The Temporal Knights (46 page)

“You’re safe,” he heard a whisper almost directly in front of him. He swung his sword again without ever knowing that the point was still about ten feet short of its intended target. Lemay smiled and set the girl down. Hernandez arrived a moment later to pick her up, while Dosland and Otsaka were over gathering up Ædella, barely five feet from the Captain, easily within sword reach.

“Lochlin,” the Colonel said in his normal voice to distract the man. It boomed off the cave walls, echoing its way around them. Sir Eadwulf’s Captain turned to the sound, as Ædella was spirited out of harm’s way.

“I am going to kill you Lochlin.”

Lemay saw the Captain’s face blanch and then harden. The knight squatted, sword in one hand, knife in the other. “Oswig!” Lochlin said loudly into the darkness.

“Dead already,” Lemay answered, and saw the first hint of fear cross Lochlin’s face. After a brief moment the man regained his courage and spat on the cave floor. “Come then,” he said, then crouched and waited. Surprisingly, Lemay found himself respecting his adversary even as he loathed him.

‘Mankind,’
he thought with pride. His pistol remained holstered and he quickly decided to leave it there. He wanted to kill this man slowly, with his hands.

“Sir Eadwulf has sent you to your death,” he taunted, moving to the left after he spoke. Lochlin turned to the sound of his voice, and Lemay moved three more steps.

“But never fear. We will kill him too,” he said watching as the Captain spun around swinging his sword comically. Lemay was very careful to stay well out of range.

“Come ye swine,” Lochlin demanded and made to dart to the space where Lemay had last spoken, but he slammed his shin into a large rock and went down. To his credit he was up very quickly, swinging his sword against the possible attack.

“That must have hurt,” Lemay said now on his right. Lochlin spun again as Lemay moved once more, and then he knelt and picked up a fist-sized rock from the cave floor. He was about fifteen feet from the man when he wound up and threw the rock. It missed by inches and struck the cave wall directly behind the Captain. Lemay moved again and found another rock. This time he aimed at the man’s body and was rewarded when the rock struck Lochlin hard in the left side, cracking a rib. Lemay continued to circle at a safe distance, watching as the knight began to panic. He picked up another rock, as Lochlin lost his head and threw his knife. The man was facing directly away from the Colonel as he threw.

“Not even close,” Lemay said and again the Captain spun around. This time the rock hit him directly in the mouth, shattering most of his front teeth. His head flew back in a blinding flash of pain and he went to the ground, dazed. Lemay waited.

“They were all rotten anyway,” the Colonel said not moving, watching the man before him slowly sit up and shake out the cobwebs. Lochlin knew he was in deep trouble now. Somehow the man before him could see through the black. He shakily got to his feet, turning in the darkness. He heard Lemay’s approach just as someone grabbed hold of his sword wrist…someone very strong. He swung his free fist and hit the Colonel’s armor before catching an elbow to the face. Lochlin staggered and was only vaguely aware of his arm being twisted and locked in place. He was forced down quickly and his elbow broke when it hit the Colonel’s knee. His sword clattered loudly on the floor of the cave.

Lochlin cried out and swung again, now angry. But Lemay easily caught his other arm, twisted and broke it as well.

“Piss on ye!” Lochlin yelled, all but helpless from the pain. “Death ‘ill take ye…” was all the Captain managed before the Colonel’s iron fingers found his throat and ripped it out. Lochlin gasped and went down, kicking and squirming, trying to draw breath but not succeeding. Lemay kicked the dying man in the head before turning to leave. Hernandez was standing not thirty feet away, accompanied by Dosland, Starling, and what looked to be Sir Elid with a helmet on. Private Starling was leading the young knight about like a babe.

“Ye can see as day!” Sir Elid said, utterly astounded and completely converted, his voice coming through the headset in Lemay’s helmet.

“Yes,” the Colonel answered.

“Ye must take the horses...they be yor’n now,” Elid added and began walking gingerly to fetch the still nervous animals. However on impulse, he stopped directly by the Colonel’s side and knelt before him. Lemay looked down at the man, confused for a moment.

