Chapter 38: Battle, Phase Three
A blade to the heart --
Sharp, direct, deadly. Slicing
Like ice to the soul.
~ Miyara Miwa
We were just fighting a holding action. With an entire army, a holding action was enough only for failure. They had to have at least one mage with them, to summon and control these air spirits. We had seen him, I believed, on the bridge. Surrounded by orcs, he had cast the spell to bring the walls down around us. The only hope we had to was to kill the mage. And the only way down to the mage was the air spirits that I hoped Ravena could control.
From the roof, I yelled out my idea, so we could all work together as fast as possible. Jeisan said he would stay here, fighting the orcs while we took care of the mage. I had hoped he would come with us. Ash was unconscious, leaving me, Ravena and Caramela, and Hosei. To attack a mage surrounded by an entire army of orcs. I was sorry to die so far from home, but at least I was going to die honorably, even if no one would know. Perhaps my cousin, if he lived, could finish my task for me.
I raced down the stairs, across the courtyard, and up to the tower. As I crossed the courtyard, someone yelled out something about an earth spirit below. We had to kill that mage. Hosei was only a few steps ahead of me. Could Ravena control several air spirits long enough for us to reach the ground? Once there, could we kill the mage before being slaughtered by the army that surrounded him? As my heart hammered in my chest, my vision blackened for a moment and I caught myself on the wall. Would I even stay conscious long enough to reach the ground, let alone be able to protect the three mages? I had to, somehow.