Chapter Six

Battle at the Camp Borders

JANUS

"You've got to be kidding. You want to hire us again? We haven't even been paid for the last job." Hansel looked up at Janus lazily. He was lying on his back outside his small tent by a fire, rifle laid beside him.

Janus had found him and Gretel camped somewhere between the Xerflorians and the Northuldra. They'd both stayed with the Coalition, offering their mercenary services to whichever battalion needed two extra sharpshooters. Not to mention they were still waiting to collect their bounty which Janus had promised Anna would give them. He still hadn't found the time to tell the queen about the promise he'd made on her behalf.

"I'm not kidding." Janus answered dryly. "Look, we have an attack on our hands."

"So let the common infantry deal with it." Hansel yawned. "It's late and we're tired. Who the hell attacks at night anyway? Goes against all the rules of civilised warfare, last I heard."

"There's nothing civilised about the enemy." Janus lowered his voice. "Besides, there's demon sorcery involved."

Gretel sat up. "The Mage Slayers?"

"You know about the Mage Slayers?" Janus asked.

"We were hired by the Order, remember? We know about them."

That explains it. Just as well, since Janus didn't think he had time to fill them in on all the details or convince them that demon assassins actually existed.

"We need your expertise." Janus said bluntly. "If killing sorcerers was your thing, how about demons?"

"You still owe us." Hansel looked disgruntled. "When's the queen gonna pay up?"

"Soon." Janus didn't have the patience for this. To hell with it. "Look, you help us and the queen will double whatever the hell your quote is."

"Done." Hansel scrambled to his feet, using his rifle as a crutch to help him up.

Gretel sighed and rolled her eyes before getting to her feet too. "Where's the fight?"

"Follow me." Janus set off at a run again for the edge of the camp where Elsa and the others were. He hoped that he wasn't too late.

The rest of the camp flew by like a blur of colours as they passed the soldiers in yellow and black, the green, grey and finally came across the blue. The Molcorrans nearer to the edge were in a state of disarray. Barricades had been formed, and they were hiding behind the barricades in pairs or threes, taking turns to fire at whoever was out there while the others loaded their muskets.

Pink white flashes every now and then showed Janus where the enemies were. He frowned. These weren't normal skirmishers from the Imperial Horde. They wore white uniforms and thick fur coats, blending in perfectly with the snow, and their aim was far better than the regular infantrymen. He watched as a few Molcorrans swore and spun away from the barricades as they took musket balls in their shoulders and chests.

"Holy." Hansel said as he and Gretel caught up with Janus. They stood about twenty yards behind the barricades, crouched over to avoid being slugged by a stray musket ball. "Haven't seen shooting this damn good in a long while."

"They're not normal skirmishers." Janus muttered. He judged the distance. Somewhere between a hundred and fifty to two hundred yards, just outside effective musket range. Behind the barricades, the Molcorrans weren't going to hit anything at this distance. As if that wasn't enough, the chances of hitting an enemy skirmisher was extremely slim.

But the enemy skirmishers were of a totally different breed. Unlike their counterparts who had been attacking during the day, their aim and precision was deadly and they were most likely using longer rifles for better range. More Molcorrans fell, heads jerked back as brains were splattered, and replacements were pushed forward by sergeants to take their fallen comrades' place.

"But they're Exonians, right?" Gretel asked. "What other army could have come from so deep within Empire territory?"

"Probably an elite guard or something. Like the Agrabanian Highlanders." Janus said absentmindedly as he checked his holsters for his pistols, spare powder and other small daggers and weapons.

"Those Highlanders are among the best shots in the world." Gretel mused as she watched the firefight. "We've seen them in action before and I'm saying these Exonians could really go toe to toe with them."

"They're wasting their powder." Hansel scoffed, watching the Molcorrans helplessly trying to hit and ward off the skirmishers in white and failing. "No one's gonna hit anything at this distance."

"My thoughts exactly," Janus walked in a half crouch towards the barricades and motioned for the Witch Hunters to do the same. "Which is why we're going to help them."

Rifle in hand, Hansel glanced over at Gretel and shrugged. "I don't plan on dying tonight."

Gretel unslung her own rifle from her back. "Then don't."

Janus surveyed the perimeter of the barricades at the edge of the camp. Where was Elsa and the others? He spotted her on the other side of the line, together with Maui and Tracy. They looked like they were ready to go over the barricades and make for the forest.

"The Mage Slayer must be in the woods." Janus concluded aloud.

