Hidden Warrior

  “Ruined goods, are they? You’d just leave ’em, would you?” Ahra growled.

  Innis jerked his thumb back at the ruined houses. “Naught to come back to.”

  Scowling, Ahra took the lead and they turned west, following a game track into the forest.

  “Not a word, anyone. Pass it back,” she whispered. Then, to Korin and the others just behind her, “Keep your weapons from rattling if you can. It’s a few miles yet, but no sense giving them any warning if they have sentries posted.”

  Everyone checked their scabbards and bows. Tobin leaned down and tucked the loose end of Gosi’s girth strap under the edge of his saddle, holding it in with his thigh. Beside him, Ki did the same on Dragon.

  The sun was just coming up over the valley but it was still almost night dark in the trees. Old firs towered around them, and the rocky ground was strewn with fallen trees.

  “Not good ground for a mounted charge, is it?” Korin said softly to Ahra.

  “No, but good for ambush. Shall I send lookouts?”

  “We’ll go!” Dimias offered.

  But Ahra shook her head and sent off two of her own people.

  Tobin sat straighter in the saddle, scanning the shadows for signs of sentries. He wasn’t scared, exactly, but it felt like there was an empty space under his heart.

  Looking around, he guessed the others were feeling it, too. Korin’s face was set in a grim mask under his helm, and Tanil was counting the arrows in his quiver. Glancing back, he saw the others all making last checks, or watching the woods nervously. Ki caught Tobin’s eye and grinned. Was Una scared, Tobin wondered, or did your first battle cure you of it? He wished he’d had time to ask her.

  They’d gone less than a mile into the forest, steadily climbing, when Ki caught the scent of cooking fires. The air was damp and it carried the smoke low through the trees. Soon they could see wisps of it curling just below the dripping roof of branches. He began scanning the trees more carefully, unable to shake off the image of sharp eyes watching him down the length of an arrow shaft.

  But nothing happened. The only sounds were the soft thud of hooves on moss and the waking calls of the birds.

  They reached a clearing and dismounted. The officers and Companions gathered around Ahra while the squires took charge of the horses.

  “Not much farther,” she whispered, gesturing to where the track continued out the eastern side. “The camp is less than half a mile that way, down in a little dell.”

  All eyes turned to Korin. He conferred briefly with Ahra and the captains. “Well, Tobin, you’re in charge here with your guard. Nik, Lutha, Quirion, you’re with them.” Quirion started to protest but Korin ignored him. “You’ll hold our flank. I’ll send a runner back for you if we need you.”

  “You two stay with them,” Ahra told her brothers. “You know the lay of the land up here, in case they need a guide.”

  Korin pulled at his new amulet, then glanced at Porion, who gave him a nod. “That’s it, then. Swords out, and follow me.”

  “The lookouts, my prince. Shouldn’t we wait to hear back from them?” Ahra asked.

  “We’re already later than I meant to be.” Korin cast an eye up at the brightening sky. “If they’ve gotten themselves lost, we’ll give up any chance we had of surprise. Come on.”

  He waved his sword in a great circle and the rest of the company fell in behind him.

  “Well, you heard him,” whispered Tobin as the sound of their horses faded away through the trees.

  The squires and Tharin’s men strung tether lines between several trees and set about securing their horses.

  “Running knots, boys,” Tharin called softly, undoing a tight knot Ruan had made. “We want to be able to get loose in a hurry if we have to.”

  Then there was nothing to do but wait. And listen. There was no real reason to stand at attention, but no one sat. Hands on their sword hilts or tucked into their belts, the Companions stood in a loose circle, watching the path. Some of Tharin’s men spread out, patrolling the edges of the clearing.

  “It’s the waiting gets under your skin,” Amin muttered.

  “How many raids have you been on?” asked Lutha.

  Amin’s cocksure demeanor gave way to a sheepish grin. “Well, only two with real fighting, but we done a lot of waiting!”

  The sun was just showing over the tops of the trees when they heard the first distant shouts.

  Tharin climbed onto a large boulder by the trail mouth and listened for a moment, then smiled. “From the sound of it, I’d say they caught them by surprise after all.”

  “Be all over ’fore we get anywhere near it,” Amin grumbled. “Why don’t the runner come?”

