The Mercenary's Bounty

by Kristen Banet

“How many?” Alchan signed.

  “Roughly four dozen. Dark, and didn’t want to waste time getting a head count.” Bryn shoved the dagger away and signed the answer back.

  “That’s probably every fucking Elvasi in Namur. Every hunter wanting a piece of us. Think we can take them?” Alchan’s question wasn’t without cause. A group that size had given them casualties before.

  Bryn snarled, knowing it wasn’t possible to fight. They needed to move and run before the Elvasi entered the groves. “We can’t take them.” He was thirsty for Elvasi blood since they tried to start the brawl in Namur. Then again, Bryn was always thirsty for Elvasi blood.

  But we can’t do this. It’s too dangerous.

  It pissed Bryn off in a bad way. He wanted to kill all of them.

  “Get in position to look out and let me know when they come any closer. Use the edge of the grove as the line of engagement. I’m going to mobilize everyone to get everything packed away. If we lose some bedrolls, we’ll have to survive without them.” Alchan turned away and began pointing Andinna to good spots and getting others moving to pack their things up. Bryn picked the sturdiest tree he could and went up high into its branches, hiding himself in the foliage.

  They were going to turn the trap against the Elvasi, and the pointed-ear bastards weren’t going to know what was happening.

  24

  Mave

  “Matesh. Mave. Get up,” someone whispered.

  She was awake instantly, wide-eyed and baring her teeth at the fool over her. She deflated when she realized it was Nevyn. The rain was the next thing she noticed. It was coming down at a rate that annoyed her. Was the storm so bad they had to move?

  “What?” Matesh asked softly. “What’s going on?”

  “Bryn saw an Elvasi hunting party on the road. Looking for us. Get up, get armed. Wait for orders. Stay silent.”

  Mave’s heart began to race. A hunting party. They were there to catch Andinna.

  “Shit, we’re so close to the mountains,” Mat mumbled. “Come on.”

  He was up faster than her, and that had her scrambling. She grabbed her sword belt, getting it on quickly. She checked the blades, making sure they were ready. Not that it mattered. Ready and clean or not, they were getting used tonight.

  “Mave, Mat, here!” Alchan ordered, waving them over. “Begin throwing everything in the carts. We have to move. They outnumber us by better than four to one.”

  She and Mat only nodded in return, remembering Nevyn’s last order. Stay silent. There was no reason for them all to be talking and getting loud.

  Without a pause to their steps, Mave and Mat began to grab bedrolls. They tossed them without direction or order into carts. Next they went for their eating supplies and food from the night before. They had left it all out for breakfast.

  It was a mad dash, trying to stay quiet but also move quickly.

  They didn’t get very far before Alchan called them over again, making Mave realize how little time they had. This was happening now.

  Time! We need time!

  Her hopes for time fell on her gods’ deaf ears, like always.

  “Nevyn, Matesh, and Mave, I want you defending with Bryn and I. Varon, stay near everyone loading up the carts and offer cover fire. Hurry. Move. We might convince them to let us go, but if this turns bloody, I want all of you to ride out when you get the chance. There’s no reason for all of us to die tonight. Rain, no shifting!”

  “Why not?” Rain demanded. “I can kill all of them!”

  “Because you’ll kill all of us too, most likely, and destroy our supplies. We’re fighting this the Andinna way. The wyvern is a last resort. Always. Never resort to that first.” Luykas answered, with Alchan snarling in the background. “Plus, there’s always the chance you lose control. We can’t risk it.”

  If their position wasn’t known before, it was now.

  She moved swiftly as she pulled her swords, Mat on her heels. She looked to see Leshaun hiding by the carts, his sword drawn just in case as others continued to throw items into the backs of the carts. They were trying. They needed time to finish and leave with the supplies.

  “Protection. Hard to see in the dark,” Mat explained quickly. “In case he needs to run.”

  She didn’t reply, nodding. She had wanted to make sure that was the case. It made Leshaun a bit of a target, since their supplies would be an easy thing for the Elvasi to attack to hurt them on their trip.

