Raelin coughed. She had been in dark places before. More since the start of the war. But not like this. This was a blackness she had never felt. Sight could not penetrate it. The only thing left to suggest the rest of the world still existed was sound. Sound, and the overpowering smell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Zetacron had promised, Drake had soon regained the use of his arm. Needing something to correctly align the metal, Zetacron had used the wire from Drake\u2019s grapple gun, threading it through the armor. With a few altercations, Jandar had turned the metal arm into a grappling device all its own, attaching a formidable steel claw to cover Drake\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zetacron had identified the fiend that had attacked Drake. He was a new recruit, a deadly enemy called a vampire. Drake had seemed to understand the name, though it was foreign to Raelin. Zetacron had said the vampire was called Cyprien, and that he was lord of all vampires. Drake had been lucky to escape with only injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raelin had not been punished for disobeying orders. Everyone knew Drake was a soldier Jandar could not afford to lose, most of all Jandar himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The war had at last swung around in Jandar\u2019s favor. Utgar\u2019s defeat at Stechavan had crippled his northern forces. Unable to reinforce their numbers, his garrisons throughout Bleakwood rapidly fell to the alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winter faded to spring, which yielded a fresh bloodbath as Utgar tried to reclaim his lost territory. But his forces, so large, were still scattered, and he was driven back. Summer passed, and in the autumn, a new Valkyrie \u2013 Aquilla by name \u2013 had emerged and joined Jandar. Little was known of her, save that she and her forces were in the unexplored Ticalla Jungle. Though her army was pitifully small, it had carried out a number of successful surprise attacks against Utgar\u2019s fortresses in the Volcarren, weakening his forces there as well. Jandar had been quick to reinforce her via the Bitter Sea, and Utgar was now caught between two imposing armies, one of which threatened his wellspring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Utgar\u2019s army was still larger than the other two combined. He could still destroy the alliance. But for the moment, he was disorganized, his legions spread too thin. He would regroup and attack again, and probably finally destroy the alliance\u2026 unless something was done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That something proved to be a daring plan to attack Utgar at his wellspring. Every general had contributed, and Jandar had launched a coalition army through the Bitter Sea. Two months after Utgar\u2019s defeat at Stechavan, it had landed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The army was larger than any the alliance had ever commanded before. It swept the first few outposts before it, and then surged forwards, aiming for Utgar\u2019s impregnable fortress, and the wellspring that lay beneath it. Unfortunately, the alliance\u2019s luck had run out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the Underdark \u2013 ancient ruins far beneath Valhalla \u2013 came a new Valkyrie: Valkrill. His presence had been kept a secret, but now he emerged with his deadly army, arrayed against the alliance. Utgar\u2019s forces met the alliance from the West, Valkrill from the East. Raelin, who had been wounded and so left at a captured fortress at the time, had heard of the wholesale slaughter that had taken place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The greatest army the alliance had ever formed was utterly destroyed in just a little over five hours. It was a blow none of them would ever fully recover from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mallidon had been in the army. Soon after the defeat, Raelin and Kelda had descended on the blood-soaked rocks and begun their search. Kelda was the one to finally find him, wounded and weak with loss of blood, but somehow still alive. Raelin had watched Kelda heal as she had never seen before. Blue magic blossomed from Kelda\u2019s palms. Sometimes it waned, sometimes it faded, but it always returned with a mighty flash, and Mallidon would take a shuttering breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kelda had driven herself to the point of exhaustion, finally collapsing on Mallidon and breaking down into sobs. Only then had she permitted other kyrie to take Mallidon to the fallback position, where his healing was completed. They had been assured he would make a full recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kelda herself had needed medical attention, for she was extremely weak after expending everything she had on Mallidon. Drake had arrived while Raelin watched her sleep, his good arm bandaged. He was lucky to have survived at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Raelin had watched Kelda sleep, she had seen again that same peaceful face, the same face that had so often been Kelda\u2019s. She had not seen that expression since before the war, and the sight of it had made her cry. Drake had asked her why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis war, this pain\u2026 I abhor it. I know it needs to end, to go away, but everything around me says the only way to do that is through more of the same. Even you, Drake; even you said that you can only protect people by killing other people. You said there was no other choice, but I couldn\u2019t believe you then. I don\u2019t want to believe you now. I want to believe that there is another way, a way without pain, a way without suffering. But how can there be? How can there be such a way, when Mallidon\u2014\u201d Raelin broke down and could not finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She leaned against Drake as the tears flowed, and he held her comfortingly. Something of his calmness spread to her, and she eventually subsided into silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you remember the Great War I told you about once, Raelin,\u201d Drake said, \u201cthe one back on my home?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raelin nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat war lasted too long. Most of the soldiers, myself included, felt we were fighting against something. It just took us several years to figure out it wasn\u2019t the enemy. We were fighting against ideas, principles, and the soldiers we killed every day were just in the way, just as determined as we were. We finally figured out that our argument wasn\u2019t with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI could tell you of at least a dozen times a white flag was flown above the enemy trenches. A plane would have gone down, or a dead soldier was caught in the barbed wire and we needed to retrieve his body. Men from both sides would jump the trenches, and we\u2019d work together. We\u2019d thank each other, wave farewell\u2026 and the next day go back to killing each other. But every time that happened, everyone knew the war was dead. It\u2019s a good thing the war ended when it did, because I think a lot of the soldiers \u2013 most of them, actually \u2013 were tired of it. They were about to quit. They didn\u2019t want to kill us, and we didn\u2019t want to kill them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raelin