  The distant shouting continued, but a breeze came up and the sigh of it in the branches drowned it out. Tharin stayed on his rock, watching the path like a hound waiting for its master’s return.

  He was the first to fall.

  Chapter 34

  The first moments of the ambush were eerily quiet. One minute Tobin was standing with the others, listening to the wind in the trees. Then, without warning, Tharin let out a choked cry and spun off his rock with an arrow protruding from his left thigh, just where the split in his hauberk hung a little open.

  A good shot, or a lucky one, Tobin thought, heading for him. Then he was falling, knocked sideways.

  “Stay down, Tob!” Ki seemed determined to remain on top of him.

  “Tharin’s hit!”

  “I know that. Stay down!”

  Crushed into the long grass, Tobin couldn’t see past Amin, who was sprawled close beside him.

  The air over their heads was filled with the dragonfly buzz of arrows now. Arrows thudded into the ground on both sides of Tobin and Ki. He could hear shouting in the trees. Somewhere nearby a man cried out in pain—Sefus was it? A horse screamed, then the whole tether line began to rear and kick. The ropes snapped and the horses scattered.

  The arrow storm stopped as suddenly as it had started. Heaving Ki off, Tobin was the first on his feet. Everyone had scattered. Some were still down in the grass. Others had made it to the edge of the trees. Koni and some of the others were trying to calm the remaining horses.

  “To me! To me!” Tobin shouted, drawing his sword and pointing to the cover of the trees to his right. “Come on, quickly!”

  No sooner had he spoken than the arrow assault resumed, but the others had heard. Some ran with their shields up, others trusted to speed.

  Ki shielded him as best he could without getting underfoot. Nikides and Ruan made it to them, and Ki’s brothers were there, too, shields up to catch the flying shafts.

  But too many of them had been caught out in the open. Some weren’t moving; at least three of Tobin’s guard lay too still. The only one he could make out was Sefus, staring up at the sky with an arrow through one eye. Beyond him, Tobin saw someone else on the ground wearing the bright surcoat of a noble; from the colors, it was either Lutha or Barieus.

  “Tobin, come on!” Ki urged, trying to pull him deeper into the trees. Tobin looked back at the boulder where Tharin had been, but there was no sign of the man. Praying his friend had made it to cover, Tobin ran to join the others hunkered down behind tree trunks and stones. Strangely, that empty feeling under his heart had disappeared; he didn’t feel much of anything. Looking out through the trees, he saw more bodies in the meadow, arrows sticking up like thistles around them.

  Ki grasped Tobin’s arm again and pointed off to the right. “Do you hear that?”

  Branches were crackling under someone’s boots nearby; whoever it was was headed their way. Tobin quickly took stock. Nikides and Ruan were the only other Companions with him. Quirion was nowhere to be seen. Besides Amin and Dimias, he had Koni and five other guardsmen. By now they could make out enemy sounds to their left, as well.

  Damn, they caught us and split us, Tobin thought grimly. It was the worst possible start, especially since they had no idea how many men they were facing. Everyone w
as watching him.

  “Nik, you take Koni, Amin, and those four and go to the left,” he said. It sounded like there were fewer people that way. “The rest of you, with me.”

  Koni shrugged off his shield and gave it to him. “Take this, Tobin.”

  Tobin accepted it gratefully. “Sakor’s luck, everyone.” Slipping his left arm through the straps, he set off, leading his little force deeper into the woods on the right.

  They’d gone less than twenty yards when a pack of burly men broke cover and rushed them with axes, cudgels, and swords. There was no time to think after that. Tobin ran at them with Ki at his side, dimly aware of others running with them to meet the attack.

  The two lead bandits bore down on Tobin like hounds on a rabbit; a noble was worth a ransom, and they probably took him for an easy catch. Ki blocked their way and got his sword up in time to keep the taller of the two from splitting his skull. The other man darted around and made a grab for Tobin. He wore a short mail shirt and helmet, but it was clear from the way he lunged in that he wasn’t a trained warrior. Tobin jumped back, then caught the fellow across the thigh with his sword. The man dropped his axe and went down, howling and clutching at the spurting wound.

