Page 135 of Earthbound

‘Shit,’ Mortah said again, and Reena smiled, realising Alder was no threat.

Reena raised her hand and the entire squadron behind moved in formation towards them.

As the soldiers advanced Lettle seemed to finally accept that the ruse was over. ‘Alder, the obeah, call them,’ she said urgently.

He shook his head. ‘No.’ There were too many soldiers. Even if the obeah managed to fight them off, many of the creatures would die and he wanted no more blood on his hands.

Lettle bowed her head, accepting his decision, though he thought he saw a flicker of frustration in her eyes. But she couldn’t know what it was like to be able to manipulate another body so easily. He had to be gentle with their lives, even if they had no souls.

‘We should run,’ Lettle said.

‘No, there is no point. There are too many of them, we’ll die with holes in our backs,’ Mortah said.

‘Better than holes in our fronts. I’d rather not see death come for me,’ Lettle said.

The soldiers were within firing distance now and it took only a single word from Reena to condemn them.

‘Fire.’

Chapter Twenty-Six

Yeeran

‘We need to surrender.’

The four words sounded like a death knell.

‘You can’t be serious, Furi,’ Yeeran said.

‘Why not?’ Furi said quietly. ‘I’m tired, my people are tired.’ The queen lay back against the sofa in Rayan’s chambers. Her eyes had lost some of their light.

Yeeran went to her now, keen to reignite the spark in her eyes. ‘We cannot surrender. If we do, everything we did was for nothing.’

‘If we surrender, Lettle will be able to enter Mosima safely. They’re at the border of the army camp now,’ Rayan said.

The king had been following Lettle’s journey across the continent through Ajax’s eyes. As each day passed it was as though he were a little bit more alive, like a wilting plant given water drop by drop. It was no surprise he was so ready to surrender if it meant reuniting with Lettle.

Golan, on the other hand, had withdrawn more with each passing day. It was clear he was troubled about reuniting with Alder. So it surprised Yeeran when he said, ‘They’re right, this will never end until we end it.’ He still wore a set of brightly coloured gloves, and his hands clenched as he spoke. ‘As I understand it, when we free the humans from the obeah’s bodies, the boundary will come down too. So no matter what happens, the elves will one day pillage Mosima. We might as well make the choice our own.’

‘To give up is to surrender Mosima,’ Yeeran said. ‘They’ll mine all of the fraedia and the city will be left to die.’

‘It’s already dying, Yeeran,’ Furi said. ‘Half the fields are burnt or destroyed. The poisoned estuary has seeped into our riverways, killing off swathes of amphibians. And that’s not even including the mammals who feasted on the poisoned fish.’

Yeeran grimaced. It was true, death was everywhere she looked. But she wasn’t ready to concede. ‘There is still much life here–the trees and plants, the magnolias that still bloom—’

‘I cannot keep doing this for a single magnolia tree, Yeeran,’ Furi said dryly.

‘But what about the people? This is their home.’

Like it had become hers.

‘I am thinking about what is best for my people,’ Furi said, her eyes glistening.

Yeeran realised the depth of her pain. This decision is like acid on her heart; it is eating her.

She kneeled beside Furi and cupped her cheek. ‘I know you don’t make this sacrifice lightly, but there is more to consider here. If we surrender, you know the elves will not relinquish the Fae Lands. Lorhan will remain the Bleeding Field.’

Rayan shook his head. ‘What other option do we have, Yeeran? We lost three hundred and eighty-two people to the wasting pox, most of them soldiers. We are running out of food and soon that number will increase. Too many people have died, and the battle hasn’t even begun.’