“You threw me,” she said. “I didn’t think you’d go for someone like her.”
Given Gytha’s comments earlier in the day, he knew what she was referring to. “Strength comes in many forms.”
“I never thought you’d go for the most beautiful woman in the room. I always thought you were attracted to a stealthy warrior woman.”
“Because of Reid?”
She nodded.
“You know, I didn’t even realize I’d fallen for Reid until it was too late. I’d spent so much time trying not to be tied down to any woman that she took me by surprise.”
“And with Harley?”
With Harley he saw how smart she was. The woman hidden inside that needed to be unleashed. The person she could become. He saw a lot of himself in her. He just didn’t know how to articulate it to Gytha. At least not yet. With time, she would see and understand.
“I don’t think you should be getting involved in any sort of relationship right now,” she said while patting the side of her horse’s neck. “You have a job to do.”
“I always do my job.”
“Good. Then focus on that so we can go home.”
Right now, he wasn’t sure he even wanted to go home. He wouldn’t mind exploring more of the mainland. However, what mattered most was ensuring the hundreds of Marsden soldiers here did make it home. Many had families to return to. “Let’s get moving.” The sooner he reached his men, the better.
“I’m curious to meet this Empress Rema I’ve been hearing so much about,” Gytha said. She nudged her horse, and it started walking again.
Ackley guessed Gytha was no longer upset with him. He gave the command and his horse set out. “I’m interested to meet her, as well.” Since the empress was married, he found it interesting that most people referred to her as being in charge instead of her husband. It was the sort of thing Reid would find fascinating. “Do you still care for Dexter even though he’s married?”
Gytha’s shrugged. “For years I assumed I’d marry him. When he chose another woman, I was disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I like Reid and think she makes a suitable match for him.”
An answer that really wasn’t an answer. Since spending so much time with Harley, Ackley hadn’t thought about Reid.
“Why are you smiling?” Gytha asked.
He hadn’t even realized he was smiling. He hurried and tried to make his face blank.
“You need to focus on the task at hand,” she chided him.
Rolling his shoulders back, he forced himself to scan the land around them, needing to pay attention. He also wanted to use this time to come up with a couple more plans. He had to reach his men, then get them safely into Kricok. After that, he’d establish some form of communication with Empress Rema. He’d probably send a letter and ask for a meeting in person. Ideally, he’d like to deliver the letter himself. However, he’d need to remain with his men. Maybe he’d send Gytha. She’d probably like that.
The road led them to a ravine. Since the sun was starting to descend, Ackley said, “Let’s make it through here and then stop for the night.” The banks on either side of the road were only fifteen feet high, topped with thick, lush trees.
“Okay.”
The spot sort of reminded Ackley of something. “Wait.” Pulling his horse to a halt, he scanned the surrounding area, not seeing any movement. He’d set up an ambush once in a place similarly situated.
Gytha dismounted, checking her horse’s hoof. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked, not really inspecting the hoof.
Assuming they were being watched, he needed to act casually so they wouldn’t alert anyone that they were on to them. Withdrawing his knife, he made a show of handing it to Gytha to use on the horse’s hoof, as if something were stuck in it. He dismounted, inspecting the animal alongside Gytha.
“We need to get out of here,” he mumbled.
“If we back up, they’ll suspect we know,” she mumbled.
“They might not have seen us yet.” He took his horse, leading it from the road. Still not seeing any movement, he urged Gytha to do the same.
“Now what?” she asked.
“We have to figure out who’s there.” Because it wasn’t Russek.
“So it’s not enough to merely escape death,” Gytha said sarcastically.
“You not up to the challenge?”
“For once I’d like something to go according to plan.”
“No such thing.” They backed up a tad more, trying to melt into the trees. Since they couldn’t ride their horses here amongst the vegetation, they had two options. One, tie the horses up and hope no one stole them. Two, keep the horses with them. The problem was that the horses were loud and noisy. However, they would serve as nice shields should someone try shooting at them.
