Korram stumbled backward, tasting blood and caked dirt, and then Thel and her opponent had shifted position and he found himself facing the horse’s backside.
He heard his friend cry out again, though the man was blocking his view of her now. If only I were on Clinja, I could launch a proper attack. But there was no time to call his horse over. He darted to one side, but the soldier – whether on purpose or by lucky chance – succeeded in shifting his horse around again until Korram was once more facing its tail.
Losing patience, Korram swung his spear like a club in Offense Five, whacking the animal on the rump. He jumped hastily aside as it bucked, kicking out at him with both hind legs. Its rider swore, struggling to keep his balance, but he didn’t let go of Thel’s spear. In the next instant, Korram saw him yank it out of her grasp and fling it aside.
Yelling a challenge in an attempt to distract him, Korram lunged forward again. This time he managed to get around the horse. Once more the man aimed a kick, but Korram was ready for it now. Hoping not to injure the animal, but worried enough for Thel that he didn’t really care, he dodged the foot and jabbed his spear at the man’s calf.
The man jerked free, bellowing in pain and anger, his hard heel making contact with Korram’s cheek just below his eye. But his injured leg didn’t distract him from his purpose. Korram could see that now he had seized Thel’s shield with one hand and was trying to jerk it aside too, all the while slashing at her with his sword. She yelled in defiance, dodging and ducking in her saddle, and then Korram heard her scream in pain.
“No!” he shouted frantically, and swung his spear up in a high Offense One.
This time it worked. With a gasp, the guard dropped his sword. Korram barely had time to yank his spear free and jump out of the way before the man toppled out of his saddle toward him, twitched, and lay still.
Korram cast a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure no one else was about to attack them, but their little battle seemed to be nearly over. He reached up to support Thel as she slid out of her saddle in a more controlled fashion. Her face was pale, and she was clutching her right arm, blood dripping from between her fingers. “Are you all right?” he demanded anxiously.
“Yes. It’s just a scratch,” she told him, though he could see that the injury was more than that. She looked embarrassed. “I only screamed because it startled me. He was so fast. It felt like he was striking at me from two or three different directions at once, and I couldn’t get my shield free. But your arm! Is it broken? And what happened to your shield?”
“I got stepped on by a horse,” Korram admitted, glad that Ernth wasn’t there to laugh at him for it. At least, I’ll be glad as long as he turns up safely. “I think I’ll be all right.” Though his arm ached terribly, he discovered that he could move his fingers, which must be a good sign. “You saved my life, throwing the spear like that. Thank you.”
“Well, you saved mine just now.” For some reason, he thought Thel looked disappointed. “I guess neither of us owes a debt for the other’s life.”
“I suppose not.” Korram looked around again, cringing inwardly at the sight of all the bodies on the forest floor. Besides Thel and himself, only General Dorralon, Lieutenant Togan, the trumpeter, and one of the regent’s guards who had evidently surrendered were still alive.
“Where’s Rampus?” he demanded. The regent’s tall form was definitely not among the corpses lying at their feet. Everyone looked around, but there was no sign of him.
“Where did he go?” growled the general, brandishing his sword at the last guard.
“I don’t know, sir. I was busy fighting.”
“Answer me!” Dorralon bellowed, seizing the man by the collar and bringing his sword right up to his throat. “I said, where did the regent go?”
“I don’t know! I swear I don’t!” the guard protested. “I saw him fighting one of your men at the beginning, but then he must have slipped away. I swear I didn’t see him leave!”
Korram made a quick count of the bodies and riderless horses left around them. “There are two horses missing, and I think one of his guards is gone, too. Weren’t there ten of you here with him earlier?”
“Yes, Sire, ten,” the man hastened to agree.
Korram let out his breath in frustration. Rampus had vanished, and he could be anywhere in the forest by now.
It doesn’t matter if we win the battle. As long as he’s on the loose, I’ll never be safe again.
