When the last rider approached, Lord Borric said, ‘How many?’
Gardan surveyed the survivors and said, ‘We’ve lost eighteen men, have six wounded, and all the mules and baggage were taken.’
Borric nodded. ‘Rest the horses a moment. They’ll come.’
Arutha said, ‘Are we to stand, Father?’
Borric shook his head. ‘There are too many of them. At least a hundred struck the clearing.’ He spat. ‘We rode into that ambush like a rabbit into a snare.’ He glanced about. ‘We’ve lost nearly half our company.’
Pug asked a soldier sitting beside him, ‘Who were they?’
The soldier looked at Pug. ‘The Brotherhood of the Dark Path, Squire, may Ka-hooli visit every one of the bastards with piles,’ he answered, invoking the vengeance god. The soldier indicated a circle around them with his hand. ‘Small bands of them travel through the Green Heart, though they mostly live in the mountains east of here, and way up in the Northlands. That was more than I’d have bargained was around, curse the luck.’
Voices shouted from behind, and the Duke said, ‘They come. Ride!’
The survivors wheeled and rode off, again racing through the trees ahead of their pursuers. Time became suspended for Pug as he negotiated the dangerous course through the dense forest. Twice men nearby screamed, whether from striking branches or from arrows Pug didn’t know.
Again they came to a clearing, and the Duke signaled a halt. Gardan said, ‘Your grace, the horses can’t endure much more of this.’
Borric struck his saddle horn in frustration, his face dark with anger. ‘Damn them! And where are we?’
Pug looked about. He had no idea of where they stood in relationship to the original site of attack, and from the looks on the faces around him, no one else did either.
Arutha said, ‘We must strike eastward, Father, and make for the mountains.’
Borric nodded. ‘But which way lies east?’ The tall trees and overcast sky with its defused sunlight conspired to deny them any point of reference.
Kulgan said, ‘One moment, your grace,’ and closed his eyes. Again shouts of pursuit echoed through the trees, as Kulgan opened his eyes and pointed. ‘That way. There lies the east.’ Without question or comment, the Duke spurred his horse in the indicated direction, motioning for the others to follow. Pug felt a strong urge to be near someone familiar and tried to rejoin Tomas, but couldn’t make his way through the press of riders. He swallowed hard and admitted to himself he was badly scared. The grim faces of the nearby soldiers told him he was not alone in that feeling.
More time passed as they raced through the dark corridors of the Green Heart. Every advance along the escape route was accompanied by the echoing cries of Dark Brothers as they alerted others of the fugitives’ route. Occasionally Pug would spy a shape loping along in the distance, quickly lost in the darkness of the trees as it ran a parallel course. The accompanying runners did not seek to hinder them, but always they were near.
Once more the Duke ordered a halt. Turning to Gardan, he said, ‘Skirmishers! Find out how close they follow. We must have rest.’ Gardan indicated three men, who quickly leapt from their horses and ran back along the route of their retreat. A single clash of steel and a strangled cry heralded their encounter with the closest Dark Brother tracker.
‘Damn them!’ said the Duke. ‘They’re herding us in a circle, seeking to bring us back into their main strength. Already we’re moving more north than east.’
Pug took the opportunity to move next to Tomas. The horses were panting and shivering as perspiration steamed off them in the cold. Tomas managed a feeble smile, but said nothing.
Men moved quickly among the horses, checking for injury. In a few minutes the skirmishers returned at a run. Panting, one said, ‘Lord, they are close behind, fifty, sixty at least.’
‘How long?’
The man stood with perspiration pouring down his face as he answered, ‘Five minutes, my lord.’ With grim humor he said, ‘The two we killed will make them pause, but no more time than that.’
Borric said to the company, ‘We rest a moment, then we ride.’
Arutha said, ‘A moment or an hour, what does it matter? The horses are done. We should stand before more Brothers come to the call.’
Borric shook his head. ‘I must get through to Erland. He must know of the coming of the Tsurani.’
An arrow, quickly followed by a second, flew from the nearby trees, and another rider fell. Borric shouted, ‘Ride!’
They cantered the exhausted horses deeper into the woods, then slowed to a walk, while they kept watch for the coming attack. The Duke used hand signals to deploy the line of soldiers so they might swing to either flank and charge on command. Horses blew foam as their nostrils distended, and Pug knew they were close to dropping.
‘Why don’t they attack?’ whispered Tomas.
‘I don’t know,’ answered Pug. ‘They just harry us from the sides and behind.’
The Duke raised his hand and the column halted. No sounds of pursuit could be heard. He turned and spoke in a low tone. ‘They may have lost us. Pass the word to inspect your mounts—’ An arrow sped past his head, missing him by inches. ‘Forward!’ he shouted, and they began a ragged trot along the path they had been following.
