Fire & Ash

Pale flames licked at the gray sky. Dark smoke rose, twisting and curling. When the wind pushed it toward them, An Sun raised his arm to block the sparks. When his vision cleared, he saw within the fire the shape of a figure emerge as if springing out of the air. One man was soon followed by a sea of men storming inside.

"The enemy has breached the wall! Rally to the front!" General Donghai shouted, pulling out his sword.

The clang of steel echoed through the yard as the others joined battle around him. The Tuhan were shouting as they stormed the barricade, jabbing with their spears, swinging their bronze axes, spilling blood. An Sun charged madly, his sword cutting through flesh and bone. Sensing someone behind, he turned only to see a familiar face.

"I cover your back, and you cover mine?" Manchu flashed him a toothy grin.

An Sun managed his own smile and nodded. The two men fought back to back as the enemy's assault advanced. A bloody battle ensued as the battle cries intertwined and became one. Over and beneath the wall, the last assault came sweeping like a darkwave.

An Sun could hear the Tuhan and foreign army shouting to each other, and somewhere behind him, he heard Manchu's alarmed voice.

"Sun, behind you!"

Just as he turned around, he heard the sound of an arrow softly hiss as it left its string. A moment later, there was a grunt, and suddenly a body fell amongst the crowd. Stunned, An Sun looked up to see atop the stairs a figure standing, bow in hand. Those emerald eyes raised and met his own.

"Rin..." Her name fell off his lips in a whisper.

As if she heard him through the chaos, her eyes smiled. Then, as quickly as it came, her expression dropped. She brought up her bow, loosed the arrow, and shot past him. An Sun had no choice but to turn away and face the enemy behind.

Making her way down the stairs, Rin pulled the arrow back to her ear, aimed, and loosed the arrow, then nocked and drew and loosed again.

"Stay close behind me!" She shouted to the boy behind her—an arrow in her hand.

Aiguo nodded and clutched his sword in front to defend against attackers. The heat of the fires was making the wall weep, and the flames danced and shimmered against the ice. Rin squinted her eyes against the fires as they made their way down. Reaching the bottom, there was no time to think before a group charged toward the stairs.

Rin dropped her bow, reached back over her shoulder, ripped her sword from its sheath, and buried the blade in the middle of the first man. The blow sheared right through his helm and deep into his skull.

"Come on!" She shouted behind and brandished her sword into the mass of men.

Covered in ash and blood, An Sun blinked the sweat from his eyes. Above the lower scent of sweat was the acidic smell of fear, carried aloft from clashing bodies that howled amidst a sea of scarlet liquid. His body grew tired and sore, but his movements did not slow. Rather, they grew more violent.

He needed to last longer...Just a little longer.

"Sun!" A clear voice entered his thoughts.

At that moment, like a hazy memory, a figure rushed in front of him. Dark hair scattered across her pale, sweaty face. The moonlight glimmered off her sword.

"Are you all right?" Rin caught her breath.

An Sun's eyes narrowed. He swung his sword past her to cut an approaching enemy. "And you?"

"It could be better," Rin said bitterly, slightly out of breath. "Need help?"

Glancing around at the numerous enemies surround them, his lips twisted into a smirk.

"A little help would be nice."

The corners of her mouth couldn't help but lift in a smile as well.

"Then let's fight." Rin pressed her back against his.

An Sun laughed and gripped his sword, plunging himself into the mass of bloodbath.

...

All of their men still stood in the front lines, but the enemy's army was swarming over all along the crescent, forcing them back. Their gate was gone, their men diminishing.

"We're outnumbered." Manchu wiped the sweat from his brow. He was out of breath, exhausted.

Backed near the wall, Rin pursed her lips, her grip on her sword already trembling. She knew her energy was growing weaker.

"Rin?" Aiguo worriedly glanced up.

Glancing down at the boy by her side, her heart clenched. She pulled him behind her and said quietly, "When the time comes, I want you to run."

"What?!" Aiguo lifted his eyes in alarm. "But—"

"Remember what you promised me. If you fight for your life, I will do the same." She bit out sternly.

Aiguo stared at her back and lowered his head. He bit his lips hard before finally nodding his head. A weight of relief lifted off Rin's chest.

Facing the front, her gaze hardened. Now she just needed to fight harder.

Just then, a hand gripped her wrist. "Don't overdo it." An Sun's dark eyes peered down at her own.

Raising a brow, Rin turned away to face the battle scene. "I won't if you don't."

His pupils dilated with interest, but he managed to conceal it quickly.

"I see..." An Sun laughed bitterly. He took in a deep breath and suppressed the raging impulse within himself. Then, he turned his eyes away coldly. "Then let's fight with everything we've got."

Repressing the distress in her eyes, Rin gritted her teeth. Just as she mustered the remaining of her strength to fight, a horn blew in the distance. Time seemed to sit still for a moment. The horn blew again, only closer this time.

It was not the horn of the enemy, nor their own.

Rin's eyes shifted to the demolished wall, and in the night, she could see a glimmer of light. Then she saw torches, countless points of fiery light upon the black fields behind, scattered like red flowers, winding up from the lowlands in long flickering lines. Followed by the growing sound of a horn was the loud hoofs of horses.

"Who are they?" Manchu stepped forward.

An Sun narrowed his eyes, and then he shifted his gaze to a banner whipping in the wind.

His eyes widened. "They're from Jinping."

Manchu swept his gaze over. "You mean they're..."

A smile slowly curled on An Sun's face. He nodded his head. "They've come to help."

"Fire arrows!" Commander Bo Guozhi roared when he appeared suddenly astride his horse. "Give them flames!"

It was then he noticed An Sun and his group there gawking. "All of you, get out of here!" Just as he spoke, a flight of arrows came raining down.

"Everyone against the wall!" An Sun ordered.

In a panic, their men did as ordered, some hiding behind barrels. Rin grabbed Aiguo and hauled them against the wall. The boy opened his eyes, and a horse swept past his head, a shaggy gray beast with snow in its mane and hooves crusted with ice. Aiguo watched it come and watched it charge into the crowd. Another appeared, with a man in gold armor leading it.

"Charge!" Bo Guozhi shouted, sword thrust into the air.

The floor rumbled beneath them, and a wave of men on horses came galloping in, slashing every enemy in sight. The clash of steel and the thrum of arrows taking flight echoed into the night.

"They've brought reinforcements!" A commander of the foreign army shouted. "Retreat!"

The hosts of the Tuhan army roared, swaying this way and that, turning from fear to fear. Again a horn sounded from afar, and outside of the wall came Jinping's army charging. Axes and spears were cast aside, and the steps shook to the footsteps of men running for their lives.

"Burn, you dead bastards, burn!" General Donghai sang out, cackling. The others cheered and cursed.

A cry of delight went up from the men, and all around them, Tuhan soldiers fled, the dusty air filled with spears and fire.