The Winter War, epub Read online

  Evan couldn’t see much at all because of the taller Warriors marching in front of him. But he didn’t like the way the air felt, or the way the few trees he could see were completely bare. Or the way the sky was gray and ominous.

  “This doesn’t look like Ahoratos,” he whispered.

  “It’s looked different every time we’ve come here,” Xavier said, although Evan could tell he was concerned as well.

  “I didn’t think there was weather in Ahoratos,” said Brianna.

  “Where do you think we’re going?” Evan asked.

  “We’ll know when we get there,” said Xavier.

  Evan had a sudden thought that wherever they were going, he wasn’t going to like it.

  CHAPTER 3

  Battle Lines

  After nearly half a day of marching, the army of Prince Warriors arrived at the battlefield, which lay on the plain at the edge of the chasm. Before them lay the Bridge of Tears, the only bridge that spanned the endlessly deep chasm between Ahoratos and Ponéros’s kingdom of Skot’os. The Warriors stopped marching and formed into three sections. Evan and the rest of the “Rec-ing Crew” ended up in the middle section, directly in front of the bridge.

  Evan glanced at his brother, who looked pleased. Xavier wanted to be on the front line, leading the rest into battle. But Evan didn’t like being so close to Skot’os. The memory of his last visit there was still very raw, as if it only happened yesterday.

  That had been only their second time in Ahoratos. They hadn’t even gotten all their armor yet, and Ruwach had sent them on a mission to rescue a prisoner who was held in Ponéros’s fortress. That prisoner was Rook, a Prince Warrior who had gotten trapped by Ponéros’s schemes. Evan still remembered the look on Rook’s face when they had first seen him in the prison cell, chained up and half turned to metal. That was what Ponéros did to his prisoners. It was a terrible sight.

  “Maybe if Ruwach just got rid of that bridge, Ponéros wouldn’t have a way to cross,” he said aloud. “Why doesn’t he just get some dynamite or something and blow it up? That’s what they do in movies.”

  “Blowing up the bridge would make the most sense, strategically,” said Manuel. “I don’t believe Ruwach would even need dynamite.”

  “He must have a reason for leaving the bridge there,” said Ivy. “Maybe it’s so the prisoners in Skot’os can still come back.”

  Evan looked from Xavier, standing to his right, to the tall Warrior standing on his left, the one whose foot he had stepped on. He reminded him a little of Rook, although this guy was much younger.

  Whenever Evan thought about Rook, a hard little lump formed in the middle of his throat and wouldn’t go away. Like a cherry pit he’d accidentally swallowed that got stuck. He had to fight to swallow that cherry pit all over again.

  “I wish Rook were here,” he murmured.

  “Who is Rook?” The tall Warrior next to him looked down at him. Once again, Evan realized he could understand what the Warrior had said.

  “Oh, a friend. A Prince Warrior, like us, but all grown up. He’s . . . dead.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Kalle, by the way.”

  “Kalle? That’s a cool name. I’m Evan. Where are you from?”

  “Finland.”

  “Really? Awesome. I have a friend named Finn. That’s him down there. But I’m pretty sure he’s not from Finland.” Evan shivered. “It’s so cold. I don’t remember it being this cold before.”

  “It is often this cold where I come from,” said Kalle.

  “Man, I’m glad I don’t live there,” murmured Evan, too softly for Kalle to hear. He fell silent, as did the entire line of Prince Warriors. There was no sound but the mournful breeze blowing a few brown leaves across the plain.

  “This is kind of . . . eerie.” Brianna shivered.

  “I agree. Something doesn’t feel right,” Manuel said.

  “All we have to do is stand firm,” Ivy said, although she sounded as if she were trying to convince herself. “And stand together.”

  Evan looked up and down the line of Warriors. He felt reassured by how many there were. Certainly such a great army could stand up to anything, couldn’t it?

