by Elliott Kay
“Put them down!” yelled Shady Tooth. She took over for the shield-bearer covering herself and Teryn as he pulled another orc back from the edge of the breach. The gap ended only a few feet away from their position. “There! Put them down!”
“I’m trying!” Teryn reached for another arrow as soon as the one in her bow flew. The most important targets weren’t hard to make out now. Even with all the rising dust from the collapse in the wall, she could easily trace the dark tentacles back to their sources. Two riders wrought all the destruction, both dressed in furs and hoods rather than armor like the rest of the cavalry.
Most of the riders halted at the trench while those closest funneled across the narrow passage and toward the wall. Teryn could already hear the clash of steel and bodies as defenders met them at the breach. She couldn’t give it any more attention. Her last arrow missed one of the shadowy riders. This one hit, but to no clear effect. The rider completely ignored it, along with others from archers who recognized the same priority threat. With her hand already in her quiver, Teryn’s fingers took up a markedly different arrow than the rest.
She had only a handful of the silver-tipped elven shafts left from the depths of the dungeon. If these did no good, she wasn’t sure she could hurt the shadowy riders at all. “Where is Scars?” she asked as she drew back.
“I can’t see him or Karana,” said Shady Tooth.
Teryn let her arrow go. This time she was sure of her aim—until one of the rider’s black tentacles snapped up and took the arrow before it struck. The hooded head turned up toward them in recognition of the threat.
“Fuck,” said Shady Tooth.
Teryn pulled another arrow. “We have to distract her.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, I’m the one shooting!”
With a frustrated growl, Shady Tooth slammed the edge of their shield down hard enough to leave it embedded in the berm and stood her full height. The bugbear pointed directly at the shadowy rider with wide eyes. “You! You and me! Right now!”
The rider’s head tilted up. In the blink of an eye, a silver-tipped arrow pierced the rider’s head and knocked her from her saddle. Her horse turned and bolted away as if broken out of a trance, dragging the fur-clad rider still caught by one stirrup.
“That worked out better than I’d hoped,” said Teryn. She spared her first glance past Shady Tooth to the bigger struggle erupting at the breach in the wall, where cavalry tried to run down and breach a mass of orcs and bugbears fighting desperately to hold their line. She had no more time than one look. “There’s still one more. We have to find—look out!”
She had only enough time to shove Shady Tooth out of the way. Thick black tentacles flew up at her from the ground beyond the trench. Teryn felt her arms and her bow crushed against her chest by their strength. The bonds yanked her from her feet and into the air. Wind rushed past her ears as she crossed the foreground of the battle. Then her breath was knocked from her lungs as she hit the ground. The shadows left her on her back.
“Is that her?” asked a loud, hollow voice.
“Yes. Excellent work,” said another man.
She recognized the second with a groan as she rolled to her side. “Fucking hell, not again.”
“Princess, we don’t want to hurt you,” blurted out one of the men suddenly surrounding her. Teryn clutched at her bow they grabbed for it and her, lifting her off her feet once more. This time, she could kick. The one who tried to plead with her staggered away clutching his jaw after discovering her strength.
“Then my part of our bargain is complete,” said the hollow voice. Teryn saw the speaker slip off his horse, black vapor trailing off of him from his hood to his boots. The animal instantly bolted like the other one, pushing past the rest of the horses to get away. She recognized Brok only once the horse was clear, and even then more by his clothing and his tattooed muscles than the darkened face under his hood.
Another man dismounted after him, though he didn’t follow. Instead, Barret turned to Teryn with a satisfied grin. “I was afraid this would be messier before it was over,” he said. “Turns out I have—”
“Barret!” roared a voice from amid the din of the main battle. Barret and many of his men looked back, surprised at the noise. Struggling against a bear hug and with her view blocked by so many other men and horses, Teryn had only the slightest glance in that direction. A large, dark figure slid down the berm unimpeded by the remaining sharp wooden shafts that decorated its face. Teryn didn’t need a better look than that to recognize her.
