Page 112 of The Great Pursuit
“I thought the beasts had remained on royal lands,” he said to Martone. Aerity’s hopes rose.If it wasn’t one of their creatures . . .
Something crashed into the door like a battering ram andsent it flying clean off its hinges, sliding to the middle of the room. Furball stood on his hind legs, his mane touching the ceiling, and roared so loudly it shook the walls. Prince Vito’s face transformed from his usual look of smugness to an ashen pallor.
Aerity pointed at the prince and yelled, “Attack!”
Furball’s paws stretched wide, his bright, sharp claws shining in the candlelight, but he was distracted when Martone brandished a sword. Furball swiped out in a fast movement that sent Martone’s hand, with the sword in it, flying across the room in a gory splatter. The prince backed away against the wall as Furball leaped onto Martone, and Aerity ran out the door.
The house next to them was on fire, blinding, hot, and loud. A cart tore up next to her and the prince’s other guard jumped down. An arrow swooshed by and the guard gurgled wetly as the arrow pierced his neck. He fell to the side, swiping at it.
“Aerity!” Paxton ran forward, bow in hand. Her eyes went straight to the stained, torn sleeve.
“You’re hurt!”
He shook his head. “Mrs. Rathbrook healed me.” He looked to the open doorway.
“Prince Vito’s in there,” Aerity said. “Furball attacked Martone. And, oh, seas . . . they have Donubhan!”
Paxton put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find him.” He nocked another arrow and sidled next to thedoorway, peering in. His eyes went from side to side before stopping, a deep frown etching his face.
“Furball come!” he shouted. His eyes went to Aerity. “The prince must have fled through the window.”
Curses! She looked in, and sure enough, the room was empty with nowhere to hide. The window was wide open, with scratch marks from where Furball had apparently tried to give chase but couldn’t fit. Martone’s carcass lay in the middle of the floor. Aerity covered her mouth and backed away.
“Aer!” Wyneth’s voice rounded the corner of the burning building. She, Vixie, and Mrs. Rathbrook appeared, flanked by Harrison.
Paxton grasped her arm. “All four of you need to get in this cart and go north to cross the lake. I’ve got to find the prince.”
Aerity swallowed hard, sick at the thought of Pax facing Vito, but somebody had to stop the madman.
“Wait.” Harrison sprinted up, pulling something metallic from his waist and handing it to Paxton. “Smoke bomb.” Pax took it and ran to search behind the house.
Seas be with him.
Aerity hurriedly waved a hand to the other girls and they ran faster. Furball came through the door, his jowls dark with blood, just as Wyneth halted, breathing hard. She made a horrified face at the gore covering him.
“Good boy, Furball,” Harrison said, earning a satisfied grunt from the beast. “Now, let’s go. Ladies, in. Furball willhave to run beside us.” Aerity took his hand and climbed up. It was identical to the one she’d been in before, and it gave her a shiver to remember. The other three climbed swiftly in, and the cart lightly dipped as Harrison took his spot at the reins. “Hang on!” he shouted.
But there was nothing to hang on to. They grasped the seats and one another as the carriage shot forward, bumping over rocks and tilting upward from the slant of the hill. Aerity’s mind went to Paxton trying to find Prince Vito, and she clutched her stomach. She hoped he could get a good shot so he wouldn’t have to be within arm’s reach of the man.Seas, keep him safe.
Hand-to-hand combat did not suit Tiern. He’d been fine shooting arrows from behind an overturned market table. In fact, a sense of calm had come over him, causing his aim to be steady and more accurate than ever. One after another, he took down Kalorians. But when he’d shot his last arrow and saw a soldier preparing to shoot the youngest Zandalee, Zaleek, from behind, he snatched a dagger from his waist and sprinted, plunging the knife into the man’s neck.
Nay, the crunch and blood, coupled with the dying man’s last struggle to fight, was not Tiern’s idea of fun. Perhaps that made him less of a man, but so be it. Zaleek seemed impressed enough. When she spun to see Tiern taking the Kalorian down to the ground, wiping his dagger on his trouser leg as he stood, Zaleek had waggled her eyebrows up and downbefore turning to fight again.
Tiern didn’t have a sword like the soldiers battling around him, so he didn’t dare attempt hand-to-hand with the enemy. He ran about, collecting arrows, trying not to wince at the sounds of ripping arrowheads from dead bodies. Getting lost in a sea of forward-moving fighting, Tiern grasped a branch of the nearest tree and hoisted himself up. He shot his quiver full of arrows, aiming at Kalorians who were about to take down Zorfinans, and picking them off one by one in rapid succession. One of them pointed up at him, and another turned to shoot. Tiern hunkered down and the arrow stuck directly into the branch beneath him. He quickly took down that Kalorian before he could aim at him again.
From his vantage point he could see a horde of Lochlan soldiers battling the three monsters in front of the west commons. Roaring and snarling ripped through the air, but the sheer number of Lochlans attacking were enough to overpower the creatures. A surge of excitement burned through Tiern.
After another half hour of fighting alongside the Zorfinans, the enemy was cleared out of the market area, so the allies moved forward, toward the castle. The ships had truly saved them, taking out hundreds of Kalorians and distracting them while the Zorfinans stormed the southern gates to attack from behind.
When Lochlan and Ascomannian vessels docked and soldiers came flooding out, it didn’t take much longer to overcome the Kalorians. Together, the Lochlans, Ascomannians,and Zorfinans raised a cheer that seemed to go on forever. All that was left was the castle, which appeared strangely unguarded, no archers or soldiers anywhere in sight. It made no sense to Tiern. They should have been heavily guarding their prince.
As military leaders began shouting orders, their remaining troops spread out around the castle. Those who had shields held them up against possible assailants from within. Tiern watched as the elite soldiers and the Zandalee moved up the front steps, opened the doors, and rushed inside with war cries. He held his breath, waiting for an onslaught. He peered up at the balcony and parapet walkway, then the rooftop, all empty. What in the lands of Eurona was going on?
After ten minutes, Zandora came to the doorway and shook her head, looking vexed. He climbed the steps to her.
“It is empty,” she said.
“But how?” he asked. “Surely someone would have seen them come out.”
