The Jongurian Mission (57 page)

“Now just a few more feet and we’re home free,” Halam said, rising to make the last quick run.
He looked down at Bryn and smiled when a crossbow bolt slammed into his chest and he fell against the boulder, his face a picture of shock as he looked down at the bolt sticking out of him.

“There
! Willem shouted, pointing toward the last side canyon directly across from them.

A Jongurian crouched down against the mountain wall reloading his crossbow.
Jurin took his bow and nocked an arrow to it before taking careful aim. The man looked up for a split second, fear clearly writ on his face, and the arrow took him right in the eye. The force of the shot threw him back a couple of feet and he crumpled up against the canyon wall, his undamaged eye wide and lifeless.

“Uncle
!” Bryn shouted as he crouched down next to Halam. He was afraid to touch him, the wound looked so bad.

Halam looked up at Bryn.
“I’m afraid they got me, lad,” he said with a slight smile.

“You’ll be fine,” Rodden stammered, “you’ve had worse than this.”

“Halam grabbed Rodden’s hand. “You get Bryn back to Adjuria,” he said looking up at his friend’s face.

Rodden nodded as tears welled up in his eyes.

Halam turned his attention back to Bryn, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I love you, Bryn.”

“I love you too, uncle Halam,” Bryn managed to choke out through his sobs.

After that Halam leaned his head back against the boulder and lay still. A moment later Willem leaned over and closed his lifeless eyes.

* * * * *

Leisu could still see two of the men that Liu had sent forward toward the Oval, and suddenly they jerked their bows up and fired a couple of arrows.

“
Another one just rushed forward,” one of them yelled back.

Liu motioned for another couple of men to follow the four that
’d gone forward and they too made it further toward the Oval entrance without drawing fire.

“Perhaps they made it out,” Ko said to Leisu, referring to the Adjurians.

“Not likely with my men still firing,” Liu replied. He nodded toward the man who had first crawled forward to report back and he once again got onto his belly and disappeared around the bend in the canyon wall. After a few moments he returned.

“There’s no more movement ahead,” he said.
“I could see a few more dead Jongurians but nothing of the Adjurians. They may still be there, but they could be out of arrows.”

Ko looked to Leisu.
“He may be right. How long can they keep firing at us before they run out?”

“They’ll still have their swords,” Leisu answered, but then turned to Liu.
“Perhaps you should send another few men out, but this time at a walk.”

“I don’t think so,” he replied.
“That’s just too risky.”

Leisu looked around at the men.
Only four remained from Bindao. “Which one of you wishes an easy promotion,” he said. “All you’ve got to do is walk a little ways into the Oval.”

The four men looked around at one another uneasily, but said nothing.
A moment later one of Liu’s men spoke.

“I’ll do it for fifty gold,” he said, stepping forward.

“Fifty gold! You must be crazy,” Ko said, standing up to face the man, his fists clenched.

“No,” Leisu said, stepping between the two men.
He looked up at the man. “You’ll have your fifty gold when you return.”

“Fine,” he said, and moved toward the Oval.
He slowed as he got to the bend in the wall, then stepped forward and out of sight. A few moments later he came back, a large grin on his face. “No one fired at me,” he said. “I’ll take that fifty gold now, if you please.”

“How do we know you went out far enough
?” Ko asked.

“Because I saw him,” another one of Liu’s men said as he walked up.
“He walked right past where I was crouching down and halfway to the nearest boulder. Not an arrow came at him. Either those men vanished right under our eyes, or they’re out of arrows to fire at us.”

Leisu looked from the man to Ko
then Liu. “Let’s move in, then,” he said.

Liu nodded and motioned for his men to move forward.
Although they’d just seen their companion emerge from the opening to the Oval unscathed, they were still wary and advanced slowly. The man who’d gone first asked again for his gold but Liu gave him a hard hit to the head and he quickly grew silent on the matter.

The Oval opened up in front of them and the first thing that Leisu noticed was all of the
ir dead men lying about. Several were spread out with arrows and crossbow bolts sticking from them all around the Oval’s entrance and near the first few boulders. Further out amongst the boulders and side canyons he could see more laying dead. Then one of the men ahead of them cried out.

“Here’s one
!” the man yelled back and several other men including Leisu rushed up to see. An Adjurian lay up against a boulder, an arrow sticking from his chest near the shoulder. The wound had covered him in blood, but he was still alive and grasped his sword tightly.

“I’m right here, come and get me,” the man said, but it was obvious that he was in no condition to fight.

“No,” a voice called out, and another man further out and behind a boulder rose and began walking toward them. Leisu immediately recognized the man: it was his former master, Wen. “You’re no match for these men, not in your state.”

He looked up at Leisu.
“I see that you’ve chosen to follow Zhou.”

“That’s right,” Leisu replied.
“And I see that you’ve chosen to aid our enemy.”

“Enemy?” Wen asked.
Why, because they are Adjurian? Or because they know your master has freed the False King?”

“Does it matter, old man
?” Leisu asked. Two other Adjurians had risen from behind boulders by then and walked over to stand around the wounded man. Liu’s men kept their bows aimed at them, but most of their attention was directed toward the two Jongurians speaking, both obviously near to blows.

“It always matters,” Wen said.
He dropped his sword and bow to the ground. “Well, what will it be Leisu? Will you kill us now, or deliver us to your master?”

“I’ll kill you then decide what I’ll do with these men,” Leisu replied, pulling his sword from its scabbard.
“Pick up your sword.”

“Sir, is this wise?” Ko asked, but Leisu raised his hand for him to stop.

