Regret's Shadow (Sins of Earth Trilogy) (11 page)

He was developing a kinship with these folk that came close to the bonds he had shared with his fellow soldiers, and had done so in just a few days.

If anyone had told him that he’d be in a stable, drinking wine and sharing jokes with a bunch of elves three days ago, he’d have locked them in solitary for a few days to see if the crazy would sweat out of ‘em.  He shook his head at the absurdity of it all.

“Well, gentlemen,” the princess broke in after the laughter had dropped down, “I believe we should turn in.  We’ve got a lot of ground to cover come morning.”

Everyone sat up.  Ethelrynne rose and set down her cup before retiring to her straw
bed.  There were grunts and grumbles as the rest of them did the same. 

For Hade’s part, he reached over and turned down the lantern and then rolled back to stare at the rafters in the dark.  He marveled at the feelings roiling in his gut, surprised that he was able to feel
so optimistic, despite all that had happened. 
Perhaps it’s the wine
, he thought.

He listened to the rain patter on the shingles.  It didn’t take long for the rhythmic prattle to lull him to sleep.

A gloved hand covered his mouth and he jerked awake.  It was lighter, he could make out the tense face of Chazmyr hovering over his, with a finger over his pursed lips. 

It took Hade several moments to bring his panic under control.  When his breathing slowed and his body relaxed, the ranger removed his hand.

Slowly, he used the finger held to his lips to point over toward the edge of the loft.  Hade curled to a sitting position, surprisingly free of aches for once.  Chaz guided him to his feet and over to the edge.

In the stable below, creeping through the lightening gloom, was a goblin.

Hade jerked his head around.  All the elves were alert and ready, peering over the lip of the loft.  Ethelrynne had her bow drawn, and seeing that Hade had marked the goblin, she loosed.

With barely a whisper, the shaft tore through the greenskin’s throat.  There was a sound, like water being wrung from a rag, and the monster went down in an arterial spray.  Several horses whinnied a
s the foul stench of goblin grew stronger in the damp air.

Immediately the elves began to descend to the ground, while Hade quickly retrieved his gear.  His mind spun; goblins were in the
town!  By the time he’d joined the elves on the dirt of the stable floor, he was thinking that it made some sense.

They had moved as fast as they could to the town, but had gone through the forest for several miles before they
’d made the road.  The goblins, if they were part of an advance party, would have made great time on the road all the way from the fort.  He cursed their luck.

Heldvir and Tinder went to cover the openings while the group squared-up.

“The goblins have sent raiding parties in advance of the main force,” Hade said.

Ethelrynne nodded, “We should have expected that.”

Everyone assumed suitably shameful expressions.

“We’ve got to get out and see how many there are,” Chazmyr suggested.

“Indeed.  And hope no one in the town’s militia decides that elves look an awful lot like goblins in the morning mist.” Hade looked dubious.

“Chaz, take Heldvir, Tinder, and Leaf with you around the northe
rn perimeter of the town,” the princess commanded. 

“Hade, you’re with me.  Brendle, Veld, Sprig…let’s go.”

The group split and moved into the mist-shrouded town.  Nerves were on edge.  Eyes darted here and there, searching shadows and dim spots in the fog for the forms of goblins.  It seemed as if most of the town still slept, and Hade wasn’t sure if that was a good sign.  He supposed it depended on the size of the force that had invaded.

Ethelrynne stalked by his side, leading the small group.  Hade thought that he should be surprised at how easily he took to her commands, but he realized it was foolish.  She was royalty, and from what he could ascertain, leader of the elven rangers. 

She was not only accustomed to people following her commands, but she was extremely competent in the role.  He hoped that he could be valuable to the group, beyond acting as a human liaison.

His contemplations nearly got him killed, as a burly
hobgoblin rushed from between two buildings and was upon him almost before he could bring his sword to bear.  The sound of metal on metal rang out in the still morning.  It seemed as if that were the signal for all hell to break loose.

Roars of maniacal glee erupted around them, seeming to come from all directions in the mist.  Hade’s heart leapt into his throat, both from the
cacophony and the imminent threat of death.  He struggled mightily with his opponent, grinding blade against blade, while the other members of their small squad became pressed from multiple foes.

He stared in horrid fascination at the long tusks and bourbon-colored eyes of th
e hobgoblin.  It had obviously lived far longer than your average greenskin, as its flesh tone was a deeper green, almost grayish, and that coincided with the deep yellow-brown of its eyes.  The scraggly black hair fell over its bulbous features, shining with grease, even in the dim light.  The stench of its breath as it chortled at him was the only thing he’d experienced that made its normal body odor seem flowery by comparison.

His arms began to shake, while the bare biceps of the beast pulsed with worm-like veins.  Finally his combat training took over, and he pivoted on one foot, slid the pommel of his sword down, and forced the monster’s blade to slide down and to his right.  He countered with a jab toward the goblin’s torso, but
the creature was blindingly fast with the heavy cleaver it wielded.  Again there was the clang of steel while Hade’s wounded arm screamed in protest.

He took a step back and the monster pressed.  He could see the elf called Sprig to his right, fending off the blades of two smaller goblins.  His movements were fluid and sure; the soldier didn’t doubt the greenskins would fall to his blade.  Just the same, no help would be immediately forthcoming from that direction.

Behind him he heard the clear voice of the princess bark something in her language that sounded to Hade as an insult, followed by a dark laughter.  His frantic mind got the impression she must be enjoying the fight.  He wished he could say the same.

