Chimera Awakened

Chapter Twenty-Four

The beat of drums reverberated through my chest as we neared the battlefield. Graham, Broderick, Hale and I were taking the right flank and I began to shake when I saw the army that lay ahead of us. There were hundreds of soldiers set in a neat formation similar to our own, all with glistening swords and shields.

I was clad in thick leather because the metal armor Graham tried to put me in was too heavy for me to move comfortably. Besides, as Hale mentioned earlier today, General Malachi didn't want me dead. The men, my team, looked like gleaming gods of war in their shining armor and military regalia. They opted not to wear helmets so their vision didn't suffer.

To my surprise, Hale was a very decent fighter. I'd watched him practice with Graham the day before we left and was stunned at his agility and grace when fighting. Broderick, on the other hand, moved with deadly accuracy and dealt punishing blows with little pomp.

Now though, I wondered if their skills would be enough to keep them alive. I stood between them, surveying our army and noted the many women in the formations with a sense of pride. They were here and they were ready to fight to the death. I would do the same.

"There," Hale said and pointed a finger at a tent atop a small hill. "He's most likely there."

"He's not fighting?" Graham asked of General Malachi.

Hale scoffed and shook his head. "He likes to show up when he's just about won and everyone pretends he was there the whole time."

Broderick just grunted before turning to me.
"How are you?" He asked, worry lines creasing his forehead.

"I'm fine," I said and gave him a tight smile.

"Ev," Hale cut in, "do you feel the presence of the stone?"

I frowned and narrowed my eyes toward the tent General Malachi was probably in.

"No."

"Good. That means the mystery woman most likely isn't here."

Broderick kissed me hard before striding toward the front of the lines, bow and quiver swaying with the movement. I could see a few other men, probably military officials, doing the same thing. They spoke but I couldn't make out the words. After a few minutes, the drums began to beat again, fast and frightening. Broderick was in my sight again and I had a moment to think how beautiful he was before I was engulfed in complete pandemonium.

********

I was running, reaching out with my mind to sense the shields. Everyone in their area of protection had a feeling of something light and airy covering them, like a gauzy curtain. The shields themselves, however, emitted a sense of a stone wall and were easy to pick out.

"There!" I pointed to a shield a few yards away as I danced away from a man Broderick had stabbed through the throat.

So much blood. So much screaming. The emotions were so intense I was sweating with the effort to keep them at bay. I tried to prepare myself but nothing could have prepared me for this.

Broderick quickly withdrew his bow, nocked an arrow and sent it flying toward the shield. The man dropped and I immediately reached out to the Calma army, willing them to stop fighting. I got about a dozen or so men to stop and my team put an end to them quickly.

I swallowed down the bile that was rising in my throat. Broderick was speckled with blood but none of it was his own, thank the stars.

"Another one!" Hale pointed out a shield and Broderick quickly took him down with an arrow.