Dark Healer (An Empire Falls Book 1)

by Harry Leighton

  “Sound the retreat,” he said.

  “They’re on the run.”

  “Pull the men back. The imperials have been reinforced.”

  “Marlen won’t be happy.”

  “Damn him and do as you’re told.”

  *****

  “No.”

  “Run. Please,” Jonas said, setting himself.

  Arrows spent, Alia drew her long knives and stepped to his side.

  They watched as the madman strode forwards, the fire dying down, revealing horrible scars. He tried to roar, though his burned throat made it come out like more of a hiss. Large smouldering club held menacingly, the berserker advanced on them.

  “Argue with me in the afterlife,” Alia said.

  *****

  It was a split-second decision. Zedek would not survive hand-to-hand with that monster. Trimas gave heels to his horse and charged the berserker. The horse was reluctant but he gave it no choice, using all of his experience in the saddle, aiming the half-ton of terrified muscle directly at the giant.

  An arrow flashed over his shoulder, taking the giant in the face. Its head jerked back and it was unable to avoid the charging horse and rider. Trimas leaped clear at the last second, leaving the horse to smash into the berserker at near a full gallop. There was a tremendous crash and both horse and giant went down in a tangle of screaming, shouting and flailing limbs. A loud crack and the horse went still.

  Trimas tucked and rolled as he hit the ground, trying desperately to slow his momentum. After skidding across the ground for a few feet he came to a bruised stop. He got to his feet gingerly. Everything still seemed to mostly work, though hurt like hell, so he retrieved his axe and limped over to the pile of horse and man.

  The dead horse started to move, lifting to one side as the man underneath struggled to get free.

  Trimas swore and limped faster.

  *****

  Daeholf hooked a fallen spear from the ground with his foot, wary eyes on the big man in front.

  “Fan out,” he said. He heard men taking up positions to his sides, though a little to his rear. He didn’t blame them.

  This was different now. His opponent was wounded, less mobile. This was now a hunt. He raised the spear.

  “Keep your distance but take your chances,” Daeholf said.

  *****

  The giant came on impossibly fast, club swinging in an arc that would have flattened the pair of them. Jonas quickly moved his sword to deflect and defend them both but the force of the blow smashed the sword from his hand and knocked him stumbling sideways. Something went pop in his shoulder and he shouted in pain. Seeing Jonas momentarily defenceless, Alia did the only thing she could and attacked, lunging forward inside the club backswing and burying both of her knives deep in the huge man's chest. Her moment of triumph was short lived as the berserker let go of the club with one hand and swatted her across the face with a tremendous blow, dropping her instantly limp to the floor. He raised the club to finish.

  Something snapped in Jonas's head. He leaped at the giant, off balance and one arm useless, mace raised in his good hand.

  Jonas swung one armed as hard as he could, delivering the mightiest blow he’d ever struck in his life, every bit of anger and hurt in him coalescing into the ball at the end of his mace, falling like a meteor onto the berserker's head. The shock rattled up his arm but the mace ploughed through skull and brain alike, smashing down right into the berserker’s spine. It fell still instantly, crashing to the ground, body covering the downed Alia.

  He sagged, all heart gone from his legs. Why hadn’t she run? The ground rushed up to meet his knees.

  *****

  “You fucking maniac,” Zedek said, walking to Trimas’s side as he stood over the downed berserker.

  “I’ve not heard you swear like that before,” Trimas said, wrenching his axe free from the corpse.

  “I’d do it in elvish but I want you to understand me,” Zedek said, face white. “You utter imbecilic retard.”

  “Tautology,” Trimas said.

  “What?”

  “Same thing twice. And … I’m sorry.”

  “What?! Oh.”

  “It was a reaction to save a brother.”

  “A brother?”

  “Yes, a brother.”

  There was a moment of silence. They heard the rebel retreat sound.

  “Do you think the others survived?” Zedek said. “Did we win?”