“Brok, before you go, could you take care of that one last little issue?” asked Barret.
The hooded head didn’t even look back. “No,” said Brok. He stalked away from the clutch of soldiers and toward the larger battle.
“Oh damn,” Barret sighed.
“Sir, what about the prin—oof!” cried another soldier. Teryn knocked her away, too.
“Get hold of her, will you?” Barret ordered. “We’re about to have a bigger problem.”
“Keep thinking that, jackass,” Teryn shot back.
* * *
Most of the riders kept to their saddles as they waited to follow others into the breach. Some dismounted to go after the goblins that remained in the trench. Few of the latter remained, with most either returning from their run to the murder pits in the field or already retreating back through tunnels under the wall. Those caught in the middle stood little chance of survival.
“Dismount! Get after them!” shouted one cavalryman already on foot. A gold sash over his shoulder marked him as a leader. He sent a bolt from his crossbow into the trench, striking down an unarmored goblin wielding only a wooden club. “You there! Dismount and get at them!”
Many obeyed. Some could reach into the pit with their spears. Others dropped into the trench to get in close. He meant to rally more to the fight.
It made him a worthwhile target.
Shady Tooth knew she couldn’t make the jump. She could clear a good distance, especially for someone of her size, but the trench was exactly enough to be out of her reach. She knew she could climb out, though, and had no choice regardless.
Skidding down the berm, snapping wooden stakes along her way, Shady Tooth focused on the sergeant or captain or whatever he was. His focus on his subordinates and their targets in the trench left him unaware until she took the two steps leading into her leap.
She was right about the distance. It was too much for her to clear. Her feet came down in the trench, along with the rest of her body, but she got close enough to touch the other side. So close.
Close enough to catch the sergeant’s foot with her knife. He let out a blood-curdling scream as her blade pinned him in place.
“Sergeant!” yelled another soldier close to her. The warrior turned, sword and shield up to guard against the foes in front of him, but he wasn’t ready for Shady Tooth. She jammed her other blade behind his shinbone and yanked him back into the trench where the goblins could finish him. That same bloody knife went into the sergeant’s gut along her way.
He had enough allies at his side to make Shady Tooth vulnerable. She had one knee over the ledge and her knives entangled in a bloody victim as a woman came at her with an axe and shield. Only a spear stabbing up from the trench saved Shady Tooth. She glanced back down to find a familiar goblin straining with the effort of a weapon too large for him.
“Owed you one,” grunted Fregg. He said no more, already reaching for the axe dropped into the trench by his target.
It was all the distraction she could spare. Up over the ledge, Shady Tooth slashed and shoved her way through enemies on foot before she was amid mounted cavalry unaware of her presence. Her knives kept going as she ran, slashing across legs and hands and sometimes up over hips. Her real goal was somewhere beyond the crowd, but she couldn’t ignore the battle.
The chaos served more than one purpose. Everyone she wounded let out screams and turned heads, took horses off course and dis
rupted the movement of others. It also let her friend know she wasn’t abandoned, and hopefully drew the attention of one particular enemy. “Barret!” shouted Shady Tooth. Horses neighed and bucked away while she weaved and slashed through the mob. “Barret!”
The crowd thinned and soon parted. Plenty of horses and riders remained all around her, but she broke free into a small gap—and then saw the reason for it.
Brok strode across the field on foot trailing black mist. He headed for the gap in the wall but turned his head as Shady Tooth came into view. Her gaze met his, though she saw mostly dark swirls around his face leading to pitch-black pits rather than eyes.
He turned away and kept going. So did she.
Her goal appeared directly ahead, behind only a handful more riders dismounted and wielding swords, shields, and spears. Barret had perhaps a small squad around him, some in front and others in back, and the latter struggled with one more problem.
