James takes some slugs out of the pouch at his hip and begins launching them up to the crossbowmen on the walls. One by one, they’re struck and begin falling off the walls, some landing within the courtyard, others falling outside the walls.
Pytherian glances to James with renewed respect as he continues launching slugs until the walls are cleared of crossbowmen.
With his knives drawn, Jiron says, “Milord, it’s our turn.”
Nodding, he pulls the sword from its scabbard as they move toward the soldiers guarding the gate.
As Miko turns to follow them, James grabs his arm and says, “We need to open the gate.”
Snapping back to himself, Miko nods and follows James to the gatehouse. On the way, James takes out two more guards before Jiron and Lord Pytherian begin to engage them.
Within the gatehouse are several levers and James begins pulling them at random. Miko stands at the door to the gatehouse, sword drawn and keeping a lookout. A loud clatter suddenly can be heard coming from the gates and then they begin to slowly swing open.
“Let’s go,” he says to Miko as they leave the gatehouse. A horn sounds from the top of the wall as a soldier there warns of the gate beginning to open. James looks to Jiron and Lord Pytherian who have already disposed of half the remaining guards and are standing back to back as they hold off the last four.
Down the street, past where the soldiers are trapped by the force fields, James can see a band of cavalry coming.
“My Lord!” a voice cries out.
Coming through the east gate are Miller and his band who’re moving to engage the soldiers battling Lord Pytherian and Jiron. They quickly overwhelm them and secure the immediate area.
“My Lord,” Miller cries out as he reaches his side. “We must leave!” Behind Miller is an extra horse for Lord Pytherian.
As he gets into the saddle, Lord Pytherian hollers, “James! Come on!” More crossbowmen are running along the wall as they rush to join the battle before the gate.
Jiron mounts up behind his friend as James and Miko run toward them. Bolts begin raining down as some of the crossbowmen on the walls near the gate.
James glances down the street and sees the cavalry already moving around the trapped men and racing toward them.
Crumph!
The ground under the leading horses erupts, throwing men and horses into the air and causing those behind them to come to a stop.
One of Miller’s band cries out as a crossbow bolt strikes him in the back, causing him to fall from his horse. James makes for the now riderless horse and quickly mounts. He reaches down and helps Miko up behind him as bolts continue falling among them.
Another man cries out as a bolt strikes him in the shoulder, knocking him to one side but is able to remain in the saddle.
When Lord Pytherian sees that James and Miko are mounted, he cries out, “Ride!” Everyone turns and makes a break for it through the gates.
On the other side of the gate they head straight away from the walls, putting as much distance between them and the enemy as fast as possible. Several more bolts fly by as they ride but all fly wide of their mark and they are soon out of range of the deadly missiles.
Horns begin sounding behind them and are answered by horns to their left and right. James looks and sees two armies moving to intercept them, but since neither has cavalry, they’re soon left behind.
In the moonlight they can see the mountains to the east of them and they make straight for them. They ride hard for an hour in silence, none wanting to take their attention off the ground ahead of them in fear of a horse putting a leg in a hole.
Lord Pytherian signals for everyone to slow down, to give the horses a breather. Riding next to Miller and James, he says, “I never thought I’d get out of there.”
“We weren’t going to just leave you there milord,” Miller says. “I’m glad we were able to affect your escape.”
“Yes,” he replies. Then he turns to James and says, “How can I every repay you?”
“If we make it out of the Empire alive,” he tells him, “that will be thanks enough.”
Laughing into the night, he replies, “Consider it done!” Turning to Miller he asks, “Where’s the rest of the army?”
“Madoc’s forces are still in the field, last I knew,” explains Miller. “The rest of the alliance’s forces are falling away with your disappearance.”
“Damn!” he exclaims, all traces of the laughter gone. “What about the Kirkens?”
“Word came that hostilities had broken out along their border and were recalled to defend their own lands,” he replies.
“That’s true,” James tells him. “We ran into a band of Kirkens further south and they said something to that effect.”
“I must return quickly,” he states, “or Madoc and the north will fall to the Empire!”
“How far do we have to go to be past the Empire’s lines?” asks Jiron from behind them.
Lord Pytherian looks at Miller who replies, “A day of hard riding, maybe more if they’ve pushed north since we left to find you.”
“Getting there is the easy part,” Lord Pytherian says. “Getting through to the other side, now that will be the challenge.”
“Especially with another army on our heels,” they hear Miko say urgently from where he sits behind James.
As one they glance back and in the moonlight see a large force of cavalry gaining quickly upon them. Spurring their horses back into a gallop, they race to stay ahead of the approaching force.
The man that had been struck with the crossbow bolt suddenly falls out of his saddle and hits the ground hard. One of Miller’s men stops near him for a brief moment and then quickly rejoins the others. “He’s dead,” he tells them.
“Damn!” curses Miller. Leaving the dead man behind, they press on.
James continues glancing back as they race through the night and watches as the leading edge of riders continues to gain upon them. Their horse and the one carrying Jiron and Fifer are beginning to lag behind the others who aren’t carrying double.