  “I hope so. Let’s find out.” Trimas looked down. “But I think we’ll need to share your horse.”

  *****

  “Die, damn you,” Daeholf said, ramming the butt of the legion standard through the berserker’s face and down into the ground. The giant twitched then was still. Full of spears, it looked like some kind of malformed bloody hedgehog.

  The men, the few of them that there were, gave a cheer.

  Daeholf smiled faintly. He’d always had a flair for drama. His smile fell. He hoped his friends were still alive.

  “Form the men and retreat in good order,” he said. “And someone find me a horse.”

  *****

  The sergeant had been right. The shit in his trousers had been the least of his worries before long. The sergeant had been right and true to his word. His left had been secure. Right up until the sergeant’s head had come off and sailed through the air, separated by an easy swing of a large axe by a huge maniac. At that point, fuck standing. So he’d run. If he’d not soiled himself before he would have then. He’d not been alone either. A few moments of madness and the line had crumbled like old clay.

  They’d not been trained for this.

  Then there was an explosion and the world caught fire. He’d been on the right side of the river and stood in shock at the spectacle. And it had helped. The burning curtain had separated him from the rebels. Most of them anyway. So he’d stopped running. And then he’d heard the rally. And again. And again, moving along the line. In the distance, off to his right, someone was waving the banner and men were starting to clump around him.

  “The rally! The rally,” a soldier nearby shouted. More had stopped running. Some were now even starting to form a line.

  He didn’t know who had intervened. Maybe it was the gods who had set the battlefield on fire.

  Either way it seemed like they were on his side. Better late than never. Maybe it was time to stand. A cheer had gone up. One of the giants had fallen. Maybe they could be beaten after all. He joined the newly formed line and set himself.

  *****

  Marlen felt the last of the war-altered snuffed out. He stood back from the patient he was dealing with, frustrated.

  He’d heard the retreat, and was angry but there was little he could now do in the battle. He could go and get involved in the fighting itself but he wasn’t ready to reveal that much of himself yet. No, instead he’d need to regroup and resupply. It was time to go back to base and ready more of his war-altered for the next battle. He’d then make sure that Storn took the fight to the legion. Or replace him with someone who would.

  He looked down at the man on the table in front of him. In normal terms he was beyond saving, wounded by one of his berserkers as it had charged, somewhat heedless of whom it had attacked. Beyond saving in normal terms anyway. And Marlen wasn’t prepared to openly use the sort of magic that would be required yet.

  Still, the man could be useful. He nodded to one of his cloaked orderlies.

  It was going to be a busy night ahead.

  ******

  Jonas hauled the berserker to one side. Alia wasn't breathing. He squatted at her side, tears in his eyes, hardly able to see, reaching his good arm down to her chest to feel for a heartbeat.

  “M’okay,” Alia said groggily. “Could do with you … moving him a bit further … off me… Still smouldering and smells bad.”

  “Don’t do that again,” Jonas said, choked, pushing the big corpse away further.

  “What are friends for?” Alia said, lifting her head an
d blinking. “I think I might just lay here for a bit,” she added, lowering it back down.

  “I'm glad you're alive,” Jonas said, voice rough.

  “You can thank Daeholf’s training for that,” Alia said. “Though I can't say I ever expected to put it to that thorough a test. Are you crying?”

  “Smoke,” Jonas said, blinking.

  “Are you okay?” Alia said. “I heard your shoulder.”

  “Dislocated,” Jonas said.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “Yes. A lot.”

  “Good.”

  “Good?”

  “You deserve it for telling me to run.”

  Jonas laughed.

  “That wasn't supposed to be funny,” Alia said.

  “You still have your sense of humour. You can't be that broken,” Jonas replied.

  “Huh. We're still in the middle of a battlefield, aren't we?”

  “Yes. And?”

  “Shouldn't we be trying to get somewhere safer?”

  “Didn't you hear the rebel retreat sound?”

