Treasures of Fantasy - Margaret Weis [109]
“Look behind me, you fools!” he cried.
The wolves bounded into sight and the soldiers, startled, let go of Skylan, who kept on running.
Sighting prey, the wolves began to growl and bark, one to another, almost as if issuing orders.
“Don’t run,” said Zahakis to his men. “Use your torches.”
The wolves were on them now. Zahakis and the soldiers lowered the torches and thrust the flaming brands at the wolves in the lead, thinking to use the fire to frighten them, drive them back.
Ignoring the flaring torch, the lead wolf leaped at Zahakis and knocked him flat on his back. Zahakis cried out and struck at the wolf. His men tried to help him, shouting at the wolves and waving the torches. More wolves emerged from the shadows. The soldiers guarding the litter drew their swords and ran to the aid of their fallen comrades. The lead wolf bounded off Zahakis and kept running. The other wolves circled around the soldiers to follow the pack leader.
“Skylan, listen—” Wulfe cried, squirming in his grasp.
“Shut up,” said Skylan.
He ran to the litter with Wulfe tucked under his arm. Flinging the curtains open, Skylan dumped the boy inside. Chloe was wide awake, more startled than afraid. Wulfe kept yammering about “man-beasts.”
“No time!” said Skylan sharply, and he yanked the curtains shut, not so much as to protect the youngsters, for the silken fabric would hardly do that, but to prevent both of them from witnessing what he feared was going to be a gruesome and deadly confrontation.
He confronted the litter-bearers, who were standing stock-still, staring in terror.
“Get moving, you fools!” Skylan shouted at the slaves. He waved his hands. “Go! Now! Fast as you can.”
The slaves obeyed him, but not as he expected. They dropped the litter to the ground and fled.
Skylan cursed them for cowards, even as the thought came to him that he could use this opportunity to make a dash for his own freedom. He spent one brief second considering the notion and then sneered at himself. He had finally found Wulfe and was not going to lose the boy again, and he was not about to leave a crippled girl to be torn apart by wolves.
“A weapon, I need a goddam weapon!” Skylan called out.
“Skylan—” Wulfe stuck his head out from the curtain.
“Shut up!” Skylan yelled.
A horse screamed, and Skylan swung around to see the wolves converging on Acronis. Two were attacking his horse, who was half crazed with fear. The wolves nipped at the horse’s legs and raked his flanks with their claws.
The horse bucked and plunged and twisted, striking out with its hooves and kicking with its hind legs. Acronis fought to keep his seat, trying to brace himself with his thighs. More wolves came running to surround the horse. Zahakis and his men were trapped in the alley; the wolf pack was between them and Acronis.
He heard a sharp cracking sound and turned to see Keeper wrenching loose one of the posts that supported the litter’s canopy. The post snapped off in the ogre’s strong hands. The canopy sagged a little, but did not fall.
“I’ll guard the young ones,” Keeper said tersely. “You go to the Legate.”
Skylan looked at Keeper, both of them thinking the same. This was the man who had enslaved them. They had no reason to save his life.
“He should die by my hand, not in a wolf’s belly,” Skylan muttered and broke into a run, coming up on the wolves from behind.
Skylan sucked in a lungful of air and bellowed as he ran, “Sword! I need a sword!”
Zahakis hesitated. But Skylan was close to Acronis and Zahakis was not and, at that moment, the horse reared. Acronis lost his grip and slid off, landing in the midst of the wolves. Zahakis flung his sword through the air.
The sword landed on the pavement and slid toward Skylan, who grabbed it while he was still on the run. He couldn’t see Acronis, for the furry, heaving mass on top of him, but he could hear his cries. The horse galloped past Skylan, its flanks bloody, eyes wide with terror. The wolves paid no heed to the horse. They were intent upon Acronis, until they heard Skylan roar.
The lead wolf glanced around.