Chapter 10
Billy rode low on Dikaios. With Pegasus almost directly above them and Phoenix rising, ducking into the shade of the overarching trees felt like a good idea. Although the silence gave no hint of any enemy observers, his danger sense told him otherwise. Something lurked close by, something unusual. It didn’t feel like an evil presence; more like a natural danger, the foreboding of a storm. Could it be an animal? Maybe Vacants? Their bestial ways seemed more like instinct than premeditated acts of evil.
Bonnie leaned forward on Ember, her arms loosely wrapped around the mare’s neck. With her wings folded in tightly, they appeared to be a backpack, though an occasional flutter at the tips ruined the impression.
The two horses stepped quietly through the last strip of forest between the village and the marsh. The trees here were healthier than in most forests in Second Eden. With evergreens dominating the population, only a few rotting logs lay across the ground.
The two moons made the landscape look like a jungle on a stormy evening. It was more like dusk than the middle of the night, barely dark enough to veil the horses’ hoofprints in the mud. Fortunately, Billy’s cloak covered most of Dikaios’s shimmering white coat, and, as before, Ember’s coloring blended in with the shadows and the mud below.
Dikaios stopped at the forest’s edge and whispered. “The marsh begins in about two hundred human paces. There is only grass between here and there, so we will risk exposure until we reach the bulrushes. Now is the time to send our scout.”
“Got it.” Billy tapped his jaw. The transmitter vibrated with a barely perceptible hum, accentuating the pain from having the device jammed between his teeth. Ashley had told him he would get used to it, but that hadn’t happened yet. Bonnie had offered to wear it, which made more sense. After all, she would be flying reconnaissance alone. But her molars were too close together, forcing them to go with Billy.
“Elam,” Billy whispered. “Two hundred paces to the marsh. I’ll leave this on for a while.”
Elam’s voice buzzed. “I’ll be listening.”
Billy checked the holster fastened to his belt on his right. With Excalibur on his left, he felt balanced, ready to draw a weapon from either side. A bulge in one pocket reminded him of the ring Ashley had given him, the same ring she had found with the bone where Abraham’s wall had been. Valiant said the ring once belonged to Flint, a gift from Abraham as a symbol of love.
Even after his rebellion, Flint had kept it for a while, though no one in the village knew why. Valiant noticed it on Abraham’s finger after he had turned into a marching column of fire, so it seemed that Flint must have returned the symbol. Everyone agreed that Billy could take it with him, just in case he had an opportunity to use it as a gift of love again. Although Bonnie heard the story about Flint and the ring, she didn’t know that Ashley had given it to Billy. That would be his secret, at least for now.
Bonnie slid off her sword belt and draped it over Ember’s neck. Then, without a word, she spread out her wings and took to the air.
Ahead, her shadow slid across the grass, black and undulating with the strokes of her wings. Billy tried to find her in the sky but gave up. Watching her shadow was easier.
The dark form glided to the right, circled back, and passed across a cluster of short trees among the bulrushes to the left. After about a minute of back and forth surveying, the shadow began a slow return to the forest. When it disappeared in the trees, Billy looked up. With her wings beating rapidly, Bonnie floated down and landed gently on Ember.
Breathing hard, she swallowed before giving her report. “I saw the central village, but I didn’t see anyone there except for two giants.” She forked her fingers and pointed at the marsh. “There’s an encampment on each side, like lookout stations, with a dragon at each. One is about forty toises to the left of a straight-ahead entry point, and the other is about half that far to the right. I spotted a few tents at each one, but no people.”
“Toises?”
“Sorry. My sword trainer always used it. After four years it kind of sticks in your mind. One station is about eighty meters to the left, and the other is forty to the right.”
Billy paused and listened. Although the danger signals stayed constant, no sound reached his ears. “Did anyone see you out there?”
“I think one of the giants saw my shadow, but when he looked up, I don’t think he could find me. He didn’t sound any alarm, so maybe he thought I was a big bird.”
