Roder had a feeling the young commander had the same idea; that he could take on the enemy alone and win while keeping everyone else from harm. “No one in a battle zone is exempt from the butcher’s bill when it comes due, don’t ever forget that, or you may be the one who pays the price.”
Carlin was nodding his head in agreement and Zannis actually widened his eyes, hopefully taking the warning to heart. Roder heard a branch snap in the trees over to his left. A huge black bear passed between an oak and an elm, glanced his way, yet made no move to come any closer to the procession. Roder blinked and wiped his eyes, not sure he was seeing what was in plain sight, a cougar walking beside the bear, and neither creature seemed to be concerned about the presence of the other. It had only happened for a moment and the pair vanished in among the trees. No one else commented, perhaps they did not see, so he shook his head and tried to put the incident out of his mind.
At the head of the procession, Sir Daniel’s hand came up, signaling a halt. It was not time to stop, the mid-day meal was marks away, and there was no obvious impediment to their progress. Roder heeled Dancer in the flanks and raced up to the head of the line.
“Why are we stopping so early? Why did you recall your forward scout? All the progress we made this morning will be wasted,” Jonah Ducalin was demanding of the Knight, while yet again voicing an unasked for opinion.
Silvia positioned her horse in between the Lord and the Knight. “He has his reasons.”
Both Teki were quick to back Sir Daniel in any decision he made, even when they seemed to have no more idea of his motives than anyone else.
“Eighty, how quickly can I add that many?” the Knight asked softly, apparently of himself, and behaving as if the Ducalin had never questioned him.
David shrugged his shoulders. “You would be the best judge of that.” The Teki spoke as if he knew exactly what the commander was talking about.
Sir Daniel’s left eyebrow arched up, seemingly in surprise someone answered him, perhaps not realizing he had spoken out loud. He frowned and focused his dark-eyed stare at Roder. “Sergeant, have the men draw their swords and be ready. I smell a trap. Let’s make sure we don’t step in it.”
“I too sense the approach of violence,” Keenan admitted, and then drew his broadsword. “Out swords!” he called, and the sounds of metal sliding free of metal overwhelmed the buzzing of the bees as each man’s blade came free.
Daniel fixed his gaze on Jonah. “My Teki Seer has foretold battle for us today, and to my knowledge, she has yet to be wrong.”
Everyone was staring at Silvia. Roder had wondered why Sir Daniel brought the pair of Teki, now it was becoming clear. All of the world leaders had Seers beside them, openly or covertly, and it only made sense the Chosen Vessel would employ one. Roder glanced at David, perhaps more than one.
Jonah drew his sword from its scabbard. “What sort of trap did your Seer predict?” The young Lord rarely addressed either of the Teki directly and often did his best to ignore them, perhaps he believed foreign peasants were beneath his notice, it was not an uncommon attitude among the nobles.
Silvia glanced at Sir Daniel, who gave a quick nod of his head. “Definite Aakacarn involvement, scores of sasquatches,” she proclaimed, took a breath, “and death,” she finished in a softer voice.
Sergeant Zaccum leaned forward in his saddle, “Whose death?”
Silvia bit her lip, not enough to draw blood, but enough to make her seem hesitant to answer. “The vision is not clear about who or how many.”
The Seer obviously did not like giving obscure revelations, although Roder had come across a few who enjoyed speaking in riddles.
Cale carved the air with his blade, swishing it in an elegant blur. “I’m going to kill some sasquatches, those are your deaths, and how many die will simply depend on the numbers sent against us.”
Keenan hoped the Lieutenant’s interpretation was correct, but had little faith the dying would be confined to the sasquatches, especially if the Aakacarns are directly involved. His eyes were on his commander, who was staring north as if he could see through the trees and foliage at what was coming. “Defensive positions,” Sir Daniel ordered, and then was engulfed in a red-orange cone of light emanating from between two trees. A topaz blue glow formed around him, and then he toppled and fell off his horse.
Sasquatches burst out of the trees, Silvia and David landed on the ground beside Sir Daniel, ready to defend him, and the horde of hairy giants came on running. Roder reacted immediately, shouting “Right column, swing to the north and charge!”
