Another rider comes up and salutes the officer as he reports, “The enemy is falling back, sir. They’re regrouping west of the river and aren’t showing any signs of leaving.”
“Pull our men away from the river and have them rest,” he tells him. “With the bridge gone, there’s no reason for all the men to stay here. Have half go to Colton to aid in the evacuation, I’ll stay here with the rest and keep an eye on our friends over there.”
“Yes, sir,” the rider says as he salutes and turns back to the men as he carries out his commander’s orders.
“You might want to keep all your men here, sir,” Fifer says to him.
“Why?” replies the commander as he turns to him. “And just who are you?”
“Fifer sir, with Miller’s band,” he explains.
“Miller you say?” he says, thinking.
“Yes sir. We were with the alliance forces near Lythylla when Lord Pytherian had been taken,” he adds.
Understanding suddenly dawns on him and he states, “So, you are those guys.”
“Sir?” asks Fifer.
“Aren’t you the ones who helped Lord Pytherian to escape from the enemy?” he asks.
“Well, yes sir,” he replies.
“He said you might be coming through the lines,” he replies. “Also said to aid you in any way I could.” Breaking into a laugh, he says, “Though it seems it turned out the other way around.”
“Sir,” a man says from behind him.
Turning around, he says, “Yes?”
“All the wounded have been loaded onto wagons and are making for Colton,” the soldier explains.
“Good,” replies the commander. “Send an escort with them.”
Saluting, the man turns and begins to arrange for the escort.
“Now, why should I keep the men here?” he asks.
“To the south a force is coming around the forest, where Captain Alerin is defending,” Fifer explains. “He is currently harassing them, delaying their march. But they should be here soon.”
Nodding, he signals another soldier who comes over. “Send a rider to Captain Alerin, tell him the bridge has been taken out and the enemy will likely be coming his way. May be unable to send reinforcements, he’s to remain at his discretion.”
Saluting, the soldier says, “Yes, sir.”
As the soldier moves to carry out his order, the commander turns back to them and says, “The main battle will be for Lythylla. The men will be needed there, that’s our first priority.”
“Sir!” a soldier hollers over to him as he points across the river. “The enemy is pulling out and moving south!”
Looking over the river, they see the army beginning to move south, keeping just out of range of Madoc’s bowmen.
“Captain Alerin is soon going to have his hands full,” he comments.
“Looks like it,” James says as he watches the soldiers marching south. “What do you plan to do?” he asks the commander.
“Follow them as they go south,” he says. “At least until they reach the forest, then they’re Alerin’s problem.” He turns and signals another of his aides and says, “Get the rest ready to move, we got to keep them on that side of the river.”
The man salutes and then begins barking orders as he gets the men ready to march.
A soldier brings the commander’s horse over to him. Mounting, he turns to James and says, “When you see Lord Pytherian again, tell him Commander Eathan will hold the southern flank as long as possible. I’ll keep the bastards off them as they march to Lythylla.”
“Good luck, commander,” James says to him.
“You too, son,” replies Commander Eathan. “Ride fast, the Empire has patrols on this side of the river but no main forces north of here. So far, we’ve kept them on the west side of the river but that’s not going to last for long.”
“Move out!” he hollers to his men as they begin pacing the soldiers who are moving south on the other side of the river.
James and the others watch as the commander and his men move south, keeping the enemy from crossing over. Then they turn their horses north, following the river. They don’t get very far before they hear horns coming from the east. Answering horns sound from the army across the river.
From the east marches the army that Captain Alerin had been trying to slow down. “They’re going to catch Commander Eathan and his men against the river!” he exclaims.
“They’ll be cut to bits!” cries out Fifer.
They watch as the army moves toward the Madoc defenders. Commander Eathan forms his men to meet the charge, but from where James is sitting, he doesn’t stand a chance of surviving it. The army across the river has stopped its southern advance and its crossbowmen have come to the edge of the river where they fire a volley at the men caught between them. The bolts fall short, but if Commander Eathan is pressed backward much further, they’ll soon be in range.
“We’ve got to help them!” Fifer says to James. “They’re dead if we don’t!”
Jiron watches as James ties himself to his saddle as he’s done several times before. That can only mean what he’s got in mind is going to be rough. “Stay close to James,” he tells the other two. “We’ve got to protect him and get him out of here once he’s done.”
They begin moving toward the advancing force. At first, they’re not noticed, so intent is the army on the trapped men at the river. When they get within a mile, a force of twenty men break off and head in their direction.
James glances to Jiron and says, “I’m already very tired.”
“I know,” he replies. “Do what you have to, we’ll get you out.”
Nodding, James tightens the rope binding him to his saddle before closing his eyes.
Crumph!
The ground under the men explodes upward in the biggest explosion James has done so far. When the dust clears, none of the attackers are moving.
Fifer gasps as five translucent floating balls appear before James. As if propelled by a strong wind, they fly toward the Empire’s men. Barely seen, they reach the army and begin moving among them before they’re even noticed.
Arrows from Commander Eathan’s men begin felling the attackers as they come within range. Their longbows have a greater range and force than their counterpart’s crossbows.
As the enemy notices the orbs floating among them, they begin stirring and move away from them as best they can. The tightly packed formation doesn’t give them room enough to avoid them.
Suddenly, the enemy force is lit up as red lines flare between the orbs. The men begin crying out, all thoughts of attack forgotten. They see one soldier run and accidentally run across one of the lines. After he passes the line, he stumbles for a moment and then the top half of his body slides off the lower. The red line had cut him in two. Unable to move, caught within the boundaries of the lines, the bulk of the army comes to a standstill.
The arrows from Commander Eathan’s men begin taking a terrible toll.
As the balls move, so too do the lines. Jiron watches in fascination as two lines come together and the men trapped between them are agonizingly cut in half before his eyes.
James is slumped over his horse as he tries to hold onto consciousness long enough to complete what he’s got to do. He gives one last surge of power as he brings the balls together in the middle of the group of men. Every last one of them is cut in half, their cries abruptly silenced. Then he passes out and the balls disappear.
A cry goes up from Commander Eathan’s men as they surge forward to attack the remaining enemy soldiers who hadn’t been caught between James’ lines of death. Arrows fall as they rush forward to close with them.
The enemy turns tail and retreats, but is soon overtaken by a hundred horsemen that strike them down as they run. Some stand and fight, but don’t last long.
Jiron sees the commander waving at them. He waves back and then says, “Let’s go. We’ve got to get him someplace safe for a while.”
“What’s wrong with him?” asks Fifer as he comes over to the unconscious James.
“It’s what happens when he does too much magic,” he explains. “If he uses too much, he passes out and it takes some time before he can even do simple things again.”