“I guess the dragons didn’t sense any danger.”
“Because I’m not a danger,” Bonnie said. “That’s why I left my sword belt on Ember.”
“I thought it might have been too heavy.”
She wrapped the belt around her waist. “Part of my training was to fly with it. I’m a lot stronger than I was that day I dropped Excalibur while flying.”
“I’m sure you are. I could tell.”
As she rebuckled her belt, a curious grin crossed her face. “You could? Have I changed that much?”
“Well … yeah.” Warmth oozed into his cheeks. Bonnie’s form had definitely changed, and her womanly blossom was impossible not to notice, but he had to keep his mind on the question at hand. “I could see the muscles in your forearms. Those are the first to get toned when you do sword training.”
Her smile now radiant in the moonlight, she patted her belt. “I’m ready.”
“Wait.” Billy set a hand on his sword’s hilt. The foreboding sensation suddenly spiked.
“Danger?” Bonnie asked.
“I don’t get it. It’s strong, like it’s real close, but I don’t see—”
Something fell on his head. Pressed under a heavy weight, he fell to the muddy ground. He grabbed at anything within reach but could find only air.
“Billy!”
Bonnie’s voice! He clutched his attacker’s slippery arm, threw the weight off, and leaped to his feet. A Vacant rolled through the mud. Dikaios reared up and stomped it with his hooves.
“Over here!” Bonnie shouted, her voice muffled.
Just beyond Ember, another Vacant held Bonnie around her waist. With one long-fingered hand over her mouth, he dragged her deeper into the forest.
Billy charged toward them. The Vacant stopped, pressed a dagger against her throat, and shouted in a weaselly voice. “Come no closer!”
Billy halted within five feet of them. Setting his feet, he scowled. “What do you want with her?”
His little ovular mouth opened and closed from the sides as he continued in his squeaking, raspy voice. “She is the one our master wants. He has put a ransom on her head that will provide us food and clothing for life.”
“Us?” Billy looked back at the dead Vacant near Dikaios’s legs. “I think you’re outnumbered.”
“You are mistaken.” He let out an odd croaking sound. From the low-lying shrubs, several more Vacants appeared, each one looking like clones of the first. All carried long spears and shields.
“We know how powerful you are,” the Vacant continued, “so we make you this offer. If you leave with your horses now, we will let you live.”
Billy wrapped his hand around Excalibur’s hilt. If they wanted Bonnie alive, this beast wouldn’t be quick to do her any harm. He could afford to be bold. “You can’t be serious.”
The Vacant’s low-set eyes blinked. “You wish not to live?”
“I will die before you take her anywhere.” Setting his jaw, Billy withdrew Excalibur. “How many of you wish to stay alive?”
Bonnie bit the Vacant’s finger and stomped on his foot. With a lightning-fast spin, she whipped out her sword and cut off her kidnapper’s head. In a mad rush, the other Vacants swarmed over her. For a moment, her sword glinted in the moonlight as limbs and spear points flew right and left, but she quickly fell under the mass of bodies.
Billy leaped into the fray, blowing fire. He blasted a Vacant’s chest, but the cloak deflected the stream. Using his sword, he whacked off an arm, then plunged the blade through a torso. The Vacant twisted, jerking Excalibur from his hand. Another pulled him into the sea of struggling bodies and threw him down next to Bonnie. The tip of a spear pushed against his chest and pierced his skin. Within seconds, blood soaked into his tunic.
A second Vacant set his foot on Bonnie’s chest. Grimacing, she bucked under his crushing weight, but when he pressed down harder, she settled down, her chest heaving shallow breaths.
“Surrender,” the first Vacant ordered. He pushed the spear another fraction of an inch into Billy’s chest. “Or die.”