Gardan shouted, ‘My lord, it seems they wish us to keep moving.’
In a harsh whisper Borric swore, then asked, ‘Kulgan, which way lies east?’
The magician closed his eyes again, and Pug knew he was tiring himself with this particular spell. Not difficult if one was standing calmly, it had to be fatiguing him under these conditions. Kulgan’s eyes opened and he pointed to the right. The column was heading northward.
Arutha said, ‘Again they slowly turn us, Father, back into their main strength.’
Raising his voice, Borric said, ‘Only fools or children would keep to this route. On my command, wheel to the right and charge.’ He waited as every man readied weapons and made silent prayers to their gods that the horses could withstand one more gallop. Then the Duke shouted, ‘Now!’ As a body, the column wheeled to the right, and riders spurred their flagging mounts. Arrows came pouring from the trees, and men and horses screamed.
Pug ducked under a branch, desperately holding on to the reins while he fumbled with sword and shield. He felt the shield slipping and, as he struggled with it, sensed his horse slowing. He couldn’t exercise the needed control over the animal and manage the weapons at the same time.
Pug reined in, risking a momentary stop to put his equipment right. A noise made him look to the right. Standing less than five yards away was a bowman of the Brotherhood of the Dark Path. Pug stayed rooted for a moment, as did the bowman. Pug was struck by his resemblance to the Elf Prince, Calin. There was little to distinguish the two races, nearly the same in height and build, save hair and eyes. The creature’s bowstring had snapped, and he stood with dark eyes fixed upon Pug while calmly setting about restringing his bow.
Pug’s astonishment at finding the Dark Brother standing so close to him momentarily caused him to forget the reason he had halted. He sat numbly watching the bowman repairing his weapon, entranced by the dark elf’s coolly efficient manner.
Then he was pulling an arrow from his quiver in a fluid motion and fitting the shaft to the bowstring. Sudden alarm made Pug act. His staggering horse answered his frantic kicks and was off again. He didn’t see the bowman’s arrow, but heard and felt it speed past his ear, then he was back to a gallop, the bowman lost behind as Pug overtook the Duke’s company.
Noise from ahead made Pug urge his horse on, though the poor animal was giving every indication it was moving as fast as possible. Pug wove through the forest, the gloom making it difficult to negotiate.
Abruptly he was behind a rider wearing the Duke’s colors and then passing the man as Pug’s horse proved fresher for carrying a lighter rider. The terrain became more hilly, and Pug wondered if they were entering the foothills of the Grey Towers.
A horse’s scream caused Pug to glance behind. He saw the soldier he had passed thrown as his mount collapsed, foaming blood spurting from the animal’s nose. Pug and another rider halted, and the soldier turned back, riding over to where the first man stood. He extended his hand to offer the fallen man a double ride. The fallen soldier just shook his head, as he struck the standing horse on the rump, sending it ahead again. Pug knew the second man’s horse could barely carry one rider, never two. The fallen rider pulled his sword and put down the injured horse, then turned to wait for the pursuing Dark Brothers. Pug found his eyes tearing as he contemplated the man’s courage. The other soldier shouted something over his shoulder that was lost to the boy, then suddenly he was riding by. He shouted, ‘Move, Squire!’
Pug put heels to the sides of his horse, and the animal picked up a staggering trot.
The fleeing column continued on its stumbling, exhausted flight, Pug moving up through the company of riders to a place near the Duke. After a few minutes Lord Borric signaled for them to slow. They entered another clearing. Borric surveyed his company. A look of helpless rage crossed his face, to be replaced by surprise. He held his hand aloft, and the riders stopped their milling about. Shouts sounded in the forest, but from some distance away.
Arutha, eyes wide with wonder, said, ‘Have we lost them?’
Slowly the Duke nodded, his attention focused on the distant shouts. ‘For the moment. When we broke through the archers, we must have slipped behind their pursuit. They’ll discover that fact shortly and double back. We have ten, fifteen minutes at best.’ He looked over his ragged company. ‘If only we could find a place to hide.’
Kulgan moved his staggering horse alongside the Duke. ‘My lord, I might have a solution, though it is risky and might prove fatal.’
Borric said, ‘No more fatal than waiting for them to come for us. What is your plan?’
‘I have an amulet, which can control weather. I had planned to save it against possible storms at sea, for its use is limited. I may be able to mask our whereabouts with it. Let every man gather his horse at the far end of the clearing, near that outcropping of rock. Have them silence the animals.’
Borric ordered it done, and the animals were moved to the opposite end of the clearing. Reassuring hands gentled exhausted and excited horses, quieting the mounts after their long flight.