“I wold join ye,” Sir Elid announced very seriously.

“Ye would join us?” Lemay asked with a grim smile, unconsciously mimicking the man.

“Yah,” Sir Elid answered.

“Good,” he answered and grabbed the man by the arm and helped him to his feet. “Tomorrow Private Starling will set you up with a uniform, and your real training will begin. Is that satisfactory to you Private Elid?”

“Yah Sir,” Elid said and imitated a salute exactly and from that moment on he became the first soldier from the ninth century.

“Then fetch my horses and meet us outside,” the Colonel said with a smile of his own.

“The girls?” Lemay asked as he moved toward the cave opening.

“Already in the hummers keeping warm,” Hernandez answered as Starling went to help his new trainee. “They seem no worse for wear, chatting and thanking us. Hard to believe they could take something like this in stride.”

“Hardy stock,” Lemay answered. “Let’s get back as quickly as possible. We leave tonight for Rochester.”

§

It was nearly two hours before everything was ready for their departure. General Peebles and his men were still struggling through the dark and mud about a mile outside Rochester, when Colonel Lemay took Major Thane aside.

“You
be extremely careful Major,” the Colonel said intensely. “We’re now splitting into three groups. The situation is very precarious and we’re vulnerable. We need to get tough and claw our way out of this or the Skawps will have us for dinner again.”

“Do things ever go as planned?” Matt answered, anxious for his General but not truly worried about his own situation at Athelney. Lemay was leaving him only two commandos, Sergeant Dunn and Private Gomez, plus Robertson, Blish and the three members of his flight crew. That made a total of eight men, but with their weapons and the walled town at their disposal, they could off an army of the times for months if necessary. The Colonel was also leaving both Bots and would rely on bugs for reconnaissance. They were counting on speed and surprise.

“Take care of yourself,” the Colonel added as the Ealdorman, Lady Merwinna and the Countess walked up to them. “We’ll report in every hour on the hour.”

Matt nodded. “Be careful yourself Colonel. I’m among friends.”

“Aye, ye need na fear ‘bout these men. We be takin’ good care of them,” the Ealdorman said with all seriousness, happy to be of service to these new friends who’d done so much for him. The Colonel smiled at him absently, his mind occupied.

He would be taking 331 men along and a good deal of ammo and gas, all in twelve trucks and ten Humvees. Matt and his team would look after the remaining three hummers and twenty-seven trucks, which were all filled with weapons, spare parts, gasoline, and of course the tactical nukes. They also left behind the half-tracks and the two tow vehicles for the alien ship. Nearly all their supplies would be in the hands of just eight men, and the Colonel cringed at the risk he was taking, but in war, any war, risks were necessary.

The Colonel was also taking along several locals, notably Sir Ældwin, whose daughter they’d saved only a few hours ago, Sir Elid, who was now a soldier, Harden, the Ealdorman’s son and Sir Ceorl, a knight loyal to the LadyÆthelf
læ
d, Countess of Mercia. Ceorl would be guiding them to Rochester, having been there several times in the past year.

They finally loaded into their vehicles and headed out just after 1900 hours, the locals were still a little shocked that the Americans would be traveling at night, but they also realized that the General was in trouble. The Colonel planned to be on the move until midnight. It gave them a full five hours. He hoped to be well past Chippenham by that point. They would stop and camp in the open along the road…and on full alert. They would get what sleep they could and be on the move again before sunrise.

Sir Ceorl, at twenty-four, was tall, slender and sported flowing blonde hair. He was a striking young man and his image would have been right at home on the cover of any romance novel. Despite his good looks, he was also in line to be the next Captain of the Guard for the Countess and her family. He was bit young for the honor, but his father, also a knight bound to the late Earl, had taught him well. Ceorl thought that it was foolhardy to leave in the dark of night, but he was excited to be going with these strange and deadly men. Over the past few days, Sir Elid had regaled him with wild tales about these strangers, stories full of exploits…full of wonder. So he kept his own council and stepped into the hummer and sat next to the Colonel. This would be his first ride in one of the noisy macheenes and he took a quick moment to whisper a prayer. Inside, the vehicle was surprisingly comfortable and warm, and when the driver, Private Dosland flipped on the headlights, the young knight was astounded by just how far he could see. Then they were off.

