Illepra’s gaze shifted to Godfrey as she took in the scene at once. She did away with pleasantries as her eyes opened wide with concern, realizing the urgency. She brushed past Gwen and hurried to Godfrey’s side, laying a palm of his forehead. She frowned.
“Bring him in,” she ordered the two men, hastily, “and be quick about it.”
Illepra went back inside, opening the door wider, and they followed on her heels as they rushed into the cottage. Gwen followed them in, ducking at the low entrance, and closed the door behind them.
It was dim in here, and it took her eyes a moment to adjust; when they did, she saw the cottage exactly as she had remembered it as a young girl: small, light, clean, and overflowing with plants, herbs and potions of every variety.
“Set him down there,” Illepra ordered the men, as serious as Gwen had ever heard her. “On that bed, in the corner. Remove his shirt and shoes. Then leave us.”
Akorth and Fulton did as they were told. As they were hurrying out the door, Gwen grabbed Akorth’s arm.
“Stand guard outside the door,” she ordered. “Whoever came after Godfrey might want a chance at him still. Or at me.”
Akorth nodded and he and Fulton exited, closing the door behind them.
“How long has he been like this?” Illepra asked urgently, not looking at Gwen as she knelt at Godfrey’s side and began to feel his wrist, his stomach, his throat.
“Since last night,” Gwen answered.
“Last night!” Illepra echoed, shaking her head in concern. She examined him for a long time in silence, her expression darkening.
“It’s not good,” she said finally.
She placed a palm on his forehead again and this time closed her eyes, breathing for a very long time. A thick silence pervaded the room, and Gwen was beginning to lose her sense of time.
“Poison,” Illepra finally whispered, her eyes still closed, as if reading his condition through osmosis.
Gwen always marveled at her skill; she had never been wrong once, not in her lifetime. And she had saved more lives than the army had taken. She wondered if it was a learned skill or if it was inherited; Illepra’s mother had been a healer, and her mother before her. Yet at the same time, Illepra had spent every waking minute of her life studying potions and the healing arts.
“A very powerful poison,” Illepra added, more confident. “One I encounter rarely. A very expensive one. Whoever was trying to kill him knew what he was doing. It is incredible he did not die. This one must be stronger than we think.”
“He gets it from my father,” Gwen said. “He had the constitution of a bull. All the MacGil kings did.”
Illepra crossed the room and mixed several herbs on a wooden block, chopping and grinding them and adding a liquid as she did. The finished product was a thick, green salve, and she filled her palm, hurried back to Godfrey’s side, and applied it up and down his throat, under his arms, on his forehead. When she finished, she crossed the room again, took a glass and poured several liquids, one red, one brown and one purple. As they blended, the potion hissed and bubbled. She stirred it with a long, wooden spoon, then hurried back to Godfrey and applied it to his lips.
Godfrey did not budge; Illepra reached behind his head and lifted it with her palm, and forced the liquid into his mouth. Most of it spilled down the side of his cheeks, but some of it went down his throat.
Illepra dabbed the liquid from his mouth and jaw, then finally leaned back and sighed.
“Will he live?” Gwen asked, frantic.
“He might,” she said, somber. “I have given him everything I have, but it won’t be enough. His life is in the hand of the fates.”
“What can I do?” Gwen asked.
She turned and stared at Gwen.
“Pray for him. It will be a long night indeed.”
Chapter Five
Kendrick had never appreciated what freedom was like – true freedom – until this day. The time he had spent locked away in the dungeon had shifted his view on life. Now he appreciated every little thing – the feel of the sun, the wind in his hair, just being outside. Charging on a horse, feeling the earth speeding by beneath him, being back in armor, having his weaponry back, and riding alongside his brothers-in-arms made him feel as if he had been shot out of a cannon, made him feel a recklessness which he had never experienced before.
Kendrick galloped, leaning low into the wind, his close friend Atme at his side, so grateful for the chance to fight with his brothers, to not miss this battle, and eager to liberate his home city from the McClouds – and to make them pay for invading. He rode with an urge for bloodshed, though even as he rode he knew that the real target of his wrath was not the McClouds but his brother, Gareth. He would never forgive him for imprisoning him, for accusing him of his father’s murder, for taking him away in front of his men – and for attempting to execute him. Kendrick wanted vengeance on Gareth – but since he could not have it, at least not today, he would take it out on the McClouds.