Billy steeled his muscles. He couldn’t let them see an expression of pain. The sting of the cold metal pulsed across his body like an electric shock, but as he remembered Naamah’s staurolite blade plunging through his heart, the pain seemed to ease. Nothing would ever be worse than that.
He looked around at his captors. Their numbers had swelled to thirty or more, and they all stared down at him with their big black eyes. These Vacants were dressed strangely. They wore dark cloaks that exposed only their hideous faces. The others Billy had faced wore thick, fur-lined tunics and long woolen trousers. Apparently someone had supplied them with cloaks that would repel his fire.
One of them held Excalibur and stared at it curiously. He wouldn’t know how to use its power, but he could still do a lot of damage with its indestructible blade.
Billy glanced at Bonnie. With her brow knit into three tight lines, she looked ready to kill. It was time to show confidence, maybe make them wonder if he had a trick up his sleeve. “Surrender?” He laughed. “If you let Bonnie go unharmed, then I’ll let you surrender. We’ll treat you like prisoners of war. Otherwise, I will have to kill you all.”
Dikaios trotted close. “I advise you to listen to this young warrior. You have said that he is powerful, but now you have angered him by threatening the girl he loves.”
“He cannot fight without arms.” A third Vacant stomped on Billy’s right wrist and thrust a spear into the meaty part of his left forearm.
“Arrgh!” Billy bit his lip. He couldn’t cry out again. He had to stay focused. But the spear’s blade pressed against his bone, piercing and grinding. It felt like a superheated drill.
When the Vacant pulled out his spear, Billy grunted but managed not to cringe. The release in pressure helped, but the wound continued to shoot bullets of pain up and down his arm.
At his waist, he felt Bonnie’s fingers fishing for the gun. Lifting his bleeding arm to point at the Vacant, he kept his glare riveted. He had to keep him distracted. “I repeat. Release us, and I will let you live.”
A squeaky laugh spilled from the Vacant’s puckered mouth. “I am tempted to let you up to see how well you fight in this condition, but we must return with our prize to the one who hired us.”
Billy felt his holster grow lighter. A shot rang out. The Vacant pinning Billy’s chest flew backwards. Another shot. The one over Bonnie toppled.
Before Bonnie could shoot again, the Vacant standing on Billy’s wrist jerked the gun away. Swinging his legs up and back, Billy caught the Vacant’s neck between his ankles and slung him into the air. He leaped to his feet, hoisted Bonnie to hers, and snatched Excalibur while Bonnie scooped up her own sword. Then, standing back to back, Billy and Bonnie stared at the surrounding enemy.
Trying to ignore the pain in his arm and chest, Billy spoke in a commanding tone. “This is my final offer. Leave now or die.”
“You are still greatly outnumbered,” a Vacant holding two spears said. “You cannot defeat us all.”
Excalibur’s beam shot into the inky sky. “If you knew what this sword could do, you would think otherwise.”
The Vacant tied a sash at his cloak’s waist. “Our master is acquainted with your weapon’s light, and he assures us that it will do us no harm.”
Billy tried to focus on the Vacant’s cloak, but it was too dark to discern any details. Did a rusty mesh cover the material? Probably. The uselessness of his fire was his first clue, but there was only one way to find out for sure.
He swept the beam across the Vacant’s body. Light splashed, and sparks drizzled on the cloak, but the Vacant stood erect, undisturbed. A matrix of orange and red lines radiated on his cloak, the same effect Excalibur had on the cloaks of the New Table knights.
The Vacant’s fishlike mouth spread into a vertical smile. “Will you now surrender the girl? We want her alive, but we will gladly kill you.”
Billy let the beam die away and whispered to Bonnie. “Are you ready?”
“Just say the word, warrior.” Bonnie’s wings flexed against his back. “I’m ready.”
Billy looked at Dikaios. The horse nodded and said, “At your command.”