  Before Tobin could finish him, a blur of motion on his left made him turn and he nearly fell over a dead swordsman just behind him, close enough to have killed him. Silently thanking whoever had stopped him, Tobin turned to face another man charging him with an upraised cudgel. It was a foolish stance to take and Tobin was able to sidestep and strike him across the belly. The fellow staggered. Ki leaped in and finished him off with a stab to the neck.

  More of the brigands appeared and rushed them. Shouts, screams, and curses rang out on all sides, punctuated by the clash of steel on steel. Tobin saw Dimias battling someone twice his weight and ran to help him but Amin leaped from behind a tree and caught the man across the throat.

  Ki had been knocked down and Tobin turned to help him, only to find his path barred by another axe man. Years of training seemed to fall effortlessly into place. Almost before he knew what he was doing, he’d hacked at the man’s right shoulder, then followed through with a killing swing to the neck. He’d practiced the move a thousand times before, but it had never come so easily. The bandit wore no coif; Tobin’s blade sliced skin and muscle, then fetched up against bone. The man tumbled sideways, blood spurting from the deep gash in his neck as he fell. A gout hit Tobin in the face; the taste of hot copper and salt on his tongue made his own blood burn for more.

  The distraction nearly cost him his life. Ki yelled and Tobin turned. For an instant he saw nothing but the blade coming at his head. Then he was falling backward, knocked off his feet by a blast of icy air. He hit a tree and fell awkwardly over on his side as his attacker bore him to the ground. Tobin struggled, trying to get away, then realized that the man wasn’t moving. His head lolled limply as Ki and Amin hauled him off Tobin, dead as a trout.

  Tobin caught sight of Brother leering at him over Ki’s shoulder, his pale face twisted into that same animal snarl he’d worn when he’d killed Orun.

  “Thank you,” Tobin whispered, but Brother was already gone.

  “Bilairy’s balls!” Amin exclaimed, gawking down at the dead man. “What’d you do? Scare him to death?”

  “I—I don’t know,” Tobin said, as Ki helped him up. How had Brother found him? Ki’s quick glance said he’d guessed, or perhaps even seen Brother.

  It wasn’t until Dimias looked around, and said, “By the Flame! We done all right, didn’t we?” that Tobin realized the fighting was over.

  Half a dozen men came running toward them through the trees, with Tharin in the lead. The arrow was gone, but a dark stain had spread down from the rent in his trousers. Tharin seemed untroubled by it. He was hardly limping, and his blade was dripping blood.

  “Here you are!” he panted. “Thank the Light you’re safe! I didn’t see which way you ran—” Looking around at the dead, his eyes widened. “By the Flame!”

  “What about you?” Ki demanded.

  “It was a glancing hit and pulled out clean,” Tharin told him, still looking around, counting the dead.

  “You should have seen our prince!” Koni exclaimed. “At least three of these are his. How many, Tobin?”

  “I don’t know,” Tobin admitted. It was already a blur in his mind.

  “First time out and all these,” Amin said, clapping Ki proudly on the shoulder. “You done yourself proud, little brother. You, too, Yer Highness. Which ’uns your first?”

  Tobin looked back and was dismayed to see his first man, the one he’d cut in the leg, alive and trying to crawl away into the trees.

  “Best finish the bastard,” Koni said.

  “Yes, see to him, Tobin,” Tharin said quietly.

  Tobin knew what he had to do, but that empty space below his heart was back as he walked slowly toward the man. Killing in battle had been easy, just a reflex. But the idea of finishing a wounded man on the ground, even an enemy, made his stomach lurch. Even so, he knew better than to hesitate with all the others watching him. He wouldn’t shame himself by showing weakness now.

  He sheathed his sword and drew the long knife at his belt. Blood was still flowing from the gash on the man’s leg; he’d left a trail on the rust-colored pine needles.

  He’ll probably die of that, if I don’t finish him, Tobin thought, moving in fast. The man’s head was bare, and his filthy hair was long enough for a good grip. One of Porion’s lessons came back to him. Pull the head back. Slice deep, hard, and quick.

  As he bent to do it, however, the man rolled onto his back and threw his arms over his face. “Mercy, lord. I cry mercy!” he screeched.

