Heart of Black Ice

CHAPTER 80

The smell of blood, sweat, and dust combined into a powerful and, for Zimmer, all-too-familiar odor. Though sickening, the smell also fired the blood in his veins. It served as the fuel that kept him fighting.

Tanimura’s waterfront warehouses burned behind him, and the blaze had already spread to another block of large buildings. Bitter smoke mixed with the reek of burning goods from the dockside market.

As Zimmer squeezed his thighs to control his horse amid the mayhem, he could not count all the fallen D’Haran soldiers in the streets. A few more serpent ships ground up to the docks and released a new horde of wild barbarians. But Zimmer called the D’Haran army to shift their offensive. As a well-trained tactical commander, he knew that the ancient army of General Utros was a far greater threat than these chaotic Norukai. He directed his charge instead to meet the first lines of the invading ancient army.

He raised his sword and yelled from the saddle, “All cavalry! Bear the brunt of the enemy advance, break their momentum. After that, archers, foot soldiers, it will be your turn.”

The horse hooves clattered on the paved streets as they rushed toward the first division of the Utros army. One large force curved along the hills toward the Hagen Woods and the lower city, and Nicci and her enthusiastic militia fighters had gone to cut off the advance there. Another segment of the army, ten thousand or more under the banner of the veteran First Commander Enoch, marched directly toward the heart of the city.

Utros’s strategy was clear. They would overwhelm and hold the center of Tanimura, then spread conquering forces throughout the districts, while the Norukai continued to ravage the harbor and the waterfront.

Thorn and Lyesse sprinted just behind Zimmer. Even on foot, the two morazeth easily kept up with the cavalry riders. Thorn wasn’t even breathing hard as she called out, “Today is a day for much killing, General.”

Lyesse chuckled. “I am glad we do not have to hide in the bushes anymore. I much prefer a full fight!”

Gripping the hilt of his sword as he rode, Zimmer nodded to the two women. “You are welcome to cause as much mayhem as you like.”

On the other side of the city, General Linden had marched his large portion of the D’Haran army to meet another division of the ancient army. He remembered a dictum he had pounded into his soldiers when they faced impossible odds. “Every war is a succession of battles. Each battle is won after many fights, hand to hand, sword to sword, life to life.”

The D’Haran cavalry did not slow their charge as they careened into the ancient army. The enemy soldiers fought with an odd mixture of precision and abandon, and Zimmer recognized that something was not right about them. They seemed gaunter than the enemy he had fought at Cliffwall, more spent.

His foot soldiers and archers jogged behind the cavalry, maintaining the general shape of their ranks. Just ahead, Zimmer could see First Commander Enoch, a tall hardened veteran whose scarred face held the burden of countless battles. From his dappled mount, Enoch’s icy eyes locked on Zimmer’s and knew his true foe. Although Zimmer was young for his rank, he carried the weight of many battles as well.

As if their minds were connected, both commanders yelled a challenge at the same time, and the two men crashed together. Zimmer’s horse reared up, giving him height as he hacked down with his sword. His blade struck against the veteran’s chain mail, but Enoch parried, clashed his sword against his opponent’s. The older man surprised Zimmer by releasing the reins and grabbing a dagger in his other hand. He caught Zimmer in the side, cut into his leather armor, but only enough to scratch his ribs.

The screams, the impact of steel, the terrified snorts of horses, and the pounding of hooves swirled around him like tangible thing. Zimmer’s horse skittered sideways, and Enoch pressed in, his face filled with pinpoint concentration for the battle at hand. Zimmer wheeled his mount and used the saddle as a fulcrum for his attack. The two horses were like equine battering rams.

The line of D’Haran archers arrived behind the cavalry, nocking their arrows and launching a fusillade of projectiles over the heads of the front lines to shower down upon the ranks behind Enoch. Hundreds of enemy soldiers dropped, and the archers let fly as fast as they could nock and draw. D’Haran foot soldiers came behind the archers, hacking at any encroaching enemy warriors to protect the bowmen.

Oliver and Peretta each carried a large hunting knife, which was easier to wield than a sword. Never straying far from her two friends, Amber did her own fighting. The gifted young novices were not strong enough to unleash sweeping devastation like Nicci or Nathan, but they were clever and effective with their strikes. Together, they used their gift to work small, effective spells. With flickers of fire, they heated the hilts of the enemy swords, which made the yelping soldiers drop them in pain.

Peretta called out to her friends, “Intense fire is difficult to make, but we can use bright light instead. That’s easy. Blind them!”

Oliver grinned. “Yes, the flash spell!” He twisted his fingers and muttered the words he needed for focus. A burst of light blossomed directly before the eyes of an attacking soldier like an erupting star. The man slapped a hand to his eyes and stumbled into another soldier. Unable to see, he swung instinctively and stabbed his own comrade.

Triumphant, Oliver, Peretta, and Amber repeated their flash spell in the faces of other warriors.

Arabella and Mab, the only two Sisters of the Light still with Zimmer’s troops, were more formidable opponents. They rode on each flank of the main cavalry and hurled buffeting winds strong enough to stagger the enemy ranks.

“By the Creator, we have our work cut out for us,” Mab said.

