Two weeks ter, Akrat and the Royal Guard had set off, followed by the soldiers who had returhere were a dozen soldiers who had joihem, with three youoo. They made their way to a nearby outpost, which would house close to thirty soldiers, whose morale would be low, giving them a unique opportunity.

  “Seriously…” Charles sighed, crossing his arms. “What, we’re going to sy a dragon and everyone’s suddenly going to wele us as heroes?” He took a sip of drakken fire, which the drakken had provided. He had been joking to the Captain earlier about wanting to do this, but he was outvoted by the rest anyhow.

  “That’s the pn, isn’t it?” Gee asked, chug. He stood in front of the three youngsters. Bili, Rok, and Rak, who were adorned in thick clothing ahers. The you, a equipped, had been assigo Charles and he, waiting for the signal.

  Charles raised his brow to Gee, sipping on his ale again. “With these kids at our side? They should be bae, sug on their mother’s teat.”

  “You shouldn’t drink so much,” Gee said. “We’re about to fight.”

  “That’s why I’m drinking.” Charles shook his head. “If they ’t su their mother’s teat, I suine.”

  “I’m a man,” the you, a boy called Rok said. He, as well as his sister Rak, had volunteered to e.

  “How old are you? Ten? Eleven?” Charles asked, gng betweehree of them.

  “I’m almost thirteen,” Rok said, crossing his arms and standing taller, trying to tip toe. He had a spear which was far too long for him to hold, and a shield slightly too big and heavy, and a shortsword, which erfectly sized.

  “A boy still,” Charles said, eyeing the three up in their equipment. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  “That is my choiake.” Rok’s eyes narrowed.

  “I o be here. Deathsinger is helping me, I must save myself.” Bili grabbed the hilt of his shortsword.

  Charles looked at Gee, whed at him, before Charles sighed and sipped more of his ale. “Gods, damn it.”

  “He wants to fight for his people,” Gee said. “It’s admirable.”

  “We’re not that desperate that we need children like them otlefield.” Charles looked away. “They have the fay bree.”

  Gee wasn’t sure what he could say. If Charles was going to mention his brother, then that was the end of the versation. He pced a hand on Charles’ shoulder. “The’s keep them at our side,” Gee said. “We o make sure they aren’t killed. That’s ere assighe easiest job.”

  “I’m even less of a babysitter than I am a hero,” Charles said, sipping some water. He could feel the gentle buzz, the slight ache in his throat. He closed his eyes shut tight, trying tet.

  A horn echoed from the small outpost, and the sounds of shouting and screaming filled the area. The signal had been given.

  “e on,” Gee said, donning his shield.

  The pair of them, along with their trio of drakken, waited for a few moments. Gee dropped to his knee, muttering a prayer to the gods, before the drakken could feel vitality fill them.

  They snuck their way around to one side of the outpost, where Timothy had pulled dropped down two ropes.

  Akrat and Timothy had gone ahead to sy a few of the soldiers on watch, before Akrat would thehe gates. As the gates opehe rest would charge in through the front, whereas Timothy would sneak around the back, pig off the archers, and dropping down the ropes fee and Charles and their small unit.

  “I’ll go first,” Charles said, with Bili following on the rope beside him. As he climbed onto the wooden rampart, he gnced around. He motioned a hand behind him, seeing the soldiers fighting with the Iyrman and his allies he tre.

  There were others hem, shoutiween one another, and making their way to the battlefield. They only had the time to don a helmet, grab a spear, and a shield. One had tried to put on some mail, but had tied it around his waist instead.

  Charles rushed forward, before leaping up behind them. The soldiers heard the thud behind them, and as they turned around, the soldier which had gged behind gagged as he spat out blood. Charles pulled his bde out of the soldier’s chest, letting him drop beside him to reveal his body to the four soldiers which remained.

  “Hello there,” Charles said, readying his bde.

  The drakken roared and screeched, rushing forward to meet him in bat. One was shot down by an arrow, from a keeimothy, who thinned out one of the soldiers for the group, before moving away to find another spot.

  Charles cshed with a spear, stepping aside to try and dodge another, which struck a shield beside him.

  “ I ask you to surrender?” Gee asked, looking over his shoulder with a gentle smile. He held his ma hand, swinging it wildly towards the soldier.

  The drakken shouted something in their nguage, before pressing forward to meet the two Royal Guards, with the third soldier meeting with three empowered teenagers, who were ready to fight.

  “I thought not.” Gee struck the soldier in front of him with his mace, but only mao find a shield.

