The first hoarcs appeared on the riverbank where the gravel of the dry creek bed spread out into a fan. They carefully scanned the far bank only abowshot away. Seeing nothing moving, a few waded through the chest-high water to the other side. Satisfied it was safe, they motioned for the others and kept going. Lash came behind on his horse, followed by a line of hoarcs. As the women were pulled into the water, none of the hoarcs noticed the swirls upstream. The women stumbled along tied together. One woman slipped, causing the ropes to jerk on her neighbors. The hoarc next to the lead woman grabbed her arms to keep the line going.
"Please untie us, we're all going to drown!" a young elfmaid in the middle of the line cried.
"Shut up and move!" the lead hoarc hissed. He staggered, his face opened in shock. As he opened his mouth to scream, he was dragged under.
The lead woman stopped, her eyes wide as she saw the shapes below rolling away. Another long shape was speeding towards her. She tried to back away as it grabbed her leg and pulled her off her feet. The rope around her neck went taut as she went under.
The women screamed as, one by one, they were jerkedoff their feet to disappear into the water. Some tried to run upstream, some back, and some tried to brace themselves. The effect of their struggles only made the line disappear faster. By the time one of the hoarcs grabbed the rope to cut it loose half the women were gone.
A thick tail shot up out of the water behind the hoarc, slapping him prone. The last that was seen of him was one clawed hand briefly grasping at the air. Another hoarc disappeared as the rest of the screaming women were pulled under by their necks.
Shouting and flailing at the water, the remaining hoarcs hurried for the nearest bank. The ones hurrying back to the small gravel beach met the ones who had been around the children’s wagon. Raising their bows, they watched the water for any other signs of movement. Across the river, Lash had ridden back to start spreading hoarcs out along the bank.
The mud beside the gravel beach erupted as Odif, a halshaken and two short, dark humans, Theo and Hutch, rose up and threw handfuls of acorns at the hoarcs. The small nuts rained down, each exploding with a flash of fire and a sharp bang. The series of small explosions tore into the hoarcs, turning them into dust.
As large holes opened in the mass of hoarcs, halshaken shot out of the water near the other bank. Holding a spear thrower in each hand, they dropped hoarcs that had been getting ready to shoot at Odif's group. Near the wagon, the knight Coran on the right and Glier on the left led bands to engage the hoarcs that had not gone to the riverbank.
Enraged at being ambushed, Lash drew his sword and pointed at the wagon as he screamed, "Kill the children!"
His wizard raised his hands to cast a spell. Behind him, Shilo dove out of the sky with an iron trident and speared him. As the wizard fell, Shilo flew low, stiffening his arms to knock two of the hoarcs headlong into the halshaken waiting below. The wizard was still twitching on the ground as the winged man raced across the river to help those on the gravel finish killing the hoarcs that were still standing.
Lash watched as druids, wizards and armored humans came out of nowhere to join in slaughtering his hoarcs. On his side of the river, hoarcs met halshaken fighting their way up the bank. Bright flashes of light told him another wizard was on this side. His wizard was dead, and he could see an elven female standing in the wagon casting fire and lightning at any hoarc who dared approach the children. A quick glance downriver showed halshaken were helping a red-haired man pull the choking women from the water. Two more robed figures were with them. Looking closer, he recognized the red-haired half-elf, Tayan Montara.
Lash quickly assessed his position as hopeless. He had lost his captives, one wizard was dead and Lantharum had probably made the camp by now. Even though the druids' force looked smaller, they had plenty of magic. If he had a thousand hoarcs, he didn't think he could get to the elves, let alone win this battle. Halshaken were crude but cunning, andhe had no idea how many more lay on the river bottom waiting to come up and join the fight. On top of all that, he dared not risk killing Tayan by accident.
"Retreat!" he snapped and turned his horse away from the river. Only a quarter of his hoarcs joined him as he led them away. The rest died in a chaotic battle on the banks of the river.
