* * * * *
From up ahead Bryn saw a Jongurian run from one of the side canyons on the left to join another man behind one of the boulders in front of them. Willem tried to get a shot off at him with his bow but missed, and while he got back down to reload a Jongurian from a side canyon on the right ran out to take up a better position behind a boulder fifty feet in front of him.
“There’s still another boulder between Willem and those two men in front of us,” Jurin said loudly for all around to hear. “If we can send him running up to it we might be able to draw them out and get a shot.”
“Aye,” Halam said, and he began waving at Willem, getting his attention quickly. He motioned with his hands that they wanted him to run up to the next furthest boulder. He nodded back that he understood and readied his crossbow. A moment later he nodded again then sprang up into a fast run. Several arrows sailed out from the canyon entrance behind him but they landed in the dirt at his heels. Trey jumped up and took a shot, hitting a man in the chest with an arrow and sending him to the ground. Jal aimed at another with his crossbow but the man was able to duck the bolt and get off a shot with his bow, sending the arrow too high. The two men that were taking shelter behind the boulder in front of Wen and Halam anticipated what Willem was trying to do, however, and remained crouched down for protection.
“Not so lucky that time,” Jurin said when Willem reached the boulder safely. “They didn’t take the bait.”
“We still got two behind us,” Rodden reminded him, but Jurin shrugged his shoulders as if that were little consolation.
Willem was now in a precarious position. The boulder he was hiding behind left him open to the men in the canyon thirty feet to his rear. Iago realized this and Bryn heard him tell Trey and Jal to keep a close eye out for any movement in that direction. Only ten feet ahead and to his right were the two more men that Willem had tried to draw a shot from when he made his dash. Both remained out of sight in their position and there was little that he could do to draw them out without himself drawing fire from the man who had come out of another side canyon and was now taking shelter behind a boulder twenty feet ahead and to his right. He seemed to sense his predicament and kept low to the ground to create as little of a target for the many bows aimed in his direction.
“We’ve got to get him out of there,” Halam said to the others around the two boulders where he sat.
“Any suggestions?” Jurin asked.
“What if we send another man to run to the position that Willem just left?” Rodden asked.
“Too risky,” Wen called back. “They’d be expecting that. Anything we do now to draw fire away from Willem will just as likely put him in greater danger.”
“What if we send him right up to the other side of the boulder that those two men are hiding behind?” Halam suggested.
No one said anything for a few moments then Wen nodded. “That just might be our only option.”
Halam nodded and leaned out from the boulder to his left so he could get Willem’s attention. Willem gave a weak smile and Halam waved at him to move up some more. Willem shook his head that he didn’t think that was a good idea, but Halam kept on waving at him, so he relented. Drawing out his shortsword he inched toward the edge of the boulder. When Jurin sent an arrow sailing toward the two men to strike the boulder he dashed out and made the ten feet without drawing a shot from any direction. He didn’t waste any time stopping but let his momentum carry him to the far edge of the boulder so that he could take a shot at one of the men with his loaded crossbow. He must have hit him, for Bryn heard a loud groan and saw the other man stand up straight. Wen sent an arrow sailing into his chest and the man grabbed at it for a second before falling forward to slump over the boulder. At the same moment another Jongurian from the side canyon emerged and sent an arrow toward Willem while the man from behind the boulder thirty feet ahead and on the right of the Oval did the same. One struck the boulder just inches from Willem’s head and he ducked down and began to whirl around to get back behind the boulder, but he wasn’t fast enough. The other arrow slammed into his leg above the knee and he let out a loud groan. Jurin jumped up and sent an arrow toward the side canyon, taking the man in the chest.
“Quick,” Wen yelled out, “move up to Willem!” He waved at Conn, Bryn, and Rodden, and pushed Halam out into the open beside him. Halam had little choice but to run if he didn’t want to remain an easy target, so he dashed quickly ahead toward Willem.
“Go!” Jurin yelled at the other three, and Bryn felt Rodden pull him to his feet and push him forward and out into the open.
All three ran as fast as they could. Bryn stole a quick glance back and saw Jurin up and firing an arrow behind him toward the canyon entrance while Trey, Jal, and Iago all did the same from their position. They must have hit a few for he heard some cries of pain come from that direction. Arrows sailed out from behind them as they ran, but most landed ahead of them and to the sides. Bryn thought he heard a thump from behind him, but kept running as fast as he could. Just before he went into a sliding dive to get behind the boulder that Willem was at he saw the Jongurian further ahead of them ready a shot with his bow. An arrow hit the boulder just inches beneath his stomach and he crouched down quickly without taking a shot, however.
