Ghostwalker (Book 1) (18 page)

Grinding his teeth against the searing pain, Kendril managed to make it to his knees and pressed his right hand against his side. He lifted his head and tried to focus through the red fog that was clouding his vision.

The first rider had regained his feet, and was coming at him again. The man drew back his sword for a killing blow.

Kendril started to lift his own sword to parry the strike, until the truth dawned on him.

The sword was no longer in his hand.

Maklavir swung his blade with all his might, closing his eyes at the last moment. He never could stand the sight of blood, his or anyone else’s.

He didn’t feel his blade hit anything, which didn’t really surprise him. What did surprise him was the fact that he was still alive several seconds later.

Opening his eyes, he saw the brown dirt of the road stretching before him, and the trees of the forest looming ahead.

He was off the bridge.

Uther hurled himself out of the way, flattening himself up against the wall of the mill. He covered his head as the white horse and its purple-caped rider flew by him, and heard the
swish
of the rider’s sword as they thundered past. 

Montrose screamed out a string of obscenities as he fired off his second shot at the retreating figure.

The bolt flew wide.

“Talin’s ashes!” the bounty hunter blared as he leapt down off the railing onto the bridge. “Why didn’t you
shoot
?!”

Uther stared at his boss blankly for a moment.

“You told me not to,” he said, confusion filling his voice.

Montrose swore again and drew his iron mace. “The girl’s not
on
the horse any more, you idiot! She’s on the
bridge
!”

Before Uther could even think of a reply, a gunshot blasted into the air.

The sword was halfway to Kendril’s head when it suddenly flew out of the henchman’s hands. Sparks exploded from the blade.

The astonished henchman leapt back, holding his arm at the wrist and cursing loudly.

Kendril glanced to the side, ignoring the pain as he moved.

Jade was about ten yards away, a smoking pistol in her hand. The bullet must have struck the rider’s sword, he realized, and had almost shattered the blade in the process.

It was certainly one of the best shots he had ever seen in his life.

Kendril turned his head back to the stunned rider. The man had noticed Jade as well.

The henchman’s eyes flittered down to Kendril’s sword, lying where he had dropped it a few feet away.

Recovering quickly, the man lunged forward and his hand reached for the weapon.

Jade stared. The billowing smoke from the pistol made her eyes water.

She had hit the rider’s sword dead in the center. It had been one shot in a million, and one that had undoubtedly saved Kendril’s life.

Of course, she had been aiming for the man’s head.

A shout from her caused her to whirl around.

Maklavir and Veritas were quickly disappearing into the forest far beyond the bridge, almost out of sight.

The two men with the crossbows were running down the bridge towards her, blocking off any chance of escape in that direction.

With trembling fingers she reached for one of the extra pistol cartridges in her pocket.

Maklavir flinched involuntarily as the crossbow bolt zinged past him. It missed him by a good foot or two.

 Incredulous at his good fortune, he urged Veritas on. He was quickly passing down the dirt road into the safety of the forest. A pistol shot sounded from the bridge behind him, but he didn’t dare to risk a look back.

The road curved to the left, and he followed it for several seconds. His sword was still in his hand, though the blade was shaking violently for some reason.

Oh, right. That would be because his hand was shaking. And his heart was still lodged in his throat, despite his best efforts to force it back down to its proper place. Charging those two crossbowmen had been one of the most insane things he had ever done. He couldn’t quite believe he was still alive.

Actually, he thought, it felt rather good. Not that he’d ever want to do it again, mind.

Kendril, on the other hand, was almost certainly dead by now. The Ghostwalker had bravely given his life for them, for somehow Maklavir doubted that even
that
man could fight off four villains at the same time.

Still, Kendril’s death would not be in vain. At least Jade was safe.

“I say, Jade,” he said, turning in the saddle, “We don’t—”

He blinked in dumbfounded amazement. Jade was no longer behind him.