  Suddenly they saw movement, shapes emerging from the dense fog on the other side of the chasm: a long, unbroken line of Forgers. They were Ponéros’s slaves—massive metal soldiers with round, red orbs for eyes and similar glowing orbs on their chests. Whispers and gasps swept down the line of Warriors. The sight was truly terrifying.

  “Forgers,” Evan said. “I hate those guys.”

  “There’s got to be a thousand of them,” said Manuel.

  “We’ve taken down Forgers before. It’s not that hard,” said Xavier. “Remember, aim for that orb on their chests. It knocks them out of commission.”

  “Or cut off their heads,” said Brianna. She nudged Levi, who stood beside her, as if waiting for him to make a snarky comment. But he didn’t say anything. “C’mon Levi, don’t you want to cut off some Forger heads?”

  He looked at her and blinked. “Oh, yeah. Sure.”

  “So who starts this battle?” Evan asked in a hushed tone. He looked around. “Does someone have to say go or blow a whistle?”

  “Of course not,” Xavier said, clicking his tongue in disgust. “It’s a battle, not a kickball game.”

  “Okay, so . . . what are we waiting for?”

  As if in answer to his question, a thunderous roar rose up from the other side of the chasm. In the next instant, the cold air was filled with blazing heat—the Olethron, the giant flaming arrows, burst forth from the dense fog.

  The Warriors pulled their seeds from their pockets and raised them in their fists. The seed-shields deployed, launching streams of tiny red lights that created force fields around them. The fiery arrows soon began smashing into the shields, instantly extinguished.

  “Stand firm!” The voice of Ruwach echoed in their ears as the Olethron attack continued. Through the onslaught, the Warriors could see that the Forgers were now advancing to the bridge, preparing to cross.

  “Here they come,” Brianna whispered, her voice threaded with fear. They had not been in a full-scale battle since Rook died. That had been almost two years ago, the last time Ponéros tried to take over their town of Cedar Creek and steal their armor. They always knew Ponéros would eventually come up with some new way to try to destroy them. But since the Battle of Cedar Hill, things had been pretty quiet, and their visits to Ahoratos had been few and far between. Although they had tried to keep up their skills, they were all feeling a little rusty.

  “Move forward, as one!” Ruwach commanded. Sparks suddenly swooped down in front of the army to lead the charge. The Prince Warriors stayed in close formation with shields deployed, marching toward the chasm under a storm of flaming arrows. The Forger army was moving as well, heading toward the bridge, using the Olethron attack as a cover for their advance.

  Ice crystals whipped against the shields of the Warriors as they marched.

  “Is it raining?” Evan asked, looking up at the sky.

  “More like sleet,” said Manuel.

  The sleet worsened quickly, creating patches of ice under their feet. Several Warriors almost lost their footing before their boots sprouted cleats to give them traction. The marching slowed.

  “Hey,” said Xavier, staring ahead at the Forger army. “I think I see a way to stop them from crossing the bridge.”

  “We should stay in formation,” Finn said. “Ruwach said to stand firm.”

  “Yeah, we do not want to go over here,” said Ivy. “Especially in this weather. I’m staying here.”

  “Look—the bridge is narrow enough that we can push them back before they cross all the way over. Let’s go!” Xavier pulled his Krÿs from his belt; the small, harmless-looking utensil suddenly lengthened into a long, shining sword.r />
  “I don’t know about this,” said Manuel looking at his breastplate, which had not illuminated. None of them were crazy about getting on that bridge. It could disappear, for one thing; it had done that before. And halfway across, its ivy-covered stone changed to treacherous metal girders. “I think we should stay with the rest of the army. . . .”

  But Xavier was already running, brandishing his sword.

  CHAPTER 4

  The Iron Chariot

  Xavier ran all the way to the bridge, ignoring the worsening weather and the sleet that now deluged his shield, making it difficult to see. Yet the closer he got, the more he realized how perfect his idea was—they would stop this invasion dead in its tracks. He imagined another trip to the Hall of Honor, another medal around his neck, words of praise from Ruwach. His friends would admire him for having so much courage and taking the initiative. The Prince Warrior army might even pick him up on their shoulders, like a crowd might do after a big basketball victory.

