The first shot came from the Erlonian rear. A yell answered it. A wolverine roared.
The horses spooked immediately.
Lauriston snapped his reins and dug his spurs to send his horse into a full gallop. He hoped the others would be able to match the new speed.
Lauriston looked behind him and saw Lodi reloading while galloping onward. The princess kept up with him.
More shots echoed from the rear of the group. The black-coated enemies appeared as shadows behind them and answered with their own shots. Musket balls smacked against trees.
Lauriston gave another hand signal and broke off up the slope on the right. They’d be slower moving uphill, but he wasn’t going to gallop directly into the Scythes’ trap.
The ground shook under the horses’ hooves. Lauriston saw the white and black fur of the wolverines charging through the trees on their right now.
He pushed towards the crest of the ridge. He broke off to the left slightly.
“Stay with me!” he called behind him.
The whistle of a musket ball went past his head. He pulled out his pistol and fired back down the slope at a Scythe trying to cut them off.
The Erlonians crested the hill. Lauriston launched his horse down the opposite side. He saw more Scythes moving in the adjacent valley. His soldiers had the high ground now, though. He slowed slightly and thought through his next decision.
Quatre’s musket erupted nearby. A Scythe soldier fell backwards off his mount on their flank. The wolverine kept coming.
Lauriston pulled out his own musket and fired a quick shot at the beast. The ball struck its mark, but the wolverine only roared and moved faster up the hill in response.
“Keep moving!” Lauriston’s decision had been made for him. They couldn’t fight the Scythes—they would have to outrun them.
He put his musket back into its straps and spurred his horse forward. Lauriston heard the distinctive pops of Elisa’s silver pistols behind him among the booms of muskets.
The group flew along the top of a ridge and down a slight slope. He wanted to reach the flat forest floor below and put space between them and the wolverines. Then they could angle towards the lake ahead and hope to find the rest of the Erlonian army.
The trees thinned out and he could see farther ahead. To their left, the valley rose up to meet the end of the hill at a point. He saw two Scythes galloping on their beasts along a path. They were in front of the Erlonian horses and were about to close them off.
“East!” Lauriston turned down the last bit of slope on the eastern side of the hill.
He glanced behind him and saw the group still with him. The second he took his eyes off the path in front of him was almost his last.
A Scythe came out of the brush as they leveled off the slope. The wolverine was three bounds away, the enemy’s sword pointed at Lauriston’s chest.
Gunfire came from behind him and he watched the chest of the beast under the Kurakin explode in blood. The monster’s roar gurgled and its head fell forward and smashed into the ground. The Scythe went down with the beast and his sword tumbled in the air as he smashed into a rock.
Lauriston’s horse hurdled over the wolverine’s body and kept going. Lauriston said a silent thank you for the accuracy of his soldiers behind him.
He shifted his focus back to the path. The land was flat now. Lauriston forced his mind to reorient itself. They were in the open. They needed to find the lake. They needed to find the Erlonian army.
The horses couldn’t keep this galloping pace up. The thought nagged at the back of Lauriston’s mind. But they had to outrun the Scythes.
And there was nowhere to hide this time around.
More roars came from behind them.
The Scythes could have them surrounded already. The wolverines behind them could still be funneling the group into a trap. Lauriston wondered if he should turn and make a stand. Something screamed at him to second-guess his current course.
No. Stick to the plan.
If they were going to fight, they should’ve done it from the high ground. Lauriston had made his choice. They had to keep galloping. They had to hope for a miracle.
Elisa
Elisa strained to ignore the cramps in her legs. She was surrounded by the heavy breathing and snorts of horses as they galloped. The trees thinned around her and the air changed. There was a faint smell of water. Not salty like the coast, but a lake or river.
It would’ve been a peaceful and happy smell had the roar of a wolverine not ripped through the forest behind her.
The group galloped through the edge of the trees and into an open field. Tall grass waved in the wind. The horses tore across it.
A group of Scythes came out of the woods on the left. Seven riders on wolverines and two extra beasts unburdened by soldiers. They matched the Erlonians’ speed.
Even Elisa could see that the Scythes had an angle for the Erlonian flank. A hand signal came back from Lauriston and the group shifted around Elisa. The soldiers moved left, putting themselves in between her and the enemy wolverines. Elisa tried to move with them but Lodi kept her on a straight path.
They were protecting her. They were going to take the brunt of the wolverine charge in order for her to reach the far tree line.
Lodi made eye contact with her. His look urged her to keep galloping. His hand reached out for her reins.
No.
She wouldn’t abandon the soldiers who protected her. She wouldn’t run off while they died.
She snapped the reins away from Lodi’s hand. Her horse slowed and drifted right. Lodi matched her but was late. Elisa came to almost a complete stop and whirled to the left and back to face the oncoming Kurakin.
She had a perfect view of the Erlonian line as it shifted again to charge the Kurakin attack. Smoke billowed from guns on both sides. A cloud obscured the scene. Elisa lost sight of most of the clash but saw the wolverine in front of Quatre go down and the Erlonian slash his sword at the Scythe falling with the beast.