“Let’s leave the horses here,” he said. “Then scale a tree and see if we can spot anything of concern.” While he didn’t know for sure someone was out there, he felt it in his bones. If he had to guess, he’d say about a dozen soldiers. He didn’t think they were Owen’s men, and he knew they weren’t Russek’s. If they were Melenia soldiers, well, that was something he didn’t want to consider at the moment.
“Is it really necessary to identify them?” Gytha asked while tying her horse to a tree.
“Yes.” If they were from Melenia, it changed everything.
After securing his horse, Ackley felt for his weapons, ensuring they were there. One was missing—the short sword he’d given to Harley.
“These trees are too flimsy,” Gytha whispered. “If I climb one, the limbs will shake the leaves.”
Plan B then. He tilted his head to the right. Gytha gave him a thumbs up. Taking a deep breath, he steeled his heart and prepared to hunt. His feet became lighter, his movements fluid as he made his way through the forest. The rise remained to his right. Most of the trees were only eight feet tall with long branches, half the leaves on the ground.
Gytha swung out wide, about thirty feet away. She had a sword in one hand, a dagger in the other. Ackley had a short sword and a knife. Moving between the trees, he became one with his surroundings. Crows cawed, then took flight straight ahead, about forty feet away. That had to be where the soldiers were hiding. Not bothering to see if Gytha followed, he slunk between the trees, heading to the area in question, all the while keeping his ears open to the sounds around him. The last thing he needed was to be taken by surprise by a man he didn’t see lying in wait.
If these men were Melenia soldiers, that meant someone had sent them to kill Ackley and Gytha. The most logical person was the false king. What scared Ackley about that was twofold. First, it meant the false king knew Gytha and Ackley were traveling south. If he knew that, then he probably knew Harley was meeting up with Owen and they were going to hide in Kreng. Second, it meant someone was feeding the false king accurate information. After dealing with this ambush, Ackley needed to make sure Idina, Harley, and Owen were safe. Then, he needed to find and kill the informant.
Nearing the spot in question, he scanned the rise to his right, not seeing anyone. However, thick leaves, which could easily conceal people, covered the ground. Crouching low, he slid from trunk to trunk, constantly scanning the ground. Thankfully, the trees weren’t sturdy here, so he didn’t have to worry about someone hiding in them and attacking from above.
Ackley needed to leave one man alive so he could interrogate him; the rest he would dispose of. Since he didn’t know how many there were, he couldn’t waste his weapons.
Then he heard it—the silence that in a forest means only one thing: an intruder. Or, in this case, an unknown number of intruders. Ackley froze, taking it all in and feeling his surroundings. The enemy was close by. A calmness settled over him. He breathed in and out.
“Where’d they go?” someone whispered, fifteen feet to the left.
“I can’t see them,” another said, five feet dead ahead.
Ackley would have to take out the man in front of him first. Then t
he man to his left. As soon as he struck, Gytha would step in and help, but he couldn’t rely on her. Palming his knife, he prepared to make the first kill. He lifted his arm, about to throw, when three men stood fifteen feet in front of Ackley, their backs to him. Each man had a bow in hand with full quivers strapped over their shoulders. Change of plan—he’d have to kill them first.
He reached down and withdrew two additional daggers. Taking a step closer to the man lying on the ground, he kept his eyes on the archers. Each archer’s focus remained on the road not far below.
As he always did, he chose where to strike each man to ensure a swift death. He threw his first dagger, then the second, and then his knife. All three archers went down. Jumping forward, he slammed his right foot against the head of the man on the ground. Withdrawing his knife from the archer closest to him, he slashed the guy to his left, killing him.
Chaos ensued.
Men shouted all around him—he quickly counted five. Since he’d taken out five men, he assumed this was a unit of ten. Crouching low, he stole one of the archer’s bows. He grabbed two arrows and shot them simultaneously, killing two soldiers with bows slung over their backs running toward him. He needed to keep moving.
