by Peter Wacht
“Back on the trail!” he screamed, hoping that his men didn’t smell the fear growing within him. This was supposed to be a simple task because of the Highlanders’ weakened condition. He certainly had not counted on this. “Islan! Rumal! Allers!” Three reivers ran forward. “Take ten men each and comb the woods around us. Find the Highlanders who just attacked us, and if you can’t find them, find out which way they went.”
“Yes, sergeant,” they replied in unison, then ran off to gather their men.
Kursool walked over to the men lying in the middle of the path. Two of the reivers had gotten there before him, and both shook their heads with regret. Twenty more men dead or soon to be. Blast!
A shout rang out, and Kursool dived to the ground, as did the bulk of his men. Looking up, he saw Resin standing off to the side with his crossbow. The bolt was missing from his weapon, and a large squirrel sitting on a tree branch chattered down at him furiously.
Kursool pulled himself off the ground. “What are you doing, Resin?”
“I thought I saw something move, sergeant, so I—”
“So you shot at a squirrel,” finished Kursool, the contempt in his voice obvious.
“Well, I didn’t know it was a squirrel until after I shot at it.”
Several of the men around Resin chuckled softly. Kursool turned away from Resin, cursing loudly.
“Leave them where they are,” he called to his men. “We keep moving.”
He began the long climb up the rocky slope, this time with his sword in hand and his eyes combing the forest around him. His men followed suit. His soldiers were shooting at shadows now. Wonderful. He’d lost more than three dozen men in only a few hours, and he hadn’t even seen his enemy. He wanted to turn around and leave this place. Leave the Highlands all together. But he couldn’t. He had to keep going. If he didn’t find the Highlanders and those two boys, he would never escape the Highlands. Killeran would see to that.
CHAPTER THIRTY
A Brilliant Idea
“It’s not working as we’d hoped,” said Oso between breaths. He and Thomas ran through the forest, having just met one of Kursool’s newly strengthened scouting parties. They had come out of it unscathed, and eliminated another half dozen reivers, but they were running dangerously low on arrows. “Kursool is pushing his men hard.”
“He doesn’t have a choice,” replied Thomas. “If he doesn’t catch us, he’s as good as dead.”
“A good reason to keep after us, then,” agreed Oso. They had put several miles between themselves and the scouting party, and Oso doubted the reivers they had just attacked would dare to come after them without further assistance. Yet Thomas kept running, and at a very fast pace. If he didn’t stop soon, Oso would drop from exhaustion. “Thomas, can we rest for a minute?”
“What? Oh, yes. Sorry about that, Oso.”
Thomas stopped and walked over to a fallen tree, using the trunk as a seat. Oso joined him, huffing and puffing as he tried to regain his breath. They sat there in silence for several minutes. Thomas was deep in thought and Oso was too tired to speak anyway. Finally, after the searing pain in his side became a dull ache, Oso turned toward his friend, who had a faraway look on his face.
“Thomas?”
Thomas gave a start, and the misty look in his eyes disappeared. “Sorry about that, Oso. I was just looking around.”
“What did you see?”
Oso had quickly grown accustomed to Thomas’ abilities, finding his skill at surveying the surrounding forest particularly useful.
“That scouting party we ran into hightailed it back to Kursool. He’s still coming after us, but he’s going at a slower pace. Unfortunately, Anara isn’t moving as fast as I had hoped. She’s no more than two hours in front of us, and we’ve still got most of the afternoon left. We’ve got to give them more time, but we’re almost out of arrows.”
“Can you do what you did back at the fort?”
The sight of the fireball leaping from Thomas’ hand and blowing a huge hole in the wall of the stockade was seared into his memory. It was one of the most frightening things he had ever seen, but also one of the most pleasurable.
“I probably could,” replied Thomas, mulling the idea over in his mind. “But then I’d be useless, no strength left, and we’d still be too far from the safety of that village.”
Oso sighed in disappointment. He had forgotten what Thomas had explained to him earlier about the Talent. It was the simplest solution to their problem, but rarely did such things work out as you hoped.
“What about your friends?”
“The Sylvan Warriors?” asked Thomas.
Oso nodded.
“I have no doubt that at least two are on the way. The others—” Thomas let his voice trail off. “The others are so widely dispersed, I doubt any who decided to come to our aid would get to us in time.”
Events were going from bad to worse. They had inflicted a huge number of casualties on their enemy, yet Kursool still followed seemingly undeterred by his losses, and now neither he nor Thomas had more than a handful of arrows remaining. Worst of all, Anara required more time than they had been able to provide in order to reach a safe haven. That stuck in his craw more than anything else. He didn’t want to let her down. Was Thomas right? Did he like that strong-willed, somewhat possessive redhead? He didn’t even want to think about it.
“Oso, I think I’ve got an idea.”
“What?”
“We’ll let gravity do the job for us.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked Oso, not understanding where Thomas was leading. How could gravity help them?
“Yes, gravity. Come on. I found what we’ll need when I was looking around.”
