Haven Keep (Book 1) (62 page)

Pate looked a little confused.  “I am sorry, my lord. She is not with the army.  She has gone with Dethan to Stone Abbey.”

Baiden pursed his lips and let out a breath through his nose.  Alensa was visibly disturbed.

“Do not worry,” Von said.  “I will see that she is safe.”

“I do not think I have the right to try and stop you,” Baiden told Von, “but I do not think you should do this.  Even if you are able to sneak around the Halfen army you will not find too many friends awaiting you at Stone Abbey.”

“Soren will watch my back,”  Von said.  “That is if you are coming,” he said to Soren

“I don’t think I could tell you no,” Soren answered.

“I would like to come with you,” Yaris offered.

“Not this time,” Von told him.  “Stay close to Kaiden.”

Von gave Bet one more hug.  “Tell your husband not to get himself killed before I can see him.”

“You better do the same, Beovon.  I don’t want my sons to lose their uncle again.”

Von smiled.  He liked the sound of that. Uncle.  He gave Elon and Bo a hug too.  “You two take care of your mother.”

Von climbed back in the saddle.  Once again he was denied his opportunity to talk with Oded and Tostig.  It could wait.  Ky could not.

“We need to gather what provisions we can, and be on our way,” Von told Soren.

Soren nodded.  He never was a man of many words.  They could stop by the sled from Haven Keep as they left.  There was still enough food there for a few days.  It would also give him a chance to pick up Isk and Jen.  He couldn’t think of anyone else who would make a better scout.  Von only looked back once as the two men rode away.

Chapter Thirty-Six

The sun was beginning to make its decent towards the western horizon.  Von and Soren ghosted through the trees, the two wolfhounds heeling closely behind.   The four moved as if stalking prey, gliding across the hills and trees trailing their quarry in the valley below.

Baiden assumed Von and Soren were going to sneak around the Halfen army, but Von planned something bigger.  Soren had not agreed with Von at first, but after encountering refugees fleeing their homes, driven out before the invaders, he became easily convinced.

Whole families fled for their lives.  Those Von and Soren encountered told of the destruction the army left in its wake.  He remembered one woman, cradling a baby and stringing two children behind.

“My husband has gone to fight for Baiden,” she told them through red eyes and a tear streaked face. “Do you know if he is alright?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Von responded.  “There were many who came.”  Von saw no reason not to be anything but honest with her.  “Most survived, though there are many wounded.  If it were not for your husband, and men like him, Azmark would have fallen.”

He knelt to talk to the two small children, a boy and a girl.  “My name is Beovon.”  He was sure that name meant nothing to this woman, but it soon would, and she and her children would remember this encounter.  “Those in Azmark know me. Remember that I said your father is a hero.  No matter what, remember your father is a hero.”  He had given them what he could.  As he left he called to the woman. “Travel as quickly as you can.  Azmark will be safe for you.”

The woman was near tears again, and Von could tell she had cried more than her share already.

“Thank you,” she said and hurried on.

Von hoped she would make it.

That little family was not the only one Von and Soren encountered.  There were others, burned out and driven before the Halfen, some with older boys and occasionally men to accompany them, carrying their swords and shields, or an axe just as often.  Some of the younger boys carried bows, many of the women did too.  These people would add strength to the defenses of Azmark.  The Halfen had blundered plunging themselves into the heart of the Kailfen Clan territory.  The Halfen thought to overpower Baiden, but now the clan was gathering.  With the Kragen, Orlenc, Celten, and his brother’s forces added to Baiden’s army the Halfen would find themselves out numbered, not the other way around.  Ky greatly miscalculated the loyalty of the Kragen.  Von wondered about the other clans.  How many of the Hywel would react the way the Kragen did, rebel against their clan chief rather than subject themselves to Ky and the Halfen?  How many more would, once they found that Ky was in league with the Horde?  

The steady stream of refugees never diminished.  After a while Von quit talking to most of them, but those he spoke with told of horrors the Halfen were committing, -burning farms and
homes, butchering herds and sometimes people.  Any who resisted were treated cruelly, tortured, beaten, hung or impaled  The tales of barbarism and slaughter finally convinced Soren not to sneak around the army.  They were going to cut their way through.

