Rise of the Serpent (Serpent's War Book 2)

by Jason Halstead

  A sword swung in, forcing him to forget Allie and react out of instinct. He blocked the blade but the parry left his scimitar out too far to recover. He sucked his belly in and threw his hips back, causing a thrust from the other side to snag his leather jerkin and throw him even more off balance. The ratkin on his back climbed higher, adding more weight to his shoulders and tipping him forward.

  Namitus clenched his teeth and grunted as he tried to keep himself on his knees. He threw a leg forward and pushed off it, forcing himself up onto his feet. He swung his sword again and turned, keeping the armed ratkin at bay a precious second longer. Talons scratched the back and side of his neck, promising only seconds, if that, remained for him.

  The desperate rogue thrust his left hand back over his head. He stabbed his dagger into the ratkin twice and let go of it. The talons dug deeper into his skin, but now he had his fingers dug into the wiry hide of the ratman. He took a step and threw his head and shoulders forward, tugging on the ratkin at the same time. The ratkin slipped free and tumbled over his head, but not without catching Namitus’s cheek with a hand and leaving scratches down the side of his face before he hit the ground.

  Namitus stumbled back and waved his sword again. A shield smashed into his hip, numbing his leg for a moment. He twisted and lashed out, only to have his scimitar deflect high off the dented metal rim of the shield. A sword thrust in and poked through his leather pants, drawing a line of fire on the outside of his calf.

  Namitus kicked back, balancing on his bruised hip. He heard a squeal as his foot connected. He swung his sword across, forcing a ratkin to leap back or be hacked in half, and saw the little bastard that had been climbing on his back trying to crawl away.

  The rogue took two steps forward, ignoring the fire in his calf, and kicked the ratkin in the side hard enough for him to hear the beast’s ribs popping. He spun around, his sword leading the way. He startled two ratkin that thought to stab him in the back with his abrupt maneuver. They hesitated, their weapons extended, and had their number reduced by one when Namitus’s scimitar cut halfway through the head of the first ratkin it met.

  He spun back around, sending a message to the creatures that surrounded him that they had to be faster if they hoped to flank him. He hacked away at them, cutting off fingers, hands, ears, and even one tail. Little by little, he whittled them down when he couldn’t strike a mortal blow. He was panting and dragging his feet by the time he looked up and saw that the ratkin that remained were either running away or bleeding out.

  “Namitus! Are you okay?”

  Namitus turned in time to be tackle-hugged by Amra. He grunted and staggered back under her weight.

  “I hope so,” he squeaked. “Or you’d have just finished me.”

  Amra pulled herself back from him and clamped her hand over her mouth. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t—there were so many! I had to fight some off too! Did you see me?”

  Namitus held up his hand to stop her. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “I hit them a few times and kept them back—there was only two.”

  Namitus smiled and turned. Jillystria was helping Corian reclaim his arrows and Gor was checking the ratkin and finishing the ones off that hadn’t died. Allie looked around as though she was searching for something. Her eyes landed on Namitus and Amra, and she raised a hand to wave. Her eyes sharpened and she shook her head, and then started towards them.

  “Anyone get a count?” Namitus asked.

  Gor grunted and lifted his head to look around. “Two dozen? Maybe thirty?”

  “Saints preserve us,” Namitus muttered. He chuckled and added, “Well, I suppose they did—we’re still here.”

  Gor frowned. “The flea bitten vermin try to overwhelm with numbers. No skill or tactics, just a rush,” Gor said. “If we’d had some time or defenses, they’d not have even been able to get close.”

  “I’ll take the help of the saints any day,” Namitus said. He spied his dagger on the ground and bent over to snatch it up.

  Gor snorted and went back to dispatching the wounded vermin.

  Corian and Jillystria walked over to them. “I lost half my arrows,” Corian reported. “No harm other than that.”

  “I’m okay,” Jilly said. She turned and nodded to where the horses were gathered and admitted, “I stayed with the horses and Amra stopped the two that thought our horses would be easy pickings.”

  Namitus chuckled. “Seems to have worked just fine. You’re unhurt and we still have our mounts. Keep up the good work!”

