Have you read The Gods Part Two - Kipos Gardens?
***
“Get to the keep and stay there,” Calix shouted over his shoulder as he ran down the hall after the soldier.
She dashed away from the keep to the armoury which was packed with scrambling and clanking soldiers. She grabbed armour, arm cuffs, sandals, and swords before dashing back toward Calix. Soldiers were streaming up the tightly spiralling stairs to the battlements. She let herself be swept along with them. As they reached the top the soldiers ran forward, shields raised against the continuous rain of arrows. Men and women crouched behind the battlements, aiming, firing, and reloading their crossbows.
She scanned the battlements for Calix. Her stomach clenching as she saw him duck out the way just in time as an arrow whizzed past. In a wave of rage, she sent a huge continuous gust of wind rushing up the face of the battlements. Arrows from both armies were swept upwards, arcing down harmlessly to clatter on shields and stone. She didn’t have time to ponder her mortal reaction to seeing Calix in danger. Instead, she ran toward him, a tornado swirling around her to redirect the falling arrows.
“Nice trick,” he smiled as she approached. He stepped toward her, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body, but he didn’t touch her. He adjusted his shield to cover them both.
“What’s going on?” she asked, conscious of how close they were as she looked up into his face.
He held her gaze for a moment before flicking his eyes toward the army filling the clearing in front of the golden trees. “Xenoians. We’ve been tracking a group for a while, but they’ve brought reinforcements. Our latest intelligence counted only half this number.”
She sometimes crossed into Xeno as she wound her way through the forests. She’d observed her country’s neighbour, a barbaric and war ridden country. Her eyes roved over the army. They’d stopped firing arrows now, realising the wind was only causing them to go to waste. A couple of small pockets of soldiers were missing at the back of their lines. Before she could point this out, she heard a faint squeaking over the rush of wind.
Two catapults emerged from the forest. Before anyone had time to react there was a snap followed by the creak of timber. Two huge stones were soaring directly at her and Calix. He tried to grab her, but she stepped clear, focusing on the projectiles. Raising her arms, she redirected the wind coming up the face of the wall, turning it over itself to push the projectiles toward the ground.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as she concentrated on funnelling the wind toward the projectiles while the soldiers scrambled around her to get out of the way. But Calix didn’t move, he watched her work as she flicked her wrists, feeling the flow of the wind within her.
Slowly the projectiles dropped from the sky, landing with a splash in the river. Water sprayed high over the castle walls, drenching them.
***
“Holy shit, that was amazing! I didn’t realise minor gods had so much power,” he said, kicking himself as soon as he finished the sentence. “No, I didn’t mean-“
“What did you just say?” she growled at him through clenched teeth.
Her face was so thunderous he took a step back. “I, uh…”
Her brows came together as she opened her mouth, but they were distracted by the whistle of arrows cutting through the air again.
“Take cover!” he shouted at his soldiers, stepping in front of Krysos and bringing up his shield just before the arrows started clanging.
“I don’t need your protection,” she snapped, stepping away from him.
He tried to grab her, but his hand was slapped away by the tornado she whipped around herself. Arrows caught in the wind flew around her in a razor-sharp spiral. As she collected arrows, she redirected the wind in a funnel toward the enemy. A stream of arrows smashed into the army below, who cried out or fell silent. Around him his soldiers’ crossbows pinged, their arrows joining Krysos’.
The creaking of wood filled the air again as the catapults were hauled back into position to be reloaded. He needed to figure out how to take out those catapults. He glanced along the battlements, assessing the angles and distances of his soldiers. His eyes settled on a group with blue arm bands.
“Seventh Division, shoot the catapult operators,” he shouted.
Their sergeant, Theo, caught his eye and nodded. They readjusted their position and started shooting. The right catapult paused as the operator was quickly dispatched, they really had polished up their shooting, but the Xenoians were quick too. Massive warriors with equally massive shields hurried to protect the catapult operators. Not a moment later, the right catapult started moving again under a new operator.
“We need to get down there and take them out,” Krysos shouted at him through her arrow tornado.
“You’re not-“
“Shut up and get ready to go as soon as I’ve deflected the projectiles,” she cut across him, not pausing her brutal arrow storm.
She seemed to have forgotten he was commander of the castle. But she also seemed to have a plan. Calix called to his second in command. “Nicholas, take command of the battlements. I’m going down with Krysos to dispatch the catapults.”
Nicholas gave him a quick nod, before dashing off. The heavy groan of timber filled the air, followed by the snap and whistle of two more stones heading toward the castle wall. The projectiles were further spread this time, one heading for him, the other heading for the left-hand tower.
He could only watch as Krysos spread her arms, her golden hair whipping around her. The single funnel of arrows aimed at the heart of the army split into two. The arrows arced up, splintering as they slammed into the top of the projectiles. Sweat covered her, her chest heaving with the effort, but she didn’t relent as the stones sunk lower and lower. One splashed into the river, spraying them again, but the other slammed into the base of the wall. People screamed as the wall shuddered under their feet.
He saw her mouth move in a muttered curse before she turned and sprinted for the closest tower. He dashed after her, catching up as she crashed through the tower door.
***
The tower rang with the sound of their sandals slapping on the stone stairs as they wound their way down. They had to get there before the next projectiles were launched. She didn’t think she’d be able to deflect them from the ground. Split projectiles had almost been too much.
