Wrath of the Forgotten: Descendants of the Fall Book II by Hodges, Aaron (good english books to read .txt) 📗

them in place while they carried her. She looked to Maisie, and taking a breath, the woman vanished. Erika hadn’t even realised she’d let the illusion drop, though it made sense. Amongst the boulders they couldn’t be seen from the outside, and the Gemaho spy needed to conserve her strength.

Romaine still crouched beside her, but neither spoke as they waited, their eyes on the way leading back to the battle. The clash of distant weapons and the screams of the dying filled the silence, and Erika wondered how much time they had now. Without her magic, how much longer could the brave men and women of Gemaho last?

The thought made her shiver and her eyes fell again to the gauntlet. It had felt good to use its power again, to strike down men who came to kill her. And yet…she shuddered as she recalled the young man groaning at her feet. He’d betrayed them, had left breadcrumbs for the queen’s soldiers to follow, had poisoned Cara.

Now Romaine claimed that he’d only done it all to save his family.

She clenched her fist, watching as the light of her gauntlet pulsed. Had he truly deserved death? A shudder ran through her, but before she could consider the matter further, Maisie sprung from empty air beside them. Romaine flinched but Maisie only tossed them the jacket.

“Quickly,” she hissed. “Nguyen’s soldiers won’t last much longer.”

Erika nodded, and as Romaine held Cara on her side, she carefully folded the auburn wings tighter against the Anahera’s back. Cara whimpered at the movement, a trickle of blood running from her mouth, but she no longer spoke. Surely it was sacrilege to touch such talismans of the Divine, but Erika had already done much worse. If the Gods intended to condemn her, this would be the least of her crimes. With Romaine’s help, she managed to get Cara’s arms into the jacket, covering the wings and holding them in place.

Then she looked at the Calafe. “Can you do this?”

Romaine only grunted. Sheathing his sword, he scooped his one good hand around Cara and hefted her onto his shoulder. When they were sure the Goddess was secure, Erika drew in a breath and raised her gauntlet. She no longer trusted its power, but there was no choice now. They would need every advantage they had to survive what was to come.

She turned to Maisie. “You ready?”

The woman nodded grimly and raised her sphere, unleashing a flash of brilliance. A moment later they were cast into that odd light again, the outside reduced to a shimmering other world.

“Stay close,” Maisie said as she turned towards the battle. “The area of influence needs to be small if we’re to sneak past the soldiers.”

Together they crept back towards the battle. Light shone through from the outside, but it seemed unnatural, changed by whatever magic Maisie’s talisman cast. Ahead, they could see the soldiers that had travelled with them all this way.

Suddenly, Erika was struck by a terrible sense of déjà vu. She staggered, and the others glanced at her. She ignored them, a moan building in her throat. There were less than ten of the Gemaho left now. So many dead. As she watched, another fell, his head almost severed from his shoulders by the vicious swing of an enemy axe. The others retreated another step, seeking to plug the gap left by his death, but the Flumeeren men continued to press forward.

She scrunched her eyes closed, overwhelmed. It was happening again—innocent men dying because of her folly. She shuddered, faces running through her mind, of the men and women she had failed, too many to name.

The last was a face she had tried hard to forget, to push from her mind, his loss too painful to remember. Her father, the man that had raised Erika to be a princess, who had shielded her from the evils of the world, who had protected her. If only she could have protected him in return.

“Erika!” Romaine’s voice cut through her pain. Their eyes met and understanding passed between them. “You can’t save them,” the Calafe said softly. “But you can still save her.”

She nodded, forcing her grief to the side. Space had appeared to either side of the defenders now, but the enemy had been enraged by their defiance, and rather than seeking to encircle the Gemaho soldiers, they continued to attack from the front, determined to destroy them.

But this also created space for Erika and the others to escape. Staying close to Maisie, they snuck past the battling soldiers. Erika felt a coward, watching those brave souls fight to the death while she fled. But then, wasn’t that what she had always been, ever since that day she and her mother had fled Flumeer?

A coward.

Never again.

Clearing the line of soldiers, they started away from the battle. Looking back, Erika was shocked by the toll the Gemaho had taken on their attackers. Half the Flumeeren number had fallen, and while only a handful of Gemaho fought on, the battle had been far closer than she’d thought. Even the Flumeeren archer seemed to have disappeared. Maybe if they’d stayed…

Another Gemaho soldier fell, run through by a long sword. His comrades tried to retreat, but the Flumeeren men fell upon them, forcing them back against the boulders, though not before yet another died screaming.

Quickly Erika looked away. It was over. The remaining few might fight on a little longer, but there would be no victory. Erika could only hope the Flumeerens would be unable to track them, now they’d lost their spy. She hurried after Romaine, heading up the slope, up the narrow canyon, and prayed it led to salvation.

Slowly the canyon twisted away from the campsite, hiding them from sight of the soldiers below. There was a soft pop as Maisie released the magic, and the globe that had covered them vanished. Suddenly the sun was shining full upon them. The return of its heat was so shocking that Erika swung around, half-expecting a fresh