  They cshed in bat, Charles and Gee fighting side by side as they always did. The youngsters behind them formed a shield wall, their spears poking out to deal with the lone soldier, who felt as though he had the best deal. Unfortunately for him, it was difficult to pee the wall.

  Charles and Gee fell into their rhythm as they fought. Gee caught a blow to his shield, swinging his mace out. As he swung his mace, Charles caught the spear meant for his friend, defleg it upwards.

  Bde met spear. Spear met mace. ons cttered against shields. Charles kept a portion of his mind behind him, towards the three young drakken.

  “trate,” Gee said. “Do you think I’ll let any of them drop?”

  Charles swung wildly ahead of him, cutting into the spear. As the spear dropped, the guard reached down for his bde, bolting forward with it. Steel rang against steel as Charles grunted. “Good point,” he said, spinning the caught bde around his longsword, before cutting into the soldier’s hand.

  The soldier wailed, before it was cut off by a sword through the face. The sed drakken soldier roared, inhaling deeply, but Gee smmed his mace against the man’s face, stopping the plume of wicked bck smoke from esg his lips. As he dropped, the pair turowards the ughing drakken soldier, who inning his spear around, causing the three youo fall babsp;

  “Run, little pup-yaorck!” He spit out blood as he reached up to his throat, feeling the blood pour out.

  Charles pulled his bde out of the man’s throat. “Are you alright?” he asked, raising his brow. The three should have had an easy time with the soldier, if they stuck to their training.

  “Sorry,” Rok said.

  Rak dropped down, panting for air. She looked down towards her thigh, which had been struck by a gng blow by the spear, and was dripping red onto the ground.

  “We have no time to rest,” Charles said. “We have a job to do.”

  Bili frowned, a the ck of his ce. ‘If it was Akrat, he would have charged in and cut the soldier in half.’

  Gee checked on Rak, whose thigh had been wounded. He muttered a prayer to the gods, the distant sounds of battle still raging on.

  “We will do better in the fi-eorck.” Rok reached up to his throat, looking down at the arrow tip. He dropped down to his knees, fusion and fear in his eyes.

  Charles looked at him, watg the boy reach out with a hand, before the life faded from his eyes, and he nded on his front, two more arrows stuck out of his back. Charles gnced upwards to see another arrow shooting towards Bili, though his arm blurred as he cut through the arrow and Bili dropped aside. “Shields!” Charles cried. “Shields!”

  The sounds of the fight had armed three drakken nearby, who had quickly appeared.

  Charles’ heart ounding wildly, feeling his stomach . ‘Fuck! Fuck! I k! We shouldn’t have brought them along.’ He grabbed the shield on the floor and brought it up, taking two arrows, as one gnced off his shoulder. “Run!” Charles shouted. “Run, damn it!”

  Gerabbed Rak, having just finished healing her, and pushed her frozen form forward. “e, my child, quickly!” She had seen her younger brother die, just like that.

  Charles remained on the se for a moment loo draw the drakken’s attention, squatting down slightly as they shot their arrows, before dropping their bows. He rolled aside, feeling an arrow knock against the side of his thigh, cutting the dangliher, but he mao escape from the worst of it. He turned and bolted away between a set of buildings, leaving the dead form of Rok behind.

  Charles’ eyes burnt as he fought back the tears. ‘Fuck! Gods! Damn it all! I told them! I fug told them!’

  Gee led Rak away, who was screaming and wailing. What could he do now? What could he say? He picked her up and ran with her, towards the sounds of bat, towards the safety of the Iyrmen and his panions. ‘Five me,’ he thought. ‘I should have known.’ It was a moment of negligence which brought a lifetime ret.

  As Charles scrambled away, he ducked under a shortsword, and brought his bde up to Bili, before his bde froze. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t yo-“ He spun around on his heel, narrowing dodging a spear as he swung with his longsword towards a soldier.

  The three drakken had appeared, one of them wearing a highly decorated helmet, a higher ranked soldier.

  ‘Fug damn it!’ Charles raised his sword up, ready to fight. ‘Not like this! Not like this!’ He would have told Bili to run, but there was only a wall behind him.

  Bili held his shield up, holding up the shortsword. In his panic, he had dropped his spear, and he had only heard to grab his shield.

  The soldiers stepped forward, and Charles inhaled deeply. He stared at the soldiers, and exhaled the breath. His eyes sobered up, and he began to remember. The soldier’s faces became unreisable, faceless, just like from those men back then.