  “I thought it was just my head ringing. It's still doing that a bit now.”

  “Lay still for a minute then.” Jonas put his bad hand down on the ground, and leaned on it to apply a little pressure before twisting suddenly. There was a crack from his shoulder.

  “I heard that though,” Alia said. “Eew.”

  Jonas flexed his arm. It would do for now but it needed strapping soon.

  They heard a horse approach.

  “Are you both alive?” Daeholf said.

  “If pain is a good sign of life, then yes,” Jonas said.

  “Thank God,” Daeholf said.

  “Someone else makes the plan next time,” Alia said, rising a little.

  “Agreed,” Daeholf said. “I'm just glad you're alive. But what of Zedek and Trimas?”

  “Fell off my horse and lost them,” Jonas said.

  “We're fine too,” Zedek said as he and Trimas rode up on Zedek’s horse. “Me and the crazy horseman.”

  “Crazy horseman?” Daeholf said.

  “I'll tell you later,” Trimas said.

  “Let's get out of here first,” Jonas said. “Alia needs your horse,” he said to Daeholf.

  “Of course,” Daeholf said. “Though you best ride it to hold her on. Since I appear to be the least bashed up of all of us I'm happy to walk.”

  “Which, given that it was your plan, hardly seems fair. Your lack of injury that is,” Trimas said.

  “I'm glad you're okay too Trimas,” Daeholf said, smiling.

  Jonas mounted the horse and Daeholf lifted Alia up to him gently.

  “I'm not made of glass,” she said, but didn't struggle.

  “Where to, fearless leader?” Trimas said.

  “We won didn't we?” Daeholf muttered.

  “Eh?” Zedek said.

  “I suggest the imperial camp, assess the damage,” Daeholf said more loudly.

  “Ours or theirs?’ Alia said.

  “Both,” Trimas said. “Both.”

  *****

  “So what happened to you then?” Trimas said to Daeholf.

  “Oh, I killed a berserker with a flag pole.”

  “Show off.”

  “You? What's this about ‘crazy horseman’?”

  “Oh, I used my horse to kill one.”

  “I think we need more than that.”

  “Rode my horse at full speed into a berserker.”

  “How did that not kill you too?”

  “Oh, I jumped off at the last moment,” Trimas said, looking modest.

  “Now who's a show off? Zedek is right.”

  “It didn't kill it though. Had to finish it off with my axe. Zedek did put an arrow in him too.”

  “Even more fun when they’re on fire,” Alia said nonchalantly. “Which as you can imagine made it smell very bad. I got a noseful more than I wanted when he landed on me.”

  They all turned to look at her.

  “Jonas did kill him with one blow first though so I suppose I can't complain.”

  They turned to look at Jonas, who shrugged then winced.

  “So we all have stories to tell our grandchildren then,” Daeholf said.

  “We keep ending up in situations like that, there won't be any to tell,” Zedek said.

  “Next time we'll try to bring an army of our own,” Daeholf said.

  “That'll be fun,” Trimas said. “Now I hurt all over, so unless anyone has any objections, I'm going to lay down.”

  “I think perhaps you ought to go speak to the General first,” Zedek said.

  “Me? That's a terrible idea.”

  “You did rally the army. He's going to want to talk to you.”

  “I'm a bit, ah, recognisable to the top end of the hierarchy,” Trimas said.

  “I don't think after that debacle he's likely to throw either of us in jail,” Daeholf said.

  “You're coming too then?” Trimas said.

  “Probably better had. Soldiers saw a lot of me when I was waving their banner,” Daeholf said.

  “I'd better join you, keep you out of trouble,” Jonas said. “And I might point out to him that this could have been avoided if he'd listened to me.”

  “Be nice,’ Alia said.

  “You're not going to insist on coming too?” Jonas said.

  “I'm good laying down for a bit,” Alia said.

  “I'd better stay,” Jonas said.

