“Too late for that,” I said with a scowl as I flung the priest away. Son Jona landed in the dirt on his backside as I faced the Daughter. “Tell me now, or I promise you I’ll tear this entire place down until I find him.”
Daughter Freda regarded me in indecision. I could see a gleam of fear in her eyes, and a part of me felt shame that I had done this to her. Finally, she nodded in resignation. “Very well. Apprentice Cheny spends most of his days when not at lessons tending to the lepers in the hills.” She turned, pointing to the east where I’d sent Wiflem and his men to scout. “Ride a mile that way and follow the trail until you see an ash tree stripped of bark. There you must wait. The lepers are solitary folk and suspicious of strangers. Someone will contact you before long. Tell them I sent you and they will take you to their dwelling.”
I turned and swung up on Angry, pausing as the Daughter rested her hand on my leg. “Think of what you do, lord. If you murder that man, the king will have no choice but to strip you of your lands and title and hunt you down.”
“I was born with neither lands nor title, Daughter, so there will be no hardship when I lose them,” I said down to her. “My vow means more to me than simple wealth and possessions. As for the other, well, I’ve been hunted before and still live to speak of it.”
I swung Angry around then, heading east between two houses as the crowd parted for me, many of them muttering angrily, though clearly wary of my armor and weapons, not to mention the promise of violence on my face. I could see a worn path leading into the hills, and I followed it, pretending not to notice the flash of mail from the trees to the south. I knew Jebido and Baine had seen me ride out of town and were following at a respectful distance. I can’t say I was surprised. The only surprise, I suppose, was that Jebido had waited this long.
Ten minutes later, I reached the treeline, where I saw five men on horses emerging from the forest. I recognized Wiflem and kicked Angry toward them.
“My lord,” Wiflem said, nodding in greeting. Niko was with him, along with three others who had come south with Wiflem to join my garrison. “We have swept the hills and woods, lord, but saw nothing of interest other than an abandoned longhouse.”
“Show me,” I grunted, thinking that must be where the lepers lived.
Wiflem studied my face. I could tell he was curious about why I was interested in the longhouse, but he just nodded. “Of course, my lord. This way.”
We followed the path east, and I called a halt when we came to the ash tree Daughter Freda had mentioned. I stared up at the tree’s long-dead branches and withered bark, my anger smoldering like a grass fire as I thought about Grindin. He would have walked this same path not that long ago, possibly pausing to rest against this very tree. Soon, I knew, I would have the apprentice in my grasp, and then we’d see what came of it.
“The building is a hundred yards that way, my lord,” Wiflem said, pointing northeast through the forest.
I nodded, not saying anything as I looked about me. The trees to either side of the path were thick here, with twisted brambles, moss-covered logs, and mounds of leaves covering the ground. I listened but heard nothing other than the chirp of a chickadee somewhere off to my right.
“There was no one there, my lord,” Wiflem added pointedly.
I glanced at him. “Are you sure of that? Did you go inside?”
“Haspeth,” Wiflem called over his shoulder. “Come here.” One of the men nudged his horse toward us. He was thick and wide, with a bull-like neck and heavy shoulders. Like the rest of my men, he wore my wolf emblem on his white surcoat and shield. “Tell Lord Hadrack what you saw in the longhouse.”
“I saw nothing, my lord,” the soldier said. He shrugged apologetically. “Nothing except dirt and rotting walls.”
“You saw no signs that anyone was living there?” I prodded. “You are certain?”
Haspeth’s face twisted as he thought. “Well, my lord, I can’t say as to that, I suppose. I was looking for someone lying in wait for us. The place was empty, so that was good enough for me.”
I grunted in acknowledgment as Jebido and the others appeared coming along the trail.
“So, this is a little unexpected,” Jebido said when he reached us. He stared at me, one eyebrow raised. “Off on a foxhunt, are we then?”
“There’s a complication,” I grunted.
Jebido leaned forward on the pommel of his saddle wearily. “Of course there is.”
“Our man Grindin is not the fool we were expecting,” I said grudgingly. “The bastard has gone and taken the vows.”
