"Who is attacking?"
"The damned villagers, that's who! If you'd only let me kill Riley when I had the chance--"
A bloody nose might be too good for him. Cairn had always despised cowards, and killing an unarmed man as Karuso suggested was nothing short of it.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure! I've already mowed down several of them personally."
Cairn didn't miss the pleasure he heard in Karuso's voice, and it angered him more than it should have under the circumstances.
"Take no prisoners! You hear me?"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Cairn called out to the men, "Ignore that last. Take as many prisoners as you can."
"I give the orders around here!"
"No, I give the orders. I am the stone warrior. I was sent out by the king. You were sent as support. I don't consider slaughtering desperate men to be military support."
"I give the orders to my men. I--"
Cairn grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. It was hard not to give in to temptation and squeeze the life out of the struggling man.
"I give the orders around here. Do you understand?" He shook him roughly. "Yes?"
Karuso's body went almost limp, and Cairn felt him nod.
"Call them off." Cairn released him with a push. "Call them off."
"Men." His voice was scratchy, and Cairn hopped it hurt. "Villagers! Lay down your arms and you will not be harmed. Men, take them alive if you can."
In truth, it was already too late for most of the men who had come to fight them. The sounds of battle finally ceased and all around, fires were lit, illuminating the ghastly scene.
They were boys. Many of the bodies, one lying almost at his feet, had yet to see their first beard. At least one was a child, eight years old if that. As he started going around to the bodies, checking for signs of life, Cairn grew more and more angry. They never really had a chance. What in the world possessed them to try such a foolish thing?
"They're all dead. Riley's dead too."
Cairn turned around, meeting Karuso's eyes.
"He babbled on and on about his precious King Ivar. Until I finished him off, any way." Karuso cracked an evil grin that said how very much he had enjoyed killing the man, further infuriating Cairn. It fell from his face moments later.
"We lost some good men here tonight."
No. We didn't. We killed them. Unable to stand any more of the carnage, Cairn stalked back through the dark to his tent.
* * * *
Lexi was still sitting in the middle of the bed when Cairn came back inside, more relieved than she could say that he appeared unharmed.
"What happened? Who attacked us? Was it soldiers, or--"
"Boys...and desperate old men. Villagers from Tetsborrow."
"What?" She could understand why they would want to do something like that. They had not seemed at all happy about the soldiers being here, but to take such drastic measures.... "Were they--"
"They were slaughtered to the man."
Lexi stared at him in abject horror.
"How many of them were there? Was it really necessary to kill them all?"
"I don't know how many there were."
Lexi moved to the edge of the bed as Cairn came over and sat, resting his face in his palms.
"I don't know how many good men died out there tonight. I told the soldiers to take prisoners, but.... What could have driven the fools to attack like that? Armored men, battle seasoned...it was over before it even started. Never had a damned chance...."
Relief flooded her at the knowledge that Cairn had apparently had no part in it. Wrapping her arms around him, she leaned her head on his shoulder for comfort. He's a good man. Doesn't he realize that Ivar liberated these people? They're more than willing to fight and die for the sake of their king. Can't he see that?
"It wasn't your fault, Cairn. You did everything you could."
"Did I?"
She could tell by his voice that he was angry, but at who? Her, or himself?
"I believe you did. You told them to take prisoners. You couldn't have stood over them all and made sure they did it." Although Cairn was silent, Lexi could understand his anger and frustration. "It's not your fault."
He sighed and disentangled himself from her, standing and discarding his armor. Laying down in her spot, Lexi opened her arms to him as he lay down, snuggling against his broad chest, holding him.
"Cairn? Let's just run away. This isn't your fight any more than it's mine. The people in Romanoe would be a lot better off with King Ivar as their king. Let's just leave and let him take the kingdom if he wants it. At least not help King Chal imprison these people again."
"I have to do as my king orders."
"No you don't! Chal doesn't deserve your loyalty, he doesn't deserve anyone's he--"
"I have no choice Lexi."
"But--"
"If I disobey him, I'll turn back into stone. For good."
Lexi looked up at him, slack-jawed. "What do you mean...?"
"I guess you've never heard the legend."
There's no reason why I would have that I can see.
"From the world beyond, a warrior will come, his loyalty bound to the kingdom he serves. His strength, the strength of the land itself, unstoppable for mortal foes. He will ever obey the word of the king. Should ever he fail, a new warrior shall come."
Lexi mulled over his words for many minutes. "What's the part about your turning back to stone?
"If he should fail, a new warrior will come. There is only one stone warrior in every kingdom. So if a new one comes...."
It's because the old one is permanently stone. Or dead.
"What did you mean, a warrior from the world beyond?" Does that mean what I think it does? He actually came from the real world?
Cairn shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"How couldn't you be? Don't you remember where you're from?"
"No."
"No. That's it? Just 'no’?"
"That's it. Just no. Now, sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."
Every day is a long day! I can't very well go to sleep now, not without knowing. She couldn't tell if he just didn't want to talk about the 'world beyond,' or if he honestly didn't remember it. That bothered her more than a little. His rhythmic breathing told her she need not think she was going to get anything else out of him tonight, though.
