"I'll see what I can do, Captain."
Captain Lingram gripped Rold's hand, nodded to the mercenary, and rushed up the road after the retreating villagers.
Corporal Rold turned to Duvain with a derisive expression. "Time to hear this plan of yours, meat."
Duvain drew in a deep breath. "We're going to need torches."
* * *
Silence hung thick in the forest where the three of them crouched. The tension in Duvain's shoulders mounted with every passing second, knotting so tight he could barely move. He half-expected the barbarians to leap out from the trees and surround them. He forced himself to take deep breaths and keep his eyes fixed on the road that led toward Saerheim. The enemy would come from there.
Rold muttered in his ear. "If you get me killed, meat, I'm going to be bloody pissed!"
The corporal's words pushed back Duvain's fear a little. He shrugged. "Pull your head out of your ass, and you've a decent chance of survival."
Rold chuckled. "Hate to say it, but it turns out you're not the worst Legionnaire in the world."
"You're too kind," Duvain muttered. He was about to return Rold's insult, but his mouth went suddenly dry. Something moved in the dark. Somethings. Figures coalesced from the shadows, tens, scores, hundreds. Huge, bearded figures wearing white furs and carrying enormous war axes, clubs, and spears.
The Eirdkilrs had found them.
"You sure about this?" Rold asked.
Duvain shrugged. "Not even a little."
Drawing in a deep breath, Duvain stood and bellowed, "Hey, yak-buggers! Is it true you dye your faces because you're so ugly not even you'd fuck you?"
The Eirdkilrs whirled toward the sound of his voice, their eyes scanning the darkness for him.
He made it easy for them. "Here I am!" he shouted and raised the torch he'd kept hidden beneath a fallen tree. "Big fellas like you, it probably takes a whole search party to find a good idea among you. But how's this for encouragement?" He dropped his trousers and shook his arse at them.
The Eirdkilrs howled and raised their weapons high overhead. The sound of their cries chilled Duvain to the bone. He fumbled with the torch and nearly dropped it.
"Ugly fuckers, aren't you?" Corporal Rold sneered. "You lot have all the charm and charisma of a pile of burning dog shite."
Though the savages didn't understand the words, the tone was crystal clear. With a howl, they charged.
Duvain, Rold, and the mercenary turned and ran, holding their torches high overhead. The light illuminated their path through the forest and limned them clearly for the Eirdkilrs to see. Ululating cries filling the air, the mass of barbarians surged toward them.
Right through the muddy ground and over the fallen logs.
The first screams began a moment after a terrifying whirring pierced the night. Duvain cast one glance backward and shuddered. Dozens of barbarians raced onto the open, muddy field. The woodcutter vipers didn't welcome the intruders. Though Eirdkilrs wore thick furs on their backs, their leather breeches and boots proved no match for the serpents’ powerful fangs. Men writhed on the ground, and the emerald green serpents slithered over them to bite at the next ranks.
Duvain threw his torch toward the fallen logs, and Rold and Scathan did likewise. Hundreds of woodcutters darted from holes in the ground, their scales whirring like a biting saw. The fire enraged the serpents further, sending them slithering toward the mass of barbarians. Eirdkilrs fell screaming. The crush of warriors prevented the foremost men from retreating. Many farther back died, trampled beneath their comrades' boots in their haste to flee the wrath of the vipers.
Rold's laughter followed Duvain through the night. "Well I'll be damned," the corporal muttered.
Duvain had no time for mirth. "You know where you're going?" he asked the mercenary.
The man nodded. "We'll lead them west a while, then cross the Jokull River and backtrack toward the road to rejoin the rest of the company. If all goes well, we'll meet up with them before midday."
Midday! Duvain stifled a groan. The fight and flight had drained him, and this last rush of adrenaline left him exhausted. He doubted he could run through the remaining hours before dawn. But what choice did he have? They had to lead the Eirdkilrs away from the rest of their company. It was the only way Endyn, Captain Lingram, and the others would survive. They had to get Branda to Sentry Garrison and keep her alive to cement the alliance with Eirik Throrsson and the Fjall. That was why the Deadheads had been sent to Saerheim, and he would be damned if he let a horde of barbarians make them fail.
He dropped his shield beside a tree, and left his armor a few paces away. Rold did the same. The Eirdkilrs couldn't miss a trail that visible. Besides, the heavy steel breastplate, mail shirt, and shield would only slow them down.
The night breeze grew suddenly chill, and he shivered. Alone, in the woods, with an army of Eirdkilrs behind them. Things didn't get direr than this.
But that was what the Legion did. They stood fast even in the most desperate situations. After all that had happened, he truly felt like he belonged. He was a Legionnaire. A Deadhead.
He turned to Rold with a grin. "It's a nice night for a stroll, isn't it, Corporal?"
Rold nodded. "That it is, meat. That it is."
With a sigh, Duvain turned and set off at a jog, following Scathan west. They had a long night ahead of them.
The End
The Adventures Aren’t Over Yet!
There’s still one final story to tell: the origin story of Captain Lingram, the Blacksword, and the only survivor of the fall of Highcliff Motte.