The clearing was chaotic. Ernth perched on Hungry’s back near its edge, peering anxiously around a tree at the frantic fighting. Sanjik and the others had been following him, but they had been waylaid by a platoon of Rampus’s men, and Ernth had slipped away when the fighting started. He felt guilty leaving them like that, but he had to get to Korram. He had to! Was his friend in that confusion of flashing weapons and noise? If so, how would Ernth ever find him?
Look at their clothes. It would have been easier if Korram had been wearing his snowcat jacket; but, like Ernth, he had left it in his pack. Still, most of the soldiers out there were dressed in either red and black or green, so it shouldn’t be too hard to locate a person in deerskin.
Ernth rode forward slowly, peering into the large clearing but making sure to stay a few trees back at all times. Korram wouldn’t necessarily be fighting, he reminded himself. He would probably be talking to Dorralon, and they would likely be somewhere by the edge, not in the center. At least, he hoped. He might never get to his friend alive if Korram were somewhere in the middle.
There was no sign of Korram. But at one point Ernth thought he saw Jaymin fighting way off in the thick of the crowd. It was hard to be sure with so many other people in the way, but he was nearly certain he had glimpsed the young Alasian prince. The thought of such a young boy whose parents were already dead fighting for his own life made Ernth a little sad. What would happen to Alasia if Jaymin were killed too? At least that prince had his bodyguard to protect him, though.
But wait. Where was Erik? Surely the other boy wouldn’t have left Jaymin’s side. Ernth signaled Hungry to stop and seized a nearby tree branch to pull himself higher, standing up on the horse’s back for a better view. Yes, that was definitely Jaymin. No, Erik was definitely not in sight.
A chill that had nothing to do with the winter weather crept over Ernth. Erik is dead. He must be. Hadn’t he said that he was willing to give his life to protect Jaymin? The boy had probably put himself between his friend and an enemy sword – Ernth could picture him doing it. For some reason, that thought shook him even more than Layth’s death.
What if I have to do that for Korram? The possibility suddenly seemed much more real than before, and Ernth felt a convulsive shiver work its way through him at the thought.
But saving Korram’s life was the only honorable course of action, and if that meant sacrificing his own, then that was the way it would have to be. Besides, helping Korram survive meant helping all of Malorn, his own people and Lowlanders alike.
It will be worth it. But he hoped he would still feel that way if and when the moment came.
Ernth rode on, still searching the clearing with his eyes. “Have you seen Korram?” he demanded when he came to two women in deerskin on the far side. They both looked exhausted and had apparently retreated from the fighting to catch their breath.
The woman on the left – he recognized her from Platoon Nine, which his parents were both in – nodded and pointed with her spear. “He and one of the Lowlanders were talking right over there, and then they rode off into the trees with some others to find Rampus. I think they went that way.” She pointed again, over her shoulder this time.
“Thanks!” Kicking Hungry, Ernth cantered off through the trees.
But either the woman had been mistaken or Korram and Dorralon had changed directions along the way. Ernth saw no signs of them, and when he stopped his horse to listen, all he could hear were the distant shouts and clash of weapons from back in the clearing.
He
turned Hungry around and began to ride back and forth in long zigzags, stopping every so often to listen for hints that he might be close. The third time he stopped, he heard the swift crashing of a horse galloping through the forest. No, two horses. Turning sharply, Ernth watched from behind a tree as two men rode past, one in red and black and the other not dressed as a soldier at all.
Wait – he wasn’t a soldier! That was the man Korram had confronted before the battle, Regent Rampus himself! Where was he going in such a hurry?
He’s running away, perhaps. I knew he was a coward!
Ernth hesitated, torn. Should he pursue Rampus and try to kill him? I’m probably the only person who’s seen which way he’s going. If I can do it, I’ll be a hero for certain!
But there are two of them and only one of me. Besides, what about Korram? For all he knew, Korram could be fighting for his life against someone else right now.
