Page 65 of Lucie
The sound ofhoofbeatsbehind him alerted Lucien to another approaching horse. He lifted his sword to protect himselfas he scrambled to his feet, but a thick piece of wood came down, knocking it from his hand. Lucien stared up at the soldier getting ready to swing his makeshift club again, prepared himself, and at the last second rolled under the horse to avoid the strike.
The soldier jerked on the reins, turning the animal around to come after him again. Lucien glanced at his sword lying on the ground feetaway, but knew he couldn’t reach it before the man got to him.
Getting into a crouching position, he watched as the man raised his club again. As the heavy limb came down, Lucien jerked away, taking the brunt of the blow on his shoulder. At the same time, he grabbed the piece of wood with both hands and tore it from the man’s grasp. The man yelled in surprise and tried to bring his horse aroundagain to try and run Lucien over, but the animal protested the harsh pull on its mouth, shaking its head as it fought back.
Hoisting the tree limb over his shoulder like a bat, Lucien swung it as hard as he could. The club struck the horse across its flank, and the terrified animal bolted. Both horse and rider took off down the road, back in the direction where it ran directly intoD’Jacquestroops, who quickly brought it to a halt.
Running over to retrieve his sword, Lucien scanned the scene. The battle had lasted less than a handful of minutes. The fake battle lord had overestimated his men’s fighting abilities, or underestimatedYulen’smen’s expertise.
Several yards away, his father had the imposter pinned to the ground, his sword at the man’s throat.Mastinstrode up to takethe man into custody, quickly binding the guy’s arms behind his back. All around him, Lucien noticed the same thing occurring as the rest of the opposing soldiers were taken prisoner. He did a quick mental tabulation. Judging by the number of bodies scattered across the road, and number of men being bound, it appeared that quite a few of the impersonator’s army had beat a hasty retreat.
“Youall right?” A hand clapped him on the back, andRenken’sworried face stared at him.
“Yeah. I’m good. How many men did we lose?”
“Doesn’t look like we had a single casualty. We’ll find out for certain once things settle down.” The big man chuckled. “Boy, howdy. Igottatell you, Luc, you can certainly kick ass when you need to, and you don’t even have to be well-armed! Next time maybe we shouldjust give you some rocks and a slingshot, and see how much damage you can do with that.”
Lucien snickered as he glanced around them. “Have you seenJohna?”
“Not since before the ruckus started. Last time I saw her, she was heading for the big tent.”
That meant she’d headed for his parents’ tent. Feeling somewhat relieved, he went over to join his father.Yulengave himaonce-over to makesure his son was okay. Lucien threw him a quick thumbs-up.
Two guards hauled the imposter to his feet and held him steady asYulenadvanced on the man. Lucien saw the guy flinch slightly, but tried to maintain a defiant stance.
“Who are you really?”Yulendemanded in that low voice that still managed to send chills up Lucien’s spine. The man pressed his lips together in answer.Yulengrinned.“Go ahead. Keep your secret to yourself. I’ll get what I want to know out of you eventually.”
“Why don’t you go ahead and kill me?” the man blurted out.
Yulen’ssmile widened. “Why should I deprive my men of having a little fun?” he cryptically responded. It was all a bluff. Lucien knew his father no longer advocated torture, but this idiot wouldn’t know that.
The imposter’s face paled considerably,but he didn’t reply.Yulensignaled for order. “Let’s get this road cleared off. Gather up their horses. We’ll rope the prisoners to them when we’re ready to leave.”
“What do we do with them in the meantime?” CaptainDestinoasked.
“Bind them together and seat them in a group out in the open. Have at least six guards watching them at all times until I determine our next move.” He glared atthe impersonator. “We’ll keep this one separated from the rest until I can learn more about him and find out why the hell he thought he could get away with his scheme.”
They proceeded into the forest, back to camp, as the soldiers worked to remove all trace of the skirmish, in the event someone else should pass this way. As they neared the tent wherePechardand his men were quarantined, Lucienwas surprised to see several guards holding the three men near the central fire pit.
“Why are they out of their tent?”Yulenquestioned.
“They tried to make a run for it during the incident,” one soldier answered. “Guess they figured all of us would be occupied elsewhere.”
Lucien watched as the emissary caught sight of the new prisoner. His eyes widened, and he immediately dropped his gaze.Lucien turned in time to see the imposter also look away, and a realization struck him. “Dad, these two men know each other.”
Yulenhalted in his tracks. “What?”
He pointed to the emissary, and then to the fake battle lord. “These two men know each other. The way they just looked at each other… Dad, before the attack,Johnaexamined the emissary and his men as you requested. All three of themhave had the virus.Pechardlied to us! He said they hadn’t been infected, but it’s a lie.”
“Where’sJohnanow? I want her to look at this fraud and tell me what she sees.”
“Renkensays he last saw her heading for your tent,” Lucien told him, when a loud shout came from the direction of a road. Seconds later, three soldiers burst through the brush, yelling and waving their swords.
“Bloods!Bloods are coming! Take cover! Bloods!”