The Last March is the story of that battle, how a few brave souls gave all to keep an Eirdkilr horde at bay, though it cost them their lives.
The Last March
Sergeant Koltun and his Screaming Howlers should never have been caught up in the desperate battle to defend Highcliff Motte from a horde of Eirdkilrs. But with so few Legionnaires against so many barbarians, they couldn’t simply ride away and leave their fellow soldiers to die.
Outnumbered, cut off from reinforcements, with no chance of victory, their only hope is to embark on one last march...every step a fight to survive.
The Last March is the sixth book in thrilling The Silent Champions military fantasy series, one final gritty novel to bring the battle full circle.
Fans of Malazan’s Bridgeburners, 300, and The Black Company will love this dark, ominous tale of brave soldiers willing to give their all.
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The Hunter of Voramis does not forgive or forget. But his thirst for vengeance against a deceitful client could lead to consequences far graver than he realizes.
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Queen of Thieves
They killed her family. They ripped apart her home. But to repay her debts, she'll have to sacrifice her innocence.
Robbed of everything she loves, Viola mourns the sudden loss of her mother. Now burdened with an impossible debt to the Night Guild, she’s forced to train as a cunning thief. Subjected to cruelty at every turn, the scrawny criminal apprentice vows to survive long enough to become the kingdom’s best.
Thrown together with unlikely allies, her burgeoning skills draw the attention of sadistic bullies and jealous rivals with dark intentions. But fueled by grief-filled rage, Viola won’t let anything distract her from preparing for The Guild’s most treacherous test.
In a cutthroat den of thieves, can Viola rise to power and outrun a brutal death?
Child of the Night Guild is the first book in the gripping Queen of Thieves
epic fantasy series that’s not for the faint of heart. If you like grimdark battles, improbable heroines, and graphic scenes, then you’ll love Andy Peloquin’s unflinching coming-of-age tale.
Buy Child of the Night Guild for a pitch-black tale of thievery today!
Book 1: Child of the Night Guild
Book 2: Thief of the Night Guild
Book 3: Queen of the Night Guild
Hero of Darkness
The best assassin in the world doesn’t come cheap. Betraying him will cost your soul.
The Hunter is a name feared by all in Voramis. He is an outcast, driven by a cursed dagger with an unquenchable thirst for blood and death.
Yet he follows one simple code: kill those who truly deserve to die. His creed is put to the test when, deceived by a shadowy employer, he unknowingly slaughters an innocent man.
With the most powerful criminal organization in the city after his head, the Hunter must fight for his life and find a way to atone for his mistake. When his enemies harm the people under his protection, it will take much more than an army of criminals to stand in the way of his revenge.
If you love anti-heroes like the Punisher or Dexter in a breathtaking fantasy realm, then immerse yourself in Hero of Darkness today! Dive into an epic tale of one man’s struggle to survive in a world of magic, blood, and death.
Book 1: Darkblade Assassin
Book 2: Darkblade Outcast
Book 3: Darkblade Protector
Book 4: Darkblade Seeker
Book 5: Darkblade Slayer
Book 6: Darkblade Savior
Book 7: Darkblade Justice
Different, Not Damaged: A Short Story Collection
Heirs of Destiny
A kingdom of death. A war for power and profit. Young heroes caught in the crossfire.
Kodyn expected hardships along his journey to return a kidnapped girl to her father. Yet harsh deserts and cutthroat bandits prove far less lethal than the foes that await him in Shalandra, the City of the Dead.
In the shadows of golden spires carved from mountain stone, currents of corruption and vice run deep. Priests of the god of death rule with an iron fist, imposing a rigid caste system that elevates some to a life of privilege and condemns others to miserable squalor.
Together with Aisha, a fierce warrior from the north with the mystical ability to speak to the dead, Kodyn must survive the cesspool of high society deceit and betrayal.
Polite smiles hide sharp knives. Killers, criminals, and bloodthirsty cultists lurk around every corner. Can these youths overcome impossible odds to save the realm?
Click now if you love action, intrigue, and heroic deeds that will set your heart racing! For fans of A.C. Cobble, Jeff Wheeler, and Robin Hobb, Heirs of Destiny is a thrill ride on epic fantasy’s darker side.
Trial of Stone (Book 1)
Crucible of Fortune (Book 2)
Secrets of Blood (Book 3)
Storm of Chaos (Book 4)
Ascension of Death (Book 5)
The Renegade Apprentice (Book 6)
About the Author
I am, first and foremost, a storyteller and an artist--words are my palette. Fantasy is my genre of choice, and I love to explore the darker side of human nature through the filter of fantasy heroes, villains, and everything in between. I'm also a freelance writer, a book lover, and a guy who just loves to meet new people and spend hours talking about my fascination for the worlds I encounter in the pages of fantasy novels.
Fantasy provides us with an escape, a way to forget about our mundane problems and step into worlds where anything is possible. It transcends age, gender, religion, race, or lifestyle--it is our way of believing what cannot be, delving into the unknowable, and discovering hidden truths about ourselves and our world in a brand new way. Fiction at its very best!
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Ragged Heroes: An Epic Military Fantasy Novel (The Silent Champions Book 5) Page 17