looked up at Drake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t give up hope, Raelin,\u201d he whispered to her. \u201cHope is what keeps us going against all odds. It\u2019s what lets us see the light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a slow journey back to Nastralund. Everyone knew they had lost. Nearly half of their forces had been in the army that had just been obliterated. Utgar\u2019s forces had rallied, and with Valkrill\u2019s legions swelling his ranks, he would march on the alliance within two months. If not sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though they knew they were defeated, surrender was on no one\u2019s lips. Each survivor knew what they fought for, and they were determined to fight for it to the end. It had always been inevitable that Utgar would win. It seemed now that the war had never been about winning. It had been about making a stand for what was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a few weeks, all was quiet on the battlefields of Valhalla. Each side knew what was coming, and each side gathered its strength, not wasting it on pointless forays into enemy territory. The halls of Jandar\u2019s castles were silent, but not with despair. They were still with calm, the calm of one who knows his fate, and has accepted it with hope that someday, he will yet triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was the night after one of these silent days that Raelin was abruptly woken by someone shaking her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRaelin!\u201d a voice hissed close to her ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She jumped at first, but then relaxed. A full moon shone through the window, and by its faint light, she could see Sullivan standing over her. She was surprised to see that he carried his shotgun, slung over his back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cQuickly,\u201d he whispered, \u201cyou have to come with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raelin could sense the urgency in his voice and got out of bed quickly. \u201cWhy?\u201d she asked, pulling on something warmer. \u201cWhat\u2019s happened?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan grimaced. \u201cThere\u2019s no time to explain. You\u2019ll see soon enough anyway. Just keep your voice down and follow me. We can\u2019t be overheard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apprehensive, Raelin followed Sullivan out of her bedroom and down the steps. They crept silently out of the tower, across the main road, and finally halted at the massive gate to Jandar\u2019s castle. Here, Sullivan fumbled briefly with the lock on the wicket gate, opened it, and motioned Raelin through. Raelin ducked, and emerged outside Jandar\u2019s fortress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She had two seconds. Two seconds in which to see the two hooded figures waiting for her. Two seconds in which to realize that Sullivan had stepped out with her, quickly closing the gate behind them. Two seconds, and then everything changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two vampires threw back their hoods. Before Raelin could turn, fly, even scream, white hands shot out and smote her. Coldness clamped down on her lungs like Drake\u2019s grappling arm, and her scream died in her throat. Warmth and energy deserted her, and she toppled to the stone causeway. The only comforting thought was that these vampires did not possess the chill touch of Cyprien. Either that, or they were aiming to paralyze rather than kill. A moment later, Raelin realized that thought was not comforting at all. They wanted her alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sullivan stepped around her. \u201cRemember,\u201d he said to one of the vampires, \u201cthere\u2019s no need to harm her. She is no ordinary prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Disbelief flooded Raelin\u2019s mind. Not this. Not now. Not after everything that had happened. She looked at Sullivan, trying to ask the question with her eyes. He looked at her and knelt beside her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No grin was on his face. No confident air, or smug self-satisfaction. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Raelin,\u201d he said. She could see he meant it. \u201cYou and I want the same thing. I want this war to end just as you do. I\u2019ve had enough of bloodshed, of pain. It\u2019s time for it all to stop. Many of the men feel the same way, and from what I\u2019ve heard, a lot of Utgar\u2019s legions do too. We\u2019ve all realized there\u2019s only one way this is going to end. The problem is you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raelin stared at Sullivan for a moment, not comprehending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re hope, Raelin,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cEveryone sees it. You\u2019re determined that there is a way this war can be won peaceably. Your confidence spreads to everyone else, and they go off to another battle. And another. And another. Jandar would have quit long ago if it weren\u2019t for you. You want the war to end, Raelin, but you can\u2019t just let<\/em> it end. You have to end it the way you want it to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s where I\u2019m different. This war has gone on too long. I don\u2019t care how it ends anymore. I just want it over. And you, unfortunately, are in the way of that.\u201d Sullivan stood up. \u201cYour capture will be a great blow to Jandar. The alliance might struggle on for a few more months, but without you, Jandar will ultimately surrender. That\u2019s what Utgar wants: surrender. He doesn\u2019t want a final battle. He doesn\u2019t want to destroy the alliance. He wants the war over, just like you, just like me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sullivan glanced at the vampires. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Raelin. You won\u2019t be harmed. You\u2019ll be held in a castle far within Utgar\u2019s lands. You\u2019ll be free to do as you please, save for leaving the castle. Once Jandar surrenders, the war will be over, and you can go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sullivan looked down at her. \u201cI\u2019m sorry about this, Raelin. I really am. It may seem extreme, but I knew you would never back down if I tried to talk to you about it. Anyone could see that. You\u2019ll be held two months at the most, and then this will all be over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to move quickly,\u201d one of the vampires hissed. \u201cIf we\u2019re seen, we\u2019re dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBe gentle,\u201d Sullivan whispered, unlatching the gate. He stepped back inside, closed the door, and was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The vampires were indeed gentle. They picked Raelin up, and flew her southwards between them. But there was something in their grip Raelin didn\u2019t like. Something that suggested she was more than a mere prisoner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Raelin coughed. She had been in dark places before. More since the start of the war. But not like this. This was a blackness she had never felt. Sight could not penetrate it. The only thing left to suggest the rest of the world still existed was sound. Sound, and the overpowering smell. As Zetacron … Continue reading Chapter Eleven – The Price of Faith<\/span>