Reborn Raiders (The Weatherblight Saga Book 4)

by Edmund Hughes

  “Stay still, and I’ll make it quick,” said the fat man as he lurched toward Ari.

  There was a third option, and Ari felt a little stupid for not realizing it sooner.

  “Are you sure you have a tight grip on that thing?” he asked. “You might drop it if your palms are too sweaty…”

  He reached out with his will, feeling for his and Eva’s bond, and then focused it as he flicked his hand to the side and took advantage of their newest trick. The sword jerked in the fat man’s hands as Ari manipulated it from a distance, and he stared at the hilt, dumbfounded.

  “What is this?” muttered the fat man.

  Ari picked that moment to rush forward, hoping he wasn’t overestimating the strength of control he had over Azurelight. The fat man took a step back and lifted the greatsword up as though to slash on a diagonal.

  Ari slid to a stop, out of range by mere inches, as the fat man swung. Flicking his hand forward again, he focused his will and manipulated the sword to add more momentum to the attack. Too much momentum. The fat man let out a surprised grunt as his upper body twisted too far across for his balance and costume to handle, tumbling to his feet.

  Ari stripped the sword from his hands and delivered a shallow slash to the back of the fat man’s ankle, disabling him without doing too much damage. He jumped back, surveying the circle for his remaining opponents.

  “I would prefer if you kept me out of the hands of that type of man in the future, Lord Aristial,” said Eva.

  “Trust me, nobody is going to be touching you in the foreseeable future other than me,” he said. “Time to finish this.”

  Including himself, there were four men left standing in the fighting circle: the scarred man and three others. Two fishers, a vodakai, and a wight, by costume. The scarred man was the only one who appeared to have a weapon worthy of consideration, a short spear with a steel tip that was coated in a thin layer of crimson blood.

  Ari didn’t want to get ahead of himself now that he’d gotten his hands on Azurelight, so instead of attacking immediately, he sent a general query into the Ring of Insight with his will. It drew his attention to the fact that the remaining competitors would be unwilling to attack him individually, given how much deadlier Azurelight was than their daggers or even the scarred man’s short spear.

  He interpreted that to mean that he could hang back, fight defensively, and wait until only one opponent remained.

  “Let’s gang up on him,” said the scarred man, gesturing to Ari. “None of us will stand a chance at winning as long as he’s still got that sword.”

  “Oh, for Dormiar’s sake,” muttered Ari.

  He realized then that he’d interpreted the enchantment’s answer in reverse of how he should have. What he needed to do was go on the offensive and scare the men into fleeing so he could cut them down, one at a time.

  It was a strategy that would have worked a moment earlier, but was useless to him now. The roar of the crowd was louder than ever, and it seemed to reflect the hunger in the men’s eyes. They were all criminals and killers offered one last chance at returning to a normal life. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and they fought like it.

  Ari had to slash wildly to keep the two men with daggers from approaching close enough to stab one into him. Neither of them seemed capable of throwing their weapons, which was significant, as there was little Ari could do in that scenario other than hope his costume and Feathercloak were enough to shrug the projectile off.

  The scarred man was circling around, trying to get behind Ari. He was aware of it, but there was very little he could do other than set his back against the fence, which would eliminate any room he had to retreat. Instead, Ari pushed forward, slashing at one of the men with daggers and scoring a superficial slash across the leg of his costume that immediately began to glisten with droplets of blood.

  Heavy, accelerating footsteps sounded from behind him. Ari spun and swept Azurelight into a defensive slash just as the scarred man stabbed his spear forward. The sword cleaved the weapon in two, but that wasn’t enough to deflect the assault.

  The scarred man hurled himself forward, tackling Ari at shoulder level and twisting in an attempt to drop him to the ground. He wasn’t as heavy as he looked, and Ari managed to maintain his balance with some assistance from his Feathercloak.

  The scarred man tried to bite him, opening and closing his mouth on Ari’s neck. He felt a pinch, but the costume was just thick enough there to keep the man’s teeth from breaking skin. He didn’t want to think about what would have otherwise happened, or how often the scarred man had won fights with that maneuver. Or what the aftermath of it would look like.

