“Fioni,” said Bolin, staring at her with suspicion. “You shouldn’t—” He paused in midsentence when he saw the others behind Fioni, particularly the two northerners. He glanced at his brother, whose slack, dumb face reflected his own confusion.
“Shouldn’t what, Bolin? Gut you for challenging me in my own home?” As she spoke, she ran her fingers over the hilt of her sword, the threat clear.
Bolin’s eyes darted about as if he were a cornered animal. She stepped forward suddenly, and he stumbled back, his ass striking the hot stove. Vory and Kora openly laughed, and Bolin’s face turned red as he slapped at his buttocks.
“Gods damn it, Fioni. We’re your father’s herdsmen.”
“Aye,” parroted slack-jawed Golm, his pig-like eyes shining as he bobbed his head in agreement. “Not called for, threatening us. Our job to ask questions.”
Fioni jabbed Bolin in the chest with her finger. “Enough of your shit. I’m on my father’s business—and it’s none of yours. Open the damned gate.”
Bolin hesitated, his mouth open slightly as his eyes darted from Fioni to Kora to Vory to the northerners.
Fioni sighed and tilted her head in the direction of the longhouse. “All right, Bolin. Do your duty. Go wake my father and ask him if his own daughter has his trust. He was drinking last night, but no doubt he’ll understand. He’s very reasonable that way.”
Kora snickered, and Bolin glared at her. Fioni wondered if he had the stones to say anything. If he did, Kora would kick his balls so hard, they’d come out of his mouth. Bolin glanced in the direction of the longhouse and then stared at his feet.
Fioni sighed, long and heavy. “Just open the gate, Bolin. You’ve delayed me enough for one night.”
Down in the town, dogs began barking. First one, and then others took up the call. Often, one animal would catch the scent of a bush cat and get all the other dogs riled up. No doubt they’d be barking and howling for hours. Hopefully, they wouldn’t wake Galas. She wanted to do that herself.
“Can’t you… please wait until sunrise?” Bolin asked.
She looked down her nose at him, as if he were the stupidest little boy in the world. Vory stepped up beside her, glowering at the two guards. Bolin looked away quickly, his face red. Then he turned to his brother and nodded.
She shook her head. Later, when he’s no longer angry with me, I’m going to have a long talk with my father about these two idiots. They’re either incredibly loyal or unbelievably stupid.
The two guards lifted the ironbound bar and pushed the gates open. Fioni stormed past them onto the wooden landing that connected the hanging bridge to the tower leading down into the town. Vory and the others followed. She began to cross the bridge, moving faster now. Those two have already delayed me too—
She paused in midstep, the bridge swaying slightly. Fires blazed along the river to the north—where her ship was waiting for her. Bonfires, three of them, set in a line from the woods to the river. In the glow of the fires, she saw the silhouette of her longship and the shadows of people moving about. She turned, seeing the same confusion on the faces of Vory and Kora.
Kora pointed past her. “Fioni, look!”
Below them, on the other side of the walled town, armed warriors with torches in hand were pouring through the town’s now-opened guardhouse. Torchlight glinted from weapons as the men began spreading out, lighting the thatched roofs of homes on fire. She ran to the far end of the bridge to see better, her skin cold and clammy.
I was too late. Damn Galas, he’s moved first!
She drew her sword, spinning about to face the others. “We’re under attack,” she yelled. “To arms. The Gilt-Mane has betrayed us!”
Chapter 13
Owen
When Fioni screamed out that they were under attack, a single fear gripped Owen—that Serina had caught up to them already. He stepped back from the hanging bridge, putting Lady Danika behind him.
Fioni yelled out again from the far end of the bridge. “Back to the longhouse.”
He saw a flash of movement from the corner of his eye. One of the gate guards rushed out, aiming a spear at Vory’s unprotected back. The other guard stood before the gates with shield and axe, blocking their way back inside. Whatever else is happening, he realized with sudden clarity, these two are enemies.
