“Good. If I’m right, that guard standing outside the inn is just a decoy. Marsdyn wants us to think he’s in there.”
“You don’t think he is?”
“No, Marsdyn’s too smart for that. He’ll sacrifice that guy,” Lorik said, pointing to the sentry, “to draw us out into the open. And he’ll want to fight us on horseback—that gives him an advantage.”
“So, when we go sneaking up on the guard, they come riding out and kill us.”
“That’s what I would do,” Lorik admitted.
“Okay, so what do we do?”
“I’m not sure yet. But with you here, I was thinking about lighting a torch and walking right down the middle of the street.”
“Why? Just to draw Marsdyn out?”
“Exactly. If I’m right, the one thing we can count on is for Marsdyn to be overconfident. He’ll think that just because we left my property that he’s already won. He won’t expect us to have a plan to face him.”
“So he’ll be overconfident. How do we use that?” Stone asked.
“If we can get him to reveal himself, we’ll at least even the odds a little.”
“He wants me more than you,” Stone said. “Maybe I should walk down the street with the torch.”
“No, he’ll think that I’m hiding with my bow and won’t show himself until he’s sure I won’t be able to shoot him from a distance.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“I’m sure there are things I haven’t thought of either,” Lorik said. “That’s what scares me. Marsdyn is a smart guy. There’s no telling what other tricks he might have up his sleeve.”
“You think he has more than three men left?”
“I imagine so,” Lorik said. “We only saw three earlier, but he’s had all day to bolster his numbers and put his plan together. He won’t play fair either, you can count on that. So watch your back.”
“I will,” Stone said.
They watched the inn for almost another hour. The light from the inn never faded, and the guard was almost like a statue. Lorik guessed that there were booby traps at the inn entrances. Getting inside to free Chancy would be difficult. He only hoped his friend wasn’t in danger.
“All right,” Lorik said. “I can’t think of a better plan, can you?”
“Well, I can only think of one thing,” Stone said. “Marsdyn has a reputation to uphold, and chances are word has reached the Point of what you did in Pallsen.”
“What we did,” Lorik said.
“Yes, yes, what we did. What I’m getting at is it might be possible to challenge Marsdyn. If you make enough noise, he’ll have no choice but to fight you. Otherwise, word will get out that he was afraid. For a man in his line of work, that’s a death sentence.”
“So you think I should challenge Marsdyn,” Lorik said, mulling the idea over in his mind. “And what will you be doing?”
“I’m going to challenge Mert,” Stone said.
“Not with a bum leg! Are you crazy?”
“A little,” Stone said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
“I like the plan, but I think you should stay out of it,” Lorik said. “If things go bad for me, you can escape with Vera.”
“I’m not going to sit back and let you take all the risk,” Stone said. “It’s my fault we’re in this mess.”
“Fine, I’m not having that argument again, but if you get yourself killed, Vera will never forgive me.”
“Neither will I,” Stone said with a smile.
“All right, let’s do it.”
They moved back, and then took their time lighting a torch. Once the flame had taken hold, Lorik looked at the younger man. He realized that although he’d had friends before, he hadn’t had close ties with anyone other than Vera since his parents died. It felt good to know that he wasn’t alone.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “You’re a good man, Liam. And a good friend.”
“I’m glad, too,” he said. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have at my side right now.”
“Me neither. If I don’t make it, I want you and Vera to have my property.”
“I couldn’t do that,” Stone said.
“Sure you could. It might take you a while to learn the ins and outs of the marshes, but you’ll have all you need.”
“Your parents are buried there,” Stone argued. “It wouldn’t be right.”
“Of course it would. Vera is my family and now you are, too.”
Tears sprang into Stones eyes. He had lost his father early in life, and his mother had passed away before Stone was a man. His mentor had been slain, and since then he’d been all alone. Now he felt a sense of family he didn’t think was possible to have again. He felt wanted, like he belonged. It was not something he took lightly.
He looked Lorik in the eye, then he shook his friend’s hand. Finally, he climbed up onto his horse.
“I’m ready,” he said.
“Let’s go, then,” Lorik said.
