They stood on the sides of the path and stared at the road as a handful of Centurions ascended the trees. Zach took the reins of one of the horses, again eyeing Blunderbuss warily. Everything was contingent on whether or not the other Kin succeeded. He only hoped they had.
Brodeur stared down the Gida path. "Godspeed to the Kin."
The stagecoach rumbled down the path. Max snapped the reins with fervor and urged the horses on. The road underfoot grew rough and uneven.
Shelby gulped hard, hoping Blunderbuss waited ahead.
Riley slid over the top and joined them. She gave a peppy wink. "Emily is in back with her bow drawn. We spotted a band of Nightlanders breaking away from the Manticore, and they aren't far behind. More poured out from the sides of the tunnel."
"I'm pushing these poor horses as fast as they can go," said Max.
"I'm going in the cabin to check on Stuart," said Shelby. Max nodded, his green-eyed glare fixed on the road.
She deftly scaled the side of the jiggling coach, as though she had done it before a hundred times, and pounded on the door. "It's me, Shelby."
Stuart popped open the hatch. "What's the password?" He smirked.
"Raging Minotaur." She darted inside.
Stuart tried to keep his balance as he pointed across the cabin. "Here they are."
The Assembly sat snugly in a row, hunched over and bound with shackles. They wore tattered silken robes that no doubt had been white as cream once, but they now lay smudged and dirtied. Their time in captivity had left the Assembly weak and exhausted.
"I tried to take the shackles off but... too dang thick. I checked the Nightlander I blasted for keys, but couldn't find any."
Shelby crawled over and inspected the Assembly. She stopped at a female whose long, dark hair framed a pale, gaunt face. Age lines creased around the now familiar woman's thin lips.
"Bianca," she whispered, and caressed her hair.
Bianca discharged a dazed moan, and opened her eyes to gaze at Shelby. She forced a faint simper and then nodded off.
"Don't worry, you're safe now," Shelby said, and turned to Stuart. "The Nightlanders are right behind us. I think we have to abandon the coach first chance we can and get off the Gida."
Stuart crouched down next to her. "Blunderbuss said the bend was a little over a mile ahead. We should reach it shortly. Hopefully, he has a plan."
"Okay, I'm going back outside. Let Emily know we have them."
"Will do." Stuart exited the cabin.
Shelby followed and closed the door behind her. She climbed back to the front of the rattling carriage and, once seated, exhaled her pent-up tension.
"All six are there, shackled and unconscious."
Max and Riley nodded.
"Here we are," said Max.
Up ahead, Blunderbuss waited in the middle of the road. Next to him stood three men she didn't recognize, most likely Centurions. Last night, they had been hard to spot.
Max pulled back the reins and the carriage came to a halt. "Hordes of Nightlanders right behind us."
"Okay, we're in luck." Blunderbuss motioned to his companions. "This here is Throg, and this is your fellow Kin, Zach."
"Ahoy, Kin, you are a sight for sore eyes," Throg said as he waved.
They returned the gesture, Shelby fixing her gaze on Zach. He had a wide grin and his shaggy brown hair flopped as he rushed the coach. He stared up at her with piercing blue eyes. He was dressed in warrior's clothing, though he looked like he'd been hiking for days.
"I've been trying to find you guys for ages," said Zach.
"And we, you," Shelby said at once. "We must be quick. Nightlanders are coming fast."
"I'll drive the coach," said Throg. "Zach and Morgana will also come. We've cut a path to the right that leads to a hiding spot we staked out."
The thunder of hooves rang behind them.
"Morgana, hop on the back with your bow. I will get in front. Zach, head into the cabin. Let's move," Throg shouted.
The Nightlanders came into view, charging with their swords drawn. The wave of black-garbed men sent a thrill of fear through Shelby.
"Dang it all," Throg cursed. "Now they will watch us go off the path."
"Get going. We'll cover you best we can," Blunderbuss yelled.
Throg took the reins from Max. "Heeyah!" he hollered, and led the carriage down the makeshift route.
The coach shook and bounced as they advanced. Max held onto the railing with a tight grip as Shelby locked arms with him. Riley, who was sitting on the other side of Throg, yelped as she jolted forward.
