Page 94 of Heartless Enemy

“Fire,” I said.

My fire mages, led by Shinji, poured torrents of red and orange flames towards the now slightly panicked army on the other side.

“Lightning!” Eve snapped to the white boots.

Wind magic whooshed across the plains, sweeping away the final blankets of mist, right as our fire and lightning barreled towards our enemies. Shouts rang out, and shields of water and shadow shot from the ground.

I snapped my gaze around, trying to locate White. His army was now at a disadvantage, having to focus on blocking our attacks more than delivering ones of their own, but their commander was nowhere to be seen.

Uneasiness slithered through my stomach like a cold snake.

What was he plotting? He—

That’s when the screaming started.

Whipping around, I stared towards the mass of constables on my right. Panic spread through their ranks like wildfire as Christian White worldwalked back and forth through their army, stabbing backs and slashing throats as he went. All of my people might be protected by metal armor, but the constables still only wore their leather uniforms.

Blood stained the white leather red as men and women fell to the ground like sheared stalks of wheat.

With the loss of the white boot attacks, our numbers were suddenly a lot more even with White’s army. It turned the battle back to a mutual onslaught. I yelled commands for both defense and attacks as we lost the punishing advantage we’d held for a few minutes.

People screamed from my right. The constables spun around, panic clear on their faces, as they tried to estimate where the worldwalker would appear next. And yet, they kept dying.

My gaze found the newly appointed Chief Ulric Smith across the carnage. He was just staring at the people around him, shock and disbelief on his face. My hatred for him grew even more. He was supposed to be their leader, but he was doing nothing to save his people. Nothing to help them organize so that they might protect themselves. I fucking despised men like him.

“Circle formation!” Eve bellowed, taking control. “Backs to each other. Now!”

But the panic among the white boots was already too widespread. Some of them tried to follow her orders, but the rest just whipped around like terrified chickens.

Wind and shadow magic shot from across the field. I yanked up a metal wall, shoving most of the attacks sideways while Shinji and the other fire mages burned off the shadows that made it through. Tyler and Chris answered with a combined attack of lightning and wind.

Booms echoed through the air and lights flashed as several different types of magic collided. I gritted my teeth as I shot sharp sheets towards the army on the other side. We needed to get the advantage back and force White to go on the defensive. Otherwise, this plan would never work.

I flicked a quick glance to the right while summoning another attack, and to my horror found that Eve had left my dark mages and instead sprinted over to the constables. Grabbing them by the arms, she physically shoved several people into the formation she had been trying to get them into before.

It created a ripple effect, finally breaking people out of their blinding panic. Suddenly moving with purpose, the white boots began to form circles where the front row faced outwards and the people at their backs faced inwards. The formation protected both their sides and their backs while giving them a clear view of what was in front of them.

My heart swelled as I glanced at Eve. She really was clever. And a true leader.

Flashing purple and orange light yanked my attention back to the field ahead. I slapped my palms together and raised a metal wall right before a series of those lethal fireworks could reach our side. They hit my shield with deafening bangs that reverberated through the air. The explosions tore through the metal in several places, and my shadow mages summoned twisting darkness to absorb the shrapnel that shot towards us from it.

Shinji and Chris hurled a combined fire and wind attack at the left side of their forces, creating a whirling tornado of flames, while Tyler shot targeted lightning strikes at the explosion mages who had tried to blow us up. I shoved another sharp sheet towards them as well while casting another glance towards Eve.

The blood froze in my veins.

Eve was still on the constables’ side of the field, trying to hold their defenses together. She had been shouting orders while gesturing with her arm.

Then she turned around.

And came face to face with Christian White.

Chapter36

Ajolt shot through me as I spun around and suddenly found Christian White right in front of me. His pale blue eyes were cold as shards of ice when he flashed me a cruel smile that was all teeth.

“Eve Sterling,” he said as he dragged his gaze up and down my body. “I owe you a beating.”

I yanked out my sword, abandoning any attempts to summon magic, right as White vanished into thin air.

---