Lorik (The Lorik Trilogy)

by Toby Neighbors

  “What do you think?” Lorik said. “Will they come back tonight?”

  “I doubt it,” Stone said. “When Marsdyn finds out they failed, he’ll be furious. He’ll probably attack tomorrow.”

  “The whole gang?”

  “Most likely, and probably more. There’ll be plenty of outlaws and pirates in the shipyards who will go with him for a little coin. Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll keep watch.”

  Lorik moved back onto a blanket that was laid out on a pile of hay for him. He was edgy, but he fell asleep quickly.

  The sun was up when he woke. Vera was at the hayloft door, watching the property. Stone was asleep beside her. Lorik stood, stretched his tired muscles, and joined her. He looked immediately for the assassin he had wounded, but the man was nowhere in sight.

  “Did you see anyone?” he asked her.

  “No, Liam told me that you killed someone, but the body isn’t visible.”

  “I probably didn’t kill him, then,” Lorik said. “I got a lucky shot, but it could have just been a flesh wound. The man made enough noise, though. I’ll bet there’s a blood trail we could follow easily enough.”

  “So what happens now?” Vera asked.

  “Now Marsdyn brings his entire gang. They’ll come riding in—fast, I would expect. They’ll know we’re waiting for them, so they’ll want to get across the open ground as quickly as possible. They may even know we’re in the barn. I shot at one assassin who I know escaped. He saw the fire arrow coming, so he’ll know we’re up here.”

  “We should move, then,” she said. “We can trick them.”

  “No, they’ll be expecting that. Besides, this is our safest position. But we could put together a few surprises for them.”

  He spent several moments in silence, thinking about how a group of riders would approach the property. He knew that some would go to the house, regardless of what the assassin told Marsdyn. They would break in, search it, and probably burn it. The corral didn’t offer much cover, and the only other building was just a small storage shed. He could cover a section of the path with liquid fire. In fact, the horse’s hooves striking against the exposed stones might even ignite it. They could also set traps in the house and shed that might take out a few of the Riders. It was worth the effort, if they could get it done in time.

  “How long has he been sleeping?” Lorik asked, pointing at Stone.

  “Just about an hour, since dawn.”

  “Okay, let him sleep a bit longer. Are you okay keeping watch?”

  “It’s the only thing I can do,” she said.

  “All right, I’ll be busy, but call out if you see anything.”

  He needed more lamp oil, and the ingredients to make more liquid fire were in the house. He climbed down from the hayloft and checked on the horses. They were fine, and he refilled their water troughs and measured out fresh oats for each of them. Once that was done, he lifted the long timber beam that held the barn’s main door closed. He took his time looking around the property before leaving the safety of the barn.

  He then went to the fire arrow he had shot last night. There was nothing left but a stump of charred arrow and the arrowhead buried in the ground. Then he went to where the assassin had been wounded. There was a blood trail, it led to the far side of the house. The assassin had died sometime in the night. Flies were already buzzing around his body. Lorik knew the stench would become terrible, so he dragged the body away from the house and pushed it into the mud bog where the animals of the marshes would eventually pick the bones clean.

  Then he washed up. He stripped out of his clothes and pumped water from the well, scrubbing his hands and then dousing his body in the cool water. He spent the next hour mixing enough liquid fire to coat the path. Normally, the concoction was used in bombs that would splash onto one’s enemies and burn them. Pouring it out on the path would allow the liquid fire to dry. It would still be combustable, but it wouldn’t be as deadly as it might be, since it would cling to the road, not the riders. Still, Lorik hoped that it would drive the gang into the bog where he could fire on them from the safety of the barn.

  After pouring out three buckets of the liquid fire onto the path, he returned to the house. He had not moved his parents’ things, including several glass containers his mother used to preserve food. Glass containers were rare and expensive, but Lorik’s father had always tried to get his wife the very best. He filled six of the jars with liquid fire, the last of the large batch he had mixed. Then he melted several candles, using the wax to seal the jars and the wicks as fuses. Even Vera could throw the small fire bombs.

