Chapter Seventy Eight

Cavalry on the Coast Road

MELODY

In spite of all her tactical capabilities, she'd been played for a fool. They'd all been played for fools, thanks to the combined cunning of Hans and Kane, who were probably smirking and gloating on the other end of the battlefield. Melody's jaw tightened as she continued sprinting. Glancing over her shoulder, she noted that Janus hadn't followed. Which was good, because the Coalition's skirmishers and sorcerers still needed him and the other Warriors to hold down the fort while she tried to deal with their new problem.

Hans was right. This was all just an elaborate chess game to him. They'd all been countering his moves one step at a time while he'd begun with checkmate in mind. And all odds pointed to him winning again.

The emperor and Field Marshal Kane had baited them into committing their sorcerers to the trenches to deal with the onslaught of the Eternal Horde, leaving the walls less defended. The Mage Slayers had struck, clearing out a good many sorcerers and artillerists, whittling down the Coalition's long range defences and priming them for this: the final gambit. The Exonian cavalry now rode for the coast road to cut the Coalition off from the ships and block the remaining soldiers' escape, trapping them on Empire soil to be slowly slaughtered. Employing shock and awe tactics, it was likely that a good many soldiers still queueing to board the Highlander ships would die before they had the chance to turn their flanks and meet the cavalry charge.

"We never manage to see it coming in time, do we?" Maui mused as he effortlessly paced alongside her. "Damn Hans and his master plans."

"Not now, Maui," she gritted her teeth and shook the ghost of the demigod from her mind. She couldn't afford to be distracted now.

Reaching the edge of the eastern flank, Melody screeched to a halt and watched in horror as Exonian light cavalry steered clear of the skirmishers in the droves, careening down the snow covered road that swung round to the coast. Overhead, the remaining cannons opened fire, belching steel and fire into the flanks of the dragoons. The sorcerers that'd remained on the walls also unleashed all manner of hellfire on the enemy cavalry galloping past the walls facing east.

Riders were thrown from their saddles, sent flying and screaming as their comrades trampled them. But still it wasn't enough. It was impossible to gauge, but there had to be about four troops, totalling four hundred enemy horsemen. And attacking cavalry as it rode past simply wasn't effective. It simply wouldn't be enough. Melody narrowed her eyes. Not that it ever stopped me before.

Maui stared at her. "Oh, no. Don't tell me you're gonna do what I think you're-"

"Yup." With a great leap, she collided with one of the riders. The sheer impact threw him from his mount and Melody immediately took his place in the saddle, gingerly mounting the Exonian war horse. The Exonians around her noticed, and drew their carbines. But she too could play that game.

Reaching into her arsenal, she drew an arrow and shot down the closest soldier to her, then repeated the process with another cavalryman.

"And what now?" Maui shouted. "You're gonna take them out one by one?"

"As many as I can."

"It's suicide!"

"It's not like I have anything left to lose," She rode in close to a cavalryman, grabbed his sabre and kicked his side so hard that man and horse was sent careening into others down the row. Squeezing her thighs together, her new horse sped up, allowing her to get close enough to yet another horseman and slash his back.

Carbines went off, lead balls zipping around her as the Exonian dragoons tried to stop the intruder who'd suddenly leapt into their midst and sowed chaos among their ranks. With her enhanced senses and speed, she watched as a flash stabbed out as a carbine went off, the lead ball exploding from the barrel and rocketing straight towards her as though time had slowed. Her reflexes kicked in quicker than her mind could process what she was doing, her new sabre raised at an angle to deflect the shot aimed at her. The lead ball hit metal and screeched as Melody pulled her blade sideways, and the shot fell to the snow as she pushed her mount into a harder gallop.

"Fire, you bastards!" A lieutenant screamed in Exonite. "Cut her down!"

More carbines went off in a volley of cracks and in that split second, Melody knew that even she wasn't quick enough to deflect seven or eight shots at once. The lead balls flew at her, moving through the heavy air slowly, drawing out the impending doom that awaited her.

