Engaging Evil (Warriors of Vhast Book 2)

by Cary J Lenehan

  Ayesha took a while to wipe blood off her blades. I will need to clean them all properly after this. Thanks be to Allah, the Victorious, for guiding my hands tonight. Praise and honour also to my teachers. May Allah, the Wise, bless them. Next she moved to the door at the rear. The key to this was in the lock, but it was not needed. The door was unlocked. Opening it she saw several cells with bare floors and some staples set into the walls of each at floor and incrementally higher to chain a prisoner to. There is no one in them. Ayesha turned and went back to the front door. Taking her pesh-kabz in hand she unlocked the door and peered out. I can see Hulagu and Stefan have taken up station at the barracks to my left, but nothing else is visible. The others must be moving into the mage’s house already. I am too late to go in there by the front door now. She moved out of the guardroom into the shadows and left the building, re-locking the door quietly but leaving the keys in the lock. Quietly she moved up to where the two waited and paused, just out of sword range.

  Very quietly she said, “It is just as well that I am not a bandit.”

  Stefan, whose back was towards her, turned around with a start, peering at where she stood deep in the building’s shadow.

  Hulagu merely looked surprised as his eyes widened. “Where did you come from?” he asked inanely in a soft whisper.

  “The guardroom,” she replied. “If Astrid had the count right then there were seven armsmen all up. There are now four of them plus the dwarf. I think she said that their captain slept in the mage’s house as well. That leaves three for you two. Do you think that you can handle them or would you like me to stay and help you?” she asked cheekily. Hulagu is looking down at me and his mouth is opening and closing with no sound coming out. The wheels are going round as he thinks through what I just said. He will get here.

  He eventually was able to say, in a soft mock-serious voice, “You can get on and see if you can find something useful to do. We will call for you if we find that we need your services.” He smiled.

  Ayesha smiled back. “May the blessings of Allah be on you.”

  Stefan came back with “God be blessin’ you,” while Hulagu managed an awkward sounding “May the spirits of the clan be with you.” It seems to me that he is not used to asking for the blessing of his spirits in earnest.

  Ayesha moved past them, vanishing once more into the shadows. She reached the mage’s house and assessed it. Nothing is happening here yet, but it won’t be quiet for long. This is where the battle will be decided. The soldiers outside are deadly but they are, after all, only a sideshow. I wonder how to best act. Ayesha looked up at the balconies. It was with them in mind that I have the rope. I can get up there easily. The question is, can I move from one to the other. If I can then I can move from window to window and attack from behind as needed…I can do it.

  She unwound the rope and whirled it around before casting upwards. It landed on the balcony above her with a faint noise. She listened. There is no reaction. She tested its grip and moved up the rope, grasping it with her hands with her feet on the wall. She was just about to reach up to her destination when she heard sounds of combat erupt from within the building. She quickly swung herself up and peered through the shutters ahead of her. The windows here are just frames with no glass or oilskin in them and the curtains are not drawn. The door to the room is open and the room is vacant. Should I enter? She decided not to and coiled the rope, tossing the grapnel up to the roof. This time it made more noise. Speed is more important here. She tested it and swung across to the next balcony. Again the window was shuttered, but this time a curtain stood in the way of her seeing anything. I have to pry open a shutter. Curse the bandits to Shaitan; this room has glass as well. I have to pry that open before I can even move the curtains aside slightly. She looked through the gap.

  Inside she saw Basil defending himself desperately against a huge naked man with a sword and shield. No one should be able to swing a sword that fast and he is good with it as well…very good. Basil was having to use both of his shortswords to simply defend himself, often bringing them together in a cross shape, against the power of the man’s blows. The man’s strength was evident, his overhand blows oft-driving Basil nearly to his knees as he blocked. Basil is good as well…but not good enough. It is only a matter of time before he is killed. Ayesha decided to enter the room and see what she could do. She pulled the shutters open and pushed the window open.

