Even Gods Must Fall - Christian Warren Freed Page 0,80
men than you have tried. They’re all food for worms now. Come, join them.”
The Delranan lord failed to respond to Boen’s goading. Instead he held his ground and turned back to Bahr. “It doesn’t need to be like this, old timer. I didn’t come to kill you, well not specifically. Harnin doesn’t care about you. He doesn’t even know you’ve returned. Give me the blond bitch and I’ll leave.”
“There’s only one thing wrong with that, little lordling,” Bahr answered. “You’re part of what’s wrong with my kingdom. Getting rid of you all is the only way Delranan is going to recover. You need to die.”
“Besides, we’ve already killed all your hired swords,” Boen taunted.
Skaning tensed. “Perhaps killing a Gaimosian will seal my place in history.”
He attacked with what little strength remained. Boen spied the move before it began and blocked it without effort. He backhanded Skaning across the mouth. Blood and teeth flew as Skaning stumbled. Boen didn’t wait for him to recover. Kicking hard, he caught Skaning in the stomach and dropped him to his knees. Groaning in pain, the lord of Delranan didn’t have time to look up before Boen’s great sword drove down through his back and into the ground. Skaning died without a sound.
Boen jerked his sword free and turned to Bahr. “That…felt good.”
Bahr had nothing to say.
The raid ended in abject failure. Only a handful of mercenaries were taken alive. Ingrid stayed their execution, instead offering them payment and the chance to live by joining her personal retinue. Orlek exploded in opposition but the offer had been made. All but one accepted. Snarling, Orlek stalked up behind the holdout and slit his throat. When Ingrid shot him a questioning look he merely scowled and returned to his place.
Several rebels were killed and twice that wounded. Those that could be moved were patched up by medics while the rest were given a small security detail and told to find the nearest village. This time Ingrid ordered the bodies left where they lay. Time was up. Efforts to resume the march began quickly. Bahr made his rounds with people, pausing only upon noticing the wild, almost untamable look malingering in Groge’s eyes. He didn’t know why, but the look left him feeling less than what he had been before the battle.
Orlek’s harsh voice disturbed his thoughts. “All right, let’s move. We’ve still got a long way to go.”
The tired rebel column resumed their long march to destiny.
TWENTY-ONE
The Last Castle
Piper looked out over his force with admiration. They’d captured all but one of Harnin One Eye’s defensive fortifications in less than two days. Casualties were acceptable given the almost unnatural conditions they’d been forced to fight under. His one regret was that hardly a prisoner was taken. Whatever Harnin and Badron had told them drove the defenders to near suicidal fervor. It was all Delranan blood in the end. Piper hadn’t returned home to kill his own people and the notion left him sickened.
Fires continued to burn around him. The warmth felt good on his face and hands, helping to remove some of the sting of battle. Nerves had already calmed. Piper hovered around that level of shock he experienced after every battle. He was beyond exhausted. It had been a continual battle ever since returning to Delranan. The mental strain threatened to wear him down to a fatigue level he hadn’t experienced since the beginning of the campaign in Rogscroft. His eyes constantly burned. Decisions came slower. Sooner or later he was going to make a critical mistake that would cost lives. Unfortunately there were no breaks in combat. He didn’t get to stop until the war was over.
Already his mind swarmed over details pertaining to the coming battle. Given the enemy’s current tactics and their inability to understand surrender was the better part of valor, Piper didn’t believe there would be much of an issue in capturing the last redoubt. Thus far he’d managed to attack almost unannounced, completely enveloping the fortification before the defenders were able to react.
Piper wasn’t one to trust to luck. His mind raced over new tactics that would result in saving lives. As much as he wanted to avoid any casualties there was simply no way to break through to any of Badron’s soldiers. They were pure fanatics wholly devoted to the deposed monarch. Piper didn’t expect any in the coming battle to surrender either, forcing him to kill them all.
The idea sat ill with him. He’d always been a loyal