Free God Mage by D.W. Jackson Page A

worriedly.
    “We didn’t do enough damage,” the man said
with a slight hint of anger in his voice.
    “We killed nearly a tenth of their forces
without a single loss,” Bren said holding back a smile. “What more
could you wish for?”
    “Half would have been nice,” the man answered
quickly. “Tonight was our only real chance to strike a heavy blow.
Tomorrow, as well as every night in the future, they will be ready
for our attacks, and at the same time, they will search for us
during the day. We cannot risk attacking during that time out fear
of giving away the entrances to our valley. We have not done nearly
enough damage, and with their numbers, they will find us within a
fortnight, if not sooner.”
    Bren thought the man was thinking too hard,
but a part of the man’s worries began to creep into his mind. What
if they found the entrance? There was no way that the soldiers of
the valley no matter how skilled could hold off such a large force
without heavy loses if at all.
    If that happens, we run.
    Thuraman’s cold words struck him like a blow,
and Bren instantly wanted to argue, but instead he found himself
nodding his head. If the battle was lost, he would gain nothing
from dying along with them. He still had something he had to do,
and he wouldn’t let anything get in the way. The real problem was
how to get his friends to agree to leave with him.
    If it comes to that, don’t give them a
choice. You might not be able to kill every soldier out there
without hurting yourself and others, but you can easily make a few
people do as you wish. Even if it is against their will, they will
forgive you with time.
    Bren wasn’t sure if they would forgive him,
but they would be alive to hate him. He gave Cass an odd look then
turned his eyes back toward the forest where the Brotherhood had
begun to move once again.

Chapter 8
    B ren and the other
generals stayed up top on the ledge watching over the forest
throughout the day and into the next night. They would sleep for a
few hours in turns, but there was always someone watching the
Brotherhood and what they were doing. As night approached, instead
of breaking into smaller groups as they had the night before, they
regrouped and slept in one big camp outside the boundaries of the
forest.
    A few of the groups tried attacking the
Brotherhood but with little effect. The second a soldier fell, the
whole camp was up in arms and ready to fight back. Bren thought
about using his magic but he was unsure how well he could control
it at that distance. As night came to an end, a thought hit him,
and he asked for a longbow and a quiver of arrows. He might not be
able to use large-scale magic effectively at the extended distance,
but he could still do a few things to help even the odds.
    The bow was brought quickly, though it was
handed to him with odd looks from the others. It was well over four
miles to the Brotherhood’s camp, and he was sure that the generals
thought him crazy for trying to hit anything at that distance, even
with the aid of magic.
    Bren shut out all thoughts and focused on the
best-dressed soldier he could find. The wind was calm, and he could
see the currents as easily as if he was watching the waves of the
ocean. A surge of magic welled up within him and ran down the
length of his arm into the notched arrow.
    When he
loosed the arrow, it flew straight, and a few moments later
imbedded itself into the soldier who had been tending his fire only
a second before. Thanks to his enhanced eyesight, Bren could see
the surprised look on the man’s face as the arrow pierced through
his armor and ripped into his heart.
    Bren fired off seven more arrows before his
head began to grow light. For such a simple spell, it was done on
such an extreme scale and so high up, there was little magical
energy in the surrounding area, forcing Bren to bring in more and
more magic from further away. There was plenty of earth magic
available to strengthen the arrow, but there just