William waited while the men formed up, and when everyone was in position, he took his place at the head of the column. Glancing at Sergeant Hartag, he half-whispered, “First time in my life I’m wishing Captain Treggar was here.”
Hartag laughed. While Treggar was an above-average officer, he had been a thorn in the side of every other bachelor officer at the garrison since before William’s arrival, and while he and William had come to a sort of understanding based on mutual respect, he was still a tough man to be around socially. The sergeant said, “Yes, despite his crust, he’s a man for a tight spot.”
“Well, as he’s not here, it’s my neck on the chopping block. Ride!”
The column moved forward at a trot. William felt his stomach tighten and forced himself to breathe slowly. As soon as he heard the twang of a bowstring or sharp clatter of metal upon metal, he knew he would lose his edginess and achieve a state of mental clarity that never failed to surprise him despite the many battles in which he had fought. In the course of a fight, chaos was the rule, and whatever plans he had made always evaporated during the first moment of contact with the enemy. Early on, William had discovered that in battle he could somehow sense how things were going and what needed to be done.
Despite his falling-out with his father over his choice to leave the community of magicians at Stardock and join the army, William knew this was his true calling, the craft for which he was particularly gifted. His horse snorted in excitement, and William sent the animal calming, reassuring thoughts. There were times when his singular ability to speak mentally to animals had its uses, he thought.
When William’s column reached the lowest portion of the road, the two decoy riders appeared above the crest. They made a show of riding a few yards over the crest, being “surprised,” and turning to flee.
William raised his arm and shouted, “Charge!”
But rather than follow the decoy riders up the hillside, the men turned and charged across the meadow. The meadow rose to a small flat area before quickly dropping off. As William had anticipated, about a dozen archers crouched on the grass, ready to rise up and fire at William’s men from behind.
Suddenly they had cavalry upon them and while a few got shots off, most were ridden down and killed before they could rally. William ordered his men to form a line, then reined in his horse.
The orders were simple. Stand until the enemy showed himself. As expected, Bear’s reaction didn’t deviate much from what William had predicted. A band of footmen raced from the trees and stood as if ready to charge. William did a quick head-count and saw that eighteen had been placed as bait. That meant over thirty men on horses were waiting just inside the woods. “Steady!” he commanded.
Bear’s men stood in line and when it was apparent they weren’t going to be charged, they started pounding their shields and taunting the Krondorians.
“Steady!” repeated William.
The two sides stood facing one another for long, tense minutes, and Hartag asked, “Should we raise the stakes, Will?”
“Do so,” instructed the young officer.
“Archers!” shouted Hartag, and a half-dozen Krondorians switched weapons. “Draw and fire at will; fire!” he commanded and the Krondorian archers let loose their arrows.
Six of Bear’s men fell. By the time the bowmen had nocked and drawn their second set of arrows, the remaining twelve mercenaries had turned and were in full flight. They reached the trees and vanished into the gloom. The bowmen let loose, but there were no targets on the other side by the time the arrows struck.
“Shoulder those bows!” commanded Hartag.
The bowmen did as ordered, then drew swords and hefted their shields.
Silence fell. Bear and his men waited for the Krondorians to charge; but William was determined they would fight in the open.
“What now?” asked one soldier nearby as they waited.
Hartag said, “We see who scratches their ass first, my boy.”
William sat and wondered how long they’d have to wait.
Kendaric stood on the reef at Widow’s Point, looking at the mast of the ship Solon had previously identified. He said, “Keep an eye out for any more of those creatures who tried to stop us last time.”
James pulled his sword and said, “Get on with it.”
Kendaric tried his spell again, and again it failed. He turned and said in frustration, “Nothing. Something still blocks it.”
Jazhara shrugged. “As we suspected it would. Hilda told us that the Vampire Lord was not the ultimate evil.”
“Time is short. We need to find that cave,” suggested Solon.
They returned to the beach behind the reef and found the cave with surprising ease. It was shallow, only a dozen yards deep, and the morning light from outside cut through the gloom. At the rear of the cave they found a pattern of stones. James pressed on one, experimentally, and it moved. He listened. There was no sound.
“It’s not mechanical,” said James.
“Which means it’s magic,” said Jazhara.
“And that means I don’t know how to pick this lock.”