Free Shadow Seed by Jose Rodriguez

throughout New Haven, thousands of soldiers rushed to
defend the wall or prepare siege weapons.
    Arthur and Richard entered a pub that had
been converted into a makeshift command post. They found some
soldiers going over maps of the area with several of his
Captains.
    One of them, an older man with a scar running
down the left side of his face, looked up. “Back so soon?”
    Arthur went over to the table. “General Ward,
bad news. The Pelasgians are heading this way as we speak.”
    “How far,” Ward asked.
    Richard came forward. “Half hour, maybe
less,” he said.
    Ward went back to his map for a moment before
addressing his men. “It looks like the fight is coming to us. You
all know what to do. Carry on.”
    “General, my men and I can help,” Arthur
said.
    Ward motioned for Arthur and Richard to sit.
“Everyone knows you guys know how to fight. Heck, I don't think
anyone will argue that pound-for-pound you're the best. But armies
fight wars. So I'd prefer to keep your men in a support
capacity.”
    Richard wasn’t thrilled with the idea of
taking a backseat in the fight. “With all due respect, General,
there may not be many of us, but we're much more mobile.”
    “I'll keep that in mind,” Ward said, rifling
through some papers until finding several sketches of Pelasgians.
“Is there anything you can tell me about these guys the Rheans
haven't? Anything at all?”
    “No,” Arthur answered. “We did locate the
main camp and I can assure you that those drawings don't do justice
to the actual thing.”
    Ward studied the sketches. “I can believe
that an invading army threatens our interests here in Rhea, but I
have a hard time believing where that army comes from.”
    Arthur began to feel precious time ticking
by. “We've verified the Shadow Realm does exist. I can’t vouch
enough for the person who-”
    “Yes, I read Sara's report,” Ward said. “But
do you trust the Rheans? Are we sure they are telling us the whole
story?”
    “Sara thinks so,” Richard answered. “She's
spent some time with them, especially the Vesuvians.”
    “We can trust them,” said Arthur. “The Rheans
have been very forthcoming with requests for information regarding
the size and location of their armies, a few of which were already
known to us or have been able to verify.”
    Ward reclined in his chair, mumbling. “It's a
good thing you feel that way.”
    Arthur wasn’t sure how to take that.
“General?”
    Leaning forward, Ward picked up another
sketch and studied it. “In Gaia, we received the Consular's letter.
Do you know what that letter said?”
    “No,” Arthur replied.
    Ward laughed. “Neither do I, but whatever it
was, it wasn't nearly enough to convey the magnitude of the
situation. Had I known! I would have requisitioned...oh, I don't
know... maybe forty percent more men and materiel. Then again, I
could've dragged every man, woman and child from Gaia over and it
still wouldn't have been enough.”
    Arthur knew better than to try and allay
Ward.
    Richard didn't. “Um...General, I know the
situation may seem dire.”
    “Do you know the situation?” Ward asked
calmly.
    Arthur grabbed Richard by the wrist
underneath the table, telling him to stop before he could speak any
more.
    Ward tossed the sketch and sat back. “A short
time ago, a Vesuvian courier arrived. She told me that almost every
city in Rhea was under threat of attack. Do you know how massive an
army would have to be in order to do that?”
    Even Richard had nothing to say.
    “As it stands,” Ward continued, “our best
hope is that the enemy is spread thin. Otherwise, I'm willing to
bet whoever is in charge of the Pelasgians has the muscle to back
these numbers up.”
    Arthur and Richard waited until they were
dismissed by the General to join William at the main gate. As they
waited, Thomas and Jacob soon returned and an army rumbled
closer.
    General Ward was busy barking orders at his
men.
    Everyone could hear the footsteps of