Lorik The Defender (The Lorik Trilogy) (4 page)

“What is happening?” Lorik shouted as he came to a clump of his volunteers.

The people in the camp were near panic.

“The monsters are coming,” said one of Lorik’s men.

“I can hear that. What’s the commotion about?”

The men all looked ashamed.

“Alright, so we’re a little jumpy,” Lorik said. “But the monsters haven’t reached us yet. Get your horses and your weapons ready.”

“What can we do?” Vera asked. She was out of breath from running with Stone from their place in the camp to the point of the commotion.

“I need a fire,” Lorik said. “A big one, right here,” he pointed to the ground. “Get the people here to help you. We need to keep everyone calm until we know what we’re dealing with.”

“How can we know?” Issalyn said. “It’s too dark to see.”

“Stone and I will scout the situation,” Lorik said. “My volunteers will form a line on this side of the fire.” He turned to the men nearest him. “I want three men with fire arrows stationed here. When the enemy comes in sight, have them shoot the arrows up. That should give us enough light to see by.”

“Yes, my lord,” said one of the volunteers eagerly.

“And keep everyone else on the far side of the fire,” Lorik told Vera. “They must stay together. We can only protect them if they stay together.”

Lorik turned to Issalyn. “Go with Vera. Keep your shieldmaidens close.”

“I would feel better if you stayed,” she said.

“I must do my part. Now is the time for you to do yours.”

He didn’t wait for her reply. He guessed that Issalyn wasn’t a woman who was used to being told no. He turned to Stone, who was waiting patiently, and with a nod they dashed out into the darkness.

Neither man spoke. They knew what needed to be done. The sound of the monsters’ whirring wings grew louder. The night was gloomy, but eventually they saw the horse creatures, with their scorpion tails and the upper bodies of men. They were moving slowly, their wings buzzing like hummingbirds, their heads down.

“Are they awake?” Stone whispered?

“I don’t know, but they’re moving slower than normal.”

“We’ve never fought them in the darkness,” Stone said. “Do you have a plan?”

“No,” Lorik said. “I was hoping to get an idea of their numbers.”

“I can’t tell in the dark,” Stone said.

“Me either, but it doesn’t seem to be more than we fought the other day.”

“Do we take them on ourselves?”

“No, not in the dark,” Lorik said. “In fact, it might be better if we pushed on. If we could get the group moving, we could probably stay ahead of this lot until sunup.”

“I doubt we could get everyone awake and ready to march,” Stone said. “Half of that lot is on the verge of coming up lame. I wouldn’t push them.”

“Then we need to get back. Perhaps we can lure the monsters into a trap.”

“What have you got in mind?”

“I’ll tell you on the way,” Lorik said.

They jogged back to the camp. The bonfire was roaring by the time they arrived and Lorik had to quickly give his volunteers orders. They split into two forces, each one moving far out of the ring of light cast off by the bonfire. Lorik and Stone took positions directly in front of the fire, but they kept their weapons hidden. The archers with quivers of fire arrows stood behind the bonfire, a brazier of coals ready to ignite their arrows when the time came.

Lorik was soon sweating from the heat of the bonfire. The night was cold, but Lorik was tense as he waited for the monsters to arrive. They had been moving slowly in the darkness, but as they approached the fire, they sped up.

“Here they come,” Stone said.

“Predictable,” Lorik said loudly. “Wait till they’re almost on top of us to fire those arrows.”

The Leffers closed in, their black eyes glistening in the firelight.

“Now!” Lorik shouted.

Four fire arrows arced over the heads of the Leffers. There were a dozen of the huge monsters. Their scorpion tails dripped a deadly looking venom. The first closed on Lorik, who drew his sword. The tail whipped forward and Lorik brought the sword down in an overhead slash that met the monster’s deadly stinger head on. The blade dissected the stinger and cut into the tail, but then it wedged in the hard exoskeleton. The Leffer reared, jerking its tail back and lifting Lorik off the ground. He refused to let go of his sword and twisted frantically in the air.

Stone had several spears lying on the ground beside him. He flicked up one of them with his foot, caught it in the air and hurled it all in one smooth motion. The spear flew like a wraith and buried itself in the monster’s human chest. The creature dropped to its knees and Lorik, landing deftly on his feet, jerked his weapon free. Then, he spun, dropping to his knee to avoid the strike of another monster’s tail, and severed the foreleg of the beast.