The back of the column swung up and Twenty-four horsemen galloped with Roder toward the oncoming beasts. He swung his broadsword, slicing through the neck of the closest sasquatch, and did not bother to see where its head landed. Carper and Zannis were on his right and left, swinging their blood-covered blades. They passed beyond the wave of beasts and turned around to make a second charge. All twenty-four men were still in their saddles, although some were covered in blood, but it was difficult to tell whether it was their own or the sasquatches. Nine of the stinking creatures lay dead. The rest were running toward the supplies, and seemed to be joining a score or more that were jumping on the packhorses, biting at their necks, knocking them over, and breaking their legs.
Sergeant Zaccum led the left column in an effort to defend Russ and the supplies. Roder glanced at Sir Daniel. The Knight was still down with his Teki defenders in attendance, Silvia trying to revive him, and David standing with knives at the ready, but the sasquatches did not go near them. The more desperate situation was at the packhorses. Roder made his choice, “to the rear, charge!” he shouted, and his column galloped to the defense of Ross and the supplies. A brown sasquatch with a black leathery face, sharp teeth, and long claws, took a swipe at him. Roder swung his sword, taking off the right paw at the wrist, blood spraying from the stump, but the beast sprang up, caught him by the waist, and swept him out of the saddle. They both landed hard on the ground, strides away from each other. Roder’s grip had not failed. With broadsword still in hand, he sprang to his feet, and charged at the towering brute. He swung again but the sasquatch leapt above the swing and came down with a crashing blow delivered by a massive foot into Roder’s right shoulder. He heard the snap of bone before hitting the ground, and knew he was a dead man.
Sasquatches were lunging and leaping like acrobats, striking at men right and left, and ripping through any weaknesses in their chain mail. Guardsmen were on the ground and bleeding alongside their mounts. More than a few horses were being torn to shreds by the raging beasts, and Roder could do nothing for any of them. The one-handed sasquatch bent over him, saliva dripping from its mouth, hot putrid breath fouling the air. A black hairy arm swept in from the left with a huge paw, striking the beast on the side of the head, and snapping its neck like a twig. Lefty fell over dead and Roder found himself staring into the eyes of a huge black bear. It dropped back onto all fours and went charging after another sasquatch. All around him animals were attacking the sasquatches. Seven wolves surrounded one huge brute, diving at it and dodging its swipes while another would snap at its heels. The beast would turn to face the one behind, only to be bitten by those it turned its back on. They finally hamstrung the creature and then dived in for the kill, ripping out its throat.
A copperhead sank it fangs into the right foot of a light brown sasquatch that was in the process of tearing apart a sack of oats. The snake struck again and again, injecting its venom, causing the dying creature to stop what is was doing and run back into the woods, where it would most likely die a painful death. To his left another black bear was battling a sasquatch, both were getting bloodied, but the bear was the one dishing out the most punishment. The bear finally seemed to get tired of playing, let out a roar, and snapped the beast’s neck with one swipe of its massive paw. A cougar leapt on the back of another sasquatch, scratching and biting, while a second cougar went for the shaggy throat. The smelly biped fell to its knees,
to the ground, and was then torn apart by the big cats. Swarms of bees came in from all around, stinging the sasquatches, yet not bothering men or horses. One of the beasts was covered from head to toe with bees, it finally fell over dead with welts all its face and body. Nature itself was on the side of the Chosen Vessel.
The battle seemed to go on forever but lasted about a third of a mark. Forty sasquatches were dead, the animals that had joined in the fight melted back into the woods, fifteen Royal Guardsmen were wounded, and three dead. Josh Duwin stared glassy-eyed, his necked bent at a sharp angle. Big-eyed Raymond Carpenter’s back was snapped in two, and Ross Monner was missing an arm and lay in a pile of his own entrails. He had chosen not to put on his chain mail, big mistake that. The appendage was three paces away, still gripping his cleaver. Roder’s shoulder was broken, but that was the least of his worries. Sir Daniel was still unconscious and most of the supplies were destroyed, eight warhorses died, along with fifteen pack horses, with another four so badly wounded they would probably need to be put down.
