The Gift of Battle (26 page)

He thanked God
for one thing most of all: that, live or die, he would be there to fight
another war.

Gwendolyn
crossed the deck of her ship, joined by Kendrick, Steffen, and now Darius, whom
she was thrilled to have back with them, as she headed for the bow. Their last
encounter with the Empire fleet had been too close, and she knew that if it
hadn’t been for Darius and his ingenuity with the cannon, they might all not be
alive right now.

She reached the
rail and scanned the horizon, the others at her side, hundreds of members of
the Ridge behind her, filling her ship and filling the other three ships of her
fleet, each manned by Koldo, Ludvig, and Kaden—and her heart leapt as she
spotted, on the horizon, the outline of a landmass, one she knew like the back
of her hand:

The Ring.

Gwen’s heart
slammed and her throat went dry, and she felt a wave of jubilance rush through
her unlike any she’d ever experienced. Her homeland. Even destroyed, it was
still her home, and now, finally, it lay within reach again. It restored her
heart, made her feel as if there were a purpose to life again, a chance for all
of them to be together and to build a life again.

Gwen saw the
gleam in Kendrick’s eyes, too, in Brandt’s and Atme’s, and she could see that
they felt the same way. She also saw the looks of wonder in the eyes of Koldo
and Ludvig and Kaden and Darius—and all those of the Empire and the Ridge who
had never laid eyes upon the Ring before. Its shores, even from here, were so
beautiful, so mysterious, with cliffs that rose high in the air, framed by
jagged rocks, a lush green forest behind it, and a mist that hung over it all.
Its circular shoreline, most of all, caught the eye, making it feel, even from
here, like very special place, like a magical land that rose from the sea.

“So it is not
just a myth,” Koldo called out, studying it in awe. “The famed Sorcerer’s Ring
truly does exist.”

Gwendolyn smiled
back at Koldo.

“Finally,”
Ludvig called out, “the two sides of the MacGil family, the Ridge and the Ring,
shall be united in one homeland!”

Gwendolyn was
feeling the same sentiment, and wanted more than anything to celebrate,
especially as she knew that being here, in the Ring, meant that she might see
Thorgrin again. She prayed that Lycoples had delivered the message, that he had
found the Ring and their son, and would meet her here. She prayed with all her
heart—nothing else would make her joy so complete.

But suddenly
Gwen’s reverie was shattered as horns sounded on the horizon behind her. She turned
and looked back, and her heart stopped to see that the horizon was filled, once
again, with Empire ships, all of them having rallied, having pursued her here.
There were hundreds of them this time, a massive black fleet covering the
horizon, waving the black banners of the Empire, and closing in fast—too fast.

The Empire ships
were superior to theirs, and Gwendolyn knew they would reach them soon. She
glanced back and forth, gauging how far away the Ring was, and how far away the
Empire was, and she wondered if they would make it in time. It would be close,
down to the wire.

“And if they
overtake us before we reach it?” Kendrick asked, studying the horizon with her.

“They outnumber
us ten to one, my lady,” Darius said. “We must reach the Ring before they do.”

Kendrick turned
back and studied the horizon critically.

“And even if we
do,” he said, “we will be but on the edge of the Ring, at the Wilds. We will
still have to cross them—and more so, cross the Canyon.”

“And what good
will it do to cross the Canyon without a shield?” Steffen asked. “This is not
the Ring we once knew. This land lies unprotected. The Empire will be on our
heels. We will not be able to outrun them. At some point, we will have to stand
and fight.”

Gwen, thinking
the same thing, looked up and searched the skies, waiting, watching, hoping
more than anything to hear the screech of a dragon, to see Thorgrin return to
her.

Thorgrin,
please. We need you now. More than ever. Please return to us, for one last
battle. For old times’ sake.

But her heart
fell as she saw and heard nothing. Just dark, rolling clouds growing darker by
the moment, as if the heavens were angry, as if they knew the bloodshed that
was about to happen.

Gwen turned back
to the others, resolute. She was alone, as always, and she would find a way to
fight alone.

“If we must
fight the whole of the Empire,” she said, her voice firm, “then we shall fight.
And if we shall die, then we shall die. The battle before us is a battle for
our homeland, for ourselves, for our freedom. Whether we win or lose matters
little: it is the chance for battle that is the gift.

“Raise the
sails!” she yelled, turning to her men. “Take up the oars!”

Steffen and the
others scrambled to follow her command, carrying it up and down the ships, as
the men rushed to further hoist the sails, to pull harder on the oars. They all
redoubled their efforts, their fleet gaining speed as they sailed for the Ring,
trying to make land. As Gwen stood there, looking out, she watched, desperate,
as the Empire fleet crept toward them like a plague, knowing there was little
she could do. She turned and looked back at the Ring, studying the shoreline,
and she had an idea.

“Head
northeast!” she cried. “For the Shallow Bay!”

They altered
their direction, and as they did, Kendrick came up beside her, studying the
looming shoreline of the Ring.

“The Shallow Bay
is shaped like a horseshoe, my Queen,” he said. “If we enter, if we even make
it, we shall be trapped inside.”

She nodded.

“And so will the
Empire,” she replied.

He looked back,
confused.

“It will force
them to funnel in,” she replied. “It is a bottleneck. One million ships cannot
fit in at once. A few dozen, perhaps—and these will narrow the odds.”

Kendrick nodded
back, clearly pleased.

“That is why
Father chose you,” he said approvingly.

Gwen’s heart
raced as the land of the Ring loomed but several hundred yards away, the strong
coastal winds bringing them closer. The Shallow Bay jutted out, two long
peninsulas on either side, like a horseshoe, with a narrow opening of less than
fifty yards, and she sailed her ship, leading her fleet right inside it.

