Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

“Then this is what I propose,” explained King Avalar. “We place the elven archers astride the Chula in the center of the procession. The Sakovans will take the vanguard and the outside flanks. They can hack at the creatures as we shoot our arrows over the Sakovan heads. I will have the archers that remain behind in the forest start to open up a corridor for our return trip.”

“That will work,” trembled Lyra, “but we are running out of time. He will be alone and surrounded by those skeletons. We must hurry.”

Ukaro and King Avalar shouted orders and the entire campsite swept into action. The scene was hectic as the groups quickly assembled. While it only took several minutes for the groups to prepare, it felt like hours for Lyra. She paced furiously back and forth until Goral brought her a choka.

“I will be the tip of the spear,” he told the Star of Sakova. “Do not under any circumstances pass me. If I fall to the creatures, others will take my place, but you must promise to let your people precede you.”

Lyra nodded impatiently as HawkShadow, StarWind, and StormSong got in position directly behind Goral. The rest of the Sakovans moved to one side or the other as elf-bearing cheetahs lined up behind the Star of Sakova. Goral turned and gazed at the formation before holding up his hand as high as it would reach. With a slight intake of breath, the Sakovan giant brought his arm down swiftly and urged his choka forward.

The odd assortment of fighters broke out of the forest and raced across the barren plain towards the south end of the lake. At first the skeletons did not notice the attack from the south, but when they did, they surged to block their path.

Goral had been chosen for the point position because of the long reach of his maul. When the Sakovans reached the wall of skeletons, Goral started swinging his maul continuously back and forth. He kept the devastating weapon at a level consistent with the heads of the skeletons, and disconnected skulls started flying through the air. StormSong and HawkShadow rode side-by-side just behind Goral, and they extended the swath of destruction on each side of the procession. StarWind rode directly in front of Lyra. It was her task to kill anything that got past her comrades. The rest of the Sakovans formed the outside lines of a giant wedge that sliced its way through the crowd of creatures.

Behind the Star of Sakova, and in between the two lines of Sakovans, five hundred elven archers rode on cheetahs and fired blunt arrows at the necks of skeletons. Their task was to limit the number of creatures that would succeed in approaching the column, as the Sakovans could only kill so many. At first the elven archers were only mildly successful, as they were not used to the lope of a cheetah, but they adapted quickly.

Lyra felt helpless as the column raced towards the lake. The flow of skeletons appeared to be endless, and all she could see was a sea of endless white heads. In frustration, the Star of Sakova gazed skyward and gasped. She had forgotten about the battle going on in the sky. When she looked up there was only one demon fighting Myka, but the dragon was dripping blood at a rapid rate. Streams of dragon blood appeared to be flowing freely towards the ground, and Myka’s flying appeared very erratic and slow. The remaining demon still appeared agile, and Lyra could see no injuries. As Lyra watched, the demon made its move. It soared past the dragon and abruptly turned. Sinking its talons into Myka’s back, the demon sunk its teeth into the dragon’s neck.

Lyra could hear the dragon’s scream above the thunder of smashing skeletons going on around her. Myka’s tail suddenly whipped forward and wrapped around the demon’s body. As the demon turned to slash the tail in half, Myka’s head swiveled quickly. Her jaws wrapped around the demon’s neck and her teeth dug in deeply. The demon howled, and the unnatural cry roared across the plain. Both demon and dragon stopped flapping their wings and tumbled to the ground. The Star of Sakova thought she felt the ground shake as the two behemoths impacted the ground, and tears started flowing down Lyra’s cheeks. She closed her eyes and prayed that Kaltara would accept his valiant warrior and give her a special place by his side.

Unexpectedly, Lyra’s choka slashed out at something and leaped into the air. Lyra opened her eyes to see what was happening.

“Keep alert,” yelled StarWind. “We do not want to lose you.”

“What was that?” Lyra asked.

“A skeleton tried to rise in front of you,” replied the Sakovan spymaster.

“Goral missed one?” frowned Lyra.

“He has missed quite a few actually,” StarWind answered. “We have been running over skeletons since the fighting began. It is impossible to get them all, but I think they are starting to get wise. I think that one intentionally laid down so it could rise in our midst.”

“I will stay alert,” promised Lyra. “I was distracted watching Myka die. It won’t happen again.”

StarWind frowned as her eyes shot skyward for an instant. She shook her head sadly and returned her attention to the fight ahead of her.

“Sakovans,” shouted Goral, “prepare to form a perimeter. The lake is at hand.”

The order was quickly spread back through the column, and the Sakovans began to push outward as Goral slowed the pace. The column bunched up and resembled a horseshoe with the flat end against the lakeshore. The creatures continued attacking as Lyra leaped off her choka and ran to the water’s edge.

“He sees us,” pointed HawkShadow. “He is swimming towards us.”

“Our Torak was wise to remain far out in the lake until someone came to assist him,” smiled StarWind.

“I wish I had thought to tell him we were coming,” Lyra berated herself as her eyes turned and looked at the fighting going on behind her. “My people are dying back there.”

“I don’t think we will get back to the forest so easily,” frowned StormSong. “Look at them massing between us and the woods. We will have to fight through at least four times as many skeletons.”

As Lyra turned and watched the fighting, her heart sank and tears came to her eyes. The elven archers were firing as fast as they could and still great hordes of creatures were approaching the Sakovan warriors. The chokas were constantly slashing out with their fore claws, but their efforts were in vain. They could easily kill by slashing an opponent’s skin and puncturing organs, but there was nothing to pierce on the skeletons. The Sakovan warriors were constantly swinging at the creatures’ necks, but Lyra knew that they could only keep it up for so long. Unlike the skeletons, humans tired after a while. Lyra started crying loudly.

“Marak would have lived if I had not brought everyone out here,” bawled Lyra, “but now everyone will die.”

StarWind stepped in front of the Star of Sakova and placed her hands on Lyra’s shoulders. She shook Lyra harshly and spoke softly, but firmly.

“Calm yourself,” ordered StarWind. “You are supposed to bring your people hope, not despair. Do not let your people hear you talking like that.”

“But it is true,” Lyra whimpered. “I have failed you all.”

“Nothing is true until it is over,” retorted the Sakovan spymaster. “You will continue to have hope until you stop breathing. You will bring hope to your people. They need your optimism right now to live. Don’t take their will away from them even if it is hopeless. Do you understand?”

Lyra nodded as she tried to dry her tears. StarWind stood directly in front of the Star of Sakova so that no one could see her face. She waited for Lyra to calm down.

* * *

Rejji sat in the middle of the Jiadin tribe. The red-scarfed horsemen stretched away to both sides of him as they sat in a long line staring across the plain at the mass of skeletons. Far off to the Astor’s right, the free tribes were also lined up. The line of horsemen stretched for leagues, but everyone’s attention was on the battle in the sky. High over the plain, the dragon and her rider battled the demon.