The Unforgiven

by A. Katie Rose

  We trotted straight into an ambush.

  I spun my sword into my fist, eyeing the rocky terrain and massive outcroppings. “What are you boys planning?” I muttered.

  Malik turned about, nocking an arrow into his bowstring. “Not a full all-out attack,” he said. “They dare not risk killing Her Highness.”

  “Yet, they want us to run.”

  I nudged Kiera closer to Iyumi as Malik searched the rocks for something to shoot at. “Don’t you, boys?”

  “Forcing us to flee increases their odds of separating us from her,” Malik agreed. “Thus, we hold our ground.”

  “What do the Raithin Mawrn love the most?”

  Malik cursed. “Explosives.”

  Thunder cracked over our heads at the same instant an explosion erupted, almost under our tails. Like the fires of hell, flames boiled up into the darkening sky, darker smoke trailing upwards to vanish into the storm’s mist. The blue stallion spooked, snorting wildly, his nostrils flared. Iyumi controlled him with an effort, her hands on his reins, riding him out. He tried to rear and bolt, but her firm grip kept him grounded, unable to escape what terrorized him.

  “I hate it when you’re right,” I yelled, falling soil and smoke almost obscuring Malik though he stood but a few feet from me.

  “Down, down,” Malik yelled, his finger pointing to a tall, rocky outcropping. “Under there. Now!”

  With our bodies protecting Iyumi as she kicked the roan into a swift gallop up the short hill, we loped hard behind. Sky Dancer winged low overhead, her great wings swirling smoke and dust in a cloud that concealed us from our attackers. The natural breastwork, while between us and the explosives, wasn’t big enough for a Centaur, a Griffin, two horses and a deer. Another bomb exploded, sending dirt, rocks and shrapnel striking the rock and forcing us to duck.

  “Dammit!” Malik shouted, “don’t they realize these things can take her out as well as us? They need her alive!”

  “They aren’t known for thinking things through,” Iyumi added grimly, fighting to keep her seat.

  Vaulting off Kiera, I seized the blue’s bridle. Crooning to him, I rubbed my hand between his panicked eyes, and sent calming magic into his terrorized brain. My will overrode his instincts, and he quieted instantly. Another explosion, this one several rods behind us, forced me to duck, yet the stallion merely flinched. My girl, more sensible than most, snorted her concern, yet held still.

  “My Lord Captain,” Sky Dancer said, peeking over the top of the wall. “Permit me to flush them out, sir.”

  “Negative, Lieutenant,” he replied, instinctively ducking as another explosion rocked the earth and blew a shower of heather, stones and a wash of dust over us. “I need you here, protecting the Princess.”

  Aderyn, reverting into a form more suitable for combat, altered swiftly into the body of a lithe, spotted panther. “How can we fight them, my Lord Captain?”

  Not one to waste arrows shooting at an enemy he couldn’t see, Malik turned about, his arrow pointed up. “Where the bloody hell are Grey Mist and Valcan?”

  Another fiery explosion into the ground a mere rod to his right made him jump. But he grimly held his ground as he searched for an enemy to kill. “Van? Got any bright ideas?”

  “I’m working on it.”

  He, like Sky Dancer, peered through the gloom and smoke, then aside at me. “Bro, what do you see?”

  I narrowed my eyes as I scanned the hillside above us. I caught a hint of silver and a dark grey mane mingled with the grey rocks and brown trees. Bayonne. Of that, I had no doubt. I half-spotted another horse, a black, trying to run off. Blaez. “It’s Flynn.”

  Malik cursed bitterly. A third fiery explosion rocked the half-light as yet more thunder crashed around us. Flynn planned perfectly. He coordinated his attack the moment we entered his ambush at the same time the summer storm fell about our ears. Damn, that boy was good.

  “We never should’ve let him go.”

  “If not him, then they’d have sent someone equally bad.”

  Thunder, not Blaez’s concoctions, blasted low over our heads. Light rain fell, putting out the small fires the explosions started, quenching them into smoking ash. Dirt rained down on us as more explosions rent the vicinity, blowing all within its immediate environs into kingdom come.

  Yet, Flynn hadn’t even begun.