Jebido blinked in surprise. “Well, that’s going to be a problem.”
“What are you going to do?” Baine asked. “You can’t kill him now, Hadrack.”
I took a deep breath. “I have no idea,” I said, just as a boy appeared from the trees.
The boy was around ten or so, though his face looked wrinkled and puffy like an old man’s. Pale bumps that rose along his nose and cheeks disfigured his face, making his eyes look like tiny dots within a sea of swollen madness. The boy stared at us, shifting from one barefoot to the other. I noticed that similar growths on his feet had twisted them into unrecognizable lumps.
“I’m looking for Grindin,” I said. “Is he nearby?” The boy just stared at me dumbly. I sighed. “I mean, Apprentice Cheny.” Again, the boy said nothing. “Daughter Freda sent me,” I added, hoping that might gain the boy’s interest. “We are old friends of Cheny’s.”
“He brings us food, lord,” the boy said warily.
“That sounds just like him,” I replied with a forced smile. “Cheny is a kind and gentle soul.” The boy looked at me oddly and I realized he had already met the bastard, so he probably knew that I was lying. “What’s your name?” I inquired.
“Rin, lord,” the leper boy responded.
“Can you take us to see Cheny, Rin?” I asked. “It’s important that I speak with him.” Rin held out a twisted hand, and I nodded to Baine, who dug a coin from his belt and flipped it through the air.
“This way,” the boy said as he snatched at the coin. He shuffled away, limping as he moved off through the trees. My men and I began to edge our horses forward, and Rin paused to look back. “No, just you, lord,” he said, pointing a grimy finger at me. “Just you, and no horses.”
“Hadrack,” Jebido started to protest.
“It’s fine, Jebido,” I grunted as I dismounted. I handed him Angry’s reins. “There’s nothing to fear here.”
I pushed my way through the thick trees as Rin flitted in and out of sight ahead of me. The ground beneath me lay uneven, with branches covered in leaves and half-dried muck trying to trip me. Stands of thick dewberries lined the forest floor, clutching at my boots and tugging at my shield, making the going even more difficult. The boy ahead seemed to have no trouble traversing through it all, however, even with his bare feet and limp. Finally, growing impatient, I drew Wolf’s Head and began hacking my way along, quickly breaking out in a sweat.
“This way, lord,” I heard Rin call out, though I could not see him any longer through the trees.
I angled toward the boy’s voice, cursing as a vine hooked my foot and I stumbled. I righted myself and pressed on, until eventually I broke through the trees into a small clearing dotted with clumps of feathered reed grass that rose almost to my waist. A long, low building sat near the treeline opposite me. The house was built of sagging timber planks and was perhaps twenty-five feet in length, with a weathered thatch roof that had collapsed in two places along the eastern end wall. Rin waited for me near the open door. I paused, searching for any signs of movement from the trees or the building itself, but heard and saw nothing.
I approached the house cautiously. “Where is he?” I asked Rin.
The boy said nothing as he turned to indicate the open doorway. I grunted, moving forward and shifting my shield in front of me. I was certain that a bunch of lepers was nothing to be concerned about, but as Jebido always told me, a wise man h
as to be prepared for any eventuality. I stepped through the doorway and waited as my eyes adjusted to the gloom, broken only by two patches of sunlight to my right where the roof had fallen through. Haspeth had been right, I saw. There was nothing inside the building but filthy straw and dark mounds of piled dirt here and there, just as he had claimed.
The soldier hadn’t mentioned the bald man sitting cross-legged and alone against the back wall, however. That was clearly something new.
“So, you came,” the man said in a triumphant voice. His eyes gleamed at me with hatred. “Wolves can be so predictable.”
It was Grindin, of course. He was much older now, looking smaller in his apprentice robe than I remembered. But even with his blond locks gone and his head shaven, I knew that it was him. I growled deep in my chest and stalked forward, with only Grindin’s death in my mind, regardless of the law or consequences. That’s when the earth shifted beside the smug-looking bastard, and a crowd of armed men appeared, eagerly thrusting aside a crude covering of woven branches and twigs as they leaped out of a deep pit.
