Dear Muse (Those Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy Book 1) by Shawn Mackey Page B

waned, neither chieftain able to gain the upper hand over his opponent long enough to rein victory. They were prepared to remain locked in combat for an eternity, not thinking of a means of winning nor fleeing, but rather focusing on the stalemate. The surrounding Kel battled with equal fervor, some attempting to occasionally aid their chieftain and dying by collateral circumstance. One thousand Kel piled on Ennok, many breaking their bones on his stony hide. He swept away each pest with a single blow, their vast numbers as ineffectual as their weaponry. A torrent of spears flooded the sky, pelting the surrounding Ennok and the surrounding Kel, blanketing the terrain with skewered corpses.
    Gar tackled Ennok to the ground, managing to pin him but unable to land a decisive blow. Their positions continually reversed. The two locked in combat while Floon watched from the distance, wondering which warrior to strike with his new weapon. Gar and Ennok did not notice the new adversary, too engrossed in battle to divert their attention. Ennok currently had the advantage over Gar, pummeling him in the face and chest after a slip that had landed Gar on his knees. A tremendous blow to the jaw sent him backward. Ennok prepared to plant his heel into Gar’s abdomen before he could rise. A white spear passed through his back and out his gut. Ennok clasped the gaping hole, unable to suppress warm jets of blood. Gar seized him by the throat and plunged his fist into the wound, clutching onto his entrails and strangling his breath. Ennok collapsed to his knees, sprawling intestines onto the dirt. Gar used both hands to strangle, digging his fingers into Ennok’s sturdy neck, ripping muscle and crushing bone. Even after death, it took several immense tugs to pry his head.
    Floon appeared over a collapsed Gar, who was feeling his first pangs of fatigue. This did not stop him from kicking Floon in the knees, knocking him on his back, and pinning him onto the ground with an elbow to the throat. Through choking breath, he begged Gar to search his surroundings and witness the state of his clan. Their numbers, as well as Ennok’s, had been substantially diminished. Gar released Floon, accepting the truce on the condition of a gift. Without stating his desire, he snatched the spear and broke it over his knee, then collected Ennok’s head and placed it alongside Karkrak’s. Floon quickly swiped the tipped end of the broken spear and hid it under his sleeve.
    He explained Narg and Lug’s alliance and the construction of their fortress made of bone. It had looked like Gar snapped the spear effortlessly, but it took tremendous strength to do so in a single blow. A fortress layered in such a material would take ages to breach. They left with haste, unable to see the large citadel across the misty lake, forced to walk around the water’s rim to their destination. Due to the immense height of the citadel, the workers were able to spy the approaching clans first, while Gar and Floon could only witness their speedy progress.
    Narg knew of their arrival ahead of time, watching from the ramparts as the workers applied a layer of molten steel around the fortress walls. It seemed wasteful to coat an inferior material over a stronger one, but Lug told him the element of surprise would prompt a swift attack. Indeed, both Gar and Floon assumed they arrived before the bone wall’s construction. Their combined forces rushed the front gate, beating at the already cooled steel while the workers tossed buckets of molten metal at the attackers.
    Upon seeing Floon distracted in battle, Narg leapt from the ramparts to backstab him and collect the stolen bone spear. Hundreds of other Kel followed his lead, assuming they were about to rout the invaders. Gar barreled through the rushing soldiers, and many noticed their mistake and attempted to climb back up the wall, only to find it too steep. Narg managed to creep up behind Floon, and as his fingers were about to