That Ses-Zeltzin had beaten them to the house was plainly obvious. There were dents and chips in the front door from an attempt to break it open. They must have been interrupted, though, since the door hadn’t been broken through. Probably spotted the inhabitants escaping from the back, though Rudiger was surprised the door had lasted for even one blow. It was sturdier than it looked.

Yells from the direction of the river drew them away from door and to the back of the house. There were shadowy outlines of several figures at the top of the hill leading to the river. At this distance in the dark, it was hard to discern details, but the figures appeared to be holding bows, so enemy warriors seemed a good bet as to their identities.

Nin-Akna yelled, and the figures turned.

“So much for sneaking up on them,” Rudiger said.

“I don’t want them killing anyone while we’re sneaking up on them,” Nin-Akna said. “If we can draw even a few towards us...”

There were yells from the distance. The shadowy figures raised their bows and fired. Rudiger and Nin-Akna dived in opposite directions. Even in daylight, the distance would be long enough to make it unlikely the arrows would hit, but Rudiger didn’t want to take the chance an archer got lucky.

Both he and Nin-Akna then charged forward, their spears held in front of them. The archers fired another volley of arrows. One whizzed a short distance over Rudiger’s head, close enough he could feel the rush of air. Then the archers dropped their bows and picked up spears from the ground. They charged at Rudiger and Nin-Akna.

Two came at Rudiger. One from the left, the other from the right. Rudiger stopped. He jumped to the left, tried to block the left attack and dodge the right. It wasn’t a graceful move, but he came out of it. His spear clattered against the left attacker’s spear. For a moment, he lost track of the right attacker. It was getting very dark.

He thrust at the left attacker, who dodged backwards. His other opponent came up on his flank, Rudiger backed off to the side, trying to keep both of them in front of him. Rustling came from behind him, so he charged forward, straight for the attacker on his left. He knocked aside her spear with his own and kept going, ploughed right into her, knocking her over.

He stumbled about, avoided her attempt to grab his leg and pull him down too. His spear was gone, lying on the ground somewhere, impossible to see in the dark. He spun round. Two more were coming at him.

Rudiger dove between the two of them. He landed half on the warrior he’d knocked to the ground. He kneed her face into the dirt, then scrambled to his feet. A spear split his side, the same spot where he’d been injured earlier. It was painful, but he could still move, which was all that mattered.

He drew Slay and went straight at the one who’d just attacked him. He sliced the spear in half, and then barrelled down on the attacker. Another swipe cut the man in half.

He spun around again. One immediate attacker remained. The one he’d knocked over was getting back up, though. Two other figures in the distance were fighting each other.

His remaining opponent didn’t come straight after him. Instead, she was holding guard over the one standing up, who was now searching for her spear. They wanted two-on-one. He wouldn’t give them a chance.

Rudiger charged forward again, and the spear thrust at him. He swung but didn’t quite connect with it. The spear tore another hole in his armour on his other side. It cut his flesh, but he had knocked the aim off enough that it didn’t go in. He brought Slay up again, and back down on the warrior. He then spun at the other one who had just retrieved her spear. She dropped the spear again, tried to draw her dagger, but Slay cut her down.

He rushed towards the two in the distance. One went down. He hoped it wasn’t Nin-Akna.

She was panting when he reached her, but otherwise looked unharmed.

Three more spear-wielding warriors were approaching them.

“I told Fra-Ichtaca she should have let me kill you,” one of them said. Ses-Zeltzin. “She needs to realise that politics and battle don’t always line up the way you’d like them to.”

“Ses-Zeltzin’s mine,” Nin-Akna hissed. “You take the other two.”

Rudiger would have liked to settle his own grudge against Ses-Zeltzin, but now was not the time to argue. Ses-Zeltzin and the warriors weren’t going to honour her declaration, however, as the other two went for Nin-Akna.

Rudiger went for the nearest of those two, hoping to take them off guard. That one turned his spear towards Rudiger and thrust. Rudiger jumped back. Damn! They’d lulled him in off-guard.

Nin-Akna clashed briefly with the second, but that one circled round her to Rudiger as well.

Once again, Rudiger found himself outflanked by two opponents with greater reach than him. He lunged at one. He had to keep them reacting, couldn’t give them a chance to coordinate their attacks. Slay cut through that one’s spear, just as the other’s spear hit the armour on his back. He had enough forward momentum, though, to take him out of reach before it could do any damage.

He ploughed into the opponent in front of him. An elbow to the side of the face sent the man plummeting to the ground—unconscious, hopefully. He spun around again to face the other attacker. The warrior thrust forward and Rudiger swung Slay around to cut the spear in half just in time. The warrior drew a dagger, but Rudiger was on him before he could do any more.