Veritas slid to a snorting stop as the diplomat yanked back on the reins. He swung the beast around, staring behind him at the empty road.

The girl was nowhere to be seen.

Come to think of it, Maklavir hadn’t felt her arms around his waist for a while, not since…well, not since back on the—

“Oh, bother,” he said.

The rider’s hand was almost to the hilt of the sword when Kendril slammed into him and knocked the henchman a few steps back.

Off balance, Kendril tried to grab the sword himself, but the shooting pain in his side caused him to stumble. He caught at the rail for support instead and almost blacked out from the pain.

The henchman recovered immediately, and ran back at Kendril with a bloodcurdling shout. One hand reached for a knife at his belt.

Gathering every ounce of strength that he had left, Kendril stepped to the side, then threw himself forward. He smashed into the man and grabbed at the hand trying to draw the knife.

Kendril tried to shout back at Jade, to tell her to run, but his voice vanished in his throat. Pain tore through his body, and purple splotches sparkled before his eyes. He could already feel blood soaking the entire left side of his shirt and pants, even the top of his boots. The crossbow bolt burned into his side. Kendril had to fight every second not to scream from the pain.

 By sheer strength of will he fought off the dizzying shock, then spun to the side and aimed a kick at the man’s leg.

It was an old trick, but it worked. The rider was so intent on getting his knife loose that he didn’t see the blow coming until it was too late.

Kendril’s heavy boot snapped the man’s knee back and he toppled to the ground. The Ghostwalker staggered back, and reached for his sword lying on the ground.

It was the only chance he had.

Jade ripped the cartridge open with her teeth. She tried her best to hold the pistol steady despite her trembling hands.

Behind her she could hear the sounds of Kendril struggling with the rider, but she tried desperately to ignore the confusion.

In front of her the two men came closer by the second. The man with the eye patch was on the left.

Concentrate
, she screamed to herself. What came after the bullet? The paper. Paper came after the bullet. Then the ramrod…

She drew the ramrod and forced it down the barrel of the pistol. The men running towards her were just yards away when she withdrew the ramrod and slid it back underneath the pistol, then snapped back the lock.

She had done it. The pistol was reloaded.

Maklavir started to urge the horse forward, but stopped, hesitating.

What should he do? Go back? At this point he might just be going to his death. He was certainly no warrior, and if Kendril was dead there was no way that he could take on the bounty hunter and his band single-handedly.

But Jade was probably still alive. The bounty hunter had
wanted
her alive, anyway, and if she was in their hands than Maklavir couldn’t do her any bloody good by going back now to get hacked to pieces.

He looked around him at the darkening forest, his mind coming to a rapid decision. The first thing he needed to do was to get off the road, into the woods. Then he could head back to the bridge, hopefully without being seen, and try to tail the bounty hunter and his gang.

It might not be the best course of action, but he couldn’t think of anything better. Well, there was always running away, of course, but that wasn’t even an option. Well, not a very palatable option, anyway. Actually, it was beginning to sound better and better the more he mulled it over, but he still couldn’t leave Jade to her horrible fate.

His mind made up, Maklavir turned Veritas off the road and made his way into the forest.

Kendril grabbed at the sword, but the other man was faster.

The thug gave the hilt a wild kick and sent the blade flying out of the Ghostwalker’s reach. With a satisfied grin, the rider pulled out his knife and flipped it over in his hand.

Exhausted, Kendril fell back against the side railing of the bridge. His hand clutched feebly at the crossbow bolt impaled in his side.

His head was swimming. Sharp stabs of pain accompanied every movement he made.

 Just a few yards away the second rider had finally managed to get his leg out from under the fallen horse. He hobbled to his feet, leaning unsteadily on his good leg and holding onto the stone railing for support.

“Not so tough now, are you, mate?” The first rider sneered. He held the knife out in front of him in preparation for a strike.

Kendril faltered, and his whole left leg almost collapsed from the unbearable pain. He backed against the cold stone of the railing.