It was all Von could do not to run headlong down the foothills now, but once again Soren was a voice of reason. Two against sixteen thousand was not exactly fair odds. They would wait for nightfall.  Until then they followed the army and searched for any who had been taken prisoner.  Von knew this would delay their arrival at Stone Abbey, but the full moon was still one night away. They could do this and still reach Stone Abbey to confront Ky.

Von turned and noticed Soren dismount and take cover behind the bole of a tree.  Von followed him.

“Look down there.”  Soren pointed.  Three Halfen scouts on horseback were heading their direction.  If the Halfen continued as they were, they would ride right over the top of Von and Soren.  Von might have hidden and let them pass before encountering the families the Halfen had driven from their homes, but not now.

Von drew his Haven Keep bow.  Soren did the same.  Von sensed a calmness come over him, a steadiness and confidence washed over his extremities.  He recognized the feeling, he felt it when fighting the vyr, only he was too filled with adrenaline and urgency to devote thought to the calming power.  Yet thinking back, he remembered hitting everything with pinpoint accuracy.  He wondered at the feel of the weapon, amazed at the skill and power of the Dragon Lords.  There was still much to learn about his new found art.

The Halfen scouts rode into range.  Von made hushing sounds to calm Isk and Jen.  The dogs stood at Von’s side, muscles tense, ready to be loosed, much like the arrow nocked in Von’s bow.

“You take the one on the left, I’ll take the one on the right,” Soren whispered.   Von nodded and Soren let his arrow fly.

Von loosed, his arrow hit the Halfen man center chest, sending him backward out of the saddle to the ground.  Soren’s man went down hard. The remaining scout looked around in panic, then turned his horse to gallop off.  Von pulled another arrow from his quiver, but Soren was faster.  The man fell from his saddle with an arrow through his throat.  He hit the earth, his neck twisted into an unnatural position.

Soren was back on his horse and on his way down before Von could replace his arrow in his quiver.  Von hurried down the little knoll, following Soren to where the Halfen lay.

The first man Soren shot was still alive.  The arrow pierced him through the gut.  He would not survive without help, and Von was not going to give him any.  The man was alive for one reason.  Soren wanted him that way.  He would not have missed the vitals if he wanted to kill.

Soren bent over the man.  “We will bandage you and allow you to walk back to your army.  That will give you at least some chance to survive, but only if you answer our questions.”

The man glared hatred at Soren.

Soren put a little pressure on the arrow in the man’s gut.

The Halfen groaned and writhed in pain.   “All right!  All right!”

“Good,” Soren said.  “Now, who is at the head of this army.”

The man hesitated and Soren put his hand back on the arrow.

“Alright.  No need for that.  It is Jubben.”

Von’s breath caught.  He wanted to get his hands on Jubben almost as much a he wanted Ky.

“Where is Ky?” Soren asked.

“He is at Stone Abbey.”

“When did Ky leave for Stone Abbey?”

“About a week ago,” the man moaned.

Von realized what Soren was doing.  Getting the man to answer questions that did not matter much, then when he asked what he really wanted to know the man would already be talking.

“You’ve taken prisoners.”

The man nodded slightly.

“Where are they?”  Soren asked.

The man’s eyes went to the arrow stuck in his gut before he answered. “They are a couple leagues behind the army.  Under heavy guard.” 

“How many are there?”

The man’s breathing was heavy and labored now.  “There are about fifty guards.”

“How many prisoners,” Von asked impatiently.

The man looked at Von. “I don’t know.”

Soren applied a little more pressure.

“Ahh!”  The Halfen writhed in pain.  “About two hundred I think.  Mostly women, some children.”

The Halfen were even lower than Von thought.  They raided this land as if these people were strangers or enemies, not fellow northmen.  Taking women and children as they would on a raid on Semnaria or the high desert nomads.  In Von’s eyes Ky had given his people a death sentence, or at least conviction to a lifetime in the mines.    Yet Von’s brother lived and Von was not the heir to the empire.  Could he still pass sentence?  Did he have a right to?  It didn’t matter.  He would make the Halfen pay.

Soren continued his interrogation.  “Will the army camp tonight, or will they continue their march?”

