Jack handed him as he waited for his brother to ignite it. They were gathered on the hill, thousands of men and women, vampire and human, working together for the same cause. He’d never thought that he’d see the day, let alone that he would be the one leading the charge to defeat the king, but life was never what he expected it to be and all the surprises were what made the pain all the better. As long as he got Aria back.
“Will Melinda know we’re coming?” he asked Ashby.
“I’m sure the flames will tip her off,” Ashby muttered.
“Let’s hope so.”
The heat from the torch licked against his skin and warmed the side of his face. With a flick of his wrist he tossed it into the stack of wood they had gathered at the top of the hill. They were nearly to the edge of town when the scent of smoke began to fill the air and the first shout went up. His vision improved a little the closer they moved toward the palace. He lit another torch and tossed it into a stack of crates next to the bar, the only building that still showed signs of life at this late hour. Jack and Gideon lit two more torches and tossed them into the hay piled near a store. Fire licked up the buildings, sparks shot high into the sky as more screams and shouts of warning filled the air.
People blinked against the sleep clinging to them as they emerged from their houses. The glow of the fire lit their glossy eyed and slack jawed features as they gazed around them. Others scurried frantically around the street as they tried to get their bearings in the pandemonium. He saw some of his father’s soldiers amongst the growing fire, but they were too flustered by the flames and trying to put them out, to worry about what or who had started them. Braith turned away from the town and slid back into the cool serenity of the woods.
He rejoined David, Frank and the remaining humans. Saul, Calista, and Barnaby were already leading the first wave of humans and vampires to the main gate. David, Frank, Jack, and Ashby would lead the second group to the palace gates shortly. It would take a lot of force to get the gates open, but Braith was hoping they could take them down swiftly from within, once he found Aria. If they could get to the king quickly many lives would be saved. The king’s soldiers would fall apart if their leader was brought down. Their numbers weren’t as strong as his father’s but they had the element of surprise and determination on their side.
He clasped hands with Jack and patted him briefly on the back as he wished him luck. David embraced his sons; the three of them huddled together, talking in subdued tones as they hugged each other again. David had wanted to go inside after Aria, be he had agreed it was best for him to lead the rebel humans that were still a little uncertain about the truce with the vampires. Though all he wanted was to be inside that palace, Braith waited while they said their goodbyes. Aria would kill him if she knew he had rushed this moment when it could be their last together.
When they were ready, Daniel and William followed him as they split off from the others, and headed into the lower lying woodland with the soldiers in tow. He’d chosen vampires from the outer towns for this mission; they knew the woods better, and were far more adept at moving through them quietly, than the occupants of The Barrens. Keegan plodded soundlessly at his side, he’d tried to get the wolf to stay in the woods, with his newfound life, but his old companion stuck to him like a tenacious burr.
William and Daniel stayed at his side, as silent and fleet as their sister as they moved through the woods. But then, if Xavier’s suspicions were right, they would be. They had also all been raised in the woods, Braith reminded himself as he slid down the side of a small hill. They were at home in the forest, comfortable and assured in their environment; at one with it. He’d yet to see either of them exhibit quite the same abilities as their sister, but then again not many people wanted to run and jump through trees like Aria did. He also hadn’t spent anywhere near the same amount of time with her brothers as he had with her.
The closer they got to the palace, the more acute his vision became. His skin tingled with excitement, with need; they were getting closer to her. Though he could see better, it still wasn’t his strongest sense. Closing his eyes, he tuned his other senses into the world around him. All the smells and scents that drifted over him were familiar. He sensed nothing around him other than the normal creatures that stirred in the night.
He heard the river moments before the fresh scent of water washed over him. The muted croak of frogs filled the air, a small splash alerted him to the fact that the fish were jumping after the bugs. He slid down another hill, but this one was the river embankment. Holding up a hand, he waited as the soldiers gathered around him. He listened to the sounds of the night before continuing onward.
The frogs continued to croak, but a few jumped into the water as he waded into the shallows of the river. Keeping his feet planted firmly on the river bottom, he moved unerringly through the cool water as it reached his waist. The men followed behind him, what little sounds they made Braith was certain could be passed off as fish and frogs.
