by B. K. Boes
“Whistlers are quite loud out here, aren’t they?” Rew said as he tucked the empty jar under his arm. The others were already heading their way.
“Those aren’t birds, Rew. They’re scouts. The pattern indicates Adikeans are on the way.”
Rew’s brows shot up. “A raiding party?”
“Probably.” Moloch looked over his shoulder. Still no sign of them.
“Did you say Adikeans?” One of the other chemists, Eywik, stopped behind Rew. He was a skinny young man with large ears and a nose to match.
The last chemist, a woman named Allo, caught up to them. She rubbed her graying temples. “We’re in trouble, aren’t we? Those aren’t Whistlers.”
Moloch was surprised she could tell but nodded. “Adikeans. We must destroy the bridge, but I don’t want civilians in danger. Follow the cave system back to that little Ergonian village in the mountains. They’ll give you refuge, and we’ll come and get you once we’re free of the warriors. If we don’t come, wait a few days, and then get back to Eikonian soil as quickly as possible. Give me clear instructions, and we will finish laying the powder and blowing the bridge.”
“Absolutely not.” Rew stood his ground and set his jaw, but Eywik was already passing Moloch toward the mountains.
The younger man froze and looked back. “You can’t be serious. We aren’t soldiers, Rew.”
“Rew is right,” Allo said. “We can’t entrust this task to anyone else. It’s too dangerous when done improperly.”
“You really don’t have time to argue about this,” Moloch said.
“I’m leaving. Good luck to you,” Eywik sprinted off without another word.
“Coward.” Rew spat. He turned to Moloch. “The gray is down. Next comes the black. Then the white. Then the oil doused rope. If you can protect us and keep the Adikeans at bay, we can finish this.”
Allo nodded in agreement.
Moloch sighed. “Fine. Get to it, then.” He went ahead of them to the pile of supplies at the bridge’s beginning. “Thank you,” he said before he left them. They didn’t reply. Rew grabbed two of the black jars, Allo the last, and they went back to their task.
“What are they doing?” Bram asked as he came up to Moloch. “They’ve got to get out of here.”
Moloch shook his head. “They have to be the ones to do this. We have to protect them.” Behind Bram, the men he’d brought with him stood ready. Moloch strode forward to face them, with Bram at his right hand. “We’ve got ten Adikeans coming down that road. The chemists need more time. Destroying this bridge will give us a distinct advantage when it comes to rooting out the Adikeans. I’m sure our fellow soldiers to the east have already seen their bridge fall. We protect the chemists at all costs.” Moloch pointed to his four archers. “Rye, Jinn, Ando, and Ivre. Get your gear and gain a vantage point up high where you can pluck off some warriors before they even know we’re here.”
The archers nodded, their faces grim, and left the group to take position. Moloch looked at the rest of his men. Sixteen soldiers, including himself and Bram, against ten Adikeans.
We should be fine.
But a knot began to form in Moloch’s stomach. He’d heard almost mythical stories about Adikean warriors. How they could endure ten times the pain and were more ruthless than the dark spirits described in the Holy Book.
Rumors. Tavern stories. That’s all. Drunk men exaggerate.
“All right,” Moloch began. “You four, block the bridge. Use your shields. Be unmovable. Our archers will help you. Stand strong. If I need you, I’ll shout for you to rejoin us. But twelve men against ten should give us a clear advantage. Our scouts should be coming at any moment as well.”
Four soldiers unclasped the shields at their backs and took position, spreading out evenly across the entrance to the bridge. Moloch stole a glance at the chemists. They were still pouring the black powder but were going faster than they had with the gray.
“The rest of us will form a wedge. You six use your shields to form the point. The rest of us, shields above. Get us safely to contact and then penetrate their forces. Work as a team. Let the archers do their jobs.”
“Yes, sir!” his men said in unison.
Moloch sounded more confident than he really was. You’ve made your decision. Move forward. Always move forward.