Throg pulled her in. "Hang on!"
The coach traveled slower and rougher on the bumpy terrain.
Emily called out.
Shelby stood up and looked back, hanging onto the roof of the carriage, and gasped. Hundreds of Nightlanders were in pursuit. Emily and Morgana fired their arrows one after another at the oncoming swarm, which was closing with great haste. Some came up along the sides, trying to reach out and pull Emily from the back.
A flock of soldiers enveloped the carriage. Riley jumped over to their side. "Hold me," she said.
They grabbed her legs, and she whipped out her slingshot and launched pellets at the Nightlanders. She knocked several of them off their horses, only to have them replaced by others. For each one she shot down, another two joined the fray.
A Nightlander burst through with a large mallet and blasted away at the coach door. He ripped the hatch off with a crunch. More Nightlanders poured in, and one jumped into the cabin. Shelby heard the blast of Stuart's hand-cannon, and the Nightlander blew out and smacked into a tree.
Two more Nightlanders leapt into the cabin, and the sounds of struggle reverberated inside.
"I'm jumping in to help." Max pulled out a dagger and placed it in his teeth. He scaled back toward the cabin and punched a Nightlander in the face before entering.
A clearing emerged ahead, and Throg took in the reins at the base of a large rock covered with ivy.
"Go!" he screamed.
Shelby and Riley hopped off as the two Nightlanders flew from the cabin. One had a dagger in his chest. The other's face was twisted and distorted from a blow right to the mug. Shelby grinned. That hand-cannon-gun thing could do some real damage.
Throg circled to the back of the wagon, his sword drawn. Shelby and Riley followed.
Shelby drew her rapier and held the blade at the ready, her ears pounding with the sounds of trampling hooves and the ferocious beating of her heart.
Emily and Morgana stood beside them. Their bloody fingers had arrows cocked and set.
Hundreds of Nightlanders spilled into the clearing. One of them held his hand up to the rest. With a smirk, he dismounted.
Max and Stuart popped out and joined them, bloodied and bruised. Max's blade dripped bright red, slick with the blood of a Nightlander. His cheek was cut and one of his eyes was swelling shut.
Max struggled to catch his breath. "Zach is staying in the cabin. One of the Assembly men was stabbed during the attack, and Zach is trying to stop the bleeding."
The Nightlanders all dismounted, surrounding them. The sound of a hundred blades being drawn swished through the air. Those with their weapons unsheathed already aimed at the Kin and Throg. Their leader stepped forward.
"This lucky little ambush is over," he snarled.
"We'll fight to the death and take you with us," said Throg.
"Come now. Throg, correct? Meracuse will be stormed soon. If you surrender, Lord Malefic might spare you."
"How about I cut your head off, you rat?" Throg raised his sword high.
"Have it your way then. Take them!"
The Nightlanders rushed in. Stuart blasted the leader with his cannon and knocked him back. Throg charged forth and engaged the onslaught. Emily and Morgana hopped on top of the wagon, strung three arrows at a time, and propelled them into the charging Nightlanders. Max drew his sword and raced forward.
"Fight back-to-back," Th
rog yelled to Max.
Shelby grabbed Stuart.
"Go to the opening of the cabin and protect the entrance. Shoot the cannon from there," she ordered.
He nodded and scampered off. Seconds later, she heard the gun fire.
One of the Nightlanders tackled Riley. As he lifted an axe over her, an arrow whipped into his throat. Morgana fired two more into him, and he dropped hard, blood gushing from his neck.
Shelby ran over to Riley and pulled her to her feet. Nightlanders descended on them and knocked them both to the dirt. Stuart fired the hand-cannon from the side of the carriage and flattened them. Several scaled the vehicle and attacked Emily and Morgana. Shelby spat blood to the ground and wiped her mouth with her wrist.
"Help us," she murmured to herself, tears welling in her eyes as she heard Morgana and Emily scream.
A loud horn pierced through the sounds of clanging steel as Shelby was hoisted off the grass. She turned, her sword raised, her brow bent angrily.
"We are allies here to help," a man said.
Standing before her was an enormous armor-clad warrior wearing a golden helmet. The figure pulled his helm off and revealed the head of a boar. She jerked back, a little shocked. Brown fur coated his head, split across his face with a shock of white, and he gazed down at her with black, watery eyes.
