The upper spike shattered ribs and punctured the outlaw’s lung. The lower spike punched into his small intestines, lacerating the organs. The force of the swinging trap and the outlaw’s natural reaction to move away from the pain threw the Rider back outside and down the steps, where he fell in a heap on the ground. He squirmed and cried, defenseless as Stone limped toward him.
The man cried and begged for mercy, but he was dying already. Blood was beginning to bubble out of his mouth, and it poured from the wounds in his chest and stomach. Stone dropped onto the ground beside the outlaw, supporting himself with one knee while his wounded leg stretched out beside him. Then he raised the knife and held it there for an instant.
“Don’t watch,” Lorik said, turning Vera away from the hayloft window.
Stone bellowed with rage as he stabbed the outlaw. The first blow from Stone’s big knife killed the man, but Stone kept hacking and stabbing, letting all of his frustrations, fear, and anger go as he mutilated the corpse. Blood flew, arcing through the air as he raised his knife again and again.
Lorik held Vera as she sobbed quietly and he watched the last three Riders. He wondered if they would wait until the fire died. Then he remembered that he had his bow. He helped Vera sit down in the hay and drew another arrow. He checked it to make sure it was in good shape. Then he nocked it and took aim. One of the Riders was a big man, and Lorik assumed the other two were Mert and Marsdyn. They were of the same hight and build, so he was forced to guess which one was the outlaw leader. He aimed for the man on the left and let his arrow fly. He knew the minute it left the bow that it was true, but the outlaws were expecting this. As soon as they saw the arrow fly they turned their horses and raced back out of sight. The arrow landed harmlessly in the ground just beyond the liquid fire.
Vera fell asleep while Stone sat by the mutilated body of the Rider, his anger spent. Lorik looked out at his family’s home and realized it was now a killing ground. There were bodies burning on the path, and bodies in the yard below his perch in the hayloft window. He sat down, letting his feet dangle, and watched the path. He knew at any moment a new attack could come, but he was too tired to prepare for it. He knew he needed to dispose of the dead, to eat, sleep, and make sure they were ready for whatever came next, but instead he sat watching, half in a daze.
It was a full hour before Stone got up and stumbled back to the barn. Lorik saw him coming and went down to let his friend in.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I will be,” Stone replied. “Nothing that a little sleep won’t cure.”
The young warrior had torn off his lone remaining sleeve and made a bandage for his wounded leg. His clothes were covered with gore, his hands were stained crimson, and his face was speckled with blood.
“I’m not sure Vera would approve of your new look.”
“I’ll wash up.”
“Can I ask why you did that?”
“I was angry,” Stone said, his voice both defiant and slightly ashamed. He assumed Lorik was referring to his angry mutilation of the outlaw’s body.
“No, I mean why you jumped out of the barn. You didn’t have to do it.”
“I feel like I did,” Stone was looking at the ground, not meeting Lorik’s gaze. “It’s my fault you and Vera are in this mess.”
“You give yourself too much credit,” Lorik said. “I pissed Marsdyn off all on my own.”
“Partnering with me didn’t help you much.”
“We can talk what-if’s all day, but in the end, it doesn’t change anything,” Lorik said. “We both made our choices and now all that’s left is to live with them.”
“I wasn’t sure we’d live this long,” Stone admitted.
“Well, Marsdyn’s not done. He won’t give up, and I’m not sure what his next move will be. That makes me more nervous than facing a horde of pirates.”
“I can’t believe we drove them back so easily.”
“There’s a big difference between attacking the helpless and facing armed men fighting for their lives. Your idea to set up the bodies of those outlaws was a stroke of genius, though.”
“I’ll help you clean up the mess,” Stone volunteered.
“No, get yourself washed and then take watch. When Vera wakes up she needs to check that wound on your leg and I want to know when Marsdyn makes his next move. We’ve been through too much to let our guard down now.”
“Okay, but you need to rest, too. It looks like your stomach wound is bleeding again.”
“It’s nothing. That ride up the rope almost pulled my arm out of joint, but I’ll be okay. I want something done with these bodies first, and I can rest after that.”
They went separate ways. Stone went back to the rear of the barn to wash again. He had no more clean clothes to put on, so he redressed in his wet clothes and climbed back up into the hayloft. Vera was still sleeping, and the fire on the path was out, but still smoking, which made it difficult to see the path clearly. Lorik had used one of his horses to drag the bodies into a pile on the far side of the house. He was gathering brush and wood now, Stone guessed to burn the bodies.
It was another hour before Lorik returned. Black, noxious smoke filled the air on the far side of the house where the dead were burning. The smell was strong and made Stone want to gag. Lorik had washed up a little, although his clothes weren’t wet like Lorik’s.
“You want me to spell you for a while?” Lorik asked.
“No, I can’t rest in wet clothes. Why don’t you sleep a little? I’ll wake you if I get too tired.”
Lorik nodded and dropped into the hay beside Vera. A few minutes later she woke up, her face wrinkling in disgust.
“Oh God, what is that smell?” she asked.
“Lorik is burning the dead,” Stone explained.
