Lorik The Protector (Lorik Trilogy) (25 page)

It took two days to travel the distance to Fort Hallish, and they could see the smoldering wreckage of the fort an hour before they arrived. They picked through the rubble, finding the remains of four men and two horses, but little else. The heat from the fire had ruined the weapons that had been left in the fort and there was no food or supplies left behind. They made camp that night, keeping a careful watch to ensure they weren’t attacked in the darkness. The moon was growing full and cast a silvery light around the ruins.

The next morning, Lorik gathered his men together and discussed what they should do next.

“I’d like to ride south a short ways,” Lorik explained. “There were several settlements nearby. Maybe we can learn what the Norsik are up to.”

“I’ve got no problem with that,” said one of the volunteers. “I wouldn’t mind riding down a few more of those bastards.”

“You think it’s possible that some of the villages were missed?” asked another man.

“It’s doubtful, but we won’t know until we look. It’s hard to say how many raiders came through the Wilderlands, but we need to know as much as possible.”

“So why not check on those settlements?” asked another volunteer. “I mean, that’s what we’re here for, right?”

“I think so,” Lorik said. “I know there’s little we can do for those settlements now, but I’d like to find out what’s happening. The reason I’m asking is that I can’t fight. If we run into raiders, I can direct your efforts, but until my hand is better, I won’t be much help.”

“We can handle the raiders,” said the first volunteer.

“It’s still worth the risk,” said another. “As long as you can ride, we should do it.”

“All right,” Lorik said. “Let’s go south and see what we can find out.”

Stone rode quickly north. He was anxious to find out what was happening but even more anxious to get back to Vera. He had ridden for an hour when he saw the dark blob in the distance. His heart sank, but he needed to get closer to confirm what he was seeing. It took half and hour more to ride close enough to make out the hoard of Norsik raiders that were moving south. It was difficult to ascertain the exact numbers, but he guessed there were well over a hundred Norsik warriors, and they were moving fast.

Stone turned his horse and rode hard. His heart was racing. He knew that the group fleeing with Vera were mostly women and children. The only men with them were older, well past their prime and no match for a horde of Norsik warriors. He wracked his brain as he rode, trying to figure out how to save the people who were now under his protection.

By the time he caught up with Vera he guessed that the horde of raiders was less than three hours behind them. He needed to speak to everyone, but the idea of stopping, even to make plans, was frightening. Still, if he was going to save them from the Norsik, he had to convey the danger.

“Vera,” he said as he galloped into the large group of travelers.

“What?” Vera said, the concern in her voice showing clearly on her face as well.

“We’ve got to change course,” he said. “There’s over a hundred warriors less than three hours behind us. And they’re traveling twice as fast as we are.”

“Oh no,” Vera said.

The news traveled out through the group like ripples in a pond.

“Listen to me!” Stone shouted. “Everyone! Listen! There are raiders moving south. They will catch up with us before the end of the day if we continue south. Our only hope is to change course. If we turn east, perhaps they will pass us by.”

“Won’t they be able to track us?” said one woman.

“Possibly, but we don’t have much choice,” Stone said. “We can’t stay on the road.”

There were cries of panic and arguing but Stone ignored it all. He put Vera on his horse and led the wagon off the main road. Most of the large group of refugees followed Stone, and he decided he couldn’t worry about the rest. He had to help those who were willing to accept his help, and a group of travelers as large as this would be visible for many miles on the wide open plains. If they wanted any chance of avoiding capture, they needed to move east now and hope for the best.

The day seemed to fly by. People complained of fatigue but Stone pushed them all as hard as he could. He refused to let them rest for more than a few minutes at a time. He rotated people in the wagons, even making the children walk at times to allow some of the elderly to rest. It was a grueling day and when night fell, and although Stone wanted to keep moving, he gave in to their cries and complaints. They made a cold camp, with absolutely no fires allowed. Most of the refugees didn’t complain because they were simply too tired. Most of them huddled together and slept.

It was midnight when the attack came. The raiders had quietly surrounded the camp and they moved in together. Most of the women were still asleep when the raiders fell upon them. Stone had been dozing, unable to rest, when he heard the battle cries of the raiders. The moon was nearly full and a silvery light rested on the camp, enough to see the looming shadows of the Norsik raiders.