Thomas jumped off the tree trunk and trotted into the woods on a course that would take them back to the trail. Reluctantly, Oso followed after him. A few minutes later they reached a point where the trail sloped upwards at a steep angle for almost a quarter mile before settling back down to a relatively easy ascent. Thomas stopped at the base of the steep incline and smiled.
“Yes, this will do nicely.”
“What will do nicely?” asked Oso, breathing heavily once again. He was exhausted. Completely and utterly exhausted.
“I should have explained sooner. Actually, I should have thought of it sooner.”
“Thomas, slow down for a second, all right. You’re talking so fast I can’t keep up with you. Now, just exactly what are you talking about?”
“Follow me and I’ll show you.”
He trotted up the hill, the steep angle failing to slow him down.
Letting out a curse, Oso started after his friend. Every step sent a sharp arrow of pain into his legs. His muscles were ready to give out on him, but he pushed himself forward. Thomas had to be bothered by the exertion of the previous day, particularly after what he had done with the Talent. He was human, after all. But if his friend could keep going despite all that, so could he. Ignoring the aches and pains in his legs, and the cramp that returned to his right side, Oso ran up the last few feet of the slope.
“This is what I was talking about,” said Thomas, pointing with his hand back down the path they had just climbed. “We’ll let gravity do the job for us.”
“Thomas, could you do me a favor and explain just a little bit more?”
Oso found it hard to keep the irritation from his voice. After everything he had been through, he was not in a very good mood.
“Sorry,” said Thomas. “It’s simple, really. The arrows have bought us some time, but not enough. We need something that can buy us a few more hours. If we can do that, then Anara and the others will make it to Raven’s Peak.”
Thomas spun and pointed behind Oso.
Turning around, the large Highlander grinned, then laughed. He realized what his friend had in mind. About three hundred feet away, the path continued to meander higher into the mountains, but he and Thomas stood on a relatively flat plain, albeit a small one.
; The cliff in front of them was barren of trees, but dotted with boulders and smaller rocks, many of which had congregated on the other side of the plateau. All he and Thomas had to do was move them into position, then let gravity do their work for them. It was a brilliant idea, and Oso couldn’t help but laugh at the simplicity of it.
“How did you ever come up with an idea like this?” he asked. “It’s perfect.”
“I’ve got some experience with this,” said Thomas, who was already walking over to the rock pile. “But then I was at the bottom of the slope, rather than above it.”
Oso stared at his friend’s back. Thomas was one surprise after another. He’d have to ask him a few more questions about that, but it would have to wait until later. It was time to help Anara and the others. He refused to let his people, and her, down.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Warning Unheeded
Kursool and his men had made up a good amount of ground in the past two hours. He still might catch his quarry. Considering the condition of some of the women and children, they could be no more than an hour ahead. But he was worried. It had been more than an hour since the last attack by the Marchers. It had to be Marchers, he kept telling himself. It couldn’t be just two boys!
When his four lead scouts came running back with their tails between their legs and blathering about an ambush by dozens of Marchers, he had almost wished for it to be true. At least then he’d know what he was facing. But when they reached the latest ambush site, and saw his men punctured by arrows through the hearts, Kursool knew his scouts were lying. If it really had been a squad of Marchers, those four scouts would not have survived. That’s what the part of his mind he didn’t want to listen to told him. After the last two attacks, he had pulled his scouts back into the main body of his troops.
Kursool could hear the rumblings of discontent from his men now. Their fear was beginning to take control of their thoughts and actions, which was the first step to disaster for a soldier. At least his men were on their toes. After seeing what had happened to so many of their friends, they had no wish to join them. And they knew they were in much the same situation as Kursool himself. Killeran’s anger often had a wide range of outlets. Though they probably would not bear the brunt of it, they would not be immune to his rage.
The path they followed steadily grew steeper, which Kursool actually saw as a good thing. It would slow the Highlanders down even more and give his men more time to catch up. But something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones. Though they were out in the open, the rocky terrain to either side did not lend itself to an ambush. Still, something was not right. The voice in the back of his head was screaming at him now.
Glancing up the steep incline, everything seemed normal. His men had begun the climb up and were making good time. They at least realized the urgency of their situation. Wait. What was that up at the top of the slope? A flash of metal? Perhaps, but he couldn’t tell from where he stood. The alarm going off in his brain increased in intensity. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong! But what?
When the ground began to rumble and shake, he finally figured it out. Unfortunately, it was too late for him to do anything but run.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
A Little Push
“Now?” asked Oso.
He was knelt behind a huge boulder they had rolled across the plateau and placed at the edge of the cliff face. They hadn’t moved it any closer for fear it would be spotted from below. To the side of the boulder were a few more, though none as large as this one. Oso had inserted beneath it a large tree branch as a crude lever. It had taken them almost an hour to move it because of its awesome weight, but it would be perfect for its task. In front of it were several dozen smaller rocks of various sizes.