And then a shadow descended above Melody. She looked up to see an angel in white silhouetted against the clouds and falling from the sky, arms outstretched with blue-and-white laced sorcery flying from her fingertips. A thick barrier of ice was raised on Melody's sides and rear, leaving her path clear ahead of her. The lead balls thoked into the ice harmlessly, just as her saviour landed emphatically behind her, a left fist into the snow sending out enormous waves of cold energy that punched scores of horsemen off their mounts as though a twelve-pounder ball had just scythed through them.

Melody sawed on the reins and wheeled her mount around, surveying the suddenly cleared radius all around her, where horses lay kicking and neighing, pinning their riders to the road, with many more cavalrymen shot through with long icicles. And at the centre of it all, the Snow Queen herself. A foreign aura of darkness surrounded Elsa, but faded away as she got to her feet.

"That's new," Melody called to her. "Eleanor's help?"

"You could say that," Elsa said over her shoulder and tensed as more cavalry rode down the road towards them both. Ice exploded out in a huge coruscation of magic, slamming into the first row of horsemen and punching them back. The riders behind manoeuvred round the fallen dragoons but came on relentlessly, raising a battle cry in Exonite.

"What are you waiting for? Get on!" Melody beckoned to her, noticing that Elsa was favouring her right wrist as she turned and ran to Melody's horse. She offered Elsa her left hand and pulled her up. With the Snow Queen saddled behind her, she kicked her horse into a full gallop, charging straight for the rest of the cavalry ahead.

Elsa held onto Melody's waist as they sped forward. "You know we can't take them all on by ourselves!"

"Yeah," Melody said tightly as she leaned forward, feeling the cold wind and snow pelting her face. "I know."

She could sense Elsa's dread. "There's no coming back from this."

"I know." Melody glanced over her shoulder. "It's not too late for you to get off."

"I'm not leaving you to die out there. We're making it out of here."

The shouts and carbine shots behind them were still there, but grew fainter as Melody and Elsa raced forward towards the rear ranks of the cavalry untouched by the fight. The front ranks of the cavalry were almost reaching the bend of the coast road which led to the beach where the remaining wave of soldiers were still waiting to board the Highlander ships. Elsa was right about one thing. There's no coming back from this. But Melody gripped the reins tighter and spurred the mount on all the same.

In that moment, Melody knew what she was doing and why she was doing it. More likely than not in spite of Elsa's confidence, they would all go down fighting. Hans had outmanoeuvred them yet again and the remainder of the Coalition would fall today. That included all the Warriors and the League of Sorcerers. The Empire had won, but surrender was no option. If she was going to die, Melody resolved to fight till her last breath. It made no difference anymore.

Everything slowed in time as she embraced her end. A good life well lived, countless battles well fought. In the end, all of her will, all of her strength, it all came down to this. The final sacrifice. Courage. Purpose. The love for her friends and family. Everything she'd been gifted with had built to this singular moment. And it felt right. Maui had given his life so that she could live to see this day. And she would honour the demigod's sacrifice by doing things the right way. With the spirit of a Warrior to the very end.

Her senses sharpened as tranquil overtook her, even as they rode hard towards certain death. The bitter winds howled, beating against the current of enemy cavalry. The cannons roared overhead, belching fire which arced across the sky, steel shot screaming against the wind as they plummeted and took scores of dragoons with them. Horsemen and their mounts cried out as they fell, the survivors letting out unified bellow of resolve as they spurred their mounts to catch up with their comrades at the bend. Horse hooves thundered against the snow and concrete. And in the distance, there was something else. Something she couldn't see.

Melody's brow creased as she tuned out all other sounds to focus on the unknown. Her senses honed, she cut through everything else beyond the hooves that raced towards the coast. Further still, her senses locked onto the sound of wheels against wood.