His monster swung a massive arm in a backhand that Hade p
artially blocked with his blade. The beast’s strength was great, however, and Hade’s sword merely clanged off of a metal bracer before a white explosion went off behind his eyes.  He felt a tooth break free and punch through his lower lip as it fled his mouth.  He staggered to his left and tried to spin away from the follow through he knew must be coming.

Luck was with him, for the goblin had brought its cleaver up and over to chop down at where the man had been standing
. Hade’s his quick footwork saved him, if just barely.  The monster grunted in mild annoyance and turned to advance again.

Had
e came up with two hands on the hilt of his sword, anger and determination plain on his face.  Blood oozed from his mouth, staining his beard the color of wet rust and he spit defiantly. 

The goblin grinned and waded in, cleaver held diagonally across its torso.  As it closed the distance, it raised the crude blade over its head for another crushing stroke.

Hade sidestepped, and even as the goblin realized its mistake and jerked its weapon low, Hade jabbed up through its torso, sinking eight inches of his steel it its kidney area before quickly yanking it free in a spurt of ichor.  The beast howled in pain as the two moved past each other, but was quick to pivot and face the soldier as he gained solid footing.  Its vomit-colored eyes narrowed.

The two circled each other slowly, oblivious to the combat storming around them.  Hade knew that each moment he could drag the fight out the blood loss would weaken his foe, but at the same time, he was concerned with the rest of the battle.  The other figures of the immediate combat were merely indistinct forms wheeling through the mist.

Hade rushed, the goblin leapt forward a little more sluggishly.  Their blades crashed again, and Hade felt a chip fly from his edge.  For a minute they exchanged blows; the goblin’s sheer ferocity was keeping the soldier’s better-aimed strikes at bay.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity to Hade, he managed to slide his blade along the cleaver’s haft and dig into the
back of the monster’s hand. 

It dropped its grip on the cleaver and tried to back away.  It bumped i
nto one of its comrades, and Hade stepped in to drive the point of his sword up through its throat and out through the top of its skull.

As the goblin shuddered, Hade quickly stepped back and pulled his sword into a close guard position, scanning around him.  The behemoth dropped first to its knees, then pitched forward to the ground.

Something bumped into Hade from the left and he whirled, feeling his blade clang against steel.  Purple eyes met his and he realized his mistake.  The princess and the soldier stepped back, blades lowering slightly. 

Hade flushed, and then shrugged.  The princess, black blood spattered across her face, grinned.

There was no time to enjoy the moment, as screams – panicked human screams – came to them from the center of town.  They formed up with Brendle, Veld, and Sprig before trotting through the dissipating mist toward the sound.

The town center was a study in chaos.  In the time it had taken them to finish with their small group, the rest of the goblin raid
ing party had assailed the village.  Men were doing their best against the marauders with old swords and farming tools.

Hade could see the other group of rangers mixed with the men, and to his relief, it looked like they were trying to hold a united front against the
monsters.  There were a number of goblin corpses laying about, interspersed with dead men.

The air was split with a howl of rage as Hade and his group charged the goblins from behind.  He realized it came from the princess, and his spine tingled. 

She was a vision of martial beauty.  Her golden hair found what errant rays of sun were starting to burn through the fog and sent them dancing.  Her curved blade, moments ago slick with black blood, blazed with a white light.

She outran the group by several meters and whipped her blade in a frenzy.  She danced into the
goblin rear ranks and out again; where she had been greenskins fell to quivering heaps.

Hade and the others lay into the goblins as well, and when the humans realized what was happening, a ragged cheer went up and they redoubled their efforts.

Between them, the men and elves made short work of the goblin force.  There were several moments that followed where everyone just stood, soaked in blood, gasping the morning air as the sun worked through the last of the mist.

The burly barkeep, slathered in black blood up to his elbows, let the head of his axe drop to the ground as he regarded the elves.  The handful of men around him seemed to be waiting to follow his lead as the two groups unconsciously formed opposite ranks.  After a moment, he sniffed and scratched at his beard, leaving a smudge of goo.

“Whelp, don’t I feel the fool,” he grunted.  He held out his hand to the princess, who wiped an errant hair from her face before gladly accepting the man’s offer.

“We all have our moments,” she started, before the budding scene of reconciliation was interrupted by a bl
ood curdling scream from behind, to the east.  Everyone turned as one, weapons coming up.

A woman ran into the street from an alley.  Her ni
ghtgown was smeared with blood - red blood - and she hugged herself as she ran. 

Men and elves broke to meet her, when two lanky trolls, one still holding the limp form of a villager in its savage claws, loped into view behind her.  They splintered the corners of the surrounding buildings with their massive shoulders, clearing the alley and straightening to their full eight foot height.  They stopped and faced the group as the woman ran past, heading for the inn.

Hade barked at the innkeeper, “Get everyone into the tavern, and bar the door!  Tables, chairs, I don’t care.  Just get it secure!”

The portly man didn’t wait to be told twice.  He nodded to his companions and they jogged toward the
Whetstone. 

The elves formed up, while the troll with the captive casually reached down and bit off the person’s head with a wet crunch.  Hade’s
stomach heaved as it jawed the skull while the body twitched.  He thanked the stars the hostage had been unconscious or dead beforehand.

Ethelrynne was at his side, “This won’t be as easy as the goblins.”

The soldier looked at her incredulously, “That was EASY?”

She smirked, but her eyes remained on the beasts.  The one on the right had discarded its snack, and began to flex it long talons.  The other was licking its lips with a black tongue.  Still, they began to advance warily, beady eyes on the elves.

The princess made a clicking noise with her tongue, and the elves sprang into action.  Three of the rangers held back and drew bows along with Ethelrynne, while Chazmyr took three with him into melee range.  The trolls bellowed their approval and stomped to meet them.