She Who Has No Name (The Legacy Trilogy) by Michael Foster Read Free Book Online

could, but countless were caught unprepared, or were too busy defending themselves from the Garten footmen, and they fell to the ground screaming with shafts protruding from their flesh.  The Gartens suffered many casualties also, but took the opportunity to clamber over the wounded.  Several breaches formed in the Turian line.  The defenders looked desperate and hacked about furiously with their blood - soaked swords.
    ‘Now hold! ’ Grand Master Anthem roared out, his voice resounding across the field.  In response , the Turians rallied, pushing back against their foe and retaking their ground with incredible resolve.
    Samuel could not believe the gore and bloodshed around him.  He had seen violence before, but never on such a horrific scale.  People were hacking each other to pieces like maniacal butchers.  It was like a scene from hell.  He had suffered from many terrible nightmares in his past, but this was much worse, a nd the horror of it overcame him with its stench and voracity.  He felt some bitter juices rise in his mouth and was forced to turn his gaze straight down to his feet. 
    A mighty grip seized his shoulder.  ‘Have strength, young Lord Samuel,’ Adell said, and it seemed the captain had not given up entirely.  ‘These are early days yet.  We are Turians and we will not give up until the day is won.’
    Booms and crackles of magic sounded from behind and the party turned towards the town.
    ‘Their magicians have come into play,’ Goodfellow noted.  The fields before the town were clotted with men and th is second battle raged on to the south.
    Eric Pot, beside him, shook his fist with frustration.  ‘And what about us?  Why are we standing here idly?  We should be doing something!’
    ‘Patience, Master Pot,’ Gallivan told him.  ‘We need to tread carefully while the day is young.  Many have died, but this is just the beginning.  The Lions have not yet begun to roar and , when they do, the men will be sorted from the boys and all shall shudder in their breeches.  Despite our situation, timing is still crucial.’
    ‘They are ignoring the town,’ Captain Adell noted, pointing back towards the south, where tides of men were pouring from around the buildings to join the battle.
    Anthem nodded solemnly.  ‘Yes.  Their priority is to wedge us in.  They know they can plunder the town later , at their leisure, should they be victorious.’
    ‘What’s that?’ Goodfellow alerted, pointing, for the plumes of smoke rising from amongst the distant buildings had grown thick and billowed towards the magicians like an unfolding shroud.
    ‘They seek to obscure the battlefield,’ Gallivan noted, ‘but it will be to their disadvantage as well as ours...unless they plan to surprise us with something.  We should keep ready.’
    ‘A useful tactic against magicians,’ Anthem muttered.
    ‘Is there a spell behind it?’ Goodfellow asked the old Grand Master.  ‘It’s curious how it courses straight towards us.’
    Anthem only shook his head.  ‘No.  I can’t sense any magic,’ to which Samuel agreed, for he would have seen any magic at this distance as clearly as if fireworks had been released.  ‘I suspect it is a concocted formula, designed to make such an obscuration.  It is unfortunate that the wind is precisely against us.’
    The thick cloud rolled over the buildings and fell across the battlefield to the south.  The men continued fighting, but everything vanished from view as soon as the cloud reached it, devouring them all into its billowing depths.  The battle raged on in all directions, while the magicians stood tight and observed with all possible calm.
    ‘I feel the time is right, Janus,’ Gallivan told the other Grand Master after a short spell.
    The wiry , old man nodded and his wispy eyebrows bobbed in time.  ‘Indeed.  I am not sure what the Gartens plan, but I agree.  Let us strike now before they can close this noose any further, or unloose any