  Next he set up spring-loaded traps at each of the doors. He sharpened wooden stakes that would swing down onto anyone who stepped through the door. It was almost noon when he finished, and he was forced to crawl out of a window to get back to the barn.

  He went inside the barn and reset the timber beam. Stone was looking after the horses. He looked up and smiled.

  “You finish booby-trapping the house?”

  “Yes,” Lorik said. “If we survive this, we can’t forget and go in through either door.”

  “The horses seem to be in good shape. I wish we could get them out of here to someplace more safe.”

  “Me too, but if we leave them in the marshes, they’ll still be in danger. There are plenty of animals who could take them down.”

  “What if they set the barn on fire?” Stone asked. “We can escape, but they’ll be burned alive.”

  “I’ve thought of that. If they fire the barn, I’ll set them loose while you get Vera out on the zip line.”

  “No, that wasn’t the plan,” Stone said. “We all go or none of us.”

  “Be realistic. I’ll do my best to follow you, but odds are we won’t make it through this unscathed.”

  “I should be the one to get the horses out, then,” Stone argued. “I got you all in this mess in the first place.”

  “A partnership means sharing the work, the profits, and the problems. I knew who you were when I took you on. So did Vera. We’re in this together. I’ll set the horses loose because you have the best chance of protecting Vera. I’m pretty attached to this place. I won’t be much good to her if we have to flee.”

  “Why are you working so hard to push Vera and me together?”

  “Because you make her happy.”

  “You make her happy, too,” Stone said.

  “It’s not the same. I’ve been looking after Vera a long time. We’re family, but she’s been waiting on a man like you for a long time. I don’t want anything to spoil that.”

  “Is that why you took me on?”

  “No, in fact, I didn’t even know she liked you. She told me not to, but that was before you wooed her in the Boggy Peat.”

  “If you knew me, I mean knew the kinds of things I had done, neither of you would feel this way about me. I think it might be better if I go and try to fix things with Marsdyn.”

  “I thought about that. It’s suicide, really. Marsdyn can’t let you live, and he won’t let me live. You might get close, but I doubt you could kill him without getting yourself killed in the process. And we stand a better chance of surviving by fighting together.”

  “I’m a killer, Lorik,” Stone whispered. “I’ve done horrible things.”

  “I wasn’t there, and I won’t judge a man for something he did in the past. Maybe you’re no better than Marsdyn, but I don’t think so. You stuck your neck out for the people of Pallsen. You’ve worked hard here with me and on the road. You’re brave and smart. I think we’ll leave your past in the past. This is your chance to start a new life. Just don’t get killed.”

  Stone was about to respond when Vera whistled from the hayloft above. Both men raced up the ladder to see who was coming to kill them now.

  Chapter 16

  It was just one man, sitting on a horse, as far out as he could possibly be and still see the property. He was beyond bow range, just sitting and studying the layout of Lorik’s home.


  “What’s he doing?” Vera asked.

  “Just keeping an eye on things for Marsdyn, I would imagine,” Lorik said.

  “He doesn’t want anymore surprises,” Stone agreed.

  “What should we do?” Vera asked.

  “Nothing,” Lorik told her. “We’ve done as much as we can. We can disrupt their attack. The only question is whether or not Marsdyn will bring more men with him.”

  They napped and talked in quiet whispers through the afternoon and into the night. The rider never moved. He sat on his horse and watched the property, although there was no light and he couldn’t possibly see anything.

  “Should we pay him a visit?” Stone asked.

  “The guy on the horse?”

  “You bet,” Stone said. “I can do it. He’ll never see me coming.”

  “What would be the point?”

  “It would send Marsdyn a message. We aren’t going to sit back and let him do whatever he wants.”

  “You’re talking about killing the guy?” Lorik asked.

  Stone nodded. Lorik didn’t know why he felt conflicted. He’d killed men before, of course, but it had always been when he felt threatened. The man on the horse certainly didn’t have good intentions, but Lorik didn’t feel threatened by him. Still, if Stone could take the man out, it would be one less Rider to fight when Marsdyn attacked.