* * *
Most of their energy was spent on clearing the hoarcs from the children’s side of the river. Once those were dead, Shilo flew over to the other side to help the halshaken as others made their best speed through the water. Gloredaniel stayed on the wagon trying to calm the children, who were screaming for their mothers. As more of the company crossed the river and lashed into the hoarcs, the ones still able broke and ran. Trelem called a halt to the few halshaken who went after them then started tending to the wounded with Odif and Zit.
Once back on the other side of the river, the soaked elven women hugged and comforted their children. Amber was pleased they hadall made it through alive. Two of the women had drowned by the time the halshaken named Ulnargash towed them away. Through prayer and blowing the breath of life back into them, she and Mother Frieda had brought them around, sputtering and choking. They healed the rope burns and cuts the women suffered. She then stayed near Tayan as he kept watch with Gloredaniel, just in case any hoarcs were still alive and tried one last time to attack. The past few days had been hard, but now they could finally claim a small victory.
"Excuse me," one elf said as she came up to Tayan. "I am Thalansala, Salinthia's sister. Are you Eric?" she asked with a nervous smile.
Tayan stiffened and glared back at her. "No."
"I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that the way he was described to me..."
"I am not Eric," Tayan stated. He turned to Amber. "I'm going back a ways, make sure there aren't any more hoarcs around," he told her then strode quickly away.
Surprised by his rudeness, Amber tried to speak to him as he passed. He ignored her, eyes fixed straight ahead. He had not been in one of his bad moods until this elf women had talked to him. She asked, "Who's Eric?"
"I didn't mean to anger your friend." Thalansala apologized. "He just fits the description my sister gave to me of Eric. Eric is the husband of my great-niece, Jenesalinthia. I was asked to watch for him."
The name struck a chord with Amber. She'd heard it before but wasn't sure where. "Your great-niece? Where does she live?"
"In Tolina with her mother and my sister. Do you know her?"
Amber shook her head. "No, I just remember hearing her name."
Thalansala gave a sad sigh. "Well, Salinthia said he was human. Your friend is half-human, isn't he?"
Amber nodded, not ever having heard it put quite that way. As she thought about it, though, when she thought of Tayan as half-elf she did so knowing he was also half-human. From an elf's perspective, he would be considered half-human.
She was sure she would know if she had seen a fully human version of Tayan. Thoughts of what Tayan might look like all human, or all elf, led her to think about the painting he had in his magic bag. He had found it by accident, and became very upset when Odif prodded him about the people in it. Tayan had given Amber the bag after he found the portrait in it. Despite the fact it was very valuable, he wanted nothing more to do with it.
Touching the bag, which was now under her robes, she asked, "You said your niece was Jena...?"
"Jenesalinthia." Thalensala repeated.
"And her mother, is her name Sory...Sorenthia?" Amber asked, trying to remember.
"Saurenthansia."
"Right, Saurenthaisia!" Amber cried. "Tayan has a portrait of them."
Thalensala's eyes widened. "Tayan?" she asked, pointing her finger to where he had gone, "That was Tayan Montara, of the court of Elrad?"
Amber nodded. "His wife was Princess Lucinthia--she has passed on."
"I know, Salinthia told me." Deep in thought for a moment, she said, "Now it makes sense. You said Eric wasn't with him?"
"Why would he be?" Amber asked. Tayan had been up
set the woman had mistaken him for this Eric. Was Eric a brother, perhaps? The glare he gave the woman held the same deep anger he showed when she had asked about his parents. Apparently, the elves in the painting were connected to him and this Eric in some way.
“Excuse me,” she told the woman politely and started after Tayan. Maybe if she brought it up the right way she could get to the bottom of what was troubling him.
A jerk on her arm turned her around to face Odif, eyes hard as she said, “Leave it alone.”
Trying to keep some of her courage facing the druid's cold stare, she asked, “What do you know about this Eric?”
“Not enough. Until I do, leave it alone.”
As she gazed into Odif’s eyes, something occurred to Amber she had never thought of before. “You love him, don’t you?”
With an audible swallow, Odif gave an involuntary glance his way. “Let’s just say I need to watch out for him.”