  The bombs blew in rapid succession, one after the other. Like fire blossoms, they lit up the misty half-light, tossing dirt, boulders and trees into the air like a child’s twinkle-toys. Not even our questionable shelter protected us. Lightning flashed, brighter than the noon sun, blinding me with its sheer brilliance. Aderyn screamed as metal shrapnel tore into her spotted fur. Sky Dancer launched her huge body into the air, her lion quarters bloody.

  Iyumi cried aloud as bits of nails and steel tore into her legs. Not even my magic could halt the stallion’s sideways jump and kick in self-defense. Kiera bravely danced aside as blood blossomed on her flanks, shoulders and quarters, her heavy tail lashing. I shut my jaw tight as my legs and waist were peppered with white-hot shanks of metal, only Atani discipline preventing my cry from eruption.

  “Sergeant!” Malik bellowed, dancing sideways as his own legs and flanks were ripped and torn. “Find Edryd and Alain!”

  Aderyn slipped into the smoke, her lithe panther snaking among the protective rocks until she found no more cover. Her sleek body low to the ground, she galloped away at top speed, dodging one, two, three explosions that rocked under her flying paws. Within the span of several heartbeats, she vanished over the hilltop to the west, toward Edryd.

  “Malik!” I yelled. “Can you make a shield?”

  “Sky Dancer!” Malik shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth as she wheeled low overhead. “Find Grey Mist and Valcan! Now! Get Padraig!”

  Though she clearly wanted to stay and protect us, orders were orders. Her tremendous wings beat hard for the grey clouds overhead as yet another blast blew a heavy shower of dirt and rocks into our faces. This one, at least, didn’t have the shrapnel.

  “Malik!”

  Reflexively ducking as yet another explosion blew up in my face, I vaulted aboard Kiera. She fretted under me, wanting to run, begging permission to take us both far from this deadly place. Malik raised his hands high over his head, ignoring the almost continual detonations, the thunder, the lightning and the rain that sluiced down his face and dripped down from his hair to his chest. His eyes closed, his lips moved soundlessly in the spell. Blood mingled with the wet on his black, silky hide, yet his tail never lashed under his intense concentration.

  “A’la’mahira!” he shouted, bringing his hands sharply down to his equine shoulders in a rounded gesture. “Jas’da!”

  Quiet reigned inside the opaque bubble that grew from the grass at our feet, rose high over our heads, met and closed. Calm descended as the bombs broke against the shield and fell apart. Dirt, rocks, nails and bits of steel slid down the outside, yet none penetrated. Rain beat, serene, against the shield as lightning flickered outside. Thunder reverberated as a distant thrumming as though from far away. Iyumi breathed deep as her stallion blew down his nose and shook his damp neck.

  “Now what?” Iyumi asked tightly, clearly in pain. When I would have gone to her aid, she flicked a hand at me, halting my forward motion. “I’m all right.”

  “Once our air support arrives, we’ll flush them from hiding.”

  Malik hadn’t relaxed. “Flynn knows we have Griffins,” he said, stalking about, dark eyes up as he searched the sky above. His heavy black tail swept across his hocks, as he restlessly pawed the broken ground with his right front hoof. “He’ll have planned for them.”

  “He can’t get bombs into the sky?” I said, half-laughing.

  My amusement slowly died as I caught the grimness in his dark eyes. “Oh, shit –”

  I wheeled Kiera about with my knees. “Let me out, Malik!”

  “Van –”

  “Stay here and protect her,” I
snapped. “I’ll get rid of Flynn.”

  “Of course I’m coming with you.”

  I wheeled around, my hand up. “You have command, my Captain,” I said quickly. “I honor you, but think a minute. Only you can keep her safe.”

  At my finger, pointing not at him, but at Iyumi, Malik halted scowling. “Dammit, Van –”

  “You know I’m right. Only you can keep this shield in place. If you’re killed out there, or even knocked unconscious, there’s nothing between her and our enemies.”

  Iyumi glanced from me to Malik and back again, her fair brow frowning. “Listen, boys –”

  “You stay out of it, Princess,” I snapped, flicking her a quick glance. “Malik?”

  He blew out a deep gust of breath, running his hands through his long black hair, fuming, unable to offer me argument. “Dammit, I’m in command here. I should lead our soldiers.”