The answer came in a groan.  “Jubben drives us hard.  He means to be at Azmark at dawn.”  He paused between deep breaths. “He wants Baiden to awaken to the largest army he has ever seen.”  The man spit blood.  “Ky wants Baiden dead, but Jubben would rather take Azmark without a fight.  He hopes to frighten Baiden into surrendering.”

“I’ve got a mind to do some frightening of my own,” Von said, sounding more threatening than he wanted to.  He half drew his sword as he spoke.  “We will give the Halfen something to think about this night.”

The Halfen scout stared at Von.  Von could see the man was waiting for Von to finish him.  He obviously had no idea what Von really meant.  Von didn’t even know if Soren knew for sure.  It would be time soon though, the sun was almost down, and with the coming of night they would strike.

*                                          *                                          *

Senjin was not sure why he even agreed to come on this campaign.  Ky promised them all riches from looting, but he knew as well as any other that the lands of the Kailfen were not exactly overflowing with treasure.  Yes the promise of power and the prospect of the Halfen dominating the north was enticing, but all he saw so far was rough nights and cold days, marching in soggy boots and carrying more heavy gear and supplies than he cared to think about.  He was hungry most of the time too.  Now Jubben declared they were going to march through the night.  The sun disappeared behind the tree line a short time ago.  He was stumbling through the dark now, trying not to fall on his face.  It would mean another night without sleep.  If they just waited until morning they could march straight through the forest, but traveling in the dark meant they would need to keep to the plains and meadows, adding another six or seven leagues.  Extra distance Senjin did not care to travel.

He thought about some of the captivating young women that were held at the rear of the army.  Maybe he could take one of those beauties home for himself.  That might actually make this excursion worth the trouble.  He longed to be relaxing in the common room of a raunchy inn, with his nose in a mug and a warm fire to heat his weary bones.  Ky’s ambitions could fall into the Rift for all he cared.

A commotion drew Senjin’s attention to the front of the ranks.  Murmurs spread through the formation.  Apparently one of the scouts had gotten himself shot in the gut by one of these stray farmers.  Served him right for not paying attention.  He deserved to be gutted out for fish bait if he couldn’t do a better job of scouting than that.  If the man really did take an arrow to the gut, there were slim chances of him living.  The prospects of infection were high, not to mention poisoning from his own bile or excrement.  They should just leave the man to die.

Another commotion further down the line piqued Senjin’s curiosity a little more.  Somebody else had probably gotten himself pig stuck by another farmer.

Senjin heard the sound of steel clashing against steel.  There were screams and shouts.  The sounds men made when they were dying.  The army halted its march and Senjin saw a tumultuous wave of men, armor and swords heading his way.  The formation of men parted as the wave broke through the ranks.  Men began to run.

Screams erupted amidst the violence.

“Demons!” someone cried.  Senjin heard it more than once, from more than one voice.

“Demons from the Rift!”

The noise grew louder, it was coming his way.  The cowards should stand and fight.  It couldn’t be anything but a few of these upstart farmers who finally managed to grow a backbone.

The screams continued.  “Devils with their demon dogs!”

The wave of destruction neared Senjin. It moved at the speed of a charging horse.   He drew his sword and readied himself for the fight.  He had seen enough battles not to flee in the face of an opponent just because he appeared suddenly in the night.

He heard another cry, “The scourges!  They have risen out of the Rift to punish our sins!”

Fools and their foolish superstition.  Some men would believe anything.

Then he saw it,- saw them.  Two demons in bestial helms.  One clad in armor like a dragon, the other covered in no kind of hair Senjin had ever seen, both riding powerful steeds.  At their sides were two massive dogs, with menacing jaws, threatening to snap anything in their path.  The two figures cut a bloody swathe through the men who were too slow to get out of their way.  Demons, that’s what they were, what else could they be?

The demons did not slow their charge.    They never turned to the right or the left, they just cut their way through the army, an army that was a nuisance because it was in their way.

No one stood to fight.  They all turned and ran.  How could they know if they could defeat this enemy if they did not even try?  Senjin would not run.  He would show these so called soldiers what it meant to fight.  He would show them that even demons from the Rift could bleed.

Senjin charged the one in the armor.  He could see a human face behind the mask of the helm.  The helm covered three quarters of the demon’s face, but the mouth was visible.  Senjin saw that mouth twist into a wicked smile.

It was the last thing he saw.