"Say what?" Hansel rammed the musket ball down the barrel of his rifle with the ramrod.

"Elsa and the rest." He gestured at them. "They're going to try and sprint for the woods. Tracy must have sensed the demon in there."

"Mad." Gretel shook her head incredulously. "Running into musket fire? Has to be the dumbest plan I've ever heard."

"Stick around." Janus said beneath his breath. He could think of one or two instances when the Warriors had pulled even crazier stunts like the one back in Stormtide prison. This would've been considered a cake walk if it weren't for the Mage Slayer hiding somewhere out there. Can we survive another face-off against the demon assassins?

"Make room." Hansel barged past one of the Molcorran corporals who was supposed to take the spot on the barricade where his predecessor had slumped in a pool of blood. The bounty hunter checked the flash pan of his rifle again, snapped it shut and pressed the butt of the weapon against his shoulder. Gretel did the same on a separate barricade, bringing her loaded rifle to bear.

That just left Janus, who stole another glance to his left, where Tracy was just lined up in front of the other two. They were about to make a run for it. Janus gave a short sigh, and drew the rifle from his back which he'd picked up along the way, opting to use it instead of his bow and arrows for now. He joined Hansel and Gretel who had already begun firing and reloading at the barricades, and set his rifle butt against his shoulder and sighted down the barrel.

There, about a hundred and sixty yards was one of the many soldiers in white hiding out in the dark amongst the snow. Just outside effective musket range. A normal soldier wouldn't have too great a chance, but he was no ordinary soldier. His finger squeezed the trigger and he felt the familiar kick to his shoulder as his rifle recoiled and a small puff of smoke rose. The soldier on the other end spun away, the shot having taken him clean through the throat. The moment he'd pulled the trigger, Janus' fingers mechanically set to reloading the rifle, muscle memory kicking in from all the times he'd used a firearm instead of his traditional bow and arrows.

Above the chaos of all the musket fire and scrambling of the soldiers, he could see from the very peripheral of his vision that the trio on the left had just vaulted over the barricades and began bolting across the plains for the forest. The soldiers in white obviously saw them, and turned their musketry to them. Janus winced as he heard the erratic crashing of muskets like giant drops of rainfall. By all natural means, what his friends were attempting was suicide, but it didn't seem to be too much of a problem for them.

ELSA

This is suicide, Elsa thought as they vaulted over the barricades, ignoring the frantic shouts of the Molcorran soldiers around them. Balls zipped around them, whizzing past and striking the soldiers who'd emerged from their cover behind the barricades. Whoever the soldiers in white were out there, they were very good marksmen.

Tracy was in the lead, conjuring up wide shields of floating purple mists, which did a good job at warding off all the musketry. The balls pinged and thudded against Tracy's magic and fell away uselessly like water off a duck's back. Her sorcery was too strong to be penetrated, and held up as Elsa and Maui stayed close behind, advancing across the snow plains towards the other side where the forest was.

"It's working!" Maui shouted above the whines and cracks of the firefight. He held his fish hook, and a rifle was slung across his shoulder though Elsa was quite sure that he had no idea how to use it. "We're getting closer!"

"Heads up! I see someone moving from the forest!" Tracy called over her shoulder. "See that?"

Elsa scanned the near distance, where the forest was about a hundred and twenty yards away. Sure enough, the branches and thorns of the dead trees were stirring, as though someone from inside was pushing them aside. A figure in brown drapes emerged.

"Mage Slayer!" Elsa shouted, unable to hear her own voice in her ears as the musketry from the soldiers in white cracked louder with every step they took.

"We can take him!" Maui roared.

"How?" Tracy hollered back as they began to draw nearer to the closest pair of white skirmishers, who were on their right flank.

Almost absentmindedly, Elsa threw out one hand and froze his musket before he could aim and level it at them. The force of her ice threw him backwards with a yelp. The skirmisher beside him emerged from behind a small elevation in the snow, and whirled to aim at them. Elsa levitated all the snow around him which shocked and disoriented him for a split second. With the twitch of her hand, she brought the ice crashing down on top of him like an avalanche, burying him and his weapon in the snow.

"Nice." Maui said as they continued running from behind Tracy's shield.

"Something tells me the assassin isn't going to go down that easily!" Tracy called out again. "So what, we're just gonna ram him head on?"