He and his men gathered their weapons and double-checked the ones already secured in sheaths. He grabbed a spear and unclasped his shield. Then, up ahead, the Adikeans appeared on the road’s horizon, a string of five captive women behind them. A sandbeast pulled a wagon full of Ergonian loot, probably food and valuables. Immediately arrows were shot from above them, and two of the Adikeans were struck. The fallen Adikeans looked to be the only ones with bows and arrows.
Off to a good start.
But then another arrow was shot, and the second man not only dodged it, but caught it. One Adikean archer, a shaft protruding from one shoulder, somehow managed to get up and shoot his arrows despite his injury. One of Moloch’s archers fell from the cliff beside the road. Meanwhile, the warrior who’d caught the arrow did something with it, took aim, and threw the arrow with such force and swiftness that Moloch couldn’t process what had happened until he saw another of his archers fall and hit the road, unmoving.
Only two archers left.
Moloch looked at Bram, who stared wide-eyed along with the other soldiers. “Form!” Moloch shouted, and the men were shaken out of their stupor to form a wedge.
“Did you see that?” Bram whispered from under his shield held overhead.
The wedge moved forward as one. Moloch didn’t know where his remaining archers were, but no more arrows were raining down upon the Adikeans.
Where are they?
“It was weighted putty.” Hurran, who was to Bram’s right, said without looking. “I’ve heard of it but didn’t believe it. I thought it wouldn’t work in battle. But he stuck that putty onto the front end of the shaft so quickly. And his aim was perfect. There aren’t supposed to be many who can do that effectively.”
“You’re saying he made it into a giant dart?” Bram scoffed.
“Basically,” Hurran shrugged.
“Enough!” Moloch said as some of the others began to waver. This new tactic wasn’t something Moloch had been trained to expect, but they had to keep their courage. “Look at them. No shields. No armor. Just a couple of daggers and a sword per man. I counted two spears and one axe. Their archers have been disabled. We’ve got swords, spears, two daggers each, shields, and thick leather armor.”
His little speech seemed to give his men a moment of confidence. “Go! Go! Go!” Moloch shouted. The wedge picked up pace. Those in the middle surged their spears forward in between the men. The boulders on either side of the road made the wedge an effective tactic. If the Adikeans met them head on, at least one or two of them would get run through with a spear. There was nowhere else for them to go.
A scream pierced the air, and a woman’s cry.
“Colonel!” Linden, the man at the front of the wedge shouted. “They’re using women as shields. If we keep going, we’ll spear their captives.”
“Halt!” Damn the Other.
“We’ll have to meet them head on,” Bram said. “Without the shield wall.”
“Break formation!” Moloch shouted. “Attack at will but keep the women alive if you can.” The cocoon of shields lifted and his men began to run forward.
Five of the Adikeans had the women in front, hands bound by a rope that connected them all. They had forced the women to stand as shields in defense of the wedge, but now they cut the rope in between and each took a woman.
Those warriors without a woman advanced quickly. Their matted locks, muscled bodies, and hardened expressions combined to portray truly fierce enemies.
Linden made contact first, counteracting the blow of an axe with his sword, but another warrior’s dagger sank into Linden’s side before Moloch could shout a warning.
Another man falls.
Seconds later, two more soldiers clashed with the warriors. One Adikean blocked a soldier’s sword, and then with just as much strength swung an axe into the soldier’s side with his other hand. The other soldier was felled when his opponent swept his feet out from under him and slit his throat.
Moloch and Bram weren’t far behind. They were in the midst of a truly horrific skirmish. Moloch dodged the thrust of a spear. He tried to yank its shaft out of the warrior’s hand, but when he pulled, the Adikean let go and sent Moloch reeling backward. The Adikean jumped forward, dagger high, and brought down his blade. Moloch rolled out of the way as Bram rammed into the warrior mid-air, sending him skidding across the road. Dust stirred as Bram offered Moloch a hand up. They stood back to back, deflecting and making their own strikes. Hurran stumbled toward them as another Eikonian fell behind him. They formed a triangle, at the ready. The Adikeans had pushed them closer to the bridge than Moloch had thought. There was a moment of silence. The dust settled, and they were surrounded by twelve Adikeans, including the one with an arrow’s shaft protruding from his shoulder. Bodies littered the road. The women were huddled together, all of them either too weak or too frightened to move.