The one Rudiger had knocked over was not unconscious after all, and was getting back up. Rudiger drove Slay through the man’s chest.

Nin-Akna and Ses-Zeltzin’s fight had taken them some distance away from Rudiger. Nin-Akna was blocking attacks from Ses-Zeltzin, but was being forced to back up after every attack.

Rudiger rushed in their direction.

Nin-Akna blocked another attack against her, but Ses-Zeltzin twisted her spear around and knocked Nin-Akna’s spear out of her hand. The butt of the spear hit Nin-Akna in the side of the head, and she fell over. Ses-Zeltzin stepped over the younger Ninifin, angled her spear down.

Rudiger yelled as he charged in. Ses-Zeltzin swung her spear round to meet Rudiger’s attack. He swung Slay to block, but she was lower than he thought. The spear pierced his leg, and he stumbled aside. The same damn trick Izel had used on him!

Nin-Akna had drawn a dagger and she drove it into Ses-Zeltzin’s thigh. The Queen’s Guard stumbled back with a cry.

Rudiger lunged forward, ignoring the pain as he put pressure on his injured leg. He swung Slay up and back down. Ses-Zeltzin dodged aside. They circled each other for a moment, both hobbling on their injured legs.

Nin-Akna reached for her spear, but had to roll aside to avoid Ses-Zeltzin’s spear. It slammed into the ground where she had been. Rudiger rushed at the Queen’s Guard, who spun round and knocked him in the side of the head with the shaft of her spear.

Nin-Akna rolled back and grabbed her spear. She thrust it up at Ses-Zeltzin, but the Queen’s Guard knocked it aside again and kicked Nin-Akna in the stomach. She exposed her back though, and Rudiger swung Slay down. The sword slammed into Ses-Zeltzin’s back and cut straight through her spine. Her two pieces fell on top of Nin-Akna, who scrambled out from under them.

Panting, Rudiger looked around in case other opponents had presented themselves. Everything looked clear for the moment.

Nin-Akna stood up, and leaned over, her hands clutching her thighs, breathing heavily.

“Sorry about that,” Rudiger said. “I know you wanted her, but...”

“No, it’s fine,” she said between gasps for breath. “Really, it’s fine. I took on more than I could handle. That sword of yours, though. It...it just cut through her, and everyone else.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit unusual that way.”

She straightened up. “We need to find Meleng and the others. Hopefully, they’re still alive.”

They hurried to the top of the hill where the archers had been standing. The silhouettes of the trees were barely visible against the dark sky.

“I’m guessing they went into the woods,” Rudiger said. “They’ll be hard to find in there now, though hard for the warriors to find too.”

“Looks like there are some bodies at the bottom of the hill over there,” Nin-Akna said. “Let’s check who they are, and hope for the best.”

“Just give me a minute,” Rudiger said. “I took a few hits back there. I need to get them bound before I bleed out.”

“Oh gods, sorry,” Nin-Akna said. “Let me help.”

Once Rudiger was bandaged—or had bandages replaced in the case of the previous wound on his side—they slid down the slope. The first couple bodies were of warriors, one a Queen’s Guard.

“I knew her,” Nin-Akna said. “She was still in the Youth Guard when I joined. So much death.”

Rudiger spotted a body lying in the mud, an arrow sticking out of the back. It was not dressed as a Ninifin warrior. He was certain he knew who it was before he turned the body over. “Shit.”

“I always liked Fra-Mecatl,” Nin-Akna said, shaking her head. “There’s another body over here.”

Nin-Akna went over to examine the next body while Rudiger picked up Fra-Mecatl and slung her over his shoulder. At the very least, they could make sure she got a proper burial.

“Oh no!” Nin-Akna wailed. “No, please no.”

Rudiger took a deep breath, braced himself for finding out who it was.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Nin-Akna was cradling the body of a woman about her age, dressed in the same uniform as the Queen’s Guard and Youth Guard. It had to be Ses-Inhuan.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Rudiger said.

Nin-Akna wiped her eyes. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. She must have died trying to protect the others. She died fulfilling her vow and duty. It’s an honourable death.” She broke down in sobs.

After a minute, she wiped her eyes and nose, and stood up. “Some leader I turned out to be.”

“What do you mean?” Rudiger asked.

“Since I took command of the Youth Guard, almost everyone has died. Maybe everyone. For all I know, Fra-Chan and Ses-Iktan are dead by now too.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. No one could be expected to do better given the circumstances. Your group was never meant to see real combat.”

