Erik rose on legs so heavy he could barely lift them, yet when he returned to Harper’s side, he found instinct and training driving him onward, filling him with a fire to fight, to kill the enemy, and to survive.
Time was suspended, just another series of savage sword blows, repeated over and over. Sometime during the night Erik had lost his shield, and now he grasped his sword with both hands in imitation of Harper’s mighty slices. Those who tried to duck inside the long sword’s reach were greeted with a kick to the face, or a downward slash, breaking spines and lopping off heads.
Suddenly a voice at Erik’s rear shouted, ‘Hammond, sir. What are the orders?’
Erik glanced over his shoulder and almost died for the effort. Only a glint in his peripheral vision caused him to dodge the sword point aimed for his side. He slashed backward with his sword and felt it strike, hearing the sound of crushing bone at the same instant. A man screamed. Erik moved back from the fighting and said to Hammond, ‘Did you bring oil?’
‘We have a dozen casks, no more.’
‘light the barricade!’ he ordered, and then he said to Sergeant Harper, ‘As soon as the flames take, I want a full withdrawal.’
‘Sir,’ said Harper as he cut a man deep enough along the chest that Erik could see the whiteness of his ribs.
Behind them men moved and Erik could smell the fumes as men poured oil around the base of the barricade. ‘Ready?’ came the voice of Lieutenant Hammond.
‘Yes!’ shouted Erik as he killed another man.
Harper’s bellow carried above the sound of battle as he cried out, ‘Withdraw!’
Trumpeters blew the retreat, and as Erik and the others stepped away from the barricades, dozens of torches were stuck into the wood. Those invaders coming over the barricade were either burned as the flames quickly spread or were trapped on the wrong side of the fire and quickly killed by the soldiers of the King.
Half staggering, half running, the exhausted defenders made their way to the second barricade. Water and food waited there. Those men who could drank and ate, while those too tired to move just dropped down where they were. A few fainted from the effort, while others closed their eyes, grasping at the chance to sleep, if only for a few minutes.
Other men moved along the barricade, guarding against the possibility of the enemy somehow following closely, but as the fire rose along the first barricade, it was clear no one was crossing over that burning mass for at least the next hour. Harper said,’
‘Tis right daft you are, Captain, sir, but it was a hell of a notion.’
Erik sat upright, his back against the barricade. He finished drinking his third ladle of water and accepted a wet cloth, which he used to wipe the dirt, sweat, and blood from his face and hands. ‘Thank you. Sergeant. It gains us an hour’s respite, and gives us an open killing ground.’ He glanced at the east, where the sun would soon be visible above the mountains, and said, ‘If we can hold here for this day and tonight, we should be able to get safely to Darkmoor with most of the men.’ Erik stood and shouted for a runner.
‘Find another of your company,’ Erik ordered the youth. ‘I want orders sent to the north and the south that the time to fall back will come soon. Tell both flank commanders that once they see the enemy moving toward the center, I want a show of offense - make it look like a counterattack, then as soon as the enemy is moving away from those positions, they’re to move with all speed to Ravensburg.’
The runner sped off.
Erik sank back down behind the barricade and said, ‘I need some sleep.’
‘You should have an hour, sir,’ said Harper, watching the distant fire. When there was no answer, he turned to see Erik’s eyes already closed.
‘That’s a capital idea, sir,’ said the exhausted sergeant. He hailed a reserve soldier and said, ‘I’m grabbing a bit of sleep, so be a good lad and keep an eye on things for the captain and me, all right?’ Without waiting for an answer, Harper slumped down next to Erik and was asleep before his chin touched his chest. Elsewhere along the line, men who had fought all night also tried to rest, while the reserves kept vigil across the burning barricade.
Pug groaned. Miranda said, ‘Hold still!’
He lay on a table covered with a fresh white cloth while she massaged his back. ‘Stop acting like a baby,’ she scolded.
Pug said, ‘It hurts.’
‘Of course it hurts,’ she responded. ‘You get burned to a crisp by a demon, then as soon as you can, you go find another demon to battle.’
‘Seven of them, actually,’ Pug said.
She straddled his back, massaging him as they rested after their ordeal. ‘Well, you’ve got one left to deal with, and you’re not even going to think about it until you’re fit.’
‘We don’t have that much time,’ Pug said.