“Did their numbers grow? Or is this a nightmare?” Bram asked. Moloch was breathing hard. He counted twelve Eikonians left on the ground, including the four guarding the bridge, against twelve Adikeans.
How did that happen? Where are my scouts?
“We are not foolish, like you Eikonians,” a warrior answered, a smirk on his face. “We had more men following on the ridge of the mountain. All they had to do was drop to the road and come to our aid. They killed your other two archers. And we found and killed your five scouts, so don’t expect their aid any time soon.”
They only found five. So, half of my scouts should be somewhere out there.
Moloch glanced toward the bridge. The chemists were still working, laying the white powder now.
“What are you doing up here?” another warrior asked, a dagger in one hand and an axe in the other. “This isn’t Eikonian territory.”
“It will be. Once we rid Ergon of Adikean filth.” Bram spat.
“Your blood is weak,” another warrior taunted. “You stand no chance against us. Ergon will belong to our Emperor.”
“Do you bleed damned gold?” Bram scoffed.
Moloch had fully assessed their situation in this little interlude. He didn’t want to call the other soldiers away from the bridge, or draw attention to the chemists, until he had to, but now he saw no choice. He took a deep breath, and shouted with all the strength he had, “REJOIN!”
Immediately, the four at the bridge advanced, and the warrior’s attentions were drawn to them. Moloch wasn’t even sure the Adikeans had noticed what was going on at the bridge until then. At his call, a rope dropped from the cliff on one side of the road, and his remaining scouts began to drop down behind the Adikeans.
“They’re doing something to the bridge!” a warrior shouted. The first sound of panic from the Adikeans was sweet to Moloch’s ears.
“Five behind us!” another yelled. Two Adikeans broke away from the twelve and turned on the scouts.
The other ten warriors charged as Moloch’s force of twelve men formed up and moved forward. One of the warriors shouted, “Get to the bridge! Stop them!”
Moloch’s scouts were being pushed back. One of them lay dead on the ground already. Before Moloch turned his attention back to the soldiers nearest to him, another scout fell, a dagger thrown right through his throat.
“Attack!” Moloch shouted. We must kill more of these bastards before they compromise our mission!
The forces collided. Moloch and Bram concentrated on the same man another soldier had targeted. With the three of them barreling down on him at once, the warrior fell with his gut cut wide open and a long gash down his thigh. But even as they took down an Adikean, Moloch saw two of his men slaughtered.
Allo and Rew were laying the long thin rope from the line of powders to the beginning of the bridge. They began to douse it liberally with oil.
Almost there. With the bridge gone, the Adikeans will have nowhere to go.
Moloch redoubled his efforts. The fight had moved too close to the bridge. As he fought, he stole glances of the chemists. Finally, he saw Rew kneeling next to the end of the rope, clashing two fire stones together until a spark ignited it. He and Allo immediately went to their supplies. They were mixing some black concoction in one of their jars.
What are they doing? They have to run!
And then Rew took the jar, corked it, and they both began to run along the edge of the cliff toward a cave. A warrior moved to intercept them. Moloch was close enough that he tried to help, but another warrior blocked his path. He would have counted them as dead, but when he glanced back, the warrior who had confronted the chemists was writhing in pain on the ground, the black mixture eating away at his chest.
The warrior’s screams distracted Moloch’s opponent, and he was able to cut his sword across the Adikean’s belly. Allo and Rew left the empty jug behind and ran toward the cave. If they made it inside the cave, and were fast enough, surely the Adikeans would leave them be. They were clearly civilians, not soldiers.
Moloch sighed in desperation as the two who had broken off earlier rejoined the other warriors.
My scouts are all dead.
