The horse neighed madly as more arrows fell among us. The path narrowed as we rode deeper into the forest, but we were slow—six horses pulling six carts against a company of the king's men. The tight space was our only hope; it kept the riders from surrounding us completely.
Cries rose from inside the carts. People had been hit—women and children, probably dead or dying. Gods save us. I didn't even know which of the carts Nuel was in. Gast abandoned his bow to lash at his horses leaving the riders free to come at us unopposed.
My hands shook violently; all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and weep. Grantho's voice echoed in my head, his rough voice calling me a pussy, his ugly bear beside him.
I reached for the longbow and rose to my feet.
"What are you doing?" I could hardly see Gast's face in the pitch black. He whipped the horses furiously. "Get down, you idiot!"
I couldn't answer him. It would only be a matter of time; the horses would get exhausted, or an arrow would find one of them. The riders would reach us. That was inevitable.
I nocked an arrow and drew, swaying with the cart's jolts. My breathing was a mess, heart beating madly, but I forced my hands to steady. The world slowed for a second, the rhythm of hooves and wheels almost hypnotic.
One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three heartbeats.
A rider yelled a command and I turned at the sound of his voice and released—the shaft tearing skin from my fingertips. A satisfying thud answered as a man fell from his horse, armour pierced. I got him. I actually hit a target.
Gast gave me a mad look, his eyes wide in shock. A smile soon crept at the corners of his mouth. He was scary to behold.
"That's it, boy!!! Kill the fucking bastards. Get 'em!"
I felt a rush in my blood, my mind steadied and my hands no longer shook. Another arrow found my bow and I drew. Another rider barked a command and my hands turned in his direction. The arrow found his skull. Arrow after arrow flew into the dark. Crossbows from the enemy answered, but they were blind in the darkness. For some reason I was not.
The riders abandoned their arrows and rode hard to catch up. They drew level with the rear cart just as my quiver was almost spent.
"The bastards," Gast gasped. He lashed at his horses but they were already spent.
Two riders tried to squeeze pass us in the narrow gap. The first horse slammed hard into a tree, catapulting its rider with it. The man slammed head first, his neck snapping and jutting out from his shoulders. My stomach churned but I had no time to feel sick.
The next rider was more skilled with his horse. He zigzagged through the trees rushing past our train. I shot at him, but the trees gave him shelter.
"He's going to take out the horses!!" Gast screamed. The rider levelled his spear calmly and struck at the horse's flank. The beast screamed as it crumbled to the ground. The second horse slammed into its fallen comrade. The third tried to halt but the cart crashed into him, sending me and Gast flying into the dirt. My head connected with a rock and my world went dark.
***
I hated dreams, especially when they contained the dead. I was lying on the ground, my head spinning when I came through. The abrupt change in humidity forced me to an upright position. The heat was so strong you could see it. It felt like a living entity.
All around me the world burned. The echoes of agony and torture rent through the burning hills.
These weren't the hills I knew, they were too jagged, too cruel and very alien.
"Neul" I called, my voice raspy and sore. I managed to struggle to my feet, my brain clanking against my skull like a sledgehammer.
"Neul!!" My voice echoed through the barren landscape. The screaming stopped abruptly. And now I couldn't decide which was worse; the silence or the heat.
"Magnus." The voice called from behind me. I turned and came face to face with that woman. Her skin red, eyes balls of fire and her hands covered in blood.
"We the ones below wait for you." She said with a smile, revealing black daggers of teeth.
"Free us." Voices echoed in response. Behind her was an army, where they had sprung from I knew not. But the faces. My heart tore it self as I looked on at faces I knew.
Mother and father.
***
"Get up boy." Rough hands grabbed me, forcefully pulling me to my feet. I was rocked back and forth, and my eyes saw the world in a blur.
"Sodscub kiss him." The gruff voice ordered. Heavy footsteps made their way towards me and a monstrous, wet pad found the entirety of my face, it's odor overriding the pain in my head. I screamed and part of it's massive tongue found the inside of my mouths. I instinctively flared away from his hands and that monstrous tongue.
I looked up to see my uncle staring at me, his eyes grim, the sides of his lips almost curling into a smile. Almost. His bear stood panting beside him, observing me with those stupid eyes.
Without thinking I ran to him, my hands wrapped around him as I began to cry. The sobs came out in painful trenches, the effort of it shaking my body and his. A rough hand matted my hair slowly.
"Pussy." He said.
"Magnus." A much softer voice called. Grantho moved aside and my brother came into view. My breath hitched. He was upright but his tunic was covered in blood. I rushed to him, covering in my hands.
"I thought I was going to die." He sobbed.
"It's okay. I'm here now."
He pulled away and turned towards a figure lying under the shade of an oak tree. It was a boy, red haired. The shepherds son. A single monstrous sword stroke ran from shoulder to groan. Entrails and organs spilled to the ground. Huge black flies buzzed at the corpse.
There were others, children and women I had known all my life. Next to them lay the kings men, their armour glittering the dawning light. Heads caved in, bodies slashed.
The memory of the chase came rushing back and I crumbled to my knees. My stomach churned and I vomited violently.
The bear made its way to me, sniffing at my hair and face. For the first time I noticed the heavy wad of blood on its muzzle and nose.
"What happened here?" I asked.
"I and the bear came from the rear. We were almost too late." He beckoned for Neul who rushed to his side, face buried in his cloak.
"Gast—"
"Dead."
I rose slowly to my feet, my eyes still on the corpses. I turned to my uncle, eyes questioning. He met mine, and shook his head, his jaw clenched hard.
"I am all that remains."