When Kendrick returned to King’s Court, though, he would settle things. He would do whatever he could to oust his brother and instill his sister Gwendolyn as the new ruler.
They neared the sacked city and huge, billowing black clouds rolled towards them, filling Kendrick’s nostrils with acrid smoke. It pained him to see a MacGil city like this. If his father had still been alive, this would have never happened; if Gareth had not succeeded him, this would have never have happened either. It was a disgrace, a stain on the honor of the MacGils and The Silver. Kendrick prayed they were not too late to rescue these people, that the McClouds had not been here too long, and that not too many people had been injured or killed.
He kicked his horse harder, riding out in front of the others, as they all charged, like a swarm of bees, towards the open-gate entrance to the city. They stormed through, Kendrick drawing his sword, preparing to encounter a host of the McCloud enemy as they charged into the city. He let out a great shout, as did all the men around him, steeling himself for impact.
But as he passed through the gate and into the dusty square of the city, he was stumped by what he saw: nothing. All around him were the telltale signs of an invasion – destruction, fires, looted homes, corpses piled, women crawling. There were animals killed, blood on the walls. It had been a massacre. The McClouds had ravaged these innocent folk. The thought of it made Kendrick sick. They were cowards.
But what stumped Kendrick as he rode was that the McClouds were nowhere in sight. He could not understand it. It was as if the entire army had evacuated deliberately, as if they had known they were coming. Fires were still alight, and it was clear that they had been lit with a purpose.
It was beginning to dawn on Kendrick that this was all a decoy. That the McClouds had wanted to lure the MacGil army to this place.
But why?
Kendrick suddenly spun, looked around, desperate to see if any of his men were missing, if any contingent had been lured away, to another spot. His mind was flooding with a new sense, a sense that this had all been arranged to cordon off a group of his men, to ambush them. He looked everywhere, wondering who was missing.
And then it hit him. One person was missing. His squire.
Thor.
Chapter Six
Thor sat on his horse, atop the hill, the group of Legion members and Krohn beside him, and looked out at the startling sight before him: as far as the eye could see were McCloud troops, sitting on horseback, a vast and sprawling army, awaiting them. They had been set up. Forg must have led them here on purpose, must have betrayed them. But why?
Thor swallowed, looking out at what appeared to be their sure death.
A great battle cry rose up as the McCloud army suddenly charged them. They were but a few hundred yards away, and closing in fast. Thor glanced back over his shoulder, but there were no reinforcements as far as he could see. They were completely alone.
Thor knew they had no other choice but to make a last stand here, on this small hill, beside this deserted keep. They were impossible odds, and there was no way they could win. But if he was going to go down, he would go down bravely and face them all like a man. The Legion had taught him that much. Running was not an option; Thor prepared himself to face his death.
Thor turned and looked at his friends’ faces, and he could see they, too, were pale with fear; he saw death in their eyes. But to all of their credit, they remained brave. Not one of them flinched, even though their horses pranced, or made a move to turn and run. The Legion was one unit now. They were more than friends: the Hundred had forged them into one team of brothers. Not one of them would leave the other. They had all taken a vow, and their honor was at stake. And to the Legion, honor was more sacred than blood.
“Gentlemen, I do believe we have a fight before us,” Reece announced slowly, as he reached over and drew his sword.
Thor reached down and drew his sling, wanting to take out as many as he could before they reached them. O’Connor drew his short spear, while Elden hoisted his javelin; Conval raised a throwing hammer, and Conven a throwing pick. The other boys with them from the Legion, the ones Thor did not know, drew their swords and raised their shields. Thor could feel the fear in the air, and he felt it too as the thunder of the horses grew, as the sound of the McClouds’ cries reached the heavens, sounding like a rolling clap of thunder about to hit them. Thor knew they needed a strategy – but he did not know what.
Next to Thor, Krohn snarled. Thor drew inspiration from Krohn’s fearlessness: he never whimpered or looked back once. In fact, the hairs rose on his back and he slowly walked forward, as if to meet the army alone. Thor knew that in Krohn he had found a true battle companion.
“Do you think the others will reinforce us?” O’Connor asked.
“Not in time,” Elden answered. “We’ve been set up by Forg.”
“But why?” Reece asked.
“I don’t know,” Thor answered, stepping forward on his horse, “but I have a sinking feeling it has something to do with me. I think someone wants me dead.”
Thor felt the others turn and look at him.
“Why?” Reece asked.