“Are you going to kill me, or just talk me to death?” he gasped.

With a snarl the man pounced forward, and lunged his knife towards Kendril’s stomach.

Kendril pitched himself to the side and hooked his elbow around the man’s knife-arm as he came forward. He tried to twist the man backwards, but the thug’s forward momentum was too much.

Kendril felt his hip smash against the stone railing, and then, still holding onto the rider’s arm, he felt himself tip back. White pain flooded his vision.

His back hit stone, and then he fell into space.

Jade retreated a few steps, the pistol held at the ready.

She looked behind her just long enough to catch a quick glimpse of Kendril being attacked by one of the riders. She watched as both men crashed into the side of the bridge as they both struggled for the knife in the rider’s hand. They lost their balance, and plunged over the side of the bridge.

And into the river.

Jade flung off her hat and ran to the edge of the bridge. She turned and fired the pistol blindly towards the two men behind her, causing them to duck for a moment or two.

It was all she needed.

Jade sprang onto the railing and shoved the smoking pistol into her belt. She paused for a fraction of a second and took a deep breath.

Then she dove into the water.

Chapter 13

The icy impact of the water took Jade’s breath away.

She kicked wildly, trying to break back to the surface of the river. After what seemed like an eternity her head burst clear into the open air. She managed to gulp down a quick breath before she went under again, only to surface a second or two later. 

She threw her head back, gasping for breath. The air was frigid on her neck and face. Her whole body felt numb from the shock of the cold. Treading water as best she could, Jade tried to look around. Waves splashed into her face at every turn.

The stone bridge was drifting away behind her. She could see men on the top pointing at her and shouting to each other. The current had looked fairly rapid from the bridge, and now that she was experiencing it firsthand Jade realized just how strong it really was. Trees were moving by at an alarming rate on both banks, and when she looked back the bridge itself was already beginning to fade from view.

But where was Kendril?

Struggling to keep her head above water, she tried to look around her, looking for any sign of the Ghostwalker.

There! Over to the left, a brief glimpse of black was visible for just a moment. Then it vanished again.

Jade took a deep breath, then swam towards the spot, her arms plowing relentlessly through the chilly water. As she reached Kendril, she whipped back her wet hair, taking another breath before she managed to get one arm around his shoulders.

“Kendril?” She spat water out of her mouth, trying to turn the Ghostwalker around. “Kendril!?”

He wasn’t moving, and his eyes were closed.

Jade felt a sudden pang of fear. She crossed her arm across his chest to hold him, trying to keep his head above water as best she could. By now the bridge was entirely gone from view. Wild trees and brambles beckoned from either bank.

Jade turned herself over, keeping a tight hold on Kendril. Taking another breath, she began swimming with her one free hand towards the nearest shore.

Montrose stared over the side of the bridge, his face a mask of rage. In the distance he could barely make out a shape bobbing in the river. In seconds it disappeared around a bend. Montrose spun back around.

Derik limped over slowly. He winced with pain each time his leg touched the ground. “I think that blasted horse broke my leg,” he said. “It hurts like blazes.”

“That’s all we need,” Montrose snarled.

Uther was peering over the side of the bridge. “Boss,” he said, “I think I found Calham.”

The bounty hunter followed his gaze over the railing. In the river below was a very bedraggled Calham, desperately trying to keep hold of one of the stone arches under the bridge.

“Calham, you idiot!” Montrose shouted, pointing towards the eastern bank. “Get out of that river right bloody
now
!”

“I’m trying, sir—” came Calham’s voice, echoing off the stone arches. “The current’s really moving down here….”

Montrose turned from the railing in disgust. Uther and Derik stared at him in stupefied silence.

Morons. His men were all complete and total morons.

He latched his mace back onto his belt, taking a quick glance at the sun setting in the west. Less than an hour of daylight left. He looked back towards the river, his mind working quickly.