She sniffled. “We need to keep looking for the others.”

“They could be anywhere in there.”

“I have some tracking skills. We’re taught them in the Youth Guard.”

“In the dark?”

“Yes, some of the training was in the dark. It’s harder, but they could still be in trouble. They may need our help.”

“All right. Help me with your friend.” He grunted against the pain still coming from his wounds and lowered himself into a position to take Ses-Inhuan’s body once Nin-Akna lifted her to him. He then flung her over his other shoulder. He hoped no one else was dead. He couldn’t carry any more bodies.

They had only gone a short distance into the woods when Nin-Akna held up her hand. “I hear movement ahead.”

Rudiger had been too busy trying to keep the two bodies from sliding out of his grip that he hadn’t noticed anything, but he stopped and tried to listen.

Nin-Akna crept forward, her spear held out. She peered around a tree and someone lunged out, tried to grab her spear. She pulled it away.

“It’s all right,” she said. “I’m on your side.”

The thin, frail figure heaved a heavy sigh of relief. It was Fra-Tepeu.

Rudiger headed forward and joined them. “Oh, thank goodness.”

“Rudiger, my lad, I’m so glad you’re here.”

“You’re covered in mud.”

Fra-Tepeu nodded. “The young man, Meleng, used a spell to hide me in the dirt. I couldn’t move fast enough to stay ahead of our pursuers.”

“Meleng was still alive when you last saw him then?” Nin-Akna asked.

“Yes, and so was Quilla.”

“Do you know which way they went?”

Fra-Tepeu shook his head. “I’m afraid I couldn’t see much. The original plan, however, was to circle through the forest and try to reach the barn. If they’re still alive, that’s where they’ll be heading.”

“Then we should head to the barn,” Rudiger said.

Nin-Akna shook her head. “No, we have to keep looking. They could die between now and getting to the barn. We have to help if we can.”

“They might have already made it to the barn,” Rudiger said. “We’ll keep going through the woods, but we’ll go in the direction of the barn. That’s their most likely path.”

Nin-Akna nodded. “You’re right. We’ll do that.”

Fra-Tepeu reached out to Fra-Mecatl’s body, closed his eyes, and sighed. “There was never a finer person who lived than my dear sister. I shall miss her.”

“Forgive me,” Nin-Akna said. “I’ve been so caught up trying to find the others that I wasn’t thinking. I’m very sorry for your loss. We should go, though.”

“There will be time to mourn later if we survive,” he said. “I’ve lost my cane. I’ll need support.”

Nin-Akna looked to Rudiger. He shook his head. “It’s all I can do to carry these two.”

She nodded and took Fra-Tepeu’s arm. “I may need to let go if we’re attacked.”

It was slow moving. Fra-Tepeu couldn’t go fast and Rudiger was starting to tire from carrying the bodies. It was also hard to keep track of where they were going in the dark. Rudiger had been through these woods on several occasions before, but never at night. Fra-Tepeu seemed to know where he was going though, and as long as they stayed on this side of the river, they should be fine.

After many minutes, they came across the body of a warrior sitting against a tree. Nin-Akna left Fra-Tepeu against a nearby tree and went over to the body. “Stab wound to the heart. There’s a hole in the ground over here, and this tree and everything around here is splattered with dirt.”

“One of the young lad’s spells,” Fra-Tepeu said. “He did something similar earlier to the other warriors chasing us.”

“That means they made it this far,” Rudiger said.

“We keep going,” Nin-Akna said. She took Fra-Tepeu’s arm again and they set off.

After several more minutes, Fra-Tepeu said, “We should be in line with the barn about now.”

Rudiger looked about. “Yeah, this looks familiar.” This was the way down to the pool off the side of the river where he used to bathe. Thoughts about the time spent there with Zandrue came back to him. He hadn’t thought about her in... He wasn’t sure how long now. At least a week. Izel had distracted him.

They made their way back up the hill. The barn was a dark shadow straight ahead. They made their way to it, and Nin-Akna tried to open the doors. They were barred from the inside.

“Meleng?” Nin-Akna called. “Are you in there? It’s me, Akna! Please let us in!”

Rudiger heard scuffling on the other side and after a moment, the doors opened. They rushed inside and Quilla closed the doors behind them. “Oh gods, it’s so good to see you,” she said, replacing the bar on the doors. She ran forward to hug Nin-Akna.

Rudiger placed the two bodies on the floor. It was actually closer to dropping them. He felt a bit guilty about that, but his arms were screaming at him.

“Where’s Meleng?” Nin-Akna asked.

