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“Attack!” Lady Queill's shout reached us as the lightning arching between the clouds came down on the first soldiers atop the hill.
On my side, the elite soldiers started sending out their magic to meet the attack of the infantry led by Lady Queill.
I felt useless. Calling on Qai to send him into the ranks of the army would only cause him to get hurt. I did not have the backup I would need to go out there.
All I could do was conjure rocks the size of my fists and send them against the army lining up the moat as Casja’s storm ravaged through their ranks.
Lady Queill turned with her horse and hid behind the first row of soldiers approaching the castle at a frightening pace. Casja sent lightning after her, but somehow, she managed to dock against them. I joined Casja’s attack and sent the next group of rocks at Lady Queill.
It wasn’t smart of me to focus on her instead of the army, but I could not help it.
Alas, we did not get her. She disappeared behind the hill, leaving us to deal with the rest of Lugh’s army.
Balls of fire bigger than any I had seen before darted from the battlement, sent by one of the elite soldiers controlled by Cari. Lugh’s soldiers responded with ranged attacks; fire and earth elementals attacking to bring the towers down. Casja’s rain poured over them, raindrops pelting against the ground as the soldiers fell.
The tower to our right fell right then, dust rising from the stone as it exploded into the courtyard. Fire roamed within the stone.
The elite who had been attacking atop that tower, jumped down from the rubble, seemingly unscathed.
“They are gaining on us,” Lord Tynan warned.
“We have to keep them off the moat until the elite battalion catches up,” I said. “After that, we’ll run.”
Casja did not bother responding with words, but the wind whipped up even more. The ground shook as the soldiers tried to stand against the strong current. They failed quickly when Casja breathed out beside me, the air growing colder as her breath became the wind.
Casja was strong, but no tempestarii could stand against a whole army on her own.
We had no hope of winning this war.
How is it going with Gethin? I asked Cari as I conjured a wall before us and the elites fighting beside us to stop the sudden onslaught of fireballs.
I’m a little busy, Cari said.
As if she wanted to prove a point, one of the elite soldiers sent a string of light that hit the soldiers closest to the moat. They all covered their eyes and shouted in pain, and could no longer move. The air elemental beside him used that moment to send a deadening wind toward them, knocking them out at once as the soldiers covered their eyes.
I hoped Cari knew I appreciated her help as the wall I’d conjured blew into a thousand pieces. Casja’s thunderstorm raged on, but lightning no longer came down from the sky as it had before.
A group of soldiers riding horses appeared on the right. They drove their horses straight to the bridge over the moat.
“Can you...” I started to ask before I turned to Casja.
It took me a moment to realize she wasn’t doing so well. Her lips had gone purple. Her face was pale. As she raised her hands to the sky to push the wind once again, her hands shook.
“Don’t push yourself too hard,” I warned her.
She met my gaze. She smiled.
Then, she fell.
“Casja!” I shouted, catching her before she hit the ground. Her eyes fluttered shut.
And the wind died.
“She pushed herself too hard,” Lord Tynan said, getting on his knees beside me. “But she will be all right. I’ll take her to the others and tend to her there.”
I nodded as I got up.
I was relieved to hear that Casja would be all right, but the storm that had been keeping the army at bay had died. I stood atop the battlement as the soldiers riding their horses reached the moat and started to pass the bridge.