He walked out of the little alley where they had lit the torch. He held the firebrand in his left hand, holding it over his head, so that the light shone around him but not directly in his eyes. Stone followed behind Lorik, trying to keep an eye on the road behind them. They walked directly toward the inn but stopped when they were within shouting distance.
“Marsdyn!” Lorik shouted. “Marsdyn, this is Lorik Horaceson. You’ve tried to kill me four times and failed each time. Now I’m here for your head. Come out and fight me, coward. Stop sending your thugs to do your dirty work.”
The guard looked up, but didn’t leave his post.
“Marsdyn!” Lorik shouted again. “Are you a coward, too afraid to face me?”
The challenge was met by silence, but heads began to poke out of windows. The waterfront inns lined one side of the main street, and lights sparked to life inside.
“Marsdyn! You and your Riders have attacked me four times, and each time you failed. Your promise of protection is a lie. Your threats are empty. I defy you, here in the street. Come out and face me. Or are you craven?”
Around Lorik the sounds of whispers were like insects at twilight. It was almost dawn. Lorik and Stone waited, but Marsdyn did not appear. He did not answer the challenge, no matter how much Lorik taunted him.
“What now?” Stone asked.
“I don’t see that we have much choice,” Lorik said.
He started walking toward the inn. The guard there looked distressed, but he didn’t leave his post. Lorik stopped well shy of the man, not wanting to be drawn into a trap.
“Is Marsdyn inside?” Lorik asked.
The guard nodded. He looked frightened but resolute. Lorik didn’t know if it was due to some unseen trap, or because the man had never heard anyone talk to the outlaw leader the way Lorik had.
“You planning to stop me from going in?” Lorik asked.
“My job was to warn someone if you tried,” the guard said. “But I expect your shouting did that already.”
“Okay, go on in and tell your boss to come out and fight me.”
“N-n-n-no,” the guard said.
“Then leave, or I’ll kill you.”
“If I leave my post Marsdyn will kill me.”
“Your choice,” Lorik said, swinging his axe to loosen up his shoulder muscles. “Die later or die now.”
The man looked uncertain, then he turned and ran.
“That’s one less Rider to kill,” Lorik said.
“You can’t go in there,” Stone said. “That’s what he wants.”
Just then there was a horrid scream from inside the inn. The sound made the hair on Lorik’s arms stand up. He knew Stone was right, but he had to do something. Someone was dying inside Chancy’s Inn and more likely than not, it was the innkeeper.
Lorik charged forward, running toward the inn, but not the door. There was a stack of crates outside the building, just below one of the inn’s windows. The crates were used to haul
goods on ships, but the contents had been unloaded and the empty crates were stacked outside to be used again by Yulver or some other sea captain delivering goods to the inn. Lorik bounded onto the crates and then dove through the window. The thin glass shattered in a rain of tiny shards. Lorik held his axe out beside him, tucking his shoulder as he crashed onto the wooden floor.
“Kill him!” shouted Marsdyn.
The sound of heavy footsteps was coming toward him and Lorik scrambled to his feet, bringing his axe up to shield his body. The sword blow was caught on the axe head, but the force of the blow knocked Lorik off his feet. He landed on his back, and Mert towered over him. The big outlaw drove his sword down, intending to run the blade through Lorik, but the teamster rolled to the side. The sword stuck fast in the wooden planks, and it took Mert two mighty heaves to jerk his sword free, which was just enough time for Lorik to get back on his feet.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Mert said cruelly. “I’m going to take you apart, bit by bit, mud walker.”
Lorik just spat and adjusted his grip on the battle axe.
“It’s your time to die, Lorik,” Marsdyn said as he stepped out of the kitchen, holding Chancy by the arm. The innkeeper’s face was bloody from a long, jagged cut across his forehead.
“Let him go, Marsdyn. Chancy has no part in this fight.”
“I don’t take orders from dead men. Mert, finish this.”
