Troy Denning - Faces of Deception

"Remember, don't kill them," Atreus whispered. "What we need is a panic, not an angry mob."

"I understand." Rishi rose to a crouch. "Your plan is very wise and clear."

Rishi pulled three little knives from inside his cloak. Yago rose to his knees and cupped his hands, holding them about two feet apart. Atreus gathered his legs beneath him, ready to jump to the Mar's defense if matters did not go as planned, then nodded.

Rishi leaped into the willows, splashing through the ice at the edge of the thicket. Several riders cried out in alarm and jerked their mounts around just as the Mar hurled his first dagger. Yago brought his hands together, creating a deep booming clap at about the same time the blade sank into the shoulder of the closest pony.

The beast whinnied and reared wildly, hurling its astonished rider from the saddle. He bounced off the pony behind him and splashed face first into the icy water, then surfaced an instant later, shrieking as though he were the one who had been wounded.

Naraka spun on his saddle, screaming orders and reaching for his sword. Several riders lowered their lances, and Rishi hurled another dagger. Yago clapped his hands, and again the blade caught a pony in the shoulder. The creature shrieked and shied away, then touched the ice crust behind it and bolted down the channel. A trio of riders managed to retain control of their mounts, urging them into a stiff, chill-legged charge.

"One more!" Atreus called.

Rishi hurled his third dagger, and again Yago clapped. This time, several ponies flinched noticeably. The beast leading the charge turned its head as though to wheel around, but it was the middle pony that caught the dagger-in the shoulder, as before-and went down.

The lead rider jerked his mount back into the charge, closing to within two paces of the willows where Rishi stood fumbling for another throwing dagger. Atreus jumped into the thicket and shoved the Mar aside, raising his sword even as he cursed the icy water pouring into his frozen boots. The rider's eyes widened. He cried out something about "Ysdar's devil" and turned his lance toward Atreus.

Atreus tapped the lance aside with his sword, as he stepped forward and caught the man across the chest with the flat of the blade. The rider splashed into the water, and Rishi was on him in a second, jerking the weapons from his scabbard belt. Yago unseated the third guard with even less trouble, jerking a willow out by the roots and hurling the muddy mess into the fellow's chest. The man tumbled backward off his pony.

A voice hissed, "You dare assail a bahrana?"

Atreus looked down to find Rishi pressing the edge of a dagger to the first rider's gullet.

"I will teach you better than to attack above your class," Rishi threatened.

"No!" Atreus caught Rishi's hand, planting a foot on the rider's chest and pushing him underwater, shouting, "Go!"

Atreus shoved Rishi up the hummock, then glanced back at the patrol. Naraka's pony was splashing down the channel in a slow, awkward gallop, while most of his men were struggling to bring their panicked mounts under control. Only the riders at the rear of the patrol were still in command of their ponies, but they were making only a token effort to get past the confusion and attack.

When one warrior raised his lance to throw, Naraka barked an order in Maran and pointed at Atreus's foot, where the submerged captive's arms were still flailing in the water. An idea flashed through Atreus's mind. He smiled and reached down, pulling his prisoner's head up by the long hair.

"Tonight, this man serves me in Ysdar's hell!" Atreus called. He hacked off a handful of hair and shook it in Naraka's direction. "Before this is done, you will all serve me in Ysdar's hell!"

The patrol gave a collective gasp. Even Naraka turned pale, but that did not keep him from kicking his mount until the poor creature stumbled on the silty bottom and fell. Atreus allowed himself a throaty laugh, then tucked the lock of stolen hair into his belt and clambered out of the willows.

On the other side of the hummock, Rishi had already untethered their mounts. The pony of the unhorsed man was standing at the end of their little caravan, its reins tied to the tail of Atreus's yak.

"What's the pony for?" Atreus snapped off a fresh willow to use as a riding crop, then climbed onto his yak. "You said they were no good in the swamp."

"The good sir is correct. Ponies are terrible in the swamp," Rishi agreed, urging his yak into the water. "But taking it will cause our enemies great trouble, as no pony can carry two men. Without it, they will certainly have to turn back."

"Certainly?" scoffed Yago. "I've heard that before "

"Well, it can't hurt," said Atreus. "Besides, we may need a pack animal when we reach this secret caravan road." He turned to Rishi. "How soon will that be?"

"Oh, very soon," replied the Mar. "By high-sun at the latest, and certainly much before that if we were successful in frightening off Naraka."

They traveled for nearly a quarter hour, then began to hear distant splashes behind them. Rishi cursed their pursuers for demons, and Atreus began to fear they would not be rid of the patrol until they killed Naraka. This was something

Atreus was loathe to do, as he admired the man's determination. Fortunately, the patrol was moving far more cautiously. By the time it had drawn close enough to worry about, the sun had risen well into the sky, though the ice had not yet melted off the channels.

Atreus and his companions attacked the patrol again. This time, they wounded only Naraka's mount, though several nervous ponies threw their riders at the sound of Yago's thunderous clapping. The riders, better prepared than last time, managed to launch a counterattack of flying lances, driving the ambushers away before Rishi could unleash a second dagger.

And so the morning went, with Yago clapping every time Rishi hurled one of his daggers. The number of pursuers dropped steadily as those on wounded mounts fell behind. The ponies grew increasingly skittish as their fellows were wounded, to the point that they sometimes fled at the mere sound of the ogre's big hands. Once Rishi was grabbed from behind and had to stab a man in the thigh. Another time Yago punched a pony unconscious, and Atreus had to save its trapped rider from drowning.

This mercy only served to convince the patrol that he intended to enslave them all in Ysdar's hell. Those who had already lost tresses to him grew desperate and attacked rashly, while those who had lost no hair grew more cautious than ever. Atreus stopped cutting off their locks, though he took pains to make it appear he was still trying.

There were only a dozen riders left when Naraka finally anticipated an ambush and laid a trap of his own. The trio was rushing across a hummock toward the sound of splashing when Naraka and eight men took them from the side. Yago, ten paces in the lead, was quickly separated from Atreus and Rishi.

Rishi managed to fling a dagger into Naraka's arm. The patrol leader responded in kind, catching Atreus just under the collarbone with a hurled lance. Atreus took the blow without falling, then yanked the weapon out and slammed its shaft across Naraka's throat. The patrol leader tumbled from his saddle, and the battle became a blur.

On the other side of the hummock, Yago was being driven toward the water, wielding a lance with his wounded arm and holding a screaming man in the other. One of Rishi's daggers flashed past and took a pony behind the jaw, dropping beast and rider in a cacophony of screeching and crashing. Another pony leaped its fallen fellow and landed only paces away.

Atreus hurled himself at its feet and came up holding his sword. He blocked a lance, slamming his blade into the rider's flank and felt warm blood spatter his face. He stepped away and found three men advancing on him cautiously, their lances low and ready. Yago was nowhere in sight, but there was a lot of splashing on the far side of the hummock.