Take My Heart...: Dark Ages - Fantasy (Dark Gods & Tainted Souls Book 3) (16 page)

He felt the bow handed to him and he calmed his mind, looking at the target, it seemed so far away. He held the unfamiliar bow and aimed his arrow. His hands shook slightly as his muscles cried, they were tired and sore already, he felt a hundred eyes on him. The boy was next too and spoke to him.

“Don’t you get it yet? You need her, she helps those when they need her, you came in here all cocky in your own ability, now that’s pissed against the wall, call to her and she’ll help, you’re at her mercy now, so fucking pray,” he whispered.

Goldie knew it was right, this wasn’t something he’d do alone, it was something they’d do together. He lowered his bow and looking at the crowd sniggering at him, that wouldn’t do, he wasn’t a joke, he was Goldie.

He raised his hand high. “I’m hung over. I’m tired and yet I’ll win. I’ll fire these three arrows and they will all hit center, why? Because I’m the best? No because of her, the Lucky Lady will guide me.”

He aimed the bow quickly and fired. The arrow flew through the air fast and deadly, it went straight to the dead center of the target, followed by a second dead center, the third hit the first that was deep in the target and flew off into the crowd with screams of terror and pain. Goldie saw the crowd lunge back and a single voice yell over the many screams, "he’s dead.”

Goldie hung his head down and almost cried, fucking all the shit luck. He felt a sword in is back and knew it was the local guard. “Move idiot,” they shoved his at sword point to the center of the road. The priest had calmed the crowd.

“Let’s see who he’d killed and which family will be seeking justice, not what’s meant to happen on Ladies day but still let get it done and move on with the day.”

Clearly a death here wasn’t anything to spoil the fun.

Goldie watched as they dragged a man into the center of the street. The arrow was deeply in his eye socket and they dragged him with no ceremony and left him laying staring from the road with his mouth open in shock. Goldie saw the muttered whispers that the shot was incredible.

“Anyone know this man?” yelled the priest but no one did.

The boy yelled out from behind him. “See who the lady wants dead!”

“Shut up boy, you don’t speak for her.”

“Search him,” shouted another voice from the crowd.

The priest reached into the man’s pockets and started pulling out golden trinkets and coins, necklaces and jewels.

A woman pushed forward and ran to them. “That’s mine!” She reached into her pocket and felt for something clearly not there anymore. “He must have just taken it!”

Another man yelled. “I saw that man too, he’s a thief.”

The woman ran forward and hugged Goldie. “Oh that has been in family years, thank you so much.”

The priest looked at Goldie’s other shots and a golden pair of dice he’d pulled from his pocket, clearly stolen from the Ladies temple, the crowd saw it too and let out a shocked murmur, and reluctantly took his hand and raised it. “Cleary the best shot of the morning. I give you your champion of archery.”

Goldie felt the confidence fill him again and smiled, she was with him and she had a deadly sense of humor.

Chapter Twenty-Nine.

The moon had risen high in the sky and Grimm rode slowly with White Eyes looking around behind him. She motioned for him to stop. They stopped and she stepped down. He saw an arrow was deep in her leg and she hobbled away from the horse and collapsed into the sand. Grimm jumped from the horse and went to her. The arrow was deep in the back of her leg. He would have to pull it out but it would bleed.

“How bad?” he asked her, in her own tongue.

“It’ll be fine. I can tell it’s not in a bleeding place,” she said.

Grimm knelt next to her “Want me to take it out?” he asked. She laughed. “Not with those big clumsy hands, we’ll wait until one of my sisters arrives. If one does. But first we need guidance. I’m lost and need direction.”

White eyes crossed her legs and closing her eyes began to sing. She sang a beautiful song in the haunting desert language, so light and sweet, yet filled with sadness. As Grimm watched a dark cloud began to build before them and an elderly desert man just walked from it. He wasn’t a monster just a man. He went to his daughter and looked at her leg.

“Oh, daughter I see it’s been a bad night. I can’t stay long. I am in the furthest place and should not have come at all.”

“I know father but I need guidance, this man here has come to us. I need to know what to do,” she gestured to Grimm. He did his best to ignore the fact this man had just appeared from a place beyond death and talked to him, like a man in a tavern.