With a gasp, she sawed hard on the reins once again, almost throwing Elsa from the saddle. Her mount neighed in displeasure, but obeyed her as she veered it off the path towards the eastern wall of the fortress, even as the cavalry behind overtook them and moved to join up with the rest ahead.

"Melody?" Elsa brought up a shield of ice, deflecting the carbine shots that came their way as the enemy rocketed them by.

Melody looked over her shoulder at the coast road, where the first of the dragoons were rounding the bend. Then came a deafening salvo that erupted in the near distance.

ANNA

"Fire!" Vice Admiral Zayan shouted in Agrabanian and his command was echoed by the Highlander naval officers.

Eruptions from three ship-of-the-line vessels and four frigates thundered in unison, slamming out a volley of eighteen and twenty four pound ammunition that curved through the air in beautiful, calculated arcs and smashed into the vanguard of the Exonian cavalry coming round the bend of the coast road.

"Reload!" came the bellowed order, and the seasoned navy set to work expertly manning the batteries.

Watching the spectacle as it unfolded, Anna stood beside Field Marshal Frederick, Kristoff and Talya, all safely aboard one of the ships docked at the coast. The Coalition soldiers who'd been queuing to board the ships had all managed to board before the signal came from Frederick's reconnaissance team atop Steinfall's eastern wall that the cavalry was coming. Thanks to Kristoff's system of efficiency and administration, everyone from the final wave who'd been waiting to board had been accounted for and was now watching the counterattack from the safety of the ships.

As always, she stood in awe of the Field Marshal's prowess. He'd anticipated the unthinkable again. Frederick had deduced that the emperor and Kane were gunning for something more than just exhausting the skirmishers in the trenches, with all likelihood hoping to catch the Coalition in a pincer movement between the trenches and the coast. And so upon his retreat from the wall, he'd made some quick arrangements in anticipation of a cavalry attack from the coast road, which was the only open and undefended spot. And true enough, the Exonian cavalry had come calling.

"Fire!"

Another deafening salvo belched steel, raining heavy artillery shot at oblique angle, wiping out countless enemies all at once. The naval ships were equipped for battle at sea, and their artillery barrages were nothing short of overkill, but perhaps overkill was what was necessary when it came to enemy commanders like Kane and Hans.

All the shock and awe that the Exonian dragoons had intended to employ evaporated in a single second and the horses milled about in panic, all order dissolving as huge gaps appeared in their formation. The oncoming ranks of cavalry slowed down as well, even as the cannons began to fire at will.

Field Marshal turned and nodded to one of his captains who stood nearby. "Now, Captain."

"First rank level!" The captain bellowed, and the order was similarly echoed across the port of the ship as well as the other ships along the coast.

Hundreds of muskets swung into place as the infantry positioned all along the ports of their ships took aim at the enemy cavalry not a hundred yards away.

"Fire!"

A unified crack split through the air, pink-white flashes stabbing out and engulfing the sides of the ships in thick musket smoke. Horses went down with their riders as the salvo of enfilading fire crashed into their left flank.

"First rank kneel and load, second rank level!"

A second row of arms were presented, musket barrels protruding over the ports as the first rank knelt to reload their weapons.

"Fire!"

A second crash, and many more dragoons went down, as the batteries continued to converge their fire on the bend of the coast road, raining steel shot and bottlenecking the entire advance of the enemy.

"I've never seen anything like it," Talya said breathlessly beside Anna, her voice almost all but lost beneath the musket cracks and the continuous bombardment of the naval batteries.

"Stick around," Anna said, then almost instantly regretted it. That wasn't meant to be an open invitation for this mysterious sorceress to stay, whoever she really was. But Talya was right. This was a brutal display of power and military might, something the likes of which she herself found jaw-dropping in spite of the many battles she'd witnessed during this season of campaigning.