  She hunkered down, Mat staying right next to her. Luckily, she had slept in her armor at the behest of her lover. Getting naked in the woods wasn’t fun, he’d said. It had made sense, so she didn’t.

  “Trying to leave?” an Elvasi called out as they found half the Company packing up the site.

  Alchan raised his morok to point at the Elvasi. “We’re going. Don’t test us, Elvasi. We’ll go down, taking half or more of you with us. Just let us move on. We don’t need mutually assured destruction.”

  “No, I think it’s time you Andinna mercs were put in your place. You roam around Olost as if you’re a free people. This isn’t news, but you aren’t. We’re going to get rich off your heads.”

  “So be it.” Their leader poured the water on the fire, plunging them all into darkness and smoke.

  She was about to jump into action when she saw the black shape of Bryn fall first, so fast that it stunned her. His roar was impressive as well. It sounded like it came from a male three times his size.

  She finally roared with the others as they jumped into the group of the Elvasi, their battle cries shattering the peace of the night, only a second after Bryn’s. Thanks to Brynec, they were working with the upper hand, surprising the Elvasi, who definitely outnumbered them.

  She gutted the first she could reach, kicking him back as he bled out. The goal was to do this quickly. They couldn’t let any of these Elvasi walk away, not for trying to kill them.

  She spun, sinking her sword deep into the chest of another. She yanked the blade out, turning to attack another, only for a curved sword tip to come out of the Elvasi’s chest. She took the chance, scissoring her blades and cutting the male’s head off to reveal Alchan on the other side as he pulled his sword from the body. He nodded with appreciation and she did the same back before turning back into the fray.

  She pulled her left blade up to block a coming sword, aimed for her head. Steel sang, sending off sparks as she pushed it away and stabbed forward with her right gladius. She could see Nevyn using a morok in the dark, as well as Alchan.

  Damn, I can’t wait to learn that thing.

  A head went flying with another roar. Blood sprayed over her as a body went down. She kicked out the leg of another Elvasi, sending him to the ground. Without hesitation, she slit his throat.

  She turned to find another Elvasi, his sword over his head, ready to cut her down. In that moment, she was positive she was going to die. She didn’t have time to bring her swords up to stop the blow. She wasn’t that fast.

  If my two options are dying or capture, I’ll die. She saw no other answer.

  The sword never came down as an arrow slammed into the Elvasi’s eye. Mave looked over her shoulder to see Varon nocking another and taking another shot, killing an Elvasi coming for him. Then another. He didn’t waste his arrows because he didn’t miss.

  With that, she kicked back another one running for her. With a swift slash, she opened his gut from right to left, watching his internal organs fall out. She wasted no time herself, going for one behind Matesh, saving him from a sword to the back as he fended off two at his front.

  “Thanks,” he said, seeing her come up beside him. She worked in tandem with him to kill the two before him. Once that was over, Matesh jumped into a group and began cutting more down.

  Mave turned to see Leshaun fighting off two Elvasi as others who were supposed to be loading the carts fought off attackers. She began to run for him, knowing the older male was at a disadvantage, limping as he tried to push off the assault. The old ma
le hadn’t called for help, but that didn’t mean he needed to fight alone.

  The old fool! He’s nearly blind! What is he thinking?

  She saw how they pressed against him, saw how they were trying to cut him down, going for his legs. They were outnumbered in the fight. They should have known some were going to get around them to Leshaun.

  She made it there at the same time as Rain, who jumped off a cart and landed on one of the attackers. She pulled Leshaun back, growling her fury at the Elvasi for going after their oldest member. She ran him through, feeling blood pump out onto her hands as she held the blade deep in the enemy’s gut. She pulled it out slower, letting it drag and cause more damage.

  The body dropped without any life in it. As it did, she spun on Leshaun and pointed for the cart.

  “Stay down!” she ordered. “You can’t get hurt!” Leshaun growled but backed away from her. She looked him over quickly then pointed at Rain. “Stay with him,” she commanded. “Keep him from any harm.”