A glowing female form swooped in over the advancing army, the pale shade of Utros’s dead sorceress. Shrieking with mad laughter, Ava’s spirit joined First Commander Enoch. Though intangible, Ava could still use the remnants of her gift to send disruptive waves through the D’Haran soldiers and spook their horses. Ava swooped directly through the mounts, terrifying them, and the panicked horses pawed at the air, wheeling sideways and colliding into one another.

Ava’s features transformed into the face of a gaunt demon with a wide, fang-filled mouth, her eyes sunken into dark hollows. The D’Haran soldiers slashed the air, their swords cutting harmlessly through her wispy form.

First Commander Enoch kicked his horse in the ribs and charged forward. Zimmer brought up his sword to parry the blow, but Enoch struck with all the might of his battle-hardened muscles. Suddenly a bright flash like a solar flare burst in front of Enoch’s face, blinding him. He grabbed at his eyes, too late to shield them from the dazzling burst.

Oliver, Peretta, and Amber cheered, then turned their unique attack upon other enemy soldiers.

Zimmer’s horse slammed into his opponent’s, hurling the old veteran from his saddle. Enoch landed and rolled before stumbling back to his feet, unable to see but sweeping his sword from side to side. Knowing that First Commander Enoch was his main foe, Zimmer swung out of his saddle and dropped to the ground. Enoch stabbed at the air as he struggled to see.

Nearby, Thorn and Lyesse fought with wild abandon, grinning wolfishly with a weapon in each hand. Spatters of blood flecked their skin. The scant black leather garments provided little protection, but neither morazeth needed it. They hacked from victim to victim, moving on to the next target even before the last one fell to the ground.

“Fourteen!” Thorn cried as she stabbed another man through the ribs.

“Sixteen for me,” Lyesse said. “You better catch up, sister.”

“We will take stock when the day is done.”

A giant-statured warrior loomed in front of Lyesse. Each of his biceps was larger than her head as he lifted a two-handed sword, but Lyesse slashed him across the stomach, then slid her blade through the gap in his thigh armor and into his groin. She dodged out of the way as the giant bleated like a sheep in the slaughter pen and crashed to the ground.

Ava’s spirit swooped in to terrorize Thorn and Lyesse, but when the intangible spirit tried to pass through their bodies with a disruptive tingle, the protective runes blocked her, and she ricocheted off of them. Flustered, the dead sorceress whirled off to attack someone else.

As his horse galloped away, Zimmer regained his balance on the ground. For the moment, he would face First Commander Enoch on foot. He shouted, “My name is General Zimmer, and I command the D’Haran army. I want you to know the name of the man who will defeat you.”

The veteran was still blinking the dazzling colors from his eyes, but he sensed Zimmer close to him. He raised his sword and struck out, poking the air and yelling. “You haven’t defeated me yet!” Enoch drove forward in a flurry, chasing the other man’s voice. Each time his sword struck Zimmer’s, his aim grew better. “You have seen our army, Zimmer. Why bother fighting? Surrender and join the conquerors. Your bodies don’t have to litter this entire city.”

“The Keeper will take me when he wishes,” Zimmer said. He was impressed at how well the man fought.

They clashed again. Enoch squinted, blinking furiously as his vision began to return. Two riderless horses charged by, nearly trampling them, and Zimmer jumped out of the way. With foam flying from the bits in their mouths, the frightened horses ran away.

Zimmer spun to defend himself as Ava’s shimmering spirit rose in front of him, laughing. She swooped toward him like a vulture, harrying him, and he instinctively tried to block her with his sword. The green glow intensified with her anger. As her intangible form engulfed him, he felt her dark, twisted power oozing inside his body like an appalling violation, a filthy finger probing into his heart.

Ava’s spirit had spied for General Utros, exposed the hidden Cliffwall archive. Because of her, Utros had attacked Cliffwall, which brought about the destruction of the archive and the death of Prelate Verna. This spirit had caused so much misery, so much death!

As Ava swirled around him, flickering, Zimmer hacked in the air with his sword. Her mocking laughter taunted him, and he tried to stab her, even though he knew he could never kill a spirit. The green glow flared brighter.

With all his strength, he thrust his sword through the dead sorceress’s chest, but the killing thrust passed through her as if she were no more than smoke. Instead, he felt the hard impact of something solid crunch against the blade. He thrust harder, shoving the point all the way through leather and chain mail, and then a solid chest.

Shrieking, Ava swirled away to reveal to Zimmer that he had skewered First Commander Enoch through the heart. The old veteran had lurched up to him, hidden by the dead sorceress’s flickering form.

Impaled on the sword, Enoch coughed blood. His sword slipped out of his limp fingers and dropped with a clang to the ground. He touched the steel, blinking in wonder. “This is … death. At last.” His body fell as gravity pulled him off of Zimmer’s sword. “There you are, Camille … my love.”

Ava flickered away, furious. Enoch dropped onto his side with blood bubbling from the wound in his chest. The veteran stretched out a gauntlet, reaching for something that only he could see.

Though the furious battle continued around him, Zimmer stared. Time seemed to stop, and he gave his enemy a chance to die. Enoch gasped, “Alex and Aaron, my sons…” He smiled. “You no longer have to beg for me. The Keeper can have what he wants.”

He slumped back and died. Zimmer’s vision was uncertain, but he thought he saw faint forms rising from the ground, arms outstretched and pulling another dim outline down with them.

But even with the first commander dead, the invading army came forward, unstoppable.