Meta Gods War 3 by B. Miles (the ebook reader txt) 📕

but the wolves fought for the right flank and were beginning to slip around the formation’s side.

“We have to go help,” Cam said.

“There are only fifty of us,” Arter said. “What use will we be?”

“I’m not letting them die down there.” Cam started forward.

Arter grabbed his arm. Cam whirled around and stared at his Guard Captain in the eye. His nostrils flared in anger and his hand gripped the pommel of his sword so hard he thought he might break the metal.

“Release me,” Cam said.

“You can’t go,” Arter said. “We don’t need to die here. This is just one battle.”

“Key’s down there,” Cam said.

“And she knows what she’s gotten herself into.”

Cam wrenched his arm free and turned toward the battle. “Stay if you wish,” he said. “But I won’t leave her to die.”

He ran forward. The wind blew the stink of dying wolf and excrement into his face. He held his sword steady as he dodged trees and bushes and moved past the loose ranks. The sounds of fighting got louder, a din of slashing blades and snapping jaws. He couldn’t see the full picture of the battle as he got closer, but he could taste the fear and blood in the air.

His Guard charged after him.

Cam pulled his sword as he got close to the wolves fighting for Key’s right flank. He summoned his flames and gathered as many as he could in a ring of ash and death. He swirled it about his sword and kept it churning along the blade. As he reached the beasts, he unleashed everything he had and let it burn through them in a wide arc.

Flesh and hair sizzled. Wolf bodies broke into pieces. Inhuman wolf screams filled the air. Cam killed as many as he could and reveled in the piles of ash he left behind.

He waded forward, slicing through hides. He used his off hand to throw long jets of red-orange flame forward. The fire broke the wolves and scattered them back toward the water.

Key’s formation pushed forward. Spears darted forward and sliced through ribs and stomachs and skulls. Shields battered desperate snapping jaws. Boots stomped over corpses as they pushed the wolves back.

Arter and his men swarmed around Cam. They hacked at the animals around them. Arter tried to form a shield wall but Cam’s flames kept them back. Cam couldn’t release his magic or else the wolves would be able to regroup.

The stream was ahead. More wolves lingered on the far banks, waiting for their chance to leap across. He released another jet of fire then pooled as much power as he could. He aimed it for the water and clenched his jaw as he snapped his magic into place.

The stream lit up in a dancing inferno.

Fire raced along the water and hung in the air. The wolves on the far back reared back. Cam thought he saw some try to jump through.

Key’s men pushed forward. Their numbers dwindled with each step but the wolves were forced back to the water’s edge. Some risked the flames and died in water and fire while the others threw themselves like maniacs at Key’s soldiers.

Arter and the Guard formed a protective ring around Cam.

The afternoon air was thick with blood and burning bodies. Cooked meat and copper stung his nostrils. The ground was damp with gore and bodies.

There were too many dead Humans on the field.

Cam released his magic as Key’s men reached the edge of the stream. The flames dropped and he let out a groan of despair as the Need overwhelmed him. Wolves gathered on the far side but didn’t dare throw themselves across. They’d lost about half of their number, though Key’s men didn’t look much better.

“I think we have it,” Arter said. “The wolves, I think they’re retreating.”

“No other choice,” Cam said through clenched teeth.

Key’s men began to pick through the dead and to tend to their wounded. They retreated to the slope and gained some high ground before they made camp for the evening. Cam found Key huddled over a camp fire at the edge of a small clearing while her men wrapped bandages over their wounds.

“You okay?” he asked, crouching down beside her.

The evening stretched out around them. Cicadas sang as stars filled the sky.

Key fed a thin twig into the flames.

“We almost lost that fight,” she said.

“I know.” Cam sat back and leaned on his hands. “I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t think they’d jump,” she said. “I expected them to wade through and come slower. Once they got across, I was going to push up on them and kill as many as I could.”

“But they jumped,” Cam said.

“And it freaked the men out. I mean, you saw that, right? It scared my men half to death.”

“The first charge almost wrecked your lines.”

“I’m lucky you were there.” She looked at him and shook her head. Stray hairs haloed around her face. “Otherwise we’d be dead down there.”

“Arter almost didn’t let me help.”

She snorted. “Thanks for ignoring him.”

“Key.” Cam reached out and took her hand. She blinked away tears and he could feel the frustration roll off her. “It was just your first engagement.”

“I know,” she said. “But I just thought…”

“You took green, barely trained soldiers into battle,” he said. “You fought a horde of wolves and survived.”

“Only thanks to your magic.’

“And to your leadership,” he said. “You pressed the advantage. I couldn’t hold them off forever.”

She squeezed his hand. “Thanks for saying that, but I’m not sure it’s true.”

“It’s true,” he said and held her fingers up to his lips. “I swear, Key. You’re a good commander. You just need time to settle into the role, and you need the men to get some experience.”

“Hard to get experience when half of them are dead.”

He kissed her finger tips. “I know,” he said. “We’ll assign you more.”

“That’s not the point.” She gently pulled her hands away and fed another twig into the fire. “How are we going to do this, Cam? Half the army is green. The other half