  The elven woman blushed and nodded. Allie stepped up to her and squeezed her hand briefly, earning a smile.

  “We should get going. The sun’s high enough we can get there before dusk,” Namitus said.

  “You were hurt,” Amra said. “I saw them fighting you.”

  Namitus glanced down at his leg. It burned less and itched more, thanks to the drying blood on his skin. “Just a scratch,” he said. “Oh, and one of them bit me.”

  “Where?” Gor asked.

  Namitus blushed. “My…hip.”

  Allie’s eyes widened. “Oh no! Didn’t you say that a bite from one of these could spread some sort of disease? Turn you into one of them, or something?”

  Gor chuckled. “These are ratkin, not weres. A shifter turns from man to beast, usually at night save for the oldest and most powerful. Ratkin are more beast than men. Usually they have giant rats with them. This group must have had a special purpose in mind.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m safe,” Namitus said. “Now come, let’s ride. We may have fought off the ratkin, but other monsters might smell the blood and come looking for dinner.”

  Amra’s eyes widened. She turned and hurried to the horses, beating the rest of them in half the time.

  They rode into the pass ahead and slowed again. Corian held out his hand and studied the ground, moving to the front slowly and then dismounting. He walked back and forth and kept moving ahead, prompting them to follow him slowly. Jillystria grabbed the reins to his horse to keep it from wandering away.

  “They were staging here,” Corian said. “Not waiting for us. I’d say we surprised them almost as much as they surprised us.”

  “We’re closer than I thought to the ruins,” Gor said.

  “An attack against the Vultures?” Namitus asked.

  Gor grunted. “Maybe. They wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “They were waiting,” Corian said.

  Gor nodded. “An attack from multiple fronts, maybe. Attack at dusk?”

  Namitus nodded. “Maybe. We should hurry.”

  Gor grunted. “If there’s a battle to be fought, our best bet is with the Vultures on our side, not mistaking us for foes.”

  Corian remounted and, without another word, they rode out. Namitus’s eyes swept the hills and bushes around them. He saw nothing that disturbed him, but could not shake the tickle on the back of his neck that told him they were still being watched.

  Chapter 12

  “Why are we stopping?” Amra whispered when Namitus brought his horse to a halt near the edge of the ruins.

  Namitus leaned back and felt Amra’s chest against his back. He ignored the contact as best he could and whispered, “The Vultures are in there…we think,” he said. “If we rush in, they’ll probably cut us apart.”

  “He’s right,” Gor said. The warrior didn’t bother trying to whisper; his voice was too deep for that.

  “So we call out to them,” Namitus said. “And hope they’re still here.”

  “Better offer a prayer to Saint Dice,” Gor said with a grin. He drew in a breath that swelled his chest and then called out, “Vultures! If you’re here, show yourselves. We’re allies coming in to speak with you.”

  In the wake of Gor’s declaration, absolute silence reigned. The insects and birds were as deathly still as the wind. Gor and Namitus turned to look at each other. Namitus shrugged, making his leathers rustle.

  “Who’s doing the talking?
”

  Amra gasped in surprise behind Namitus. Gor grinned.

  “My name’s Gor. I have friends with me. I’m looking for Ramesh.”

  Several seconds passed before a man emerged from the ruins, wearing a leather tunic studded with metal spikes. Chain sleeves ran down his arms. He had matching chain mail leggings. “Come, but keep your hands out and your weapons sheathed. We’ve got archers watching you.”

  Namitus turned to catch the eyes of his companions and received nods in return. “Let’s go,” he said.

  Gor grunted and nudged his horse forward.

  “Walk the horses,” the warrior in the ruins said. “We’ve got pits and traps to watch for.”

  Gor grinned and turned to Namitus. “That’s how you do it!”

  Namitus smiled and nodded back. “Yeah, great.”

  Amra pressed her face against Namitus’s back to stifle her giggle.

  They dismounted and walked their horses through the opening in the low stone wall. The rubble indicated it might have once stood as high as six feet. Now, in parts it was missing entirely; in others, it rose to crumbling waist-high barriers. Beyond the wall, the broken remains of a tower rose about the half-dozen stone buildings surrounding it. Each of them had crumbling walls and broken roofs—if they had any roof at all.

