Page 55 of Beyond the Storm
The Spartan army.
For the first time since leaving, I’d once again be among the warriors from my homeland.
“It’s time,” Alastair said a while later. “Corinth awaits.”
***
Steel clashed against steel. The clang of shields and shouts from the wounded echoed around the battlefield. The smell of blood filled my nostrils, as did the stench of the fallen as their bodies heated beneath the relentless rays of the sun.
We had reached Corinthian territory in the early hours of the morning when the sky had still been dark. The anti-Spartan league had gathered to discuss who should command the coalition while the soldiers made camp. Daman and Castor had found the possessed soldiers, and Gradyn had clipped their heads from their shoulders without a sound.
However, our presence had soon become known. The demon possessing one of the commanders was of a high rank and summoned more demons from the underworld before we could stop him. Those demons massacred several of the Athenian, Corinthian, and Boeotian soldiers before inhabiting their corpses.
And at daybreak, with the Spartan army marching through Corinthian territory, the battle was set into motion along the dry bed of the Nemea River. With the demons mingled within the ranks, far too many for us to eliminate before the sun rose, my brothers and I’d had no choice but to fight alongside them.
“Only target the demons,”Alastair said through our mind link.“Do not harm any of the human soldiers.”
“And if they attack me first?”Galen countered.“You expect me to allow them to live?”
“I expect you to follow orders, Wrath.”
Galen roared before twisting the head of one of the demon-possessed Thebans, snapping his neck. He then tossed the body aside and lunged at another. When a human soldier sliced his blade across Galen’s back, my brother gritted his teeth as anger rippled through his large body.
“Galen,”Alastair warned.“I gave you a direct order. Harm no humans.”
Galen’s head twitched to the side, and his eyes flickered from gray to black, then back again. He battled against his inner beast just as strongly as he did our enemy. Fortunately, he regained control over his sin before he could tear the human apart. The soldier stared after him in confusion as Galen only snarled at him, then moved on.
The Spartan army had been perplexed by our presence on the battlefield at the start, but once realizing we were fighting their enemies, they fought beside us, as did the force of allies they’d collected on their march to Corinth.
I lodged my spear into a demon’s chest before pulling it free and impaling a second. When in closer range, I switched to my sword.
“You are Spartan?” a gruff voice came from my left. The male wore a blood-splattered helmet, shielding his face, but the creased skin around his eyes and beard told me he was one of the more experienced warriors. Younger warriors were not allowed to grow beards. Something about him seemed familiar.
I tried to say yes, but the word caught on my tongue, refusing to pass my lips. “At one time, I was,” I answered instead. “But that was many years ago.”
“Once a Spartan, always a Spartan,” he said before driving his spear into a Theban’s throat. Unknown to him, he’d just killed a demon. “It is a thing you do not choose. Blood recognizes blood.” He nodded to me before charging deeper into the fray.
The battle waged on beneath the hot sun. The heat didn’t affect me or my brothers nearly as much as it did the mortals. Yet, those mortals didn’t surrender to the heat or the exhaustion. Their fortitude was awe-inspiring.
The sounds imprinted in my mind: the clanking of armor, the cries of dying men, and the booming rumble of feet pounding the earth as thousands of men fought for their homelands. Pride played a role as well. The desire to prove oneself. The satisfaction of bringing an enemy to their knees.
Men in power often sent others into the flames and watched them burn just so they could reap the benefit of feeling the warmth on their skin. And the men around me were burning. Warriors fell on both sides, laying down their lives for a cause greater than themselves.
Much like us,I thought to myself.
We fought for humankind. We fought to keep the dark forces at bay.
Spartan hoplites encircled the Athenians on the left of the battlefield and crushed their lines. They then traveled across the field toward the unprotected right flank of the Corinthians and inflicted heavy casualties. Part of the Theban contingent fell under heavy attack next.
It was there, beneath the blinding rays of the sun, when a familiar scent tickled my nose. Olive trees in springtime. Woodsy notes with traces of fruit—it was much like I remembered but different as well. An unfamiliar musk interlaced within it. Unfamiliar… but also as though I’d been waiting for it my entire life.
Melancholy stirred in my chest and whined low.“My home.”
Never had I felt such strong emotion. It was as if I’d been set ablaze, the flames starting in my chest and exploding outward. The sudden intensity nearly brought me to my knees. My focus shifted from the battle as I searched for the source of my newfound feelings.
And then I saw him.
A Spartan leapt high into the air, sword in his grip as he brought it down on an enemy’s head. He slung blood from his blade before his spine straightened a bit. His face then turned in my direction. His helmet concealed his features, but I saw a glimpse of his lips from behind the bronze. His dark eyes moved to me.