“My name is Grimm. I’m a Northman. I just came to warn her of the red shirts coming, but I couldn’t help,” he said and did feel genuine guilt he couldn’t help or had brought it down with him. She was injured and half her people likely lost.

“They have always been coming, if not them someone else, we are nomads not only because of the harsh land but to protect our ways from those who would take it or simple crush it,” he said. “My own people no longer worship the gods they did, not on the whole, the red shirts tried killing us but in the end, they just converted us.” If you traveled to the desert lands you would see them all giving praise to those hollow Pellosi gods. We here in the desert of Pellosi itself are the only ones who stay true to the teachings of old.”

“Why? Why would they do that?” Grimm asked.

“You know well my friend, they seek to weaken the strong and give their master a chance, but they are not the only ones who can play at that game. I think it’s time for us to step from the shadows and show the world the other way, are you ready?

“For what?” Grimm said.

“To show the world what White Eyes can do? To show them all that the spirit of the sand and the wind still blows strong in their land.”

“How does it involve me?” Grimm said.

“I wish I could ask more of you but I can’t. This is one battle, and you are needed in other places more than here. We will ask a favor of you before you’re finished if that’s ok”

The man stood and walked back slowly into the rift of shadow.

Grimm turned to White Eyes," you know what favor he means?” She just nodded and passed out from the blood loss.

Chapter Thirty.

She felt bad leaving Minsetta, but what choice did she have? If she was being given a free pass by these women, she would leave on her own terms. She’d been walked out once again at sword point but let her eyes cast around every direction. She’d counted fighters, weapons, looked at the doors, windows, and battlements.

“Stop looking around, you planning on coming back?” The guard asked behind her.

She looked like a younger version of the other women. Tight leather armor, scared yet still pretty face and hair that was shaved on the sides to the skin, just leaving a soft crest in the middle, they looked tough and that normally meant people were.

“Of course, I’m coming back,” she said as she was shoved along. “We thought to warn you of the danger but now I can see you’re the danger”

The woman laughed. “We are? You a stranger to killing men are you? Don’t bullshit me. I can see the way you carry yourself, you’ve got the quiet confidence of a killer, you’re on the wrong side sister.”

Josette was torn, in one way she did feel like she was on the wrong side. Every one of these women had been beaten, raped and generally treated like shit by men, she knew the story well and didn’t blame them for raising their hands to hit back. Still their creepy religion filled her with dread, she’d kill her enemies like the Northmen but she wasn’t the hand of fury and justice, she was just pissed off.

“You’re right. I’ve changed my mind, let me stay.” Josette said back.

The woman laughed. “Sure, leave you alone in our temple so you can kill Angelina in her sleep and free your friend, do yourself a favor and forget about her, soon she’ll see what happens when you betray us.”

“What happened to just killing men, the rapists, and wife beaters?”

“Betrayal is just as bad,” she said.

They had reached the main gate which she’d only seen from a distance and crept around. The walls were solid as was the doubled wooden gate which stood open. On top of the short wall was a battlement and a good number of archers on top.

“Well, sister this is you, if we see you again, we will kill you,” the woman guard said and gave her shove through the gates. Josette kept her footing as she stumbled out. She turned and looked back at the main gate. At least twenty well-armed guards and solid, it would cost a lot of lives to take it in a front assault but it was the only way to get a few hundred people inside. She counted doors and people as she’d be marched out and there were, at least, a few hundred.

“Can I have my bow back,” Josette said facing the woman and stretching her hands out, she hadn’t been tied.

“What so you can try to kill me and then run off? Doubt it.” the woman laughed.

“It’s expensive, give it to me with no arrows,” she yelled back. The woman guard just shouted, behind her another woman reluctantly took Josette’s bow off her own back and gave it to her, fucking thieves she thought.

“And my dagger,” she said back. “Or you afraid I’ll throw it at you?”

The woman threw the weapons at her feet and as Josette picked them up she felt the drawn bows of ten pissed off women all pointing at her. She turned her back to them and slowly picked her bow and dagger facing the road, she began to walk.

“Stay safe on that road, it always got a few men creeping around looking for their runaway wives,” the guard shouted as she walked away into the dark.