The last time Shady Tooth came after her friend, Teryn couldn’t fight. This time Teryn had a man’s arms wrapped around her and two other humans on the ground clutching their faces in pain. Arrows spilled out of the quiver over her shoulder as they wrestled.
Beyond the scene, lines of footmen began their march across the field. Shady Tooth kept her focus on the task at hand. They didn’t have much time to get out of this mess.
“No windows or blankets for cheap tricks here, beast,” said Barret. He pulled his shield off his back. “You’re on a real battlefield now.”
Between them, his allies moved in closer, weapons at the ready, each tensing for a lunge. Shady Tooth stood straight, lowering her blades while her scowl darkened. “Are any of you idiots better fighters than your boss?”
Their hesitant advance stopped.
“Why are you out in front if he’s the best? What possible sense does that make? How in the hell does that help you get through this alive?”
Eyes glanced left and right in shared doubt. One of them even looked back.
“Don’t listen to her, get her!” Barret snapped.
“Teryn, drop and stomp!” Shady Tooth shouted.
Still struggling against the bear hug from behind, Teryn acted on her advice. She spread her legs out and bent at the hips as best she could, dropping her weight within her attacker’s arms. Before he could get his balance, she stomped hard on his foot and kicked back at his knee. He wore thick leather boots and greaves, but not enough to cover either spot. The few arrows still in her quiver bounced up and down, their feathered ends jabbing at the man’s face. He grunted with pain as his task only grew harder.
“Shit,” Barret fumed, glancing back only once at the wrestling match.
Shady Tooth sprang forward at the opening. She came in through four warriors, staying just out of reach from the pair on her right while grazing past the two on her left. Though she could have gutted at least one along her way, she made no move at any of them in hopes her questions would keep them out of the fight.
Barret got his shield up to protect himself from her blades, but her weight and power were another matter. He staggered back to keep his footing. His reflexes were as sharp as in their first fight. Though Shady Tooth was quick to press her attack with thrusts and swipes of her knives, he blocked and parried away her first assault.
Momentum shifted in a heartbeat. Barret stepped back farther and faster to spin around, using the space to whirl back with a broad stroke of his longsword at gut level. Even parrying the blade still left her wrist caught by the edge of the blade as it moved away. Then his shield swept in. She couldn’t parry that at all. Broad impact against her shoulder and upper arm kept her from making a counterattack.
“Help me, damn you!” Barret snapped at his subordinates. “Help both of us!”
Behind him, the other fight continued unabated. Smart enough to keep hold of her, Teryn’s attacker let them both fall to the ground where his size was still an advantage. “Princess, please, you can’t win this,” he shouted—and then winced when she threw her head back against his jaw.
Their tumble and shift allowed Teryn to get her wrist against the man’s hands clutched tightly together under her chest. She wrapped her other hand over one of his and pulled with all her strength until she broke his grip. He didn’t recover fast enough to catch her, snatching only the back of her shirt—but she was now free enough to pluck her dagger from her belt.
Gauntlets and bracers protected his forearm. The inside of his upper arm wasn’t so defended. He jerked back with a shriek and a bloody wound as the other warriors came to his aid. Whirling around, Teryn caught the first to reach her with a vicious stab straight up into his neck. She let the dagger go, taking advantage of the space to put her free hand on her sword. Her foot came down on her bow lying in the dirt.
The rest of the soldiers hesitated. Teryn saw something much different than the fear and doubt Shady Tooth’s challenge had put in them. They looked on at what she’d done in horror. Their comrade staggered away, clutching at his neck until he fell to his knees. One of the others rushed to his side.
“Princess,” another gasped. “How could you?”
Instead of her sword, Teryn jerked a metal vial from her belt and tossed it at their feet. “This may heal him. Get it in his mouth and get out of my way,” she ordered bitterly.
