John Marco - The Devil's armour

‘Not today!’ cried Lukien. His horse reared and whinnied, his sword danced through the air. Concentrating, he caught the smallest glimpse of Ghost. The young albino threaded through the warriors, stabbing at them furiously, dragging them from horseback like an assassin. There was magic among them; they knew it now and panicked. Breaking from the dune, the warriors rode away all at once, barrelling down the hill toward their comrades and the Seekers. Lukien gave chase, shouting for Ghost to follow. In a second the Inhuman was visible again.

‘Lukien, look. .’

The knight saw it, too. Down in the valley, Gilwyn and the Jadori were surrounded as they tried to protect the Seekers. Outnumbered, the Jadori and their kreels were in combat as Gilwyn and Emerald tried to fight free of the horde. There were at least a dozen of the Seekers — Lukien could see them clearly now. The men had gathered the women and children around a single desert wagon. They themselves were poorly armed, mostly with walking sticks.

‘Hurry, Ghost, hurry!’ cried Lukien, snapping his reins in pursuit. The kreels could easily handle two or more horsemen, but they had the Seekers to protect and that was all-important, because Aztar had given his men brutal orders — the Seekers were to die. And the Ganjeese themselves were ready to die in the cause, for Aztar’s wrath was legendary. As Lukien and Ghost raced into the valley, Gilwyn struggled to keep the raiders from the huddled northerners. He expertly commanded Emerald, slipping the kreel under every attack, beating back those who broke through the line of Jadori warriors. But there were more raiders coming and Gilwyn had seen them. So too had their Ganjeese brothers. Gilwyn’s concentration faltered as one of the raiders slipped past the Jadori. He was a big man with robes grander than the rest, a Zarturk by the looks of him, one of Aztar’s own lieutenants. Gilwyn turned on him too late, just as the man barrelled past him. The clash knocked the boy from Emerald’s back, sending him colliding with the sand.

The Zarturk reached the Seekers, raised his scimitar, and cut down a fragile man, cracking through his cane and opening his chest. The other Seekers scattered. The Zarturk gave chase. Like the weakest of a herd, he spotted a young girl limping quickly away. He spurred his horse and caught her, grabbing her collar and dragging her through the sand, away from the others as he returned to the protection of his men. Shouting orders, he gathered his raiders about him, who broke off their attack and rode away from the Seekers just as Lukien and Ghost approached. The Jadori warriors did not pursue, but retreated to the wagon and the downed Gilwyn, who was getting unsteadily to his feet. Lukien and Ghost rode up to him, their horses skidding to a stop.

‘Are you all right?’ Lukien asked.

The boy nodded. ‘I’m fine. They got that girl, Lukien!’ Across the sands Lukien saw the Zarturk surrounded by his men. There were twenty of them now, still a lopsided number. The desert leader had the struggling girl in his arms as he watched them imperiously from the safety of his horde.

‘Melini!’

Lukien spun to see a woman racing out from behind the wagon. The Jadori warrior Kamar dropped from his kreel to stop her, pulling her backward. ‘They have my daughter!’ she shouted.

‘Stop!’ Lukien commanded. ‘We’ll get her back.’

The woman tore at Kamar to free herself, then fell to her knees in sobs. The other Seekers were returning, some hovering over the man who had fallen, others approaching Lukien and his comrades. A man older than the woman came and comforted her, then looked up at Lukien.

‘Thank you,’ he said. Obviously shaken, he seemed to be the leader of the group. ‘If you hadn’t come-’

‘Are these your people?’ asked Lukien.

The man rose. ‘Yes. My name is Paxon. We’re from Liiria. We’re seeking-’

‘Mount Believer, I know,’ said Lukien. He shook his head in disgust. ‘Fate above. What is the woman’s name?’ he asked, pointing his chin at her.

‘This is Calith. That’s her daughter they’ve taken, Melini,’ said Paxon. He helped Calith to her feet. ‘They’ve killed Crizil. If you hadn’t come they would have killed us too.’

‘Who are they?’ asked Calith. ‘Why did they take my baby?’

‘They’re warriors of Prince Aztar,’ said Lukien. ‘This is his desert, or so he claims.’

‘We didn’t know,’ said Calith desperately. ‘Tell them for us. Tell them so they’ll bring Melini back!’

‘It won’t matter to them,’ said Ghost suddenly. ‘Lukien, they’ve seen you. That’s why they broke off their attack and took the girl.’

Gilwyn nodded. ‘And that’s why they waited so long to attack.’ He looked at his friend. ‘Another challenge, Lukien.’

Brooding, Lukien turned toward the Zarturk and his waiting men. Since becoming Shalafein, Aztar’s men had challenged him often. It was said that the Prince of the Desert had put a bounty on his head so large that any man who slayed the Shalafein would become a prince himself. To Aztar, Lukien was as guilty of soiling the desert as the Seekers, because he protected them and the Jadori who gave them shelter. Unconsciously he put his hand to his chest, feeling the outline of the amulet beneath his gaka. The Eye of God had brought him back from the brink of death. It kept him alive when he should have perished, but it also brought these bloody challenges.

‘Calith, I will get your daughter back if I can,’ he said.

Gilwyn looked grave. ‘Don’t give him the amulet, Lukien.’

‘He doesn’t want it handed to him, Gilwyn. He wants to fight for it. So I will fight him, and I will kill him. Kamar. .’

The Jadori came to him at once, looking earnest. Because the languages of Jador and Ganjor were similar, Kamar would be their mediator. But Lukien himself spoke little Jadori, and so told Gilwyn what he wanted.

‘Gilwyn, explain it to him. Tell Kamar that I will fight the Zarturk for the girl, but that his men must leave when I defeat him. Tell him that if he has any honour at all, he will agree to these conditions.’

Gilwyn told this all to Kamar without hesitation. In the short year he’d been in Jador, the boy had picked up the language remarkably well. Kamar listened, nodded, then frowned at Lukien, who knew he didn’t approve.

‘Tell them, Kamar,’ said Lukien. ‘I can beat this bastard easily.’

They all knew it, too. Lukien’s skill at killing had shocked them all. Kamar nodded, then trotted his kreel out from their circle. He paused a good distance from the gathered raiders, shouting across the sand. The Zarturk listened intently as Kamar delivered the terms. He had unwrapped the gaka from his face and now clearly showed his smiling features. The girl still squirmed in his arms, reaching out for her mother, but the desert leader ignored her. Questions and accusations flew back and forth. Finally the Zarturk handed the girl over to one of his men.

‘What’s he doing?’ asked Calith. ‘Why don’t they bring her back?’

Paxon put a hand on her shoulder. ‘If this man wins her back, she’ll be returned.’ The Seeker looked up at Lukien. ‘Is that right? You’re going to fight for her?’

‘There’s no choice in it,’ said Lukien. ‘If you want the girl back, it’s the only way.’

‘But you will win, won’t you?’ asked Calith. She hurried up to Lukien and touched his arm. ‘You must win. I beg you.’

‘I don’t intend to die, madam,’ said Lukien. ‘Not today, at least.’

‘They call you Lukien,’ said Paxon. ‘Are you truly he?’

‘Not what you expected, eh?’

‘In Liiria you are well known, sir,’ said Paxon. He could barely contain his joy. ‘Truly then, we have found Mount Believer.’