The boar-man nodded once and raced into the crowd. At that moment, hundreds of the boar-headed soldiers poured in from the forest, assaulting the Nightlanders with vigor. Axes cleaved through the heads of the Nightlanders. One of the boar-men used a war hammer to drive his enemy straight into the ground. A row of archers on the rocks picked off Nightlanders with a rain of arrows.
Throg dragged Max past her. She ran over and assisted him.
"The Battleswine have come," he said, his face covered in blood and sweat.
"Battleswine?"
"They are friendly neighbors to Meridia, to the south. Thank the stars!"
Shelby slung Max's arm over her shoulder. "Oh, Max."
"I'm fine, just bruised my ribs." Max gritted his teeth.
Blunderbuss and Brodeur sprinted up to them.
"You okay?" Brodeur asked.
Throg and Shelby nodded.
The sounds of battle echoed around them. Men screamed and died, metal clashed on metal, leather ripped, and bones broke. The iron stench of blood filled the air.
Blunderbuss caught his breath. "The Nightlanders left a squad behind and kept us at bay. They sent a few hundred men after you. As we fought, the Battleswine showed up, an incredible stroke of fortune. They were marching to Meracuse on the Gida Path."
The Battleswine had an entire battalion and were easily wiping out the Nightlanders, driving the enemy back. Soon a moat of gore surrounded Shelby and the other Kin. The Battleswine had saved them.
Emily and Morgana sped over. Emily's long hair was knotted and her fingers were bright red from pulling so many arrows.
"Anyone else hurt?" Shelby asked, concerned.
They all sprawled out on the ground, their chests heaving. Emily and Morgana were both bloody, and one of Emily's arms was scraped up pretty badly. Blood oozed from the wound onto the rock. Otherwise, she seemed fine.
"I'll live," Max said, wiping gore off his forehead. His black eye had swelled shut.
"S-same," Emily said with a strained stutter. She accepted a bandage from Throg and wrapped it around the scrape.
"Where is Zach?" said Morgana.
Max looked back at the stagecoach. "He must still be in the cabin."
They sped over to the coach. Stuart stood guard with a handful of Nightlanders lying at his feet. He leaned against the carriage, his brow dripping, with a knife stuck under his armor. When Max pulled the shank out, the blade was clean of blood.
"Just missed me," Stuart said, panting and grinning sheepishly. He tapped the Triforce on his chest. It was smeared and almost unrecognizable, but he smiled nonetheless.
Shelby and Throg darted into the cabin. Zach sat curled on the floor, the brown-haired head of one of the Assembly men in his lap. He held a canteen to the man's lips, his other hand pressing a bloody cloth down on his ribcage. The man was too young to die, but older than the Kin. He opened his blue eyes and fixated on Zach a few seconds before they shut, his thick body trembling.
"Brock," Throg said as he knelt down next to Zach.
Zach nodded. "He's been stabbed in the chest. He doesn't look well."
Brock's face had turned white as fresh snow.
Shelby crouched down and placed her arm around him.
Brodeur entered and examined the Assembly member. "Let's get him out into the air." He pulled a medical kit from his bag.
Throg and Zach carefully lifted Brock and carried him outside, and laid him down on the stone. Brodeur tore Brock's shirt open and inspected the wound.
"Blunderbuss," he shouted. "The Battleswine have healers. Send for one."
Blunderbuss nodded and sprinted off.
They carried the remaining members of the Assembly out of the carriage. Max used his great sword to break off their shackles. Since the Assembly still couldn't move, the team placed them against the rocks, where the Kin and Battleswine could better protect them.
Blunderbuss returned soon with a healer, who plopped down next to Brock and proceeded to work on his wound. Shelby eyed the Battleswine. It was an enormous creature that, like humans, stood on two legs. However, they had hooves rather than feet. Their fingers ended in thick, hoof-like nails.
One of the Battleswine came up to them, his armor dented and bloody. A bit of gore dripped from his chest plate and plopped to the ground. His left eye was missing, but it had been gone for some time. Three fierce scars raked his face, looking to have been the cause of his scarred cavity.
