Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [126]
On the road behind them, they hear the clatter of horses as the riders who’ve been herding them come into view. “Into the mine!” James hollers as he kicks his horse in motion and rides into the lead miner, knocking him out of the way.
The others follow him as they ride through the rest of the miners who are attempting to stop them by striking out with their picks and shovels. But their attacks are easily deflected by the seasoned fighters and are soon left behind.
Upon reaching the mine entrance, they quickly dismount and are faced with more miners coming out of the mine. Jiron takes the lead and moves to intercept them. One of the miners swings his pick at Jiron who grabs the handle and kicks out with his foot, connecting with the man’s chest. The miner falls backward into his fellows, knocking them off balance.
Fifer joins him and quickly engages a miner with a shovel. Striking with his sword, he lops off the head of the man’s shovel. The miners quickly realize they’re hopelessly outclassed and break away, running down the road away from the mine, toward the approaching riders.
“Move!” cries James as they race into the mine entrance. Upon gaining the safety of the mine, he turns to look back at the riders coming up the road. They’re slowing down and finally stop when they reach the miners. The cavalry officer bends over and asks a question and one of the miners replies, pointing toward them.
The officer barks out an order and the miners move further away from the mine as the riders move closer.
From behind him, he can hear Jiron and Fifer as they scuffle with more miners who were still within the mine. Looking back, he sees the last of three miners fall to the ground as Fifer pulls his sword out from the man’s chest. Giving Miko a nudge, they move further back into the mine until its darkness completely hides them from those outside.
When the riders reach the mine entrance, the officer stares into the mine and shouts something, most likely ordering them to come out.
In reply, a rock flies out of the mine and strikes the lead rider in the chest, exploding out the back. As the officer falls off his horse, total pandemonium erupts among the riders. One of them charges the mine entrance only to fall as another rock flies out and takes him through the chest. The rest of the riders turn their horses and move a hundred feet down the road away from the mine where they huddle together as they talk among themselves.
James glances at the others and says, “They’ll probably wait until that mage shows up before doing anything else.”
“I think so too,” responds Jiron. Then he glances at James and asks, “There’s no way we’re going to make it out of here, is there?”
James shakes his head and says, “Doesn’t look that way.”
“Maybe not,” says Miko.
They all turn to him as he continues, “Back when I was in the mines, I saw shafts that they’d dug up to the surface periodically to allow fresh air in for us. If this mine has those too, then we could maybe use one to get out.”
“Anyone have a candle or torch?” James asks, suddenly remembering a scene from the movie Rambo.
“What do you want that for?” questions Jiron.
When they all shake their head no, he looks around and finds a narrow piece of broken wood about two and half feet long. He goes back and removes a shirt from one of the dead miners and wraps it around the wood. Motioning for everyone to move back away from the entrance, he concentrates and the cloth bursts into flame.
From outside the mine, they hear the talking increase as they see the makeshift torch come to life. Some move forward and James throws another stone out, this time trying not to kill. The stone strikes a man who’s knocked backward and the rest who were moving forward come to a stop.
Seeing that they’re not in any immediate threat of being rushed, James holds the torch steady and watches as the flame is fanned by a breeze moving toward the rear of the mine. Looking to Miko, he says, “You may be right.”
Miko