Lauriston felled the Kurakin adjacent him as well, but a riderless wolverine smashed into his horse. Elisa watched Lauriston fly forward as she galloped towards the fight. The smoke flew into her face and she lost sight of the tumbling marshal.
She heard the roars of the monsters, the pops of guns and the screams of men.
The smoke cleared briefly. She pulled out both pistols and fired straight down into the wolverine on top of Lauriston’s former horse. The beast roared and stood up on its hind legs to swipe at her. Elisa’s horse reared and pulled away. A third bullet came in from behind her and struck the beast in the face. It fell over backwards and writhed on the ground.
Elisa turned back in front of her and saw a new wolverine charging. Marshal Lauriston was pulling himself to his feet between her and the beast. The wolverine was closing too fast. Elisa pulled her sword and charged her horse at the enemy. She wouldn’t make it in time.
Lodi’s spear cut through the smoke above her and bore into the side of the beast. The wolverine was pushed sideways by the force and rolled over and thrashed about.
Lodi galloped past her and swung his sword down and slashed the monster’s throat. The thrashing stopped. Lodi pulled his spear free without leaving the saddle. Behind the Lakmian, Elisa saw more terror coming.
Four more Scythes and two more riderless wolverines came out of the forest. They were already at full speed and ripping towards the far side of the fight.
Elisa’s mind picked up the wider world in her periphery. The smoke cleared and she caught a glimpse of the full fight to match the screaming and explosions.
A naptha blew the horse out from under Mon. A wolverine stood over another horse and tore into the flesh of its neck. Quatre fought sword to sword with a Scythe warrior. Pitt charged an enemy with his bayonet. Desaix fired a pistol from his horse at a downed Kurakin.
“Go!” Lauriston yelled from the ground.
Elisa’s eyes snapped back to the new arrivals. None of the o
ther soldiers could see the approaching enemy reinforcements.
Lodi kicked his horse forward. Elisa did as well, keeping right on the Lakmian’s hip. Lauriston scrambled to his feet and ran after them. He shouted something else at Elisa but she couldn’t hear it over the battle.
Elisa and Lodi rode around the fighting to face the newly arrived Scythes. Lodi launched his bloody spear across the opening between the two sides. It traveled the gap in an instant and pushed through the chest of the middle Kurakin. The man was flung backwards, but his wolverine kept charging.
Elisa and Lodi reined to a stop. There were too many enemies. They would be crushed.
For the first time during the battle, Elisa took notice of the fear running through her. She felt it sweep over body and her muscles froze. She took a breath and forced herself back to numbness. She had to focus.
Lauriston stood below her horse. She saw him calmly reloading his pistols. His movements were practiced and steady even in the face of approaching death.
Elisa tried to reload as well, but her fingers trembled. She fumbled and dropped a ball. She wouldn’t make it in time. She took her eyes off the work and stared at the wolverine bearing down on her. It opened its mouth in a roar, bloodred eyes fixed on its next meal.
Elisa felt the freeze of fear grip her again.
The crack of Lauriston’s pistol came from her left. She saw the bullet hit her wolverine’s shoulder, but it didn’t slow the beast down. Lauriston fired again, ignoring the Kurakin directly in front of him. The second bullet didn’t stop Elisa’s monster, either.
Elisa’s pistol hung limply in her hands. There was only the wolverine and her fear left for her.
Lodi moved his horse in front of hers. Lauriston stepped forward as well. The wolverine was only a few bounds away.
Movement came from behind Elisa. She saw blurs on the edges of her vision and realized the ground was shaking. A cavalry charge engulfed her from behind and her mind continued to falter while trying to understand what was happening.
The riders were wearing blue.
The cavalry smashed into the smaller line of Kurakin and swept them backwards. The monsters disappeared from Elisa’s view. Cavalrymen formed a circle around her and Lauriston and Lodi. The marshal said something, but Elisa couldn’t hear over the crush of horses.
The Erlonian soldiers formed up around Elisa and the battered group of Lauriston’s men pulled back to their feet.
This was the rest of the Erlonian army. More cavalry poured out of the trees and pursued the Scythes back into the forest.
It was a few more moments before Elisa finally understood. They were saved. They’d found the army. The Scythes’ chase had been defeated.
Pitt
Pitt awoke and saw the treetops moving above him. He was on a stretcher. He rocked back and forth as soldiers carried him.
The memory of the battle came slowly back to him.
There was a pain in his leg.
A naptha had exploded near him?
He couldn’t remember.
He’d taken down a wolverine at the very beginning, lost his horse, and charged a Kurakin. Then everything went dark.
“You’re awake.”
Pitt looked up and found Lauriston on a horse riding above him.
“We’re with my army.” Lauriston looked up ahead on the path. Pitt couldn’t see around the man carrying the front of his stretcher. “They’ve made camp on the lake nearby.”
“Did we get all the Scythes?” Pitt felt a cough coming and tried to hold it inside. He knew instinctively it would hurt to cough.
“Most of them fled, but we got some.”
“Good.”
“Get some rest, we’ll be there soon. You have time to sleep now.” Lauriston smiled down at him.