  “He ain’t no lord to claim it!” scoffed Dimias. “Go on, finish him.”

  But the plea froze Tobin where he stood. He could see exactly where to aim the blow; the thick vein was pulsing in the man’s throat. It wasn’t fear that stayed his hand, or weakness; it was the memory of the king stabbing the bound wizard.

  “He asked for mercy,” Tobin said, lowering his knife.

  The man stared at Tobin over his upraised hands. “Thank you, m’lord. Bless you, m’lord!” He struggled to reach Tobin’s boot, trying to kiss it, but Tobin pulled away in disgust.

  “Go on, get out of here. If I see you again, I will kill you.”

  Dimias snorted as the wounded man scuttled off into the trees. “There’s one more we’ll have to fight again. He’s all ‘bless you, lord’ now, but he’ll stick a knife in you next chance he gets.”

  “You may be right, boy, but that was nobly done, all the same,” said Tharin. Then, lowering his voice so only Tobin could hear, “Next time, strike quickly, before they have time to beg.”

  Tobin swallowed and nodded. His sword hand was sticky; the blood on it felt like cold molasses and made him queasy.

  Others of their company straggled in to join them as the boys found their kills. Tharin painted vertical lines on their cheeks with the blood and put a bit on their tongues, too.

  “To keep the ghosts of all you kill in battle from haunting you,” he explained when Tobin grimaced.

  “Where are the others?” Tobin asked, looking around. More soldiers had gathered around them by now, but Nik hadn’t returned yet. “Did you see Lutha or Quirion?” By his count more than a dozen of his guard were missing, and they could still hear scattered sounds of fighting.

  “Arius was hit,” Tharin told him. “I saw Lord Nikides fighting on the far side as I came across to you. There are still a few archers at work, and I counted ten bandits trying to make off with horses.”

  Amin spat on the ground. “They knew we was coming, the bastards.”

  “That, or they backtracked Korin,” said Tharin.

  “Then we’ve got to get to him!” Ki exclaimed. “If there are enough of them to come after us—”

  “No, our post is here,” said Tobin. “Korin said he’d send for us if he needs us.”

  Thari
n saluted him. “With your permission, I’ll send men out to scout the surrounding woods.”

  Reaching the clearing, they found Barieus still shooting at two enemy archers. The fallen Companion in the meadow was Lutha. The boy lay facedown in the grass with an arrow in his back. He was alive, though, and trying to crawl to safety. As Tobin watched, another shaft thudded into the ground near Lutha’s outstretched hand.

  Barieus cried out and ran into the open for a better shot. His arrows sped true, but even at this distance Tobin could see that he was weeping.

  Tobin marked the enemy archers’ position and set off to flank them.

  “Follow the prince!” Tharin called.

  Tharin and Ki caught up with him just as they surprised four more swordsmen skirting the clearing. Tharin ran one through and the others fled. They found one archer dead; the other was gone by the time they reached the tree he’d been sheltering behind.

  Ignoring Tharin’s warning, Tobin ran out to Lutha. Barieus was already with him.

  “I’m sorry,” he sobbed. “I tried to get to him, but I couldn’t get out!”

  Lutha pushed himself up, trying to rise, but a coughing fit took him. Bloody foam flew from his lips and he collapsed, clawing at the grass.

  “When it started, we were caught out here,” Barieus told them. “He said to run and I thought he was with me, but—”

  “Hush, Barieus. Stay still, Lutha,” Tobin said, clasping Lutha’s cold hand.

  Tharin knelt to inspect the wound.

  “Struck a lung, by the looks,” said Dimias.

  Tharin nodded. “It’ll leave a sucking wound when it comes out. We’d better leave it where it is for now.”

  Lutha squeezed Tobin’s hand, trying to speak, but he couldn’t. Blood bubbled from his mouth with every breath.

  Tobin kept his head down to hide his own tears. Lutha had been his first friend among the Companions.

  “Let me have a look, my lords,” said Manies, who acted as leech for Tharin’s men when a drysian wasn’t around. He probed gently around the base of the shaft. “We ought to get him back to Rilmar, Prince Tobin. This will take more healing than anyone can give him here.” He turned to Amin. “Any drysians about?”