Seven down, three to go. He was vaguely aware of Gytha a little farther down the hill fighting with two men. Knowing she could handle herself, Ackley turned to face the last man. With his short sword in hand, he twisted, allowing him to come in closer. He sliced the man across his abdomen while continuing to turn. Then Ackley kicked him, knocking him to the ground. He repositioned his weapon, slamming it straight down into the man’s chest, killing him. Not wanting to waste time, Ackley withdrew his weapon, wiping the blood off on the man’s shirt.
The only one still alive was the one he’d knocked unconscious. Turning, he looked for Gytha. The two men she’d fought were lying on the ground. He approached her. “Dead?” he whispered in case they had another unit of men coming to attack them.
She nodded. Blood coated her hands, and she had a nasty bruise already forming on her right cheek.
“Are you injured?”
“No,” she responded. “My ribs are sore from a punch, but I’m fine.”
“I left one alive.” He nodded up the hill to where the man was lying. “Go and grab a bow and arrows. Hide near the top and cover me. I’m heading to the other side of the ravine to see if there are men over there as well.”
She nodded and hurried toward one of the fallen archers.
Ackley retrieved his weapons from the dead soldiers, then ran back toward the horses. If there were additional men out there, they’d probably heard the commotion and would be coming to help. Which meant they’d have to cross the road and enter the forest near the horses.
Assuming there were ten additional men, the easiest thing to do would be to draw them out, exposing them on the road so Gytha could shoot them. He stretched his arms, preparing for hand-to-hand combat.
If the men were organized similarly, there would be five archers and five scouts. He doubted all ten would come at the same time. They’d probably send two first—one archer and one scout.
Ackley spotted the horses, munching on some tall grass about ten feet away from his current location. He rounded the end of the low rise. On the other side of the ravine, two men crouched between the trees, nearing the road. Ackley took a large, jerky step, making sure the men saw him, then he slunk behind a trunk so the archer couldn’t shoot him.
He heard the familiar sound of a hiss as an arrow sailed through the air, followed by what sounded like a man hitting the ground. Ackley peered around the trunk. The archer was sprawled in the middle of the road. Not wanting to run forward and fight the other soldier out in the open, he waited as the other man neared. Once the man was close enough, Ackley reached out, yanking the soldier into the cover of the forest.
Shouts rang out. He knew Gytha would strike any man running across the road. Not having time to spare, he released the man, then plunged his knife into him once. Twice. The man fell to the ground, dead.
Ackley turned to face any men Gytha missed. One soldier was about half-way across the road when an arrow soared through the air, striking the man’s throat. It was a well-placed shot which Ackley admired. That was the third man down. Five men hovered on the other side, afraid to cross and be struck. That meant there were still two men, an archer and a scout, up on top of the ravine, looking down. Ackley would have to lure those men out as well. Although, that could take too long since time was of the essence right now.
There was a quicker—albeit more dangerous—way. He bolted across the road, zig-zagging, then he dove for the closest soldier, tumbling to the ground. Arrows rained down, but all missed him since he hadn’t gone straight across. He rammed his dagger into the soldier’s side while twisting so the man’s body was on top of his, providing protection. He withdrew his dagger then flung it toward the man on his right, striking him. Reaching out with his other hand, he grabbed a man’s ankle, knocking him down.
He flipped the body off him, then kicked, swiping one of the soldier’s legs, knocking him down. The last man standing pointed an arrow right at Ackley. The guy dropped to the ground, an arrow protruding from his back. Even though all five men were on the ground, only three were dead. Ackley grabbed a dagger, embedding it into the soldier on his left. The last one scrambled to his feet.
Ackley almost made a severe tactical error and looked into the man’s eyes. Once again, steeling his resolve, he neared the man. Five foot seven inches, one hundred sixty pounds. He pretended to throw a punch but instead, kicked the guy’s side, knocking him down. He quickly plucked a dagger from one of the fallen bodies and flung it at the man’s neck, striking true.