  Ari twisted, letting out a shout as he flung the scarred man off him and to the ground. The other man with a dagger fell upon him instantly, stabbing the dagger down on his chest far more times than what was likely necessary.

  Ari landed a quick slash across the man’s thigh, eliciting a shout and a swear from him. He turned to face the last man, who appeared to be unarmed, and readied himself for anything.

  “I yield,” said the last man. “Founder’s bones, I yield!”

  He fell to his knees, and Ari was the last man standing. He let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and lifted his sword into the air, taking care to shield the pommel stone with his arm, just in case.

  The crowd was applauding, and despite the brutality of what had just occurred, Ari felt proud of his performance. Baron Luka stood up from his seat on his viewing platform, ushering the crowd into silence with a wave of his hands.

  “The Sacifice Bout has reached its conclusion,” shouted Baron Luka. “We have a new champion! Step forward, warrior, and—”

  Someone screamed, and a Ravarian flew overhead, silhouette briefly visible as their winged form passed across the full face of Lumas, the old moon. A sinking feeling took hold in Ari’s chest as he realized that a single mistiming had just sent their plan up in flames.

  “Guards!” shouted Baron Luka. “The Ravarians are attacking! Ready your weapons!”

  As though the fates were interested in making the situation doubly complicated, a deep, distant boom sounded, followed by a low rumbling that promised more thunder to come. Several panicked cries emanated from the crowd, and people began jostling one another as they attempted to flee the oncoming chaos.

  One of the Ravarians landed in the fighting circle next to Ari. He recognized Rin’s jet-black hair and violet eyes as she hurried over to him, splitting her attention between Ari and the guards that were readying bows to aim at her. She carried Varnasaria with her, the silver spear gleaming in the rain like a stolen strand of lightning.

  “Rin!” he snapped.

  “Is that you, chala?” she asked. “That costume looks ridiculous.”

  Ari scowled and hurriedly began pulling it off, knowing he’d need his full mobility for what was to come next.

  “What are you doing?” he asked. “You were supposed to wait for the signal.”

  “I had no choice,” said Rin. “We waited for as long as we could. The storm would have decimated my people.”

  Ari turned to look at the crowd again, spotting Skinner and Lord Bruno Ogwell in one of the front rows. Bruno looked anxious and seemed to be gathering his personal guards around him, preparing to abandon the situation. Ari was about to shout for him, when a different, more panicked shout came from another direction.

  What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion. Baron Luka was teetering on the edge of his viewing platform. One of the branches of the tree next to it had moved strangely, as though blown by a strong wind. It whipped back and forth, striking the illegitimate ruler of Cliffhaven a second time, and sending him tumbling headfirst from his perch.

  He landed on his neck, and he didn’t get up. Ari stared at the fallen Baron for a couple of seconds before turning and looking for Virgil in the crowd. The Sai youth was grinning, and he gave Ari a thumbs up as though what he’d just done had
been the intended outcome of the plan from the beginning.

  “Mud and blood, this is getting wild,” he muttered.

  Bruno had climbed into the fighting circle, and he warily approached Baron Luka’s body. He turned him onto his back and revealed the wide, empty eyes of a recently deceased man.

  “The Baron… is dead,” said Bruno.

  The way he spoke the words all but confirmed to Ari that he’d never expected his original plan to work to begin with. Ari hurried over to him and pulled him to his feet by his shoulder.

  “We can make this work,” said Ari. “This is close enough to what we intended.”

  The rain was starting to fall, and Bruno shifted nervously, clearly wanting nothing more than to run back to his estate. The fishers spawned more rarely within the city, but there would still be enough within Cliffhaven’s walls to cause panic with so many people in the streets.

  “The Ravarians are attacking us?” said Bruno, half as a question and half as a statement.

  “The Ravarians are here to help,” said Ari. “Right, Rin?”