  Rain just nodded, agreeing with her with no backtalk. Just at that moment, Leshaun swayed and she barely grabbed him before he fell.

  “Fuck!” She could feel the dark, growing spot of blood at the old male’s side. “Mat! Rain, get Mat! Anyone!” She lowered Leshaun down slowly. “It’s okay, Leshaun. I’ve got you.”

  “Go fight,” the old male growled. “Go.”

  “No. Not until someone is here putting pressure on this.” She felt around for the wound, realizing it was a deep gash. It didn’t have to be fatal if they stopped the bleeding. She wasn’t very good at sewing things up, though. She needed another pair of hands or a better medic.

  “Let me see him,” Zayden said quickly, moving next to her. “Rain, help me. Mave, go fight. We’ve got this.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “They need you.” Zayden nodded quickly. “Go.”

  She jumped up, her heart racing. She ran back for the rest of the Company and engaged with the first Elvasi she could. She took her rage out on him, roaring her battle cry as she kicked his chest, sending him falling back. She shoved one of her swords down into his chest, still roaring out that fury.

  She took it all out on her enemies. If Leshaun died, it would be their fault. They slaughtered her people. They abused, maimed, and ruined her people. Her people, who finally accepted her, who finally gave her a place with her two swords and one skill. They respected her for what she could do. How she could kill.

  These damned Elvasi weren’t taking that away from her.

  “Go! Rain, get us out of here! I need to treat Leshaun!” Zayden was roaring. Suddenly, screaming horses jumped into action and one of their carts began to move. Mave had no idea where the rest of their mounts went, probably bolting as the fighting started, but the cart horses had been trapped with them. Now two were being given the chance to run, so they did.

  Mave watched for only a second as Rain directed the cart through the trees, Zayden trying to take care of Leshaun in the back. That second was something she shouldn’t have taken. Something painful sliced through her wing. With a snarl, she turned and embedded her sword into the gut of yet another Elvasi.

  Blood was everywhere now. It soaked the earth. It soaked her.

  She felt alive.

  With those three now gone, another roar rang through the night. Varon jumped into the fray, landing beside Nevyn. She could see them out of the corner of her eye, fighting in that deadly dance they had done on the ship. It was frighteningly good.

  Luykas followed into the battle as well, no longer having anyone to direct to load the carts. The carts could be lost at this point. If Rain, Zayden, and Leshaun were the only ones to survive, then so be it. She knew this was their final stand, and they had been doing well so far.

  But they were barely halfway through the Elvasi trying to take them dead or alive.

  And some were going after those on the run.

  She hoped Rain remembered everything she taught him.

  “For the Andinna!” Alchan roared, lopping off a head.

  All the Andinna roared with a renewed, last stand of fury. She couldn’t resist the echo of her own, joining in.

  She took another hit and pressed on. Then another. She knew she was bleeding from several spots now. Her thigh. Her left arm was feeling sluggish. She used her tail to yank down an Elvasi and stab him as he lay helpless.

  They were cutting through their enemies, but their enemies were beginning to cut back. The remaining Elvasi began to circle the Andinna. They were all limping from injuries, hoping they could continue their standoff with the hunters.

  I’ll die before they take me. I’ll kill Matesh and the rest of the Andinna if I have to. They won’t take us. I won’t let any of them be subjected to the horrors of slavery. Never again.

  It was a silent promise to herself. It was the only promise she could make at that point.

  25

  Zayden

  Zayden tried to treat Leshaun on the ground, but it wasn’t going to work with all of the chaos around him. He’d seen Mave over the bleeding older male, Rain there with her. He’d heard her call for help. He knew he was the one in the best position to respond.

  “Stay with me, Leshaun,” he ordered the old male who treated him like a son. “Mat can’t lose you. I can’t. Rain needs you too. Come on, stay with me.”

  Leshaun’s words were hushed. Zayden couldn’t make them out. He knew the male was inevitably being pulled into the healing sleep, even though combat happened all around them.

  “Protect me as I get him into a cart!” Zayden cried out, ordering anyone around him for the help.