There was a dip in the river that most wouldn’t have noticed but Braith took it as a sign to climb back out. He didn’t require his eyes to know they had reached the mountain the palace had been carved into a hundred years before the war even started. Though it had been risky to undertake such a huge project, his father had refused to be swayed from his decision to create a home fit for a king, even if he hadn’t been one at the time. Braith realized belatedly that his father had built it in order to have more security for the war.
He climbed over three rocks before arriving at a large boulder set against the side of the mountain. Grasping hold of the side of the boulder, his shoulders bunched and heaved as he started to lift the ten foot tall and six foot wide rock out of the way. It creaked and groaned as it slid to the side, revealing the small tunnel he had carved into the mountainside. He hadn’t created the tunnel because he’d thought that he would one day be attempting to take down the king, but because he’d expected the king to try and kill him after he had been blinded. Just to be on the safe side, Braith had spent almost two months carving this tunnel from his apartment to the river that flowed from the palace’s interior. He was certain the other tunnels within the palace would be guarded or blocked now, but he didn’t think this one would have been detected.
He wiped the sweat from his brow as he set the boulder back down and took a step back. William let out a low whistle. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
“You already have a time or two.”
William quirked an eyebrow as he chuckled. “Runs in the family I’m told.”
“That it does,” Braith agreed.
His eyes began to pick up details of the tunnel from the little bit of light that filtered in behind him as the soldiers followed him into the dark and dank cavern. He turned sideways through the twists and turns created within the areas that had been easier for him to carve through. At seventy two paces he knew it was time to start crawling. He pulled his glasses off and tossed them aside, they would only get in his way from here on out. Keegan went in front of him as he eased onto his knees and worked his way into the confining tunnel.
Using his fingers and toes, he pulled himself up through the rock tunnel as he pushed Keegan before him. The faint drip of water reached him; the cool walls dampened his thin clothing and caused it to cling to his skin. The passageway became more difficult to navigate as it became steadily steeper in its upward slope. Stones that were knocked lose clattered against the tunnel sides as they fell away. The men behind him were not as quiet as they had been in the river, but he hadn’t expected them to be, not in here. Thankfully though, their grunts and scrapes were muffled by the rock of the mountain.
At the count of three hundred and two, he knew that the tunnel was going to give way. He placed his hands on each side of the opening and pulled himself into the wider space. The air flow was better here, and a slight breeze cooled his sweat slicked body. His body began to pulse with the anticipation of seeing her as he moved quickly down the passageway.
After another sixty seven steps he arrived at the wall. Taking a moment to steady himself, he gathered full control of his senses as he tried to rein in the excitement tearing through him. He placed his hands against the wall and pressed an ear to it. Most of the other tunnels had small eyeholes to look out of, but there had been no reason to create one here.
He strained to hear, strained to sense if there was anything out there. His body stilled, for a moment there was nothing around him as he opened himself to the world beyond and tried to absorb the details of it. There was no way to know for sure, but he didn’t pick up the presence of anything other than the bodies surrounding him.
Stepping back, he pulled down the lever he had created. The back of the bookcase gave way with a small groan that set his teeth on edge. He was prepared for a fight as he stepped into the ruined library that used to be his. His vision flooded back to him, nearly as acute as if she were beside him again.
***
“How far can you shoot that thing?” Jack inquired.
David’s smile was grim but his green eyes sparkled. “How far do you need me to shoot it?”
“Over the top of that wall.” Jack lit the rag tied around the tip of the arrow and took a step back.
“I didn’t know you planned to burn the palace down.”
“I don’t, but I do intend for them to open those gates and smoking them out seems like a good way to start that process. Fire when ready.”
David leaned back on his heel, raised the bow and fired the arrow. It soared high into the air and hovered for a moment before falling into the abyss beyond. “Another!” Jack called loudly as exhilaration filled him. More cloth was brought forth to wrap the tips of the arrows in. Jack eagerly lit them as David and five of his followers began to fire them rapidly over the wall.
