Page 89 of Silver & Smoke
As they made their way through, Torj saw the challenge of maintaining proper spacing between their forces to avoid bunching, or worse – dangerous gaps. The metallic sound of armour and hoofbeats against rock created an unsettling chorus around his wandering thoughts.
The nape of his neck prickled, and sensing his unease, Tucker shifted too. What if the poison had affected Torj’s mind? What if it had led him to make a rash decision? To risk their entire force? The nagging sensation didn’t leave him as they continued their trek, and beside him he could feel Wren’s storm magic growing restless.
I don’t like this, she said into his mind.Something’s not right.
I know,Torj replied, scanning behind them for any sign of the enemy. They should have been entering the ravine by now—
‘Torj.’ Wren spoke aloud this time, pointing ahead.
At the front of their force, dust drifted into the air.
Torj started towards it. ‘What in the midrealms—’
There was a ripple of panic travelling over the column of soldiers, and suddenly people were instinctively trying to turn their horses around in the confined space.
‘What is it?’ Torj called, unable to see what had caused the commotion.
A scream sounded, and his stomach leapt into his throat as he saw seemingly solid sections of the ravine floor begin to shift.
Horses reared. Soldiers fell from their saddles, their formation breaking instantly.
The enemy was lying in wait, in hidden trenches below.
‘We have to retreat,’ Darian called from nearby.
But Torj’s heart seized as he turned back. ‘We can’t.’
For the enemy force they’d lured after them had arrived, hemming them in between two solid walls of rock and an enemy force on either end of the ravine.
‘Fuck,’ Torj hissed. It was a tactical nightmare, being attacked from below and forced back, as well as the confined space – there was nowhere to retreat, and no space to move into defensive formations. A trap.
They were being forced together, horses almost trampling one another. No one had swung a blade yet, but it was only a matter of time, and in such close quarters, it would be a bloodbath.
Wren,he called.Do you have anything in your belt that could get us out of this?
Not without risking our own soldiers,came the reply, though he could almost hear her wracking her mind for other options. But there were none.
He’d made a mistake. A big one.
And it would cost them everything.
Torj reached for his hammer. There was no other way this would end.
Get behind me if you can, Embers.He sent the instruction through their bond, hoping that despite the tight quarters, she’d be able to manoeuvre closer to him.
Something whistled through the air – an arrow, brushing against Torj’s shoulder before it pierced the chest of a soldier behind him. A soft gasp of shock left the poor bastard’s lips before he looked down at the projectile protruding from his heart. And then he slid from the saddle, hitting the ground with a thud, dead.
‘Attack!’ Torj bellowed, for it was all they could do.
The clash of steel amplified tenfold in the narrow passage, along with the screams and the horses’ panic. The sound was overwhelming, threatening to swallow them all whole.
Torj swung his hammer blindly as smoke and dust became trapped in the ravine, the visibility growing poorer with each passing moment. But all he could think was that it was his fault – his mistake that had led them to this deadly precipice, and he had no idea how the fuck he was going to get them out.
He could feel Wren behind him, her magic illuminating the darkwith flashes of lightning, but he knew she wouldn’t risk something more for fear of bringing the stone walls down upon them all.
Torj carved his way through the force that had emerged from the hidden trench, bone crunching beneath the iron head of his hammer as he went. But the chaos only escalated, and with a bitter pang of regret, he realized how outnumbered they truly were. He scanned the bedlam for Wren – she was with Thea, the two storm wielders striking out with small, precise bolts of lightning, while Wilder and Cal defended them from attack. Torj leapt from his stallion’s back and launched himself towards them, as much as the cramped space would allow. He brought down half a dozen enemy soldiers as he did, but they continued to swarm, trapping Torj’s forces inside the ravine to be picked off one by one—
A near-deafening roar of rage shook the passage, debris tumbling from the sides. And through the haze, a spiked club plunged through the air.
