By the Sword (2 page)

Talya tried to ignore him as a small band of Malinorians
came
at them, but he remained at her side. So, suddenly he cared.

“I was hoping I would find you,” he said.

“How did you know that we were being attacked?”

Talya fought off two Malinorians while General Edandir took care of three others.

“We had been on a diplomatic mission to speak with your king. Good thing I planned ahead and brought along my best men.”

“I hope you can get to the king before these animals do,” said Talya.

“That is the plan, but my daughter is my first priority,” said Edandir.

Talya grimaced.

They both knew that she was the farthest thing from his first priority. The only time that he had ever been involved with her life was when she had made plans to enlist in the Sanctus military two years ago at age fifteen. He did everything he could to discourage Talya from her lifelong dream.

Mother would have never done that to me.

It was just as well. She had made a good life for herself in Cardamon. And she was not going to allow those Malinorians to ruin that.

Talya picked up a fallen shield and sprinted toward the thick of the battle. She sliced her way through more enemy knights with a new surge of energy.

Today my father will see just how capable I am.

Talya turned to help an injured knight fight off an enemy. Her calf suddenly stung. She looked to her feet. A dying Malinorian had stabbed her with his knife.

Talya bent down to slash the man’s neck, but her eyes rested on a face beside him.
A face without a body.
A very familiar face.

She dropped to her knees as several shivers rushed down her limbs.

Oh, God, no.

Hanten.

Talya screamed as she arose and drove her sword through the closest Malinorian’s chest. Tears blurred her vision. She wiped them with her free hand and rushed toward the next barbarian.

Hanten was gone
.

Fueled by sorrow and rage, Talya attacked the Malinorians with a renewed fury, killing every man in her path.

*****

Commander Jalarn’s anger grew by the second. Malinor’s men were faltering all because a scant number of horsemen from Sanctus had shown up.

One of his knights stumbled backward and almost bumped into Jalarn’s horse. A long arrow stuck out of his chest.

Jalarn looked up into the trees for the cowardly archers. He hated men that resorted to sitting safely in a tree, picking off skilled warriors one by one. He would kill every single one of them. One day, he would rid the whole world of them.

He
spotted a scrawny young archer
standing close to the battle,
firing at several Malinorians with great precision.

Gripping his war scythe with both hands, Jalarn jumped off of his horse and sprinted toward the unsuspecting lad. As Jalarn swung for the archer’s head, an enemy knight blocked his blow with an iron shield.

Jalarn kicked the shield away and a slender, light-haired maiden stood in its place.

Jalarn swung for her throat, but she fluidly leaned backward. He came at her again, but she blocked his attack. She had some skill, but her arms were already shaking from fatigue. He would finish her off in moments.

A hateful haze clouded Talya’s mind as she stared down the enemy commander.
As h
e raced toward her
, all
she could think about was Hanten.

Talya screamed as she swung her sword at the large warrior. She missed.

He was as skilled as he was strong.

Of course you have to come against me now. I’ve never felt so tired in all my life.

There was something particularly unnerving about his eyes as they glared into hers through his cast iron mask. They were harder, more calculating than the others.

Since when do I notice this stuff
in the middle of fighting
?

Talya tried to focus. She had not endured two years of intense training just to fall dead at the hand of a monster. He had a great amount of strength and momentum, but she had agility and speed.

She allowed him to close in on her.

Just a little closer…

He lifted his massive scythe.

So predictable.

Warriors like him were all the same. They fought with intimidating weapons that just slowed them down.

As he brought his weapon down, Talya dove out of the way and jabbed her opponent in his side. She had hit the area where there was no armor protection.

His eyes widened as blood seeped down his armor. He attacked her with another series of slashes. For his size, he was very quick.

Too quick for how weak I have become.

Despite the rapid succession of swings, Talya dodged each one. She hated being on the defense, but at least she was staying alive.

He dropped his scythe and withdrew a blood splattered broad sword from the sheath at his hip. He
took a run at
her again. She blocked what would have been a bone-shattering blow.

Their surroundings
had grown darker. Talya and her enemy had traveled much deeper into the forest. Thick smoke surrounded them. They were very close to the fire. There were no other men fighting nearby. She had allowed herself to be lured into a trap.

A trap I can and will get out of.

Talya’s legs trembled from exhaustion, but she refused to give in to defeat. She had slaughtered more than one hundred men that day. All she needed was the right stab and the unwavering opponent before her would be dead like the rest.

The sword maiden was not as easy of a kill as he had anticipated. She was much tougher than she looked. The competition was energizing, but Jalarn had other Cardamonian knights to slay.

And a king to taunt and kill.

He leaped into the air, and, with all of his might, brought his sword crashing down onto the maiden’s blade. Her weapon flew from her hands. It landed with a clang on a nearby boulder.

She eyed where the sword had fallen and sprinted toward it. He beat her to it.

He picked it up and pointed both swords at her.

