light for the journey.
However, it was when we were coming to the top of the next hill that we finally saw life of a different kind. It was in that moment when I heard Trice swear next to me that I knew it wasn't going to be good. This was confirmed when about forty men all started to pull weapons from their behind backs and take aim at the four of us who stood at the top of the hill looking down at them now running towards us. In fact, I think I would have preferred the sight from Jurassic Park to see a speeding stampede of dinosaurs running towards us, ‘cause my only response was,
“Ah crap, what now?!” I took pause and Trice gave me a single look as if to say I told you so, making me hold up a hand and warn him,
“Don't say it, don't you dare say it!”
“Ye git it, Dorothy?” Trice replied with a condescending pat on my head, making me groan,
“And cut the Dorothy shit, would you?” My reply to this was his smirk that said it all.
“So, what do we do now, because no offence, but I'm getting the impression that these locals aren't all that friendly?” I asked, thankful at least that the McBain brothers didn’t look all that worried.
“Whit gave it awa' lass?” Gryph asked with a one sided grin.
“Oh, I don't know, must be the Attila the Hun thing they've got going on, plus those weapons don't exactly look like anything they bought in a toy shop!” I snapped out the obvious, making Vern pull his bow free along with an arrow from his quiver.
“I say we give them a bloody good thrashing!” he said, and I couldn’t help but raise a brow in question before I mocked,
“Wow, brutal much, you were almost terrifying.” Again, just like his brothers, his look said it all. But then Trice gave Vern a slight nod of his head, making him lower his arrow and relax ready for battle stance.
As for the small army that was now racing towards us, one that looked nothing short of barbaric, they were getting closer by the second. Each and every one of them was clad in black leather and thick furs around their shoulders, giving them the appearance of an army of two legged beasts charging our way. Their weapons and basic armour were all a mismatch of designs with only the colour of darkness in common. Whoever they were, they were organised enough to fight as one, just like any trained army would.
But they also looked like a band of brutal killers that had only one common goal, and in that very moment it was to reach us. Yet despite this, it was still clear that they were most likely mercenaries or a group of travelling raiders as it didn’t seem as though they were part of anyone’s army but their own.
“So, again, what is our plan here?” I asked as my voice got more panicked knowing that I didn't have a weapon of my own and we were most definitely outnumbered.
I felt Trice’s heavy hand rest at my shoulder before telling me,
“Now we shift, lass.” He finished this with a wink down at me before warning,
“I wid stand back if I wis you.” Oh, I didn't need asking twice as I started walking backwards, giving them a large enough space to do whatever was needed to create the beast that could easily take down this army of... whatever they were.
As soon as I was far enough away, all the brothers stepped up to one another and clasped each other on the shoulder creating a triangle of muscle. Then, each of them took in a deep breath and the moment they did, the air around them started to change. It was as if a pulsating power was vibrating out of them, turning the air around them into something tangible, as though they had started commanding the weather, sucking it to them to focus it into what they needed. As if they had sucked in any supernatural particles that may have been around them, forging them into their own power and creating something magical at its centre.
In truth, I didn't know whether I was glad or not that the sight of them shifting was kept mainly behind a veil of magic, like they were caught in the middle of a vortex and all I was left looking at was a blurred version of the world around