  She moved the curtains apart and entered the room. It is too late. The bandit captain swung his sword at Basil’s head and Basil was slow in blocking it, only getting one sword up fully and it was batted aside. He fell. The bandit captain gave a loud roar and reversed his sword, preparing to drive it down into Basil’s body. The roar disguised the noise of Ayesha’s move as she, without thinking, leapt and plunged the pesh-kabz and her rapidly drawn kindjal into his body. The kindjal was aimed towards his spleen but this time the pesh-kabz was aimed directly at the bandit’s heart. Its shape allowed it to force its way through the bandit’s ribs from behind as easily as it did through mail. The naked giant roared again and spun around. His bearded face is a study in hate. Ayesha had to stifle a laugh. He is mighty only in his height, skill and strength. How did I think that? As he spun she lost her grip on her kindjal. It stayed in his body as he moved, unfortunately plugging the wound that she had made. It is a wound that would probably kill him eventually, but not quite yet. Allah’s Grace, I was able to keep hold on the pesh-kabz and to withdraw it. She skipped backwards smiling. I am sure that I have gotten his heart. With Allah’s aid it will be the right spot. If I am right, he dies. If I am not, then I, most likely, will be doing the dying. The giant chased her briefly roaring in pain and frustration. She crossed lightly over the bed as she pulled out another blade. The hilt of the kindjal was protruding from his back. Suddenly, instead of following, he stopped. He dropped his blade. His shield slipped off his arm to clatter on the floor and he clutched at his chest. His voice hushed. A look of pained surprise appeared on his face and his mouth opened and closed silently a couple of times before he toppled forward and fell on his face on the bed. The thin blade has done its work. It has punctured the heart and, when the giant moved and pulled it out, has caused it to collapse like a punctured air-squid. His blood flooded through the ragged hole into his body cavity instead of the next chamber of the heart. Praise Allah! Ayesha leapt back onto him and, replacing her new drawn blade, removed her kindjal from his body.

  Quickly she moved to where Basil lay still.

  ~~~

  Hulagu

  Hulagu watched as Ayesha appeared to melt into the shadows on their side of the street. In the middle of a fight she had been teasing him just as Sparetha did to Togatak.

  “Be she killed all t’watch?” asked Stefan in a whisper.

  “I’d say so,” replied Hulagu equally softly. “Did you see or hear her moving? I didn’t and she has just disappeared in front of us again. They were not expecting to be attacked. Would you have expected someone like her if you were bored and walking the walls of your stone town? At least on a horse it is harder for someone like her to get to you—but she can ride as well. May the spirits help me avoid having her angry with me. Now we just wait and do our part. She has culled part of the herd, but these bulls here will be awake and angry. We need to be alert in case there is another way out, but if they come through this door there may be three of them, but there is only room for one of them at a time and there are two of us.”

  They returned to waiting. Suddenly, from the mage’s house, there was an eruption of noise—explosions, a prolonged scream that rose and fell, and the sound of wood shattering and then the clash of steel on steel with more explosions and cries in the background. They could hear nothing from within the barracks ahead of them.

  “Be t’ey deaf?” asked Stefan.

  “Perhaps they are used to such goings on,” suggested Hulagu. He put his ear to the door to listen better.

