| |
Tyald was the first of the patrolmen to spot the lone rider. He whistled to alert Gertoth, Lisam, and Perves, who pulled rein and signaled to Captain Drild. They followed as Drild wheeled his mount around and rode toward the rider.
Most men would have been cowed by a confrontation with the patrolmen of Leodia, yet the stranger seemed completely at ease as they encircled him with their lances. His features were shadowed by his hooded cloak and the sun's absence. Lanterns hung from staffs lashed to the patrolmen's saddles, but the light almost seemed to avoid the stranger.
The horses shied and whickered, exhaling clouds of vapor. Tyald looked at Drild, who certainly showed no signs of nervousness. He touched the Lance emblem that decorated the left of his cuirass and pulled in closer.
"Identify yourself, stranger. And state your business alone in the night."
"Surely you can see it is morning and a fine one at that." The rider spoke in a soft voice from the depths of his hood. He gestured to the dim glow of the eastern horizon. "Is there a problem?"
"There have been rumors of riders at night causing havoc and murder." Drild's lance leveled directly at the rider's chest. "I will not ask you again. Identify yourself."
The man calmly pulled his hood down. His face was pale, his features almost boyish despite the mane of white hair that fell past his shoulders. Yet there was an undeniable menace in his blue-eyed gaze, a cruel twist to his mouth that denied any assumption of mildness. His dark cloak blew back to reveal black, snug-fitting scale armor.
The patrolmen tightened their grips on their lances and moved closer until a circle of pointed tips imprisoned him.
The rider seemed amused. "My name has long been forgotten by those who should have remembered it. You may call me Yanus. I hunt this dark rider that has caused your people to huddle like frightened lambs. When I find him, you shall fear no more, for he will die by my hands." His eyes glinted in the dim light. "Just as you shall, if you impede me any further."
A razor edge to his voice caused the men to instinctively draw back despite themselves. All Except for Drild, who remained unfazed.
"You dare to threaten the patrolmen of Leodia, bounty hunter? To threaten the Guard is to threaten the king, and to threaten the king is treason. Rethink your words, and you might ride away without protest. Disrespect the king again, and you'll enjoy your fine morning languishing in the stocks."
Yanus' grin was twisted. "Your king was a mad fool who was slaughtered like a pig. Why should I care what words I use to describe him or you?"
Drild's face contorted. "I warned—"
His head flew off his shoulders before he could finish the sentence. The patrolmen recoiled as his blood spattered over them. Yanus' sword was in his hand, yet Tyald had never seen him draw it. He stared in numbed shock. He's dead. Drild is dead...
Drild's body slumped from the saddle as his horse reared in terror. His lance toppled from his hand.
Yanus' laughter was a mad howl as his sword flashed, shattering the circle of lances as though they were rotted wood. Tyald fought to control his mount and his rising terror. His companions fared no better. Yanus' sword was a flickering blur. It hummed as it cut Gertoth in half. Blood and entrails steamed when they struck the frosty ground.
Tyald fled with the others. Their horses galloped as though their senses were struck by the same dread the men felt. A whirring sound followed them. Perves shrieked as he was struck by the flung sword with such force that he was torn from the saddle and impaled to a nearby tree. Lisam was next, screaming when his lantern exploded and engulfed him as though he had bathed in oil.
Tyald continued in horrified flight, pursued by his comrades' dying screams. He risked a look behind but saw nothing but the empty road. Sobs racked his chest as he spurred his horse faster.
He gasped when a blur of movement caught his eye. What he saw was impossible. Yanus raced alongside on foot, matching the horse's strides with ease. He streaked through the trees, eyes glowing from the shadows that cloaked his face. With a snarl more savage than any beast, he leaped with arms outstretched.
The impact bowled Tyald from the saddle as they toppled in a bone-jarring explosion of snow and muddy earth. Pain exploded in his legs when his screaming horse rolled atop them.
He fought back the dizziness and tried to ignore the maniacal laughter and wet sounds from behind, consumed by terror so powerful it nearly overwhelmed him. Dragging his ruined legs across the frozen ground, he moaned from the pain of every agonizing shuffle.
When the shadow fell across him, he howled as though he were already dying.
"Look at me."
It wasn't the voice he had heard earlier. Though every nerve in his body told him otherwise, he turned to the crimson-spattered figure.
The face—that face! Tyald's voice rattled and died in his throat. His heart pumped ice water as he froze before the monstrosity.
Yanus' sneer made him even more hideous. His voice was guttural, as though spoken through a mouth full of gravel. "You fear me, human? A wise man. For I know so many sweet ways to make you suffer ... and you shall enjoy them all." He reached for Tyald with an elongated, misshapen hand.
Tyald's screams mingled with the creature's laughter as the rising sun painted the sky crimson.