Morana couldn’t believe Connor had simply thrust her into the role of general. Two days of practice ordering two crystal soldiers around hardly qualified her to command over a hundred of the things. She didn’t know whether to be honored by his trust or angry that he hadn’t given her more time to prepare. Perhaps a little of both.

It didn’t matter now. Her forces were rapidly closing with the sixty some knights filling the sand before her. The crystal soldiers stomped forward at a quick march. It seemed to be the best pace they could manage.

One paladin was a little faster than the rest. He reached the lead soldier and brought his glowing blade down on its shoulder. The blade snapped into three pieces. In his instant of shock the soldier thrust its clawed hand through his mail and into the flesh beneath. It hurled him aside with an eight-inch hole in his chest.

From her position at the rear of the battle Morana marveled at how easily the construct killed one of the kingdom’s elite soldiers. Up and down the line her soldiers battered and tore the paladins to pieces.

One fellow glowing with more power than the rest attempted to order them into some sort of formation. Morana doubted it would matter, but she didn’t want to take any chances. She sent mental commands to the constructs closest to him to focus their attacks on the leader. Ten soldiers turned, surrounded the unfortunate man, and tore him limb from limb.

His death seemed to knock the wind out of the rest of the army. Their resistance, pitiful as it was, crumbled. In under five minutes she had completely wiped out her opponents. Morana smiled. It appeared the constructs didn’t need minute-by-minute orders. She just had to point them in the right direction and order them to kill everything they encountered.

The crystal soldiers turned their attention to the young knights behind the enemy line. They rolled around in the sand, overwhelmed by the corruption of the haunted lands. They wouldn’t last a minute.

She blinked, not quite believing it when Connor landed in front of the young knights and raised his hand. The soldiers stopped dead. A dome of dark energy formed over the enemy.

Morana flew up to him. “Connor?”

“No need to waste this bunch. They aren’t true paladins yet and thus will make good sacrifices for the crystal. They probably have enough combined soul force to summon fifteen or twenty new sprits. Well done commanding your first battle. You didn’t lose a single construct.”

Morana basked in Connor’s approval. She hadn’t actually done anything that impressive, but no need to point that out. The demon landed a few feet away and Morana unconsciously edged back from it.

The creature held an almost-dead paladin in its claws. The woman looked like she’d fought a war all by herself. Blood covered her white tabard, obscuring the design on it.

“You really are a monster,” the woman somehow found the strength to gasp.

Connor was busy inspecting the soldiers for damage and paid her no mind.

“Do you have any use for this one?” the demon asked.

Connor glanced their way. “No. Her holy energy wouldn’t be compatible with the crystal matrix.”

The demon’s insectoid features were incapable of anything resembling a human expression, but Morana sensed its pleasure at Connor’s answer. It grabbed the woman around the neck with its free hand and squeezed until her head popped off before discarding her dead body like so much garbage.

“Hardly a mark on them.” Connor’s pleased voice drew her attention away from the fresh corpse. “They’re every bit as sturdy as they are strong. We need to move quickly to secure the pass before the kingdom sends replacements to guard it.”

“Who could they send that would be a match for the constructs?” Morana asked.

Connor turned his sharp gaze on her. “Don’t be too confident. This battle was fought under ideal circumstances for us and the worst possible for them. When you reach the fortress you’ll lose the advantage of the haunted lands’ corruption strengthening your troops.”

“I won’t fail,” Morana said. She clenched her fist. She wouldn’t! No matter what it took she wouldn’t let Connor down.

He nodded once and turned his attention to the demon. “Will you join my forces in assuming control of the fortress?”

“No. I’m sure your” —the demon laughed—“general can handle it. I lost three of my cohort in the battle. I’m going to try and round up some replacements. We will join you soon.”

Connor nodded. “It will take Morana a full day to reach the pass anyway. She will hold there until you join her.”

“What will you be doing?” the demon asked.

Morana had been wondering that herself.

Connor gestured and the dome containing the captured people rose into the air. “I’ll be busy enlarging my army.”

As he flew away, out of the corner of his eye, Connor caught a glimpse of the twisted, emaciated forms of ghouls waiting at the edge of the field for the mightier demons to leave so they could feed.