The Way of Caine ,The Warcaster Chronicl - By Miles Holmes Page 0,32

beast. Hedo was slammed straight back, its momentum completely blunted. Bowled over, Hedo slid along the ground, while blue mist dissipated from his armor.

Caine knew the attack would cost him. He’d taken his eye off her, for only an instant, perhaps, but it was enough. He knew she was still close. He lamely turned back to face her, raising a Spellstorm in her direction, only to find she had closed within arm’s reach. He never even saw the butt of her weapon as it came round in a wide swing.

It connected with his jaw, sending him to the ground like a sack of bricks.

Caine’s world was a blur as his power-field ruptured. Gasping, he looked up at a hazy figure silhouetted in moonlight. With her free hand, she drew her pistol and leveled it at his face.

Wiping blood from his lip, he looked up dazed, and managed a weak smile. Even as he did, he reached across the clearing for Ace. Could it get to him in time? Though his own eyes were failing him, in Ace the world remained clear. He watched Lily standing over his body. Her big warjack was in the way, moving to regain its feet. With a heave, battered Ace was up and moving. She did not seem to notice it had gained two strides toward her, so complete was her focus on him.

“This was your doing. I want you know that,” she said, her own breathing labored.

“Can’t win them all, darlin’,” he replied with a cough.

To Ace, he gave it all. Everything left in him went into the wounded beast, and he flopped back in the muck. His warjack had turned a few strides into a run, and now the axe was raised high. With uncanny grace, the light warjack bounded up and over the recovering Hedo. Hedo swatted after him, too late. High into the air, the warjack leapt and came down upon Lily, its broad axe arcing down with brutal force. With an audible pop, her powerfield burst, and she fell back with a scream.

Overcome with the exertion, Caine blacked out.

A moment or perhaps an hour passed, Caine could not say. Yet there were now strong hands pulling him up, and he reckoned it had all been for nothing. He had lost, and the mercs would surely end him.

A blurry face leaned in, slapping him.

“Are you all right, sir?” Caine realized he was surrounded by Gerdie and a group of battle weary trenchers.

“Did we … win?” he coughed, sitting up.

Gerdie looked gravely serious, but nodded. “Well, they’ve been driven off, sir. I thought they had us dead to rights. We were badly pinned down by their artillery. They seemed ready to run over us back there, but then … the guns just stopped. They couldn’t advance without them. I see now we have you to thank for that.”

“How many dead, Gerdie?”

“We’ve taken our share, sir,” Gerdie took a sober breath. “Sergeant Holly is going squad to squad for a final count.”

Caine laid back down, sick to his stomach with such grim news. He sniffed the air. There was an awful lot of smoke, and it occurred to him there was a reddish glow coming through the woods.

“Is something burning?” he rasped, rubbing a temple.

“That’s the other thing, sir.”

Caine sat up immediately. Through the tree line of the clearing, a fire raged against the night sky. It was the Malsham mansion. Just within the iron gates, a figure could be seen wandering erratically. He was screaming at anyone who would listen. His silhouette before the fire was unmistakable. It was the baron himself and, even from here, they could hear him.

“Where is he!?” he screamed. “Where is your fool of a Captain?”

PART THREE

Yesterday

Spring, AR 596: Bloodsbane Province

As he walked arm in arm with a pair of trenchers, Caine felt as though he’d been trampled by a warhorse. He was streaked with blood and dirt, and his jaw tingled like seltzer water. Limping alongside his master, Ace appeared to have fared worse. The warjack was battered and dented, the place where his left arm had been now a tangle of cable and bent rods. As they limped past the detritus and bodies on either side of the road, Caine shook his head, numbly. He swore under his breath as he was brought within the front gates of the Malsham estate.

The grounds were a disaster of collateral damage from the battle during the night. Across the yard, Caine could see the baron’s burning mansion was