The majority of the cavalry had either been blown to blood and gore or had been trampled by their own allies, with the rest turning to beat a hasty retreat. Those who were too slow to retreat were quickly scythed down by the incessant musketry from the ships' ports. Without Kane or Hans close by to command the manoeuvre or return with a counter, the victory over the dragoons was nothing short of a master stroke. With the enemies being routed in such quick, decisive fashion, the coast once again belonged to the Coalition. A victory roar swept across the coastal waters as Coalition soldiers, Highlander sailors and artillerists celebrated and cheered at their successful attack that'd been put together at the last minute by none other than the legendary commander, Field Marshal Frederick. They all whooped and cheered his name, all military decorum seeming to dissolve in the moment of triumph.

A weight seemingly lifted off her shoulders, Anna watched Frederick exchange a salute with Vice Admiral Zayan.

"Thank you, Vice Admiral. We are all in your debt," Frederick said, bearing all the trappings of his trademark, composed fashion, without any hint of pride or elation at the success of his strategy.

"Thank you, Field Marshal, but it seems I'm not the one they want to thank right now," Vice Admiral Zayan smiled.

The corners of Frederick's mouth turned upward slightly. "The battle's not over yet." He turned to Kristoff who stood a couple of paces away. "Sir," he said with his typical measured stoicism. "The cavalry have been routed. The coast is secure. Permission to sound the retreat?"

Anna and Talya both looked to Kristoff, as did everyone else in the nearby vicinity.

"Everyone's accounted for," he said confidently. "Sound the retreat. It's time to get the hell out of here."

"With pleasure, sir." Frederick said, then called with a loud voice. "Lieutenant Marciel!"

A young officer snapped a textbook salute. "Sir!"

"Are the signallers in place?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Then you know what to do," Frederick gazed at the fortress wall, and Anna spotted two figures on the southern wall facing the coast. "Sound the retreat."

JANUS

"Zintaleth maduntorohk, yielamasheth conta lashik!" Tracy chanted, and her eyes shot open, glowing an ominous bright purple. "Everyone get down!" Tracy shrieked as she lifted both hands set ablaze by purple fire.

The soldiers and sorcerers in the near vicinity who heard her dropped to the snow in spite of the Soulless and Exonian infantrymen in their midst. Janus caught Peggy's raised arm in mid air and roughly pulled her to the ground with him just as purple waves of black magic were hurled viciously across the battlefield.

Her sorcerous energy touched all the Soulless and Exonians up to fifteen yards ahead of her and spread to the west and east for at least five yards in each direction. For a moment it seemed like she'd cast a wrong spell. And then they all began to tremble, dropping to their knees. The Soulless screeched a demonic cry while the Exonians clutched at their heads and yelled in agony. Then with an enormous coruscation of purple that filled the sky, all those touched by her magic silently exploded into particles of black magic dancing amongst the falling snow and blown about in the howling winds. And all that was left of those who'd been in contact with Tracy's magic were bones in the snow.

"Holy shit," Peggy stared at Tracy who crumbled to her knees and fell on her side.

"Tracy!" Janus got to his feet and hurtled towards the fallen Warrior, weaving in and out of the Coalition skirmishers who'd gone back to fighting the rest of the enemies who hadn't been disintegrated by Tracy. Kneeling beside her, he felt for her pulse and sighed in relief when he found one.

"Is she alright?" Peggy joined his side.

"Her pulse is weak but she's alive," Janus answered. His ears pricked up at the sound of a musket's hammer being cocked and all instincts screamed at him to react. Pivoting on the back of his heel, a dagger slid down his sleeve and landed in his blood-stained glove just as he turned to face the source of the sound.

About eighty yards away, mostly obscured by scores of fighting men, a soldier in red was aiming straight at him. With all his might, he whipped the dagger end on end straight at the Exonian, and it covered the distance in fewer than two seconds. The blade sunk into the enemy's skull and the musket fell out of his hand. Turning his attention back to Tracy, his tensed posture relaxed as he felt Tracy stir.