“Ko, you stay out of this!” Leisu said, then looked around at all of the other Jongurians. “That goes for all of you here. I want no interference in this.” He turned back to Wen. “Pick up your sword, I said. I’ve been wanting to have a real swordfight with you since we first met, and now I’ll get my wish.”

Wen stared back at Leisu for several moments and then shrugged his shoulders.
“As you wish,” he said and leaned down to pick up his sword.

Before he even had the hilt firmly grasped in his fingers Leisu was charging toward him.

“Look out
!” one of the Adjurians yelled, but Wen had expected the rush and rolled out of the way as Leisu’s blade sliced through the air where he’d been standing. He came quickly to his feet as Leisu regained his balance.

“You’re still quick, I see,” Leisu said as he lunged forward once again.

Wen blocked the blow with his sword and the two men were soon moving back and forth.
The canyon walls echoed with the sounds of their swords striking against one another and the men moved back, forming a circle around them. For a few moments Leisu pressed Wen toward a boulder, but just when he was about to be caught between it and Leisu’s sword, he spun right and had Leisu pressed back to the large rock. Leisu was able to offer a few quick parries, however, and they were soon both out in the open once again, neither of their blows lessening in speed or severity. Sweat began to bead on Leisu’s forehead and his teeth were bared in a savage grin, but Wen remained calm and showed not the slightest concern as he quickly dodged and parried Leisu’s blows, then moved into his own counterattacks. It became a quick dance as the two combatants whirled around the sandy ground. Once or twice the men around them let out a gasp as one of the men’s blows looked close to landing, but each time the other dodged out of the way or met the attack with an upraised sword.

Suddenly Wen lost his footing when he stepped on an arrow laying in the sand and stumbled back a few steps, both of his arms raised up above his head for balance.
Leisu saw his chance and moved forward with a few savage swings and managed to slice Wen’s tunic, which soon showed a thin line of red. Wen was quickly able to regain his balance, however, and the fight went on, the slash barely slowing him.

Leisu began to feel his arm grow tired from all of the swinging.
His attacks slowed and he spent more time blocking Wen’s thrusts. He was no longer able to push Wen around, but was instead going where the older man’s attacks sent him. He knew that if this pace continued, he’d be done.

“Ko, shoot him
!” he said loudly, but Ko only planted is feet more firmly in the ground and continued to watch the battle.

“Somebody shoot him
!” Leisu called out after a few more moments. Wen’s attacks were increasing in frequency. The man barely seemed to be tired at all.

“Fifty gold to the first man that fires an arrow at this man
!” Leisu called out again when it was clear no one was coming to his aid. “One hundred gold!” he called out, louder this time.

“Any man that fires an arrow I’ll kill myself,”
Liu answered.

Leisu knew that he
’d lost. There was no way that he could continue to block Wen’s attacks for long. He looked up at Wen, whose face showed nothing. It angered him even more, and he gritted his teeth and let out a loud growl, then lunged forward. Wen easily swatted aside his efforts and on the last swing pushed Leisu’s sword far out to the right. In a quick flash Wen extended his arm forward and Leisu could see then feel his former master’s sword enter his stomach just under the breastbone then slide right back out. He brought his sword back for another swing, but Wen just stepped back from him and lowered his sword to the ground. Leisu took a couple of stumbling steps forward before his legs gave out and he fell to his knees, his sword falling from his fingers. He could feel blood begin to trickle down his chin and wiped his hand across his mouth then brought it before his eyes. It was bright red. He lowered his hand to look up at Wen, but his face was just registering the same expressionless look that he’d seen nearly ten years before when the man had left him for dead. He gave a slight smile than fell forward.

Wen threw his sword down at his feet and Ko walked over to Leisu and crouched down, putting a finger to his throat.
After a moment he shook his head and rose, looking at Liu.

“He’s dead,” was all he said.

“And these men?” Liu asked, motioning toward the three Adjurians huddled together, Wen standing close by them.

Ko looked over at them for a few moments then began to walk back toward the Oval
’s entrance.

“Tie their hands
; they’re our prisoners now.”

“The old man too?,” Liu
asked with surprise.

Ko turned back to look at Wen.
He stood staring back, seemingly unperturbed by the death of his former pupil. “All of them,” he said, then moved into the canyon and out of sight.

CONCLUSION

They made it out of the canyon and through the mountains.
There was no sign of any Jongurians following them, but neither was there any of their companions either. They asked Jurin what he thought had happened to them back in the Oval, but he only shrugged when the question was put to him. After a while they no longer asked. Bryn was numb the whole time and noticed little. All of them were silent as they moved further out of the mountains and into the forest that lay at their base. When darkness fell Jurin lit a torch and they continued on. Bryn couldn’t care whether they slept or not at that point; all he wanted to do was lie down and die.

They stopped to sleep for a few hours before dawn, then began again.
None of them thought that the Jongurians had given up their pursuit, so to the men it felt very much like a chase still. They pushed themselves hard, even Willem, whose leg required that he use a makeshift crutch to walk with. Jurin had taken the crossbow bolt from his leg and stitched up the wound sometime after they’d left the Oval, but Bryn couldn’t really be sure where or when it had occurred. All he noticed was that Willem was always in the rear, but no matter the pain he must have been feeling he managed to keep up.

The forest gave way to grassland and then to prairie.
The tall grasses steadily grew shorter as they pushed further westward and eventually became sparse and thorny brush then small weeds and then little in the way of vegetation at all. Jurin had turned them in a northwestward direction as soon as it was clear they were entering the Isthmus. The plan was for them to still reach the northern coast and flag down a passing boat. The consensus of the men was that they would try to get the attention of the first boat they saw, whether Adjurian or Jongurian; they all wanted this nightmare to end.