Then came the soft snap of a twig, barely audible, but caught by my keen hearing.
My sword was already out, but I drew my long parrying dagger in my left hand as I listened more intently.
Someone or something was out there… more than one. Four… no… five creatures made their way slowly and quietly toward the stream. Deer didn’t move like that. Not even wolves moved in such a formation.
No, these predators were of the human variety. And that… most likely… meant bandits: an opportunistic group hoping to rob a nobleman. I couldn’t fathom a political attack all the way out here, with all the secrecy we’d maintained.
I grinned behind my helm. Today was about to get a lot more interesting.
I’d always been quiet and careful, even in heavy armor. I darted from one tree to another, closing distance with whoever was out there.
I caught another flash of movement…
Close.
The time for stealth had passed. I strode forward with all the subtlety of a charging bull, toward a small clearing where three men held crossbows, all pointed at me.
I didn’t want to alert the lovers, so I kept my voice low when I said. “Hello, boys.”
The thrill of the fight filled me. I stood poised and ready, my eyes and ears piqued for any movement.
“We don’t want to kill you. We just want whatever them nobles got on ’em. Surrender and you’ll survive.”
“That seems a fair deal, so I’ll make it back to you: Surrender and you’ll survive.”
One of the men laughed. But the two others didn’t. That told me who the newbie was in the group. One of these three still thought this was going to be an easy fight, a game. The other two were the ones to watch.
Pure energy, like a raging fire, filled me as our stand-off grew more and more tense. If they hadn’t fired already, they were waiting for something. Most likely that would be one of their companions out in the woods attacking me from behind.
The rustle and crunch of some groundcover behind me was the only warning.
I spun, sword out, and took the man who’d been sneaking up on me clean across the throat. I darted back into the woods as he fell. A geyser of blood, spurting from his neck, splashed over my shoulder as I ducked behind a tree.
Crossbow bolts thudded into the tree behind me as one passed by into the woods beyond.
One down, four to go.
I spotted the fourth moving in the shadows. He was trying to avoid the fight and get to the prince and Veora. That wasn’t going to happen.
The other three were still reloading their crossbows, not a quick weapon, so I took that time to run after the fourth.
He heard me coming and turned, setting himself for a fight. He had a sword — which looked rough, not well cared for — and a wooden shield. He wore heavy padding and a helm, but not much else in the way of armor.
“Stop this and I’ll let you live,” I hissed as I drew close and paused for an instant to gage his reaction.
“You’re a woman?” he said, then laughed.
That was not the right answer.
I lunged in low and sliced the inside of his thigh before quickly returning to my ready stance. I cocked my head, hearing the other three crunching through the woods behind me. I had to end this quickly.
“Fuck!” the man swore and as a reaction slashed wildly at me.
That had been what I’d hoped for. I caught his heavy downward slash, stepping in. He didn’t know how to properly defend himself and he’d shifted his shield to the side for his attack. So, he was wide open for my dagger, which I sunk to the hilt into his arm-pit under his sword arm. I drew my dagger out quickly and a gush of blood followed. The man screamed, but I’d punctured his lung and there was little force behind the death-cry. Just in case he still had something left in him, I hacked off his sword arm as he slowly collapsed.
A crossbow bolt hit me, a glancing blow off my helm, which was incredibly lucky, but still made my head ring. I dove to one side, but not before another bolt hit me low in the back. Since I’d been diving it too was mostly a glancing blow, but it tore a small chunk out of my armor and my side before it left. That’s what I got for staying in one place too long.
Pain sparked through me as I hit the ground and rolled away. Yet, with a battle-haze upon me, I hardly felt it. What little I did feel only served to spur me on, turning the fire inside into a raging inferno. I rolled quickly to my feet and charged in at the remaining three before they could reload.
