“I won’t leave so soon after pledging to remain with you,” Vili said. “But if you don’t plan to use the rapier, perhaps I could borrow it.”
I shook my head, laughing deliriously at the thought of Vili holding off the entire gang with my rapier. “It is no use, Vili,” I said. “I’m afraid our partnership has come to naught. We’re done for.”
“Who’s this, then?” said a shaggy man at the head of the gang. “A couple of vagrants using my road without permission?”
“Please, sir,” I said. “We have little money, but you are welcome to it. Take this rapier too, if you like. I’d only ask that you leave the boy alone.”
“Ah, you see, Pavo, he’s the generous sort of vagrant. Going to give us everything he has if we but spare the boy. Yet as the light grows in the east, it seems to me that he is a poor judge of value. Tell me, Pavo, if you had your choice, would you take the rapier or the boy?”
Another man, just as rough-looking, but taller and more gaunt, had come up next to the leader. “You know, Gaspar, I think I would take the boy. He seems a fine specimen, in the prime of youth.”
“Fortunately, we need not choose,” said Gaspar. “I had my eye on the lad myself, but since you expressed your preference first, I’ll be satisfied with the rapier. The rest of the men can split what silver they have on them. Come, I’ll help you subdue the boy and then we can finish off the one with the wicked markings on his face.”
Gaspar took a step toward Vili. I tried to get up but could not even lift my own arm. Vili backed away, but still did not run. The fool boy was going to get himself killed or worse out of a misguided sense of loyalty.
But as Gaspar neared within arm’s length of Vili, he stopped, raised his arms in front of him as if seized by some unseen spirit, and then crumpled to the ground. My mind hazy, I noticed belatedly that the shaft of an arrow protruded from his left eye.
Pavo gave a cry and turned to face east, seeking the source of the arrow. But the sun had climbed over the mountains to the east, blinding the bandits. Another arrow shot out of the glare, this one burying itself in Pavo’s throat. He gave a hoarse cry that turned to a gurgle and then fell to the ground beside Gaspar.
The other bandits had produced their weapons, holding their hands up to block the glare, but seemed unable to pinpoint the archer’s location. The man was either prone or still a considerable distance off. A third arrow found its way into a portly bandit’s palm, pinning his hand to his forehead. The man screamed and ran across the plain in the opposite direction, still saluting the archer’s skill. The fourth arrow hit a man in the kidney; the bandits were fleeing en masse.
Not wishing to meet our mysterious savior sitting down, I struggled to get to my feet. With Vili’s help, I succeeded. A familiar silhouette strode toward us, framed by the orange halo of the rising sun.
“Rodric!” I gasped, barely able to believe it.
“You know him?” Vili asked.
“Indeed,” I said, still leaning on Vili’s shoulder. “This is the famed archer, Rodric, with whom I served in the Scouts. I see you’ve regained your skill, old friend.”
“It seems,” Rodric said, “that I am yet capable of a competent shot when the circumstances demand it.”
“Competent!” cried Vili. “I have never seen such marksmanship!”
“Rodric,” I said weakly, “This is Vili, who has recently had the misfortune of partnering with me in a thankless and probably impossible task. How is it that you happened to come by this place at this very moment?”
“You might well think it an accident,” Rodric said, “but in truth I have been seeking you now for several weeks, ever since I heard that General Janos left his estate to some distant relative. When I could get no answers regarding your whereabouts, I went to investigate. I was on my way from that estate to Nagyvaros when I spotted the demon and his retinue crossing the plain.”
“You deserted the janissaries?”
“Aye. I don’t suppose I was much missed, though, as I was unable to keep my promise to you. I can only hope that my assistance to you today will go some small distance toward blotting out that debt.” I saw now that Rodric appeared to have aged a decade. He was unkempt and unshaven, and the shame of having resumed his old habits weighed heavily on him.
“You owe me nothing, my friend,” I said. “But I would be much obliged if you would help Vili carry me to the next town. I am in a poor state, as you can see. How did you even recognize me?”
“If I had been able to see your face, I might not have. But I am accustomed to identifying men from a distance, and you have a very distinctive walk. What have you done to your face?”
“That is a story for another time, Rodric.”
“Very well. Be assured that now that I have found you, I do not intend to let you go as easily as last time. Whatever this task that you have taken on, consider my bow and myself at your service. But what of the lovely Beata, of whom you spoke to me so often and with such ardor?”
I shook my head. “That will have to wait as well, Rodric. For now, let us find a place to rest. Then I shall tell you all that has happened, and of the impossible task that Vili and I have taken on. Then you can decide whether you truly wish to accompany us on this road.”
“My choice is made,” Rodric said. “And I say this having seen the demon and its minions making their way across the plain. I can only assume that your quest is somehow related to that baleful procession?”
“You are as astute as always, Rodric,” I said. “Vili and I have pledged to keep the demon from laying waste to Nagyvaros.”
Rodric nodded, as if expecting as much. “Then I shall help you fight your demon, and perhaps you can once again help me with mine.”
And so, having uttered our naïve and fateful oaths, the three of us made our way back toward the doomed city to await the coming of the beast.
Get Book Two Now!
The Rise of the Demon Prince will be available on October 26, 2019. Order your copy today!
The Counterfeit Sorcerer series is:
The Brand of the Warlock
The Rise of the Demon Prince (Release date: Oct 26, 2019)
The Book of the Dead (Release date: Dec 7, 2019)
The Throne of Darkness (Release date: Jan 18, 2020)
The End of All Things (Release date: Mar 1, 2020)
*Titles subject to change until release date!
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Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the assistance of:
My beta readers: Mark Fitzgerald, Pekka Gaiser, Brian Galloway, Mark Leone, Phillip Lynch and Paul Alan Piatt;
And the Counterfeit Sorcerer Kickstarter supporters, including:
A.J., Chris DeBrusk, Lauren Foley, Kevin Mooney, Bruce Parrello, Christopher Turner, Karl Armstrong, Jason, Brent Brown, Philip R. Burns, Eric Stevens, Josh Creed, Lowell Jacobson, Ben Parker, Michael Wilson, Robert Jacobsen, Keith West, Travis Gagnon, Dennis Ruffing, Christopher Sanders, Emily Wagner, Jad Davis, Grant Morath, Phillip Jones, Sean Simpson, Kristin Crocker, Slater, Ryan McGuire, Pamela Crouch, and Joel Suovaniemi.
Cover art by Kip Ayers: http://www.kipayersillustration.com/
Any errors in this book are the fault of the author. I did my best.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
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The Brand of the Warlock Page 21