  “Okay, but only if you can do it without risk. I don’t want you taking unnecessary chances.”

  “All right,” Stone said. He was just turning to go when Vera stopped him.

  “Wait,” she said. “Let’s think about this for a minute. You’re risking your life, and for what? That man isn’t harming us. He’s just sitting out there.”

  “He’ll be reporting to Marsdyn,” Stone said.

  “Reporting what? Maybe he saw us moving around up here, but that’s all. He didn’t see you setting traps or running away from the property. So killing him doesn’t really help us.”

  “It might,” Stone said. “One man can turn the tide in a close fight.”

  “He’s right,” Lorik agreed. “We’re going to be greatly outnumbered when Marsdyn comes. Any chance we have to even the odds is worth taking.”

  “But is it worth risking Liam’s life?” she argued.

  “No,” Lorik said emphatically. “And he isn’t going to risk his life. He’s already promised me that.”

  “You really think sneaking around in the dark is safe?”

  “Nothing about this is safe,” Stone said in a gentle voice. “But I know what I’m doing. If I’m lucky, I might even get us a little more information.”

  “I just don’t want you to get hurt,” she said tenderly.

  “I won’t, I promise. I’ll be very careful.”

  “Well, get moving then,” Lorik said.

  Stone gave Vera a quick kiss, and then he was gone. The barn was very dark, and he was out of their sight almost immediately. They sat listening, but he didn’t make a sound as he climbed down the ladder from the hayloft and slipped quietly out the small side door.

  Once he was outside, Stone felt more confident. The interior of the barn had been pitch black and he’d been forced to move slowly as he practiced his stealth skills. Now he had starlight, and even though the property was still very dark, he could at least make out the darker shapes of the buildings around him. He moved toward the main path at an angle, staying low to the ground. He doubted that he could be seen, especially since the man who was watching the property had been doing it for hours. Stone expected that the outlaw was probably half asleep in his saddle.

  Once Stone reached the edge of the dry ground where the property turned into bog, he paused. He couldn’t see the rider, and he felt confident the outlaw couldn’t see him, but he wanted to be certain. He knew he couldn’t sneak through the mud bog, and he assumed that the outlaw was confident of that as well. There was no place to take cover on the path, so Stone’s best bet was to move forward as quickly and quietly as possible and hope for the best. It was more risk than Lorik wanted him to take, but Stone knew he didn’t have a choice. They needed to know what Marsdyn was planning, and so he had to capture the rider and find out what the man knew.

  He moved to the path silently, staying bent low to the ground and taking each step carefully to make sure he didn’t make a sound. It took nearly half an hour before he was able to see the rider. The man was slumped in his saddle, just a shadowy form in the darkness. The horse seemed no more alert, and Stone coiled his body beneath him like a tiger about to spring on its unsuspecting prey.

  Then Stone was running, his feet barely touching the ground, just using his toes and hardly making any sound at all. The horse heard the sound and swung its head up just as Stone shouted as loudly as he could. The horse instinctively reared, pawing its forelegs in the air to ward off Stone, but he darted around the animal. The outlaw was caught completely off guard and thrown back when the horse reared. He screamed as he fell, but the wind was knocked out of him when he crashed to the ground. Stone was on top of him before he could catch his breath.

  The man struggled at first, but then then Stone pressed the cold steel blade of his knife against the outlaw’s throat, and the man lay back gasping for breath. Stone was sitting on the man’s chest with his knees pinning the outlaw’s arms to the ground.

  “Are you alone?” Stone whispered.

  The man didn’t answer at first and then Stone pressed the knife down so that the outlaw felt the sting as the blade cut into the skin.

  “Are you alone?” Stone asked again.

  “Yes,” the outlaw said in a rasping voice.

  “Tell me what Marsdyn has planned.”

  “I don’t know,” the outlaw said.

  Stone threw his elbow down against the outlaw’s face. The man cried out in pain and even in the darkness Stone could see the blood welling up from a gash his blow had opened along the man’s eyebrow.