That was the very reason she wanted her weapons.

She trudged up the dirt roadway in the moonlight. She didn’t know if the Bastards had made their camp yet but she walked in the direction she assumed it would be, or the place she’d camp if she was attacking this place. Was she really going to do this? She was going to fight on the side of the Red Bastards, the worst type of men there was against a group of women who were just like her. If she’d found them a few weeks ago she would have been asking how she could join up. The main group of the women seemed ok, they just had a shit leader, maybe she could just take her out.

“Hello little girl” She heard a voice whisper from the darkness.

Josette swung around with her dagger drawn crouching down and then laughed.

Skinner’s familiar rat face loomed out of the darkness towards her.

She hugged him. “Hello ugly, am I going the right way?” she asked.

“You are and I’m hoping with good news, those women didn’t look very peaceful or friendly,” he said.

They began to walk again with Skinner leading the way, whistling loudly as he went, clearly he wasn’t the only scout in the darkness.

“Well if you mean good news like. These women are actually warriors who we’ll have to actually fight, if for no other reason than they have Minsetta and are going to torture her then yes, good news,” she said.

“Oh that is good news then, well not for her, but for us, these men are at wits end, it’s all Farirkar can do to keep a lid on them, mercenaries are no good just marching around, they want some blood and loot,” he said.

“Well, they’ll get plenty of the former.”

She could see scattered campfires through the darkness and felt the eyes of other scouts wanting them through the trees as she walked behind Skinner. The whistling was a good idea, to announce them coming.

As they entered the camp, she could see what Skinner meant. The men sat around camp fires looking bored and restless, she could see more than a few drinking heavily, not really in a fighting mood.

“We’ll go to Farirkar’s tent? Anyone you want to talk to first?” he said.

“Like who? Goldie? Won’t he be with Farirkar?” she asked, not understanding what he was saying or why.

“Goldie has already left, he’s gone to save the third spot himself, but he left you a present.”

“What present?” she asked.

“Two big Northmen who like following orders”

“Why? She asked puzzled.

I don’t know, maybe Farirkar won’t want to fight for real, maybe he won’t take orders from a girl, maybe you’re the only woman in a camp of crazed men and having more than me at your side will save me from having to become every unpopular in a hurry.”

She laughed, he was always thinking. “Ok go get them. I’ll wait here”

Josette pulled out her dagger and started to polish it, it was clean but it didn’t hurt to make the Reds remember who she was, sometimes she hated being a skinny girl, no one ever wanted to force Skinner to have sex with them.

“Little sister!” she heard the huge booming voice in double and felt the crushing weight of Flint, or maybe Stone against her. The huge bear of a man lifted her off the ground in a hug. She knew Grimm and Goldie liked her but clearly these two did as well.

“Goldie said we have to keep you safe until he gets back,” Flint said.

Stone just nodded at her smiling. “We’ve been so bored, these ones are so soft all they do is talk, talk, talk,” he said.

She hugged them both again, she’d never had bodyguards before, it would be nice, even though they’d be shit at sneaking around.

“Ok we have to visit Farirkar and tell him to attack that camp, they have Minsetta and they are involved with the Red shirts somehow. Flint spoke up. “Farirkar is having a fight but we can talk to him once he wins.”

Skinner started to lead the way through the camp and she realized that it was fairly empty, clearly most of the men were somewhere else.

“Fighting whom?” she asked.

“Some idiot who thinks he wants to lead this rabble,” Skinner spoke back.

She was immediately thankful for Flint and Stone. They pushed through the large throng of men and made room for her at the head of a huge circle that had formed. In the middle of the circle made of hundreds of red leering faces was Farirkar and another man. She’d not seen him before but he looked dangerous.

He was a Pellosi and young. He moved like her, quick cat-like movements, a sword, and dagger in his hands while the huge Farirkar faced him with a massive broadsword that was as big as her.

“Come on you little prick, let’s get this over with,” Farirkar yelled and swung the massive blade sideways at the man. He leapt backwards from it and jumped forward seconds later thrusting his own blade at Farirkar, Both were bare-chested and a thrust even from the man’s thin blade would be enough, maybe. She’d never seen anyone with more muscle than Farirkar, it was off-putting, he swung the huge blade like it was a wooden toy.