  “The wise commander knows when to order his soldiers into battle and let them do their job.”

  He glared at me. “You just made that up.”

  “So I did. Open the damn shield and keep our girl safe.”

  “Don’t do anything too stupid, Vanyar,” he yelled, yet the outer wall of the shield opened onto hissing rain, blowing wind and Flynn’s explosions. I waved my hand over my head as I urged Kiera through the doorway and into chaos. I felt rather than heard the shield slam shut behind us, as we thundered into the rain and lightning.

  How does he time these so perfectly? I thought, as Kiera reared high, avoiding an explosion that ripped the earth apart under her front hooves. She danced aside, snorting, shaking her head, obeying my knees. Magic, perhaps? Did the Raithin Mawrn idiots have the same power as we? If they did indeed spell their bombs into going off when we wandered into range, then they must be triggered by our footfalls. Only a powerful magic could do that, I gritted.

  Gaear flew past my face, his eagle’s beak wide. A bomb blew apart behind Kiera’s tail, forcing her to kick backwards in self-defense and tossing Gaear about like a kite in a maelstrom. Yet, if I followed his line of flight – I squinted into the lashing rain and blinding lightning – ah, yes. There they are. I urged Kiera into a gallop toward them.

  Padraig and Edara galloped headlong down the hill, arrows nocked and bowstrings pulled taut. The rain clamped their wet hair over their faces, shoulders and back, and their hooves dug deep trenches in the mud. Yet, neither found an enemy to shoot. Instead, two more explosions burst from the ground three strides from their faces. Padraig leaped hard left as Edara jumped right. Padraig’s hooves slipped over the uneven ground, almost tipping him into a jagged boulder. Edara’s arrow jolted from her bow and flew away into the storm and bombs.

  “Captain?”

  Edara saw me. Her rear quarters slung low as she dug red hooves into the stony soil and loped down the hill toward me.

  Flynn had other ideas. Two more blasts deflected her off her course, cursing roundly, as steel shrapnel dug into her legs, shoulders and flanks. She jumped right, away, bleeding profusely, as Padraig joined her. He shouldered her aside, putting his massive bay and white body between the deadly blasts and her. His bow nocked and arrow aimed, he pointed it all around before finally aiming at my chest. With me in his crosshairs, he suddenly recognized who he nearly sent his arrow into. When I half-thought he might loose the arrow and rid himself of me forever, his bow lifted, his arrow pointed at the sky. With a rapid flick over his shoulder, he checked Edara’s condition before lifting his hoof to step toward me.

  “Halt!” I yelled. “Don’t move.”

  “Are you nuts?” Padraig snapped. “We –”

  “These explosions are triggered by motion,” I snapped. “Designed to take us out and capture Iyumi.”

  “We can’t just stand here and wait for them to get tired and go away.”

  Jerking my head, I indicated the surrounding rock formations. “We can’t get to them without being blown into bits,” I said.

  The bombs had grown silent, as we’d stopped moving. Though once we sought to attack, to find and kill them, they’d begin again. Yet, it also gave us precious moments with which to plan.

  “The Princess?” Padraig asked tersely. “The Captain?”

  I jerked my head over my shoulder toward the bubble under the rocks. “Safe.”

  I sat Kiera’s broad back and looked around, rain stinging my eyes. Thunder cracked overhead, though I saw no lightning. The daylight had dimmed as the sun crossed over the unseen horizon, and the wind itself died down. I knew Flynn waited on me, waiting for the attack to come. When I gave no order, he also sat tight, patient. At least I hoped he’d be patient.

  “Flynn has us surrounded,” I said, my voice low. “He has bombs, and I know he can shoot them into the air. He can take out the Griffins.”

  “Once the Griffins are gone,” Padraig added, his tone calm. “He can take the princess.”

  “Easily.”

  Padraig shifted his hooves. His hand lay lax on his bowstring, and his eyes wandered the vicinity, pinpointing, measuring. “What’s your idea?”

  “I need you and Edara to distract them,” I replied. “Make them think you’re attacking them, seeking them out. Encourage them to throw their bombs at you, waste their resources, for I know they’re limited. Keep their eyes on you, but stay alive, dammit.”