He nodded. "I am General Krupp. We have another battalion on the Dorado Path, on its way to Meracuse to assist Lord Achernar."
"Thank you, General," said Throg. "If you had come any later, we would not be standing here." He thumped his chest twice.
"Fate is with ye. We nearly traveled over the countryside on our march, but decided to take the more direct path of Gida."
Shelby smiled at him. "Either way, thanks. Your warriors are amazing."
The general nodded and snorted, but with a grin.
Brodeur was examining the Assembly members. "Just as I thought. They are drugged with Gaston greens. I have something that can hasten their recovery." He rummaged through his bag and pulled out several vials. "Ah! Help me give this to them."
Shelby and the rest grabbed the vials. She sprinted to Bianca's side, held the woman's head up, placed the small tube to her mouth, and gently parted her lips. After the vial was empty, Shelby cast it aside and caressed the woman's hair. Bianca could pass for an older version of herself.
Brodeur said, "Okay, leave them be for a spell. We need to get them conscious."
Shelby eased Bianca's head down and walked over to the healer. Zach knelt anxiously by his side as he tended to Brock. The Battleswine healer looked concerned.
"My name is Lito. A bad wound here—deep and into his lung. I will do my best."
"Thank you. He is my Kin," said Zach.
Lito nodded.
"Everyone, regroup here," Throg cried out.
They huddled in a circle beside the coach. More of the Battleswine's healers arrived and tended to their wounds. Each Swine was different from the last. Some were lighter, some darker, and one, a great female warrior, had fur the color of snow with a black spot over her right eye. Her tusks were smaller than the men's, and they were capped with gold.
Shelby sat next to Max as a healer bandaged his ribs. Despite his pale complexion, bruised eye, and battered armor, he was handsome as ever. She rested a hand over his, glad he was safe.
"Take this for the pain," the Swine said, handing him a vial. Max swilled it down at once.
Shelby watched as General Krupp clustered with Throg, Blunderbuss, and Brodeur for some time. The four of them discussed their
next move, no doubt. A few other Battleswine joined the meeting. An enormous Swine, two heads taller than Krupp and twice as thick, lifted his war hammer over his shoulder. Shelby recognized him—the first Swine she'd seen. Unlike the others, he had a bright, white stripe of fur arched across his snout and eyes.
"I thought we were done for," Shelby said, sipping out of a canteen.
"I had them right where I wanted them," Max chirped, winking at her with his good eye. His bloody sword lay beside him in the dirt. When he caught Shelby looking at it, he took a rag and wiped it clean.
Zach sat quietly next to Shelby, deep in thought, his fingers on his temples.
Lito walked over, his countenance strained. "I am sorry. He has passed."
"I know," said Zach softly, a tear sliding down his face.
They sat in subdued silence, gulping water from their canteens. The new girl, Morgana, slid over to Zach and placed her arm around him. The forest grew silent, save the blast of horns a few miles off. The Nightlanders who had survived were long gone.
Shelby kept looking over at Throg and the others, hoping there was some way to end the battle for good.
The Assembly members began to stir. The Kin rose and circled them.
Bianca propped up first, on her elbows, and gazed out to the Kin. She smiled. "Oh, my dears. My dear, wonderful children."
Shelby strolled over to her and knelt down.
Bianca pulled her forward. "Beautiful Shelby, I am so proud of you." Tears welled up in her green eyes as she drew closer still and hugged Shelby.
For a moment, Shelby thought Bianca smelled like her mother. It had been so long since Shelby had seen her mom. She held Bianca tightly for several moments, wishing that this woman could have been her mother.
The Assembly members all came to. They rose groggily and set eyes on the Kin. Each of Shelby's friends strode forward and hugged their Kin counterparts instinctively.
Throg watched in silence, wearing a pleased grin.
Rowan Letty walked off with Riley, her arms around Riley's shoulders. Max discussed his battles with Macklin Morrow, who beamed like a proud father and fussed over Max's black eye. Stuart showed Satchel Spool his hand-cannon as he twirled the weapon. Elita Ezmer caressed Emily's hair as they spoke over tea. Shelby looked over to Zach as he huddled on the ground nearby, his knees in his chest.
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