Burly Ursen Vallun was tending the wounded and he finished stitching up a deep gash in Guardsman Camden’s homely face, which could not be made any uglier by a new scar, and then came over to his next victim/patient. “Serge, I’m gonna have to set that for you and it’s gonna hurt.”
Roder had not been looking forward to this part but knew what was coming. He held his breath while the ham-fisted guardsman took hold of him. There was a pull and pain sharp enough to make him grunt, ending that part of the procedure, but not his responsibilities. Being braced and trussed up in bandages to keep him from moving his shoulder was not going to keep him from setting things in order.
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Daniel opened his eyes and found himself staring at the roof of the tent and wearing only his pants and undershirt. It was night and the only light came from the lantern on the upside down box. There was a slight pressure in his head as a multitude of animals linked to him were vying for his attention. He gave them all a general sense that he was awake and well, lowering the pressure, showing most were satisfied with his response. He pictured four compartments in his mind and placed the remaining demands on his attention in each one, intending to get back to them later.
Duncan Hawk was sitting cross-legged near the entrance, staring out through the tent flap. Daniel’s mind was a little foggy and it took him a few moments to clear and order his thoughts, the link with the animals had not helped. The last thing he remembered was an Aakacarn springing up within two hundred strides of him, well within his self-imposed sensing radius of five spans, and being assaulted before he could strike out at the threat. The Aakacarn had to have come up from underground. Daniel smacked himself in the head, why did he fail to think of that? Cenni Quen had used the Sleep spell on him before so Daniel had no difficulty figuring out what put him in his current state.
His shield protected him from all sorts of spells, but he needed to breathe, hear, and eat, so was vulnerable in those areas. The spell caster used a wide beam rather than a narrow one, which would have had to strike him precisely in the ears, nostrils, or mouth. The broad beam was something to take into consideration, seeing as it is difficult to defend against, and allowed even the weakest potential wielded by an Aakacarn to be a serious threat. It was possible to extend his shield over the vulnerable areas, but only for so long as he could hold his breath or can afford to be deprived of his hearing and speech. To do that, he would have to be aware of the danger soon enough to make the alteration. He could place a shield on his helmet, which would protect his ears without limiting his hearing. Extending his potential underground, at least deep enough to detect a tunnel or hidden cell would be useful, and keeping in mind that he is not invincible and could be struck down would help even more.
“Duncan, what’s happening out there?” Daniel asked the young guardsman, causing the fellow to startle, and swing his head around.
His eyes were red and sorrow was etched on his face, but he managed a weak smile. “Sir Daniel, you’re awake,” he stated the obvious, and then lost his smile. “Not so much out there now. This morning was the worst I’ve seen, you struck off your horse, sasquatches running at us, men and horses dying, and most of our supplies destroyed. The amazing thing was the animals coming to help us.”
Daniel sat up. “Animals came to your aid?”
Duncan began nodding his head vigorously and went on to describe the attack. “I saw Raymond die. A sasquatch lifted him up and snapped his back like it was nothing and I tried to help Ross, but got pushed aside by a cougar. It killed the beast that tore into Ross. All sorts of animals helped, bears, copperheads, wolves, and of course cougars, even the bees, thousands of them. The Corporal got his neck broke, it was awful. Silvia stood over you and shot a crossbow bolt into the eye of a sasquatch that got too close and after that the beasts avoided her. Sergeant Keenan got hurt and David joined the melee, stabbing and slicing with his knives, and attacking the beasts as if he was invincible. He came out of each fight without a scratch. Lieutenant Tomei was a whirlwind of death, slicing at the beasts, and killing any foolish enough to get near him. Lord Jonah also killed one. We guardsmen and the animals kept fighting until all of smelly monsters were dead. I killed two. Lord Jonah ordered those of us that were well enough to gather up what we could save, along with the wounded, and the dead, and then we moved north another couple of spans. We’ve been camped here ever since, hoping you would wake up. I think he still wants to go after the Aakacarns, but now that’s going to be up to you.”
