David Gemmell - Quest for Lost Heroes

Beltzer awoke first. His body was stiff and'he stretched. At that moment he saw the attackers running into the cave. He rolled to his knees and came up with his axe. The fire was dead, the light poor. Beltzer bellowed a war-cry and charged. Two of the men ran at him, the third ducking and sprinting past the axeman. Beltzer ignored the runner and hammered his axe into the first of the attackers. A sword plunged through his jerkin, narrowly missing the flesh on his hip. Dragging his axe clear of the falling warrior, he backhanded a cut into the second man's ribs, the blade cleaving through to the lungs. Then he spun, ready for an attack from the rear. But the third man was dead, killed by Chareos.

Finn raced into the cave, his knife raised. He stopped as he saw Beltzer and Chareos standing over the three bodies.

'Some watchman you turned out to be,' said Beltzer.

Finn slammed the knife back into the sheath by his side. 'We killed three and wounded a fourth,' he said, 'but they doubled back on us.'

'How many more are there?' asked Chareos, wiping the blood from his blade.

'I don't know,' answered Finn.

'Find out,' Chareos told him. Finn nodded, turned on his heel and ran from the cave.

Beltzer sat down and chuckled. 'A night to remember, eh, Blademaster?'

'Yes,' agreed Chareos absently, turning to where Kiall and Okas still slept. Kneeling, he shook Kiall's shoulder.

The young man opened his eyes and flinched. 'Oh,' he whispered. 'Are we safe?'

'We are back at the cave,' replied Chareos. 'How safe we are remains to be seen. You did well back there.'

'How do you know?' Kiall asked.

'You are alive,' said Chareos simply.

'Shouldn't we be out there helping Maggrig and Finn?' queried Beltzer.

'No. The game being played is theirs. We would be a hindrance.'

Chareos took his tinder-box from his pack, cleared the ash from the fire and started a new blaze. The three men settled around it, enjoying the warmth. A scream sounded from beyond the cave and Kiall jumped.

'That could be Finn or Maggrig,' he said.

'Could be,' agreed Beltzer. 'What about some food?'

'A good idea,' pronounced Chareos and he turned to Kiall. 'Prepare some oats. My stomach is starting to think my throat has been cut.'

'What about Finn?' demanded Kiall.

'He can eat when he gets here,' replied Beltzer, grinning.

Kiall moved back to the packs and took a hide sack of oats. He glanced at Okas. 'He's still sleeping,' he said.

'I doubt that,' said Chareos.

The three questors sat in silence as the oats bubbled and thickened in a copper pot hung over the fire. The thin grey light of pre-dawn brightened the sky as Kiall ladled the food into two wooden platters.

'Not eating?' asked Beltzer as Kiall sat back.

'No, I lost my appetite,' answered the younger man, flicking his gaze to the bloodied corpses. 'How can you think of food with a stench like that in the air?'

Beltzer shrugged. 'It's only meat, boy, and bowels and guts.'

Finn entered the cave moments later and sat down, his eyes red-rimmed and weary. Maggrig followed a few minutes after. Both men ate in silence.

'Well?' asked Chareos, as the meal was finished.

'There were four more of them.'

'Did you get them all?' enquired Beltzer.

'Yes, but it was close. They were skilled, very skilled. What do we do now?'

'We wait for Okas,' answered Chareos. 'You should get some sleep.' Finn nodded and moved to the /ar corner of the cave, wrapping his lean frame in a blanket and settling down with his head on his saddle.

'They almost took us,' said Maggrig. 'At least one of them had a better position. His shot missed Finn's head by a finger's width.'

'Did you find their horses?' Chareos asked.

'Yes. We stripped the saddles and turned them loose. Finn thinks they were outriders for a larger force — probably the same group that took Ravenna.'

'Then they were hunting us,' said Chareos.

'Of course they were hunting us,' snapped Beltzer. That's why there are bodies everywhere.'

'I think Chareos means us specifically,' put in Maggrig. 'They weren't just trying to rob a small travelling party; they were looking for us.'

'How did you reach that conclusion?' Beltzer asked Chareos.

'Tell him, Maggrig,' said Chareos.

'First their skill. They were extra careful, which suggests to Finn and me that they knew our strengths. Second, they were prepared to take losses and still keep coming. If we were just a travelling party they would have no way of knowing how much we were carrying — and a few supplies and horses are not worth dying for.'

'So,' said Beltzer, 'the word is out already.'

'It would appear so,' Chareos agreed.

'It is most curious,' said Chien-tsu. The Nadir shaman no longer watches over us.' Sukai reined in his grey and gazed down at the camp-site below.

'Perhaps it is because they intend to attack tonight, lord,' said the soldier, dismounting. Chien-tsu lifted his left leg over the pommel of his saddle and jumped to the ground.

'No. They will anack tomorrow at dusk — at least that is the plan the man, Kubai, spoke of when he rode out to meet the killers last night.' Chien would long remember the ugly sound of Kubai's laughter as he spoke with the two Nadir outriders about the massacre of the 'yellow men'. His spirit had floated just above the trio and he had heard himself dismissed as an 'effeminate fool', a 'painted doll' man.

'It is galling,' said Sukai.

'Galling? I am sorry, my mind was wandering.'

'To be forced to meet one's death at the hands of such barbarians.'

'Ah yes, indeed so,' Chien agreed.

'It would have been pleasant to have had a secondary option.' Below them the twenty soldiers had prepared three camp-fires. From his position on the hill-top Chien could see the scout, Kubai, sitting apart from the men. Chien unbuttoned the brocaded red silk coat and scratched at his armpit. 'I shall not be sorry to say farewell to this garment,' he said. 'It is beginning to stink.'

'It was part of your plan, lord,' said Sukai, smiling broadly.

'Indeed it was, but it is dreadfully uncomfortable. Who will wear it tomorrow?'

'Nagasi, lord. He is your height and build.'

'I must apologise to him; it is one thing to die in service to your lord — but quite another to be forced to die in a dirty coat.'

'It is an honour for him, lord.'

'Of course it is, but good manners should be paramount. I will see him this evening. Would it be too great a privilege if we asked him to dine with us?'

'I fear that it would, lord.'

'I think you are correct, Sukai. You and I will dine together — though "dine", I fear, is too fine a description for a meal of broiled hare. However I have some good wine, which we will finish.'

Chien stepped into the saddle and waited for Sukai. The officer mounted his gelding and cursed softly.

'What concerns you, my friend?' asked Chien.

'The man, Kubai. I would dearly like to separate his head from his neck.'

'A thought I can appreciate — and share. However, it is vital that the soldiers of Kiatze commit no crime while in Nadir lands. All we can do is react.'

'As you wish, lord,' muttered Sukai, touching spurs to his mount and guiding the beast down the hill to the camp.

At noon the following day the Nadir scout, Kubai, announcing that he was riding off to hunt, galloped away to the south-west. Sukai watched him go, then turned his horse and halted the column.

Chien-tsu rode alongside him. 'We have four, perhaps five, hours,' said Chien. 'It is time to begin.' Sukai signalled the twenty guards to dismount and they tethered their horses and stood to attention. Chien walked the line in silence, stopping only to admonish a soldier whose bronze and silver hilt-guard showed a trace of tarnish. The man reddened.