“I don’t know,” Quilla said. “We got separated. He hasn’t made it here yet. I’m sorry, but Ses-Inhuan...” Her eyes fell on the bodies on the floor. “Oh, you found them.”

Nin-Akna nodded. “And I don’t want any more added. I’m going back out to find Meleng.”

“I’ll be right with you,” Rudiger said, trying to stretch his complaining arms. “Quilla, look after Fra-Tepeu. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

Outside, they slid back down the slope. It was much easier now Rudiger had his hands free. “Where to?” he asked.

Nin-Akna looked about, back and forth. “We retrace our steps to where we found the dead warrior. We know Meleng passed there. Then we figure out where he went. If he’s rushing, he won’t be covering his tracks.”

Rudiger nodded. “Lead the way.”

They found the body again without difficulty—and much more quickly now they didn’t have Fra-Tepeu and the bodies slowing them down.

“His spell made a mess of the ground,” Nin-Akna said after a brief look around, “but that’s actually helped things. There are foot prints over here that don’t appear to be ours from earlier. They went that way.” She pointed in a direction close to the way they had gone last time, but went closer to the river.

They set off, Nin-Akna in the lead. “Meleng!” she cried. “Meleng, are you there?”

There was no reply.

They continued on. Rudiger joined in Nin-Akna’s calls. He knew they would draw the attention of anyone still pursuing Meleng as well, but that would probably be a good thing. He and Nin-Akna just needed to be ready.

After several minutes, Nin-Akna’s voice was getting noticeably hoarse. Rudiger’s wasn’t much better. As Nin-Akna passed between a pair of close trees, she leapt backwards, nearly colliding with Rudiger. Two spears had thrust out into the space where she had just been standing. She whipped her spear down into position and Rudiger drew Slay. Two warriors stepped out from the trees.

“Use the trees,” Nin-Akna whispered. “I’ll keep them busy.” She lunged at one of them. The warrior avoided the blow, while the second thrust at Nin-Akna. She ducked aside, using a tree as cover.

Rudiger backed away and circled behind another tree. He kept trees between himself and the two warriors until he made it around to the opposite side of them. It was hard to see them, but between the clatter of the spears and Nin-Akna’s yells, it was easy to keep track of their position.

He moved closer again until he could see the shadow of their forms. They’d pushed Nin-Akna back to a more open position. They’d be watching for him, too, so he needed to be careful. He waited until they both lunged at Nin-Akna. Then he charged through the underbrush, got to the nearest one before she could turn around. Slay cut through the warrior’s back and she fell to the ground.

The second tried to reposition herself to keep track of Rudiger. Nin-Akna’s spear flew forward into her side, then Rudiger sliced down across the warrior’s chest. The warrior fell back against a tree and slid to the ground.

“Meleng!” Nin-Akna yelled again.

“Up here!”

Nin-Akna looked up and about. “Where?”

“Over here! I’m coming down. Or trying to. I’m not very—aah!”

There was a thud and Nin-Akna took off at a run. Rudiger followed.

They found Meleng a few trees away, rubbing his head. “I fell. I’m surprised I managed to climb it in the first place.”

Nin-Akna ran up to him and threw her arms around him. “Thank the gods. I was so worried.”

“I heard you call, but I couldn’t answer without giving my position away.”

“That’s okay,” she said, hugging him tighter. “You did the right thing.”

“I, uh, lost track of Quilla. But Fra-Tepeu is back at—”

“I know. We found them.”

“And...um...Inhuan...”

“We found her too.”

Nin-Akna hadn’t let go of her hug, and Meleng hugged her back. The two of them stood there for a while, each sobbing into the other’s shoulder. Rudiger stood nearby and waited.

“Rudiger, is that you?” Meleng said, after he and Nin-Akna finally separated from each other.

“Hey, Meleng. Been a while.”

Meleng hugged him. Rudiger was a bit taken aback at first, but he returned the hug.

“We should get back to Fra-Tepeu and Quilla,” Rudiger said. “They’re at the barn.”

Meleng nodded. “That’s where I was trying to go if I hadn’t got cornered.”

They started walking back towards the barn.

“Oh, uh...” Meleng took out a dagger from his belt and held it out to Nin-Akna. “It was Inhuan’s. She gave it to me to protect myself and the others. You should take it now. I keep cutting myself on it.”

Nin-Akna shook her head. “If she gave it to you, it’s yours now. You keep it.”

“I’m not really used to carrying weapons.”

“With the life we lead these days, Meleng. you’d better get used to it,” she replied.

Rudiger nodded. Death and destruction seemed to follow them everywhere.