Bryn slammed into the boulder hard with his shoulder. He must have been running faster than he realized, he thought as Halam grabbed hold of him.
“Thank the heavens you’re safe lad,” Halam said as he held Bryn close to him.
Rodden was breathing heavily beside him and Halam patted him on the shoulder, but Conn was nowhere to be seen. Bryn looked back and saw him laying not more than five feet from the boulder that Wen was behind, two arrows sticking out of his back. Halam saw Bryn looking back in shock at the sight of the sailor lying dead on the ground and hugged his head close to his chest.
“We’ll get out of this yet, lad,” Halam said as he rubbed Bryn’s back, and Bryn looked up and gave a weak smile.
“How’s your leg?” Rodden asked Willem.
The arrow was embedded deep into Willem’s upper thigh and a steady stream of blood poured from the wound. His pants were already soaked red.
“It’s not good,” Willem replied, “but I’m not finished yet. As long as we can get that sewing kit from Wen and stitch me up, I’ll be fine.”
Bryn thought that Willem was being a bit too modest, but Rodden just nodded his head and looked back behind them. Jurin had moved up to crouch down beside Wen while Iago, Trey, and Jal were still pinned tight behind their boulder, unable to move because of the men in the canyon who were just waiting for them to make a mistake.
“We’re in quite a bad situation,” Willem said. “We’ve got at least two in front of us over there to our right, and who knows how many in that canyon mouth to our rear.”
“We’ve made it this far,” Halam replied. “If we can just get those last two men, then we can make it out of this area.”
Bryn looked over the boulder. Ahead of them more than a hundred feet the mountain walls once again grew closer together and a narrow canyon led out of the Oval. His uncle was right, if they could just cover that last hundred feet they’d be out of this nightmare. It was pivotal that they take out those last two Jongurians, however. The ground ahead of them was largely open. There were a few large rocks, but nothing big enough to hide behind until they neared the canyon that would lead them out.
“If we can just get to that side canyon over there we have a chance at an open shot at the man behind that boulder,” Willem said, pointing to the spot where the dead Jongurian lay on his side with Jurin’s arrow in his chest.
“Well you’re in no condition to run, so I guess it’ll have to be me,” Halam said. He turned to look at Rodden. “You make sure you get Bryn out of here safely.”
Rodden nodded and Willem handed his bow to Halam. “The crossbow won’t reach all the way to the man so you’ll have to use this.”
“Aye,” Halam said as
he slung the bow over his shoulder and took the sheaf of arrows. “Just make sure that Jurin and Wen know what I’m doing.”
Willem nodded and he and Rodden began to wave back to where the two men were taking cover. They nodded when they saw the waves and again when they understood Willem’s motioning at Halam and then toward the side canyon. Jurin waved back at Iago, Trey, and Jal then both readied their bows to fire at the man far ahead of them.
“Whenever you’re ready,” Willem said, and Halam nodded.
“Now,” he said, then sprang to his feet and ran toward the side canyon. Several arrows came from the canyon further behind him and hit the mountain wall while another two shot out from across the Oval. Bryn looked up in time to see one of the arrows from somewhere behind him sail out toward the man behind the boulder, this time landing a few inches higher to take the man in the stomach. The man dropped his bow and fell to the ground, his upper body exposed. Willem shifted his weight onto his good leg and leaned over the boulder far enough to fire a crossbow bolt into the man’s chest, ending his agony.
Halam reached the canyon wall and crouched down behind a large boulder that lay a few feet from its entrance. He waved back at them to tell them he was alright, then took the bow from his shoulder and began to knock an arrow. Suddenly from somewhere a crossbow bolt took him in his upper back near the left shoulder and he dropped the bow and grasped at his arm. Bryn looked from his uncle to the field and saw that the Jongurian that had taken the arrow in the shoulder was lying on the ground and loading another quarrel into his crossbow. Rodden grabbed the crossbow that Willem had set down by his feet and after taking aim, fired. The bolt slammed into the ground inches from the man’s head. The shot fazed him, but he kept winding up his crossbow for another shot.
