Darkwalker on Moonshae - Douglas Niles [113]
The prince saw that no blood flowed from the wound. And then that antagonist vanished in the chaotic motion of the melee, and Tristan thrust and parried with three horsemen that attacked together.
Avalon skillfully twisted to prevent more than one of the attackers from striking at the same time. Canthus dodged nimbly among the pounding hooves, striking at the rear legs of the black horses. Once, the moorhound fastened his teeth into the leg of a Rider. Canthus held on, growling, as the pitching and bucking of the horse jerked the dog around. With a savage pull, the hound tore the Bloodrider from his horse to crash heavily to the ground. With one savage bite, the dog tore the rest of his face off.
Now the Riders realized that they could not ignore the snarling hound in their midst. Several attempted to strike him down, slashing thin air as the agile dog sprang away, although one swordcut left a bleeding slash along his back.
Suddenly the prince saw a flicker of white through the Bloodriders, and saw one of the enemy leading a white mare with a sister knight slumped, unconscious, in the saddle. The woman’s captor pulled free of the melee, tugging sharply on the reins of the reluctant mare.
A nudge of Tristan’s heels sent Avalon springing after the helpless captive, leaving his three attackers to find a new opponent. Tristan had recognized the mare as Osprey. The thought of the lively and spirited Aileen in the hands of a ghoulish Rider inflamed the prince.
Another Rider reared into Tristan’s path, and his gleaming sword nearly severed the neck of the black horse. The steed dropped like a stone, and Canthus tore out the Rider’s throat before he could recover. Avalon smashed into the steed carrying Aileen’s captor, and the Bloodrider’s grip on Osprey’s bridle broke. The white mare skipped away, carrying her unmoving rider to safety.
Never had the prince seen such an unearthly, or hateful, fire as he now beheld in the eyes of the Bloodrider. The man’s sword flew blindingly toward Tristan’s face, and the prince lurched backward with a clumsy parry. Again the lightning attack, and although the blade did not strike home, the Bloodrider’s savage horse managed to knock the prince to the ground.
The wind exploded from his chest as he landed on his back, and he lay helpless among the bucking and screaming horses, gasping for breath. His opponent’s steed reared over him, and the prince struggled through the churned mud to avoid the hooves that sought to shatter the life from his skull.
And then Canthus leaped between them, springing so high that his jaws tore at the shoulder of the Rider. The man knocked the moorhound aside with a blow from the hilt of his sword, but Canthus immediately crouched for another spring. The black stallion twisted as it reared, and as the hound sprang, those heavy hooves met the dog in mid-air, driving into the broad skull. Soundlessly, Canthus dropped to the ground and lay still.
“No!” cried Tristan.
The Rider charged forward again to strike at the now standing prince. Before the charge could connect, however, a silver shape interceded and one of the sisters met the attack.
The Bloodrider hacked viciously, with superhuman strength, at his tiny opponent, as Tristan leaped again to Avalon’s back. He spurred to the aid of his rescuer.
Just as he reached the pair, he saw the Bloodrider’s stained sword strike underneath the sister’s guard, cut through the hard metal of her armor, and sink into her heart. She slumped, mortally wounded, in her saddle.
“Monster!” growled the prince, but now the swirling course of the battle took the killer away from him. Still, he marked that one, remembering well the deathshead grin and crimson eyes of this Rider.
And then the Bloodriders streamed away from them, galloping as a group into the protective cover of the nearby forest. Only now did Tristan look around, beyond the limits of the battlefield, and see the upraised arms of the Ffolk.
He heard their throaty cheers and saw Gavin, still swinging his gory hammer, striding up, followed