The Undead Hordes of Kan-Gul (11 page)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ran took the lead and Kancho brought up the rear. Neviah came after him, then Jysal, then Malkyr. Ran figured this was the best way to maximize their fighting ability. He motioned Neviah over for a quick hushed chat. He realized he wasn’t fully aware of her capabilities.

She squatted next to him while the others kept a lookout. “Yes?”

“Can you wield magic?”

She smiled. “Unfortunately, no. My job has always been to protect the sorcerers, not to actually cast spells. It’s beyond my ken, frankly.”

Ran nodded. “All right, I wanted to be sure before we moved out. It occurred to me I’d never asked.”

She touched his arm. “Do not worry yourself about such things. You’ve already done more than any of us had a right to ask you to do.”

“What—breaking us out? How could I leave you all behind?”

“Yes, the escape, but also the leadership you’ve shown. You might try casting yourself as a wandering blade for hire, but I think there’s more to you than meets the eye.” She smiled. “But do not fear. If you have secrets that you wish kept, I will not say a thing.”

“Thank you.” Ran glanced around. “Now let’s get moving.” He stood and nodded to the others, and they got into position. He took a moment to say one last thing to them all. “I will scout ahead first.” He looked at Neviah. “If I signal for you to stop, make sure you pass it down the line. I don’t want anyone bumping into each other. Metal swords and daggers tend to make a lot of noise when that happens.”

“That’s the last thing we need,” said Neviah. “I will keep watch for your cues, Ran.”

“All right then, let’s get moving.” Ran resumed his place at the front and led them out of the barracks area and back down the passageway toward the staircase they’d used when the Chekhal initially brought Ran and Jysal to the cell. Ran slid his sword forward and across his front, put his back against the wall, signaled for Neviah to hold where she was, and then used the same cross-stepping technique he’d used previously to ascend the stairs with his back to the wall. In this way, Ran could see what was happening in both directions. With his hands outstretched again, he could easily feel for any problems before he bumped into them.

Keeping his breathing even, Ran climbed the steps. He allowed his focus to soften in the dim light and listened for any noises up ahead of him. As he did, something registered in his subconscious, and he froze.

Listening.

Smelling.

There. He heard a shift. It was a tiny sound, but it was out of the flow of other noises he’d become accustomed to. Someone or something was up ahead of him on the staircase.

But what?

Ran eased up another step. From his position on the winding staircase, he could see back down to Neviah and in the direction above him as well, but not enough to register what might be making the sound.

Rather than risk it, Ran descended again. As he came to Neviah, he removed his sword and gave it to her. “Hold this for me and give me one of your daggers.”

“Why?”

“There’s someone or something up there at the top of the staircase. I’ll need to get a lot closer before I can determine what it is. My sword might scrape against the wall at the wrong time. I don’t want to risk it.”

Neviah took out one of her daggers and gave it to Ran. He tested what it took to pull it free of its scabbard and then tucked it away in his belt; he needed both hands free to negotiate the stairs. “I’ll be back as soon as I see what the threat is. Pass it down the line quietly.”

As she moved off, Ran began his slow, careful ascent of the steps again. As he moved, Ran eased his body forward in a rolling motion that brought his weight down evenly and never compromised his balance. If the steps had been wooden, they would have presented even more of a challenge because they might creak at the worst possible time. Ran had methods for dealing with that eventuality, but a big part of him was grateful the steps were made of stone. Wood took a lot longer to cross without making any noise.

But even though they weren’t made of wood, Ran still needed to exercise the utmost care and focus now that he knew there was someone at the top of the stairs. He figured it might be a guard, stationed there in case of escape. But what if there were two of them? Taking them both out without anyone raising the alarm would prove nearly impossible.

Then there was the inevitable question of what it would take to kill a Chekhal warrior. Kan-Gul had mentioned they were reanimated dead warriors. But were they still vulnerable to attack in the same way that humans were? Ran had an idea of how he would attack, and felt fairly confident it would be enough, but he still had to keep his breathing under control, because the butterflies in his stomach were fluttering like mad.