Amber was dumfounded. Odif had Scorpio wrapped around her finger but that wasn’t enough for this harlot.
“And just how many men do you have to watch out for?” she asked with a touch of sarcasm.
Odif’s eyes quivered in their sockets as she took a half-step towards the priestess, who gripped the talisman of her Goddess as she moved an equal distance back; she gasped as Odif slapped a hand around her neck. Odif's voice was a low growl.
“I will tell you exactly what I told Lucinthia. Cause him pain, and I will rip your throat out. I will not warn you again--leave the subject of Eric to me.”
Anger mixed into her fear, Amber forced her voice to sound as normal as possible with a constricted throat.
“Let me go.” she squeaked defiantly.
Studying her, Odif tipped her head to one side. “One day you will do him justice, when you‘re strong enough.”
With that, she let Amber go and walked away.
Until now, she had thought Odif was a friend. What she had just done wasn’t friendly at all. Maybe Father Tanner had been right--druids were, indeed, like wolves and could turn on the very hand that fed them.
Collecting herself, Amber looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Thankfully, they were all too busy with the women and children. Tonight, she would add a special prayer for Odif in her evening prayers. Even though she acted like an animal, the woman deserved to be saved.
The elven women were not understanding about their men‘s demise. Once they found out what had happened they were very cold to their rescuers. Zit got slapped in the face by a grieving young woman as she screamed at him that he had killed her baby's father. Trelem offered to escort them to Newburg, but they all insisted on going back to their village. Thalansala had to convince them it wasn't safe to return with hoarcs on the loose. Odif and Tayan tried to reinforce this, and the women acted like they weren't even there.
Burying the dead and healing the wounded took the rest of the day. Scorpio helped Tayan drag halshaken bodies to the line of graves in the riverbank. Of the twenty-four halshaken that had come with them, only nine were left. Being on the one bank by themselves, they had taken the brunt of the hoarc's attack. Considering how many hoarcs there had been, Scorpio was surprised they all weren’t dead.
Tayan wasn't thinking about the halshaken they were burying. His mind was on the elven women huddled together with their children. When they had entered the field prior to the elves’ attack, both Amber and Frieda had sensed evil. When the battle began, he convinced himself quickly the attackers were hoarcs imitating elves, something they had done a couple years before in the Jude Forest. It was only after the farmers lay dead at their feet and did not turn into dust that he knew they were not hoarcs. Now, facing their women made him feel hollow.
Not far away asmall boy clung to his mother's hand, her stricken face speaking of the horror they had gone through. These were Alderlan's subjects. As a member of the royal family, he was tasked to protect them, not slaughter their men. These were his people, and he had failed them miserably.
"We did what we had to," Scorpio told him, seeing the agony in his face. "Those elves bought the lives of their families with their own."
Tayan turned his gaze to the young warrior. "We should have run or tried to hold them back...anything but kill them."
"We didn't know what was happening!" Scorpio stressed. "Amber and Frieda said there was evil. We thought we were killing evil, not farmers!"
A memory flashed in Tayan's mind; his father, standing in a room full of elves to confess his crimes against them. He had been taught all elves were evil, he claimed, that's why he had done the things he did. At the time, Tayan could not understand how anyone could believe such nonsense. He knew the elven people were not evil; yet yesterday, when their priestesses warned of an evil presence, he had acted without question. He killed men who were guilty of nothing but trying to save their families. He had always thought he was different from his father. He had lived his life knowing he was better than the man who lived in the bottom of a mug, who beat and raped his mother, who had slain elves on sight. Now, he wasn't so sure.
"I can't fight elves, not anymore," he said quietly.
"Tayan, that was not your fault. They would have killed us!"
Nodding slightly, Tayan told him, "Maybe, but I will not raise a sword to another elf, even if it does kill me."
Putting his hands on his hips, Scorpio shook his head. "With any luck, it won't happen again."
Tayan sighed. "We're moving into Elrad, and those black knights are ahead of us as well as behind us. As long as they are alive, it will happen again."