The deadly outlaw slashed at Lorik, but the attack was a feint, not intended to do damage, and Lorik was smart enough to avoid over-committing to his defense. He raised his axe a fraction, but when Mert spun, swinging his sword around in a lightning-fast blow intended to cut Lorik’s head off, the teamster dropped to one knee and stabbed down with the butt of the axe, slamming it hard onto the top of Mert’s foot. The outlaw shouted in pain, limping back, and Lorik jumped forward, thrusting his axe out at Mert’s stomach. The heavy axehead hit the big man in the stomach. Mert grunted from the blow, even though the stiff leather vest kept the metal from cutting through to his skin.
Lorik then brought his hands together on the axe handle and twirled the weapon over his shoulder, swinging the axe toward Mert’s head. The outlaw was a big target. He limped backward, raising his sword and gasping for breath. The axehead caught on the blade and then gashed into the outlaw’s exposed shoulder.
This time Mert didn’t cry out in pain, he roared in anger. The axe was sharp and it had cut into the muscle, but the outlaw could still use his arm. His eyes narrowed and he threw a massive punch that hit Lorik in the eye. The blow sent Lorik reeling. The pain was intense and for a moment he didn’t know what had happened. His legs were shaking and threatening to give out under him. Lorik backpedaled as Mert stalked forward. The big outlaw wasn’t taking the teamster for granted any longer. He moved carefully, favoring his injured foot but moving with vicious efficiency.
“He’s hurt!” shouted Marsdyn. “You’ve hurt him. Finish it. Kill him now!”
Mert stabbed forward with the point of his big sword, but Lorik had the presence of mind to parry the thrust by spinning to the side, swinging the axe low, letting the momentum of the spin add force to the attack. Mert danced lightly away and Lorik, still reeling from the punch, his face throbbing with pain and the tissue around his eye swelling, staggered off balance.
The deadly outlaw had hoped for just that sort of chance and was dashing forward to finish the fight when Stone climbed through the window. He hadn’t been able to run and jump through the glass like Lorik, but he had managed to get through the window and now attacked the big outlaw from behind. He slashed his knife across Mert’s lower back. The blade tore through the leather vest and sliced into skin.
Mert arched his back in pain, then swung around to face his new adversary. Despite the pain in his leg Stone was in constant motion. He bounded forward, bringing the knife in his left hand up to deflect Mert’s sword, while at the same time punching the big outlaw in the mouth with the brass knuckle guard of the knife in his right hand. Blood gushed from split lips, and Mert spit broken teeth from his mouth as if they were bits of gristle from a tough piece of meat.
Lorik brought his axe up in an underhand thrust, hitting Mert on the back of his head. The outlaw’s scalp busted like the skin of an overripe fruit and he stumbled forward again, this time right into Stone’s backhanded blow, which drove his knife blade through the outlaw’s temple. The blade stuck in the big man’s skull and Stone let it go, quickly drawing the dagger he kept in his boot as Mert crashed into the floor.
“No!” screamed Marsdyn, his face flushed red with rage.
Lorik was shaking his head, trying to clear the cobwebs that Mert’s punch had caused. The left side of his face was black, the eye swelling until it was just a slit. Marsdyn shoved Chancy toward Lorik and drew his short sword. He also had a small buckler. He dashed toward Stone, holding the buckler out in front of himself and keeping the sword closer to his body. Stone dropped low and tried to kick Marsdyn’s legs out from under him, but the outlaw raised his foot, so the kick did no damage. Then Marsdyn punched with the buckler, forcing Stone to raise his knife in defense. Marsdyn followed up with a slash at Stone’s leg. The warrior hopped back, but his wounded leg collapsed under him, causing Stone to fall backward.
Without a moment’s hesitation Marsdyn jumped toward Lorik, who had caught Chancy and then turned toward the fight, only to find Marsdyn attacking him. Lorik raised his axe, intending to ward off Marsdyn’s blow. The buckler slammed into the heavy axehead, causing no damage, but Marsdyn used his forward momentum to thrust his sword up. The blade landed a glancing blow, carving a gash across Lorik’s ribs, breaking two of them and knocking the breath out of his lungs.