Air tore at her lungs but she didn’t stop. She flung the door open to the courtyard, Calix hot on her heels. Servants hurried to and fro, carrying arrows and shields, vases of water and food to the soldiers on the battlements.
“This way,” Calix called as he slipped through the guard’s entrance. They emerged on the edge of the riverbank, the army spread out in front of them. “There’s no bridge, we’ll have to swim.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him after her.
They headed straight for the river. She focused on their bodies, connected by their hands. Calix made a strange noise as she felt the wind flow through her body, lifting her stomach, lifting their bodies.
“Jump!” she yelled as they reached the river’s edge. They soared over the river, landing with a stagger on the other side.
“What the hell!” Calix shouted, staring at her. “Is that what it feels like? You can feel the wind inside you?”
“Not now!” she shouted back, yanking her swords out from the sheath on her back and sprinting toward the nearest catapult.
Some of the Xenoians spotted her, turning with a snarl. But she just smiled at them before whipping the wind up around her. She became the wind itself as she swung her swords, carving through the enemy.
Dipping, twirling, slicing, she moved quickly through the soldiers in front of the catapult. Calix kept close behind her, a comforting presence at her back, cutting down anyone who tried to get her from behind. The Xenoian’s faces turned from snarls to panic as she ruthlessly cut them down. Covered in blood, she came face to face with the huge warrior shielding the catapult operator.
He was massive. Wearing only pteruges and vambraces, his broad chest heavily scarred. He’d left the shield wedged in the ground in front of the catapult operator, protecting them from the Seventh Division.
He swung a huge battle axe at her, singing the song of death as it sliced through the air. He moved a lot faster than she anticipated. She just managed to bring up her sword, twisting with the motion of the axe to deflect just enough that it only left a shallow slice along her shoulder, rather than chopping her arm off. Blood dripped from the stinging wound. She snarled at the warrior who shot her a wicked smile which quickly turned to a frown as a sword appeared in his chest.
“Don’t touch her you piece of shit!” Calix shouted as he kicked the warrior off his sword.
She barely had time to register what had happened before an equally blood-soaked Calix stepped over the dead man and hacked down the catapult operator. She defended his back as he climbed up the catapult. She could hear him hacking at the rope of the half-drawn catapult. With a twang and a heavy groan, the catapult became useless.
***
“Let’s move!” he shouted at Krysos, jumping down from the catapult.
He moved with the familiar rhythm of war, his sword and shield an extension of his body. Krysos was a living whirlwind next to him, moving with a grace and balance he knew only a god could achieve.
They twisted around each other, moving as one, defending each other. As they got closer to the second catapult more and more Xenoians pressed in on them. He could feel the numbers turning against them. He hissed as a sword swiped across his thigh, leaving a shallow, stinging cut. Krysos whipped around him, cutting down the soldier with a swipe to the throat.
“Go and take down the catapult. I can handle them,” she shouted as the catapult cranked closer to being loaded.
“How?!” he shouted back.
She answered by flicking her wrist toward the catapult. A blast of wind bowled over the soldiers, leaving a clear path with another heavy-set warrior waiting at the end. He didn’t want to leave her, but with a shove from the wind he was off.
The warrior raised his axe overhead, bringing it down to cleave Calix in half. He stepped to the side, sweeping his sword at the warriors exposed side, but at the last second the warrior redirected the path of his axe with a twist of his huge arms. Calix just managed to bring his shield up in time as the axe bit. They were stuck, tugging to pull themselves apart.
He glanced over at the catapult. It had finished being wound back and several soldiers were heaving another projectile toward it. He pulled desperately. As he tugged, he fell backwards, the axe still stuck on his shield. The breath was knocked out of him as he slammed onto his back.
Then it all happened at once. The thunk of the projectile being loaded into the catapult, Krysos screaming his name, and his side exploding with pain. He groped around, feeling a dagger in his side. He looked up to see the warrior towering over him with an evil grin. Then suddenly, in a massive gust of wind, he was gone.
Krysos ran to stand over him. A tornado whipped up around them. He looked up at her, but she didn’t look like herself. Her eyes and hair were glowing gold, her teeth bared in a vicious snarl at the warrior who’d stabbed him. The wind carried one of her swords as she threw it at the warrior. He didn’t have a chance to move as the sword pinned him through the neck to the side of the catapult.
But she was too late. There was a clank and a groan of timber as the catapult launched again. He could see her eyes following the flight of the projectile, calculating. She raised an arm, following the flight of the stone, then let loose a massive funnel of wind. The projectile was shunted off course, soaring over the castle to land in the forest behind.
The soldiers were pressing in around them. He tried to reach for his sword, gasping as pain shot through his side.
“Trust me,” she said, fixing him with her glowing golden eyes.
The tornado grew around them, whipping faster and stronger. He heard shouts as Xenoians flew around them, picked up in the tornado. His hair whipped his face, but he didn’t drop her gaze. He heard a huge creak of timber. Krysos tore her eyes from him, turning toward the catapult. Whipping the tornado into a funnel, she shot soldiers at the catapult. Screaming, they smashed into it. The timber groaned and finally there was a huge crash as the catapult toppled over.
With one final blast, the air around them exploded. The army was decimated. The Xenoians who still could, ran for their lives. The rest lay groaning or silent. Cheers erupted from the battlements, but a scream tore from Calix’s throat as Krysos crumbled to the ground next to him.
***
Read The Gods Part Four - Golden Sunset now!