The girl raised her chin and glared at him. Instead of fear, anger radiated from her dark eyes. This one was no coward.

“Does it not disturb you that I am about to end your meaningless life?” he asked.

She pulled a dagger from a small sheath at her thigh.

Defiant to the end, I see. Amazing.
For a female.

Jalarn bounded toward her.

She jumped out of the way just in time. She attempted to strike at him, but he quickly spun around and blocked the attack. He stabbed her in the left shoulder with her own sword. The blade went deep, clearly piercing her denial as well as her flesh.

He yanked the sword out of her. The girl’s mouth gaped open in a silent scream as she sank to her knees.

*****

General Edandir led several of his men up the hill toward King Seraphim’s castle. Roughly one hundred Malinorian men were trying to break down the palace doors with a large tree trunk they must have cut down
from the forest
.

When a few of them saw the knights of Sanctus, they ceased what they were doing and reached for their weapons.

Edandir and his men raced toward their enemies. The Malinorians were weakened from hours of non-stop fighting. It was an easy defeat.

One hundred down.
Only several hundred more to go.

“Edandir!” cried King Seraphim.

Edandir looked up.

The king peered over his balcony. Fear was apparent on his pale face.

“We have come to take you and your queen back to Sanctus,” said Edandir.

The king did not respond. Instead, he looked beyond Edandir and pointed.

Edandir turned.

Over three hundred more Malinorian soldiers were charging toward them.

*****

Talya gritted her teeth
as agony
shot through her shoulder and down her arm. Her dagger was well out of reach now.

I should have never dropped it. I know better.

A pool of blood formed at her feet. She had been soundly defeated.

I can’t die yet!

Images of her mother being trapped inside of that burning house came back to haunt Talya.
She could still smell the burning flesh. The Malinorians had torched Talya’s village seven years ago, but the memory was as vivid as the heartless brute that stood in front of her.

He would kill her at any second. His piercing green eyes were far more menacing than the raging lion emblem on his breastplate.

It had never occurred to Talya that she could die that day. The realization of her own fragility hit her like a sledgehammer. She would be another headless body on the forest floor in moments if she did not act fast.

How far w
ill
he toss my head? Will anyone even find me way out here, after the forest has burned down? No, stop it. Think.

Sweat poured down Talya’s face. She gagged as she breathed in a lungful of smoke. The fire was very close now.

Talya
’s legs trembled as she stood,
staring into the Malinorian knight’s eyes. If she was going to die, it was not going to be on her knees.

“Pathetic,” he said.

“You will be the epitome of pathetic when you find yourself in hell one day!” shouted Talya.

The warrior drew back both of the swords that he held. In moments,
she would be killed by her own weapon, as well as his
.

If I don’t act fast.

Talya shuddered. There was nothing else that she could do, but she was nowhere near ready to die. It had been so long since she had even spoken to God. She had not paid Him much attention since He had allowed her mother to die. Now, guilt set in. Why would He save her now?

“Lord, if you find me worthy enough to save, I will try to be a better person. Even if I die today, I’m sorry for ignoring
You
.”

“Shut up!” the Malinorian shouted.

Talya spat at him.

“You are alone now, and you will be alone in death,” he said.

What if he’s right?

Hoof beats sounded from behind the Malinorian. He spun around.

Talya stumbled away without looking back, taking advantage of the diversion.
She tried to think of what she could use to fight back, but her head spun.

“Talya!”
someone shouted from behind.

It’s Tanel!

Talya stopped and turned around. Tanel was on a horse, and it was running toward her, but so was the Malinorian knight.

Chapter Two

“Hurry up, Tanel!” Talya shouted.

When Tanel rode by, she grasped onto his torso. She held on for dear life as she swung her leg over the horse’s back.

Talya looked over her shoulder. The Malinorian commander was gone.

“You’re bleeding!” Tanel cried.

There was so much blood. It
covered her arm and trickled down
her hand. It was so red.
Like the Malinorian commander’s cape.

Tanel glanced back at her.

“We need that wound bound.”

“I’ll be fine,” Talya muttered just as a wave of nausea hit her.

“Not if we let you bleed to death. We’re going straight to the hospital.”

Talya shut her eyes. She was not going to argue with him this time.

“How did you find me?”

“I saw you and that big commander dueling. I tried to follow you, but you can imagine that there was a lot of resistance. I was able to commandeer a riderless horse, and finally I found you.”

“Why didn’t you just shoot him when he was clearly about to kill me?”

“I ran out of arrows.”

“Oh.”

It had been so close back there.

“How is the battle faring?” asked Talya.

She winced when their horse jumped over a fallen tree, tightening her sore arms around Tanel’s waist.

“Not good.”

“Wait, why are we leaving Cardamon?”

Tanel hung his head.

Talya’s stomach knotted.

“The Malinorian Empire has overtaken it.”

“No!” cried Talya.

“Our army, along with Sanctus, has already retreated, but I couldn’t leave until I found you.”