There were seven Adikeans left. Ten Eikonians. Moloch looked over his shoulder again at the burning rope. It was singed nearly to the point of contacting the powder.
“Retreat!” Moloch screamed. “Now! Retreat!” And the call reverberated down the line. They all began to sprint toward the cave. The Adikeans ran to the bridge now that Moloch and his men were out of the way. Two of the younger ones shouted after them, not as concerned about the bridge. Moloch’s feet pounded against the ground. He looked over his shoulder. One of the younger Adikeans threw a spear from where he stood near the bridge. It hit a soldier’s back, the point of it sprouting from his chest. The older Adikeans were inspecting the singed rope, following its blackened path on the rock to the bridge.
At that moment, a tremendous explosion rocked the earth. A powerful force pushed Moloch forward, and he soared through the air several paces before landing with a thud. His ears rang and everything faded to black and back again. He rolled onto his back. A huge black cloud covered the sky. There was no way to tell how long he lay there as the world faded in and out.
Suddenly, Bram was kneeling over him. “Hey!” He slapped Moloch’s cheek. “You all right?”
Moloch weakly pushed away Bram’s hand. “Stop hitting me,” he said. “Help me up.”
Bram helped Moloch to his feet. He looked around to find the surviving Eikonians slowly coming to. Including him and Bram, there were nine men. Moloch ran his hands over his face and closed his eyes.
Nine soldiers. This morning I had forty.
He opened his eyes. The place where the Adikeans had been standing was just gone. The cliff no longer extended far from the mountain. And the black Ancient Bridge was gone. A distant cracking and crumbling still echoed like thunder. Through a break in the curling steam, Moloch saw the black stone falling away in the distance, plummeting to the valley below.
“It took out the rest of those Adikeans,” Bram said. “But we lost so many men…”
“It doesn’t feel like a victory, does it?” Moloch said. “We can’t even carry their bodies back to Eikon.”
Bram placed a hand on Moloch’s shoulders. “They didn’t die in vain. The powders worked. Adikeans will no longer be able to invade Ergon by the Western Pass.”
Moloch nodded. They had accomplished their mission. Now it was time to escape these mountains before a larger Adikean force responded to the explosion.
“Let’s go, men,” Moloch said. “We’ll find our chemists in the caves and get safely home. And then we can come back with an army and wipe those bastards out.”
As they entered the cave, Moloch stood
at the mouth of it until his men were in front of him. Bram was the last, and before he entered, he stopped and turned to look back. Moloch put a hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll avenge their deaths,” he said.
“It feels strange to know war is on the horizon,” Bram said.
“Yes, it does,” Moloch looked out once more at the fallen bridge, the bodies strewn across the rocks, both Adikean and Eikonian. “But you know what else I feel?”
Bram raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“We’re going to win, Bram.” Moloch patted Bram’s shoulder. “We’re going to win.”
THE END
Join B.K. Boes’ reader group for updates, giveaways, author takeovers, and Facebook Live events: https://www.facebook.com/groups/260635627940167/
For updates on B.K. Boes, the occasional freebie, deals on Science Fiction and Fantasy books, and to be notified upon the release of books in The Leyumin Divided Saga, please sign up for B.K. Boes’ newsletter: https://subscribepage.com/backmattersignups-bkboes
Acknowledgments
Many years ago, my husband pushed me to find my thing. I was a young mother, exhausted and limited in access to adult conversations. While my toddler-ese and diaper changing game was on point, I had forgotten how to do something for me. My husband recognized that, and he created Daddy Days. Every Saturday, I could go out and do whatever I wanted. And that’s how I discovered that my dream was to become an author.
So, while there are many people who deserve a thank you, the first and foremost is my husband. I thought caring for myself was frivolous; he made me see it was essential. And throughout the years, he’s become my biggest supporter, my loudest cheerleader, and my deepest source of encouragement.
I’d also like to thank my family. My grandparents, my parents, my siblings and their spouses — I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive family. I never expected them to read my work; they did so without asking. On top of that, they have always believed in me.