driving more
and more people from their homes to be murdered on their doorsteps.
The savages sang out in their coarse, ugly language as they
gleefully went about their bloody work. They made no distinctions
among men, women, or children, butchering anyone caught in their
path.
Lyov’s house remained untouched by fire, but
the door stood open, hanging loosely from the hinges. He charged
inside to find a pair of Dikarie warriors tearing through the main
living area. There was no sign of Anushka or his children.
He prayed they made it to the cellar in
time.
Before the Dikarie noticed his arrival, Lyov
drove the dulled point of his sword through the closer one’s back.
The warrior shrieked as the blade pushed through his skin and
punctured his vitals. He dropped to the ground, convulsing. The
other one wheeled around and lashed out with his thin club before
Lyov pulled his sword free. The blow surely would have cracked his
skull had it landed squarely, but it narrowly missed Lyov’s head as
he withdrew the blade. He heard the club whistle through the air as
it swiped past his face.
Before the Dikarie could make another move,
Lyov lunged forward and caught it in the arm with an awkward
thrust. The blade wasn’t sharp enough to cut through flesh and
sinew, but the tip must have bruised a nerve, because the savage
dropped his club with a pained yelp. Lyov pressed forward, hacking
wildly before the fiend could recover. The notched sword bit into
the Dikarie’s neck like a butcher’s cleaver and drove him to his
knees. Lyov threw all his weight into the next swing and chopped
deep enough for the blade to scrape against the bones of the neck.
The Dikarie fell without a sound to the floor as blood streamed
forth from the grisly wound.
“ Anushka!” Lyov called her
name out repeatedly as he pushed aside the overturned furniture to
find the cellar’s trapdoor. It was locked from below. He pounded
the hilt of the sword against the door as he shouted
again.
“ Open the door, Anushka!
We have to get out of here now!”
He heard the door unlatch, and he yanked it
open to find his family unharmed. His daughter, Raisa, scrambled up
the steps and wrapped her arms around his waist, sobbing. Anushka
came next, followed by his son, Ilya, armed with a hatchet. Lyov
hugged his wife and put his hand on Ilya’s shoulder with an
approving nod.
Anushka looked at the Dikarie bodies and
gasped.
Lyov took her by the arm and shook her back
to her senses. “There will be more if we don’t get moving! Come on;
we have to get out before they burn everything to the ground!”
He took Raisa’s hand and started for the
door. “Hurry!”
Anushka and Ilya fell in line behind them as
they rushed outside together. The fires burned out of control now,
with more than half of the town in flames. Lyov made for the south
gate, the smallest and least-used of the town’s entrances, hoping
that the Dikarie had ignored it thus far. They ducked through the
streets, but the smoke and flames forced them to take a circuitous
route to reach the gate.
Bodies lay everywhere, broken and
bloodied.
Lyov heard Raisa sobbing frantically beside
him.
“ Don’t look at them, girl!
Keep moving!”
They turned onto one of the town’s main
streets and ran into a teaming mass of townspeople trying to push
past one another to escape. Fire and smoke had driven most of them
away from the narrow alleys between the surrounding houses, but the
Dikarie had herded the rest into the makeshift defile, forcing
their defenseless victims to choose either the club or the flames.
A few armed militiamen remained among them, trying valiantly to
drive the savages back from the crowd.
When the Dikarie moved in, however, it would
be more a slaughter than a battle.
Lyov sheathed his sword and gripped his
daughter’s hand. He motioned to Anushka to take both children by
the hand.
“ Run!” Lyov said. “Keep
together, and don’t stop moving!”
They ran down the street and
and more people from their homes to be murdered on their doorsteps.
The savages sang out in their coarse, ugly language as they
gleefully went about their bloody work. They made no distinctions
among men, women, or children, butchering anyone caught in their
path.
Lyov’s house remained untouched by fire, but
the door stood open, hanging loosely from the hinges. He charged
inside to find a pair of Dikarie warriors tearing through the main
living area. There was no sign of Anushka or his children.
He prayed they made it to the cellar in
time.
Before the Dikarie noticed his arrival, Lyov
drove the dulled point of his sword through the closer one’s back.
The warrior shrieked as the blade pushed through his skin and
punctured his vitals. He dropped to the ground, convulsing. The
other one wheeled around and lashed out with his thin club before
Lyov pulled his sword free. The blow surely would have cracked his
skull had it landed squarely, but it narrowly missed Lyov’s head as
he withdrew the blade. He heard the club whistle through the air as
it swiped past his face.
Before the Dikarie could make another move,
Lyov lunged forward and caught it in the arm with an awkward
thrust. The blade wasn’t sharp enough to cut through flesh and
sinew, but the tip must have bruised a nerve, because the savage
dropped his club with a pained yelp. Lyov pressed forward, hacking
wildly before the fiend could recover. The notched sword bit into
the Dikarie’s neck like a butcher’s cleaver and drove him to his
knees. Lyov threw all his weight into the next swing and chopped
deep enough for the blade to scrape against the bones of the neck.
The Dikarie fell without a sound to the floor as blood streamed
forth from the grisly wound.
“ Anushka!” Lyov called her
name out repeatedly as he pushed aside the overturned furniture to
find the cellar’s trapdoor. It was locked from below. He pounded
the hilt of the sword against the door as he shouted
again.
“ Open the door, Anushka!
We have to get out of here now!”
He heard the door unlatch, and he yanked it
open to find his family unharmed. His daughter, Raisa, scrambled up
the steps and wrapped her arms around his waist, sobbing. Anushka
came next, followed by his son, Ilya, armed with a hatchet. Lyov
hugged his wife and put his hand on Ilya’s shoulder with an
approving nod.
Anushka looked at the Dikarie bodies and
gasped.
Lyov took her by the arm and shook her back
to her senses. “There will be more if we don’t get moving! Come on;
we have to get out before they burn everything to the ground!”
He took Raisa’s hand and started for the
door. “Hurry!”
Anushka and Ilya fell in line behind them as
they rushed outside together. The fires burned out of control now,
with more than half of the town in flames. Lyov made for the south
gate, the smallest and least-used of the town’s entrances, hoping
that the Dikarie had ignored it thus far. They ducked through the
streets, but the smoke and flames forced them to take a circuitous
route to reach the gate.
Bodies lay everywhere, broken and
bloodied.
Lyov heard Raisa sobbing frantically beside
him.
“ Don’t look at them, girl!
Keep moving!”
They turned onto one of the town’s main
streets and ran into a teaming mass of townspeople trying to push
past one another to escape. Fire and smoke had driven most of them
away from the narrow alleys between the surrounding houses, but the
Dikarie had herded the rest into the makeshift defile, forcing
their defenseless victims to choose either the club or the flames.
A few armed militiamen remained among them, trying valiantly to
drive the savages back from the crowd.
When the Dikarie moved in, however, it would
be more a slaughter than a battle.
Lyov sheathed his sword and gripped his
daughter’s hand. He motioned to Anushka to take both children by
the hand.
“ Run!” Lyov said. “Keep
together, and don’t stop moving!”
They ran down the street and
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