they tried to pull the moss
from the now heavily smoking fire.
Cal set off, running as fast as
he could, with the moon making brief appearances from its cloak of clouds.
Behind him, he could hear the Picts shouting their challenges already close on
his heels. His heart was hammering as if it were trying to burst from his chest
and he had the insane wish to laugh out loud, which he did, hooting and calling
to urge the angry warriors on.
The first branch marker showed up briefly upon the
moonlit path, and then the clouds shrouded it in darkness once again. Judging
where it was, he took the biggest jump he could and prayed he would clear the
trip-line. He landed, and then ran on, thanking the spirits for providing the
cover of darkness. He was at the second trip-line when he heard the shouts and
curses of the Picts falling heavily over the first.
He gave a loud laugh and screamed out. ‘Come on, you
smelly blue donkeys, try and catch me!’ Their answer came to him as a renewed
chorus of angry yells and, using this noise to disguise his own flight, Cal made his way off the
path into the trees and doubled back towards the camp.
When Cal
came dashing into the camp to dump leaves on the fire, Usher let the arrow fly.
It was something he hadn’t wanted to think about too much beforehand, but when
he needed the shot, his instincts took over. The bow came up, the startled face
of the Pict warrior appeared along the arrow, and he let go. Time seemed to
slow down as he watched the arrow travel the short distance, spinning in the
air. He saw it connect with the Pict’s temple with a hollow thunk, collapsing him to the floor.
Part of Usher fell with him. He wanted to continue
standing in the shadows, staring at the fallen man surrounded by crying
youngsters, now up and screaming in fear and confusion. However, there was
another part of his mind that took over, stirring him into action, forcing him
out of the trees towards the now hysterical children. He deliberately didn’t
look at the fallen Pict, but concentrated on searching the grubby familiar
faces for Clarise.
Finding her at last, he held his hand out towards
her. ‘Clarise, it’s me, Usher. Come on, we have to leave here. All of you… come
on!’ He grabbed Clarise by the hand and herded them all towards the gap in the
trees and the path that lay beyond. As they got there Meryn emerged, blood
soaking the sleeve of his tunic and dripping from his sword. His appearance
brought renewed screaming from the children.
‘It’s all right, he’s with us, just keep going!’ insisted
Usher. With Meryn’s help, he began shepherding the children into the forest and
away from the madness of the camp.
‘There are more of them… we didn’t get them all,’hissed Meryn, as they hurried on,
scanning the shadows around them. ‘Four went after Cal, I killed three, and you killed one.’ He
grabbed Usher’s arm and spun him around in the darkness. ‘You did kill the one
guarding this lot, didn’t you?’
‘Yes!’ said Usher, maybe a little more roughly than
he should have. The moment would live with him for the rest of his life. The
drawn bow, the flight of the arrow, the look on the man’s face as he…
Falling to his knees, Usher emptied the contents of
his stomach and fought to bring himself under control. He didn’t need Meryn to
tell him this wasn’t the time so he pushed himself up onto unsteady legs and
ran on to catch the others.
Standing on either side of the four girls and two
young boys, they walked further away towards the edge of the forest. They were
quieter now, but were still sobbing enough to draw attention.
‘There are still two around here, someplace,’ said
Meryn nervously, ‘I don’t like it when we can’t see them. They have the element
of surprise and that’s not good.’ Without warning, the sound of someone or
something crashing through the trees came from their right and they dropped,
pulling the children down with them.
‘ Shh
from the now heavily smoking fire.
Cal set off, running as fast as
he could, with the moon making brief appearances from its cloak of clouds.
Behind him, he could hear the Picts shouting their challenges already close on
his heels. His heart was hammering as if it were trying to burst from his chest
and he had the insane wish to laugh out loud, which he did, hooting and calling
to urge the angry warriors on.
The first branch marker showed up briefly upon the
moonlit path, and then the clouds shrouded it in darkness once again. Judging
where it was, he took the biggest jump he could and prayed he would clear the
trip-line. He landed, and then ran on, thanking the spirits for providing the
cover of darkness. He was at the second trip-line when he heard the shouts and
curses of the Picts falling heavily over the first.
He gave a loud laugh and screamed out. ‘Come on, you
smelly blue donkeys, try and catch me!’ Their answer came to him as a renewed
chorus of angry yells and, using this noise to disguise his own flight, Cal made his way off the
path into the trees and doubled back towards the camp.
When Cal
came dashing into the camp to dump leaves on the fire, Usher let the arrow fly.
It was something he hadn’t wanted to think about too much beforehand, but when
he needed the shot, his instincts took over. The bow came up, the startled face
of the Pict warrior appeared along the arrow, and he let go. Time seemed to
slow down as he watched the arrow travel the short distance, spinning in the
air. He saw it connect with the Pict’s temple with a hollow thunk, collapsing him to the floor.
Part of Usher fell with him. He wanted to continue
standing in the shadows, staring at the fallen man surrounded by crying
youngsters, now up and screaming in fear and confusion. However, there was
another part of his mind that took over, stirring him into action, forcing him
out of the trees towards the now hysterical children. He deliberately didn’t
look at the fallen Pict, but concentrated on searching the grubby familiar
faces for Clarise.
Finding her at last, he held his hand out towards
her. ‘Clarise, it’s me, Usher. Come on, we have to leave here. All of you… come
on!’ He grabbed Clarise by the hand and herded them all towards the gap in the
trees and the path that lay beyond. As they got there Meryn emerged, blood
soaking the sleeve of his tunic and dripping from his sword. His appearance
brought renewed screaming from the children.
‘It’s all right, he’s with us, just keep going!’ insisted
Usher. With Meryn’s help, he began shepherding the children into the forest and
away from the madness of the camp.
‘There are more of them… we didn’t get them all,’hissed Meryn, as they hurried on,
scanning the shadows around them. ‘Four went after Cal, I killed three, and you killed one.’ He
grabbed Usher’s arm and spun him around in the darkness. ‘You did kill the one
guarding this lot, didn’t you?’
‘Yes!’ said Usher, maybe a little more roughly than
he should have. The moment would live with him for the rest of his life. The
drawn bow, the flight of the arrow, the look on the man’s face as he…
Falling to his knees, Usher emptied the contents of
his stomach and fought to bring himself under control. He didn’t need Meryn to
tell him this wasn’t the time so he pushed himself up onto unsteady legs and
ran on to catch the others.
Standing on either side of the four girls and two
young boys, they walked further away towards the edge of the forest. They were
quieter now, but were still sobbing enough to draw attention.
‘There are still two around here, someplace,’ said
Meryn nervously, ‘I don’t like it when we can’t see them. They have the element
of surprise and that’s not good.’ Without warning, the sound of someone or
something crashing through the trees came from their right and they dropped,
pulling the children down with them.
‘ Shh
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