Men in red capes and pointed boots.
2: Cardians
I have always held nothing but contempt for Cardians, both as men and as warriors. Yet, as I watched them swarm out from their lair like dark, hungry spiders, I realized even inferior fighters like Cardians could bring their betters down if there were enough of the bastards. The men facing me were all identical in their dirtiness, covered in sweat and black filth from the pit that they had dug. I don’t know how long they had been down in that grubby hole, waiting for me to step into their trap. It hardly mattered, I suppose, as their patience had clearly paid off. The Cardians began to jeer and curse me for a fool, confident that their prey was trapped, while I stood watching them warily, thinking that maybe they were right.
I knew the wisest course of action would be to turn around immediately and try to run back to my men. To do anything else would be foolhardy and would only confirm what the Cardians were calling me. But I can be stubborn and hard-headed at times, and I hesitated in indecision, reluctant to flee from scum such as these, despite their superior numbers.
The last Cardian emerged from the pit, bringing the total to seven as they started to advance on me. All seven looked reasonably competent and experienced, though perhaps a little too overconfident. My pride told me that I could beat them, but my brain was whispering something else. I decided to listen to my brain and run, knowing that I could console my wounded pride another day. I crouched low and drew my shield down in front of me, snarling and tightening my grip on Wolf’s Head. It was nothing but a bluff, of course. I wanted the bastards to think that I would fight, hoping it might gain me an extra step or two on them.
The Cardians hesitated at my aggressive stance, and I started to turn toward the entrance just as the unmistakable sounds of weapons colliding and cries of battle arose from the trees south of the clearing. I heard Grindin laugh, and I cursed, understanding now just how well planned this entire affair had been. I took a deep breath and turned back to face the Cardians. There would be no help coming from my men anytime soon, I realized, so whether I liked it or not, my course was set. I crouched again, preparing to charge at the Cardians. That’s when a second hatch flipped up to my left, revealing eight more red-caped soldiers crowded together in another pit. Grindin slowly stood, chuckling in amusement at the look on my face as the new men leaped out of the hole.
“Your men were lazy in their search,” Grindin said with contempt in his voice. “They should have looked closer. They didn’t even check their backtrail after they left here.”
I straightened in resignation and shrugged. “I’ll be sure to mention that oversight when I see them next,” I said. I might have had a slim chance against seven men, but fifteen had just dashed my hopes. The new arrivals spread out to my left, with the initial group doing the same on my right. Grindin stood near the back wall, watching in amusement.
“Aren’t you going to try to run?” Grindin asked mockingly. The bald man lifted an eyebrow. “Or is the great Wolf of Corwick too proud to turn tail and flee like a peasant girl?”
I had no idea how many more Cardians were outside assaulting my men. All I knew was if I tried to run now, I would be trapped between the two. The way back through the trees would be difficult, and one misstep would be the end of me. I didn’t relish the idea of a sword thrust in my back, so really, there was only one option left. I had to fight.
The Cardians were grinning with confidence as they fingered their weapons—and why not? They had a clear advantage and were certain of what to expect from me. I decided to throw off that confidence and their expectations. I threw my shield aside, then laughed at the look of surprise on my adversaries’ faces. Several of the Cardians muttered uneasily, and even Grindin appeared caught off-guard.
“You have fought before, I understand,” I finally said, fixing my gaze on Grindin. “In a shield wall, shoulder to shoulder with other men, smelling the blood, the shit, and the fear.”
The bald man nodded suspiciously. “I have,” he said. “It’s not something that I’d care to do again.”
I sheathed Wolf’s Head in one smooth motion, the sound of the blade ringing along the gilded scabbard loud in the silent building. “Then you know the confusion such a battle can bring. How the dust and smoke stings your eyes, blinding you and making things worse as men scream and die all around you.” I slowly drew my father’s axe, smiling as several of the Cardians to my right took an unconscious step backward. “Sometimes a man hesitates in a tense situation like that,” I growled. “Afraid that he might take the blood of a brother by mistake.” I looked around at the men facing me as I hefted the axe in my hands. “But today, I have no such concerns. I only have myself to worry about.” I smiled my best wolfish grin. “And I’m more than enough to deal with the likes of you.”