Letting his wounded arm hang limply, he tightened his grip on the hilt and shouted, “Now!” He lunged. Swinging Excalibur, he lopped off the Vacant’s spear arm. Then, with a quick spin, he cut through another’s head at the ear and a third at the base of his skull.
Bonnie thrust her sword into a Vacant’s belly, jerked it out, and leaped into the air, her wings lifting her over a hurled spear. Slashing while flying, she toppled four Vacants before settling on Dikaios’s back.
Billy ducked under two spears, sliced through the ankles of three Vacants, and plunged through their ranks until he popped out on the other side.
As he raised his sword to attack again, Bonnie extended hers and shouted, “Charge!”
Dikaios bolted into the confused throng and stomped on Vacants, rearing up and crashing down on their bodies. Leaning over from her perch, Bonnie hacked with a two-fisted grip, her wings keeping her balanced as her mount rose and fell. Ember trotted all around the battle circle and gave any exposed Vacant a vicious kick with her back hooves.
Billy dove into the fray again. With powerful, one-armed sweeps, he killed one Vacant after another. A spear point grazed his head. A shaft banged against his ribs. A fist thumped his chest. But he kept swinging with Excalibur’s razor-sharp edge again and again.
Vacants pulled and clawed at Bonnie’s legs, but she continued flailing away at their groping arms. Finally, a Vacant grabbed her wing, slung her to the ground, and set one foot on her sword arm and the other on her throat.
Billy pulled Excalibur from a dead Vacant’s chest and glared at Bonnie’s captor. “Let her go!”
Two surviving Vacants scrambled away into the woods. Ember chased them to a line of shrubs before turning and walking slowly back.
The remaining Vacant pressed harder on Bonnie’s throat. Gagging, she kicked and thrashed for a moment, but with her wings splayed on the ground, she couldn’t get any leverage.
The Vacant growled like a cat. “Drop your weapon.”
Billy let Excalibur fall to the ground. “Just let her breathe.”
“Very well.” The Vacant lifted his foot from her throat, picked up a broken spear, and set the splintered end over her eye. “Now get on your horse and leave.”
Bonnie, her eyes closed under the broken spear, cried out. “I’ll be all right, Billy. He wants to take me alive.”
“I do want her alive,” the Vacant said, “but losing an eye will not kill her.”
Billy raised his arm. Blood soaked his sleeve from elbow to wrist, and streams ran down to his fingers. He smeared blood across his chest, but his tunic was already soaked from the first spear wound. “Look at me,” he growled. “Do I look like I’m ready to just walk away? She is the most precious treasure in the world, and the only way you’ll take her is by draining the last drop of blood from my body.” Gritting his teeth, Billy set his feet firmly. “Now what do you think my answer will be?”
Another hideous vertical smile broke through. “Yet you dropped your weapon at my command.”
Billy kept his stare on the Vacant. Ember had positioned herself behind the monster, her rear hooves set, but he couldn’t let his eyes focus on her. “I dropped my weapon,” Billy said, “so I could kill you with my bare hands.”
Ember hammered the Vacant’s back with both hooves. It flew into Billy’s arms, knocking him flat. Hooking his arm around the Vacant’s neck, Billy made ready to break it, but the body felt limp, like that of a rag doll.
He rolled the body to the side and, rising as fast as his aching bones would allow, he hurried to Bonnie and helped her up. “Are you okay?”
She caressed her throat. “I think so. A few scratches, but I’m okay.”
“That one looks nasty.” He touched her cheek just above a deep scratch. “Deep and bleeding.”
She dabbed her finger in the oozing blood. “It doesn’t hurt. I doubt it’ll even leave a scar.”
“If it does, it will remind me of the bravest girl I’ve ever known.”
“Brave?” She cradled his bleeding arm. “I’m nothing compared to you.”
He shook his head. “We both did everything we could. It’s—”
Dikaios snorted. “How long will this mutual admiration meeting last?”