"Maybe you should be the one to talk to those poor women. You, Zit and Gloredaniel are the only ones they trust, anyway." Scorpio shrugged, trying very hard to sound sympathetic.
Tayan glared at him. "They don't trust us. Right now they have no choice but to travel with us to Newburg. Every woman and child from that village hates us, and they have reason to. I will be very surprised if King Alderlan doesn't issue a warrant for my arrest."
"I'm sure he'll understand what happened when it's explained to him."
"By whom?" Tayan asked harshly. "Odif or Trelem? I'm sure he will forgive our slaughtering every man in one of our villages." Irritated at the young man, he stomped off before Scorpio could reply.
* * *
The three days to Newburg were tense ones. Besides dealing with the hatred from the elven women, Trelem also kept a constant long-range watch. Shilo flew on ahead, as did Odif, though this time she stayed in the form of an eagle. Zit padded along in leopard form, sniffing and watching for any sign hoarcs had passed. Any ravens they came across were killed, whether or not Amber and Frieda sensed anything from the birds. If magic didn't get them, Odif would chase them down and shred them with her eagle talons or Shilo would dispatch them with hissword.
They came upon another village empty of life. A search was performed to try and determine what had happened to the people, but not a trace of them was found. They made camp ringed around the women and children, letting only the wizards get a full night's sleep. Everyone else took long shifts standing guard, partially to help the elves feel safe but also because everyone knew that the enemy was still out there.
On their first day of travel, Liefelm arrived and told them that Zodiac was going to meet them in Newburg with the men he had recovered.
After a couple of days, Thalansala had convinced most of the women that the black knight had caused the loss of their men and homes. This didn't help Tayan's dark mood. If anything, the hurt deepened when some of the women came and apologized for screaming at him. He spent most of the night on sentry duty, promising Amber he would get some sleep before she curled up in her own bed late at night and swearing to Odif he had been asleep most of the night when she got up before dawn.
On the last night before they reached Newburg, as the guard was being set, he found a good perch on a tall outcropping of rock that let him scan the thick brush for a good fifty yards. He’d no more that settled down when Amber fou
nd him.
She approached holding an armload of freshly picked vines that still bore tiny red flowers. Smiling as she stepped up to him, she draped them over his shoulders.
"There," she said sweetly, "a colorful cape to help brighten your mood.”
Tayan shifted on his seat on the rock. He was in no mood for foolishness, but let her put the vines over him to amuse her.
"Thanks." he said, trying to smile. As Amber stepped back to admire him, he heard a voice from behind.
"Letacio prigiona!"
The words were low but firm. The vines closed tightly around him, binding his arms to his sides. He had been tricked! He tried to stand to confront Odif, but the vines encircled his legs, toppling him over to lie helpless on the ground. Glaring up at her, he growled, "Get this stuff off me!"
Odif squatted down beside him with a brief glance at Amber. "These vines will stay fresh until late tomorrow. That means you will get up only when I release you.” Shifting to bring her staff around and lay it against the side of his head, she glared back at him. “You can listen to the song Amber has to lull you to sleep, or I can bash you over the head. Either way, Lord Tayan Montara, you are getting some rest."
Tayan knew there was no getting loose by himself. He also knew Odif didn't make idle threats. If he tried to send Amber away he'd be waking up with a huge headache in the morning. He didn't feel like sleeping--whenever he shut his eyes he saw frightened faces in tattered uniforms coming at him. Dropping his head to the ground, he sighed.
"I can't get them out of my mind, Odif. I--"
"I will take care of that," Amber said as she came around to stand by Odif. "I do not want you to be hurt, but I stand with Odif. You will sleep tonight.” With a small grin, she added, "I can sing pretty well--it will be much more pleasant than a staff over your head."
Tayan had no choice but to nod in resignation. Odif got up to go get him a blanket as Amber settled down near him. The song she started was a simple childhood melody about a boy finding pixies in the woods behind his house. He didn't think it was going to work, but as he listened to her soft voice he began to feel very tired. The image of the boy dancing with the colorful dots of light came to him, and he found if hard to keep his eyes open.
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