By the Sword - By Sara Flower Page 0,4
knight.
Chapter Two
“Hurry up, Tanel!” Talya shouted.
When Tanel rode by, she grasped onto his torso. She held on for dear life as she swung her leg over the horse’s back.
Talya looked over her shoulder. The Malinorian commander was gone.
“You’re bleeding!” Tanel cried.
There was so much blood. It covered her arm and trickled down her hand. It was so red. Like the Malinorian commander’s cape.
Tanel glanced back at her.
“We need that wound bound.”
“I’ll be fine,” Talya muttered just as a wave of nausea hit her.
“Not if we let you bleed to death. We’re going straight to the hospital.”
Talya shut her eyes. She was not going to argue with him this time.
“How did you find me?”
“I saw you and that big commander dueling. I tried to follow you, but you can imagine that there was a lot of resistance. I was able to commandeer a riderless horse, and finally I found you.”
“Why didn’t you just shoot him when he was clearly about to kill me?”
“I ran out of arrows.”
“Oh.”
It had been so close back there.
“How is the battle faring?” asked Talya.
She winced when their horse jumped over a fallen tree, tightening her sore arms around Tanel’s waist.
“Not good.”
“Wait, why are we leaving Cardamon?”
Tanel hung his head.
Talya’s stomach knotted.
“The Malinorian Empire has overtaken it.”
“No!” cried Talya.
“Our army, along with Sanctus, has already retreated, but I couldn’t leave until I found you.”
“You mean you came for me even though everyone was leaving?”
“Of course I came for you!”
“Thank you, Tanel. I owe you my life,” she said.
Tanel squeezed her hand.
“You are going to be all right. I haven’t seen Hanten since the battle began. He must have retreated with the others,” he said.
Talya’s throat tightened. The pain in the pit of her stomach returned. A wave of nausea blurred her vision.
She closed her eyes and leaned against Tanel’s back.
Why can’t this all just be a nightmare we can wake up from?
“He’s gone, Tanel.”
Tanel’s back tensed.
“What are you talking about?”
“Hanten is dead.”
Tanel was quiet for several moments.
“It couldn’t have been him.”
“I – I saw his… face. They killed him. I’m so sorry.”
Tanel was silent.
Talya shuddered as she choked back a sob.
Slowly drifting into unconsciousness, all Talya could see was Hanten’s lifeless face. The vacant stare of his once vibrant eyes.
*****
Jalarn and his men chased down their retreating enemies. A few had managed to get away from the Malinorians, but several hundred more were strewn on the ground all around him. Cardamonian homes, schools, and churches had already burned down.
Ittonifer would be very pleased. And it was only the beginning.
Jalarn was glad that he had ordered his knights to spare the lives of General Landine and the remaining Cardamonian commanders. They had all ten of them in their possession now. It would make things more entertaining once they reached the castle.
Jalarn raced up the hill that led to King Seraphim’s palace. As he and his men got closer, they were forced to jump over hundreds of fallen Malinorian soldiers. A few knights from Sanctus stood in front of the castle.
Jalarn recognized General Edandir right away. He had fought the man seven years ago in the Holy Wars. The enemy general had nearly killed Jalarn back then, but Jalarn had been no ordinary thirteen-year-old warrior. Ittonifer had trained him well.
It would not be too difficult to slay the aging general this time. Jalarn raced for Edandir and their swords collided with a sharp clang.
A shout from Jalarn’s left made him look away from Edandir for a moment. He barely dodged a stab from an enemy knight on horseback. A Cardamonian knight must have snatched one of the riderless horses.
In one fluid motion, the rider helped the general onto his horse. They rode away before Jalarn could sink his blade into one of them.
“Cowards,” Jalarn said through clenched teeth.
Sanctus’ general might have escaped this time, but his time would soon come. All of the rebels would die. He would make sure of that.
Jalarn was ready to sink his sword into one of the general’s stragglers, but his men had already finished them off. Edandir would have quite the lonely trip back home.
Excellent.
Now it was time to break down the castle gates. He salivated at the mere thought of slaying one of the last opposing rulers.
“Forward! Take the castle in the name of Malinor!” Jalarn shouted.
At the castle gates, Jalarn and his men picked up the thick tree trunk. After two powerful swings, the doors flew open. The men let their commander through the entrance first.
Jalarn raced up the white marble