Ran realized at that moment that it wasn’t so much the idea of fighting that had him nervous. It was the thought that he might end up like Vargul if he wasn’t careful. Ran had never formulated much of a belief system about the afterlife and the whims of the gods and goddesses. He was usually too focused on the real world and learning how to be a shadow warrior. But he liked to think there might be something after all of this.

If he was caught and his soul devoured, however, it wouldn’t matter if there was an afterlife.

Failure, he decided, was simply not an option.

He paused again at the spot where he’d heard the sound a few minutes earlier. Waiting, Ran closed his eyes and opened his mouth to allow his ear canals to better grab at sounds floating in the air. And sure enough, he heard something again. This time it was a bit more substantial: the sound of metal scraping against the wall. Ran pictured the scene in his mind and saw a guard leaning back against the wall. He waited to see if there was any conversation and heard none. Then again, he cautioned himself, the only time he’d seen Chekhal talk was when they were addressing the prisoners. Ran had no idea if they spoke to themselves or shared some sort of hive communication.

He hoped they didn’t have the ability to send their thoughts over distances. If that was the case, they would all be in a big heap of trouble.

Ran took another step up and stopped again, trying to see if he’d been detected. He was now out of sight of Neviah at the bottom of the stairs, but he was growing ever closer to the top of the staircase. Any moment now and he expected to be able to see the threat.

As such, he sank even lower, hugging the wall with his arms and keeping his knees deeply bent. Each cross-step brought him ever closer to the top. Then, as he rounded the next turn, he saw it.

A lone Chekhal warrior stood at the entrance of the stairway with his back to Ran but turned just enough so that if Ran wasn’t careful, the Chekhal might notice movement in his peripheral vision. Ran watched to see if the Chekhal had any sort of pattern to his movement, but after ten minutes, he guessed the Chekhal would stand there until the end of time without much movement.

So be it.

Ran sank back down the staircase a few steps and moved to its inner wall. Then he reascended. In this way, he would come out at the top and be farther behind the sentry, hopefully more in his blind spot.

Ran sank as low as he possibly could and moved into position about ten feet behind the sentry. Looking around the body of the Chekhal, he tried to view the hall they had passed through before descending the stairs. Torches flickered and cast enough light to see across the room, but Ran saw no other guards. Perhaps Kan-Gul felt secure enough in his layout of the fortress that he didn’t think he needed to put more guards around.

Satisfied that the guard was seemingly all alone, Ran shrank back and slowly pulled Neviah’s dagger from its sheath. The blade was about eight inches long and single-edged, which meant he would have make sure he cut in the right direction. It would have to be quick and as quiet as he could manage.

Ran came up in one fluid motion, covering the distance between him and the sentry in the space of a mere second. He aimed the dagger at a spot just to left of the spinal cord at the base of the sentry’s head and then stabbed straight in and cut to the right, severing the cord and brain stem in one single slash.

Dark, viscous blood dribbled all over him, but there was nothing he could do about that now. As Ran had made the cut, his other hand had come up under the Chekhal’s left arm and across his chest to get better leverage for his cut while pulling the Chekhal back and down the staircase, using the shadows within to conceal the kill.

Surprisingly, the Chekhal immediately went limp. Ran let the body down as quietly as possible, making sure that his sword didn’t bang into the floor. Then he raced back down the stairs and got Neviah to help him move the body down to the barracks, where he asked her to move one of the Chekhal’s arms out to the side.

“What for?” she asked.

Ran unsheathed his sword. “I need something.” And he made a quick cut, cleaving the Chekhal’s hand off at the wrist. He grimaced, but scooped up the grisly trophy and stowed it in his tunic.

Neviah frowned at him. “I never figured you for being that sort of man.”

“I’m not,” said Ran. “You’ll see when we get there.” He shoved the rest of the Chekhal under one of the bunks. “Hopefully, by the time they notice he’s missing, we’ll be long gone.”

Neviah had taken her dagger back. “I hope you’re right.”