Willem grabbed the crossbow from Rodden and began to do the same as both men raced against the other. There was no way that Wen or Jurin could get a clean shot, Bryn saw; the man was too well hidden behind the boulder for them to see. It was only ten feet away and the man was nearly ready to fire once again. Bryn gripped his dagger tightly and rushed out toward the man. He was only a few feet away when the man had finished loading and began to raise the crossbow up. Bryn took two more steps then threw his body forward into a slide with his right leg. His boot hit the man squarely in the face and he could feel the nose break under his heel. He didn’t hesitate for a moment. The ivory-hilted dagger slammed down into the man’s back again and again until the man lay still. Bryn had little time to think before an arrow sailed into the boulder just above his head. He looked out to see their lone Jongurian opponent nocking another arrow into his bow from the side canyon. Before the man could even begin to crouch down to take what little cover there was, an arrow landed in his chest, then another, and yet another after that. The man’s fingers went limp and the bow and arrow fell from them as he toppled to the ground.
Bryn began to cry. The tears that had been building up for the past several days all came rushing out at once. The chase at sea, the burning of the ships, the lifeboats, the Jongurian camp, running through the hills, seeing friends die, and now this attack in the canyon and watching his uncle get wounded; it was all too much for him to handle. He broke down sobbing beside the man that he had killed with his own hand. How had things gone so wrong, his mind cried out? A couple of weeks ago he’d been plowing fields in Eston, eating dinner with his Uncle Trun, with not a care in the world. Now he was lying on a rocky mountain floor in a foreign country. Men who wanted him dead were no more than a few feet away. And the only man that he had to protect him had just been shot in front of his eyes. He couldn’t tell how long that he wept before he felt arms around him and looked up to see Jurin over him. Bryn immediately threw himself into his arms and embraced him tightly, crying all the while.
“It’s alright Bryn,” Jurin said as he brushed Bryn’s hair with his hand. “It’s over now, you’re alright.” He raised Bryn’s head up and pointed toward the side canyon. “Look, Halam is just fine.”
Halam kneeled in the canyon mouth and waved over at them. Bryn could see his face flush from the pain that he must have felt in his shoulder and back, but his uncle put on a brave face for his nephew.
“But what about all of the Jongurians still behind us?” Bryn asked.
“There’s nothing we can do about them but hold them off,” Jurin answered. “The way ahead of us is clear now. We can get out of here.”
Bryn looked up at the man then out into the Oval. They still had more than a hundred feet to go to get to the canyon leading out, but Bryn could see no further sign of Jongurians blocking their path. Behind him he could still see Trey, Jal, and Iago firing occasionally at any movement that caught their eye in the Oval’s entrance.
“Come on Bryn, let’s get up and get out of here.” Jurin said as he pulled Bryn up next to him so they both crouched behind the boulder. When Jurin nodded down at him they sprang up and ran the ten feet over to where Willem and Rodden were still taking cover.
“Oh, Bryn, you scared me there,” Rodden said as he took Bryn in his arms for a strong embrace.
“That was very brave what you did, Bryn,” Willem said. “Very foolish, but brave.”
“Will you be able to walk?” Jurin asked Willem.
Willem got into a crouch and then put weight on both of his legs as he tried to stand. He was obviously in pain but was able to do it. “I’ll manage to get out of this deathtrap that we’re in, but after that I’m not sure,” he said.
“You three get over to where Halam is,” Jurin told them. “I’ll get back to the others and tell them we are heading toward the canyon leading out of here.”
“What about the others?” Bryn asked. “How will they manage to get past the Jongurians coming in?”
“I don’t know lad,” Jurin said. He nodded at them then took off running toward the boulder that Wen was still crouching behind. An arrow sailed out toward him but was way off. Another arrow fired from where the other three men were huddled, but it hit the canyon wall. Jurin made it to the men who were now largely grouped together around the first two boulders inside the Oval. He waved back at them, and Rodden helped Willem to his feet then all three took off running toward the side canyon where Halam was. A few arrows came after them, but the other men gave good cover and none of them even came close. Bryn was the first to get to the canyon and he saw his uncle leaning up against the wall with his good shoulder, the left-side of his shirt covered in blood. He ran up to him and threw his arms around his neck.
“Oh, careful there lad,” Halam said with a grunt of pain. Bryn lessened his embrace and looked at his uncle.
“Will you be alright, uncle Halam?” Bryn asked, the tears beginning to well up in his eyes once again.
“Aye, I’ll be just fine, Bryn, don’t you worry.” Halam smiled but Bryn could tell that it was forced and that the pain was greater than he was letting on. Still, he would have no problems running, Bryn thought, so should be able to make it to the far canyon without trouble.
Willem looked at the bolt sticking from Halam’s back. “I don’t think we’ll be able to pull it out now,” he said. “I’ve already tried with this one in my leg. They go in deep.”
