Champions of the Apocalypse (25 page)

“People of Horizon, why do you harbour criminals? We have had this arrangement for a long time now!” he shouted.

“The bastards, I knew they were in on this!” swore Synne to her brother.

“Calm yourself, sister, you’ll have the opportunity to do something about it soon enough.”

“You have been taking from us for too long, leave us, leave us be!” shouted the man that was standing in the open.

Cainon rode towards the man who stood defiantly, refusing to give ground.

“Who are you, old man, and why do you defy the will of my clan?” he demanded.

“Your clan is nothing but bandits and brigands!”

Catching everybody by surprise, he stabbed forward, the tip of his pitchfork striking the horse hard in the flank. The animal reared and Cainon tumbled to the ground. There was no sound as the warriors on both sides held their breath, waiting for the inevitable bloodbath. A large warrior jumped from his horse and rushed over, picking up Cainon before turning to the man.

“I am Khan and I’ll show you want our clan of bandits and brigands thinks of your little dump!” he shouted.

Grabbing his sword from his belt, he whipped it out and in one clean movement lopped the head off the old man. The head dropped to one side whilst the body dropped to its knees and then to the ground.

“Now!” roared Thrax, who appeared from the cover of the metal plating running down the sides of the platform.

He fired first, sending a bolt into the chest of Khan who staggered, but continued to drag Cainon to his horse where helping hands lifted him up. More bolts came from the train and then the defenders opened fire. The nearest tower launched a two-foot long arrow that was tipped with iron. The projectile slammed into one of the Raiders, and kept going before striking another, pinning the two of them to the ground.

“Kill them all!” screamed Cainon as he straightened himself on his new mount.

A dozen riders lay dead on the ground before they were able to start moving. Some rode around the train whilst the rest split up and raced around the buildings looking for anybody to attack. One group of the men dismounted and rushed for the train, some grabbing the bottom of the ladders, the others leaping onto the main boiler and working their way to the platforms. The quickest managed to reach the top of the ladder where Synne and Ulric were. It was a bad position to be in though. Ulric was waiting and with a heavy swing, he brought the two-handed mace down onto the Raider’s head. The impact crushed his skull and sent the body tumbling down onto those climbing up behind.

“Behind you!” shouted Ulric, as he spotted more coming from the front.

Synne ducked to avoid a volley of bolts and then balanced herself against the railing so that she faced the next group advancing along the boiler. She hadn’t used the crossbow yet so she prayed to herself and lifted the handle. She heard a click but nothing happened. She shook the weapon but still nothing. The closest Raider was now only six feet away and had already drawn his rusted axe. Then she remembered Thrax’s words about the handle. She slammed it down hard and the bolt rushed out and hit the man in the chest. He looked down and then back at her.

“You bitch!” he shouted.

The man started to climb over the railing and onto the platform. Thrax was right, the power was significantly less than a normal crossbow, even at this range the bolt had only gone in a few inches through the man’s light armour. She considered dropping the weapon and drawing her sword but curiosity got the better of her. With a quick motion, she pumped the handle up and down. It was hard work but after the first movements, she got the rhythm. Bolt after bolt whistled out and struck not just the man, but the two climbing over the fence behind him. When she stopped, she was stunned to find one man slumped over the fence with four bolts in his chest, neck and head. The other two had either fallen or jumped.

“Wow!” she said as she turned to check on the rest of the train.

Two more Raiders were fighting Ulric and Thrax but they couldn’t force their way onto the platform. Half a dozen bodies were already resting on the ground around the ladders. The head of Khan appeared and he threw himself onto the platform. Anna was in the way and without hesitating he grabbed her and threw her over the side to the waiting Raiders on the ground. His size and bulk knocked aside Ulric and Thrax was almost thrown from the side. Synne moved to help but another had arrived from the boiler and she swung around to slow him down. Pulling the lever, she emptied the remaining bolts into the man, the effect being quick and devastating. As the man fell, she drew her sword and rushed in to help Thrax in his battle with Khan.

The huge warrior swung a flail in his right hand and stabbed with a wicked looking knife. It was slightly curved and the back of the blade was serrated. Thrax had already taken a nasty wound to his left arm but it had allowed him to get close enough to get Khan into an arm lock. Ulric rushed forward to help him.

“Grab his other arm!” shouted Thrax.

Ulric ducked underneath the flail and grabbed the man but he refused to be held. With a massive effort, the Raider lifted his knee and delivered a savage kick to Ulric’s stomach that sent him flying to the ground. Synne rushed over to him and dragged him clear of the two men.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’ll live, help Thrax!” he groaned.

Eric who until now had been fighting on the other platform jumped over to help. Khan spotted the movement and with a quick stab caught the poor man in the throat, tearing a great hole that could have decapitated a mule. The lifeless body of Eric dropped down to join the many others that had fallen in the fight.

Synne needed no encouragement and rushed to the side of the platform. Khan was so busy wrestling with Thrax that she was able to deliver a wicked slash down his back. To her dismay, the cut simply opened up the other layer of his clothing, revealing tight-fitting leather under armour that absorbed the bulk of the slash. The blow did hit hard enough however to make him stumble. Thrax twisted his arm around and charged to the ladder. Both of them stumbled over the edge but Thrax managed to hang onto the top rung as Khan tumbled to the bottom with a crash. Synne reached out and helped pull him to the top.

