2 A Time to Kill (1/2)

”Your reckless plan's going to get us killed!” Luca hissed.

”Calm down,” I whispered. ”We can do this.”

We were making our way up the side of the hill while we argued. Our goal was to reach the fairy fort's hilltop to catch our enemies unaware before they saw us, but this was easier said than done. Although most of the attention was on our hundred-man unit below, it would be nearly impossible not to be noticed by the scattered groups of defenders the further up we went.

”Look,” I pointed back to the hilltop. There were only five soldiers encircling the lone mage on the hill. The rest of their forces were gathered further below. ”There are so few of them guarding their commander. With your overpowering brawn and my quick wit, the two of us are more than enough to take them.”

Luca rolled his eyes at me but didn't argue. He knew I had a point. Our teamwork was the best in the entire unit.

”How do you know that one's their leader?” he asked.

”We're up against the Magesong Clan. You know how high they value their fairy magicians more than everyone else,” I reasoned.

We continued up the hill, trekking through the barren dirt, and it wasn't until there were less than fifty yards between us and the commander's group when we stopped. Troops of archers and boulder-throwers gathered in clumps above us. We needed another route.

In order to increase our chance of a successful stealth run, I decided it was time to pull out my winning card. I knelt on the dirt and closed my eyes. Then I reached deep inside me and called forth the power of my fairy gift. It appeared in my mind's eye a moment later, a floating paper-thin rectangular object about six inches long and three inches wide wrapped in the warm silver light of fairy glimmer. It was a card.

On the card's surface was the painting of a weirdly dressed man staring whimsically at the sky. Draped across his back was a wooden pole with a sack at its end. Beneath this foolish figure were markings that would have been unreadable to the uninitiated mind. However, I knew they were primordial script, the language of fairy kind.

I read the words, ”Oh great fool, let me see the unseen that I might know the unknowable,” and felt the magic stir.

Heat concentrated on the surface of my eyes like I'd rubbed chili pepper all over them. Seconds passed, and what began as a painful stinging slowly transformed into this warm, soothing sensation that enveloped my entire vision.

When I opened my eyes, I was a bird in flight staring down at the hill from high above the clouds. With this bird's-eye-view, I saw the entire fairy fort, its surrounding hill, and the formations and composition of the two forces arrayed against each other. I witnessed my unit struggling to make their way up the hill. Their numbers were lesser since the battle began. I also noticed the gaps in the Magesong Clan's defenses, and not for the first time, wished I was the one leading instead of the incompetent one-hundred-man commander who ordered the soldiers into this losing struggle.

My eyes zoned in on the hilltop to the enemy commander and its guards lounging in a loose formation outside the ring of white stones at the very top of the hill. There were five mean-looking hobgoblins in grey-tinted leather armor carrying shadowblades of different types, their scarred faces way uglier than the ones Luca and I defeated. Their leader wore a heavy grey cloak and hood that kept its face in shadow. Although it had the same tall, slim physique as the hobgoblins, my Fool's Insight would not be, well, fooled. It was clear to my sight that this commander was no hobgoblin. The long and lustrous golden hair peeking out of the hood gave its secret away.

To the right of the enemy command group and about ten yards lower on the hill was a series of shallow ditches carved into the dirt. These were the tracks the giant boulders used to roll down the hill. Now, it just so happened that the ditch on the farthest right cut into the hill in a line that intersected with the path Luca and I were on. Another lucky coincidence was that this particular ditch was unused as there were no more boulders to roll down it. I knew immediately that this was our way in.

After taking one final snapshot of the battlefield, I closed my eyes and deactivated my power. The warm heat vanished from my sight, and my vision cleared. I was back on ground-level and staring into Luca's worried face.

”So, how doomed are we?” he asked.

I told him what I saw.

”That sounds bad…” Luca's brow bunched together in concern. ”How much longer can the unit hold out?”

His concern wasn't unexpected. Unlike me who'd only joined the unit three weeks ago, Luca had been fighting alongside most of them for the three months he was missing. He'd made some friends among them in that time.

”The rate they're going… I estimate another half hour before they're completely wiped out,” I answered, honestly.

I patted Luca reassuringly on the shoulder.

”Don't worry. We'll finish the job long before that happens,” I said.

Luca nodded silently. Despite his constant complaints, I knew he would rather put himself in mortal danger than watch people he knew get hurt. He was a good kid at heart.

”Let's go,” I said.

I led Luca to the ditch. We climbed into the wide three feet space, and with our heads stooped low, made our way up the hill while sticking as close to the earthen wall as possible. We hoped this would help us avoid detection from the scattered enemies above. Ten cautious minutes later, we reached the end of the ditch unseen.

Luca and I peeked out of the left wall and discovered a group of soldiers standing among the other ditches. Thankfully, they were too busy gleefully pushing five-foot boulders down the hill to notice us. We saw the commander's guards about fifteen yards away from the boulder-throwers.

”What now?” Luca whispered.

I nodded toward the right. ”We'll climb up that wall and then make a dash for the commander's location.”

”And then?” Luca pressed.

I raised a knowing eyebrow at him.

Luca sighed. ”You want me to do the heavy lifting, don't you?”

I shrugged. ”Your Foolish Strength combined with the surprise attack should be enough to break their formation and allow me to slip in and assassinate the magician.”

”What if the magician has a barrier up?” Luca argued.

”Not likely… the dude's too far away from the main fight to bother with a shield,” I reasoned.

”This plan is foolhardy, Dean… It's too risky,” he insisted.

I wrapped an arm around Luca's shoulder.

”Remember why we're doing this?” I asked.

”To rack up as many accomplishments as we can to earn a wish from the clan leader,” Luca recited like he'd done a dozen times before.

I nodded. ”Yeah… if we become the clan's heroes then the patriarch will definitely grant our wish. And there isn't a bigger reward on a battlefield than the head of the enemy commander.”

”What if the fighting continues even after we kill the boss?” Luca argued.

For an answer, I pointed to the heavens. The sky was less dark. The sun would show its face soon.

Luca's shoulder's stiffened. ”Dawn's coming…”

”Roselle must have noticed the enemy unit's composition just like I did which is why he started the battle this late just in case we couldn't win the fight,” I said, smirking. ”I have to give that pixie some credit. He's definitely good at running away…”

Without another word, we climbed out of the ditch and made our way as stealthily as we could manage up the remaining fifteen yards to our target. Now, I wasn't sure if it was our awesome stealth skills, the growing intensity of the battle below, or just dumb luck but the enemy commander's guards didn't notice me and Luca until we were almost right on top of them. By then, it was already too late.