“Vera!” Stone shouted.

They had already made a contingency plan if they were attacked at night. Vera was to get on Stone’s horse and ride south, as hard and fast as she could, but when the call came she hesitated. All her life she had suffered loss and now she knew that riding away would mean that she would never see Liam again. Her heart beat so hard her chest hurt.

“Go!” he shouted again.

She ran to the horse. It was already saddled and she climbed up quickly. Her dress started to tangle around her legs but she hiked it up to her thighs, all thoughts of modesty lost in the chaos.

“I love you!” Stone shouted, then he slapped the horse hard on the rump. The horse jumped away and Vera kicked it into a gallop.

Stone turned to see three raiders running toward him. Their swords all dripped with blood. Stone drew both of his knives and ran to meet the raiders. The first raider was tall and raised his sword over his head for a hard downward slash, but Stone slid feet-first past the warrior, his knife slicing the boot of the raider. The blade gashed the raider’s ankle bone before severing the thick tendon that connected to the Norsik’s heel. The man toppled forward with a cry of pain and Stone, staying slow, spun past the second warrior, who thrust his sword down at him.

With a swipe of his knife Stone knocked the raider’s blade away and used the momentum to launch himself into the third raider’s legs. Both men fell in a tumble, the second raider skidding to a halt and turning back to finish Stone. But Stone was faster on his feet. He slashed the thigh of the man on the ground and sprang back up to face the second raider. The Norsik warrior thrust his sword out toward Stone’s chest. Stone pivoted away from the blade but didn’t see the foot that kicked out at his knee. The raider’s boot heel hit Stone on the side of the knee, pushing it inward. Stone felt a stabbing pain in his knee and his leg gave out beneath him. The raider jumped onto Stone, but before he could attack he found both of Stone’s knives buried in his chest. The man groaned as his lifeblood gushed out onto Stone, soaking his clothes from neck to stomach.

Stone rolled the raider off him and staggered to his feet. His leg was nearly useless and he was forced to hop awkwardly on one foot. There was nothing but screams and shadowy movement around Stone. He tried desperately to see what had become of Vera, but she was nowhere to be seen. He hoped desperately that she had gotten away, but there was no way to tell for sure. He moved toward the raider writhing on the ground not far away. It was the man Stone had tripped. The raider gripped his thigh, trying to hold the wound closed. Stone dropped onto his good knee beside the raider and cut the man’s throat. More blood spattered his face and neck.

Stone got slowly back to his feet only to find a raider slaughtering an older man who was trying to defend his wife. Stone knew he was too late to save the man, but he hobbled forward anyway. The raider was bellowing a gruesome battle cry as he slit the elderly man’s neck.

“Let him go!” Stone shouted back.

“
Hork jovila!
” the raider answered.

Stone raised his hands like a fighter, the brass knuckle guards catching the silvery moonlight and the bloody blades dripping with death.

The raider flung the dying man aside and rushed toward Stone, who tried to spin out of the raider’s path, but ended up falling when his injured leg failed him. The raider turned, while Stone, on just one knee, slashed at the warrior’s stomach. The raider swayed backward, avoiding the knife blade. Normally Stone would have spun forward, bringing his second knife into play, but he was stuck on one knee, unable to get back to his feet without putting his hands on the ground. The raider bellowed again and brought his thick sword down in a chopping motion. Stone crossed his own blades to catch the sword. The raider then kicked forward, hoping to catch Stone on the chin, but Stone let himself fall backward. His bad knee stuck at an awkward angle, but there was nothing Stone could do. He fell onto his side and swiped a knife at the raider’s shin, but missed.

As Stone struggled back onto his knees the raider kicked out at Stone’s face. Instinctively Stone tried to duck away, but the boot smashed into the top of his head. His world went fuzzy for an instant, and then the sounds of screaming and slaughter suddenly stopped, replaced by a loud ringing. Stone felt hot blood running through his hair. It felt like a bug was crawling across his scalp. Still, his instincts for survival caused him to look up and see the raider grinning down, preparing to drive his sword through Stone’s chest. Then suddenly a blade punched out from inside the raider’s stomach. The warrior screamed as blood rained down on Stone. He rolled aside as the raider fell to his knees, clutching at the blade that had been slammed into his back and come slicing out his stomach.