* * * *
Lexi had lost count of the number of days she had spent in the saddle, but the pain of the ride had become somewhat less and, according to the men, they were but an hour's ride from the castle. The sun pounded down mercilessly and not a breeze swept across the field through which they traveled. The only saving grace was that she was at the very front of the procession instead of in the cloud of choking dust that started in the middle and formed a cloud at the back. She was hot, sweaty, and depressed.
Looking around at the men, she wondered how many of them would be alive tomorrow. They seemed in high spirits, but was that because they honestly were, because they looked forward to the fight, or because they wanted to pretend it didn't bother them. What if they were victorious? All the people in Inui that would be slain in the battle...all those poor people in the villages they had taken such pains to go around, what would happen to them? What would happen to Cairn? She could tell that guilt already bent his proud shoulders. It was obvious he didn't want to fight, but what would happen to him if he did not? If he disobeyed his king? What would happen if he did obey?
It's not fair. He should not have to do this. I don't think I can live and stand watching it. What else could she do, though? She had already begged him not to, but did she have any right to do even that, knowing what would happen if he did as she asked?
"I wonder why Ocie hasn't come out yet."
The timber of Cairn's voice brought her back to the present, though the words made little sense.
"Who?"
"Ocie. The warrior of Inui. He's always been more than
willing to fight me before. I would think this time, all things considered...."
"You've fought him before?" This didn't make any sense. Wouldn't one of them have died?
"Many times."
"And you're both still alive?"
"Of course. The purpose of the battle between the stone warriors is to decide, through a battle of wills and strength, the fate of the two kingdoms. Less people die that way. The king whose warrior looses is supposed to obey the will of the gods and lay down his arms before the victor."
"But what happens to the warriors?"
Cairn shrugged. "The loosing warrior turns to stone on the spot. The victor remains flesh for a time."
"And if the loosing king refuses to obey the rules?"
Gesturing to the men around them, he smiled faintly. "That's what they are here for, supposedly. To ensure that the rules are obeyed."
Or to attack when the time is right. She could not see his logic, maybe in theory, but certainly not in practice.
"So, if you loose, you'll turn back into stone. For how long?"
"I won't loose, Lexi. I can't."
"But what it--"
"I can't. If I do, I'll never see you again." The look in his eyes was haunted. "I won't loose."
"There has to be some way out of this. There has to be--"
"There isn't Lexi. Trust me, if there were some other way, I would take it in a moment. Look, we'll be able to see the castle when we get to the top of that hill."
So soon? They were almost there already? There wasn't enough time, there had not been enough time. For what? The butterflies that had already been stirring in her stomach went into overdrive and she felt quite sick. By the time they had reached the top of the hill, when she could actually see the castle and the field of battle where his fate and hers would be decided, she was hyperventilating.
"Cairn, don't go. Don't go through with this. There has to be another way. There just has to. I don't want all those poor people to suffer, and I couldn't stand to loose you. There has to be a way around this."
"There is no other way."
"I love you." She hadn't meant to blurt that out, but as soon as she said it, she knew it was the truth. She did love him. She did care what would happen to him. She didn't know if she could stand it if he turned into stone, knowing she would be long dead before he ever turned back to flesh.
She stared at his bowed head, wondering at his silence. Did I really say it aloud, or did I just think I did? He gave no indication of having heard her, and that hurt more than it should have.
Resigned to the fate she was given, unable to see any way to fight against it, Lexi rode silently beside him, down the hill, across the field, and up to the walls of the castle.
Chapter Eleven
Lexi felt so tense as they reached the castle walls at last and the army fell into formation, waiting, that she felt like screaming. It was eerie, for there was almost total silence except for the occasional stamp of horse hooves, the creak of leather, the snap of a standard in the stiff breeze.
Finally, Cairn dismounted. Lifting his head to gaze up at the walls, he shouted for Ocie to come out and meet him.
Lexi’s stomach tightened another notch as a murmur came from the men along the top of the wall began. Time seemed to hang as they waited. Finally, the gates in the castle walls swung open.
A man emerged. Fully as tall as Cairn, and as heavily muscled, he strode purposefully across the ground that separated him from Cairn.
When he stopped, they was barely three feet between them.
Both men stared at each other grimly for several moments.
“We meet again.”
“Aye,” Cairn said, assuming a battle stance.
If possible, the warrior Ocie’s face grew more grim. Lifting his sword and shield, he, too, assumed a stance.
Abruptly, they swung at each other almost simultaneously. Lexi’s heart leapt into her throat as the clang of metal against metal went through her jarringly, almost painfully. As if the first strike was enough to unleash the dam of fighting rage within the two, they began to hammer at each other with their swords, slamming against each other, locking blades, using their shields to break each other’s hold. They broke apart, moved slowly in a circle, each man searching for a point of weakness, and then came together again in a flurry of flying blades.
Lexi covered her mouth with her hand, fearful that she would cry out and distract Cairn at a critical moment.
