Shades of the Past_ Book Six of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [51]
“Get the men out of the river!” cries Ceadric to the rest of his men. Moving to the edge, they work to get the men and horses struggling against the current to their side safely. Of the five men in the river, only four manage to reach the shore, none of the horses make it.
“Where’s Devin?” Delia asks as she sets another slug to her sling.
“Over here!” she hears him cry from downstream. The river has carried him further away.
One of Ceadric’s men cries out, “I’ll get him,” and then races downstream to retrieve him.
Across the river, the soldiers are falling back now that their prey is beyond their reach. Soon, the hail of arrows and slugs ceases as the enemy moves out of range.
“What’s the damage?” Ceadric’s voice rings out.
“Seventeen dead,” Hedry replies.
“Your group Delia?” he asks.
“If Devin makes it back then we’re all accounted for,” she replies.
“Everyone back away from the river,” he says. “Let’s not give them anything more to look at.”
As everyone begins moving away, Delia goes to the bank and retrieves the second bridge crystal. When she bends over to collect it, she’s surprised to see it’s broken in two. Picking up both halves, she puts them into her pouch. Mounting up, she joins the others.
A few minutes later, the man who rode to Devin’s aid returns with him and the fifth of the men caught upon the bridge when it fell. Both have been battered by the current, but otherwise are unhurt.
“Let’s return,” Ceadric says.
“We did it!” exclaims Orry.
They turn to watch the siege equipment across the water burn as they make their way toward the lights of Lythylla in the distance. Soldiers of the Empire are silhouetted by the flames as they work to put out the fires. The remaining three are being pulled away quickly to avoid any possibility of the fires moving to them.
Their group feels much lighter with the seventeen men they left on the other side. They talk in quiet hushed tones until Scar’s voice rises from where he and the others ride further back. “…no, seriously. It was on a trip me and Potbelly took across the Sea to one of the northern towns. Beset by pirates, we…”
They continue on toward Lythylla as Scar relates the events of an ill fated voyage that cost the lives of everyone on board but himself and Potbelly. Seems the way they managed to escape death was to hide in the bilge compartment below the hold until the pirates left. Of course the fact the pirates torched the ship to hide all evidence, and that they escaped by prying a board loose from the side with two spoons didn’t do much for the credibility of the story. Believable or not, it occupies their time until the walls of Lythylla come into view ahead of them.
The gates open as they approach and the men manning the battlements give out with a cheer as they pass through. Illan, James, as well as Lord Pytherian and his adjutants are there to greet them.
Ceadric pulls slightly ahead as the two groups meet and says, “All but three of the siege equipment are aflame. We lost seventeen.”
Illan nods his head. “Good work.”
“Will want a thorough debriefing about the enemy’s layout and forces,” Lord Pytherian says.
“From what I could tell, they still have a sizeable army out there,” Ceadric tells him. “We were almost caught between two attacking forces. Would have been slaughtered there at the bank of the river if that bridge hadn’t appeared.”
“From the report James has already given us,” Lord Pytherian says, “there were more men than previous reports indicated. But at least their initial assault should be stalled while they regroup.”
“Best not to give them that time milord,” James interjects.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“I mean, tomorrow morning, we go on the offensive once again,” he explains.
“Do you think that’s wise?” he questions. “You and your people have barely come from a battle and you plan to throw them into another?