  “Don’t lie to me,” Stone hissed.

  “I swear I don’t,” the outlaw said. “He sent me to keep an eye on things. He doesn’t tell me his plans.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “They were talking about who was in harbor, but that’s all I know.”

  “So he’s planning to hire pirates?”

  “I don’t know,” the outlaw moaned.

  “When are you supposed to report back?”

  “Someone is supposed to come relieve me.”

  “When?” Stone asked, pressed the blade again.

  “I don’t know.”

  Stone whipped the blade across the outlaw’s neck so fast the man didn’t feel it, but the blade slashed down into the man’s throat. Blood poured into his windpipe, and he squirmed for only a minute before dying with a bubbling gurgle. Stone moved quickly, dragging the man’s body onto Lorik’s property and then hurrying back out to where the horse was still waiting. The beast was skittish after having been frightened, but Stone moved slowly and spoke in a soothing tone. He took his time, stroking the horse’s neck, before he climbed up into the saddle. He felt exposed as he sat facing the property. Marsdyn’s man would come from behind Stone, and if the man recognized that Stone wasn’t the outlaw waiting to be relieved, he would be vulnerable.

  It took almost an hour for the second outlaw to arrive. Stone sat hunched in the saddle, one hand holding the horse’s reins, the other holding his knife. He heard the horse approaching and the outlaw made no effort to move quietly. Still, Stone didn’t turn, even though his back stung from the perceived exposure.

  “Karnes,” the outlaw said. “Wake up, you oaf. You’re supposed to be watching the house, not sleeping in your saddle.”

  Stone still didn’t answer as the second outlaw rode up beside him. Instead, he swung his knife in a backhanded blow that drove the butt of the handle into the outlaw’s teeth. The man cried out as he fell back off his horse, and Stone slapped the now riderless animal’s rump, sending it trotting onto Lorik’s property. Then he was off his own
horse and kicking the outlaw as he tried to get up. Stone heard ribs snap and the man finally lay still, moaning in agony.

  Stone knelt with one knee in the outlaw’s back and pulled the man’s head back with a handful of greasy hair. Stone’s razor-sharp blade pressed into the outlaw’s exposed throat.

  “What’s Marsdyn’s plan?”

  “I donth know,” the man said, his ruined mouth struggling to form the words correctly.

  “Don’t lie to me,” Stone hissed, pulling the man’s head back further.

  Then the outlaw struck. It was a desperate move but it caught Stone off his guard. He had pulled a small knife from his belt and swung it back blindly. The blade tore through Stone’s boot and gashed across his shin. He instinctively fell back, landing on his backside and rolling over onto his feet. The wound hurt, but wasn’t life-threatening, even though he could feel blood running down his ankle and filling his boot.

  The outlaw tried to flee, but the broken ribs were too painful. He had trouble getting to his feet and was moving slowly when Stone limped up behind him. He punched the man in the back of the head using the brass knuckle guard of his knife and knocked the man unconscious.

  The horses had both trotted away and now Stone stood in the dark, frustrated with himself. The cut on his leg ached and made each step painful. It was a stupid injury that he should have been able to avoid, but now he had to live with it. He grabbed the unconscious outlaw by the leg and began dragging him back toward the barn. It was a slow, exhausting project, especially with his wounded leg. After dragging the man halfway along the path, Stone decided he needed another plan.

  Stone went to the dead outlaw and removed the man’s belt. He returned to the unconscious outlaw and used the belt to restrain the man’s hands behind his back. Then Stone finally took a look at his own leg. It was difficult to get the boot off because it was saturated with blood. The cut wasn’t deep, just a ragged gash, but it had scraped across the shin bone and hurt more than Stone would have thought. He cut off his sleeve and wrapped it around the wound, tying the makeshift bandage tight to stanch the bleeding. The pressure of the bandage eased the pain a little. The he looked at his boot, which was soft leather. He could stitch the hole but it would be ugly, he decided.