  When he looked back, he was glad to see most of his friends following him, all but Ivy, who stayed with the main army and kept shouting at him to come back. He ignored her. She obviously couldn’t see the opportunity he saw. Of course she wouldn’t. She was much too young and inexperienced.

  He stopped running when he got to the bridgehead and turned to gather his friends. Ice coated their shields so that the sparkling seeds could barely shine. The other Warriors panted for breath and extended their Krÿsen into swords.

  “Okay, listen up,” Xavier said. “If we stay together, we can block the bridge and keep them from crossing.”

  “There aren’t enough of us,” Manuel said, his voice slightly strained. He glanced back at Ivy and the others.

  “Yeah,” said Evan. “We’ll get polarized!”

  “He means pulverized,” said Manuel.

  “No, we won’t,” said Xavier.

  “I can hardly see,” said Brianna.

  “My shield is getting too heavy,” said Manuel, struggling to keep his arm out straight. “The ice seems to be building up on it.”

  The Forgers were thundering over the bridge, bearing down on them. Xavier thought he could hear the heartbeats of everyone else, as well as his own, pounding in his ears. They were about to face far more Forgers than ever before. But he had no doubt they could do it. Forgers were pretty easy to defeat, once you got the hang of it.

  The enemy soldiers reached the center of the bridge, their pounding boots making the entire structure shiver and quake, their thick metal arms beating the air. Forgers didn’t fight with swords, but their grip created an iron shell around their human victims that would penetrate their skin, slowly turning their blood to liquid ore, casting their hearts in iron.

  “Now!” Xavier cried out. He surged forward and thrust his sword into an advancing Forger’s orb. It stumbled backward, knocking over another Forger behind it. Xavier was encouraged. He shouted for his friends to fight, and soon the hectic clanging of steel on iron filled the air as the others joined in.

  They had developed a pretty good system for fighting Forgers. Evan and Manuel worked together, Evan ducking and slashing at their legs and forcing them to topple forward so Manuel could thrust upward into the orb. Brianna and Levi did the same thing, taking turns slashing legs and orbs while their shields protected them. Xavier and Finn were tall enough that they could each take on their own Forger, shouting encouragement to each other as they did. The Forgers began to fall backward into the others behind them, many of them tumbling over the side of the bridge into the chasm below.

  As the Warriors fought, the ice storm worsened, forcing them to lower their shields. Ice crystals clung to their arms and helmets.

  “We need to pull back,” said Finn. “They’re getting tired. They can’t even hold their shields up—”

  “We can’t pull back now. Keep going!” Xavier shouted. The Forgers were flagging; in another moment they would be in full retreat. This was going to be even easier than he thought. “Forward!” He started advancing across the bridge as the Forgers fell back, his friends struggling to keep up.

  “I don’t know about this,” Manuel said. He was breathing hard. “This ice is making my armor feel heavy. I don’t think I can go much farther—”

  “No one’s following us,” Finn said.

  Xavier glanced back, but he couldn’t even see the army now through the storm.

  “The Forgers are retreating! We have to go after them!” Xavier cried. He was already moving, chasing after the enemy soldiers. His breastplate began to blink rapidly, telling him that he should not proceed in that direction. But he ignored it.

  “I can’t go on,” said Brianna, slowing to a walk. The bridge was now like a sheet of ice, made all the more slippery by the smooth metal girders on the Skot’os side. Even their cleated boots had a hard time keeping a firm grip. And the icy coating on their armor made it harder for them to move with ease. “The breastplates . . . blinking . . . we need to go back. . . .” Brianna stumbled and almost slipped off the edge of a girder. Levi grabbed her in time to pull her to safety.

  “Xavier,” Levi shouted. “We need to go back!”

