Chapter 409 The battle begins 1

Chapter 409: Chapter 409 The battle begins 1

Talia’s POV

I stood at the border, and the army roared behind me.

I looked at Malachai’s army. They were completely still, and they were waiting.

I did not wait for the roar to fade, and I did not wait for the fear to return.

I raised my dagger, and I screamed. "To victory! Charge!"

The sound ripped from my throat, raw and fierce, and it was not just a word. It was a command.

The army answered. They roared, and they ran.

The allied army charged.

I ran with them, and Kaelen was beside me. The ground shook beneath our feet, and the sound was so loud I could feel it in my chest. It rolled across the valley and echoed off the mountains like a storm.

We crossed the border, and we entered the Ashen Lands.

The ground changed beneath my feet. It was hard and dead. It was the land of the enemy.

The cold hit me like a wall. My breath caught in my throat, and my bones ached. I felt the warmth leaving my body, and I knew the Ashen Lands were trying to kill me. My magic flickered, and I felt it pulling away from me, thread by thread. I clenched my fists and kept running.

I could see them now: their faces, their eyes, and their teeth.

The two armies met, and it was like two waves crashing together.

The sound was deafening. Snarls ripped through the air, and screams followed. I heard bones snap, and I heard wolves howl in agony. Blood sprayed across my face. It was warm and sticky, and it dripped into my eyes.

Fur flew through the air like snow, and the ground beneath me grew slick.

Some of the wolves shifted. The ones with blades stayed in their human forms, slashing and cutting.

"Shift and flank them!" a Stoneclaw warrior shouted.

The ones without weapons shifted into their wolves, launching themselves at the enemy with teeth and claws.

"For the alliance!" a Silver Ridge wolf howled.

I fought. I used my dagger, and I used my fists. I used every single thing I had.

The battle became a blur, so I moved on instinct. I struck and I dodged.

A corrupted wolf lunged at me, and I drove my dagger into its chest. It did not scream, and it did not bleed. It just fell to the ground, then it stood up again.

I stared at it, and my blood ran cold.

"What?" I whispered.

I struck another corrupted wolf. I drove my blade into its throat, and it fell. Then it stood up again, its black eyes empty and its mouth twisted into something that might have been a smile.

"They are not dying," I whispered to myself. "Why are they not dying?"

Then I heard Malachai laugh.

He was standing on a small rise, watching the battle. His voice carried across the chaos like smoke.

"You cannot kill them," he shouted. "They are not like you. They are not weak, and they are not mortal. They are mine, and they will never die!"

I saw the despair on the faces of my wolves. I saw them falter, and I saw them back away.

Then I saw Erik: The young Stoneclaw wolf from the camp.

He was fighting a corrupted wolf, and he was losing. The corrupted wolf grabbed him by the arm and threw him to the ground.

Erik let out an ear piercing scream.

I ran toward him, but I was too far. I watched the corrupted wolf tear into him. I watched Erik stop screaming, and I watched him go still.

The anger rose in me like a fire.

I ran at the corrupted wolf that had killed Erik. I swung my dagger at its head, and the blade sank into its skull, ready to kill it a hundred times over.

But the corrupted wolf fell, and this time, it did not get up.

I stared at it. Then I struck another corrupted wolf. I aimed for the head, and I drove my blade deep. It also fell, and it did not get up.

I looked at Malachai, and I saw it: The horror on his face, the way his eyes widened, and the way his mouth opened, and no sound came out.

I whispered to myself. "The head. It is the head. He is controlling them from the head."

I turned to the army, and I screamed.

"Target their heads! Aim for the head!"

I turned to Kaelen, and I screamed again.

"Kaelen! Spread the word! Aim for the head!"

Kaelen heard me. He cut down a corrupted wolf with a strike to the skull, and he shouted to the wolves around him.

"Aim for the head! Kill them with a strike to the head!"

The word spread, and the wolves began to aim for the heads. The corrupted wolves began to fall, and they did not get up.

The tide began to turn.

I fought harder. I struck and I dodged, and every time I aimed for the head, another corrupted wolf fell. And more corrupted wolves kept coming.

I saw Kaelen beside me. His swords were a blur.

"Stay close!" he shouted.

"I am not going anywhere!" I shouted back.

I saw Jax fighting, and he was laughing.

"Is this all you have?" he shouted at the corrupted wolves. "I expected more!"

A corrupted wolf lunged at him, and he cut it down with a strike to the head.