Realm Keepers 01 - Realm Keepers

the other side. Try not to die. And whatever you do, do not engage the enemy.”
    “How will we know who the enemy is?” asked a tiny voice—Tess. It was the first she’d spoken since the stones.
    Greystone scowled at her grimly. “If you cannot recognize this enemy, you are unworthy of the stones.”
    Without waiting for an answer, he turned and struck the door with his staff. There was a deafening boom , a flash of light, and the doors swung away to show us the land beyond the wall.

Piercingly bright sunlight burned my eyes, and I held up a hand to shield them. The sun had been hidden just behind the rim of the wall, but now with the doors open it was shining right into my face. My eyes adjusted and I stared out across the landscape in horror.
    Death was everywhere.
    On the fields before us, thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—of soldiers were fighting for our lives in lieu of theirs. They were all clad in armor and wielded swords, shields, spears, axes, weapons of ancient history. The mass sea of armor shone in the daylight, glowing nearly as brightly as the sun itself. Closest to us was a thin line of men and women in brilliant silver armor with red trim, their right flank held by a high, steep hill.
    I looked a little further, and I saw why Greystone said we would recognize our enemy.
    A horde of black… creatures …pressed upon the humans. Their shape was almost impossible to establish. Their armor was clear enough, but beneath the plate mail, inside the helmet visors, everything was darkness. A roiling, writhing mass of pure smoke and shadow.
    My breath caught in my throat and I took an involuntary step backward. I felt Tess cowering behind me, and even Calvin seemed terrified.
    Suddenly Greystone stepped in front of me, his eyes hard. “Let’s go,” he commanded. He turned and began to move quickly in the direction of the battle before us.
    “I’m not following that guy!” Raven shouted, struggling to be heard over the roar of the fighting.
    “We don’t have a choice,” Calvin said. “They’re losing.”
    I looked and saw he was right. The creatures were slowly overwhelming the men and women fighting to protect us. They’d break a hole in the lines here or there and quickly be contained, but every time there were less and less human bodies holding them back.
    “Come on, guys,” I said. We had to move. “Stick with Greystone, and stay safe.”
    “We should run!” said Blade.
    “Run where?” Miles asked him. “Do you know where we are? Do you know where to go? Could you find a way to safety before those things, ” he pointed at the creatures, “found us?”
    “You telling me what to do?” Blade asked angrily.
    “Nobody’s telling anyone what to do,” I interrupted before Miles could respond. “Blade, you can run if you want. But I’m going with Greystone. He’s the only one who knows what the heck is happening.”
    Without waiting for an answer I turned and walked off after Greystone, hoping to high heaven that they’d all come with me. Thankfully they did; I saw them on either side of me as I tried to keep my eyes locked on the small, stooped figure dressed in grey that approached the back of the human battle line.
    “Cara!” shouted Greystone. Contrary to how he’d sounded in the courtyard, his voice was now powerful, booming. It cut through the sound of the fighting like a knife. “It’s time!”
    A figure turned to face him, then reached up and removed her —for now I could see it was a woman—helmet. She was young and beautiful and had white-blond hair that was trimmed short and glistened in the sunlight. She stared past Greystone at the six of us, and I was amazed to see relief wash over her face. Like we were there to save her and her army. We weren’t there to save anyone, we were terrified. At least I was.
    The woman turned back to her men and her voice rang out in command. “Runegard! To me!” Immediately, as though they’d been waiting, about two dozen men disengaged from the lines and surrounded her in disciplined ranks. Cara shoved her helmet back on her head and used her metal sword to point at the six of us. I noticed the sword was stained with what looked like blood, except it was black instead of red.
    “Protect them!” Cara said. “We must reach the portal!”
    Greystone took off once again, heading left along the lines now, skirting the edge of the fighting. Cara’s men formed a group around us and began to follow, practically shoving