From their position, the battle appeared to be going their way. One building was on fire and a tower had smoke belching from it. The rest of the buildings remained well defended, and repeated crossbow bolts and stabs with spears were keeping the buildings clear. A low rumble from a war horn blasted through the plain and in less than a few minutes the surviving horsemen were riding away to the north.

Ulric, with the help of Synne dragged himself up to the side and looked out to the field of battle. He watched the riders moving well out of range of their weapons where they appeared to stop.

“Why are they waiting?”

“It is simple, they were caught by surprise. The next attack will be even worse than before,” replied Ulric.

Another horn, this time much quieter came from the north.

“No, look, can you see that?” shouted Synne.

“Yeah, I see it, they’re bringing reinforcements,” said Thrax with a tone of resignation in his voice.

“We can hold them though, right?” she asked.

“That isn’t up to us, look,” he said, pointing down to a group of people emerging from the town and riding out on horses towards the horse that waited not half a mile away. One of them carried a long pole with a white flag hanging from it.

“It’s that idiot Jackson! What is he doing?” asked Synne.

“A white flag, they are looking for a truce,” answered Ulric.

“I don’t believe this. A truce for what, surrender?” she demanded.

“Who knows? We need to be ready. If they return and try to hand over the Trading Post we will have to intervene. I know the Brotherhood, they are oath breakers and will say anything to get what they want. Cainon cannot be trusted. Just like his father,” said Thrax bitterly.

“They are coming back!” said Ulric.

“That was quick, is that good?” asked Synne.

“Not usually, come on, let’s get down, we need to find out what that idiot has said,” said Thrax and he lowered himself down the ladder. Synne and Ulric followed though both held their weapons out to the side, ready for trouble.

Jackson approached along with two other riders.

“What the hell are you doing, Jackson?” demanded Ulric.

“I’m doing what you should be doing, resolving this peacefully and without killing half the town.”

“You fat oaf, we’re trying to protect you all. What did you tell them?” shouted an angry Synne.

“It doesn’t matter, they won’t negotiate unless we hand over the children of Galan,” he said, whilst looking down at Synne from his horse.

“Look,” said Thrax.

Three Raiders including the clan’s standard bearer, a short but heavily built warrior, as well as Cainon and Khan approached them. The three moved on foot and like Thrax they carried their weapons in the open. Cainon looked vicious, his clothing and armour were damaged and ripped and he bled from several minor wounds. Khan, despite his previous setback looked equally dangerous. In front of him, Cainon pushed the fragile figure of Anna, now in chains. Thrax turned to Synne and Ulric.

“Be careful, you cannot trust these bastards, I promise you!”

“Yeah, he’s right, move back to the buildings, we need cover if they try anything,” replied Ulric.

They all moved their way back until they stood just twenty or so feet from the nearest building. Some of the defenders hung out of the windows to watch, whilst small contingents left the safety of the cover to get out and watch the events unfold. Behind Cainon, the rest of the enemy force approached but at a careful distance. They were close enough that they could rush in to assist their commanders, but not close enough that they could be easily hit with most of the projectile weapons used by the town’s defenders.

Cainon stopped no more than ten feet away from Synne and her group. He said nothing, just stared into her face in her eyes. Khan, the animal that he was, growled but like Cainon, said nothing. The rest of the Raiders had already dismounted and formed up into a large line of men where they could watch.

“What about the reinforcements?” whispered Synne.

“They’re already here, look to the left,” replied Ulric quietly.

Synne moved her eyes over to her left and spotted about another thirty or forty men dismounting and running over to join the rest of the Raiders. One of their group carried a different banner to Cainon.

“They must be another clan from the Brotherhood,” she replied.

“Yeah, great,” answered Ulric.

Jackson dismounted from his horse, which was quickly taken away by some of his lackeys. He took a few steps ahead of everybody else to face Cainon. Thrax, Ulric and Synne also stepped forward until the two small groups faced off against each other.

“What do you want, Cainon?” demanded Synne.

Cainon snorted and spat on the ground.

“I don’t speak to rats like you,” he growled.

“You will...and you will like it.”

The group of Raiders separated as the leader of the reinforcements arrived. As he approached, it was clear he was much older and far more distinguished than the rest of the men there. He moved up to Cainon and Khan who both bowed down before him. After speaking quietly, he then took a few steps to face Synne and her allies. Ulric instantly recognised him.

“Master Lar, you bastard!” he shouted.

The man gave an evil grin whilst looking at the group. He spotted Thrax, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.

“Thrax?” he asked.

“Yes, you old snake, it is me,” he replied with scorn.

“Interesting. Well, I see you are all getting along well?”

He stepped to the side so the rest of the people of Horizon could see him.

“I have a proposal for this Trading Post. If you leave immediately, you can live, for a while. Stay and you die,” he shouted with an evil laugh.

The people were visibly shaken by the man though from the expressions on some of them Synne was convinced he had been here before.

“Why did you attack Haven? What are you up to?” demanded Synne.

“The League is weak, we will combine it with us to create something, well, what is the word, something more agreeable,” he said with a sneer.