As they drew to about seventy yards from the forest, Elsa could see through what little flashes of light stabbed out from the Molcorrans' musketry that it wasn't a man underneath that assassin getup. It was a woman whose long black hair flowed out from beneath the hood, and she jerked back her hands, letting the baggy brown sleeves fall back a little to reveal pale, thin hands.

"What's she doing?" Maui asked as they continued running past the white skirmishers and taking them out as they went.

"Don't know." Elsa stared at the woman, who flexed her fingers in the direction of one of the skirmishing pairs just in front of the advancing trio.

About fifty yards out where white skirmishers were busy reloading and firing at the Molcorrans, something suddenly exploded in a gigantic cloud of smoke, punching Elsa and the others off their feet from the aftershock of the eruption. Tracy's unceremonious shriek filled the air along with the incessant musket fire and the explosion. They landed in the snow with grunts a short distance away, unhurt but completely taken off guard.

"What in the blue hell was that?" Maui shouted.

Blinking to regain her senses, Elsa could see through the lingering smog that the pair of white skirmishers who'd been right in front of them no longer existed, apart from bits and pieces of their uniforms and packs. Black powder burnt in a few separate spots on the crimson-stained snow.

"She blew them up." Elsa said in disbelief, her ears still ringing slightly. "She must have ignited their black powder and caused that explosion."

"Great. So we're up against someone who can rig explosions!" Tracy got up just in time to create another shield of magic which blocked off more musket fire from a few more nearby skirmishers.

The Mage Slayer turned her attention momentarily to the Molcorrans across the plain. From over a hundred yards away, a few successive explosions and screams told Elsa that the assassin was performing a demonstration for them to confirm their suspicions about her abilities. Arrogant, Elsa thought angrily as she pushed herself up to her feet. But frightfully powerful.

"Maui." Elsa hissed urgently. "Is your rifle loaded?"

"No, why?"

The Mage Slayer turned back to them, and Elsa could've sworn from this distance in the dark that the assassin was smirking at them. The woman lifted a pale finger.

"Get rid of all your powder. Now!"

With lightning reflexes, Maui fished out the black powder he'd taken and hurled it a long distance away into the snow, just as the Mage Slayer detonated it. The burst of thick black smoke and an eruption of flames lit up the night sky for a brief moment before sputtering out with sediments and clouds of remnant powder settled into the snow.

"T'was close." Tracy muttered.

"How are we going to stop her?" Maui asked.

"I don't know." Elsa glared at the Mage Slayer, who spread her hands as if challenging the trio to come closer. She knew that they would have to cross and pass by even more pairs of enemy skirmishers before they could get to the entrance of the forest. Fifty yards was a lot to risk.

"I've an idea." Tracy glanced cautiously over at the Mage Slayer who was still gloating at them, as though she could hear them from over fifty yards away. "Crossing Points. She doesn't know what we can do."

It seemed like the best option. Elsa nodded. "Do it."

With one hand still holding up the shields of purple mist, Tracy used her off hand to conjure up a Crossing Point almost instantly.

"Go!" Tracy hissed.

Promptly, Elsa and Maui leapt through the Crossing Point and Tracy did the same, closing it behind her. It opened up behind the Mage Slayer, taking her completely by surprise. Confused by their sudden disappearance, the assassin let out a sharp gasp as Elsa pounced on her and dragged her down to the snow.

"Maui! Pin her! I can't hold her for long!" Elsa shouted as she landed messily on top of the flailing assassin.

Maui rushed over to help, and for a moment Elsa forgot that he no longer had his powers. Nevertheless, his size, weight and strength was still far above average. He gripped her wrists and pinned her to the snow before the Mage Slayer could struggle or break free to put up a fight.

"We did it." Tracy looked relieved. "Is it over?"

Before Elsa could reply, the Mage Slayer gave a ferocious snarl. Her hood had fallen back during the scuffle to reveal a pale, thin face that looked half dead with very deep set eyes. The dark makeup around her eyes was more than a little unsettling and her lip curled nastily. Her hand twitched for a very brief moment before Elsa and the others could stop her.

Black powder flew from a few of the white skirmishers' cartridges, levitating through the air as if being summoned. Elsa didn't have enough time to react as the powder flew collectively towards them.

But Tracy did. "Move!" She screamed, jerking Elsa out of the way.

An explosion at such close range rocked the world, the blast from the ignition reverberating through the air and snow. Smoke and powder residuals filled the air, and for a moment Elsa thought she'd lost her hearing. But the musketry rattled on, distant in her ears.

