Vorans and Vampires (Book 1): Voran the Night Guardian
Page 30
Smoke could be seen rising into the air to the south of the farm. "They're burning our fields," Karma snarled. "All right, men, let's go show these animals how the Holteins deal with Tolmonan mongrels." The young man strutted off to do battle with his guardsmen to either side. The slaves all followed after their master as a group though much less confidently.
Gerid walked along towards the rear of the defenders with Leoltus, Baitram, Jatan and Mateil. A rush of nervous tension began to charge him as he readied for combat. The other men seemed to watch him from either side even as they watched for the enemy to appear. Even as Gerid noticed that, they seemed to move slightly closer to him. He figured that his plans for getting noticed here had definitely come to fruition though perhaps Karma would rather that he could forget him instead this time. Maybe, Gerid thought, he would have to do something even more drastic in the future. If he didn't get killed, the slave just might win over the temperamental young master.
With extra strength set in his stride, Gerid began to move towards the front lines.
"Boy, what are you doing?" Leoltus questioned in a hiss trying to keep his voice lowered. "Are you planning suicide?"
Gerid turned a brief glance at the older man with a tight lipped smile and dangerous eyes. "You others may want to get back from me now, Leoltus. I plan to draw enough of the bandits away from the rest of these slaves that maybe I can keep most of them alive. You can join me, but maybe you should help the others and lead them through this. The others aren't warriors at all. They're just farmers and herdsmen. They will need your leadership now more than ever."
"You do talk like you're going to the slaughter, boy. Stick with the plan and we can work together after the others take the first charge. Are you going to throw your life away so quickly?" He lowered his voice again and asked, "What about your Tabitha?"
Gerid ignored him and quickly moved through the ragged ranks. The slaves noticed him and several whispered to themselves at his bold gesture. He hoped that they would even gain a little more strength from his confident attitude though his own stomach was beginning to flutter slightly.
As he found his place several feet behind Karma, they spied their adversaries. Several horsemen in black with red dyed faces carried torches in one hand and an upraised sword in the other. They seemed to guide their mounts with their knees rather than their hands, a hard trick Gerid noted. Just behind them, a small horde of similarly adorned men with swords and shields in hand made their way through the small fires just beginning to rise around them.
The sight of Karma's force caused the riders to give voice to blood curdling war cries. Gerid had never fought a man on horseback before even in practice, but, instead of holding back, he answered their cries with a shout and leapt forward. Karma turned and made to restrain his exuberance, but Gerid dodged his outstretched arm and was quickly running past the three.
Two horsemen led the way grinning at him. Hoping to drain the momentum of the charging bandits and praying that he would survive such an act, Gerid's mind calculated the moves that would be required as he ran forward. Ducking beneath their swords and deflecting one blade with the long knife, Gerid deftly grabbed hold of the bandit on his right. Using his great strength, he twisted the man completely off of his mount. Quickly using both hands, he flung the man far enough to remove the third rider from his seat with a loud thump and crash of mail armor. Both men fell to the ground only to have their companions trample them to death before they could adjust to those newly fallen.
One horseman's steed tripped as a result and threw the rider towards Gerid. Lashing out with the long knife, blood sprayed over his hand and legs as he tore a long, ragged, red trench through the man's torso. Quickly retrieving his club from where he had dropped it to grab the rider, Gerid allowed his adrenaline to force the bloody image of the man from his mind. A righteous rage consumed him instead in its place as the young man fought to rid the land of the bandit scourge. He charged deeper into the enemy ranks without hesitating.
Time nearly stopped for Gerid in the chaos of battle. His club continued to rise and fall as new opponents leapt to try and stop this demon unleashed in their midst. The long knife drew blood by the gallon and met steel with the power of a normal man's sword until it could no longer sustain its master's fury.
In a red, hazy fog, a sword was found to replace the knife even as the club too began to come apart in his hand. It was only wood after all and, though Gerid used it like the mightiest oak to punish the shields and armor around him, it could not be what it was not. A strong warrior with a stout shield of blackened steel met his attack in its final moments. Three devastating blows to the metal and the club exploded into slivers of shrapnel. The warrior laughed and tried to capitalize on the loss of the weapon. He charged forward with shield raised and sword readied to strike. Twisting nimbly, Gerid wrenched the defensive metal and thrust it back into the man. The sword was shoved to the side as Gerid swung his blade decapitating the warrior.
Taking only a second to retrieve the bandit's sword and to strap the brave shield onto his back, Gerid surveyed the battle still around him. There were bodies strewn all around him, but no man stood ready to meet him this time. Instead, the battle had swept to either side of him. Men screamed to his right where a group of slaves fought wildly to preserve their lives against a superior force. The left revealed Karma leading nearly a dozen men, including Leoltus and the guardsmen. They were fighting well enough he quickly decided.
With a roar of defiance, the berserker charged to the aid of the slaves. Even over the clashes of metal and the screams of injured men, the Tolmonan bandits heard the cry and trembled. Several turned as one group from the slaves to meet him. He could see fear in most of their eyes now. As the giant quickly split two men in twain with the new blade, those who had not been fearful, became so immediately.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter 1- Guardian
Chapter 2-Dream Girl
Chapter 3- The Lair
Chapter 4-Ghosts
Chapter 5- Cold Feet
Chapter 6- Mall Rats
Chapter 7- Pounding Snow
Chapter 8- Licking Wounds
Chapter 9- Back to School
Chapter 10- Door to Door
Chapter 11- Caged
Chapter 12-Fire and Ice
Chapter 13-Redemption
Chapter 14- Sleeping Plans
Chapter 15- A Clear Sky
Chapter 16- Comforting Presence
Chapter 17- Girlfriend
Chapter 18-The Moon and Drugs
Chapter 19- Flight in the Night
Chapter 20- Return to Normalcy
Chapter 21- Picking Up Strays
Chapter 22- Cleaning Up
Chapter 23- Dressed for College
Chapter 24-Talent Scouts
Chapter 25- Into the Lion’s Den
Chapter 26- Laying Ground Work
Chapter 27- Culling
Chapter 28- The New Alliance
Chapter 29- Islands in the Fog
Chapter 30- Outnumbered
Chapter 31-Fall Out
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