I have a debt to repay first. His mind made up, Ernth turned Hungry in the direction from which Rampus and the other man had been fleeing. It seemed the likeliest path to take now.
It wasn’t long before he heard voices. Ernth slowed Hungry down so he could see what was happening before they burst into some new danger.
But the danger, apparently, was over. Korram, Thel, Dorralon, and three other Lowlanders – one of whom Dorralon was in the process of tying up – were standing surrounded by horses. Motionless bodies littered the ground at their feet. Korram, his face bloody, was helping Thel bandage a wound on her arm with a strip of cloth cut from one of those red jackets.
At the sound of Ernth’s approach, everyone whirled around, weapons brandished. But they lowered them in relief when they saw who it was.
“Ernth!” Korram exclaimed, brightening. “I was worried. Are you all right?”
“Of course I’m all right,” Ernth told him matter-of-factly, as though his friend should have known he was too skilled a fighter to suffer any harm. “I thought you might not be, though. I’ve been looking for you since the fighting started. Where was Rampus going in such a hurry?”
They all stared at him. “You saw Rampus?” Korram demanded.
“Yes; he and another Lowlander were galloping off somewhere. Were they running away?”
“Yes!” Korram exclaimed, turning and scrambling clumsily onto Clinja’s back. He didn’t seem to be able to use his left hand very well. “Can you show us which way they went?”
“Your Highness, you’re wounded,” protested Dorralon. “Wait here and let the rest of us go after them.”
“No! Your job is to stop the battle, General!” Korram exclaimed. He glanced at the Lowlander who wore the musical tube hanging from his neck. “Both of you, go back to the clearing and sound the retreat. You have the evidence you need now. This is a conflict Malorn never should have started; it was all part of the regent’s plot to get himself crowned after having me killed. End it now, General, before any more lives are lost to Rampus’s treacherous ambitions!”
The general hesitated only a moment, and then he nodded. “Very well, my lord. Since you were right about the regent wanting to kill you, it would no longer be appropriate to follow his orders in this matter.” He turned to the others. “Lieutenant, you and the two Mountain Folk are to go with the prince and protect him. Bring the regent back alive if possible so he can stand trial for his plot.”
Thel and one of the Lowlanders mounted their horses, and Ernth turned Hungry back in the direction from which he had come. The four of them cantered through the trees, Ernth in the lead.
“I wonder if he changed directions along the way,” Thel suggested after a moment. “Maybe we should split up. Whoever sees him first, yell, and the others will come.”
“That’s not safe,” Ernth protested. “What if he finds Korram and kills him before the rest of us can get there?”
At that moment, a movement in the branches of a tree to their right caught their attention. They all turned and raised their weapons as a small figure in grubby city clothes shimmied down, dropped to the ground, and hurried toward them on foot. He was holding a long branch as though it were an oversized spear.
“Jeskie!” exclaimed Korram, lowering his own spear again. “What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to go back to Sazellia?”
“Well, yes, your Highness,” Jeskie admitted, “but I followed you here after all ’cause I always wanted to be in a battle. Sorry ’bout that.” He didn’t sound particularly apologetic. “I haven’t got to really fight, but several times I got to reach down and poke people with my branch when they were gonna hurt our soldiers. But mostly they haven’t been close enough and I’ve just been watchin’. Like I told you, I’m good at watchin’ people and findin’ out information and all that. Are you lookin’ for Rampus?”
“Yes!” they all exclaimed in unison.
Jeskie grinned, pointing. “He went that way. I heard him askin’ the man with him if he knew where there was any water, ’cause he was thirsty. So I went over and told him where I’d found a little stream.”
“He saw you?” Thel demanded.
“’Course he saw me. But he doesn’t know I’m on the prince’s side; I told him I was a page for one of General Dorralon's men.”
“Good.” Korram turned Clinja in the direction indicated, the others following. “Stay away from the fighting,” he called over his shoulder. “Better climb back up into that tree until the battle’s over.”