“It’s disgusting.”
“At least it’s not us burning. I can’t believe we survived three attacks and none of the buildings were burned down.”
“I can’t believe you jumped out the window,” she said testily. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?”
“I didn’t want you to lose focus. If you knew what I was going to do, you would have been worried about me.”
“I had a right to know.”
“I can’t let the two of you risk your necks on my behalf. If I hadn’t jumped out there, those men would have set the barn on fire. Even if we had somehow survived, Lorik would have lost his livelihood. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“And what if you’d been killed?” she asked. “What would I do then?”
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I’ve been alone most of my life, Vera. I’m not used to thinking of others. I’m sorry.”
“I know we don’t know each other very well, but I don’t want to miss the opportunity to find out what I don’t know.”
“Me neither,” Stone admitted. “I won’t do anything foolish again without telling you first, I promise.”
“You’d better let me take a look at your leg. There’s no sense in letting you die of blood poisoning.”
He pulled his pants off. They were still damp, and the bandage was soaked with blood. His boot was nearly ruined, and both wounds looked inflamed.
“Is that a bad sign?” Stone asked.
“Not really, but I don’t have what I need to clean the wounds properly,” Vera explained. “The best we can do is keep clean bandages on them. Your thigh needs stitches. I can do that, if you’re up to it.”
“I guess that means you won’t be gentle,” he teased.
“No, a good healer is never gentle, just effective. Stitching a wound is painful, but I’m guessing you already know that.”
“I’ve been stitched up a time or two.”
She poured water over the wounds as the sun began to sink toward the horizon. Then she dug through the small pack she had brought with her from the house. She found the needle and thread she wanted. Stone focused on keeping watch and did his best to ignore the pain. The skin and tiss
ue around the wound in his thigh were swollen, the nerves inflamed. Vera worked diligently and to Stone’s surprise she was also very gentle, but stitching up the wound was very painful.
When she finished she wrapped both cuts with clean bandages and took over standing watch while Stone slept. It was late when she woke Lorik and Stone. Someone was coming up the path, and, even though it was dark, the moon was shining brightly and she could see that they were walking, not riding.
“Who is that?” Lorik asked.
“I can’t tell,” Vera said.
“Are they coming alone?” Stone asked, as he pulled his pants back on and buckled his knife belt.
“Looks like it,” Lorik said. “They aren’t trying to hide their approach either.”
Lorik had moved the bodies from around the barn, as well as the body of the dead outlaw at the head of the path. The bodies of the outlaws and horses who had been killed by the liquid fire were still there, their corpses smoking and still too hot to move. Further down the path, the pile of bodies was even bigger where the pirates and outlaws had fought.
“They’re determined,” Stone said. “I’m sure walking past that many dead bodies in the dark is difficult for anyone.”
“I couldn’t do it,” Vera said.
“I think I know who that is,” Lorik said. “It looks like Chancy’s wife, Opal.”
“What would she be doing here?” Vera asked.
“I don’t know, but I doubt she’s come to tell us that Marsdyn’s given up and left the Point,” Lorik said.
“Should we go down and meet her?” Stone asked.
“It could be a trap, but I’ll have to risk it,” Lorik said. “I’ve got a bad feeling that something’s happened in town.”
Lorik went down the ladder and out of the barn, leaving Stone and Vera in the barn. He carried his axe with him, since he hadn’t seen anyone following Chancy’s wife. The odds were good that she was alone, but he didn’t want to take any chances, and he knew his longbow wouldn’t do him much good in the dark.
He met Chancy’s wife just as she came onto the property. Even in the dark he could tell something was wrong. Her eyes were open wide with fright and she fell into his arms sobbing.
“What is it, Opal?” he asked.
“It’s Chancy,” she cried. “Marsdyn’s got him. He threw the rest of us out of the inn. He told me if you hadn’t surrendered by morning he’d kill Chancy.”
“Bastard!” Lorik said angrily.
“I’m sorry Lorik, but he’s serious. He’ll kill Chancy if you don’t give up. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You did the right thing coming here,” Lorik said. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”
Lorik turned from Opal for a moment. It was dark, but he didn’t want her to see the anguish on his face. He had to make a decision and make it quickly. There was no way to refuse Marsdyn’s demands. The outlaw would kill Chancy if they didn’t show up, but he would also kill Stone and Lorik if they surrendered. The only option was to fight and it was almost certain he would be killed in the attempt, but Lorik refused to give in. Too much blood had been spilled, too many threats had gone unanswered. Stone’s leg wasn’t seriously hurt, but there was no reason for both of them to risk their necks. Besides, Stone had Vera, and Lorik really didn’t have anything left to live for.
“I want you to do something for me,” Lorik told Opal. “Vera and Stone are in the barn. Go there and tell them I heard something and wanted to check it out. Don’t tell them about Chancy and Marsdyn. Give me half an hour at least. Stone will want to come after me, but it’s better if he doesn’t. Stay here until dawn, then you can come back to the inn.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I’m going to finish this,” he said grimly.
“But they’ll kill Chancy if you don’t surrender.”
“Not if I have anything to say about that.”