Beyond them, metal clashed against metal. With his shield and the reach of his sword, Barret was an even harder target than in their first fight. Shady Tooth had fought plenty of opponents with the same armament. Barret was better than any of them. She dodged and slashed, caught him with a kick beneath his shield and a deflection at the wrist, but his armor kept him from real harm in each case.
She could wear him down with a little more time. She didn’t have that.
“Not as good as you thought, are you?” Barret taunted.
“This isn’t about pride,” she answered.
“Shady Tooth!” Teryn shouted.
It was the break she needed. She didn’t even look. Tone conveyed it all. Barret’s eyes went wide as if he understood it, too. Shady Tooth swept around to one side and struck hard with both knives. The blows forced him to defend with his shield.
An arrow shot straight through him beneath his ribs. Barret gasped in pain and fell to his knees. Shady Tooth slashed over his shield at his head without hesitation. Her knife left a vicious gouge across his forehead and left him on his side in the dirt.
The other warriors tended to their wounded friends, looking over their shoulders with wary eyes—especially at the princess. Teryn walked away from them while nocking another arrow, holding the bow horizontally across her body.
Shady Tooth pointed down at Barret. “Is this personal?”
He coughed and crawled, looking up at her but unable to speak.
“No,” said Teryn. “This is about everything else.” She put the arrow through his head.
Her bow held another arrow in the blink of an eye. Teryn scowled darkly at the other warriors. Shady Tooth stood back-to-back with her, watching the bulk of the action at the trench up ahead.
“You have any ideas for getting back to our side?” asked Teryn.
“Other than stabbing our way through that mob and climbing the wall?”
“Might not be our best bet.”
Shady Tooth grunted. “Working on it.”
“You murdered him,” seethed one of the warriors. He took up a spear and charged. “You murdered—!” The rest never came out. He collapsed in the dirt with an arrow in his lungs.
Teryn nocked another in her bow. She only had a couple left. “Might want to work fast.”
* * *
“Scars? Scars! Still breathing. Still alive. Gotta get up. Scars!”
Her voice and the urgent nudge of her hands roused him into a world of noise and pain. His whole body hurt, but no other part more than his right arm and left shoulder. Too much shouting, thudding, and banging rang through his ears to make sense of anything else. He only heard her voice because she spok
e right in his ear.
He was on his back on some slant with his head lower than his feet. It sure wasn’t any kind of a bed. Scars forced his eyes open, wincing at the light of day. A goblin’s head came between his eyes and the rising sun.
No. Not sun. That was the glare of the sun off of metal. He recognized Zana’s face in front of him, but above and behind her it was all humans in arms and armor. He and Zana were at the bottom of a pit with a war above them.
“Hey! You with me?” asked Zana. “How bad are you hurt?”
He growled before he could form words. Testing his body invited more pain, but he sucked it up. “I can move. How long have I been out?”
“Seconds. Slide was still settling as I came out of the tunnel.” Zana jerked her thumb over her shoulder to indicate the passage leading out to the field. A longsword and shield sat at the edge of the tunnel. Another like it awaited on the opposite side of the trench, allowing passage under the wall.
Bodies littered the trench. The closest lay face-down and buried to her waist. “Karana,” said Scars. “Is she alive?”
“Yeah, but worse off than you.”
“We’ve got to get her out of here.”
“Hoping you can help me with that.”
Scars glanced up at the top of the landslide. He could hear horses, but saw mostly warriors on foot. The cavalry had to have been ordered to dismount to spare their animals from fighting their way through. A couple of dead horses in the trench and another at the edge of the bridge suggested the cavalry had already tried a different way. Bodies pressed in, shouting and shoving.
“Hold!” roared a voice in the din. “Hold the—” A grunt, a crash, and a scream interrupted. Ruck emerged at the closest corner of the breach in the wall, smashing through an armored man with his axe. “Push them back!”
“Break through!” demanded another voice from the other side. “Send every beast to hell and give no quarter!” The voice shifted as if the speaker turned his head. “Signal flags, where are you? Come forth!”
