Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

“When do you want this done?” asked Bakhai.

“Tonight,” answered Marak. “None of our forces will make any moves to attack until we get the word from you.”

“How can he possibly accomplish that?” asked King Avalar.

“Rejji,” Marak continued, ignoring the question, “you will have to pull your horsemen away, but don’t move them too far. I will need them on short notice.”

“What will you need them to do?” asked the Astor.

“There will be a coordinated charge between the Fakarans and the Khadorans,” explained Marak. “I want the two groups to squeeze Tzargo’s men together, but I want it done in such a way as to leave one side of the temple free of fighters. That means that either the Fakarans or the Khadorans will have to halt and let the other side continue pushing. The Fakarans are more numerous and better skilled for this task so I expect to have the eastern side of the temple cleared of hellsouls. Can you have that coordinated?”

“I will see to it personally,” assured the Astor.

“No, Rejji,” smiled Marak. “Choose someone capable, but you will be with Lyra and me. We need to confront Vand as one.”

“What about the elves?” asked King Avalar.

“The elves,” answered the Torak, “must be ready to assemble on the eastern side of the temple. Your group needs to join up with Princess Alahara’s group and move as one.”

“And the Chula?” asked Ukaro.

“Your people will be with the elves,” answered the Torak. “I am not certain what kind of magic to expect from Vand’s mages, and that bothers me. It is a topic that you, Avalar, and I have to sit down and discuss with Lyra and Rejji. I feel strongly that your forces will be needed at the temple, but until we can determine what will be cast our way, I can’t really come up with a plan.”

“We could do that now if you want,” offered King Avalar.

“Later,” insisted Marak. “Just make the motions to get your people assembled. Lyra and I have something urgent to do right now. When we come back, we will sit down and discuss everything. Any more questions for now?”

There were no questions and the group wandered off leaving Lyra and Marak standing at the edge of the forest.

“What must we do that is urgent?” asked Lyra.

“Can you get us two chokas and the direction that Myka was flying when she died?” he asked.

“She was trying to flee to the east,” answered Lyra. “You are not hoping that she survived? Don’t do this to yourself, Marak.”

“I have no illusions of her immortality,” Marak smiled meekly. “I just want to give her a proper burial. It is the least I can do after failing her.”

“Would you prefer to go alone?” asked Lyra.

“No,” smiled Marak. “I must confess that I will need your skills to create a hole large enough to hold her.”

“And I thought you wanted me along because you enjoyed my company,” Lyra pouted exaggeratedly.

“That too,” grinned the Torak.

Lyra wove an air tunnel to request a pair of chokas. Within moments, StarWind and HawkShadow appeared with four of the large warbirds. Marak looked askance at the two Sakovans, and HawkShadow smiled broadly in return. Marak sighed humorously and shook his head. He was used to having Halman and Gunta follow him everywhere, so he understood that StarWind and HawkShadow would not let the Star of Sakova travel without them. Without a word, the four warriors mounted the chokas and headed east through the forest.

The group worked their way through the forest and onto the plains well away from the skeletons. The steady clicking of the choka claws was the only sound that emanated from the group as the warbirds sped across the dusty ground. The plains were desolate, and the sun sank low in the western sky. Marak had thought that Myka’s body would be easy to find as it was so large, but he had not planned on searching in darkness.

“Maybe this was a poor idea,” he remarked softly as the sun headed for the peaks of the Fortung Mountains. “We will never find her in the dark, and we must get back in time to discuss our plans with Avalar and Ukaro.”

“How far do you think she could have flown?” asked HawkShadow.

“They were fairly high up,” shrugged Lyra, “much higher than when Marak jumped.”

“You jumped?” StarWind asked with surprise. “Why?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Marak replied gruffly.

“She was tightly coupled with the demon,” Lyra continued. “They weren’t really flying. It was like watching a shooting star at night. I have no idea how far they could have gotten.”

“We probably are already past where they landed,” sighed Marak. “Let’s turn around.”

“No,” Lyra said adamantly. “This is important to you. I understand that even if you do not. Until you bury her, you will not put the episode out of your mind, and we need your mind to plan our attack.”

“Bury her?” questioned StarWind. “How?”

“That is my task,” replied Lyra.

“Over there,” shouted HawkShadow as he pointed to the south. “There is something large a ways off.”

Everyone abruptly turned to the south and followed HawkShadow. With the chokas kicking out a fast pace, the hulk of the demon came into view before the sun set. It was a grisly sight, a huge black stone-looking grotesque creature. HawkShadow looked around the horizon for Myka, but he could not find her. He continued riding southward, but Marak stopped next to the demon. The Sakovan assassin turned around and rode back.

“The demon deserves no funeral,” frowned HawkShadow. “Let’s search for Myka while we still have a bit of light.”

“In a minute,” Marak said tersely as he drew his sword. “There is something that I must know first.”

Lyra watched intently as Marak swung the Sword of Torak into the demon’s flesh. The flesh parted and a black substance began to seep out of it.

“Try your rapier,” Marak urged Lyra triumphantly. “And HawkShadow, try your sword.”

Lyra punctured the beat’s skin with her rapier, but HawkShadow could not even break the surface of the solid skin.

“I don’t understand,” frowned HawkShadow.

“Our swords are gifts from Kaltara,” explained Marak. “I thought they would be able to do what other swords could not. Now I know for sure.”

“But you didn’t know that then,” sighed Lyra. “Stop punishing yourself.”

“It is more than that, Lyra,” Marak responded. “There are three demons left. If magic does not work on them, our weapons are the only things that will.”

“Then this trip has already been a success,” nodded Lyra. “Let’s continue onward for a bit. We must be close.”

They remounted their chokas and continued southeast. HawkShadow figured that must have been the direction they were traveling by the impact marks the demon left. HawkShadow got excited when he spotted something large on the horizon, but it was only the beginning of the forest that ran along the Meliban River.

“How could she have come this far?” asked Lyra as she looked up at the brilliant stars overhead. “We must have missed her somehow.”

“I don’t think so,” StarWind said as she pointed at the edge of the forest. “Look at those trees. They were knocked over by something.”

“That must have hurt,” frowned HawkShadow as he saw large sevemore trees snapped off like you would find after a brutal storm.

“It didn’t hurt her any,” Lyra said sadly. “She was dead long before she hit those trees.”

“Let’s find her and do what we have come to do,” urged Marak.

HawkShadow led the way into the forest, following the trail of snapped trees. The breaks in the trees gradually got closer to the ground, and HawkShadow finally stopped next to Myka’s carcass. He dismounted the choka and cursed softly as he stepped into a river of blood.