  Luykas was immediately by his side, and so was Varon, still firing off arrows when he found a shot.

  “Rain, get ready to take off with them!” Luykas cried out. Zayden nodded, forcing Leshaun up. Good, his son was going to get them out of there. The young needed to survive, mutt or not. He was glad Luykas knew that his son needed to live.

  It was work and Zayden didn’t want to injure Leshaun further. He got him into the cart as quickly and gingerly as he could. Right as he turned around, he had to kick back an Elvasi and jump in. Leshaun was bleeding out right in front of him.

  “Go! Rain, get us out of here! I need to treat Leshaun!”

  The cart lurched as the horses neighed and screamed, beginning to try and bolt. The fact that they hadn’t yet was a testament to their training under Han. Zayden had already personally cut loose the mounts, leaving only the cart horses for them to deal with. The Company would need to survive, then worry about their rides. There was no point in protecting horses if they had no one to ride them.

  Rain got them out of the grove, a bumpy and awful ride. Zayden pushed every piece of fabric he could get his hands on against the devastating wound on Leshaun’s side. The bleeding wouldn’t slow, which meant Zayden needed to sew him up with the blood in the way. An extra pair of hands would have been a blessing, but every other pair of hands was just trying to stay alive in their destroyed campsite and his son was getting them to safety.

  “Don’t stop for anything, Rain!” he called out, hoping his son could hear him. “Nothing!”

  He found their medical kit. They kept one in every cart. It was the small preparations that mattered, because they never knew when something like this would happen. There was a needle and thread in it. Zayden knew Leshaun would kill him for this, but he began to sew, ignoring the roars of pain from the old male. He didn’t try to stop Zayden, but he didn’t much like it either.

  It was slow, awful business and he looked up when he was halfway through, realizing they had company, and it wasn’t their friends and family.

  “Rain! Don’t stop! We have Elvasi following hard!”

  The Elvasi were on horses. They must have run for their own or stolen some from the Company. It didn’t matter. The hunters were catching up, which meant this was now a run for their lives.

  Zayden didn’t think they would win. They couldn’t abandon the ca
rt, not with Leshaun down, and there was too much money invested into the supplies on board.

  I just need Rain to try. I need to finish sewing up Leshaun.

  He went back to it, keeping a close eye on the Elvasi as he worked.

  But what he didn’t expect was the cart to slow down right as he finished up.

  “Rain, what are you doing?” he asked, screaming at the top of his lungs. “Keep us moving!”

  “I’ve got this,” his son snapped back, pulling them to a stop somehow. There was a fury to the words that made him concerned for his son.

  Zayden kept his morok close, watching his blasted son roar and meet the riders. Zayden held onto his breath as he tried to keep Leshaun alive and his son risked his life to give him the time he needed.

  Seeing his son in combat made Zayden realize how much he’d learned from the female in the pits. The way his boy moved, it defied everything that he’d been taught by the Company. The boldness of it was impressive. It was terrifying.

  He cut down a horse, causing it to topple and crush the rider, ending one of the four threats.

  Next, Rain shifted, roaring as a massive blue wyvern. His clothing disintegrated thanks to the explosive shift.

  Zayden wasn’t sure if he loved or hated the form.

  Rain stomped and crushed another rider. He snapped his jaws, grabbing a horse and rider together, shaking viciously. He tossed the dead bodies probably fifty feet away in a bloody mess.

  With the last one, he spit out those hell-hot flames, leaving the Elvasi and horse screaming for mercy. It caught a couple of trees on fire. They would be lucky with the storm, because Rain’s flames were normally hot enough to start an uncontrollable forest fire.

  And like that, his son protected them.

  Zayden was even scared for his own life as the massive blue head of the wyvern turned to him.

  He knew about the dual nature of the Clans of Zira. Summer had tried her hardest to explain to him that the beast was separate from the boy. That the wyvern was as much its own personality as it was his son. Now he could see it in the beast’s eyes. His son was there, but not there. The wyvern was in charge of the body and mind.