it would be stained with blood. Or if he himself would be wounded.
Their army suddenly let out a great shout, louder even than the horses’ hooves, as they rounded a bend and on the horizon spotted for the first time the besieged city. Black smoke rose up in great clouds from it, and the MacGil army kicked their horses, gaining speed. Thor, too, kicked his horse harder, trying to keep up with the others as they all drew their swords, raised their weapons, and headed for the city with deadly intent.
The massive army was broken down into smaller groups, and in Thor’s group their rode ten soldiers, legion members, his friends and a few others he did not know. At their head rode one of the king’s army’s senior commanders, a soldier the others called Forg, a tall, thin man with a wiry build, pockmarked skin, cropped, gray hair and dark, hollow eyes. The army was breaking down into smaller groups and forking in every direction.
“This group, follow me!” he commanded, gesturing with his staff for Thor and the others to fork off and follow his lead.
Thor’s group followed orders and fell in behind him; as they went, he found they were forking farther away from the main army. Thor looked back and noticed that his group forked farther than most, the army becoming more distant, and just as Thor was wondering where they were being lead, Forg shouted:
“We will take up a position on the McCloud flank!”
Thor and the others exchanged a nervous and excited look as they all charged, forking until the main army was out of sight.
Soon they were in a new terrain, and the city fell out of sight completely. Thor was on guard, but there was no sign of the McCloud army anywhere.
Finally, Forg pulled his horse to a stop before a small hill, in a grove of trees. The others came to a stop behind him.
Thor and the others looked at Forg, wondering why he had stopped.
“That keep there, that is our mission,” Forg explained. “You are young warriors still, so we want to spare you from the heat of battle. You will hold this position as our main army sweeps through the city and confronts the army. It is unlikely any McCloud soldiers will come this way, and you will be mostly safe here. Take positions around it, and stay here until we say otherwise. Now move!”
Forg kicked his horse and charged up the hill, and Thor and the others did the same, following him. The small group rode across the dusty plains, kicking up a cloud, with no one in site as far as Thor could see. He felt disappointed to be removed from the main action; why were they all being so sheltered?
The more they rode, the more something felt off to Thor. He couldn’t place it, but his sixth sense was telling him that something was wrong.
As they neared the hilltop, atop which sat a small, ancient keep, a tall, skinny tower that looked abandoned, something within Thor told him to look behind him. As he did, he saw Forg. Thor was surprised to see that Forg had gradually dropped behind the group, gaining more and more distance, and as Thor watched, Forg turned around, kicked his horse and without warning, galloped the other way.
Thor could not understand what was happening. Why had Forg left them so suddenly? Beside him, Krohn whined.
Just as Thor was beginning to process what was happening, they reached the hilltop, reached the ancient keep, expecting to see nothing but wasteland before them.
But the small group of legion members pulled their horses to an abrupt stop. They sat there, all of them, frozen at the site before them.
There, facing them, waiting, was the entire McCloud army.
They had need led right into a trap.
CHAPTER FOUR
Gwendolyn hurried through the winding streets of King’s Court, Akorth and Fulton carrying Godfrey behind her, pushing her way as she cut a path through the common folk. She was determined to reach the healer as soon as possible. Godfrey could not die, not after all they had been through, and not like this. She could almost see Gareth’s self-satisfied smile as he received news of Godfrey’s death—and she was intent on changing the outcome. She only wished she had found him sooner.
As Gwen turned a corner and marched into the city square, the crowds became particularly thick, and she looked up and saw Firth, still swinging from a beam, the noose tight