“We’ll deal with it later when we’re out of here,” Halam replied. He looked at Bryn once again. “I don’t want you to ever do anything that foolish again, do you hear me? You could have gotten killed back there, and you’re lucky you didn’t.” Two tears fell from Bryn’s eyes and he hastily wiped them with the back of his hand. “Still,” Halam continued in a gentler voice, “that was a very brave thing you did there, and I’m proud of you.” Bryn threw his arms around his uncle once again and this time did not lessen his grasp when Halam let out a groan of pain or as the tears fell hot onto his cheeks.
Jurin ran into the mouth of the canyon, an arrow clattering against the wall behind him. He was breathing heavily and took a few moments to catch his breath before speaking. He had his hands full with two of the enemies crossbows, his
own bow, and two packs, one his and the other belonging to Iago.
“The other four are going to stay and cover our escape,” he said when he’d caught his breath. “Iago’ll stay in the same spot, but Wen, Jal, and Trey will each fan out to a new position. They hope that by seeing us escaping, enough of the Jongurians will be drawn out of the canyon and into the line of fire.”
“But they could be pinned down there for some time,” Rodden said. “We don’t know how many there are in that canyon.”
“I said that to Wen,” Jurin replied. “He told me to get you four out of here and to the isthmus. He would take care of these men here.”
“What’s the plan then?” Halam asked after a moment.
“Wen thinks it would be best for us to follow the wall of the Oval all the way up to that far boulder, oh, about sixty feet in front of us,” Jurin answered, pointing further into the Oval. “From there we take cover for a minute, then proceed on to the next boulder. After that the canyon leading out of here is only twenty feet away.” He looked over at Willem. “Can you manage that?”
“Aye, I may not be as fast as you four but I can make it.”
Jurin nodded. “Good, then get ready.”
Jurin and Rodden each swung one of the packs onto their back and picked up the crossbows. They let Willem take a moment getting up then lined up behind him at the canyon mouth. Willem would go first, followed by Jurin, Halam, Bryn, then Rodden. Each was to move as fast as they could along the wall to the boulder. When they were ready Jurin waved at Wen who had been watching them. Trey ran out from the two boulders closest to the Oval’s entrance toward the boulder nearest the other wall. Arrows sailed out at him, but he made it unscathed. At the same time Wen crept back to take up a position further to the left of the entrance. Iago and Jal remained where they were.
Seeing Wen wave back to indicate they were ready, Willem limped out into the Oval. His steps were slow and staggered, but he managed to pull off a shuffling-run. Jurin stayed behind him with his bow ready, but the other three dashed out ahead. Bryn didn’t try to look back this time but kept running hard. Faster than he thought it would take he was to the boulder and around the other side to crouch down, his breath coming in gasps. Halam and Rodden came in right behind him, then Willem and Jurin a few moments later. Willem was flushed and sweat cascaded off his face, but he smiled.
“We made it,” he said with a small laugh.
“Let’s not waste time,” Jurin said, “the other boulder is only twenty feet away then it’s a clean run to the canyon out of here.”
The others took a moment to catch their breath then were all running again. Bryn was the first to reach the next boulder and he moved around to the other side to take cover, which was no longer really necessary. They were far enough away from the Oval entrance for the Jongurians to even attempt a shot. The others came up a moment later.
“Now just a few more feet and we’re home free,” Halam said, rising to make the last quick run. He looked down at Bryn and smiled when a crossbow bolt slammed into his chest and he fell against the boulder, his face a picture of shock as he looked down at the bolt sticking out of him.
“There! Willem shouted, pointing toward the last side canyon directly across from them.
A Jongurian crouched down against the mountain wall reloading his crossbow. Jurin took his bow and nocked an arrow to it before taking careful aim. The man looked up for a split second, fear clearly writ on his face, and the arrow took him right in the eye. The force of the shot threw him back a couple of feet and he crumpled up against the canyon wall, his undamaged eye wide and lifeless.
“Uncle!” Bryn shouted as he crouched down next to Halam. He was afraid to touch him, the wound looked so bad.
Halam looked up at Bryn. “I’m afraid they got me, lad,” he said with a slight smile.
“You’ll be fine,” Rodden stammered, “you’ve had worse than this.”
“Halam grabbed Rodden’s hand. “You get Bryn back to Adjuria,” he said looking up at his friend’s face.
Rodden nodded as tears welled up in his eyes.
Halam turned his attention back to Bryn, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I love you, Bryn.”
“I love you too, uncle Halam,” Bryn managed to choke out through his sobs.
After that Halam leaned his head back against the boulder and lay still. A moment later Willem leaned over and closed his lifeless eyes.
The Jongurian Mission Page 18