  Eventually, as the sounds in the mage’s bui
lding started to die down, their patience was rewarded. From inside he could hear the sounds of people coming down stairs as a last loud explosion came from the main battle.

  “They are not complete fools,” said Hulagu, moving away and motioning with his mace. “They have stopped to put on some armour. I can hear them rattling.”

  Both moved closer to the wall. Hulagu had his mace raised, but he had to stand more squarely to the wall than Stefan, who had his back to it. Luckily the door hinge is on Stefan’s side and the door opens in, so they are not likely to see me unless the door is opened back on itself. The door is opening…about half way into the building. Whoever is inside must be looking to see what is outside. Perhaps they are expecting untrained slaves. Neither attacker moved. The floor inside creaked. I can hear some whispers.

  By now all noise had ceased in the mage’s house—except for one woman who was loudly crying and sobbing. A Khitan stepped rapidly out of the doorway—his shield held high. It would have stopped a sword blow at the head from his right, but Hulagu brought his mace’s shaft onto the shield forcing it down flat and allowing the mace head to hit the man’s helm through it. Still, the shield took much of the power from the blow. At almost the same time Stefan snapped a shot at the man’s chest with his broadsword. Unfortunately for the Khitan, Hulagu’s blow had caused him to duck and, what was meant as a chest shot, passing under the flattened shield, took him directly in the neck. Stefan has been waiting and he must have put all of his strength into that blow. I am impressed. With a shower of blood, the head flopped back almost severed. The body stood erect for a moment before crumpling forward out onto the street as blood cascaded from the neck. The fall completed the damage and the head rolled free to the left and his helm bounced down the stairs with an unnoticed clatter.

  While he was assessing things there was a roar and two men jumped out between him and Stefan, using the death of their comrade as cover. By the Spirits, we should have expected that. One is the northerner that Astrid described with the axe and the bear’s hands; the other is a Freeholder in part plate and with a sword and shield. Both ran into the middle of the street and Stefan and Hulagu went to follow them, instinctively changing positions as they ran. I need to face the tougher armour of the Freeholder with my mace.

  For a moment they faced each other two against two. The northerner roared like a bear and charged Stefan. Hulagu was just about to charge his man when an arrow came from the cliff and hit the bandit in the armoured back. I saw it flick in. It must be enchanted. It should have bounced off the iron at that range. It has exploded. The man was knocked forwards and almost to his knees by the impact as the armour took up some of the force of the explosion. Not passing on that. Before his foe had a chance to recover, Hulagu had brought his mace down from his shoulder and back up again in a continuous motion. The bandit, as he was quickly standing erect again, was struck a swift rising blow between the legs, where his armour could not properly cover…With a shrill rising scream he fell back to his knees, dropping his sword and clutching at his groin as if his hands could fix the ruination there and hold it together. Instantly he became temporarily oblivious to the rest of the world around him as all of his thoughts narrowed down to focus on the excruciating pain he felt between his legs. Hulagu strode forward and, with a downward blow to the head, made his oblivion permanent.

  He turned to where Stefan fought.