“Vory,” Kora yelled, “behind—”
Owen darted between Vory and the charging warrior. The man hesitated before switching targets and thrusting his spear at Owen, but Owen had already thrown himself down to the wooden landing, hitting hard on his side and rolling away. As the warrior drew back his spear again, Vory’s huge axe cleaved the man’s head in two, right through his metal helm, slamming him down onto the landing beside Owen. Vory pried his axe free as Kora, now wielding her double swords, fought the other guardsman.
“I owe you a life, mainlander,” Vory said, a gleam in his eye as he offered his hand to Owen.
“Pay me back later,” Owen said as he climbed to his feet.
Kora spun to the side, skipping past the other warrior’s axe to cut down at the back of his knee with one of her swords. As the man shrieked and fell forward, Kora finished him with a thrust through his neck.
Kora yanked her sword free of the dead man. “What orders, Fioni?”
“There are men on the tower!” Lady Danika yelled.
She was right. Dozens of warriors stormed up the stairs of the tower at the other end of the hanging bridge. They had moments at best.
Fioni ran to the support ropes connecting the hanging bridge and set her stance wide, her sword held before her with both hands. “Vory, help me. Kora, the horn!”
The first few of the attackers were already running across the bridge. Fioni hacked at the ropes with her sword, but they were heavily corded and hard to cut. Opposite her, Vory cleaved through his own ropes easily, tipping the bridge onto its side and sending a half-dozen men falling, forcing the others to hang on for their lives. Then Fioni managed to cut through the last of her ropes, and the bridge fell back, smashing against the wooden tower, the men on it screaming as they fell to the ground below. A moment later, a loud, braying note shattered the night as Kora sounded the alarm horn repeatedly.
“Get inside, quickly!” Fioni yelled.
Owen heard the distinctive snapping of crossbow limbs. He threw himself atop Lady Danika, knocking her down and covering her with his body as the missiles whistled past where she had been standing. He practically tossed the small woman inside the compound, scrambling after her as Vory and Fioni slammed the gates closed behind them. Vory hefted the ironbound crossbeam into place with a thud, securing the gates.
Armed servants—men and women both—rushed out into the night, confusion and fear in their eyes. Among them, Owen saw Yarl Taios, barefoot and wearing a night cloak but carrying his longsword, Wave’s Kiss. The wild-haired yarl paused when he saw his daughter, his eyes widening in confusion at Owen and Lady Danika.
“What is it? What’s happened?” he demanded.
Fioni stood before him. “Galas and his mercenary dogs are attacking the town. He must have bribed Golm and Bolin, because they attacked us.”
Taios’s eyes tightened in anger. “My own herdsmen?”
Fioni shrugged. “No doubt they were supposed to let Galas’s men inside the longhouse without a fight. That way he could kill you in your bed.”
Taios’s face turned bright red as he stormed past her to climb a ladder next to the longhouse’s log wall. He peered over its edge before turning and spitting upon the ground. He climbed back down, jumping most of the way. “You were right about him. I’ll kill Galas for this.”
Fioni shook her head. “He has the town, and he has us bottled up in here. And something is happening on the beach near my ship. He has us in a trap. We need to break free.”
Small boys ran from the longhouse, bearing bundles of shields and weapons. Owen stopped one of them, taking a wooden round-shield and fighting axe. He slipped his arm throu
gh the shield’s straps, gripping the handle of the iron shield-boss, hefting the fighting axe with his other hand, getting a feel for its weight. He still wished he had his ring-mail coat, his sword, and a proper helmet, but this was far better than nothing.
Kora climbed the ladder and peered over the wall. When a volley of crossbow bolts whipped past her head, she dropped back down again, landing lithely on her feet. “They’re climbing the hill—with a ram.”
One of the young boys ran up to Taios, struggling with a ring-mail coat in his arms. Taios took it from him and quickly pulled it over his nightshirt. “He’ll never take Shield-Breaker.”
“Yes, he will, father. How many of your herdsmen are here?”
Taios sighed. “A dozen.”
“Two less now that Bolin and Golm are dead. Ten men, then you, me, Vory, Kora”—she paused, glancing at Owen—“the northerner. Not enough. We can’t hold.”
“The women will fight as well,” said Sif, now joining them, carrying a spear that she looked perfectly capable of using.