“Wait just a moment longer,” replied Thomas. He was at the very edge of the cliff, using some of the boulders to hide himself from Kursool and the reivers. “They’ve just started their ascent. I want them farther up so they can’t escape.”
Oso grinned. Thomas had a mean streak in him. Oso liked that. He readjusted the lever slightly, trying to dig it deeper beneath the boulder.
Thomas scrambled back from his position on the slope. “Let’s do it. They’re right where we want them.”
He and Oso both took hold of the lever and pushed down with all their might. The trunk of the small tree bent slightly under the pressure, but the boulder refused to budge. They redoubled their efforts, but still no luck. They were losing time. The reivers would be up the slope in only a few minutes. If they didn’t get the rock moving, they’d have no chance to escape.
They tried again, throwing everything they had into it. Thomas draped himself on top of the lever, trying to use his body weight to nudge the boulder forward. Still it refused to move. He couldn’t believe it. After everything they had gone through. Even Oso, with his massive strength, couldn’t budge the huge rock.
Opening himself to the Talent, Thomas realized just how weak he was as a wave of exhaustion ran through him. What he had done at the fort had taken more out of him than he thought. He was at the very limit of his strength.
Delicately taking hold of the power surging within him, Thomas fashioned a large lever in his mind and inserted it beneath the boulder. Ever so slowly, he exerted pressure on it. Finally, the huge rock began to move, inching forward slightly before settling down once again. The reivers were almost to the top of the cliff. Thomas and Oso had to hurry. The boulder had to move now!
Oso’s face turned a dark red, the veins in his neck straining to the point of bursting. His eyes were closed in desperation as he tried to will the rock down the slope. It had inched forward before, then returned to its original position. He too knew that if it didn’t budge, their efforts would be wasted. Kursool would have no trouble catching the Highlanders once he had gotten past them. Oso pushed down on the lever with all his might. The trunk of the tree cracked ominously as it resisted the two forces being applied to it.
Gathering his will a final time, Thomas poured as much of his energy as he safely could into the lever he had created with the Talent. He was losing his strength rapidly, but he refused to stop. The boulder had to move. It had to! The reivers were almost to the top.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the huge rock inched forward slowly, then inched forward some more. Thomas gave the boulder a final nudge with the Talent. After teetering on the edge for what seemed like an eternity, the boulder started rolling slowly down the hill, the smaller rocks tumbling down before it. The screams that traveled up the cliff face told Thomas and Oso all they needed to know.
They moved to the other boulders they had lined up next to the larger one. It was much easier to get these moving because of their reduced bulk. Soon four more large boulders followed the first down the slope to crash into whatever stood in front of them. Not bothering to look at the result of their handiwork, Thomas and Oso trotted across the plateau and began the arduous climb up the trail. Both were exhausted from their efforts, yet they pushed themselves onward.
The weakness that Thomas thought he had conquered after he had destroyed the fort had returned. His muscles didn’t want to obey him anymore. He didn’t blame them a bit after everything they’d been through. Thomas and Oso had done everything they could to slow down Kursool and his men. Now their only hope was reaching Raven’s Peak before the reivers.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Unstoppable Force
As the huge boulder balanced on the edge of the incline before beginning its rapid descent to the bottom, Kursool stared in horror at the scene unfolding before him. The screams of his men trying to escape the onslaught washed over him, yet there was nothing he could do but run back the way he had come until he reached the relative safety of the trees.
His men fled in all directions, doing whatever they could to get out of the way of the huge stones bearing down on them. The smaller rocks were dangerous enough. Though no larger than a man’s fist, one of those rocks would easily
crush a man’s skull or chest.
The men who had almost reached the top of the slope fared the worst. They had nowhere to go but down, and their frenzied efforts to do so were no match for the speed of the boulders. The smaller rocks knocked dozens of his men to the ground, and those who were lucky enough to rise were crushed by the huge boulder that followed in their wake.
The boulder swept the trail clean of his men as it hurtled down the slope and crashed into the trees below, finally coming to a stop after plowing several dozen feet into the forest. Kursool sighed with relief. It could have been much, much worse. But why was the ground still shaking?
Looking back up the slope, his worst fears were confirmed. A smaller boulder had begun its descent, followed by another, and yet another, each one knocking dozens of smaller rocks before it. The men who remained on the slope were doomed as the stones pounded over them. Those who had stepped from their cover dived back, often not in time to escape. Kursool himself dodged behind the tree he used as a shield as several smaller rocks hurtled past him. Cries of agony echoed around him as he hunched down in fear.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Help Arrives
“How much farther do we have to go?” asked Thomas.
He and Oso had caught up with Anara and the Highlanders an hour later and everyone had stopped for a much-needed break. Many of the Highlanders looked as if they were on their last legs.
“Two hours,” said Anara, sitting on a rock next to Oso. She didn’t like to be very far from him when he was around.
“That’s too long,” said Thomas. “Even with the rock slide, the reivers are no more than an hour behind us.”