  “I'll watch her,” Zedek said. “I don't think throwing an elf into the mix would be very helpful at this stage.”

  “She's probably got a concussion,” Jonas said.

  “It's okay, I know what to look for,” Zedek said.

  “She's right here,” Alia said, “and objects to being talked about rather than to.”

  “You can make sure Zedek doesn't get into any mischief,” Trimas said.

  “Try not to charge any horses into people,” Zedek said.

  “I think we'll walk,” Jonas said, standing with a groan. “I'm getting too old for this.”

  Trimas stood too and let out a similar noise.

  “Self-inflicted,” Zedek chided.

  Trimas sighed. “Let's get this over with.”

  Daeholf opened the tent flap and stepped out. He glanced at the sun as it was starting to go down. “I imagine the General would like to speak to us?” he said.

  “At your convenience sir.”

  Trimas and Jonas joined him.

  “Sir?” Trimas said quietly.

  “Some of the soldiers think I'm an officer after I started giving them orders on the battlefield,” Daeholf replied.

  “You do fall back readily into that role. So what do they think I am?”

  “A bugler.”

  Trimas stood speechless. Jonas laughed.

  “I thought you were a sergeant,” Jonas said after a moment.

  “I was. At one stage,” Daeholf said.

  “Ah. A jolly jump-up,” Jonas said.

  It was Trimas’s turn to laugh. “I’ve not heard that term in a long time. You have served then?”

  “Not strictly speaking. Have spent time with a lot of soldiers though,” Jonas said.

  “Shall we then?” Daeholf said.

  “Of course sir,” Trimas said.

  “Why don’t you give us a tune to send us on our way,” Daeholf said.

  “We’ll call this one a draw,” Trimas said.

  Part 5

  Garrow looked down at the papers on the desk in front of him. Somehow he couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for dealing with them. The battle had been an utter mess. God knows how he’d managed to pull a good number of soldiers out of the madness. But that didn’t change the fact that his army had been badly mauled.

  Somehow. Hah. It hadn’t really been him. A group of five strangers had intervened. Five. Just five. Five accomplished something most of the rest of his army couldn’t. They held. And now they were in his camp. For the second time in a few hours, he had no idea what
to do. He could summon them before him to explain themselves but apparently they were hurt and needed tending. And could he even order them anyway? One apparently bore a remarkable resemblance to the bounty hunter he’d sent on his way not so long ago.

  Maybe he’d been right when he’d asked him to hold off? Damn him.

  The tent flap lifted and one of his guards poked his head around. “Some people to see you General,” he said respectfully. That was one thing at least. The men didn’t blame him for the disaster. His reputation was largely intact. If not his army.

  “Who is it?” Garrow said.

  “Our new allies, sir.”

  “Ah. Send them in.” Allies. That was a good way of putting it. Better than ‘saviours’, anyway.

  Three battered looking men stepped into the tent. The first was medium height, dirty and very average looking. But a man who had by all accounts stood alone against one of the rampaging giants and killed it with a standard pole of all things. And Garrow’s own standard pole at that. There was a wary look in the man’s eyes as if he was expecting trouble. But that he was also somehow ready for it. If Garrow had been standing, he might have been tempted to take a step back.

  The second man into the tent was indeed the bounty hunter. Whilst he’d been big and intimidating before, the grim look showing through the streaks of mud on his face only made him more so now. His arm was in a sling and there was a hint of a grimace as he moved. And his look was as if it was Garrow’s fault. It had been a while since Garrow had been this intimidated and it took a lot not to slide his chair back a bit.

  The third man… Ah.

  “Gen… Trimas. It has been a while,” Garrow said, quietly enough not to be overheard by the guards outside.

  “Garrow,” Trimas said.

  “You two know each other?” the bounty hunter said.

  “Not well,” Garrow said. “I was disappointed by what the senate did to your family,” he said to Trimas.

  “I’d rather not talk about it,” Trimas said.