Pitt let his head fall back to the soft cloth of the stretcher. He felt a much-needed sleep take him once again.
Chapter 25
Rise again, noble warriors, the mighty voice said. And join my hosts to fight for eternity.
Tome of the Ascended One
Parable of Resurrection
Elisa
Elisa walked towards the smells of breakfast. Her stomach growled up at her.
She’d finally reached the Erlonian army. She walked down an aisle between rows of tents and heard soldiers waking up and preparing for the day. The cooks were clanging pots and stoking fires. Cavalrymen were feeding their horses and checking their shoes.
Lauriston and Mon and everyone had gotten her to the army. Her father’s army. The last of Erlon’s great warriors.
She was safe. She was finally safe.
Two of the sharpshooters who’d helped rescue her crossed the path in front of her on the way to breakfast. One had a splint on his leg and was helped along by the other.
Elisa sped up and ducked under the injured soldier’s other arm to help speed the pair along.
“Good morning, Princess.” The uninjured soldier nodded at her.
“Thank you, Princess. I can manage,” the other said with a grunt of pain. “I don’t think your father would approve of the princess having to help a common soldier.”
Elisa didn’t respond. She thought the exact opposite would be true of her father. He would smile on her helping the men who’d protected her and the empire and the people.
The group of three stumbled along the last few steps to their destination. There was a stump open next to where the cooks were handing out food and they eased the injured sharpshooter down into a sitting position with his broken leg straight out in front of him.
There was a station for the cooks in an open area that broke the rows of tents. Elisa could only see two pots being serviced by three cooks. There must be other cooking stations throughout the camp. This one was only big enough to serve a portion of the men.
Breakfast was a piece of white bread served with some kind of stew. Elisa walked closer and thought it smelled like venison. Her stomach growled again.
“Venison stew. Some vegetables in there. And some bread.”
The voice startled Elisa. She looked up and finally noticed the man who was serving the stew out of a pot with a giant ladle.
Marshal Lauriston, the leader of this army, was serving bowls of breakfast stew to the men.
Lauriston smiled at her. Elisa stood in shock for a few seconds before regaining control of herself.
“Good morning, Lar. Thank you,” Elisa said as she took the bowl of stew from him. “An extra slice of bread for your sharpshooter?”
Elisa pointed back towards the pair she’d helped to the stump. Lauriston smiled and nodded and filled another bowl with a little extra stew and put two slices of bread on top. He winked at Elisa when he handed it over.
She walked the bowls back to the sharpshooters.
“Thank you, Princess,” the injured one said. He bit into the stew-soaked bread immediately. “Never thought I’d be served breakfast by a princess.”
“Here,” Elisa said to the other sharpshooter. She held out the other bowl to him. “Take this, I’ll get back in line.”
“No, Your Highness. You eat it, I’ll wait in line.”
He walked off before Elisa could protest.
“It’s good stew,” the injured soldier said through a mouthful of the meal.
Elisa took her first few bites and felt the warm broth spread across her stomach. She turned back to watch Lauriston while she ate.
More soldiers arrived for breakfast and a line had formed. Each man greeted the marshal and he smiled in return and talked to them while he served.
Elisa finished her bowl quickly. She offered her piece of bread to the injured sharpshooter and he took it gladly. She kept her eyes on Lauriston and the line of soldiers that now stretched down the far row of tents.
Elisa walked back over to Lauriston without really thinking her actions through. She walked around the table Lauriston was using to serve and took a place next to him.
It was the right thing to do. It seemed like
something her father would do, something Lauriston and Mon and Lodi and all the soldiers would approve of.
She was a princess. She could lie around in her tent and let the officers run the army and fight the war for her country. But she’d seen the way Lauriston’s soldiers fought for her and she’d seen how much stronger they were when they saw her fighting with them.
Her father always walked and talked among the men. He always tried to relate to everyone in his army, down to the cooks and the common line infantrymen. Elisa would do the same. Even if it meant literally serving the soldiers alongside Lauriston.
There was a knife and cutting board with a large loaf of bread and she started slicing off chunks for the soldiers after they’d received their stew from the marshal.
Lauriston didn’t say anything. He only smiled with a sideways look at her. He ladled the stew into the soldiers’ bowls while Elisa cut pieces of bread and set them on top of the bowls as the soldiers passed.
The men smiled and greeted Lauriston. Seeing the marshal serving them breakfast didn’t seem out of the ordinary to them. They all took it in stride like it was a common occurrence.
But when they saw Elisa, it was a different story.
One of the first soldier’s eyes went wide and he started stuttering as he stared at her. He took his slice of bread and stumbled away, continuing to mutter incoherent words.
The next only gaped at her.
The third recovered quickly enough to be the first to speak to her.
“Your Highness, it’s an honor.”
Elisa smiled and did a small curtsy as she handed him his bread.
The men continued to react in various ways all down the line. One soldier with bars on his shoulder to denote the rank of captain let out a high-pitched squeal.
Lauriston laughed and shook his head at every reaction and they kept serving until the line died down.
The Fall of Erlon Page 28