That left the two on top of the ravine.
Ackley slunk deeper into the forest, hoping the last two soldiers weren’t already tracking him.
A twig snapped. Twisting, he dropped to the ground and threw his knife. An arrow sailed inches above Ackley's head. Ackley’s knife struck the archer’s side, not doing enough damage. The scout ran at him. Out of weapons, he sprang to his feet, wrapping his arms around the man’s torso. He turned, and an arrow embedded into the soldier’s back. Ackley lifted the man and ran at the archer. The archer shot another arrow, striking the soldier a second time. Ackley threw the body at the archer, knocking him down. Without stopping to think, Ackley knelt next to the archer, grabbed his head, and twisted as hard as he could.
He scanned the area, looking for additional threats. Not seeing any, he stood and counted the bodies on the road and lying around him. All ten were accounted for.
He whistled, and Gytha answered with an identical whistle. All clear.
His steady hands started shaking. He balled them into fists, forcing his body to remain calm and in control. Just because this immediate threat was over, didn’t mean he could relax. He had a man to interrogate.
After wiping his hands off on his pants, he began retrieving his weapons. While doing so, he compiled a list of questions to ask the soldier.
Gytha stood on the other side of the ravine. “The man woke up, so I tied him to a tree.” She scanned the road in both directions, her bow nocked and at the ready as if she expected to be ambushed at any moment.
“Twenty men is a lot,” Ackley commented. “If the false king sent them, then he had to know both you and I are trained soldiers.”
“You believe these men are from Melenia’s army?”
“I do.” The side of Gytha’s face was already black and blue. “I want you to stay here. Monitor the road for threats. I’ll be back in five minutes.”
“Only five?”
He gave a grim nod. It was all the time he needed.
Approaching the man, Ackley looked him over. Early twenties, six feet, one hundred fifty pounds. His arms had been tied together behind the trunk, his head resting against it.
“You’re from Melenia’s army,” he said by way of greeting.
The man looked up at Ackley but
didn’t respond.
Ackley crouched near the man’s feet, trying to decide if he should slice the soldier’s leg open and be direct, or start out kinder and work his way up. “Did the false king threaten your family members, too?”
The man’s brows drew together. “How’d you know about that?”
A wicked gleam flashed in Ackley’s eyes as he smiled. “The false king isn’t the only one with someone on the inside.” Taking one of his daggers, he dangled it between his fingers, drawing the man’s attention to the weapon. “Were additional soldiers sent out on missions?”
Sweat covered the man’s face, and his breathing came out hard and fast. “Yes.”
Panic took root, but he shoved it away. Panic would not help him right now. “How many groups?” He pressed the tip into the man’s thigh.
“One other unit went out.”
Ackley slid the dagger into the man’s leg. “Who did they go after?” Owen and Idina? Or Ledger and Harley? Not that either was acceptable to him.
“Are you going to kill me?”
He pressed the dagger in harder. “I will if you don’t answer me.”
The man pinched his eyes together, his breathing labored.
“They went after another group. A woman and several men, I think.”
“And their mission is to kill them?”
He nodded.
Ackley removed the dagger, letting it dangle between his fingers again. “Who’s sitting on the throne?”
“A Melenia soldier, but I don’t know his name.”
“Who gave you the order for this mission?”
“Lieutenant Flan. He said this was a mission for the king.”
This man was just a foot soldier, lacking valuable information. Ackley didn’t want to kill him since he wasn’t the enemy and he’d done nothing wrong. However, since the man had been sent to kill him, he couldn’t let him live. At least Ackley could make it a quick death.
“Do you know where the king is holding your family members?”
“No.”
Ackley leaned closer to him, then quick as lightning, rammed his dagger into the man’s neck. Unable to watch the life drain from him, Ackley sheathed his weapon and walked away. He tried not to gag at the heady smell of blood.
Sword of Rage: Reigning Kingdoms, Book 1 Page 24