Laughing, Billy picked up the gun and slid it into its holster. “At least long enough to thank Ember.” He patted the sorrel’s neck. “Great job!”
Dikaios bowed his head. “Indeed. A most exquisite strike. I am very impressed.”
Ember nuzzled Dikaios’s cheek and swished her tail.
“Speaking of mutual admiration,” Bonnie said with a wink.
Dikaios shook his mane. “Oh. Yes. Well, shall we continue with our rescue efforts?”
“Definitely. And we’d better hurry. If Flint sent those Vacants, the two that got away will report what happened.” Billy put Excalibur away and helped Bonnie find her sword among the dead bodies. Then, using his good arm and getting a boost from her, he climbed aboard Dikaios.
Bonnie flew up to Ember’s back, and the foursome returned to the edge of the forest. “There is a channel between the two encampments,” Dikaios said. “The depth of the water has probably increased because of snowmelt, so they might not be paying much attention to that path. It would be difficult for intruders to negotiate it without making a lot of noise.”
“After all the noise we just made,” Bonnie said, “their guards might be on the alert.”
Billy nodded. “They had to hear the gunshots.”
“I suspect,” Dikaios said, “that Flint and company were well aware of the ambush. They likely believe that you and Bonnie are in the hands of their allies. Perhaps now is the safest time to proceed.”
“Let’s go for it.” Billy scrunched down. “But we’ll keep a low profile. No use taking chances.”
As Dikaios loped along, Ember kept pace close to his side. Since the ground had moistened to soft mud, no telltale clops would travel to the outposts’ ears, though a slight squishing sound occasionally reached Billy’s.
His wounds aching, he laid his head on Dikaios’s neck and looked at Bonnie. She looked back at him, smiling. Apparently the battle didn’t faze her. Compared to running from an insane slayer, being trapped in a candlestone, dying in Hades, and battling demons, this was just another death-defying night.
After a few minutes, the horses reached a line of reeds and walked into the marsh single file. Finding water almost immediately, Dikaios slowed his pace. To keep from splashing, he pushed his legs forward instead of raising them. Ember did the same. Soon, the channel water rose to Billy’s knees and stayed at that level.
As they crept along, Billy whispered as quietly as he could. “Elam, we’re in the marsh. So far, so good.”
Elam’s whispered voice tickled Billy’s jaw. “After all I heard, I was wondering. But I’ll stay quiet. Just give me an update when you can.”
Dikaios eased to a stop. As he sniffed the air, he looked around, his ears bending back. “Muskrats,” he whispered. “We will have to leave the channel and go directly to Flint’s village to the left.”
Bonnie leaned so close her leg pressed against Billy’s. “It should be safe. I think we passed the encampment.”
Dikaios turned and climbed up the incline with his powerful legs. Ember copied his movements, but she slid back, forcing her to spring ahead. With a series of loud splashes, she reached level, shallow-water terrain.
When Dikaios joined her, Ember lowered her head, obviously ashamed. He rubbed his nose against her neck and said, “Do not fret. No one is angry. But we must leave this area immediately.”
As they moved on, a whistle sounded from somewhere to the left. Another answered.
The horses stopped. Billy held his breath. Bonnie reached over and grabbed his hand. With the usual breezes deathly still, the marsh fell into complete silence.
About thirty feet away, the tops of the reeds shook, and a deep voice called out. “Muskrats?”
“I see none,” another replied, “but I smell them.”
“Very strange. I thought we killed the last one.” He let out a hearty laugh. “Muskrat hams have a strong flavor, but they taste better than boots.”
Billy cringed. They were Nephilim. That distinctive throaty laugh gave them away. He set a hand on his gun but kept it in its holster. Shooting in the dark wasn’t a great idea, especially without knowing exactly who or what was out there.
Soon, a face appeared above the reeds. Billy, Bonnie, and the two horses lowered their heads.
“Maybe one traveled here after the wall disappeared,” the first Naphil said.