Thor shrugged. He did not know, but he had some inkling it had to do with all the machinations at King’s court, something to do with the assassination of MacGil. Most likely, it was Gareth. Perhaps he viewed Thor as a threat.
Thor felt terrible for having endangered his brothers-in-arms, but there was nothing he could do about it now. All he could do was try to defend them.
Thor had enough. He shouted and kicked his horse, and burst forward at a gallop, charging out before the others. He would not wait here to be met by this army, met by his death. He would take the first blows, maybe even divert some from his brothers-in-arms, and give them a chance to run if they decided to. If he was going to meet his ending, he would meet it fearlessly, with honor.
Shaking inside but refusing to show it, Thor galloped farther and farther from the others, charging down the hill towards the advancing army. Beside him, Krohn sprinted, not missing a beat.
Thor heard a shout as behind him, his fellow Legion members raced to catch up. They were hardly twenty yards away, and they galloped after him, raising a battle cry. Thor remained out in front, yet it still felt good to have their support behind him.
Before Thor a contingent of warriors broke out from the McCloud army, charging ahead to meet Thor, perhaps fifty men. They were a hundred yards ahead and closing in fast, and Thor pulled back his sling, set a stone, took aim, and hurled. He targeted the lead warrior, a large man with a silver breastplate, and his aim was perfect. He hit the man at the base of the throat, between the plates of armor, and the man fell from his horse, landing on the ground before the others.
As he fell, his horse fell with him, and the dozen horses behind him piled up, sending their soldiers hurling to the ground, face first.
Before they could react, Thor placed another stone, reached back and hurled it. Again, his aim was true, and he hit one of the lead warriors in the temple, at the spot exposed from his raised faceplate, and knocked him sideways off his horse, into several other warriors, taking them down like dominoes.
As Thor galloped, a javelin flew by his head, then a spear, then a throwing hammer and a throwing pick, and he knew his Legion brothers were supporting him. Their aim was true, too, and their weapons took down the McCloud soldiers with deadly precision, several of them falling from the horses and crashing into others who fell with them.
Thor was elated to see that they had already managed to take down dozens of McCloud soldiers, some of them with direct hits but most being tripped up by falling horses. The advance contingent of fifty men was now down on the ground, lying in great heaps of dust.
But the McCloud army was strong, and now it was their turn to fight back. As Thor came within thirty yards of them, several threw weapons his way. A throwing hammer came right at his face, and Thor ducked at the last moment, the iron whizzing by his ear, missing by an inch. A spear came flying at him just as quickly and he ducked the other way, as the tip grazed the outside of his armor, luckily just missing him. A throwing pick came right for his face, and Thor raised his shield and blocked it. It stuck to his shield, and Thor reached over, pulled it off, and threw it back at his attacker. Thor’s aim was true, and it lodged in the man’s chest, piercing his chainmail; with a scream the man cried out and slumped over his horse, dead.
Thor kept charging. He charged right into the thick of the army, into a sea of soldiers, prepared to meet his death. He shouted and raised his sword as he did, letting out a great battle cry; behind him, his brothers-in-arms did, too.
With a great clash of arms, there came impact. A huge, full-grown warrior charged for him, raised a two-handed ax, and brought it down for Thor’s head. Thor ducked, the blade swinging by his head and slashed the soldier’s stomach as he rode past; the man screamed out, and slumped over on his horse. As he fell he dropped his battle ax, and it went flying end over end into a McCloud horse, which shrieked and pranced, throwing off his rider into several others.
Thor kept charging, right into the thick of the McCloud warriors, hundreds of them, cutting a path right through them, as one after the other swung at him with their swords, axes, maces, and he blocked with his shield or dodged them, slashing back, ducking and weaving, galloping right through. He was too quick, too nimble, for them, and they had not expected it. As a huge army, they could not maneuver fast enough to stop him.
There rose up a great clash of metal all around him, as blows hailed down on him from every direction. He blocked one after the other with his shield and sword. But he could not stop them all. A sword slash grazed his shoulder, and he cried out in pain as it drew blood. Luckily the wound was shallow, and it did not prevent him from fighting. He continued to fight back.
Thor, fighting with both hands, was surrounded by McCloud warriors, and soon the blows began to lighten, as other Legion members joined the pack. The clang grew greater as the McCloud men fought against the Legion boys, swords striking shields, spears hitting horses, javelins being thrust into armor, men fighting in every way. Screams rang out from both sides.