Stone looked up and saw the elderly woman standing behind the raider, blood on her hands from the sword she had used to kill the man who had killed her husband. Stone struggled to his feet, causing hot blood to run down into his face from the wound on his scalp. His head throbbed from the kick and his knee was screaming in pain, but he was alive. He wiped the blood from his eyes and hobbled forward.

Another raider came running out of the darkness. The man saw Stone and veered to the side, but Stone jabbed out with his knife, nicking the man’s shoulder. The raider ran on, looking for an easier target. Stone hobbled further and came to raider on top of a young girl. The raider was so intent on ravaging his victim that he didn’t hear Stone behind him. Stone grabbed the raider’s hair and yanked the man’s head back before sawing his knife across the man’s throat.

After helping the young girl to her feet, Stone turned to find three more raiders facing him. They were wild-looking men. The sides of their heads were shaved and their faces were covered in a dried and flaking paint. They wore strange shirts with no sleeves and wide leather belts. Unlike the other Norsik raiders, these men used metal chains with thick, spiked metal balls as weapons. They swung their chains around and around, the heavy weapons making the muscles in their arms stand out.

Stone didn’t wait for the men to attack; instead he went on the offensive, feinting toward his left and then diving low to his right. The man on Stone’s left swung his chain, but Stone wasn’t there. The man on the right was still twirling his weapon when Stone buried his knife in the man’s abdomen. Stone dropped to the ground and the wounded raider fell beside him. The raider in the middle swung his chained ball at Stone, but despite his injured knee Stone rolled out of the way. Then, just as quickly, he rolled back, grabbing the chain while the ball was still stuck in the ground, and jerking the raider forward. The raider tripped on the writhing body of his companion and fell onto Stone. The crash knocked the breath out of Stone, but he managed to slide a knife between the man’s ribs. He was trying to heave the now inert body off him when the third raider hurled his mace at Stone. The spiked ball slammed into the dead raider’s back and knocked the body back on top of Stone. Another heave from Stone timed at the same moment the raider jerked back on his chain allowed Stone to slip out from under the body of the dead raider.

While the Norsik warrior prepared for another strike, Stone slipped his fingers out of the brass knuckle guard of the knife on his left hand. He grabbed the blade in his right hand and threw the knife at the raider. The heavy knife ripped the raider’s shoulder before flipping up and disappearing in the darkness. The knife left a ragged gash, but it didn’t stop the warrior. He staggered back from the unexpected blow, then lunged forward again, swinging his chain hard. Stone raised his knife to ward off the blow, catching the chain instead of the spiked ball. The ball and chain twirled around the blade and the raider jerked his chain back. The knife blade snapped at the hilt and Stone was left only with the handle and brass knuckle guard.

He rolled to his side and hopped onto his good leg, facing the raider. The man looked angry, but he didn’t rush in to attack despite the fact that it appeared Stone had no more weapons. Instead he gave his chain a half-hearted swing toward Stone’s head. Stone dodged back and then regained his balance. It flashed through his mind that he was going to die, but he didn’t have time to consider the horrific possibility or react to it. Instead, he feinted forward, then hopped to the side. The raider had swung his chain in response to the feint and was just getting the heavy weapon back under control when Stone dove into him. The chain flew from the raider’s hand as they toppled onto the ground. Stone was on top and immediately he lifted his upper body, preparing to punch down with the brass knuckle guard, but the raider caught Stone’s arm with one hand and grabbed his head with the other, pulling Stone back down on top of him.

The two men squirmed and blood poured from Stone’s head wound. Stone tried to wrench his hand free but the raider held on. Then Stone used his other hand to push on the raider’s chin. It gave him the leverage he needed to pull away from the man. He wrenched his other arm free and punched down. The brass knuckle guard smashed the raider’s nose, and then a deep-seated fury came over Stone. He punched and punched, breaking bones and shattering teeth. One of the raider’s eyes popped from its socket, then the bones began to cave in. Stone punched over and over until exhaustion overtook him. The raider was dead, and Stone fell over onto his side. He needed to wipe the blood from his eyes, but he couldn’t. His arms were too heavy. Breathing was difficult. All he knew was pain. And then, mercifully, the world went black.