Leaning low over his horse’s neck, James hollers over to Jiron, “We’re not going to be able to stay ahead of them.”
Jiron glances back at the riders and gives him a nod.
“Milord!” James hollers up to Lord Pytherian.
Lord Pytherian slows and James is able to come abreast of his horse. “You and the others push on,” he hollers to him. “We’ll never be able to keep up!”
Looking back at the riders, Lord Pytherian considers it a moment.
“You’re needed back in Madoc,” James tells him. “We’ll give you time to get away.”
“I’ll not forget this,” he tells him. “Madoc owes you a great deal young man.” Then he kicks his horse and then he and the others begin pulling away.
James nods to Fifer and they begin slowing as they turn to face the enemy. Once they’ve stopped, James dismounts and faces the onrushing horsemen. From behind him, he can hear Jiron say to Fifer as they dismount, “When the fighting starts, stay away from the boy.”
“Why?” Fifer asks.
“In the heat of battle, he sometimes can’t tell friend from foe,” he explains.
“Berserker?” Fifer asks.
“In a way,” Jiron responds.
As the riders approach, the moonlight reveals about sixty riders coming hard. “Man,” he hears Fifer say as he draws his sword, preparing to sell his life dearly.
James begins gathering the magic as the riders continue to approach. He reaches in and takes out several slugs that he holds in his left hand. Then, when the riders are close enough…
Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!
…three massive explosions throw the leading edge of the advancing force into the air. They can hear the cries of men and horses as they arc through the air. When they crash back to the ground, very few can be seen moving.
“Damn!” comes Fifer’s exclamation from behind him.
The trailing wedge
of riders veers around to the left and right of the scene of carnage as they continue coming for them. James begins tossing slugs and riders start to fall.
Crumph!
The ground under the riders once more explodes upward and Jiron sees James take a step back, staggering, almost like he was about to fall. He turns to Fifer and says, “Whatever happens, we’ve got to keep them off of him.”
Fifer nods to Jiron as they move to put themselves between the few remaining riders and James.
Miko draws his sword and begins advancing upon the dozen riders still coming toward them. Four veer off in his direction, the others come straight to where James and Fifer are standing.
James manages to throw two more slugs before he sags to the ground. “Close your eyes!” he hollers and a split second later, a brilliant burst of light flashes between them and the riders.
“Ah!” Fifer cries out as the light stabs like needles into his eyes. He hadn’t heeded James’ warning.
The horses of the approaching riders neigh in fright, and come to an abrupt halt, throwing the riders to the ground.
Jiron had heard James’ warning and had shielded his eyes. Now he quickly moves forward and begins to dispatch the blinded riders. The first one he pulls from his horse as he stabs him with his knife. The next two he kills while they writhe on the ground, holding their eyes in pain.
The fourth one he comes to isn’t moving, a cursory look shows him to have broken his neck when he’d fallen off his horse. As he stands up from inspecting the dead man, a horse runs into him and knocks him over. The rider strikes out with his sword but in his half blinded state, misses by scant inches.
Jiron rolls out from under the horse’s hooves and quickly regains his feet. He moves toward the rider who is turning his head this way and that trying to locate him. The rider shakes his head and rubs his eyes in an attempt to clear them, enabling Jiron to move close without being seen.
He jumps the last few feet and pulls him from the horse, both tumbling to the ground. His knife flashes but the rider gets a hold on his arm, keeping the blade inches away from his face.
They roll and Jiron manages to knee the man in the groin, taking the fight out of him. The rider’s arm loses strength and Jiron brings the knife down, puncturing the man’s throat all the way to the spinal column in the back.
Jerking his knife out, Jiron rolls then comes to his feet as he looks around for another rider.
Miko stands amidst eight dead bodies, four men and four horses. His head swivels around as he looks for another to fight.
Jiron can hear the remaining rider as he races back the way they’d come, horn blaring. Answering horns can be heard further away in the dark.
Moving to where James sits with Fifer standing guard, eyes slowly regaining their night vision, he says, “There’s more on the way and not too far back. We gotta go!”
James nods his head as he gets to his feet, Fifer lends him a hand when he almost falls back to the ground. “I’m alright,” he says to him.
He sees Miko standing there among the dead and begins walking over to him. “Miko!” he calls out. When there’s no response, he calls his name again. Glancing to the others, he says, “Gather some horses.” Then he returns his attention to Miko.
Miko’s head turns in his direction and he begins walking toward him. James can see the sword still gripped in his hand.
“Miko! It’s James,” he says in a calm and soothing voice.
Miko pauses a moment then continues toward him, his sword at a slightly less threatening angle. “You okay?” asks James.
“I think so,” he replies, his voice sounding tired and slightly distant.
“Good, we need to get going, okay?” he asks him.
Nodding, Miko approaches him and then stops as he wipes his sword off on one of the dead riders before replacing it in his scabbard.
Jiron and Fifer come over to them, each leading two horses. Once they’re all mounted, Jiron asks, “Which way?”
