as the void turyn sickened his body. Bruised, broken, and fighting the sickness of such antithetical turyn, it would probably be minutes before he could do much—and more soldiers were coming.
Where was Barrentine’s company? Where was Tiny, or Laina? Glancing back toward the open gate, Will saw a fierce battle raging as the now-retreating men from Klendon struggled to keep Second Division from reaching the open gates. Their cohesion was rapidly failing, but it looked as though their desperate tactics would delay the Terabinians enough to seal Will’s fate—and save their city.
Will had to admire their effort, he just wished it wasn’t coming at the cost of his life. Looking back into Klendon, he saw a new group of cautious Darrowans beginning to head in his direction. Considering how crucial the moment was, they should have charged at him, but he couldn’t blame them for their timidity. They’d just seen roughly fifty of their friends die trying to kill him, including their undead champion.
Trying not to vomit, Will struggled slowly to his feet. Somehow his legs were still able to bear his weight and even his right arm still worked—albeit reluctantly. “Come and get me, assholes!” he yelled in empty defiance. “Come see how Arrogan’s apprentice bleeds, if you dare!”
Those might have been inspiring last words, Will thought wryly, if I’d had a weapon in my hand. Glancing down, he stared at his still burning sword and wondered if he dared try to pick it up. He was pretty sure he’d fall over if he tried to bend down that far. While he considered it, the Darrowan soldiers finally gathered their courage and began running toward him.
Sorry, Selene. I tried. Will watched them come, their faces lit by a strangely flickering light, as though they approached a campfire. Turning, Will saw a wave of fire expanding among the Darrowans outside who were defending the gates, and in the gap that followed, a massive form charged through.
“Tiny!” Will cheered. Looking back, he saw the men coming for him had paused a short distance away. They too were spellbound by the sight of the giant warrior charging toward them. “If I were you, I’d run,” Will advised. “You won’t like my friend when he’s angry.”
They seemed to be considering his counsel, but it was too late. Tiny arrived with a roar, and as he passed, his shoulder knocked Will flying, sending him against the stone wall. The big man dropped his shield and scooped up Will’s burning sword so that now he held two weapons, a war hammer in his right and the falchion in his left. When he reached the enemy, he used both to good effect.
Men screamed and men died, but Tiny moved forward like an avalanche of fury. Looking back in the direction of the battle, Will saw that the Darrowans had scattered. Some of them were still burning, while others had simply seen the wisdom of being somewhere else. In their wake, a small, armored figure approached, flanked by her two elementals.
Laina ran toward him as quickly as she could, but she was soon passed by the soldiers of Barrentine’s company, who were racing to follow Tiny’s charge into the city. They flowed around the sorceress and past Will. Soon, Will was surrounded by friendly soldiers.
Actually, ‘surrounded’ was a poor word for it. A better description would have been ‘nearly trampled to death’ by friendly soldiers. They streamed past him and into the city. Meanwhile Laina’s earth elemental had arrived, and a column of hardened earth grew upward to brace the portcullises.
The earthen column collapsed a moment later when one of the enemy sorcerers countered her effort, but by then the massive wooden braces that some of the soldiers from Barrentine’s company had been lugging arrived. They wedged the timber in place while the city defenders, sorcerers and soldiers alike, were forced to abandon their positions by the advance of Second Division.
Emory, Bug, and Sir Kyle himself used their elementals to defend the open gates from magical assault while the rest of Second Division entered the city. Will was at last able to release his force-wall as Laina and Darla reached his side.
Darla took a defensive position, guarding them while Laina looked him over. His sister’s face betrayed her worry, but once she was certain he was still mostly in one piece her rough wit returned. “You look even worse than usual,” she remarked.
Will smirked, then grimaced as he discovered that even that movement hurt. “I think I