The flames spit and sparked as the arrows became a dazzling source of illumination against the dark night sky. For a disconcerting moment the sparks reminded him of the flickering glow of fireflies on a hot summer day. The association seemed completely out of place amidst the death and mayhem surrounding them, but he couldn’t shake the hope it brought with it.
Shouts rang out from inside the palace walls; more soldiers disappeared from the walls to handle the spreading fires that now leapt up the other side of the wall. Ten vampires ran past him, the trunk of one of the large trees they had chopped down was hefted between them. They were at full speed when they smashed into the solid gates of the palace with the tree.
They fell back beneath the force of the blow and another group raced past to batter the entrance with another massive tree. More yells rang out from within the fortress and the mass outside was forced to fall back from the onslaught of deadly arrows that rained down from the sky. They’d tried to gather as much armor as they could before attacking, but metal was scarce, most vampires were bare and the humans weren’t in much better shape. Cries erupted from the group as humans and vampires were brought down by the projectiles. The copper tang of blood mixed heavily with the smoke and ash swirling about them.
Behind him the flames of the town caused sweat to bead along his neck and wet his shirt. People raced about, screaming and shouting as they tried to make sense of the chaos engulfing their town. The soldiers that had been guarding the town were beginning to regroup as they prepared to launch an attack from the back, but the fire had cut off any chance the soldier’s would have of escaping or trying to lay a trap for them if they were forced to retreat.
He’d always suspected Daniel was a genius, now he was certain of it as the flames continued to spread and cause chaos.
“Ashby, we need men behind us!” he called.
Ashby glanced at him from around a wave of arrows raised to fire another round. Ashby took a step back from setting them on fire to peer down at the town below. He nodded briskly before gesturing toward Calista and Barnaby. They took some of the militia with them as they pushed toward the back of the group, preparing to take on the soldiers that were still gathered at the bottom of the hill.
Jack didn’t like the fact their attention was now divided, but they’d known that the guards in the town wouldn’t be distracted by the fires forever. He could only hope they’d bought Braith enough time to have entered the palace already, and that the other soldiers would soon be making their way inside after him. Jack was distracted by an echoing shout, and a loud bang as another tree rammed into the gates.
“Fire!” Jack shouted.
Another wave of arrows rained down from above as answering flames soared into the air. Jack jumped to the side in time to barely avoid being taken out by one. David grunted beside him and fell back as an arrow pierced through his shoulder. Jack grabbed for him but his hand was knocked aside as an arrow shot through the center of it. A hiss escaped him; his teeth clenched together as he snatched hold of the shaft and ripped it from his hand in one sharp, jerking motion.
He had no time to coddle the injury though, no time to staunch the blood flowing from it as he grabbed hold of David and pushed him back from the onslaught of fresh arrows. David’s face twisted as his lip curled, but he managed to reach up and break the tail end of the arrow off. “I’m fine!” he yelled at Jack over the rising noise of the battle. “It’s just bone.”
Jack nodded but took the bow from him. Even if it wasn’t a mortal wound, there was no way David was going to be able to fire anything over top of the wall. Jack took up the stance that David had taught him and placed an arrow against the bow. With a trembling hand David was able to ignite the cloth for him.
Raising it up, he aimed the arrow over the wall but failed miserably as it bounced off the top of the battlements and spiraled back to the ground. He cursed angrily as David shook his head and lit another arrow for him. “Put some of that vamp strength behind this one Wimpy.”
Jack scowled at him but he leaned back and fired the arrow with a lot more force. This time it cleared the high walls and sailed into the courtyard of the palace. “Back away!” someone shouted as a sudden influx of soldiers lined the walls.
The troops outside the gates fell back as a fresh wave of arrows cascaded down upon them. A ferocious shout rose up from the back. Jack had to strain to see over the sea of heads surrounding him as he turned to look behind him. More soldiers had filtered out from the alleys and homes that weren’t yet on fire within the town. Jack suspected that much like the tunnel that only Braith knew about, there were also a few that only the king did, and he had used one of them to establish more of his troops secretly within the town.
From the back, his father’s soldiers released a loud battle cry as they charged up the hill. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Jack realized they were pinned in between the soldiers behind, and the soldiers above as more arrows were released upon them.