  The ground was disturbed in many places and covered with dead grasses. It was obvious, but in the heat of battle while arrows were whistling and men and beasts were screaming, no attention would be paid to the patches of ground where holes and stakes waited.

  They saw other men as they walked through the ruins to the tower. Some were resting in the shade of buildings while others were keeping watch from concealed roofs and broken walls. In the base of the tower, a half-dozen men were resting while two figures were having a hushed conversation over a diagram made with broken stones on the ground.

  The Vulture escorting them in cleared his throat. “Captain, these are the folks that just showed up.”

  The captain turned and stepped into a ray of sunlight that came through a broken section of tower wall. Namitus gasped. He wasn’t a he!

  “Damn my eyes, it really is you!” the other man announced while Namitus gawked.

  “Ramesh,” Gor greeted him with a grin. “You got old.”

  Ramesh strode across the tower and gripped arms with Gor. “And you didn’t! How’s that possible?”

  “It’s a long story,” he said. “Meet my companions. This is Namitus, Amra, Allie, Corian, and Jillystria.”

  Ramesh grunted and nodded to each of them before turning to the woman wearing a tight-fitting leather jerkin studded with black rivets. Her legs were encased in matching leather pants. Her clothing and lack of armor wasn’t her most remarkable feature: it was the red and brown scales covering her arms and chest. “This is Lariki, the captain of the Vultures. She came by after you’d moved on.”

  “You’re a woman!” Namitus blurted.

  Lariki turned to Ramesh. “This man is a friend?”

  Ramesh frowned. “I don’t know him, just Gor.”

  “I’m sorry,” Namitus said. “I’d been led to believe you were a man, that’s all.”

  She glowered at him. “You have a problem with a woman being in charge?”

  Namitus laughed. “Seems the natural order of things. Women are always in charge, aren’t they?”

  Ramesh snickered until Lariki turned her glare on him. “You’re young to be out on your own, aren’t you? Do you even know how to use that sword you carry?”

  Namitus smiled. “I’m half-elven, Captain. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Namitus, Knight of Altonia and formerly a member of the Blades of Leander mercenary troop.”

  “None of that means a damn thing to me,” she said. “Anyone can be a knight—it’s just a title.”

  “He can fight,” Gor said. “That sword of his has claimed more lives on our journey than my axe has.”

  “If Gor vouches for him, it must be true,” Ramesh said.

  “Namitus,” Allie interrupted. “Tell her about the—”

  Namitus held up his hand.

  “Yes, Sir Namitus,” Lariki said, her tone dripping with scorn. “Tell me more.”

  Namitus smiled. “Normally I’d be too happy to oblige, but time is short. We stumbled on a company of ratkin that were setting up to attack you on our way here. Thirty of the nasty little beasts, but we took care of them for you.”

  “Thirty ratkin is a joke,” she said.

  Namitus nodded. “Yes, for your company they would be.”

  “We don’t think they’re alone,” Gor said. “Ratkin are stupid, but they’re clever at least. Enough to know not to throw their lives against something they’ve no chance against.”

  Ramesh turned to Lariki. “A counterattack?”

  She frowned. “Perhaps.”

  Ramesh turned back to Gor. “We took the ruins and routed the shifters who had made this their camp. Our guess is they had forty, maybe more, lairing here. We killed at least half and scared the rest off, including their leaders. We’ve been hunting them from here ever since but we’re lucky to find one in a day.”

  “Using the ratkin as a distraction would tie us up while they flanked us,” Lariki said.

  “They didn’t have any rats with them,” Gor said.

  Ramesh and Lariki both frowned. “None? Where were they then?” the old mercenary asked.

  “We think they were going to attack when a signal was given. That or at dusk, perhaps,” Namitus said.

  Lariki frowned and nodded. She turned her focus back on Namitus. “You didn’t come here to warn us about that. What brings you?”

  Namitus’s smile faded. “Fair enough. Let me ask you, those scales…are they real?”