Then I charged.
I’d picked a tall Cardian with a droopy mustache to my right as my first target, and as I barrelled toward him, I screamed a blood-curdling challenge. The Cardian seemed stunned by my attack, frozen, with his mouth hanging open in dull-witted surprise beneath his hairy upper lip. I struck the soldier hard in the stomach with the butt-end of the axe, whirling and ducking even as the man sagged and crumpled. I swung the axe savagely as I turned, the blade hissing through the air before slicing deep into the belly of a short and stocky Cardian coming up behind me. That man clutched at himself and fell with a high-pitched cry as his companions all surged toward me, screaming for blood. I bellowed, whirling the axe in all directions like a madman while the Cardians tripped over each other in their eagerness to get to me. I sliced open one man’s arm, and he screamed, dropping his sword, then cut down another man and cracked a third on the helmet, stunning him before my attackers finally began to lose their enthusiasm. They fell back in disarray and regrouped into a rough ring around me, looking shocked by my speed and ferocity while keeping a respectful distance between themselves and my crimson-stained axe.
The Cardians began cursing me then, describing in gory detail what they planned on doing to me as they boldly waved their weapons, though none seemed willing to step forward and try their luck against me a second time. I snorted in contempt as I slowly turned in a tight circle, watching the soldiers warily. I had been lucky, I knew. The Cardians had thought that I would fall quickly and had been reckless in their desire to get to me. But now that I had spilled their companions’ blood on the floor and remained uninjured, they knew they were in for a fight.
The second attack would be more cautious and disciplined, I was certain, so I had to make my next move before that happened. I glanced at Grindin where he stood twenty feet away, his back pressed against the wall. Only one man stood between the apprentice and me. I grinned. So far, so good.
A Cardian in my peripheral vision took a tentative step forward, and I twisted around, my axe hissing like a striking rock snake. The soldier managed to dodge out of the way, but not before the razor-sharp
blade took a hunk of beard from the man’s chin. I twirled again, feinting toward the left wall of Cardians, forcing them to retreat, then I turned to face Grindin and started to run. The Cardian directly in front of me saw me coming, his eyes widening just as my shoulder took him squarely in the chest, sending him spinning sideways to the dirt floor. I kept going, barreling toward the apprentice, who only had enough time to raise his hands to protect himself before I crashed into him.
I am a big man, weighing almost two hundred and sixty pounds, even more fully armored as I was. Grindin was at most five foot six and weighed perhaps a hundred and thirty pounds soaking wet. I slammed into the apprentice like a raging bull, one hand gripping my axe, the other pinning the smaller man to my chest before I closed my eyes in anticipation of what was coming. Please let the planks be loose and weakened by cluster flies and wood-eating beetles, I prayed as we crashed into the wall. At best, I figured we would pass through easily—at worst, the planking would hold, and my weight would probably snap Grindin’s neck. Either way, my plan seemed infinitely better than staying where I was and simply being slaughtered.
The Mother must have been listening to my hurried prayer, for the weathered sheathing of the longhouse snapped like dried twigs, sending the bald apprentice and me tumbling awkwardly outside to the ground. We landed in a clump of grass ten feet away from the treeline, and I rolled and jumped to my feet. I turned to look back. A Cardian had just stuck his incredulous face out through the splintered wall, and I swung, cutting through the man’s helmet into bone and cartilage. Blood splattered skyward, spraying against the wood in a wide swathe as the Cardian fell without a sound. I yanked my axe free from the dead man’s skull and sheathed it, then hauled a stunned-looking Grindin to his feet. I threw the apprentice over my shoulder and ran into the trees, heading north. I could hear the Cardians shouting in surprise and anger from behind me, but I didn’t bother to look back.
The Wolf At War Page 3