“Still not enough,” said Fioni.
Taios scowled. “The townsfolk—”
“Can’t get to us. But my crew is ready to sail if we can get to Fen Wolf.”
Taios shook his head and began to pace before the gates. “The longer we hold, the more time it gives those loyal to me to come and strike Galas. We’ll attack from two directions.”
“Father,” said Fioni as she gripped his forearm, stopping him. She met his eye. “With the mercenaries, Galas has an overwhelming force, hundreds—and all fighters. Even with the servants and the older children, we’re less than two dozen. At best, we can hold a few hours—maybe not even that. We need to bolt this trap Galas has set.”
Taios stared at his daughter. “Why is Fen Wolf ready to sail at night?” He pointed at Owen and Lady Danika with his sword. “What game are you—”
“Is that really what you want to waste time talking about?” asked Fioni. “Or do you want to reach Voria Bay and rouse that old goat, Vengir, and his clan to come help us take back our home? Whatever Galas’s plans are, they involve killing you this night. If you survive, the other clans will support you—especially once they’ve heard Galas used Kur’teshi mercenaries to attack his own people.”
Arrows whistled overhead as men and women in the upper windows of the longhouse used bows to shoot down at the attackers climbing the hill. Moments later, the front gate shuddered under the impact of a ram. Some of the mercenaries shot back at the archers with their powerful crossbows, hitting some. The gate continued to shudder under the repeated impact of the ram, and a handful of Yarl Taios’s herdsmen bunched up before it, preparing to defend it when the attackers forced their way in.
Vory shook his head. “We can make them bleed, but we can’t hold them.”
Taios swore and then threw his head back, screaming in rage. “Gods damn that man. My own nephew!”
“Father, if we fight this night, he wins.”
Taios, spittle running down into his beard, looked about himself at the men and women watching him—a frightened gaggle of children with them. He swore beneath his breath and then met Fioni’s eye. “Fen Wolf is ready to sail?”
“Just waiting for us.”
He ground his teeth. “Galas will take Iron Beard.”
“We’ll take her back.”
“I dislike running,” snarled Taios. “Would Serl have run?”
Fioni gripped her father’s elbow and pulled him close, so that their faces were only inches apart. “Gods damn Serl Raven-Eye! Our family has lived in his shadow for too long. If he kills you, the clans will scream bloody murder—but enough of them will accept him to make the others hold back. Father, he’s clever enough to have worked it all out. We need to go—now!”
Taios sighed and ran his fingers over his face but then inclined his head in agreement. Speaking so that only his people could hear him over the din of battle, he gave his orders. “We leave now. Take nothing but what you already have in hand.” He met Fioni’s eye. “Lead them. I’ll be along.”
“Leave him nothing,” she said.
“Be certain of that,” said Taios as he and a handful of his herdsmen ran back inside his longhouse.
Fioni watched her father’s back for a moment, and then she addressed the crowd of servants and children and the few warriors. “Follow me. Don’t ask questions. If you do as I say, we’ll all survive this night.”
The youngest of the children were crying, clutching at their mothers, but the older ones and the servants nodded their understanding. Fioni led them around the back of the longhouse, past a woodshed, a well-tended garden, and a small clearing with wooden targets, obviously used for weapons’ practice. Owen took up the rear with Kora and Vory. Fioni stopped in front of the log wall circling the compound and then reached out and ran her fingers over one of the logs. Someone had carved a rune into it. She saw Owen watching her. “Come here, Owen. Help me with this.”
He stepped forward, staring at the log in confusion.
“Put your hands here and here,” she said, touching the log just below the rune, “and push—hard!”
“Why?”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “Hurry, Owen.”
He set his battle-axe and shield against the wall and then did as she ordered, bracing himself and shoving. The log shifted abruptly, and its base slid forward toward them, dislodging dirt. It’s not buried into the ground, he realized, suddenly understanding. Nor is it lashed to the others. It’s on a pivot. As the log swung up, it exposed an opening large enough to slip past.
“Clever,” Owen said as he ran his hand along the log just above the level of his head.
