Disciple of War Disciple of War (Art of the Adept #4) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,212

well. Probably, his best chance was in attempting to bring down the wall himself, but that wouldn’t be stealthy, and he would have to be right next to it to attempt such a thing. His third prepared spell was an iron-body transformation, which wouldn’t help at all, but there was no way he would consider a battle without having the potent defensive spell at the ready.

“Are you listening?” asked Selene.

Will blinked. “No. Sorry.”

“You get in trouble when you start thinking on your own like that,” she warned.

“Trouble is how I met you.”

“You still have the weapons, right?” she asked.

He nodded. “You cast the spell on them yourself right before I stowed them away in the limnthal.”

She looked nervous. “What if that was a mistake? I should have let you cast them yourself. What if they don’t operate properly?”

Selene was referring to the fact that her impatience that morning had caused her to cast the new spell for him since he was taking too long putting together the unfamiliar construct. Afterward, he had then had to take ownership of the magic on the two war hammers in the peculiar way that Arrogan had taught him. The end result was the same as if he had cast the spell himself, but it still made Selene nervous. “Then you should have been patient and let me do it myself,” he told her. When he saw her anxiety visibly increase, he hurried to add, “It will work fine. Trust me. I’m linked to the magic on those weapons just as though I cast the spells myself.”

“You’d better be.” She left unsaid the fact that if he wasn’t, the spell would kill him, whether or not it succeeded in doing damage to its intended target. “Forget Plan C until after the flanking attacks. Madrok may appear once those fail.”

He nodded. “Then do as I say and use the trolls against the western attack—and don’t put yourself out there with them. Stay behind the shield wall.”

“Worried about me?” she asked.

“Of course, but I think staying near the trolls is the safest place to be, as long as you don’t enter combat directly. I worry more about Janice.”

“Even though you set your best friend to guard her?”

“Yeah. Tiny is big, but he’s no troll, and when they hit our lines, they’re going to be hell bent on taking out the ritualists.”

“Just pay attention to your business and don’t get distracted,” she advised.

Will stuck out his tongue. “Same goes for you. Stick to the west side. After the flank attacks are defeated, I’m heading for the wall, so don’t be surprised.” He deactivated the link before she could argue.

Chapter 59

The remnants of the main assault hit them long before the flanking groups appeared, but they were nowhere near as intimidating as they had been before the tactical ritual had wiped nearly three-fourths of them out. The soldiers in the shield wall held their ground, and the main-line sorcerers behind them deployed force-walls at strategic points, behind the first groups of demons to make contact.

That had been Bug’s idea, and a good one, even though he had turned traitor in the end. By placing the force-walls farther away and at alternating distances of twenty and thirty feet, they disrupted the enemy charge, forcing them to sacrifice their momentum by moving sideways to bypass the barriers. Meanwhile, the demons that were already within the force spells were partially isolated and easy prey for the spearmen.

Demons died in droves, though they did have some successes. A few of the big ones managed to reach the line, and there was little the much smaller humans could do to stop them from crashing through the shield wall. In each case, a combination of spears and focused fire from the sorcerers eventually brought down the giants. The shield wall itself reformed even before the incursions were defeated, as the third line reserves stepped in to take the place of those who had fallen.

It was something only veterans could have accomplished, for no amount of training could substitute for the cool-headed experience of warriors who had already seen several battles. Will felt his heart swell with pride as he watched them, though he felt guilt every time he saw one of them fall. Every death was his responsibility, and it didn’t help that he knew they were dying merely to try and draw out the demon-lord.

A shrill, unearthly wail floated across the field, and Will looked over to see that the eastern flanking group had