The Shift
There were so many questions running through my head as everything fell apart in a matter of seconds. How had Liam contacted his allies in such a short time? Who were these allies, and how had they managed to evade our detection until now? How long had Helia been in league with our enemies? Could I have stopped it? Why hadn't Mercy discovered them, was she not keeping an eye on our surroundings or our soldiers? How had I now been betrayed three times by warriors I had come to trust? And as I struggled briefly against my former captain's hold, falling still when her lieutenants placed their blades at my chest and throat, I could add another question into that onslaught of inquiries. Was this to be my end?
"Captain, what is this?!" I demanded, doing what little I could to glare back at my attackers. I could not focus on any one thing happening around me, for there were too many troubling sights to linger on any one thing. On the ground below were dead or soon to be dead soldiers, in front of me was a wall of shield bearers blocking any path forward, half of my forces ramming and knocking against them in a desperate bid to move forward. Beyond even that, the other half of my army haphazardly shifted to my right, frantically trying to prepare a last second defense against a quickly approaching row of riders, with even more foot soldiers charging behind them.
"Sorry Cross, my brothers and sisters broke bread with the warriors behind that wall. We couldn't let you kill them." Helia said. Her tone was not at all what I had expected. Oftentimes after a successful ploy, a mole would be boastful or proud, even dismissive and insulting of their former companions. Helia was none of those things, instead there was a tenderness in her voice, a somberness as though she hoped to cushion the blow. I could not tell if I found such pity insulting, or relieving.
"You bled beside us! Sang songs in camp with our soldiers! Does that mean nothing to you?!" I yelled in a fury. I struggled again against Helia's grip, and may well have broken free had it not been for her lieutenants. The first slammed the hilt of his sword into my chest, briefly knocking the wind from my lungs. The other was quick to press his blade firmly against my neck. For a moment I could not breathe, and gasped as the first replaced his sword, pointing directly towards my heart.
"Of course it does, why do you think we refuse to strike you down? There's still a way out of this for you, for all of you." Helia replied. A way out? After all of this, did she really think I could trust her? Then again, what choice did I have? In the distance, the first wall of attackers struck, the cavalry slamming into, then riding through the assembled Blackstone. Already I could see the resolve of my men breaking, with the survivors of the charge being knocked aside and thrown to the ground, all while another, larger force of infantry continued to approach. With half of my army trying to reach me, how long could those men last?
"Listen to me Cross, I wasn't lying to you when I said you were a good man, trying to call for peace proved that." Said Helia. As she spoke, I felt her grip on my arms loosen, and I briefly considered trying again to fight against her. The continued threat of her lieutenants, however, was enough to dissuade me from my efforts. My heart continued to race as I watched the front half of my forces slowly realize what was happening, their driven fury devolving into panic. As if sensing this, the shield wall slowly began to push them back, each of my soldiers scrambling as they stumbled over one another.
"You would have me surrender?" I asked fidgeting against the blade at my chest, trying to ever so gently shift it away from my heart. The lieutenant, however, anticipated such a thing, and quickly grabbed me by the shoulder, forcing me back into place.
"You care about your men. Take them home." Helia replied. Her grip loosened again, though I still found myself unable to move due to her lieutenants. I did not wish to surrender this fight, but I was at a loss of what else to do. Restrained as I was, I could not break free without serious injury, even if I could somehow avoid a killing blow. Worse, my soldiers were being slaughtered. Even from a distance, I could see a number of them tripping over what I could only assume were dead bodies. The enemy cavalry rode in and out of the assembled warriors, skillfully avoiding their own ground troops as they stabbed at my comrades, both standing and those that had fallen over. I had a responsibility to Blackstone, to Apollyon... But so too did I have a responsibility to my men, and in this moment, they had to be my priority.
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