“So do I,” said Ran. They went back, and Ran led them up the staircase. At the top, he sniffed the air. The stench of blood was apparent, and there was a lot of it on the stone floor and parts of the steps. He frowned. Ordinarily, he might have tried for a bloodless kill by breaking the neck of a target. But given that the Chekhal were a different breed, he’d felt that severing the spinal cord was the only way to go. Apparently, he’d been right. But there was still evidence of the kill on the floor. And it was evidence he wished he could erase.

Speed now became essential. Once the guard was noticed missing, the alarms would no doubt sound. Kan-Gul would bring his full power to bear on them, and he doubted they’d have much of a chance at escape if that happened. But outside the fortress, with their wits about them and steel in their hands, there might be a better chance.

Provided they could make it out.

In his mind, Ran knew the route they would take. They would try to go out the same way they’d come in: through the secret entrance.

He sighed. Thinking about the situation he was in, Ran would have had a better chance of success if he left his companions behind. Duty dictated that he escape and get word back to the Nine Daggers about the potential invasion. And without any of the other travelers hindering his progress, Ran could escape and reach friendly territory much faster than he would otherwise. No doubt his old instructor Senno, who had taught all of them the principles of escape and evasion, would yell at him for dragging along the others.

Ran smirked. Senno would have suggested killing them all and then leaving. But that wasn’t feasible. While Jysal and Malkyr would be easy enough to dispatch, Kancho and Neviah were another matter.

And then there was the fact that Ran didn’t think he could simply kill them in cold blood. Even if it would be more merciful than leaving them to a fate Kan-Gul had in store for them.

Ran looked back at the column of escapees and nodded. It was time to go.

They moved quickly across the open area of the hall, and then beyond they passed through the throne room. At each point, Ran checked ahead to make sure they were not about to run into a horde of guards or Kan-Gul himself. But thus far they had seen little activity in the fortress.

Perhaps Kan-Gul was elsewhere? Ran had little doubt he could probably use all sorts of magic to make that happen. Still, it had been a while since the sorcerer had checked on them. At any moment he might decide to come see if they had made a decision. Ran didn’t want to wait around for that to happen.

From the throne room, they moved back down the hallway and finally Ran felt his spirits lift when he saw the room ahead of them where he and Jysal had initially come into the fortress itself. He motioned for Neviah to wait and then stalked ahead, his feet barely brushing the floor as he did so. At the entrance to the room, he stopped. Then he sank down to the floor and eased his head around the entrance ever so slowly.

The sight that greeted him made his heart sink.

A dozen Chekhal warriors stood along the walls with their arms crossed over their chests. Ran watched them for several minutes, but he could detect nothing about their state of readiness. Were they awake or asleep? Or were they in some sort of suspended animation until Kan-Gul called upon them?

It was risky. If he assumed incorrectly, they would walk right into the sort of battle they were trying hard to avoid in the first place. But they couldn’t stay here. Once the guard was found missing or Kan-Gul detected that his precious trophy had managed to escape, these Chekhal would probably be the first ones to respond. And they would blunder right into the escape party.

Ran licked his lips and slinked back to where the others waited. He motioned Kancho up to where he stood with Neviah.

“There are twelve Chekhal in the room. I don’t know if they’re awake or asleep or what. But they are in there. And the problem is, we can’t stay here. Nor do I know the way to the main entrance.”

Neviah shrugged. “I think this is our best bet anyway. Who knows how many more guards might be waiting by the main gate?”

Kancho nodded. “I agree with her. We’re here already. We’ll take them down hard and fast and then get out.” He stared at Ran. “Are you sure you can get the door open?”

Ran patted his chest where the Chekhal hand was stowed. “I’m pretty sure I can.”

“All right then,” said Kancho. “We attack.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Ran and Kancho considered the scene before them. With twelve Chekhal warriors, there would be enough action for everyone. But the task was to make sure they had the advantage for as long as possible. If the Chekhal were able to raise the alarm, there would be too many reinforcements to handle.