Stone hurled another spear, just before the mounted volunteers hurled their own weapons from the darkness. The archers were shooting arrow after flaming arrow high into the night sky, illuminating the scene in a dim light that gave the entire attack a nightmarish quality.

The Leffers fell to the attack, many impaled on more than one well thrown spear. The battle was over so suddenly that Lorik felt apprehensive. The volunteers were still on their horses, the mounts nervously pawing the ground. The bonfire roared behind Lorik, while flaming arrows dotted the ground in the distance, their flames like dancing stars on the dark landscape.

“Is it over?” Stone asked.

“I don’t know,” Lorik said.

The Leffers were still twitching, their tails flailing reflexively, making it too dangerous to recover the spears that were used to kill them.

“I want everyone with weapons ready!” Lorik shouted.

Stone picked up the last remaining spear at his feet. Lorik waved the volunteers back into their original positions. The crowd of refugees was restless and Lorik wanted to quiet them, but knew it was impossible. The tension in the darkness was so palpable that he could almost taste it.

Then came a rumble from the darkness. It was more than a growl, but so deep and loud it made the ground tremble.

“What the hell?” Stone said.

“More arrows!” Lorik shouted. “Spread them out!”

It took a moment, but then the arrows shot up into the air. The flames flickered madly as the arrows shot through the sky. Lorik peered into the darkness, but even with the fire arrows, the area beyond the bonfire was murky and full of shadowy darkness. The rumble came again, but closer this time.

“It’s big,” Lorik said to Stone. “I’m going out there. I want you to stay twenty paces behind me until we see what it is.”

“Maybe going after it is a bad idea,” Stone said, his voice tight.

“I think waiting here gives it an advantage.”

“You want a torch?”

“No,” Lorik said. “That will only make us visible and ruin our night vision.”

“Alright,” Stone said. “I’ve got your back, but be careful.”

Lorik jogged out into the darkness. He was a big man, but he moved gracefully, his feet hardly making a sound. They saw something move; it was big, but they couldn’t make out what it was. It seemed to move quickly. Lorik stopped moving, trying to see what they were facing. Stone crouched low, his spear held ready. It was the only thing that saved his life.

The beast in the darkness suddenly attacked, ignoring Lorik and targeting Stone instead. It rushed forward, its huge paws thumped on the ground and then it pounced, jumping high in the air as it lunged for Stone. The young fighter reacted instinctively. Raising the spearpoint toward the sound of rushing steps and planting the butt of the spear into the ground. The creature’s gapping maw was filled with rows of triangular teeth. It would have snapped down on Stone, but the spear was taller than the crouching warrior. The blade of the spear scraped against the rough, serrated teeth and then lodged in the creature’s gums. The spear’s wooden shaft snapped and knocked Stone flat on his back. The creature couldn’t close its mouth without driving the spear deeper into its own flesh.

The roar that resulted from the creature’s pain was deafening. Stone was in shock. He lay on the ground exposed, but unsure what to do. The creature was almost directly over him; he could feel the huge beast’s massive body, its breath was a hot, rotten stench. It pawed at its mouth with huge, padded feet, using its sharp, curving, claws to knock the spear loose from between the jagged teeth.

Every survival instinct in Stone was telling him to move, to flee. He knew he had to get away from the creature. He still had his knife, but the sheer size of the monster made the weapon seem puny and worthless. Still, Stone felt paralyzed. He couldn’t move, he could scarcely breathe. The creature looked down at him, its huge head was angular, almost like a goat, but it had a huge mouth full of teeth. Thick horns, as tall as a grown man, spiraled up from either side of the beast’s skull. Its body was thick with muscle and built more like a lion than a goat. It had thick legs and a huge chest. It was covered in a shaggy fur, and a short, knobby tail. Stone couldn’t make out the color of the fur, or what exactly the monster was in the darkness, but he knew there was no escape. Now that the spear was removed, there was nothing to stop it from devouring Stone.