"Bloody hell," Tracy groaned and nursed her temples. "What a headache."

"Oh, thank God. Come on, get up!" Peggy took her arms and pulled her to her feet.

Janus steadied her. "You alright?"

"Feels like I've been run over by a horse." Tracy winced and swore again. "I don't know how much longer we can last like this. There's only so much black magic I can conjure and summon."

"By the looks of it, everyone else is flagging too." Peggy said grimly.

And she was right. Janus could see through the smoke that the sorcerers at the head of the defenders were visibly worn out from doing the heavy lifting, and all the skirmishers were slowing too. But the Soulless and the Exonian infantry just kept coming. Meanwhile, Melody had rushed off to deal with the enemy cavalry, and the rest of their allies were up on the walls fending off enemy artillery and the Mage Slayers. They couldn't keep this up for much longer.

A long note from a trumpet blast filled the sky, spreading out across the battlefield. Its meaning was unmistakable, one that every soldier had been waiting to hear.

"Retreat!" came the first shout on the ground. The effect was contagious. Within mere seconds, the entire battlefield was filled with bellows repeating that welcomed word. Men and women turned and dashed for the fortress, the doors of the fort already sprung wide open for them. The stampede was a nightmare, and Janus managed to grab both Peggy and Tracy in time before they got lost in all of it. He manoeuvred them to the side as hordes of battle-weary Coalition soldiers streamed past them in the droves, filing through the entrance as quickly as they could go.

Meanwhile, the sorcerers continued to bombard the emperor's monsters and the Exonian infantry with all manner of magic, laying down covering fire to slow the advance of the enemy. But there were too many of the bastards and not enough sorcerers to screen the retreat.

With a deep breath, Tracy threw out both hands at the walls. Three Crossing Points opened up holes in the walls, gigantic portals of purple mist in front of the soldiers trying to get through the entrance of Steinfall. Thankfully, the soldiers were quick enough to deduce what the portals meant, and many of their number broke off from the crowd to sprint for the Crossing Points instead.

"Don't know how long I can hold this!" Tracy grunted weakly, her body shivering with the exertion as soldiers streamed all around her in palpable panic. "Hurry!"

"Damn it, there's not enough time!" Peggy shouted above the thunderous din, musketry from the Exonian infantry mixed with their shouts to advance. Brandishing her knife, she charged to aid the sorcerers in holding off the fast-advancing enemy.

"No!" Janus yelled desperately. "Peggy!" But it was too late to stop her. Every cold, logical instinct within him told him to leave her or his chances of getting out alive would dwindle exponentially. But damn his conscience, sentiment got the better of him. She's my flesh and blood. With a snarl of frustration, he tore his bloody falchion from the scabbard once more and rushed in the opposite direction of the stampeding soldiers. He couldn't lose her. His kin.

Leaping into the fray, he met waves of the Soulless head on, slashing and cutting through one after another alongside Peggy. She was in her element, fighting for all she was worth, her blade and body a blur as she held the line as best as she could, moving lithely with grace and deadliness as she killed Soulless and soldier alike. Janus wanted so hard to be furious at her for throwing herself into danger like this, but couldn't. She was too much like Elsa.

A soldier swung his musket at Janus, who ducked with supernatural speed aiding his already sharp reflexes. He grabbed the musket's barrel mid-swing, wrenching it out of the enemy's hand and slamming it sideways into the man's nose. Whipping the musket around, he hoped it was loaded as he pulled the trigger at his assailant. It was. His one crack among so many others, he tossed away the smoking weapon and parried a bayonet thrust from another Exonian with his sword, pulling back and returning a riposte that went right through the enemy's ribs and emerged the other side. Tearing his falchion free, he kicked the man into his comrades and evaded the teeth of a snarling Soulless. Bringing his sword round in an arc, a spray of blood coated his mask as the creature's throat exploded.