“We need to make this quick,” said Ran quietly.

Kancho pointed. “I’ll go in first and take out those two closest to the far wall. That will draw the attention of the others to me and enable you all to get behind them. And hopefully make quick work of them.”

“That’s a pretty big risk you’re taking.”

Kancho grinned. “Just don’t be late. As soon as I launch the attack, be on my heels and get killing.”

“I will.”

Ran relayed the commands back to Neviah and Jysal. He didn’t waste time trying to fill Malkyr in on the attack. With his wounded leg, Malkyr was more of a liability than an asset. Ran motioned for him to stay well back. Malkyr only shrugged and then nodded.

“We’re ready.”

Kancho eased his curved blade out of its scabbard and smiled once at the honed edge. Ran knew the feeling. Kancho was appreciating the fact that he had a weapon worthy of battle in his hands. While Ran wasn’t Murai, he nevertheless appreciated the craftsmanship of the blade he wielded. It had seen him through some truly harrowing encounters.

“You can count on a sword,” said Ran.

“And it will never betray you,” said Kancho. “I have seen the deaths of many men at the edge of this blade. I’m grateful for its service. Sometimes I think I have no right to ask any more of it than I already have. But here once more we enter into the fray like two old friends. Blessed be its existence, for without it, I would be half the warrior I am when I hold it.”

Ran gave him the moment. After a few seconds, Kancho took a deep breath to flush himself with fresh oxygen. Then he stood and eyed Ran.

“Remember: as soon as I hit them.”

“Done.”

Kancho took another breath, and Ran saw his face change into a grim mask. Then he charged into the room, his sword already swinging at the head of the closest Chekhal warrior.

Ran came in quickly behind him.

As expected, the instant Kancho entered the room, all of the Chekhal turned to face him, but Kancho was moving so fast that he was already past most of them before they had a chance to register the attack and attempt a defense. The first two Chekhal on the far wall fell to Kancho’s blade in swift succession. Ran’s peripheral vision picked up the two heads flying as they were severed from their torsos, but by then Ran was already engaging his first target.

The Chekhal before him was armed with a strange gauntlet that had been fitted with a series of sinister blades that jutted out of it. As Ran closed, the Chekhal launched an attack of his own, swinging his arms in a pinwheel motion. Ran ducked the swipes and then cut up hard, scoring the Chekhal’s torso with his sword. He kicked out at one of the undead warrior’s knees, and the creature buckled. Ran pivoted around and swung his blade horizontally, cleaving the head from the shoulders.

His gut spasmed, and Ran didn’t question it; he ducked under an attack from his rear, aware of a blade arcing through the space where his own head had been a split second before. He swung his other leg out and connected with the legs of another Chekhal warrior. The attack brought the Chekhal down to the ground, where Ran made short work of him by cutting his head off as well.

He heard another blade go flying across the room and saw one of Neviah’s daggers embed itself in the dull eye socket of yet another Chekhal. The socket bled opaque gelatinous goo from the dead eye, and the warrior toppled over.

“I guess there’s another way to kill them, eh?” Neviah smirked at Ran. “Makes things a bit easier.”

Kancho had brought down another Chekhal in the meantime, but Jysal was having a hard time. Two Chekhal warriors had her pinned into a corner of the room, and they were closing fast. Ran sprinted the distance and brought his sword down obliquely from right to left, cutting through the thick leather armor and severing the spinal cord of the first Chekhal.

Neviah sped into the fray and plunged another dagger into the base of the Chekhal’s skull and wrenched it left to right several times. The Chekhal stiffened and fell to the floor.

“Behind you!”