  Padraig’s lips quirked into a tiny smile. “And you?”

  “I, and the Griffins, will flush them from their bolt holes,” I replied. “Feel free to shoot them as they run. I’ll need Edryd and Alain, as well as their skills. Dusan, I fear, is dead.”

  “He is.” Padraig’s lips turned down. “Gaear found his body. He was a good lad.”

  I cursed under my breath. “Are we clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  “How’s your magic?”

  Gaear flew low over my head, wings spread wide, drawing my attention upward. Beyond him, Sky Dancer, Grey Mist, and Valcan, still in raven form, dove out of the clouds. Dropping fast, their wings furled, they split apart, streaking toward the rock formation to the north of us. Winging in from the south, Kasi and Moon Whisperer plunged toward the enemy hiding at our rear.

  Dark streaks shot upward from behind the rocks, from every direction. Trailing smoke, the explosive-laden arrows flew directly into the beaks and feathers of the attacking Griffins. Smaller than the bombs planted in the ground, they were no less deadly. One by one, the missiles exploded, flames and shrapnel blowing everywhere.

  Screeching in pain and fury, Moon snap-rolled right as Sky Dancer folded her wings and dropped like a stone. An arrow fired at her exploded with a deafening bang, forcing her to cut sideways, away from her target. Kasi, winging hard, sought to sweep wide around the hilltop and attack from the rear. But Flynn anticipated that, too. Two more arrows with their bulbous heads struck the sky mere rods from her flanks. The resulting blasts stunned her, and she dropped earthward, her wings lax.

  I sucked in my breath and held it. Unless someone or something intervened, Kasi would die in a bloody burst of bones and feathers against the hard, rocky terrain.

  “Come on,” Padraig muttered. “Come on.”

  Grey Mist dove, his wings flattened and his talons out, extended. Falling faster than she, he seized her by her bloody hind legs with his front talons. Incredible wings wide, he braced himself, beating hard, he strove to hold them both airborne. His efforts slowed her fall, but not even his great wings and greater courage could keep them both from hitting the ground.

  Despite the blasts rocking the air around her, Sky Dancer blew in from nowhere I saw and seized Kasi’s front legs. Her angel’s wings working frantically, her raptor eyes slitted shut with effort, Sky Dancer’s power slowed Kasi’s death drop only a few rods from the hard ground. Working together, wings beating frantically, Misty and Dancer carried her toward the relative safety of the hills to the east.

  Breathing again, I wheeled Kiera. “Smoke!” I yelled to Padraig. “Create a smokescreen. Hide the Griffins from attack.
”

  As I kicked her into a run, the earth blew apart around us once more. Ignoring the blasts, I galloped past the shield and its precious occupants. I heard Malik shout an order, but I couldn’t hear what it was. Gaear paced me, his wings beating hard to remain level with my head. “Aderyn,” I snapped up to him. “We need another Griffin.”

  He winged high and away, diving toward the spotted panther loping downhill toward me. The archers made her their next target, shooting two devices. Both struck the ground a mere rod in front of her, sparing her a direct hit but peppering her with nails and steel. She screamed and leaped aside as Gaear reached her and circled, delivering my orders.

  More explosions rocked the shallow ravine, informing me Padraig and Edara were on the move. As was their magic. Thick oily smoke boiled upward into the rain and falling soil, doubling in strength and intensity, rising high. Dropping from the sky, Moon and Valcan dove into its concealment, and for a brief moment, the arrows ceased.

  Kiera slid to a rearing halt as the ground rose in flames and showered us with loose dirt and smoke. A rock the size of an egg struck me on the left shoulder and almost knocked me from Kiera’s back. Savage pain ripped across my shoulder and chest, but I grimly ignored it. I sheathed my sword, and took my bow from my back. Nocking an arrow, I squinted through the smoke as Aderyn rose into the air, screeching her fury. She ducked into the smoke cover as an arrow kissed her tail and exploded harmlessly behind her.

  On the hill to the west, Edryd halted his horse. Seizing his bow, he, too, knocked his arrow and sighted down it. A swift glance over my damaged shoulder showed me Alain had also stopped and awaited orders.