They heard the gurgle of running water first and knew they were on the right track. When they caught sight of Rampus a moment later, he was just remounting his horse. To Ernth’s surprise, the regent was alone. Where was the man who had been with him earlier? Could he have run off somewhere?
“Surrender, Rampus!” Korram called as they approached. “You can’t win anymore. It’s over.”
Rampus whirled around, but when he turned his horse to face them, his expression was confident. “Surrender? To you? Don’t be ridiculous.”
At that moment they all heard a long musical blast in the distance, followed by several more. Dorralon’s assistant must be blowing into his tube again at last. Ernth didn’t know exactly what that particular little tune meant – it was totally different than any of the whistle signals Sanjik used – but surely it must be something like “stop fighting now”.
Rampus apparently did know what it meant, judging by his scowl. “That won’t work for long,” he warned. “This isn’t the end.”
“Oh, yes it is.” Korram lowered his spear into position. “I’ll say it one more time: surrender. I’d prefer to take you back alive so all of Malorn will know the truth. I’ll be very angry if I have to kill you.”
Rampus laughed nastily. “Do you think I care about your feelings?”
Is that going to be his final revenge? Ernth wondered. Forcing Korram to kill him so he’ll never be able to prove that Rampus was trying to murder him first?
“Regent, please surrender,” urged Lieutenant Togan. “The prince has already won. What purpose will this serve? The judge might still spare your life when you go on trial.”
Rampus fixed baleful eyes on the man. “Turned traitor, have you, Lieutenant? I am Malorn’s legal ruler. By aiding young Korram, you are breaking the law and committing treason. I’ll make certain you regret this later.”
“Enough from you,” Korram cut in. “If you won’t surrender willingly, we’ll have to do this the hard way.”
Rampus’s sword was in his hand, but he glanced back and forth between Ernth and Thel, who had moved their horses one on either side of him so he couldn’t escape. “I should have known. You’ve always been weak that way,” he accused Korram. “Getting others to do the hard tasks for you so you don’t have to bother with them yourself. Of course you planned all along to set your trained savages on me, since you don’t have the courage to fight me yourself. Well, their people will suffer for this too, you know. Once I regain control of the military – and I will, never fear – I’ll make it a point to have them wiped out.”
Korram glared at him. “We’ll see about that. In any case, I’m not afraid to fight you. My companions will stay out of it if yours will.” Ernth immediately had a bad feeling about that idea.
“I have no companions anymore,” Rampus retorted. “They’ve been killed, mostly by your companions.”
Liar! The last one, at least, was still alive. But where was he now? Ernth peered around between the trees, but the man was nowhere in sight. Was he hiding nearby? Or perhaps Rampus, thinking he was safe so far from most of the action, had sent him off on an errand. Like to try again to kill Korram. Or to find some of his companions and bring them here to provide extra protection.
“I don’t think you should fight him alone, Korram,” Thel put in worriedly. “What would be the point? The four of us can easily defeat him together.”
“I agree.” Ernth frowned. “We can overpower him and tie him up and then get out of here before anyone else arrives.” But would that count as saving Korram’s life and fulfilling the debt he owed? Probably not.
Rampus laughed. “A true king would be able to defeat an enemy singlehandedly.”
“Don’t listen to him,” urged Thel. “He’s just trying to make you put yourself in danger.”
“Your father wouldn’t have been afraid to face me alone,” the regent sneered. “What will all your people think when they hear that their future king wasn’t even capable of earning his throne by overcoming a single enemy? That he was too frightened even to try? What will that say about the kind of ruler you’re going to be?
Korram scowled. “He’s right; I have to do this myself. Surviving the Rite of Acceptance proved I was ready to become one of the Mountain Folk; I think this is sort of like a rite of acceptance to become king. It will prove that I’m worthy and capable.” He gripped his spear more tightly. “Back away, all of you.”
Prince of Malorn (Annals of Alasia Book 3) Page 48