“Where did Lord Pytherian go?” asks James.
“He went more to the north, why?” replies Fifer.
“Then let’s move eastward and try to draw off those behind us and give him time to get through the lines,” he says.
“You sure?” Jiron asks.
“Yeah,” replies James.
They turn and begin moving toward the east, the sky there behind the mountains beginning to show the first signs of the approach of dawn.
Chapter Twenty One
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As they push on eastward, they keep to a steady, mile eating pace that won’t overly tire the horses. When the sky becomes brighter, they see ahead of them where the terrain is once again turning into hills before finally becoming the mountains rising in the distance. It isn’t long before they leave the grasslands behind and enter the hills.
Behind them, there is still no sign of the approaching force, but they know they’re there. They come across a small spring in the lee of a hill and decide to pause for a short break to eat and give the horses a chance to regain their strength.
Jiron climbs to the top of the hill and looks to the west. “See anything?” Fifer shouts up at him from where he’s filling his water bottle at the spring.
Shaking his head, Jiron hollers back, “It doesn’t look like they’re following us.” After a few more minutes of scanning for the enemy, he returns back down the hill to the others.
James is lying stretched out on the ground, trying to rest for the few minutes they’ll be staying here. Jiron comes over and sits next to him. Gesturing over to Miko, he says quietly so only he can hear him, “Is it my imagination, or is he getting taller?”
Sitting up abruptly, James looks over to where Miko is sitting quietly next to Fifer. Nodding, he replies, “Maybe, I hope not though.”
“Why?” Jiron asks.
Lowering his voice so as to practically be unheard, he says, “If he is, it’s the Fire doing it to him and that can’t be good. The sooner we can get it away from him, the better.”
“Why don’t you take it?” asks Jiron.
“I don’t dare,” he replies. “It might be safe enough hanging in a pouch, but I might inadvertently reach in and touch it. From what the ghost of the priest of Morcyth said, that would be bad.”
“What if one of us takes it?” he suggests.
“No,” he replies. “I think it best if only one of us is affected by it.”
“So what are we to do?” he says as he glances to Miko.
“Nothing right now,” answers James. “Just hope nothing too bad comes of it. As soon as we’re back in Cardri, I’ll find somewhere to hide it.”
Changing the subject, Jiron asks, “Can you do your scanning thing to see where those forces that were following us went to?”
Sighing, he says, “Alright, but after that I’m going to need to avoid magic for a while. I’m starting to feel the effects.”
“Headache again?” guesses Jiron.
Nodding, James replies, “Yeah. It’s not too bad right now, but if I should need to call on the magic in an emergency, it could get much worse.” Getting up, he moves over to the spring and kneels down in front of it.
“What’s going on?” asks Fifer.
“He’s going to try to find the force that was behind us,” explains Jiron.
Interested, Fifer comes over and watches as the surface of the pool begins to shimmer and suddenly focuses on an aerial view of them.
James scrolls the image westward and it isn’t long before they see the large force of foot soldiers moving to the northeast. The image suddenly moves further to the northeast and they see Lord Pytherian where he’s stopped at the edge of a forest taking a short break. If the army continues on its present course, they’ll run right into him.
The image disappears as James stands up and says, “It looks like they’re moving straight for Lord Pytherian.” He glances to the others gathered around him and continues, “We’ll need to convince th
at army to come this way.”
“How?” Jiron asks.
“We’ll attack,” he states.
“You’ve got to be kidding, right?” Fifer says in disbelief. “The four of us, against that?”
“I’m not saying that we’ll wade in with guns ablazing, no,” he tells him. “But, we could convince them to alter their course enough to bypass Lord Pytherian. Or at least slow their progress down.”
“How?” Jiron asks, intrigued at the prospect.
“Come close enough so they’ll send someone to investigate us,” he explains. “Then take them out. I’ll use magic so if there’s any mages within the group, they’ll know I’m here. That should give them reason enough to come after us.”
“You going to be up to that?” Jiron asks him.
Shrugging, he replies, “It’s an hour or so before we get to them, I should be okay for a little magic by then. Besides, if we don’t turn them this way, Lord Pytherian may not be able to get safely through the lines. He’ll be rushed to make it through with this force nipping on his heals and that could prove disastrous for him.”
“Then let’s get moving,” Jiron says as he walks over toward where the horses are picketed. Mounting, he waits while the others get up on their horses and then leads them along a route which should intersect with the route the army is taking.
Once they’ve left the hills behind, it isn’t long before they see the dust on the horizon the army kicks up as it marches. “Let’s maintain this distance,” James says after they’ve moved a little closer to them. “We’ll just move along parallel with them until they take notice.”
Keeping the Empire’s forces in sight, they maintain a leisurely pace. Their force is primarily foot with some cavalry mixed in. It takes a full ten minutes before the army finally realizes they’re there. Suddenly, they hear a horn blast and six horsemen break off from the main group as they gallop toward them.
“Seems we finally got their attention,” Jiron states.
Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li: The Morcyth Saga Book Three Page 29