  “We’ll help, but only in exchange for shelter,” said Rin. “We have many who aren’t capable of fighting or fleeing the Weatherblight.”

  “Bruno, start giving orders,” said Ari. “The people just saw their Baron fall to his death in a tragic accident. They need leadership.”

  “You… are correct,” said Bruno. “Guards! Start patrolling the streets, and carry word that the Ravarians are not to be attacked unless they attack first!”

  “They need a place to go,” said Rin. “Somewhere out of the rain.”

  “I’m sure Lord Ogwell would be willing to lend his estate,” said Ari, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yes, yes, of course,” he muttered.

  Ari clapped Rin and Bruno on the shoulder, turning his attention to his own circumstances. He couldn’t leave the tower unattended during a storm, not without someone capable of fighting the Weatherblight watching over. He needed to get back as soon as possible, and it would likely be a one-way trip.

  “Bruno, I need you to honor our bargain,” said Ari. “I need mercenaries, and I need them now.”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” said Bruno. “I won’t have many to provide immediately. But, er, perhaps I could send Skinner along with some more over the next few days?”

  Skinner was standing nearby, and he winced when Lord Ogwell said his name.

  “You wish for me to go with Lord Stoneblood?” he asked, grudgingly. “Out into a storm, to help him with whatever fool endeavor he came to Cliffhaven seeking help in?”

  “Yes, and it’s an order,” said Bruno.

  “I need more than just Skinner,” said Ari.

  “Do you see more men I have to give?” snapped Bruno.

  Most of the rest of his red-cloaked guards had already moved off to patrol the city. The rain was falling more heavily, with flashes of lightning now interspersed through the storm. They were out of time.

  “I will rejoin you once I’ve made sure the refugees are safe within the city,” said Rin. “I’ll bring any warriors that can be spared.”

  “It’ll have to be enough,” sighed Ari. “Mud and blood, why can’t things ever go to plan?”

  He turned to look to Virgil, only to spot him standing near Baron Luka’s body. He held a greatsword with a flawless ruby pommel stone in his hands, and was staring into the blade as though he saw something more than his own reflection.

  CHAPTER 41

  “Lord Aristial!” shouted Eva through the bond. “You must not let him hold that sword!”

  Her words were sharp and urgent, almost desperate. Ari didn’t disagree that Virgil holding Bloodrose was probably a recipe for disaster, but the storm was underway and they had no time.

  “We’ll figure it out when we get back to the tower,” said Ari. “Kerys and the others could be in danger.”

  Ari sprinted over to Virgil, who grinned as he held Bloodrose up. His smile faded as he saw Ari’s expression, but there was no time for the discussion that would eventually need to take place.

  “Come on, let’s get moving,” he said. “The three of us need to…”

  He trailed off, realizing that Skinner was nowhere to be seen.

  “I’ll meet you outside the city wall,” called Skinner, from a distance. “Harder for me to be missable when I’m a part of a group, see.”

  “Fine,” said Ari. “Just be ready.”

  He grabbed Virgil by the arm and pulled him into motion, sprinting out of the fighting circle and through the entry building.

  The streets were still filled with people, and the rain, the night, and the lack of torches all combined to make traversing the city difficult. Ari kept hold of Virgil’s arm, pulling him forward to keep pace. They slid to a stop as they reached Cliffhaven’s main gate, which was firmly shut.

  “What are you doing?” shouted one of the guards. “Get inside! We’d kill everyone if we opened the gate right now.”

  Ari ignored him, instead grabbing Virgil and leading him up the stairs that led to the parapet. The confused guard at the top of the stairs hesitated instead of drawing his sword. Ari approached the wall’s stone lip, furiously considering if there was a way to use his Feathercloak to slow their fall enough for the two of them to safely jump down together.

  “There’s a tree!” shouted Virgil. “Over that way!”

  The guard finally came back to his senses and grabbed Ari’s shoulder as he attempted to follow Virgil along the wall. Ari twisted out of his grasp and pushed him back, knowing that he’d just earned himself an arrow if any of the archers were paying attention to the parapet instead of the streets.

