Kaden call out for him to break away from the fighting and meet him at the top of the east wall.
Silas followed his leader up a large flight of stairs, though not without taking down several of the ravenous Humans. When he finally joined Kaden at the edge of the wall, the man pulled him aside to the corner, out of view from the fighting. He held an arm against Silas’ shoulder and wiped the sweat from his brow as he glanced over the wall at the enemy.
“The Stühocs are in line behind the Soldiers of the Dead,” Kaden said.
“Why did you call me up here?” Silas asked, trying to catch his breath. “We should be helping the others.” He tried to push by Kaden, but the man grabbed him by the cloak and shoved him hard against the stone wall.
“I’m fulfilling my last duty in The Reckoning,” Kaden said.
Silas gave him a confused stare, waiting for the man to continue.
“I want you to head down to Marenon’s Map. It’s completely secure.”
Silas shook his head vigorously. “No.”
“Silas, don’t argue with me. I swore to protect you and help you become the one you were prophesied to be. I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you about your meeting with the Gatekeeper, so that means only you and Inga know how to finish what was started.”
“Kaden, I don’t want to leave these people! What am I supposed to do, stay below Jekyll Rock? For how long?”
“There is a way out,” Kaden assured him. “It’s in one of the rooms down there behind a bookshelf. I haven’t actually used it in a long time. Your grandfather, Garland, showed it to me many years ago, and you can use it to get out of here.”
“I don’t feel right about leaving all of you behind,” Silas said.
“It doesn’t matter how you feel,” Kaden answered him. “You have a responsibility to finish this. And you can’t do that here!”
The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. Would this be the last time they ever saw each other? Silas hated the thought. But Kaden was right, and the man didn’t even know that there was a possibility that Silas could die in all of this.
He reached out a hand and placed it on Kaden’s shoulder, not knowing what to say to someone who probably wouldn’t survive the night.
“Just go, Silas.”
Silas did as he said, refusing to look back at him. It wasn’t fair for anyone else that Silas had a chance to live through the night.
Several Soldiers of the Dead stepped in front of him before he made it to the fortress at the end of the wall, but they fell easily enough.
He opened the nearest door and slipped in without notice. His sword turned into the original polished staff, showing he was safe from harm. The last sound he heard from the outside was the screaming Stühocs charging in to finish off the Dunarians.
If only I had the six medallions, Silas thought, then the enemy wouldn’t stand a chance.
Chapter Twelve
The Stühocs shoved through the broken gate, without regard for who they cut or maimed; they did not care whether they were Dunarians or Soldiers of the Dead. It didn’t matter. To them, as long as all the Humans were dead on the ground, it would be a victory.
Alric stayed close to Lorcan and Coffman, but kept even closer to Nalani. For some reason he felt more responsible for her than he did anyone else. The fight had been easy against the Soldiers of the Dead, but the Stühocs began to break them all apart.
Dunarians spread in every direction, doing everything they could to hold on to life. The sarians helped a little, but there were only a few of them against thousands of Stühocs and Nestorians.
Alric moved without thought. Every motion he made saved his life and ended another’s. He glanced at Nalani from the side and saw her watching the Stühocs beginning to break into the fortress through a wooden door on the east side.
He knew her concern. The elderly and the children were in that building toward the top, completely defenseless. After taking down five or more Stühocs, Alric grabbed Nalani by the arm and nodded toward a separate entrance to the fortress at the ground level.
“Come on!”
There was no time to explain but he knew he couldn’t let her die like this out in the open. He yelled for Lorcan and Coffman, swinging his arm, telling