  ~~~

  Stefan

  The man moved forwards roaring. Stefan waited until the axe-man was drawing his weapon back and was ready to give his blow and then dashed forward. A blow from such a weapon could carve me into two and I am not going to trust my armour to save me. He is trying to intimidate me into inaction. I am best getting inside the blow. He did. As he ran he stepped slightly to the right and raised his shield to try to tangle the axe haft as he thrust forward with his point, his weight behind it. He felt his shield slide along the haft of the axe and catch the blade before it could hit. The bandit had a helm on with just a nasal to protect his face. It is not enough. Stefan’s sword point took the man in the face and left it a bloody ruin as it went into the skull and beyond. There was a loud explosion from where Hulagu was. Stefan tugged hard to pull his sword free from where an eye had been and shook his shield arm to free the axe. He turned to see Hulagu despatch his opponent as his man fell to the ground.

  “Well, t’at be easy,” he said. “Be we get any more?”

  ~~~

  Astrid

  Once everyone had gone down into the village Astrid took a stance and held her bow down. I won’t need silence now. Quickly she changed shafts so that she now had an explosive arrow nocked, but not drawn. If I have the distances right, all the likely targets are well within middle range. I could do quite good work, even without these enchanted shafts. Except for the one on her bow she had leant all of Rani’s arrows against the cliff face beside her where she could grab them without moving her feet. Normally I would put the points into the dirt for the speed of using them…but these are explosive shafts and I cannot be sure what will set them off. She watched her people spread out; Hulagu and Stefan to the barracks, the others to the mage’s house. Those at the house are inside quickly. A quick glance showed that Father Christopher stood behind her, sling in hand. She could hear him praying. She faced forward again. I hope that he has his eyes open while he prayed, but I still find it reassuring. I can hear his quiet murmur, and only partly understand it. I need to learn more of the Church language…after all I might have some wedding vows to say in it soon. Above me the sky is nearly clear…only a few small clouds. Panic is only at a quarter and waning but Terror is still half full. There is about half their brightest light, more than enough to clearly see all if it was in the open. Briefly she saw Ayesha appear, talking to Stefan and Hulagu, before she again melted into the shadows.

  Suddenly, from the mage’s house, there erupted a cacophony of sound: first came the breaking of timber, then muffled explosions, screams and the sound of physical combat. She glanced briefly at the barracks. All was quiet there still, so she focussed on the mage’s house.

  Is that a naked man who has appeared on the roof? He has started gesturing. He looks to be wounded and has the skinny look of a mage. He is definitely a man though…not one of us then. She loosed and reloaded. He was moving his hands down when the arrow took him in the back. There was a loud explosion and he fell forward. It looked like most of his torso was just…gone. He isn’t going anywhere. His body fell loosely and then, seemingly erupting from the roof, came a strange mist that glowed palely red in the night. There was a noiseless shriek in her head. The mist hovered briefly over the roof and the body, as if it were choosing what to do next. Eventually it chose, and it rapidly began to rise straight up and disappeared into the night sky headed north. What was that? Like a little girl in a big thunderstorm…I am praying. Oh…Father Christopher is doing exactly the same behind me.

  Nothing else appeared at that building and the noise was dying down. Suddenly there was noise and motion at the barracks and she could see Stefan and Hulagu hitting someone who fell. Before they could hit again two people pushed past them out into the open. Bad move. The first one out is armoured like a Freeholder. He has his back to me and looks far too much for Hulagu. She loosed and reloaded again. The arrow took him in the back. The armour must have taken a lot out of the force of the explosion, because he is only staggered…Hulagu has taken care of that. She had to wince at what he did.

  Astrid turned her gaze to the second bandit. Damn, it is Thorkil. I should have shot him first. Will Stefan be able to deal with…oh yes…it is either a lucky strike, good thinking by Stefan, or else Thorkil has gotten reckless or desperate. Whichever of those it was, the result is good, very swift, and very, very, terminal.

  ~~~

  Ayesha

  Basil is alive…just. The one shortsword that he had managed to get in the way of the blow has deflected it enough so that it has hit the side of his head instead of in the centre, so
he is still breathing. I can see inside his skull to a pulsing brain. She thought quickly.

  She called out, “Theodora…Rani…come quick…someone get the priest here fast.” She dropped her blades and gently closed the hanging flap of skin and skull. Looking around she grabbed the nearest cloth she could see…It is a fine linen shirt…and tried to staunch the bleeding. Shaitan, I wasn’t able to bring a medics bag with me from home and I forgot to buy one in Evilhalt. I haven’t seen anyone else with one either…unless the priest has one in his pack.

  “Hurry,” she yelled.

  ~~~

  Theodora

  Theodora was all tangled up with the western girl. My right wand is tucked under a knife scabbard on Bianca’s arm and on the off side our two arms are linked like dancers. I want to giggle. Mustn’t giggle. “Mine just disappeared. He is wounded,” blurted Bianca, as they pulled apart. At the same time Ayesha was calling for the priest from somewhere ahead.

  “We’ll get him later. Ignore it. Get the Father,” said Theodora. “Someone is injured.” With that she ran to the left where Ayesha’s voice had come from. How did she get there?

  She dodged around Rani. “Bianca’s man has teleported” she said, “don’t know where.” Rani turned to the stairs. Why did Ayesha call her? thought Theodora. Next room…On the bed is a naked man. He isn’t moving. Ayesha is crouched on the floor over Basil holding his head in a blood-soaked rag. Damn. I am the closest healer. Healing is a water spell. Rani was a fire mage…a battle mage…she probably could only just heal herself if she was in a hurry. Theodora reviewed her few healing spells. It is too late to wish that I had actually practised some of them in the last twenty years. I won’t have enough time to prepare. I will be snap casting. Basil looks almost gone. She knelt and ran through the words in her head. The best I can do is buy some time until Father Christopher arrives. Laying her hands on Basil she began to chant.