Out of the Faold (Whilst Old Legends Fade Synchronicles) (25 page)

Onward they continued with little rest. The coast was more heavily populated with fishing villages than Coral expected. The sea air was punctuated with the heaviness of black smoke at times
, keeping people indoors for fear of the fever. No children played in the waves, only gulls cried overhead looking for bites to scavenge.

They camped up high on the shore among the long waving grasses. Coral brought the girls to the water before the sun set to gather a few shells and wade in the sea. They noted that both Pearl and Coral had names
that originated from
the
waters
. When Glory pouted
Coral told her that her name defines
the beauty of
the sun rising
on the ocean.
At dawn, the sun emerged from the waves in scarlet and pink hues. Glory gasped in wonder at the display of her name thrown across the sky.

They rode hard throughout the day. Amias pointed at ships off the shore. Some were the King’s ships though others were of foreign design, lower and wider, more menacing. The rumble of thunder could be heard over their horses’ hooves further to the south though the sunlight of the day prevented them from seeing the worst of the Sister-formed lightning. They were using it as a weapon now, forcing compliance or
hiding their retreat to the enclave at the isthmus. They were chasing a thunderstorm with no
clouds. It could be anywhere.

They met a soldier racing the other way, marked with soot and a bloody hand. Captain Doran made him stop, at the man’s distress, but he was outranked so anxiously reigned in. “Sir,” he saluted. “We’ve been set upon by the Kusira from the ships as well as the witches
in the hills
. We have forces at the Isthmus but they are coming in strong.
”

“An army of three regiments follows us.”

“The Siri have come, Sir,” he announced. “The King sent ships. They arrived this morning from the western coast. They’ve gone after the witches on the peninsula but our men need help.”

“Go inform the commanders,” Amias ordered him, and the man took off at a gallop. “Thank the gods for the Siri.”

Coral shook inside. They were indeed heading into battle. She looked to the precious girls with them and regretted her decision to bring them along. Their safety was paramount.
Go. Now. Bring them with you. Go.

They charged south
passing more messengers and then citizens as they evacuated the area. Captain Doran told them to head up the coast
. T
he Sisters had already passed through. Wounded and burnt people stopped at the side of the road waving
for
the Marshalls to hurry.

A strangled scream erupted from Pearl as she pulled her horse to a stop and dropped down into the ditch at the side of the road. Amias, scared she’d fallen, called a halt and jumped down after her. He found her holding a small child, bleeding from its leg, the mother trying to wrap it. Tears streamed down both the
little boy’s and Pearl’s faces.

“Wait,” Pearl said, pausing
to look
off into the distance. She placed her hand on the wound and pressed
, mumbling a prayer to the gods for help and kissed the boy’s filthy hair. She grabbed the wrapping and with the cleanest part wound it around his leg telling the mother to get to the coast further north to wash it in the ocean and cover it in seaweed she’d find there. The mother agreed and took the boy back up onto the road in her ar
ms.

Amias lifted Pearl back up onto her horse. “You can’t just stop. I thought you’d fallen hurt.”

“I had to help,” she explained. “Why are they doing this?”

“Fear!” Glory shouted. “Like Kel said before. They are scaring us so we don’t fight. Well I’m not afraid. I’m not going to let them do it.”

A powerful crack of lightning forced them all to jump in their saddles and Amias grinned at her as he hoisted himself up onto his. “Well, I’m a little afraid,” he said. “But with you next to me I feel safe.” The men chuckled as the g
roup once again advanced south.

A long thin bay lay far ahead.
Amias told them they
’d arrive late in the afternoon
.
The road
they followed
ran along t
he Isthmus
. It was a narrow passage of land between the bulk of
Danycia
and
the Verdera peninsula,
rocky
and
tree c
overed. If the Kusira women were on the
Verdera P
eninsula they would be forced to exit through the
isthmus
to get to their ships.
To the west of the isthmus was another bay that
led eventually to
Brynntown
two days beyond. The Siri would have sailed into the western bay to meet up with the King’
s armies.

Less people were on the road now, the bulk of them having passed going the other way or in
to
hiding.
They could see wagons and riders heading inland far off into th
e distance, going cross country, which was probably the safest route
.

Marshalls raced south at a steady pace as the afternoon wore on. Some of the faster cavalry from the forces behind had caught up. Officers shared news and reports with Amias. They balked at seeing Coral and the girls among them but Captain Doran informed them he was following King’s orders.
The army was going to march in from the road as support for the men who were already along the eastern coast. Amias w
as asked to circle around west to the bay. He would
meet the Siri and others coming in on ships to prevent the Kusira wome
n from escaping toward Brynntown
on the mainland. He agreed.

Leaving the road, the Marshalls galloped across the grasslands
. More thunder rumbled from afar and with the sun lowering to the west they could start to see flashes of light against the dark rise
of the tree covered peninsula.

Scouts waved them down then let them pass. They stopped at a stream to water the horses and grab a quick bite to eat. Pearl’s skirts still held the small boy’s blood stains so Coral tried to rinse it to no avail. The journey cross count
r
y took longer since they had to sweep west then south again but they finally arrived with the sun
leaving long shadows across the ground
. A mass of men, soldiers,
were arming up, getting ready to march east. Captain Amias met with a General who issued orders to find the Si
ri. They’d been asking for him.

