Page 90 of Oath of War
‘Vahin! No, take me across the mountain. Let me help!’ I shouted down our bond, but he didn’t listen, focusing on staying airborne.
‘Annika! Don’t you dare faint on me.’ Katja slapped me with a force that made my head bounce, and only then did I realise I was swaying.
Vahin was right. I was as weak as a kitten. My conduit abilities had been tampered with, but I knew what to expect. If I could ward myself against the attack and get to the sigil the mages had drawn to open the Rift, I still could create the passage and give Reynard and Talena a chance to kill the Lich King ...
‘Stay here. I need to go,’ I said, explaining further when Katja gave me a sharp look, ‘Vahin said Cahyon may be on the other side of the mountain. I have to open the pass and let Reynard’s army through ...’
My friend stood silent, so I continued, ‘I can use primal fire to kill some fuckers on the way and use blood magic to access my conduit power. That should be enough to open the passage. The primal-order mages should have already drawn the sigil, so—’
‘Annika Diavellar. You’re standing there swaying like a newborn lamb and you’re seriously telling me you’re going to use blood magic?’ Katja interrupted, shaking her head. ‘You’re asking me to escort you to your death.’
‘I’m not asking you to do anything. I’m just explaining what’s going to happen. I know I’m a mess, but you can sort that out, yes? Just give me something. I’ll drink anything if it gets me over there,’ I said, conveniently omitting she wouldn’t need to worry about my return journey.
She placed her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes.
‘Katja, please. Power me up, sister, because I need torunthere, not waddle like a drunken duck. I can’t sit on my arsewhile my Anchors are fighting, and I promise you this—I’m not going to outlive my Anchors again.’
At my pleading, one of the women stepped forward. ‘I can help if she won’t,’ the grizzled matron said. I frowned as I studied her wrinkled face. I didn’t recognise her, and a woman of her age shouldn’t even be on a battlefield, but as hunched over as she was, the eyes staring at me in the challenge were clear.
‘I’m a hedge witch from Vodianka. You mages look at us with disdain, but I can help you in a way they wouldn’t dare. I’ll give you my life, Lady Mage. My life, for revenge,’ she said.
I blinked, shocked by her offer.
‘Take mine too ... For my child ... Kill the bastard so my family can rest in peace ...’ A few other women stepped forward and volunteered, too.
‘I can’t ... What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t sacrifice your lives so I can walk into battle. That’s insane!’ I stepped back, sitting heavily on the ground, all of a sudden feeling like I was trapped in a maw of madness. But no, nineteen women stood before me with grim expressions, asking me to take their lives to strengthen my own.
‘I know you think I’m old and crazy, but hear me out, Lady Mage,’ said the old hedge witch. ‘We came here with only one purpose, but we have no strength, no power. So here we are, following you around like stray dogs, hoping for a chance to sink a dagger in just one ...’
She stopped, swallowing hard, while her eyes radiated such hatred I flinched. ‘You said you could kill the Lich King. My life is a small price to pay to ensure that bastard dies.’
The others nodded their approval as she moved closer, placing her withered hand on my cheek. ‘I’m already dead, child. My husband and son were killed in Vodianka. I have no one else left. My house collapsed during the attack. I live on the charityof the dragon riders, but I’m dead inside. I don’t want to be here anymore, and I’m too old to start anew.’
I had to turn away, but I couldn’t stop seeing the determination in her eyes.
‘You can give me the chance to make my death to mean something,’ she said. ‘Please, take it, and use it well. When you sink your sword into that fucker’s heart, look him in the eye and tell him old Martha says hello.’
A chorus of voices joined the old woman, each telling a similar story, stripping me of the chance to refuse because, in the end, if I didn’t do something, we all would die anyway.
‘I will carve your name on his withered heart,’ I stuttered, barely comprehending what was happening. ‘Thank you.’
She nodded before unsheathing a dagger and pricking her finger. I didn’t recognise the symbol she drew on my forearm, but every time she copied it onto the skin of the others, I felt a rush of strength and a prickle of magic that raised goosebumps on my skin. My breathing became deeper, and my heart stopped beating erratically.
I watched in stunned silence as each elder slipped bonelessly to the floor, their expressions so peaceful and satisfied, as if I had devoured not just their lives but the pain and hatred they harboured inside. Tears filled my eyes, but I didn’t allow myself the luxury of crying.
When the old hedge witch joined her compatriots in death, I felt stronger and more broken than I ever had before.
‘Gather them, gently, and lay them in my tent, then go to the moors and try to hide until this is all over,’ I said to the younger women left behind.
‘Brace yourselves,’ Bryna shouted. ‘Conduit is ready, we’re going in.’
She wielded her hammer, and the women I’d told to escape rallied around her, creating a shield wall between us and the battlefield.
I cursed the stubbornness of mountain women, nearly sobbing when several turned to me and winked. Bryna’s special unit, her She-Wolves of Varta, were determined to stay by my side. That determination humbled me, and added one more brick to my heavy conscience with the need to prove worthy of such loyalty. As I dashed the tears from my eyes, I saw Katya grabbing several vials from her bag and pinning them onto her belt.
‘Katja?’ I asked, frowning as she drew a small paring knife from her pocket.
‘Don’t blame yourself, Ani. If anything, blame me. I knew they came here to die, and I let them because ... Because sometimes, death is not the worst thing that can happen to someone,’ she said, avoiding my eyes as she handed me a vial. ‘One last thing, dragon mage. Drink this before we go. It will speed up your healing ... and give you the mother of all hangovers, but you need all the help you can get—’