“You can’t fight him, he’s got that crazy man they call Mert with him, Lorik. That man’s a killer. He has no soul.”
“Don’t worry, he doesn’t have to have a soul to die.”
He lifted his axe and looked Opal in the eye.
“If I don’t make it, tell Vera this place is hers.”
She put her hand on his arm, the look of fear in her eyes suddenly replaced with compassion.
“Goodbye, Lorik,” she said softly.
“Goodbye, Opal.”
Then he turned and hurried away. Vera and Stone watched him go from the window of the barn.
“Where is he going?” Vera asked.
“To the inn, I suppose,” Stone said. “That’s Chancy’s wife down there.”
“What is she doing here?” Vera asked.
“Bringing Lorik a message, I would imagine. Marsdyn’s made his final move. He needs to draw us out, make us fight on his terms.”
“What could he possibly do to make us leave?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was, it worked.”
“You don’t know Lorik is leaving,” Vera said. “He could be going for a walk, or getting something we need.”
“I doubt that,” Stone said. He was stretching his aching muscles and gingerly testing his wounded leg to see how much weight it would hold. “I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t have escorted Chancy’s wife back here.”
“She’s coming,” Vera explained.
“But he isn’t with her. My guess is he told her to give us some kind of excuse so that I won’t follow him. It’s a noble gesture, but a foolish one. There’s no way I’m letting him face Marsdyn alone.”
“So now you’re leaving, too?” Vera asked. “It sounds like you’re both playing straight into Marsdyn’s hands. You’re doing exactly what he wants you to do, and it will probably get you killed.”
“Maybe, but I can’t stay here and let Lorik risk his neck on my behalf.”
“Men are so stupid,” Vera said. “We should have left days ago. We would be halfway through the marshes by now.”
“We can’t run,” Stone said. “This is your home. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, or push you away from this place.”
“My home is with you,” she said firmly. “What will I do if you get killed?”
“I won’t,” he promised.
“Your leg is hurt,” Vera said. “How do you expect to fight?”
“I’ve fought through worse,” he said, starting down the ladder and trying not to grimace from the pain in his leg.
“Don’t be stubborn. You’re really going to leave me and Opal undefended?”
Opal had just come into the barn. She took in what was happening but didn’t speak.
“Just stay in the hayloft,” Stone said. “Keep watch and you’ll be fine. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Please be careful,” she said, knowing that arguing would only make things worse. She was smart enough to know that nothing she said would keep Stone from going after Lorik, and in a way she didn’t want him to. She knew Lorik would need Stone’s help, and if she made him feel guilty for leaving her, he might be distracted and get killed.
She followed him down the ladder and Opal met them near the stall where Stone’s horse was stabled. She smiled sadly at Vera.
“Lorik heard something,” she said. “He wanted to check it out.”
“Why did you come here, Opal?” Vera asked.
The innkeeper’s wife had tears in her eyes. “I’m not supposed to say,” she said.
“Marsdyn has your husband, doesn’t he?” Stone said.
Opal nodded.
“We guessed as much,” Stone continued. “I have to help him,” he said to Vera.
“I know,” she said. “You wouldn’t be the man I love if you didn’t. Just be careful and don’t let anything happen to either one of you.”
He smiled and then swung up onto his horse quickly. It took him a moment to adjust his wounded leg so that it didn’t hurt too badly. Then he nudged the mare and urged her out of the barn. Vera
and Opal watched him go, fading into the darkness until he was just a shadow.
“We need to lock up,” Vera said, closing the big barn door. “Help me with the cross beam.”
They heaved the heavy wooden timber into place and then climbed back up into the hayloft. Vera struggled not to dash to the window. She knew Stone would be gone. She wanted badly to see him one last time, but when she reached the window there was no sight of Stone or Lorik. They were gone, and she realized they might never return.
Chapter 19
Lorik jogged forward. His muscles burned with the exertion, but after days of being cooped up in the barn, stretching his muscles felt good. His property was only a ten-minute walk from town, and he was soon at the horseshoe-shaped main street. He moved more slowly as he neared Chancy’s Inn, staying in the shadows and watching his friend’s establishment. The inn was bright, with light shining from the many windows. A rider stood watch outside the inn and as Lorik studied him, he was reminded of Pallsen. He had taken advantage of the element of surprise in the trading village, but he had no such advantage now. Lorik knew he could hold his own against any of Marsdyn’s men, but there would be no chance for a fair fight from the outlaw.
“What’s the plan?” came a voice from behind Lorik.
The big teamster spun around and found Stone, standing idly in the shadows behind him, holding the reins of his horse.
“What are you doing here?” Lorik asked. “You left Vera and Opal alone?”
“Had to,” Stone said. “I couldn’t let you face Marsdyn all by yourself.”
“How the hell did you sneak up on me while leading a horse?”
“You were focused pretty intently on the inn. I was just being careful.”
“How’s your leg?”
“Not as good as I’d like, hence the horse.”
“Okay, so you can ride. Can you fight mounted?”
“Sure,” Stone said.
Lorik (The Lorik Trilogy) Page 22