Maui had been thrown off the assassin by the impact of the blast, and he lay on his back in the snow. The Mage Slayer had gotten to her feet, and was now siphoning off yet another round of black powder with her hands raised, laughing at Elsa and Tracy with ill intentions.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have spoken so soon." Tracy groaned loudly, rubbing her head. "Bloody hell."

"We're not through yet." Cold particles swirled around Elsa's hands as she watched the Mage Slayer advance confidently towards them with black powder flying through the air at her command.

Without warning, the Mage Slayer let out a deathly shrill shriek and hurled the levitated powder at them again. But this time, Elsa knew what was coming. She froze the powder in the air as it whittled towards her and Tracy. The explosion was stopped before it even had the chance to begin, and the blocks of ice encasing the powder fell to the ground harmlessly.

Ignoring the protests of her still sore body, Elsa sprung to her feet before the assassin had a chance to make her next move, hurtling through the snow and sending another volley of ice in her direction. The assassin dove out of the way, the cloak's excess fabric flapping as she moved gracefully. But Elsa was quicker still. Two short bursts of ice froze the woman's legs, preventing her from getting up.

With hands still outstretched, Elsa approached cautiously, mindful to keep her distance. The Mage Slayer was too busy trying to chip away at the ice to summon another round of black powder. She growled angrily like an animal as Elsa drew nearer.

Just when Elsa felt she was ready to let down her guard, something seemed to spring from her own shadow, and a fist connected with her jaw. As her head jerked upwards and her vision went starry, she saw the silhouetted figure of a man emerge from seemingly out of nowhere. The shadowy figure slipped around her and wrapped his arms around her waist and heaved.

Already dazed, Elsa felt herself being lifted off her feet and thrust backwards and over the shadowy figure's body. She landed in the snow, unhurt by the impact against the soft ground, but she was still disoriented and off balance all the same.

"What-" she started, but the shadowy figure slipped out from her own shadow again, rolled her onto her belly and pinned her arms behind her back painfully.

"The great Snow Queen." The shadowy figure whispered in her ear, and her hair stood on end. "It's an honour to finally meet you in person."

Another Mage Slayer, one who can manipulate the shadows. Elsa's breath caught in her throat, stopping short of gasping as the assassin jerked her arm at an excruciating angle. Her jaw hurt, and this damned assassin was trying to break her arm. Tears pressed her eyes, but she fought them back. Focus. She willed her magic to flow through her, and the man's hand began to freeze over. He let go of her promptly and recoiled suddenly, hissing in shock and agony.

Stepping away quickly to disengage, Elsa spared a moment to orient herself. Tracy was by Maui's side, helping him up after the blast of the explosion. They'd both been trying to recover. On the other hand, the white skirmishers were still fighting fiercely against the Molcorrans at the camp borders, though now they were joined by soldiers from the other divisions, presenting a stronger defence. Nonetheless, the white skirmishers, whoever they were, were absolutely relentless.

I can't take both assassins alone. I need backup, Elsa thought as she eyed her stalking opponent warily. As if to answer her prayer, Elsa saw a familiar figure in black running across the plains, flanked by two others in dark flowing greys. Janus and the Witch Hunters were braving the musket fire, crossing the death zone to come to their aid.

A minuscule weight was lifted off Elsa's shoulders, and she turned back to confront the assassin, who was circling her like a wolf would do to a lamb. She faded sideways quickly as he lunged at her like a predator, and shot a bout of ice at his back. It passed through him as if he weren't even there, and he spun round sneering.

"Is that all?" His eerie whisper of a voice seemed to float towards her and tickle her ears uncomfortably.

She circled him so that his back was towards the incoming trio who by now had almost crossed into the white skirmishers' territory.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to win." He gloated, spreading his hands.

"I don't have to win." Elsa's lip turned upward into a slight smirk of her own. "I just have to stall."

"Stall?" The confused assassin opened his mouth to speak again, but shouted as something small exploded at his feet, sending him catapulting through the air like a tossed rag doll.

Author's Commentary:

It's interesting when you see things from the perspectives of Elsa and her allies. In the beginning, they were the most powerful beings to ever unite: the Warriors. But then came the introduction of the League of Sorcerers, where Elsa and the others discovered that they aren't alone, and that there are those that rival their own power. Fastforward to present day, and they're now beginning to understand that they are viciously outmatched by the Crimson Order's demon assassins who are too much for any one of them to take on alone. How can the Warriors find a way to triumph and emerge victorious this time?