Whimpers of terror escaped anyway, muffled by her hand, lost in the sounds of battle as the two men continued to fight furiously. Time again, Cairn would find an opening and nick the warrior Ocie, or vice versa until both warriors were bleeding from dozens of cuts. Most seemed non-threatening, but they were losing blood.
After what had already seemed an eon of time, the blood dripping from their many wounds began to form slippery, treacherous pools beneath their feet. A sharp gasp tore its way from Lexi’s throat in spite of all she could do when Cairn slipped, landing on one knee.
He managed to get his sword up to block the blow Ocie aimed at him just in the nick of time, but Lexi was beginning to feel faint with her fear.
Cairn followed his defense with a furious offense, pounding away at Ocie’s shield until he’d driven him back. Leaping to his feet, he charged the enemy warrior, plowing into his mid-section.
Ocie managed to roll away before Cairn could follow up with a crippling blow and both men surged to their feet again, breathing heavily now.
They’d begun to circle one another again when a gasp from the men dragged Lexi’s horrified attention from the two fighters. Nearby, a blue light appeared.
Not light. Flames.
Lexi’s heart seemed to stand still in her chest when she saw Dionne.
Before she could give vent to her relief, she heard a shout that drew her attention back to the two warriors. Her gaze swerved to them again. Ocie had seen the flames, as well. Slamming his shield into Cairn hard enough he knocked his opponent to the ground, he leapt over Cairn and raced toward Dionne.
Screaming, Lexi fell off her horse and ran, certain the warrior would attack her aunt. Instead, he threw his weapons down and swept her into his arms, kissing her.
Stunned, Lexi stopped abruptly.
Dionne smiled up at him fatuously when he drew back at last.
“Dearling! I thought you would not come back to me!”
Dionne looked stunned. “But—I’ve only been gone a few minutes—thirty at the most!” she exclaimed.
“I have waited for you a full year, my love!” Ocie ground out harshly. “Did you miss me so little?”
“You couldn’t have been waiting a year,” Lexi put in just then. “She only went missing a few days ago. I came to visit and you were gone and I found the book lying on the floor….” She broke off and turned as Cairn came up behind her, slipping an arm possessively about her waist.
“This is my aunt, Dionne—the one I told you about!” she told him happily.
Dionne and Lexi stared at each other for a stunned moment and then Lexi pulled away from Cairn and hugged Dionne tightly.
“Time must flow differently here,” Dionne said.
When she pulled away from Lexi, she slipped an arm around Ocie’s waist. “This is Ocie, my stone warrior.”
Lexi looked up at Cairn. “You can’t fight. You have to stop this.”
Ocie and Cairn exchanged a glance. “We have no choice. It is the way of things. I explained this to you. I must do as my king orders.”
Dionne and Lexi exchanged a look and turned on the two men, their eyes narrowed. “If you do, we’re going home right now,” they said almost in unison.
Cairn and Ocie exchanged a helpless glance, but Lexi could see that Cairn wasn’t nearly as anxious to renew the battle after her threat.
Before any of them could say more, they heard Karuso bellow furiously and turned.
“Kill them! Kill them all!”
Cairn’s face went taunt. Shoving Le
xi behind him, he tensed for battle once more as the soldiers with Karuso, after a moment’s hesitancy, charged.
Dionne and Lexi both screamed at the deafening roar of battle cries and the pounding of running feet. The noise seemed to come from every direction at once. It was several moments before Lexi realized it didn’t just seem to be coming from every direction, it was. Behind them, men poured from the castle even as Ocie and Cairn began fighting for their lives.
Clinging to each other and trying to stay out of the way, Lexi and Dionne finally managed to work their way past the men pouring out to join in the battle. By the time they had freed themselves for the crush of fighting men, though, they saw that the battle was already beginning to die down as the King Chal’s men were sorely outnumbered. Most were slain on the battlefield, but as those who remained through down their weapons, they were given quarter. King Ivar, who’d led the battle, ordered the survivors, including Captain Karuso, rounded up and imprisoned.
Chapter Twelve
Both Ocie and Cairn were given a hero’s welcome as they entered the gates of the castle. As relieved as Lexi was to find her dear Aunt Dionne all right, she was distracted as they were welcomed into the castle, worried about Cairn.
He’d been wounded in the battle. As soon as they’d been escorted to a room, she bathed his wounds and carefully examined each one. Cairn said nothing, wincing or hissing beneath his breath from time to time, but otherwise giving no indication that he was aware of the proceedings as she tended his wounds.
They were informed that there was to be a feast in honor of the warriors, and the return of Dionne. Lexi would have much preferred to stay in their chambers. She needed to talk to Cairn. She wanted to know what was bothering him, but she didn’t think it was a good idea to flout the king’s wishes.
She had mixed feelings about the feast. These people seemed to really enjoy them, and it appeared that every feast was a test in endurance, for it went on forever. She was tired, but she was also hungry. The food was delicious, and the company even better. She and Dionne spent much of the time catching up on the things that had happened since they’d come to the strange world, but each time she glanced down the table at Cairn, seated near the king, she saw that his expression was worried.
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