A Reign of Steel Read Free Page B

fought desperately, swinging his ax wildly at horses and men who
charged by—until finally he was hit from behind by a hammer and collapsed
face-first in the mud.
    Scores
more McCloud reinforcements arrived, abandoning the gate to face them. Elden
saw fewer of his own men, and he knew that soon they would all be wiped out.
But he didn’t care. King’s Court was under attack, and he would give up his
life to defend it, to defend these Legion boys whom he was so proud to fight
with. Whether they were boys or men no longer mattered—they were shedding their
blood beside him, and on this day, alive or dead, they were all brothers.
    *
    Kendrick
galloped down the mountain of pilgrimage, leading a thousand Silver, all of
them riding harder than they ever had, racing for the black smoke on the
horizon. Kendrick chided himself as he rode, wishing he had left the gates more
protected, never expecting such an attack on a day like this, and most of all,
from the McClouds, whom he thought were pacified under Gwen’s rule. He would
make them all pay for invading his city, for taking advantage of this holy day.
    All
around him his brothers charged, one thousand strong, the entire wrath of the Silver,
forgoing their sacred pilgrimage, determined to show the McClouds what the Silver
could do, to make the McClouds pay once and for all. Kendrick vowed that by the
time he was done, not one McCloud would be left alive. Their side of the Highlands would never rise again.
    As
Kendrick neared, he looked ahead and spotted Legion recruits fighting valiantly,
saw Elden and O’Connor and Conven, all terribly outnumbered, and none backing
down to the McClouds. His heart soared with pride. But they were all, he could
see, about to be vanquished.
    Kendrick
cried out and kicked his horse even harder as he led his men and they all burst
forward in one last charge. He picked up a long spear and as he got close
enough, he hurled it; one of the McCloud generals turned just in time to see
the spear sail through the air and pierce his chest, the throw strong enough to
penetrate his armor.
    The
thousand knights behind Kendrick let out a great shout: the Silver had arrived.
    The
McClouds turned and saw them, and for the first time, they had real fear in
their eyes. A thousand shining Silver knights, all of them riding in perfect
unison, like a storm coming down the mountain, all with weapons drawn, all
hardened killers, none with an ounce of hesitation in their eyes. The McClouds
turned to face them, but with trepidation.
    The
Silver descended upon them, upon their home city, Kendrick leading the charge. He
drew his ax and swung expertly, chopping several soldiers from their horses; he
then drew a sword with his other hand, and riding into the thick of the crowd,
stabbed several soldiers in all the vulnerable points of their armor.
    The
Silver bore right through the mass of soldiers like a wave of destruction, as
they were so expert at doing, none of them at home until they were completely
surrounded in the thick of battle. For a member of the Silver, that’s what it
meant to be at home. They slashed and stabbed all the McCloud soldiers around
them, who were like amateurs compared to them, cries rising greater and greater
as they felled McClouds in every direction
    No
one could stop the Silver, who were too fast and sleek and strong and expert in
their technique, fighting as one unit, as they had been trained to do since
they could walk. Their momentum and skill terrified the McClouds, who were like
common soldiers next to these finely trained knights. Elden, Conven, O’Connor
and the remaining Legion, rescued by the reinforcements, rose back to their
feet, however wounded, and joined the fight, helping the Silver’s momentum even
further.
    Within
moments, hundreds of McClouds lay dead, and those that remained were overtaken
by a great panic. One by one, they began to turn and flee, McClouds pouring out
of the city gates, trying to get away from King’s