Warrior's Soul (Book 3 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 55

The arrows kept flying as Leyla climbed the rest of the way down the rocky hill. She tried to move quickly, but her body was still sluggish and if it hadn't been for the frigid wind that skewed the archers aims, she would have been hit for sure.

She had almost reached the ground, when she flung herself onto the back of the nearest Bone Eater who was busy fighting a Greenlander. Stabbing him with Tai's blade, she relieved him of his hatchet and flung it towards the next enemy who noticed her presence. To her left, she saw a felled Greenland soldier and rolled out of a way of a Bone Eater before grabbing the dead man's sword.

She had to find a way to reach Shik, but there were too many Bone Eaters in the way!

"ATHIRI! NO!" Tai's voice had her looking left to see the Hayvan running through the battle towards her. Bloody Diya! Why were they still here!

"TAI, STAY AWAY!" The moment of distraction allowed a Bone Eater to approach unnoticed. Leyla raised her sword, blocking the oncoming hatchet, but not before its tip had lodged itself into the soft skin of her left arm. Pain rushed through her body as blood seeped from the wound, but Leyla  ignored it all and pushed the weapon away with all her strength. The Bone Eater stumbled two steps back before Athiri was on top of him, sinking his teeth into the man's exposed neck.

"Athiri!" Leyla called, running to his side, but a Bone Eater blocked her way. Her arm shuddered with the impact of steel on steel and she saw another enemy coming from her right. Bloody Diya! Waiting for two breaths, she let herself drop to the ground just as the second man swung his axe. He hit the first man squarely in the chest then tried to pull the buried blade out, but Leyla swung her legs, tripping him just as Athiri jumped to finish him off.

"Athiri!" Leyla stood, intent on reaching the animal when an arrow came out of nowhere, narrowly missing the Hayvan's head. Leyla stepped in front of him, her sword raised as she looked for the source of the attack. Two of Shik's archers had descended further down the hill and were pointing their arrows straight at her.

"PROTECT THE HAYVAN!" Julius was suddenly beside her, his uniform streaked in blood. Greenlanders rushed past her left and right, standing in a row in front of Athiri as the battle raged on.

"ARCHERS TO THE NORTH EAST!" Leyla shouted, trying to keep Athiri calm as she looked for a route to get him out.

"Are you wounded?" Julius asked, drawing his sword from the chest of a Bone Eater, before sending a quick glance in her direction.  

"Can you keep Athiri safe?" Leyla answered, ignoring both his question and the blood that was running down her arm.

Julius kicked another Bone Eater away, spinning to deliver a deadly blow to the man's throat. Then he was looking at her, "You're going for Shik?"

"It's the only way to end this."

Julius nodded, before barking orders to his men: "GREENLANDERS GATHER!"

As the men drew together, Leyla tightened her fist around the hilt of her sword and looked up to where Shik stood. Under a long hooded cloak of emerald green, he was silently watching the battle escalate.

This was exactly what he wanted. He wanted all the No Landers to kill each other. He wanted everyone dead, so that he could build his dream Gaia.

"Sit!" She told Athiri, giving his head a quick pat when he obeyed, his golden eyes blinking up at her. "You have to stay, Athiri. Don't move!" The feline whimpered in protest, lifting a large paw, before lowering his head in understanding. Satisfied that he would listen, Leyla looked through the line of Greenlanders that grew ever thicker.

To the left, the Warriors and Light Landers were fighting three times their numbers, slowly but steadily moving into the centre of the battle.

"AAAAA OOOOO!"

The calls of the frenzied Bone Eaters drew her eyes to the field ahead. There were at least a hundred men between her and the foot of the hill she needed to reach. The drug in her system was still slowing her reactions and she was losing blood from her arm. None of that mattered now. The longer Shik lived, the more people would die. 

Taking a deep breath, Leyla pulled at the Heat, feeling the small tingle of power in her fingertips before she moved out from beside the Greenlanders and into the fray.

"On your left!" Julius shouted just as her sword connected with the first attacker. Pushing the Bone Eater back, she spun her weapon to stab the man Julius pushed her way.

Jumping over a dead body, Julius ducked under a swinging hatchet, while she caught a blade coming at his head. "You weren't thinking of leaving me behind, were you?" Leyla saw his raised brow for a split second, then she was rolling out of the way of an oncoming arrow. How could the fool smile at a time like this?

"Watch for the archers!" She shouted while running at a Bone Eater who had brought his hatchet down onto a Greenlanders head.

"Aaaa Oo-" her sword cut him off mid-howl.

Leyla wiped the blood splatter from her face as she turned to face the next man. With Julius at her side, they made it halfway to the hill in mere minutes. She was starting to lose feeling in her left arm, but she ignored it, looking up at her target instead.

She saw Shik on the plateau near the summit of the hill, but his archers were dead and he was fighting someone! The two men clashed swords, once, twice, before Leyla realised who it was.

Raphael.

He would have realised, like she had, that killing Shik was the only way to end this war quickly. But he didn't know who Shik was! Panic clawed its way up to her throat as she watched Raphael's moves between fighting Bone Eaters. He as faster than his father, more skilled, it shouldn't take long...

"BEHIND YOU!" Julius shouted at her just in time for her to get out of the way of a flung blade. She fought the Bone Eater, feeling like she couldn't breath. When she had the man under her and her weapon was buried in his chest, she stood quickly and looked up.

Raphael's sword was frozen as he stared at his father's now uncovered face.

Time seemed to stand still as Leyla watched the Leader used the moment of surprise to thrust his sword through his son's stomach.

"No." The whispered word that left her lips was drowned by the shouts of agony rising from the battle field.

The Leader pulled back his weapon, his blade wet with blood. Raphael faltered back, his hands covered in blood. She couldn't see his face as he looked up at his father one last time before stumbling over the side of the cliff.

"No." Leyla's lips went numb as she watched the man she loved falling. Every memory they had made played across her vision. It's not your fault. I'll wait for you. As long as it takes. I love you.

Down the side of the hill he tumbled, onto hundreds of Bone Eaters below.

Light soldiers rushed across the battle field, their faces contorted with panic as they broke formation to slash their way to their leader. "LEADER! NO!" Their cries of anguish as they found Raphael's body confirmed what she had already known.

Dead.

Raphael was dead.

"NOOOOOO!" The scream that tore from her throat rose above the sounds of clashing metal and pain, sending the last of the birds in the vicinity flying in the sky.