  Lariki glanced down at her arm. Her lip twitched up in a wicked grin. “They call me the Dragonwarrior.”

  “You’re a dragon?”

  She laughed without the mirth reaching her glittering eyes. “No, I’m not. It’s a painting done with a needle and ink.”

  “Then in that case, I want to hire your company’s services.”

  She laughed. “You?”

  Namitus nodded. “I am a knight of Altonia, a kingdom far to the north. I possess the means, but I need the meanest and fiercest whoresons—and daughters—I can get my hands on.”

  “We stay in the south,” she announced.

  “The job is in the south,” he said.

  “What is it?”

  “Taking a castle and killing a whole lot of splisskin that are preparing to launch a battle that will sweep aside all of the southlands and put them under splisskin rule,” Namitus said.

  Lariki looked at him. “I command eighteen men. I can’t take a castle with eighteen men.”

  “You’ll have more than that. We’ll come too.”

  She smirked. “Even if I believed we had a chance, you couldn’t afford me. Knight or not.”

  “Name your price,” Namitus said.

  “A thousand coins for each of my men,” she said. “And two each for Ramesh and I.”

  “Twenty thousand pieces of gold?” Namitus asked. “I can’t carry that sort of wealth on me.”

  “So you can’t afford us,” she said. “Stop wasting my time, boy, and be gone.”

  “I said I can’t carry it on me,” Namitus repeated. “I didn’t say I can’t get it. I’ve personally been involved in the slaying of four dragons, and dragons like to keep their hoards close at hand.”

  “I don’t believe you,” she said.

  Gor frowned and glanced at Namitus and then back at Allie. He took a breath and turned back to Lariki. “I can pay what he doesn’t have,” Gor said.

  “You come into a fortune, son?” Ramesh asked. “Last time you were with us, you were trying to seize control of the Vultures yourself.”

  “Because I wanted to take back my ancestral home,” Gor said. “But I needed help from the meanest and fiercest whoresons—and daughters—I could get my hands on.”

&
nbsp; Namitus turned with Allie and Ramesh to utter the same word: “What?”

  “Shathas wasn’t always knows as Shathas,” Gor said. “Once, a long time ago, it was the island kingdom known as Norwind.”

  “I’ve heard of Norwind,” Ramesh said. “Destroyed by splisskin, wasn’t it?”

  Gor nodded. “It was, and it was my fault.”

  Namitus looked to Allie and saw her staring with round eyes at the warrior. Her lips were open, magnifying her shock and horror.

  Gor locked his gaze with Lariki. “I was a greedy son who wanted the throne from my father. I traveled to Easton and met with people I knew could never be traced back to me. No one would believe it. I made a deal with some splisskin and left the secret entrance into the bottom of the castle unlocked. They did my bidding, and then they kept going. They killed everyone, even when I tried to stop them and confessed of the terrible crime I’d committed. My sister was training to be a priestess of Saint Astra, the saint of labor and taking pride in one’s work. She called a curse down upon me, damning me for what I did. Forcing me to witness what I’d wrought without ending until I had undone the evil in my soul.”

  “By the saints,” Namitus whispered.

  “You—you couldn’t! You…” Allie trailed off. Tears shimmered in her eyes and fell down her cheeks. “How could you?”

  Gor kept his gaze locked on Lariki and ignored the others. “Retake Shathas, and I will break the seal on the hidden treasure vaults of my ancestors. You shall have your fee.”

  Lariki turned to Ramesh. “You know this man. Is any of this nonsense true?”

  Ramesh stared at Gor and looked him up and down. “When I was a young lad skilled with a blade and nothing else, I joined the Vultures during a time when they were recruiting. I was sixteen at the time, too young for this sort of life but the Vultures were hurting. Gor took me on and showed me the ropes.”

  “You were sixteen a lifetime ago,” Lariki said.

  “I was,” Ramesh agreed. “That was forty years past. Forty years, and Gor had been with the Vultures for a decade or more by that time. Forty years, and now here he is without having aged a day.”

  “I’ve put on a little weight,” Gor admitted, “but that’s all.”