Daniel closed his eyes, thinking of the men who had died because of his failure to anticipate the attack, and his belief that he could take on anything the Aakacarns threw at him. The Sergeant was correct, the butcher did get paid, and Daniel let out a sigh. He had potential equal to that of a Maestro, yet was powerless to prevent the deaths. It was a sobering lesson, one he would take to heart.
“Sir Daniel, are you alright?” Duncan sprang to his feet and was beside Daniel in an instant.
“I was thinking about the loss of life. I’m going to miss those men,” Daniel spoke the simple truth.
“Me too,” Duncan replied. “Is there something I can get for you?”
Daniel thought about it, there were many things that needed doing, and they could not wait until morning. He needed to set his priorities in order and arrange his chores accordingly. “I want you to quietly wake Sergeant Keenan, along with Silvia and David. Have them come to my tent for a private meeting. Don’t tell anyone else. Remember, the Teki are newlywed so be discrete.”
Duncan grinned, apparently pleased that something was being done, and that he was involved. “It will be as you say, Sir Daniel,” he replied and ran out of the tent.
Mouser’s awareness was in one of the four mental compartments Daniel created. The owl was the most agitated, so Daniel concentrated on her and was soon seeing through the bird’s sharp eyes. The same man he had seen urinating through Cleo’s eyes was standing in front of the entrance of a mud hut. One of five, someone was missing, probably the one who had led the assault. The fellow near the hut had a pointed nose, thin lips, and eyes that were farther apart than normal.He glowed with potential and a teal beam lanced from his hand into the hut. He did the same thing at the other huts and then went back to the first one and entered it, coming back out moments later with a wooden casket tucked under his right arm. The owl’s sharp eyes focused in tighter and the golden letters, “D.L.” were plain to see in the moon light. The Aakacarn strolled out of the camp, heading northeast. Daniel conveyed his thanks to Mouser and the owl sent back a sense of contentment. He suggested that she follow the Aakacarn and then withdrew his awareness from her and thought about what he had just witnessed.
It was as he suspected, dissension existed in Serin Gell’s ranks, perhaps this fellow wanted the glory, or maybe stole the coveted trumpet for his own use. Either way, this was the man to pursue. At this point Daniel did not know if the other Aakacarns wer
e asleep or had just been murdered. Cleo was still floating in the river. She was not agitated like the other animals, but was next in his mental compartments. She witnessed what Mouser did, but could only give him a picture of the same camp from the river’s edge, and all was quiet. He decided to keep the animal surveillance on this group for awhile longer, if for no other reason than to be sure he and his men did not get ambushed by them. He asked Yonder the osprey to help Mouser keep an eye on the fleeing Aakacarn.
The next demand for his attention came from the mental compartment containing Buraker. Daniel concentrated on the sasquatch. The lanky male was, on the trail of the human who attacked the alpha, who wanted all humans to be avoided, and so could not be helped when other sasquatches attacked the humans of his pack, even though Buraker and other sasquatches of the pack wanted to help. His thoughts came in a stream as the black-furred male trailed the Aakacarn who had used the Sleep spell on Daniel.
The linked sasquatches could have aided in the fight, but Daniel still did not regret suggesting that they avoid being seen by humans. He did not want to imagine the kind of confusion that would have caused, none of the guardsmen knowing which beast was friend or foe. He was pleased Buraker chose to follow the Aakacarn and conveyed his thought to the sasquatch, who sent back, “Alpha is pleased. Buraker is pleased,” and then Daniel withdrew his awareness. The other animals had the suggestion that humans were not prey, but never were given the suggestion to avoid them, which turned out to be fortunate.
The final compartment contained Clutch, the osprey, who was in reality resting in the branches of an elm. Beneath him was a single mound. He glided down to the ground and peered inside at a figure asleep on the floor. This had to be Daniel’s assailant. He conveyed his gratitude to the osprey and suggested that it go back up where it was safe and follow the Aakacarn in the morning. Clutch sent back a feeling of comprehension and desire to do the very thing Daniel wanted. Now he had eyes on the culprit, even while Buraker was on his way. The Sasquatch would avoid being seen and it was doubtful the Aakacarn would notice the osprey, or think anything about it if he did.
To Be Chosen (The Maestro Chronicles) Page 37