The road to Bath was still damp from the rain two days prior, but it was no longer muddy and presented no real obstacles for either the hummers or the trucks, and they were able to keep their speed right at twenty-five miles an hour. Sir Ceorl was surprised by the speed of the magic wagons, though they were moving no faster than a good solid horse, but he was simply astonished that they could maintain it mile after mile. He was even more astonished when they reached Bath, a fifty mile journey, in just over two hours. It would take two good days on horseback to reach the town. But they didn’t even slow down, instead they cruised straight through the sleepy village, waking dogs and people alike.

The Colonel, who remained silent for much of the journey to this point, suddenly began to ask a great deal of questions about the town of Rochester. Ceorl answered as best he could; closing his eyes at times to visualize the town and surrounding countryside. The Colonel was astonished by the memory and sense of detail the young nobleman displayed. He asked many strange questions, most of which Sir Ceorl could not guess why he needed such information, but he answered plainly, and even asked a few of his own. Time past quickly and when they reached the Pately Bridge, which spanned the river Avon, Ceorl could no longer hide his growing astonishment.

“Tis na possible.
Twold take a good rider four strong horses to cover such a distance at speed,” he insisted, knowing that they’d only been traveling for a few hours. He now realized that they would make Chisbury that very night.

“Ho,” he said turning to the Colonel, whose face was dim in the darkness, only lit by the reflection of the headlights and the dim dashboard lights. “These...wagons, how far can they go, nigh forever?”

“No,” the Colonel answered with a laugh. “Not forever, but they are well made and will carry us all over this country many times.”

When they rolled into the large town of Chisbury, only three hours after leaving the Ealdorman’s Manor Hall, Sir Ceorl was no longer surprised. The same could not be said for the Colonel and his men, for the town of Chisbury was still very much awake though it was just after ten in the evening. Colonel Lemay was under the assumption that everyone in these times settled down within a few hours after sunset. It was clear however, that this town, which was quite a bit larger than any they had yet encountered, did have something of a night life. People were milling about on the streets, and lanterns were burning brightly in many of the taverns and inns. As they rolled slowly through the town a good number of townsfolk stepped forward to greet them. And though the Colonel detected mostly curiosity and enthusiasm, there were also a few fearful expressions in the crowd.

“Private, let’s stop of the far side of town and stretch our legs…see if anyone has anything interesting to say about the General,” Lemay said.

“Aye Sir,” Dosland answered.

After they were stopped and prepared their position against an attack, the Colonel, along with Starling, Dosland and Otsaka, walked back into the thriving town, accompanied by Sir Elid and Ceorl. They were greeted warmly and many of the locals asked after the General and Dr. Rice. The Colonel and his men answered the questions as quickly and politely as possible, and it didn’t take them long to determine that when the General passed through the town, all was well. Despite numerous offerings for accommodations, the Colonel refused to stay and to the astonishment of the people of Chisbury announced that they were off to Rochester; though it was now well into the night.

Even Sir Ceorl was surprised, but only for an instant, and it finally dawned on him that they might get all the way to Reading, though it still
be many miles farther to the east. Normally, it would take an army a full four days to move from Somerset to Chisbury, though a fast rider with many mount changes could make it in two…mayhap one, but it would take a mighty rider.

Just outside of Chisbury they hit the Roman road and their speed increased dramatically. Rochester was still over a hundred miles away but the road was solidly built and would reduce their travel time significantly. Lemay ordered their speed increased to thirty-five, then forty, then forty-five before finally settling on fifty. There were bumpy areas but for the most part the ride was smooth and quick. They reached and drove past Reading in a little under an hour before they finally stopped just short of London when the road suddenly turned once more to dirt and mud.