Fioni handed him his shield and axe. “You’ll find us barbarians full of surprises.”
Kora slipped through first, her swords held before her. “It’s clear,” Kora said softly from the other side. “For now. We need to go.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying for some time now,” Fioni said. “Take the lead. Bring them through the woods to the river.”
The crowd, perhaps two dozen people, began to slip through the opening, one by one. Danika stood next to Owen. Looking about, Owen saw only a handful of servants remained behind. Fioni kept looking to the longhouse.
“Go on, my lady,” he said to Lady Danika. “Follow the others. I’ll be right behind you.”
Her eyes were bright in the moonlight. “Owen?”
“I promise I’ll follow, but I have to stay and help.”
She stared at him for several long moments and then slipped through the opening, disappearing down the hill with the others. Owen had no idea why he stayed back; his loyalty should have been with Lady Danika, but he couldn’t just leave Fioni alone while he slipped away—that felt wrong somehow.
The stench of burning wood caused him to look up as flames lit up the night, licking at the roof of the longhouse. Moments later, the flames engulfed the roof of the longhouse, sending thick black smoke up to blot out the stars. Seconds later, Yarl Taios and a half dozen of his warriors, their faces singed with soot, ran around the side of the building. Two of the warriors struggled with a chest between them. The two large dogs that had met Fioni the day before ran along beside Taios, silent but dangerous looking.
“Father,” Fioni said, “it’ll slow us down.”
“I won’t let Galas have it,” Taios said as he began pushing his warriors through the opening. “Besides, we’ll need it to rebuild.”
Fioni sighed and stepped out of the way as the two men carrying the chest edged their way through the opening.
Fioni smirked. “Well…he’ll be angry, that’s for certain.”
“He’ll be dead before I’m done with him,” her father said.
“Go, Vory,” Fioni said, pushing the large man toward the opening.
When he hesitated, Taios snarled at him. “Hurry, you great oak. We need to get underway now.”
Vory pushed himself into the opening but only made it partway
before becoming stuck. He grunted and strained.
“Fat bastard,” said Fioni as she threw herself against him, smashing into his shoulder.
When Taios slammed into him as well, Vory popped through to the other side.
Fioni flashed a smile at Owen. “Are you going to need help, too, my pretty?”
He slipped past the insufferable woman without a word. Just for a moment, he thought he too would get stuck, but he inhaled deeply and popped out on the other side. Fioni and her father slid out as well.
Fioni brushed up against Owen, placing a palm on his chest and whispering into his ear. “Waiting for me, are you? How sweet.”
She swung the log back into place, nestling it once again against the others. He heard sudden cheering from the other side of the hill. They must be through the gates.
Owen followed Fioni as she made her way down the steep, treacherous hill. Above them, the fire had now engulfed the entire longhouse, sending a tower of bright-orange flames reaching for the sky. At the base of the hill, Vory waited for them before a wide, gurgling stream with thick woods on its other side. Fioni and her father cast one final look at the burning longhouse and then splashed across the water and into the trees. Owen and Vory followed, keeping a watch on their rear. The woods were thick and dark, slowing down their progress, but behind them, the sounds of battle grew dimmer, punctuated only by the occasional scream. Soon, he heard the river and saw the blazing bonfires burning on the riverbank. He and Vory caught up to the others, who were now crouched at the edge of the forest. Owen knelt down next to Lady Danika and peered at the riverbank, his heart sinking into his gut.
Standing between them and Fen Wolf, facing the bonfires, was a long row of Kur’teshi mercenaries—at least forty men—each holding a loaded crossbow.
Chapter 14
Fioni
Fioni knelt at the edge of the tree line beside her father, staring at the ranks of Kur’teshi mercenaries between her and her longship. The Kur’teshi warriors, their backs to Fioni, stood in ranks, no more than twenty paces away, facing her crew, who had formed a shield wall in front of Fen Wolf on the opposite side of the bonfires. At least a dozen bodies—her crew, her friends—lay sprawled out on the sand.
The Vampire Queen Saga: Books 1-3: (The Vampire Queen Saga Boxset) Page 37