  Xavier ignored him and pressed on over the bridge, despite the increasing numbness in his own limbs. Even his sword felt ten times heavier. His breastplate was telling him to turn back. But he saw that the Forgers were thrown into chaos, and he just couldn’t resist the chance to finish them off once and for all.

  Finally, Xavier made it over the bridge. His friends followed more slowly, struggling against the added weight of the ice on their armor. Yet it seemed Xavier had been right, for the Forgers were actually running away, deserting the bridge altogether. The Warriors charged after them but soon lost them in the heavy mist. They stopped and looked around in wonder. The Forgers were gone.

  Xavier raised his sword in a victory cheer. “We did it!” he shouted so that the army on the other side of the bridge could hear him. “We did it!”

  “Did we?” said Manual, finally grinning a little, though still trying to catch his breath.

  “Woohoo!” Evan shouted, thrusting his sword into the air.

  “Why did they run off like that?” Brianna asked.

  “Must be scared of us,” said Finn. “Wait . . . what’s that noise?”

  The Warriors stopped celebrating to listen. A low rumble resounded from somewhere in the fog. It grew louder, as if the thing making the noise was coming very fast.

  “Sounds like an engine of some sort,” said Manuel.

  “A truck,” said Finn. “A big truck. With a bad muffler.”

  Suddenly a monstrous object smashed through the fog, a machine unlike any they had seen before.

  “A tank!” Evan cried, shocked at the sight. But not a normal tank. This machine was covered in blades and horns and spikes, with a great metal horn sticking straight out front. Long, spiked scythes projected from each of the four wheels, designed to slice through anything in their path.

  “More like . . . a chariot,” murmured Manuel. “An iron chariot. Except without the horses.”

  The massive iron helmet of a Forger protruded from the top of the chariot. But the helmet looked different from a normal Forger helmet. It had a long, sharp spike sticking out of the top and two curved horns on either side. And the eyeholes were pitch black, as if the helmet was completely empty.

  “Who is that?” asked Evan. “What is that?”

  The machine paused before them, belching out steam and revving its engines. Then it made another noise, like a fog horn or an air raid siren. More machines burst from the mist, smaller but no less terrifying. They surrounded the Warriors, the sound of their engines like several jet planes about to take off.

  And then they charged.

  CHAPTER 5

  Nowhere to Run

  Run!” Xavier shouted. But there was nowhe
re to run. Xavier spun around to lead his friends to the bridge, but a chariot was already there, rolling onto the bridge, cutting off their escape.

  “We’re trapped!” said Brianna.

  “Get your shields back up!” Levi shouted. The Warriors banded together in a tight circle and struggled to raise their shields, though the shimmering lights were still dimmed by the coating of ice. The main chariot with the big Forger came barreling toward them. But instead of plowing into them, the chariot merely veered around them and continued on its way to the bridge. The other chariots did the same, until all of them were rolling over the bridge and into the midst of the army on the other side.

  The Warriors there scattered in all directions as the chariots fanned out over the field.

  Then a curious thing happened. The steaming and belching suddenly ceased. The terrible machines fell silent. For a long time, nothing and no one moved.

  “Maybe they can’t work over there,” whispered Manuel.

  “Let’s hope they can’t,” said Brianna.

  “Quick, let’s get across the bridge,” said Xavier. But before he could take a step, Evan let out a yelp. Xavier turned and gasped.

  The Forgers had returned.

  * * *

  On the other side of the bridge, the Prince Warriors started to circle the strange, iron chariots in their midst, trying to figure out if they were really broken or just pretending. They inched closer as time went on, their curiosity overcoming their fear.

  “Stay away!” shouted Ivy. “Get away from them!” Some Warriors hung back, but many continued to move in closer, lowering their shields, thinking they were out of danger.

  “Ruwach must have disabled them!” someone shouted. “They are powerless here!”

  “Of course! Ponéros’s schemes cannot work here!”