Taking a split second to assess the situation, he honed his senses to focus on what he wanted to see. All around him on both sides, sorcerers were slowly ceding ground to the relentless attackers, with even the fatigued Witch Hunters on the eastern flank fending off the enemies. Stealing a glance over his shoulder, he saw that almost all of the Coalition's remaining skirmishers were either through the entrance, or through one of Tracy's three portals. Tracy herself didn't look too good, her hands barely outstretched even as she rested her knees in the snow. With his heightened vision, Janus could see her shaking, big beads of perspiration rolling down her face in spite of the winter chill. Almost there, he willed her to last a little longer. Just hold on, damn it!

He turned back to the fierce battle and horror struck him. Obscured by countless of his comrades, an Exonian soldier was charging forward straight towards Peggy with bayonet fixed to his musket. And she was oblivious to it, her flank turned to aid the sorceress on her right fend off the creatures that'd pounced on her.

"No!" he shouted, barrelling across the line of fire of the two sorcerers beside him to get to her in time. He darted in front of Peggy and spun to snatch the bayonet out of the air. But for all of his newfound gifts, he was still just a split second too slow. The Exonian's bayonet sunk into his shoulder but the pain was just a dull buzz thanks to the spell. As his hand went to pry the bayonet free, a snarling Soulless lunged at him from out of nowhere with claws extended towards him.

A scratch across his left eye left a searing pain and sent stars across his vision. Crying out in agony, he staggered but maintained focus long enough to grab the Soulless and tear out its throat with his bare hands. Repressing the pain that was overwhelming his senses, he yanked the bayonet out of his shoulder and wrestled the entire musket out of the soldier's hands. Slamming the butt of the weapon against the man's jaw, Janus spun it round and stabbed him through the heart.

To earn himself and the others around him a moment's reprieve, his hand instinctively went to his belt and grabbed the last few pellets. Hurling them at the attackers, an explosion rocked the ground, with thick clouds of smoke and fire ensuing from the aftermath.

He couldn't see through his left eye, and the burning sensation was proving too much to ignore. His gloved hand went to his eye. The mask's eyehole had been torn out, and his fingers touched something moist as a lance of pain stabbed through his eye upon contact. Recoiling his hand in pure agony, he looked at his fingers. Blood.

"Janus!" Peggy had a horrified look on her face as she grabbed him. "Oh, damn it, your eye!"

The pain almost too much to endure, he neglected to reply her. The only thing that kept him from passing out was the spell that gave him enhanced endurance and tolerance of pain. Among the other wounds he'd sustained today, he knew he couldn't let it stop him. Not when they were this close to pulling off their escape at last.

"Are the skirmishers…" he trailed off, one hand covering his wounded eye.

Peggy glanced over her shoulder. "They're clear of the walls!"

"Then we need to retreat," he grunted as he turned with Peggy guiding him.

Fire from above scorched the ground, melting the snow wherever it impacted. A wall of flames was erected between the sorcerers and the enemies, stretching out across the width of the battlefield.

In spite of his agony, he looked up. There perched on the wall overlooking the trenches was Deirdre, conjuring up hellfire to quite literally screen their retreat. Eleanor stood by her side, her arms similarly outstretched. A wave of dark energy hit the flames and the fire spread towards the light infantry and the Soulless, engulfing them in the hundreds. The screams and shrieks filled the air along with cries of retreat.

The sorcerers, along with Janus and Peggy, hurriedly moved towards the Crossing Points. Miraculously, Tracy was still holding on, though it looked like she was about to pass out at any moment.

"Hurry!" Peggy shouted, pulling Janus with her.

All he could do was follow her, his vision marred by the wound across his left eye.

The sorcerers disappeared through the Crossing Points, leaving just Janus, Peggy and Tracy. Mustering up every ounce of his strength left, he reached down and lifted an exhausted Tracy, hoisting her over his unwounded shoulder.

"Come on!" Peggy gripped Janus' arm and pulled him into the Crossing Point.