Page 120 of Memory of Ashes

Tharos readied the men. They would fight if they had to. Even if they were outnumbered and mortal.

What would she do? Those were her people out there. She didn’t want to see any of them die.

The army came into view before it was completely dark. They spread across the land like a wave of darkness, their ranks merging with the horizon.

She decided. “I’m going out to them,” she announced.

“No, you’re not,” he said.

“They might listen to me; it’s worth a try.”

“And what will you say?”

She paused. She didn’t know.

“I’m going out there, Tharos.”

He stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “You will stay behind these city walls. That is an order. I am in command here. He would want me to keep you safe.”

A lone rider trotted ahead of the others.

“I’m General Atwood. I come in the name of King Solace of Alderstrom.” His voice carried up to them.

That was their neighbouring kingdom. Word must have reached them from the escapees. The smoke from the mine would have alerted them to their position.

“Surrender and open your gates,” Atwood called.

“Their king is dead,” Amelia yelled in answer.

“Yet they remain. They destroyed your capital.”

She looked over the soldiers beside her. Some had followed Tiryn willingly. Others had obeyed because disobedience meant death.

“Killing those who remain will not restore it.”

“No,” Atwood replied. “But it may keep them from destroying Alderstrom.”

The earth quaked.

It had been happening more frequently. Amelia assumed the immense army had caused it, but they were here, and still the earth shook. Horses whinnied, but the men kept their composure, fighting with the reins to keep the horses calm.

Everything became still. Then came another rumble. The shaking began again, more violently this time, and shouts from the army travelled on the wind. Men screamed and fled as the army split down the middle, its ranks scattering to either side.

The envoy turned back to gape as his men scrambled away.

“What’s happening?” she yelled to Tharos over the chaos.

The earth was still shaking. This was the longest they’d experienced it.

His knuckles whitened around the stone. He stared at the scene unfolding below him, unable to avert his gaze.

“The ground, look.” He pointed. “Something’s happening beneath their army.”

As the men scattered across the field, the ground beneath them became visible. Right down the centre of the army, a crack in the earth had formed. It stretched almost the entire length of the gathered army and joined the chasm opened earlier by the bombs.

Amelia yelled as the chasm grew.

It opened. Like a hungry mouth ready to feed. It swallowed the earth and men alike, dragging them into its darkness as their screams echoed from below. The shaking stopped, and the remaining army stood still, watching, waiting for any further movement.