he’s not sure. The closer to the gate he rides the stronger the feeling becomes. By the time their party nears the closed gate, the feeling of unease has grown to one of immediate urgency.
“We’ve got to get to the other side!” he hollers to Illan.
“Stephen, Ison, open the gates,” Illan hollers. As two riders dismount and rush to the gate, he glances at the empty wall above them. Where are the crossbowmen?
One of the men behind him says, “I hope the gates aren’t locked.”
“Could be a problem,” another replies.
Miko sits in his saddle with growing trepidation as the two men reach the gate. Grabbing hold of the crack between them, they pull hard and to everyone’s amazement, begin to swing open.
Before the gates swing open more than a foot, Miko kicks his horse into a gallop and races forward.
“Miko!” cries out Illan. “Let’s go,” he tells his men and they race after him.
When Miko reaches the gate, he almost rides over Jiron. He takes one look at the creatures battling him and he realizes this is the source of the ill feeling. A blinding white light erupts and he’s surprised to find the Star of Morcyth in his hand. He hadn’t even been aware he took it out.
“Miko!” Jiron cries when he rides past him into the swarming mass of creatures.
Unknown words begin issuing forth from Miko as the light from the Star burns the creatures around him and begins forcing them back.
“James is out there somewhere,” Jiron hollers to him.
He looks around and sees what looks like a pile of the creatures. The shimmering light from James’ shield can be seen in brief glimpses under the undulating mass of creatures covering it.
Behind him, the unmistakable sound of swords striking flesh can be heard as Black Hawk’s Raiders wade into the creatures. Pushing his way forward through the creatures, he draws closer to James. Where the light from the Star touches the creatures, smoke begins to issue.
The words continue to come forth, words of unknown origin and meaning. Now close enough to the pile atop James’ barrier that the light from the Star strikes them, they begin to fall away. He looks in relief as he sees James with one knee on the ground, an intense look of concentration on his face as he works to maintain the barrier.
Around him, the battle is drawing to a close. The creatures continue the attack even though the Star burns them. They don’t come close to Miko and the Star, instead they rush toward Illan and the others where they are cut down by the cold iron blades of expert swordsmen.
“James!” Miko hollers as he comes to a stop next to the barrier. The creatures surrounding James have been driven off by the Star.
Opening his eyes, he looks up to see a rider on horseback, a blinding sun held aloft in his hand. At first he doesn’t realize it’s Miko, but then recognition comes. Getting to his feet, he glances around and when he finds the creatures out of the immediate vicinity, cancels his shield.
“Thank goodness you showed up,” he says coming to stand beside his horse. “Don’t know how much longer I could have withstood them.” He staggers slightly as a momentary wave of dizziness hits him.
Reaching down a hand to steady him, Miko says, “Come on, we need to get you back to Lythylla.”
“Did you find Jiron?” he asks as he takes the hand and swings up behind him once his head clears.
“Yes,” replies Miko. Indicating the fighting going on by the gate, he adds, “He’s back there with Illan and the rest.” He turns his horse and with the Star held aloft, rides back to where the battle still rages.
The number of creatures has been significantly reduced, Illan and the rest are finishing taking care of the last few. Several of his men have fallen to the creatures, but both he and Jiron have survived with but minor injuries.
They arrive just as the last one falls. Illan glances to James and then the sea of dead bodies. “You never do anything halfway do you?” he asks.
“No,” he replies a touch sad. He hates the killing as much as anything, but what else can he do but allow them to kill him?
Off in the distance the glow from where the siege equipment burns is visible. “Looks like Delia and her crew managed to take them out.”
With no more of the creatures to worry about, the light from the Star goes out and Miko puts it back into his pouch. He glances to Illan, “Guess we won’t have to worry about an attack for awhile.”
Just then, horns are heard and they see coming from out of the dark the rest of the Empire’s forces, at least eight thousand strong. Another blast from the horns and they begin moving toward them.
“Back to the city!” Illan cries. One of his men has Jiron behind him on the horse and they race toward Lythylla.
Before they move through the gate of the palisade, James glances backward and scans the battlefield for the warrior priest. All he finds is the oncoming soldiers and the dead, there’s no sign of him. Then they’re through to the other side and racing toward the gates of Lythylla.
When those on the battlements see them ride through the palisade, a cheer erupts and the gates swing open. The pursuing Empire soldiers stop at the palisade when they realize James and the others will reach the safety of the walls before they’ll have a chance to catch them.
Cries of ‘Madoc!’ and ‘Black Hawk!’ resound as they make their way through the gates. Lord Pytherian as well as the other leaders who were present during their initial meeting are there to greet them.
“Unbelievable!” one of the men says. “I heard rumors of what you can do, but I had no idea.”
Illan pulls up to a stop and asks, “Any word from Delia and Ceadric?”
Shaking his head, Lord Pytherian replies, “Not yet. We have riders out in that area and men on the walls looking for them.”
James swings down from behind Illan. “I hope she’s alright,” he says.
Chapter Nine
“Retreat!” Ceadric yells to his men. The press of soldiers is too great for them to break away effectively. Arrows begin flying from Hedry’s men, taking out those pressing Ceadric and giving them a chance to disengage.
The two forces that so recently made their appearance are closing fast. Most are foot though the force to their right has a contingent of cavalry as well. Delia scrambles to get her people back to their horses quickly.
“But there are three catapults that are still serviceable,” Orry states. The rest of the siege equipment is burning out of control despite the efforts of the soldiers that have made it to them.
“Leave them!” she hollers. When they broke off the attack, each grabbed their pack with what oil bombs they had left. James was most explicit in that they must remove all the evidence they can. Of course the shattered remains may give them some clue as to what happened anyway but why help them any more than they have to.
Ceadric and his men, now fewer by half a score, join them as they swing into the saddle. “Back to the river!” Delia hollers. Each realizes the way they came across is the only avenue left if they are to survive.
As they break into a gallop leaving the burning siege equipment behind them, the enemy forces begin forming an arc. “They’re going to drive us to the river and annihilate us against its banks,” Yern shouts.
“Not if we can find where we came across,” Delia hollers back. Two miles to the river with soldiers bent on their destruction behind them, they push their horses to the limit. They manage to maintain a constant distance between them and the cavalry coming up behind. The foot soldiers begin to fall behind.
After several minutes of riding, the river appears before them. “Beacon!” Delia hollers and a half mile away to the right, a light appears.
“There it is!” Devin exclaims.
Unfortunately, the force to their right has already passed the beacon which now lies behind their lines.
“What should we do?” Uther asks.
“Ride through them and kill them all!” Jorry yells with a touch of bloodlust in his voice.
“Ceadric,” she says. When she has his attention she says, “Fall back. Let me ahead.” She takes the lead and leads them on while maintaining a fast pace. From her remaining pouch she pulls one of the two crystals contained