Farirkar sidestepped the blade easily, moving very well for a big man. The Pellosi rolled across the ground and stabbed down with his dagger, aiming at Farirkar’s foot and got a knee in the face for his troubles. He went flying backwards with a broken nose.

“Low move you little rat,” Farirkar yelled,

The man ignored the pain that must have racked through him and rolled backwards to his feet. Josette scanned the crowd to gauge the support, most men seemed to just be having fun watching someone throw their life away bit some watched intently clearly hoping the Pellosi would win. She saw one man standing behind Farirkar, he held a long needle in his hand which hung at his side. Clearly waiting for the big man to fall against him, who knew what was on that needle.

She pushed sideways through the crowd of people. This time thanking her light frame and the distracted men. She pushed through their sweating bodies until she stood behind the man. She saw a look pass and the Pellosi thrust hard at Farirkar, he staggered back towards the crowd. The man raised his hand so Farirkar would fall against the needle. She simply reached behind the bigger man and whispering into his ear, grabbed his hand and turned the needle to press against his stomach. Farirkar’s huge body hit the man’s hand and drove it deep into him.

Farirkar lunged back at the Pellosi and swung the massive blade down and up and down again with a huge effort of strength. The Pellosi had expected him to slump dead as his friend in the crowd had seemingly done his work. Farirkar’s huge blade actually shattered his sword as it ripped his pretty face apart in a shower of the blood.

The man fell back dead, as Josette let go of the other man who slumped dead as well.

Farirkar stood panting with exertion. “Ok you fucks get back to your drinking, it’s only one a night and if one of you wants to try again tomorrow that’s fine.”

The crowd of red-faced devils quickly disappeared and soon she was standing alone, with Flint. Stone, Farirkar and Skinner. Skinner walked up to Farirkar and handed him a cleanish rag, which he used to whip the other man’s blood off his chest and face.

“Three in three nights, isn’t that right boss? Skinner said.

Farirkar turned and looked at her. “Sure is bloody hard work. Glad your back girl, what news?”

“We’ve got to fight for real. Warrior women, tough,” she said.

“Good. I have around fifty men I want to put on the front line, come tell me.” With that, Farirkar walked off towards his tent and she followed behind.

***

His luck was back and he was the darling of the gamblers once again. He could feel his hangover melting away and had the chance for a quick wash to scrub off some of the booze skink that was sweating from his body. He’d already made some people in the crowd very rich and they cheered as he entered the stage for the next bout.

He’d easily won at cards and dice. He had to admire these priests for their clear thinking. He’d never had to play a game of cards with no shirt on before but in a place like this, it was a good idea. Sure he felt that bastard sun burning away at his white half Northern skin but still, it stopped people calling him a cheat and that was good with the way his luck was running. Every time he played for the queen she came up. Even if he had nothing else, he’d go for the royals and they came to him.

“What’s next kid?” he said to the boy, who had taken the role of his coach and trainer. Bringing him water and handling his own side bets. The boy had a smile ear to ear, clear he was betting on Goldie per match and had already won big.

“The reason people are looking nervous is that,” the boy pointed to the table before them. They stood in front of the main street again and a series of ten wooden tables had been laid out. Men sat at the small tables across from each other.

“Arm wrestling,” the boy said. “And that big prick has won four years in a row.”

Goldie looked at the “Big prick in question.” He was hardly the biggest man he’d seen but he was intimidating. He had arms that were as big as some men’s legs and they rippled as he took another man out of the competition.

“As the champion of a few bouts I asked the priest if we could just face the winner, he said no but I bribed him and he changed his mind.”

Goldie stood at the side and watched with hundreds to others as the man went from round to round. First there was ten against ten, then five and five, then only two and one waited, he challenged the winner. Soon the man stood alone.

“So we have our champion but of course, he must face Goldie, now were going to give our man here a bit of a rest as he’s just had a few bouts". It was a lucky turn or crooked one as the man had just taken out the whole field and was tired, but he was still a monster.

“What am I going to do, luck won’t help here. It’s all muscle,” he said.

“It’s your turn, the Lady has helped you a lot, now you need to do something to help yourself,” the boy said.