The Siri had been posted all along the western side of the isthmus. Captain Amias, Kel and Coral dismounted to meet with one of their leaders. He stood a foot taller than
Kel and Amias
and towered over Coral. They bowed to each other as the man beckoned them over and pointed a
t the rise of land before them.

“The witches are trying to make it over this
lower
land to the ships further e
ast. They are trapped. They use the storms to attack your men and distract them. My people have gone in.”

A deafening roar hit them, shaking each of them as they stood covering their ears. The sky lit up with brilliant white bolts of lightning. The Siri leader shook his head then told them, “They are trying my patience.”

A screech nearby spun Coral around in p
anic. Glory jumped up and down racing
off into the crowd. Coral bounded after her, followed closely by Kel. With tears streaming down her face they found Glory in the arms of a tall slender girl. Krisa.

“Oh, thank the gods you are safe!” Coral
called out, hugging her and not letting her go. Kel squeezed Krisa’s shoulder and shook hands with Pat, who stood over her. “We’ve missed you so much.”

“They won’
t let me go
stop them,”
Krisa pouted, fingering a long machete-like blade hanging from her waist. She wore a dark green and brown uniform of sorts, a quilted breast
covering with shor
t trim jacket and dark trousers.

“Not without us!” Pearl d
eclared appearing behind Coral.

They had only a few moments to visit before Captain Amias Doran appeared with the Siri leader, who barked orders to a group of his men. The Marshalls were to ride across the isthmus to the eastern coast of the peninsula. The land at the isthmus, they were explained, was a wide expanse of sandy beach that led up to boulders and a hill overlooking the sea. The witches were in the hills trying to get to the beaches. Their ships had spewed out their armies fighting
the King’s
men
. The women were trying to reach them to assist or to seek escape. The Marshalls were to join the others already patrolling that coast in an attempt to block the Kusira women from getting through.

Pat and Krisa joined them. Their horses pounded across the grassy land as lightning and thunder rang about them. Most of the storms were concentrated further east where the main battles raged along the shore. Thunder rumbled so loudly it was hard to hear each other
if they yelled. They suspected the storms originated from the Sisters in the hills of the peninsula and the Siri hadn’t yet found them.

A crack, a bolt of lightning straight ahead produced screams from patrolmen. Another blaze hit nearby. Amias shook his head and motioned with his hand to change direction and head straight for the hill
s
of the peninsula. It wasn’t safe out on the beach, exposed with no cover.
It wasn’t entirely safe to head straight into the lion’s mouth either, but at least they’d be able to conceal themselves.

Upon entering the trees beyond the rocky slope, Krisa and Pat swung off their horses and disappeared into the trees. Coral protested her disappearance but Amias held her arm back. He leaned in close and told her, “Trust her to do her job. She has been training.”

She nodded helplessly scanning the trees for any signs of movement. They all dismounted, securing the horses. Thunder finally broke with a lingering female scream. Then silence.
Kel breathed a sigh of relief. The trees were not dense enough to be impassable but a hindrance to searching for danger. Another scream issued from across the
island. The Siri were effective.

The Sisters were in trouble. They were trapped. They were being hunted. The ships were too far and their men, their soldiers were battling far away unable to provide passage to them. To Amias the only
practical
tactic was
for the sisters
to find each other and force their way through.
And that would be right into their path.

From behind came the roar of angry voices as the fighters on the shore moved closer. Enemy ships attempting to move
toward
the peninsula were
dispatching
soldiers up onto the beach close by.
From th
e trees ahead, along the rocky slope ran a Kusira woman, trying to make it to the beach. D
enon cocked his bow, holding it rigid to take aim, but never shot. Solid air forced movement from them as she ran, stumbling along the beach and into the waves. The girls all collapsed into a heap, followed by Coral and the men. They rose and turned to peer into the trees for the Sister who had frozen them. There were many, staring at them with wide eyes of fear and now surprise. Denon let loose his arrow on the running woman. She fell face first into the swell of a wave. The others
dashed out of the trees, tumbling over the boulders, tripping on their skirts throwing lightning bolts, sizzling into the sky and ground near them.
Denon took aim again but they were not easy targets. The Marshalls didn’t leave the trees to chase them. They were too far.

Through the trees Coral saw more Kusira Sisters huddled in fear, watching the first group trying to run for freedom. A dark form appeared behind one, grabbed her by the hair, tilting her head back, and sliced through her throat with a machete. Three more were taken down similarly by other dark forms. The Siri.

The women who made it to the water and the protection of their men regrouped behind the soldiers. They didn’t retreat to the boats but stood forging storms. The great roars of giant beasts only formed in nightmares
boomed across the sky in waves. White hot blasts rained down on the King’s soldiers along the beach issuing black smoke and a burning flesh smell that sickened Coral.

“We have to stop them!” Pearl shouted over the noise of battle. She held her small hatchet in her hand, though turned with tears to
Coral, unsure what to do.

Glory stepped forward. She stared at the women among the Kusira soldiers. Hatred and anger grew in her eyes. She roared along with the thunder. A great sweep of both her arms pulled way back over her head forced the great streaks and flashes of light and electricity to follow her, bending, stretching toward the Marshalls on the hill. With a howling screech of fury she flung her arms forward, releasing the
tension on the
lightning
like a slingshot. An almost solid column of electric fire erupted among the enemy. Burnt bodies fell into the waves, Ku
sira sisters, who weren’t dead
fell onto hands and knees, trying to crawl away, most into th
e hands of the King’s soldiers.