  “Do you really think I’m as weak as I was back then?” Charles asked, grabbing his bde with both hands, and stepping forward. He pced some distaween himself and Bili, his back blog the sight of the threat ahead. ‘This time…’

  The soldiers charged forward, shields and spears ready to meet the white cloak. Charles bolted forward, swinging his bde like a savage beast. Even his fad eyes became full of hatred, like that of a Deathsihe soldiers faltered for a moment, for they felt the chill wash over them.

  “Be careful, he’s-“ The soldier couldn’t finish his sentence as he brought the shield above his head, the shield quivering uhe mighty blow. He fell back from the force of the blow, shock causing him to freeze.

  Charles felt a spear pierce through his side, but he did not falter. He grabbed the head of the soldier who had stabbed him, and forced his longsword through the underside of her jaw and through her skull. His bde pushed through the resistance, cutting into the brain, before he pulled bad ducked under a spear, letting the body fall.

  A spear cttered against the side of his helmet, the bottom half of the spear bde cutting into his cheek and nose where his flesh had been exposed. The fierce pain throbbed as wet crimson fell down his face, but he didn’t waste time thinking about the pain as he swung his bde high, cutting through a soldier’s shin, causing them to wail in pain and drop.

  A heavy blow hit his side from the same soldier, and he forced his bde through their thigh, causing them to scream and wail in pain. Charles gasped as a spear cut through his back, and the soldier under him brought up their bde to strike him. He mao move aside, though the bde cut through his shoulder, causing his grip to falter slightly.

  Charles coughed. “Don’t you have a sword?” He grabbed the soldier’s head who was under him and brought the bde through their skull.

  “What?” the soldier asked, before he felt a bde pierce through his babsp;

  Charles rolled onto his side and sshed the soldier who remaianding, cutting at his leg, causing them to wail and drop.

  “Surrender!” the soldier cried, begging for mercy.

  Charles blinked once, seeing the dead face of Rok. He drove his sword through the drakken’s throat. He let go of his bde, which was lodged in the soldier’s throat, and rolled onto his back.

  Blood pooled out from him, and he hacked up some spit to the floor beside him. A cut through his shoulder, a spear through the back, just under his breastpte, and his side. He looked up to see a young man, a familiar face, with a bloodied sword in hand. “Akrat,” Charles said, his eyes going blurry.

  “Charles!” Akrat dropped beside him. “I have e, Charles. I have e.” When Gee had e to the battle, dropping Rak off to one side, he had shouted to Akrat, who quickly scrambled up a building to try and find them.

  “It looks like,” Charles coughed, “I won’t be there to fight that dragon, huh?”

  “No, Charles.” Akrat said, shaking his head. “I ot save you. Are you cold?” Akrat fought his quivering jaw.

  “Yeah. Get me my drink, will you?” Charles had nth left in his arms, and his breath was growing med as the seds passed.

  Akrat brought the wineskin to Charles’ lips.

  Charles sipped through it, and he coughed. “Still burns like a bitch.” He coughed some more, feeling the burn in his throat, which took away the pain from everywhere else. “I told you not t the kids to the battle.”

  “They wished to fight,” Akrat said.

  “I didn’t want to let them die. Rok, Rok’s dead.”

  “Even I ot save them all,” Akrat said, looking down at Charles. “You saved Bili.”

  Charles looked to the young drakken, but he saw another face. A face young, and full of happiness. “Yeah,” Charles said, smiling. “This time, I saved him.” His mind was growing foggier, a chill seeping through his entire body. His heart no longer pounded like a drum, but quivered like a faltering trumpet. He tried to ugh, but ended up hag. “I was never cut out to be a hero.”

  “I will guide your soul to the Iyr,” Akrat said. “You died an Iyrman’s death.”

  “An Iyrman, huh? That doesn’t…” Charles’ smile remained on his face, but the light faded from his eyes.

  Akrat stared down at those lifeless eyes for a moment, recalling his promise. He reached up and closed the dead man’s eyelids. He looked to Bili, whose eyes were full of tears. “Are you angry?” the Deathsinger asked.

  “Yes,” Bili whispered, nodding his head.

  “Good.”

  “Get them!” called some soldiers from nearby, who had mao gather their armour and ons.

  Akrat grabbed his bde and turo face them, his eyes pletely white, his face red. He had failed in his task ing glory to Charles, though the man died an Iyrman’s death. Now it was his responsibility to guide his soul back to the Iyr, where it may rest a warrior’s rest. He gripped his sword tighter. Only the warm blood of life could deal with the chill of death.

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