Mageborn The Line of Illeniel by Michael Manning (interesting novels to read .txt) 📕

enemy to flee in the direction we had chosen. I worked mechanically, keeping my mind blank. I couldn’t afford to think about what my actions would mean.

On our way to the barn I made a side trip to my father’s now dark smithy. The only fires that had been lit there since his death had been my own, and those were few enough. Tonight it was dark and cold. I stepped through the darkened workspace without needing light. Even without my magesight I would have known my way, so familiar was that place.

I took his favorite hammer from the tool rack, a medium weight cross-pein hammer. One side was flat while the other angled in to form a line. He had preferred it for its versatility. I felt a twinge of guilt at using his tool for such a purpose, but I refused to choose another. I was sure he would have wanted to help me, even if it were for something as dark as this.

Hammer in hand we went to the barn, greeting the men who still stood guard there. “Morning gentlemen,” I said, though none of them could be said to be gentile.

“Good morning your lordship,” Sam Turner responded. He was the only man among them that I recognized. I smiled for a moment as I remembered him helping me cover myself with mud. I hardened my resolve. It was for him, his family, and others like him that I was doing this.

“Today’s the day Sam. We should be back soon, but you’ll hear the fireworks before we return. Make sure the men don’t shoot me when we reappear,” I told him solemnly.

“We’d never shoot a lady sir,” he replied.

I thought for a moment he was making a joke, till I saw him bowing to Penny. I smiled and we took our places on the circle that would take us to our next observation point. I patted my horse gently to soothe it before we jumped. Sometimes the change in scenery unsettled them. A moment later we were in a grassy field on the valley side of the road, midway between Arundel and Washbrook.

I had chosen the place carefully. Almost a mile from the road it had lain in the tall grass undiscovered by their scouts. This circle had no natural concealment for two riders on horseback. Once the sun rose they would be able to see us clearly from the road. I rather doubted they would have much time to worry about us though.

Penny and I dismounted and I placed the largest sack on a flat stone nearby. The rock hadn’t been there originally, but since I had chosen this spot to watch the result of my work I had brought it to simplify my job. It’s a wonder I didn’t bring a supply of beer to enjoy the show with, I thought derisively. I lay the hammer down close by and took a seat to wait on the dawn.

Penny sat beside me in the dark. “How long do you think?” she asked quietly.

“As soon as we can see them clearly from here. I want to make sure they have enough light to run the right direction,” I replied.

“What if they don’t?”

“I don’t think there will be enough to be a threat to Lothion after this. We, however, may be in dire straits. I can’t be sure how many will survive but almost any fraction of that army would be enough to put an end to us,” I informed her.

“If they lose half their army and cannot win in Lothion wouldn’t they retreat?” she suggested.

“Possibly, if their commander is a rational man. I see three possibilities. One, their commander is a fanatic, in which case he will prosecute his war as far as possible, even if it is only vengeance against us. Two, their commander is a rational man, but the loss of half his army drives him mad, and he attacks us in vengeance. Three, their commander is rational and keeps a cool head, in which case he withdraws and it’s over,” I replied.

“So one in three,” she mused.

I sighed, “I honestly don’t know. I’m just going to kill a lot of people and see what happens.”

She caught my bitter tone and stayed silent after that. An hour passed and the sky grew steadily lighter. At first the enemy were just grey shapes across the plain, invisible except when they moved. Eventually their forms resolved until we could see them clearly. It was time... any longer and they’d come calling to ask us why we were watching them.

I picked up the hammer and felt its heft. Before I could strike Penny interrupted me, “Let me do it. You shouldn’t bear this alone.”

I shook my head. “You have a life to lead after this,” I said and brought the hammer down sharply, smashing the glass inside the bag. For a split second nothing seemed to happen and I almost wondered if I had made a mistake somewhere, but then I saw the light flashing on her face. Penny’s mouth opened slightly as she drew a sharp breath and then the sound washed over us. It was as if lightning had struck a thousand times, at close range, a tremendous crashing roar that swept everything before it.

Looking up I saw devastation on a scale that I could scarcely comprehend. Fire and smoke were blossoming outward from a thousand places along the road, stretching away from us for almost four miles in one direction. I had spaced my devices thirty to forty feet apart, buried along the road. From what I could see that had been overkill. The sound of it was gone within seconds, and in the silence it left behind all that could be heard were the screams of dying horses and men. Those that hadn’t been killed outright were horribly maimed, missing arms and legs. Most of them would be dead within minutes. Only those lucky enough to have been more than forty or fifty feet