As they entered
its calm waters, sheltered here from the wind and ocean currents, the other
ships sailed up beside her, Koldo and Ludvig and Kaden staring back, awaiting
direction in what was, for them, a new land.

Gwendolyn
studied the topography of the Ring, and she was shocked to see how much it had
changed since they had left. The Wilds were now overgrown, their thick, dark
wood leaning over, growing into the water, thicker and blacker than she had
ever seen it. Of course, it made sense; the patrols of the Silver had not been
here in moons to clear it out, and the Wilds, she knew, were likely filled with
savage beasts again. This would not make their trek to the Canyon any easier.

Another horn
sounded, and Gwen turned to see the Empire fleet closing in, entering the bay,
trapping them in here, the forefront of their fleet, a dozen ships, entering at
once. She turned back and saw the shore still a hundred yards away, and she knew
they would not make it in time.

She felt torn.
Here they were, so close to home after all this time, and she wanted more than
anything to disembark. Why could the Empire have not given her but an hour’s
more lead? Just an hour to touch down on her homeland, to feel it beneath her
feet once again? It broke her heart.

She knew that,
at this point, it would take a miracle, and she searched the skies again,
hoping for any sign of Thorgrin.

But, again,
there was none. Her heart fell. Had he made it? Was he, too, lost to her?

Gwen gritted her
teeth and resigned herself to the battle before her. They would have to make a
stand; they had no choice. They would all die here, she knew—and yet there was
no place she’d rather die than fighting for the Ring. At least they would not
die a foreign death, a lonely death in a strange land, in the waste of Empire,
in lands unknown, so far from home. She would die here, where her father had
died, and his father before him.

“We fight!” she
yelled, turning to her commanders.

They all could
see the seriousness of her expression, and as a somber air fell over them, they
all knew the time had come. It was time to put their battle faces on.

Hardly had she
issued the command than the first shot appeared across the bow. Gwen looked up
as she heard the whistling of a thousand arrows, and she saw the sky blacken
with the Empire’s first volley.

“Shields!” she
cried.

All of her men,
prepared for this, raised their shields and took a knee in tight formations,
huddling close together. Gwen joined them, pulling Krohn in tight beside her,
raised her oversized shield, and took a knee with the wall of soldiers.

The thump of
arrows hitting wood sounded all around her, as arrows landed on the deck like
rain, some splashing into the water, not enough distance to reach them—but most
hitting wood. Gwen felt her arm jolt as more than one hit her shield. She was
surprised at the force with which the arrows hit, even from so far away.

Finally, all
fell silent, the volley ended, and she and all her men slowly stood and looked
out.

“ARCHERS!” she
commanded.

Dozens of her
archers stepped forward, raising their bows in neat lines.

“AIM FOR THE
SAILS!”

Her men did as
she commanded, firing back, and the sky blackened again—this time with her own
arrows, flying back across the harbor. Her men aimed high, something the Empire
was clearly not expecting, as they all took cover down below and the arrows
sailed harmlessly over their heads.

Nor were they
expecting the damage it did: thousands of arrows punctured the sails, filling
them with holes, leaving them in tatters; soon, the sails flapped wildly in the
wind, useless. Their ships immediately lost speed, and while they continued to
advance, it was not nearly as quickly.

Gwen’s ships, on
the other hand, continued to sail at full speed, and as another volley of
Empire arrows came back at them, this time they were mostly out of range, most
arrows landing harmlessly in the sea. But a few of her men cried out, pierced
by arrows despite their shields, too many slipping through. She knew time was
short.

Gwendolyn looked
back to the shore, closer, but still far enough away. She knew she had to take
this fight to the land; out here, in the open sea, they were sitting ducks. But
as she turned and looked, she saw more and more Empire ships filing into the
harbor, and she knew the odds were not good.

“FIRE!” she
yelled.

Her men
unleashed another volley of arrows, these into the soldiers, Gwen taking up a
bow and firing along with them, and she watched in satisfaction as more than
one Empire soldier was hit and fell.

But an Empire
volley came right back at them, and Gwen and the others took cover once again.

Back and forth
the volleys went, the Empire ships slipping ever closer, until Gwen finally
looked back and saw the shore but twenty yards away. Her men were dying, and
she knew they had to make it. They were so close now. She could almost feel the
land beneath her feet, and if the water wasn’t still so deep, she would have
had her men jump.

Suddenly, Gwen
heard a noise which made her heart sink. It was a sparking noise, the sound of
a fuse being lit. She turned, and her heart stopped to see an Empire cannon
being turned and aimed right for them.

“GET DOWN!” she
yelled.

But it was too
late: there came a terrific boom cutting through the air, followed by an echo,
and suddenly, an explosion of wood.

All was chaos,
as the ship beside Gwen was smashed to bits, dozens of her men dying, shrieking
as they fell overboard, some in flames. The boat, Kaden’s, immediately began to
sink, half the men sliding down the deck, falling over the edge and into the
water.

Kaden fell with
them, and he helped rally them, keep them afloat, as Gwen and her men
immediately threw them ropes and helped them climb onto her ship, saving those
who were not too wounded to climb.

The Empire took
advantage of their weakness and fired another volley of arrows, taking aim at
those climbing the ship, and as men were being pulled back up, more than one of
them, impaled by an Empire arrowhead, slipped back into the water, dead.

Gwen turned and
saw the situation getting desperate, more and more Empire ships sailing into
the harbor, and many with cannons. She saw a soldier with a torch leaning to
light another fuse—and she knew that in a moment, another one of her ships would
be taken out.

As Gwen watched,
wanting to take action but knowing there was no time, she was shocked to see a
spear go through his back and out the other end. The soldier stood there,
stunned, and suddenly fell face first, dropping his torch harmlessly on the
deck.