Then another shadow passed over Stone. Lorik had sprinted toward his friend, then jumped straight for the huge creature. He landed hard on the beast’s nose and then jumped again, grabbing one of the huge horns and letting his momentum swing him around. He landed on the beast’s back, one hand grabbing a fist full of the shaggy fur, the other drawing one of his twin swords. He raised the weapon high, just as the creature reared, trying to throw Lorik off its back. But Lorik had a firm grip and used his powerful legs to hold himself steady. Then he plunged the sword into the creature’s flesh. The monster was still on its hind legs when it staggered backwards, then lost its balance and fell.

Lorik had let go of his sword and was attempting to switch hands, grabbing the furry hide with his right hand and preparing to draw his other sword with his left. Instead, when he felt the beast toppling backward, he drew his feet up and jumped away. He landed hard on his left side, then the ground shook as the beast fell backward and crashed onto the ground not far away. Lorik’s body ached, but he scrambled to his feet. He saw Stone’s shadowy form rising from the ground as well. Lorik hadn’t known if his friend was alive or dead, but he felt a sense of relief at seeing Stone get to his feet.

Then the monster was rolling toward Lorik. It couldn’t reach back and remove the sword, so it was rolling on the ground, but that only drove the weapon deeper. It roared so loudly that Lorik cowered instinctively, raising his arms to protect his head. The creature’s mouth was snapping shut, like a mud dragon, the teeth coming together in a loud clack that made Lorik’s blood run cold.

He drew his second sword and waited for an opening. The creature was writhing on the ground, then suddenly it rolled onto its feet. Lorik knew it was looking for him and his first impulse was to run away. Instead, he swallowed his fear and dashed forward. His first attack had been a reaction to his friend’s danger. He’d not even given his own safety a thought, but this time was different. Fighting a creature so large was terrifying, even to Lorik. Still, he knew that his only hope lay in getting close and staying away from the beast’s hideous maw.

The beast was just turning its head toward Lorik when he sprinted under the creature’s body. He raised his sword, which was razor sharp, and sliced easily through the beast’s soft underbelly. The creature tried to crush Lorik by dropping on top of him, but Lorik felt the huge body falling low and he slid feet first, just escaping the huge body. He was on the far side of the monster and rolled to his feet. A massive paw was rushing toward him and Lorik jumped forward, toward the beast’s heaving side. His momentum drove his second sword into the beast’s ribs, up to the hilt. The creature instinctively rolled and Lorik had to jump again, this time away from the creature. He landed on his feet and ran to keep from being crushed by the beast’s massive body.

Both of Lorik’s weapons were now buried deep in the monster’s flesh. He looked back over his shoulder and saw the beast slowly rising to its feet. Blood had slicked the shaggy fur in several places and there was blood dripping from the monster’s belly, but the wound there was superficial, little more than a scratch.

Lorik turned and watched as the beast lowered its head. The creature’s eyes were like deep pits of utter blackness. Blood and foam dripped from its mouth. It growled menacingly, but Lorik didn’t move. He stared right back at the creature, his mind racing as he tried to think of something to do.

Then a sound came from behind Lorik. A horse was galloping toward them. Lorik was tempted to look over his shoulder, but he knew he couldn’t look away from the monster. The creature’s head rose a little as it looked over Lorik toward the sound of the charging horse. Then it sprang into action, dashing forward, its mouth lowered and open wide.

Lorik ran to his left, sprinting as fast as he could to escape. The creature couldn’t turn its body fast enough and instead craned its neck, hoping to snatch Lorik up in its massive jaws. The teeth slammed shut just behind Lorik, who had managed to get out of the creature’s reach just in time.

Stone had run back to the camp and taken a volunteer’s horse while Lorik battled the monster. He had ridden close to the Leffers and snatched a spear from the twitching body of one of the monstrous horse-like creatures. Then he turned his mount toward the beast which had Lorik trapped without a weapon. Stone saw the creature look up as he lowered his spear and kicked the horse to greater speed. He knew the best throw wouldn’t be enough to stop the creature, and he knew he couldn’t just pick Lorik up on the horse and ride away. The huge beast would run them down easily enough, and they would have no other hope of surviving. Instead, Stone gathered his feet beneath him on the saddle. Then, just as Lorik dashed away and the creature craned its head to try and catch him, leaving its neck exposed, Stone jumped from the moving horse. He held the spear out in front of him as he arced toward the huge creature. He used all his momentum and weight to drive the spear down. It punctured the creature’s neck, and his momentum drove the spear through the muscle and into the beast’s windpipe.