The Gift of Battle

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Kendrick galloped through the Great Waste, alongside Brandt, Atme, Koldo, Ludvig—and now Kaden—the six of them charging back, after their confrontation with the Sand Walkers, back toward the safety of the Ridge. Kendrick was elated, as were the others, all of them so relieved they had found Kaden in time, and were bringing him home unscathed. They had been riding hard all day and all night ever since retrieving him, and Kendrick felt the urgency, as did the others, to make it back to the Ridge.

Finally, after hours of monotony, the landscape began to change, and Kendrick, to his relief, saw the Sand Wall looming on the horizon, and he knew the Ridge wouldn’t be far behind it.

“I still don’t see them,” Ludvig called out.

Kendrick peered into the horizon and he, too, saw no sign of Naten and the others; he was surprised. Those knights of the Ridge had vowed to come back for them, with horses. Kendrick knew the knights of the Ridge to be honorable, and he suspected Naten was behind it. Perhaps he hadn’t wanted Kendrick to return, and he knew that if hadn’t come for them, they likely would not. But little did he know that they had found their own horses, had found their own way back. He suspected they would have hell to pay when they returned.

As they rode, Kendrick noticed the expressions on Koldo’s and Ludvig’s faces, and it seemed that they were more hurt by the betrayal of their people than Kendrick.

“Then they did not come for us,” Koldo replied, disappointment in his voice.

Ludvig snorted.

“Should we be surprised?” he replied. “Naten talks big, and he threatens others. But when it comes down to it, he is a coward.”

“When we get back, he shall be disciplined,” Koldo replied. “He left us out there to die, and justice shall be done.”

Koldo turned to Kendrick.

“You were gracious to put up with him,” he said. “I am sorry he gave you such a hard time. We owe you for joining us on this mission, a mission that was not even yours. We cannot thank you enough.”

Kendrick nodded back, his respect and admiration for Koldo and Ludvig mutual.

“Not all members of a court hold to the same values,” he replied. “The same holds true in the Ring. It was an honor to join you on this mission. After all, what makes a brother is equal honor, courage—and you two are my brothers today.”

They rode and rode, and the sound grew deafening as they approached the Sand Wall, Kendrick squinting as the sand began to hit him even from here. Kendrick covered himself in the wrap that Koldo had given them, wrapping himself again and again, until finally, as they entered it, he wrapped his face, too. He remembered, from having ridden through it once, how rough this Sand Wall could be, and he was not looking forward to entering it again.

The noise hit a fever pitch, drowning out all else, as Kendrick suddenly found himself immersed in a wall of sand, a stationary tornado. Sand scraped him from every possible angle. It was almost impossible to see, and Kendrick gasped for breath, the air and sand so intense as he galloped through with the others. He did not feel as if it would ever end.

Kendrick finally burst out the other side, along with the others, charging back out into the open sky, the open desert, and he gasped with relief. The blinding sunlight bore down on him, and he didn’t care—he was just happy to be out in the open again. And as he looked to his sides, he saw the others unwrapping, too, and could see the joy and relief on their faces, all of them, and their horses, scratched up, but still alive.

But Kendrick also noted the startled expressions on their faces as they stared straight ahead, and he turned himself, looking back ahead, wondering what they were seeing.

As he did, Kendrick’s mouth fell open in shock. There, up ahead, were the peaks of the ridge, sitting on the horizon—and at first he was relieved to see them. But before them, between their group and home, was a sight that filled him with dread, a sight that he had never expected to see in his lifetime. It was a sight which made them all come to an abrupt stop on their horses.

They all sat there, breathing hard, staring, speechless.

“It is not possible,” said Koldo.

Kendrick was thinking the same thing. Because there, before them, was the largest army he had ever seen, millions of soldiers, wearing glistening black armor, spreading out in every direction, their backs to Kendrick. They were all, Kendrick cold see, preparing to invade the Ridge from every side. They swarmed like ants in a massive circle, closing in on the peaks.

Kendrick heard a noise, and he turned and saw bursting through the Sand Wall, thousands more of these soldiers, more pouring in every second. They flew distinctive banners, and he struggled to understand who they were, who could be mobilizing to attack the ridge.

“The Knights of the Seven,” announced Koldo, his voice grave.

“They bear all the weight of the Empire armies,” Ludvig said, dismay in his voice. “If they have discovered the Ridge, we’re finished.”

Kendrick sat there, his heart pounding, realizing they were right.

Kendrick also realized that they were in an unusual position now, being able to witness this from behind, their presence still undetected from the Empire. They could not, of course, whatever the odds, turn around and leave, not with their brothers inside, not with Gwendolyn there.

They all exchanged looks, and silently they were all thinking the same thing. They would have to find a way to attack.

“We must find a way back in,” Koldo said, “and help them defend. Even if it means our lives.”

“Our brothers will all die in there,” Kendrick said. “And we shall die defending them.”

“And how shall we get in?” Brandt asked. “They have the Ridge surrounded.”

Kendrick saw Koldo and Ludvig scrutinizing the landscape, the contours of the Ridge, and they then exchanged a knowing look.

“Behind that rock formation, far from the ranks of the soldiers,” Koldo said, pointing, “there lies a tunnel, concealed. It leads underneath the Ridge. It was built for times like this. We can reach it undetected. Let us go quickly and join our brothers, before the soldiers detect us.”

Koldo kicked his horse and they all joined him, racing under the desert sky, for the Ridge, for their brothers, for the greatest battle of their lives—for valor.