Guardian of Heaven and Earth
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Rota
Part 3 - Blizzard
Chapter 4 - Assassins
The closest place to the palace from here with an inn was Toluan. She suspected that Chagum and his guides would head there to take shelter from the snow. It was also possible that they'd take shelter in animal pens and barns that were often used by poor farmers and ranchers during the winter, as Balsa had often done.
The snow kept falling and falling: it was a blizzard, a sudden one that made travel increasingly difficult. Snow was a common problem in northern Rota, however; there were many pens and barns dotting the road, set up for anyone's use.
The road to Toluan would usually be full of caravans and merchants, but very few people traveled during Rota's winter. Balsa encountered no one as she kept moving forward.
The sun began to set. The forest darkened on either side of the road and felt oppressive. Balsa felt the wind cut through her as the horse galloped on with its breath steaming in front of its face. She heard nothing but the stomping of hooves and the gasping breaths of her and the horse; it was like the entire road had been frozen in icy silence.
Balsa saw something moving on the road ahead of her. A wolf?
She pulled up a little on her reins, then retrieved her spear from where it was attached to her saddle. She removed the spear's scabbard and gripped her spear's shaft tightly.
She'd thought the animal in the road was a wolf, and it was--it was chewing on someone. When Balsa locked eyes with the wolf, it growled at her, baring its fangs. Balsa gritted her teeth.
Where there was one wolf, there were almost always more. Balsa soothed her horse's fear, then felled the wolf with a single blow. Others attacked, but she leaped off her horse and cut them down in a whirling motion, slicing through several at once. When four wolves were down, the rest retreated.
Balsa returned to her horse. It hadn't bolted, but it was shaking, so she patted and soothed it as best she could. Then she guided the horse closer to the person's corpse so that she could examine it more closely. She didn't recognize the man--and his face had recently been gnawed on--but she could tell that he'd been a Rotan soldier. He'd been cut open by a single slash from his right shoulder to his left hip. His collarbone and several ribs were broken.
His eyes were still open; Balsa closed them. She couldn't pause to bury him, nor could she risk resting here. The wolves might return at any time. She could do nothing except pray for the man's forgiveness at being left here. She stood up, bowed her head to the man, and mounted her horse.
If that man had been part of Chagum's escort, then the Talsh must have chosen to attack here. Balsa felt a twinge of genuine fear. She scanned the road impatiently, looking for more signs of the battle. She saw hoofprints in the snow, many of them; she pointed her horse in the direction of the most hoof prints and urged it into a gallop again.
She didn't go far before finding another Rotan soldier dead on the ground. She didn't get off her horse this time; that man had likely tried to buy time here for Chagum to run. And he'd been killed, too.
Balsa heard the sound of hoof beats in front of her: there were two riders in the near distance, though it was difficult to see them through all the snow. One of the riders was a man with a sword in his hand, chasing the other, who was fleeing desperately.
"Chagum!" Balsa howled. She threw her spear at the assassin, as fast and straight as an arrow. The man turned to avoid being speared in the back in the nick of time. She saw that the tip of her spear had grazed the neck of the man's horse.
The injured horse screamed and collapsed into the snow. The man leaped from the saddle and landed gracefully on the ground near his horse. He didn't spare Balsa a second glance; he turned swiftly and threw something hard at Chagum's horse.
Chagum fell off his agitated horse, but rose quickly to his feet. The assassin approached Chagum rapidly, sword in hand. Chagum unsheathed the sword at his hip and held it out defensively in front of him. The man crossed swords with Chagum, who blocked his blow--but Chagum's sword was broken.
Balsa stood up on her horse's back, releasing the horse's reins. She bent her knees, then leaped between the assassin and Chagum. The assassin watched Balsa pass over his head; she landed a direct hit on him from above, so hard that they both went sprawling in the snow.
Balsa brought her knee into the man's ribs and gripped the hand that held his sword. The man transferred the sword from his right hand to his left in an easy, practiced motion and aimed his knee at Balsa's throat. She'd landed on top of him in the fall, but this maneuver allowed him to pin her down underneath him.
Balsa crossed her arms over her neck to prevent the man from slitting her throat easily with his sword. She felt the man's arms tighten on her, but used all her strength to twist free and jump up.
The man seemed stunned that she'd been able to free herself from his hold. They faced each other without moving for a few moments, each studying the other.
Balsa saw blood flowing onto the snowy ground; it was coming from the man's left arm. The man paid the injury no mind. The sword he gripped was unfamiliar in style, with a short handle and a wide blade. Balsa gulped; she had no chance of defeating him bare-handed. She might try to break his neck by feinting toward his injured arm and getting in close, but it was a gamble. Balsa had just decided to try it when she saw something moving out of the corner of her eye. It was Chagum's broken sword, which he'd thrown through the air right at the assassin.
The assassin deflected the weapon with an irritated expression.
"Balsa!" Chagum called out.
Her spear came flying right at her; she caught it in her hand and faced the advancing assassin. In a move so fast it was hard to see, she swung her spear up to strike the assassin in the head.
The assassin evaded her strike and slipped away from her. Balsa matched his movements perfectly, bringing the butt of her spear's shaft into his gut in a sharp motion. When he collapsed forward, she brought her spear up to strike him hard in the chin.
The assassin coughed blood, bending backward from the force of the blow. He grinned like a demon as he closed the scant distance between himself and Balsa, blood gleaming between his teeth. They passed one another at the same time: Balsa slit the assassin's throat at the same moment that he cut her side open.
Both Balsa and the assassin stood frozen for a moment. Then the assassin collapsed, bleeding, to the snow-white ground.
Balsa verified that the assassin was no longer moving, then pressed down hard on her side. Chagum stood in front of her, partially obscured by whirls of snow. "Chagum?" Balsa choked out.
There was a sound like a whistle. Chagum took a few steps closer. "Balsa."
As Chagum hugged her, Balsa realized that he was taller than she was now.
Its been 3000 years ...
ReplyDeleteREJOICE, THE WISE PRINCE HAS RETURNED!