Kancho’s voice was abrupt, and Ran spun, bringing his sword up in front of him to ward off the expected attack. He felt the swing of the Chekhal sword and the weight behind it, nearly staggering back from the assault. But he gritted his teeth and used the Chekhal’s own weight to his advantage, throwing him off to the right. The Chekhal stutter-stepped, and, as he did so, Ran took the opportunity and swept his sword up, cutting from the front to the rear, slicing into the neck of the Chekhal. But Ran hadn’t fully recovered his own balance, and the blow hadn’t been delivered with quite enough force. His blade caught in a bit of bone. Ran turned his body, shifted his weight, and then yanked the blade free. The Chekhal’s head wasn’t completely severed, but lolled to one side as more dark blood bubbled up and out. It took a half step to one side, and then the body toppled to the floor.

The clash of steel against steel sounded like a discordant orchestra of chaos. Kancho kept his blade whirling as he moved, and the Chekhal never had a chance to form any sort of real attack against him. Ran watched him easily take down another Chekhal and then wheel about to face another Chekhal that was trying to move into position behind him.

Ran was about to go to his aid when he felt a thunderous kick slam into him from his side. He fell to one side, aware that the last Chekhal was coming toward him with its sword raised overhead. Ran had one chance. He rolled toward the Chekhal as the sword arced down at where his body had been a moment before.

Instead of cutting Ran open, the sword bounced off the stone floor with a tremendous clang. Ran brought his sword up and plunged it deep into the bowels of the Chekhal. There was an awful stench, and Ran bit back the flood of bile in his throat. He jerked his sword loose and then came up, cutting horizontally and severing the head of the last Chekhal.

With a final gasp, the Chekhal fell forward on its face and was still.

The air buzzed around them. Ran surveyed the scene. The entire battle had taken perhaps a single minute. It had seemed at once incredibly slow and lightning fast. Ran could feel his heart thundering in his chest and willed himself to calm down. He flushed himself with more oxygen and looked at Kancho. The older warrior was sucking down gulps of air. He smiled at Ran.

“Well, that was something.”

Neviah was retrieving her dagger and wore a tight grin on her face. “I needed that.”

Ran knew the feeling. He’d been wanting to battle these guys since they’d been taken into the castle. And it felt good to at least partially avenge Vargul’s death. It would’ve feel better, Ran decided, if they had killed Kan-Gul.

But they needed to escape.

Kancho came over. “Everyone all right?”

Ran glanced around. Malkyr had entered the room and looked amazed at the scene before him. Perhaps he’d never witnessed such carnage before or maybe he’d never seen death dealt with such speed and skill as what Ran, Kancho, and Neviah had managed. Either way, Ran could see he was impressed.

“Remind me never to upset you lot.”

Neviah grinned. “We will.”

“Much as I’d like to take a moment and rest,” said Ran, “there’s no time. I fully expect this encounter will soon be felt all over the castle. And Kan-Gul will send his legions after us.”

“You have the key to get us out here?” asked Kancho.

“Indeed,” said Ran. He reached into his tunic and brought out the dismembered Chekhal hand. “I think this is how they enter and exit as they please.” He walked to the farthest wall, careful to avoid the widening pools of gore that sopped the floor. It wasn’t blood, per se, but rather some other liquid that looked every bit as foul as it smelled. Once at the wall, Ran held the hand up before it and then touched its dead flesh to the surface.

There was a single clicking sound, and then the entire wall started to move. First it slid in toward Ran and then to the left. Then he felt a rush of cool air on his face and knew they’d managed to breach the castle.

His relief was short-lived, however, as in the next instant, a shrieking wail arose within the castle. Ran winced and looked at Kancho. “So much for us leaving unnoticed.”

Kancho smirked. “We knew they’d find out eventually. Let’s get out of here.”

Ran dropped the Chekhal hand and looked back, ushering Malkyr, Jysal, and then Neviah out of the castle. Ran took a final glance around and then stepped outside for the first time in nearly a full day.

The night greeted him like an old friend. While he would have preferred daylight for ease of movement and speed, Ran appreciated the fact that the night would potentially enable him to use the darkness to his advantage. He could lead them nearly as well as if the sun were high in the sky. He had no idea what the capabilities of the Chekhal were and how they operated, but he was willing to guess the darkness might be something of an equalizer for them as they made their escape.

At least he hoped it would be.