Stone was back on his feet, but he had all of his weight balanced on his one good leg. He hopped forward, just as Marsdyn spun around, swinging the buckler in a backhanded blow that batted Stone’s knife to the side and knocked the warrior off balance. Marsdyn’s sword came whistling through the air in a horizontal slash aimed at Stone’s exposed chest. The young warrior saw the sword and bent back, his spine arching and his good leg straining to hold up the weight. The sword cut only air, but Stone couldn’t recover his balance and fell backward again. This time Marsdyn followed his attack with an overhead chop that would have been a killing blow had it landed, but Stone was already rolling away. The sword splintered the wood floor but didn’t stick.
Lorik was in pain, every breath sending searing fire spasming up his chest, but he wasn’t out of the fight. He couldn’t wield the heavy axe, so he dropped it and drew the small utility hatchet he carried in his belt. He held left arm tight against his broken ribs, but his right hand twirled the hatchet as he moved forward.
Marsdyn spun back toward Lorik, kicking at the teamster’s knee, but Lorik saw it coming and avoided the blow. Then he swung his hatchet, which Marsdyn blocked with his buckler, but the tool splintered the wood and dug into the outlaw’s forearm. Marsdyn screamed and reeled backwards, jerking his arm and Lorik’s hatchet with it. Lorik grunted in pain as he bent to draw the dagger from his boot. Marsdyn tried to drop the buckler, but the hatchet had cut into his forearm bones and stuck there, keeping the buckler from falling away. The weight of the weapon hanging on the wounded arm was painful, but Marsdyn didn’t have time to worry about it. Lorik was staggering forward and Stone was back on his feet.
“Throw down your sword and we’ll let you live,” Lorik said.
He didn’t know if he meant it. Letting Marsdyn live was not a good idea, he knew, but he just wanted the fight to be over.
“I’m going to gut you like a fish, teamster, and then I’m going to use your wench as my kicking dog until she begs me to kill her.”
“You won’t touch Vera,” Stone said in a threatening voice.
He jumped forward, but Marsdyn slipped out of the warrior’s path, bringing his sword around for a counterstrike that would have cut across Stone’s back, but Lorik caught the blade on his dagger. The swo
rd cut a notch in the dagger’s thin blade, but it held. Lorik grabbed Marsdyn’s good hand, holding it fast, even as the outlaw tried to jerk it free. Stone turned and threw a punch at Marsdyn with the brass knuckle guard of his knife. It was little more than a jab and not all that strong of a blow, but Marsdyn instinctively raised his wounded arm to ward off the blow. The knife guard hit the axe handle and then the buckler, causing Marsdyn to scream in pain.
Lorik twisted Marsdyn’s good hand until the outlaw dropped his sword, but in the same instant he kicked Lorik in the back of the knee. Lorik fell, the pain from the fall causing him to see dark spots floating in his vision.
Stone swung his dagger in a small arc that cut Marsdyn across his abdomen. The outlaw turned and staggered for the door, hoping to escape. Stone hobbled after him, but his wounded leg made him slow. Marsdyn grabbed the door handle and wrenched the inn door open, but when he did it triggered the booby trap he himself had set for Lorik. A long, curved sickle swung down and stabbed the outlaw in the side. The blade bit deep, curving under his ribs and gashing through his intestines and liver, before coming out the other side. Marsdyn screamed and Stone hopped back in surprise. In the heat of the fight, the booby trap had been forgotten, and now it held the outlaw fast.
“Aaaaahhhh,” Marsdyn cried in a gurgle of agony.
“I should let you die slow,” Stone said quietly from behind Marsdyn.
The outlaw struggled to turn, but the pain sapped all his strength. Every movement was agonizing. He tried to push the blade out, but the movement of the sharp metal only made things worse.
“I’ll kill you,” Marsdyn said in a weak voice. “I’ll...”
“No, you won’t,” Stone said.
Then he grabbed the outlaw’s hair and pulled his head back, exposing Marsdyn’s throat. He cut the neck slowly, pushing the blade into the soft flesh, and letting Marsdyn’s blood gush out over the blade. The outlaw sagged and then pitched forward, the sickle the only thing holding him up.
Stone turned back to find Chancy, his shirt tied around his forehead, helping Lorik to his feet. They looked at each other and then started laughing.
Lorik (The Lorik Trilogy) Page 23
