Alena looked up, taking the measure of the battlefield. Their fight had cleared a small space, but it looked like the Etari charge had broken the Lolani. Riders wheeled and charged again, hacking and slashing with their blades. Pockets of resistance collapsed before her eyes.
But far fewer Etari rode on their mounts than before. Of the almost five hundred that had made the charge, it appeared that only half that number survived. At least, only that many remained mounted. Alena hoped more would be found behind, injured but alive.
They had won the battle, but the cost had been high.
51
Their pursuit remained relentless. Brandt and Ana jogged through the forest, sacrificing stealth for speed. When they needed to rest, they walked quickly, catching their breath and easing the burning pain in their legs.
Despite their exertion, they did not lose their pursuers. The invaders seemed to be every bit as determined to catch them as they were to escape.
Brandt led them south and east, toward Landow. They needed to get word to Kye, so he could prepare for the assault working its way toward the heart of the empire.
They ran and walked for a full day, never stopping. His belly gnawed at his ribs, demanding sustenance, and his throat felt cracked from a lack of water. But there was no time to stop. Brandt kept waiting for their pursuers to give up the chase. He and Ana had traveled leagues without stopping, a physical feat that would have destroyed many.
And yet they came.
The sun was falling and the trees cast long shadows. Below their feet the soft ground of the lowland forest was turning rocky, an early promise of the mountains that stood to the north of Landow.
He and Ana would need to find their way across those mountains if they were going to reach the town. Brandt knew a road lay to the east, but how far away he had no guess.
Their pace finally slowed as the sun set. Brandt’s jog turned into a walk, and no amount of focus or lightness could convince his legs to run again. Ana slowed to keep pace with him.
Their pursuit closed, taking advantage of their weakness. Brandt stopped checking, pushing himself forward with every bit of focus he could muster.
“Should we ambush them?” Ana asked, the question coming in ragged gasps.
Brandt shook his head. The land was becoming more uneven, and their footsteps took them uphill. There would be caves ahead, places where they could hide and rest. An ambush would be their last desperate gamble, and from what he had seen of their warriors earlier, Brandt didn’t think that chance favored him and Ana. The invaders were too strong.
The trees thinned as the land became more rugged. Glancing behind him, Brandt swore he saw shadows moving through the woods behind them. It spurred him to walk faster.
As the evening wore on, his mind emptied. He had no particular destination in mind. He found his own route through the rugged foothills, following whatever course looked best at a glance. So long as every step brought him closer to the distant city of Landow, he was satisfied.
The moons were high in the sky, hidden behind fluffy clouds, when Brandt reconsidered the ambush. He didn’t think he could walk much further. His legs had stopped burning some time back, transforming into lifeless pillars that hardly moved. His head pounded with every beat of his heart, and his stomach had long ago given up its fight for food.
Beside him, Ana didn’t look much better. They needed rest.
They came to the intersection of two small valleys, and Brandt chose the one on the left. He couldn’t give a particular reason — his choices had become impulsive long ago.
As they crossed a small open ridge, Brandt looked down and saw other shapes struggling up the hill. The invaders were maybe a thousand paces away. Fortunately, they didn’t appear to be moving much faster.
Brandt and Ana followed the small valley ever higher. Every step took a moment of concentration.
Brandt looked back again, but the land and a few lone trees blocked the view of their pursuit. Perhaps here they could find cover to launch an ambush?
His eyes found a crack in the land, a darkness blacker than the surrounding night. It had been hidden from view as they walked up, visible only to one looking down thanks to an outcropping of rock next to it.
That darkness called to him, beckoned for him to rest.
He grunted, which was enough for Ana to glance at him. He pointed. “There.”
He thought a look of skepticism crossed her face, but they were both too tired to argue. Together, they approached the slit.
It wasn’t wide. If he shuffled sideways, he barely fit, both his chest and shoulders scraping against the sides. He slid in, one hesitant step at a time.
After a full night of hiking, his eyes had adjusted to the dark. Even in the cave, he could make out the rough outlines of the walls illuminated by the trickle of light coming from the slit.
Had he been more awake, the tightness of the opening might have bothered him. Earth pressed on him from all sides. He heard the low hum of the element, barely audible even in the silence of the night. He was too tired to listen. It occurred to him that he could probably fall asleep right here, the walls narrow enough to prevent him from collapsing.
Then he stumbled, no longer supported by the walls, into an opening. After regaining his balance, he paused. A trickle of water could be heard nearby.
Ana came through a moment later, a soft grunt of surprise evidence of her own passage.
Brandt listened for the song of fire. Exhaustion made his eyes heavy, but he only needed to do this one last thing. He heard the song, faint to his sense.
But it was enough.
A small flame, pitifully weak, came to life