Another head protruded from the marsh’s foliage. “Maybe. If you can spear it, I will keep it a secret between us.”
“Flint would have our scalps if he found out.”
“You have been at your outpost too long. The rules have changed. With the wall of fire gone, we have no energy source, and Flint’s people have freedom to hunt beyond the boundary now. Flint will not begrudge us a muskrat that we kill ourselves.”
“The survivors are too weak to hunt. The sickness has left none with arms strong enough to throw a spear or legs swift enough to run down a prey.”
“The dragons will hunt in their place.”
“Roxil, perhaps, but Goliath will guard the prisoner. Flint will not risk losing that little dog.”
Another Naphil laugh boomed. “He has quite a bark, does he not?”
“More than a bark. Chazaq is not pleased with the wound the mongrel delivered. From what I hear, this was not their first skirmish. Chazaq is looking forward to when Flint decides it is time to dispose of … What was the dog’s name?”
“Walter. It will not be long. It seems that the warrior chief has chosen to forsake our prisoner. If Goliath detects no approaching dragon by dawn, we will not have to worry about sharing our muskrat with him. Walter will make a fine meal.”
Billy eased his grip on the gun. These guards didn’t know any intruders were present. Yet, their conversation seemed odd—forced, contrived, as if they were trying to communicate in code.
Laughing, the two Nephilim parted, each one sloshing through the shallow water. Dikaios took the opportunity to mask the sound of his own movements and plodded ahead. After a few minutes, they reached a clearing. Ahead lay the village, a collection of rundown huts built on a raised area of mud. Some of the homes had partial roofs with perforated thatching and others had no roof at all. A few tilted to the side, the supporting logs either crumbled or missing, the apparent victims of rot or theft. Nearly every home had damage of some kind, though one brick-and-mortar house closer to the water seemed strong and sturdy.
Dikaios nodded at the brick house. “Flint’s,” he whispered as he continued. When they climbed up the rise, Billy looked from house to house. No movement. No sound. During the past four years, he had imagined Flint’s people training for war behind the fiery wall, making ready to attack and kill innocent people, but apparently disease and lack of food had devastated them. No wonder they hadn’t attacked. They couldn’t. With only a few Nephilim and two enemy dragons, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Now the strategy of sending the shadow people alone made sense. They hoped to bring the same devastation to the villagers and win the war through attrition.
Then why capture Walter? They were better off staying in hiding and waiting for the disease to take hold. They must have known that Elam wouldn’t attack first, especially after winning the initial battle. Why would they risk bringing the wrath of a host of dragons down on them? They would lose in a rout.
When they came within a stone’s throw of Flint’s house, the horses stopped. “Ember and I will wait here,” Dikaios whispered. “Any closer and our scent will be detected by dragons or humans.”
Billy and Bonnie slid to the ground and tiptoed through the mud until they reached the front door. Billy pressed his back against the wall on one side of the door, while Bonnie stooped at the other.
All was quiet. Of course Elam would want a progress report at this point, but the danger was too great. Risking even a whisper now was out of the question.
He edged in front of the door and laid his ear against the panel. Again, not a sound. He looked at Bonnie, pointed at his ear, and shook his head, trying to signal his findings.
As he moved his hand to the door’s lift latch, he let his eyes dart around. Both horses stood still, mostly veiled by shadows. A muffled laugh sounded from the marsh, a Naphil likely returning to his post. Sweat streamed down Billy’s cheek, and dried blood made his tunic stick to his skin, raising the agonizing sting once again. There really wasn’t much choice. He had to go in, ready to fight.
Just as he touched the latch, a hiss came from the side of the house. He jerked his head around. A hooded figure skulked toward him. “Billy,” a woman whispered. “Do not go in.”
He slid out the gun, pointed it, and spoke with a low, commanding tone. “Stop in your tracks.”
The woman halted and let her hood fall back. “It is I, Semiramis.”