  They made it to the tree, which was a massive, old oak that had grown almost flush with Cliffhaven’s wall but would have normally been outside of reach. Virgil pushed his hand outward, and the tree’s trunk leaned toward the wall, creaking as it strained against its own wood. Virgil leapt onto it, pulling himself down by grabbing branches, each of which he repositioned.

  Ari ran further down the wall, drawing the guards away from Virgil. He didn’t need the tree to make it down with his Feathercloak, and once he saw Virgil drop low enough to be out of easy range of any archers, he hurled himself into the open air.

  It was a smooth drop, with the enchantment on his cloak keeping the speed of his fall manageable, almost dangerously so. An arrow whizzed by his ear at an uncomfortably close distance. Ari twisted sideways, trying to reduce his profile as a target.

  He rolled across the wet grass as he hit the ground and immediately began running. Virgil slowed so he could catch up, his gait made slightly awkward by the scabbard-clad greatsword he still carried in his hands.

  “Nice work.” Skinner stepped out of the shadows and fell into pace with them. “So where exactly are we going?”

  “You’ll see soon enough,” said Ari.

  They weren’t alone, which was both expected and terrifying. The fishers had already begun to draw in, sensing new prey in the night. Virgil’s panting took on a desperate, fearful quality as the shapes began to move in the shadows. Skinner seemed less distressed by the situation, but there was still a nervous quality to his movements.

  Oddly enough, the first thought that came to mind was about the fisher costume Ari had worn during the Sacrifice Bout and what a poor job it did at capturing what made the monsters seem so threatening. They moved with a limbering, predatory ease, switching between running on all fours to rearing up on their back two legs, extending their tentacles to sense movement on the air.

  There was also the soft, purring noise that they made, like a cat from a distorted nightmare. Two of the fishers were approaching Ari and Virgil, one from either side. There were more behind them, and one stood on its hind legs directly ahead, blocking their way forward.

  “Lord Stoneblood,” said Eva. “Have you a plan?”

  “No, but that’s never stopped me before,” said Ari.

  He drew Azurelight and took a skipping step as he
hurled it forward. His goal was to use their new bond ability to direct his attack, striking down the fisher before he and Virgil came within reach of it to keep them from needing to slow down.

  It worked far better than he’d been expecting. Azurelight gained momentum at the insistence of Ari’s will, stabbing into the fisher’s midriff. He pulled his hand back, drawing the greatsword out at a distance, and then stabbed it forward again. The monster shuddered and fell sideways, spilling sickly-smelling green blood onto the grass.

  Ari summoned Azurelight back to him and made sure Virgil and Skinner were still keeping pace. The copse of trees obscuring the tower from direct view was just ahead of them. All they needed to do was get inside and secure the door until Rin and the warriors she was bringing along with her arrived.

  There was a single fisher milling around the tower’s entrance when they reached it. Virgil used his mystica without needing to be told, binding it in place with the nearby vegetation and foliage. Ari severed the fisher’s head from its body with a single, cleaving strike and then made his way to the door.

  He knocked, fully expecting that just throwing the door open would elicit panic from within.

  “We’re back,” said Ari.

  There was a small scuffle as the lock bar was pulled loose from the wooden door, and then it swung open. Ari grinned at what he saw on the other side.

  Durrien held a club in his hands and looked prepared to use it if he needed to. Kerys and Amber were also in the common room, weaponless but determined. A visible wave of relief washed over all three as they saw Ari and the others.

  “It’s damn good to see you, lad,” said Durrien. “What of Rin? And what of the mercenaries?”

  “It’s a long, frustrating story,” said Ari. “We still have to wait for Rin, but I’ll explain as much as I can in the meantime.”

  He quickly gave Durrien a rundown of the events that had transpired in Cliffhaven, skipping over the parts that Amber and Kerys had already explained to him. Some of the Ravarian children came downstairs, though they were followed by Grena’s chastising voice. One of them grinned upon seeing Ari and ran over to hug his leg.