Jysal tugged on his sleeve as they made their way out across the barren plain in front of the castle.

“Are you all right?”

She nodded. “Fine, thanks to you and Neviah. But I wanted to remind you of something.”

“What?”

“The Chekhal won’t be the only dangers we face out here. There are still those doglike things prowling the countryside. And you can bet that Kan-Gul will exert his influence over them. They’ll probably pick up our trail without much effort.”

Ran frowned. He had indeed forgotten about the dogs. Their presence would no doubt complicate things, perhaps fatally so. But they couldn’t wait here. Already sounds of war cries echoed off of the castle walls behind them. Kan-Gul would not like losing his prized possession. And he would spare no effort to haul them back inside and put them to death in ways probably more terrible than what had befallen Vargul.

“Press on,” said Ran. “We will deal with those creatures if it comes to it. There’s no sense worrying about them now.”

Kancho stood back as Ran passed by him. “I think it’s probably best if you lead us.”

“Why?”

Kancho grinned. “You are more likely to be comfortable stealing through the night than I am. My skills are on the battlefield and are therefore limited. You don’t seem so encumbered.”

Ran wondered if Kancho had realized what sort of warrior Ran was, but there was no time to ask. He only nodded. “Very well, stay close. The woods are likely full of dangers other than the Chekhal we left behind.”

Ran led them across the plain and then spotted the trees that had led them here. He knew the game trail would be there and they plunged into the woods on the other side of the plain. Ran sniffed the pines as they entered and felt a measure of security wash over him. It reminded him of the game trails he’d snuck down back in the mountains of Gakur and the concealment offered by the boughs made him feel safer than on the open plain.

He chose his steps carefully, his eyes scanning left to right, using his peripheral vision to see instead of staring directly at something where his eyes would not function best in the low light conditions. His nostrils flared as he moved the group off at a brisk pace. And his ears took in every sound.

They descended into the forest proper, where Ran and Jysal had first seen the dog creatures. But the woods seemed as empty of life as they had on their arrival. Perhaps the creatures were sleeping? Or perhaps Kan-Gul hadn’t unleashed them yet? Part of Ran wondered if they might have been another illusion, but then he remembered that he had slain one of them. That kill had been real enough.

Behind him, Ran could hear the footfalls of his party. Kancho walked as quietly as he could, but Malkyr was making a tremendous amount of noise. Ran called a halt to their march and moved back. Malkyr’s face was streaked with sweat. He looked up as Ran approached.

“Sorry. I’m trying my best to be quiet.”

“Try harder,” said Ran. “You’re making so much noise that every creature in these misbegotten woods will have no trouble tracking us.”

“What’s the point? Where are we going to go? Back to the beach? Then what? Kan-Gul will just send his minions to deal with us. Or that accursed fog. Sooner or later, we will end up back in his clutches. We should just give him the girl and be done with it.”

Ran never saw Neviah creep up behind Malkyr, but the edge of her blade gleamed once in the night air as it came to rest on Malkyr’s throat. “I will tolerate no discussion of us surrendering to Kan-Gul or giving him my charge. That is not up for debate.”

Malkyr’s eyes looked completely white as he struggled to clear his throat. “I only meant that our options might improve if we considered all eventualities.”

“Do you remember what you said back in the castle?” asked Neviah.

“N-no.”

“‘Remind me never to upset you.’ Well, you’re upsetting me now. I strongly suggest you shut your mouth, do as Ran says and be quiet, or else I will dispose of you for the creatures in this forest to consume at their leisure. Do you understand?”

Malkyr’s head nodded ever so slowly as Neviah’s blade rested against it. She waited one more second and then pulled her blade away. She nodded at Ran. “I believe we are ready to continue.”

Ran returned the nod. “All right then. Remember what I said: speed and stealth are essential. We know Kan-Gul will be after us, so we need to make sure we are prepared for the coming attack as best we can.”

He turned and looked out into the night. Somewhere out there, Kan-Gul’s forces were preparing to marshal against them. The question was, where was the best place to defend themselves?