The Eternal Kingdom (The Children Trilogy Book 3) by Ben Peek

Author:Ben Peek [Peek, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2017-06-14T23:00:00+00:00

11.

Heast’s blade caught a blow and he shrugged it aside as his horse galloped down the street. He rode into a skirmish between four smoke-stained Leerans and two soldiers of Refuge. Upon seeing the two riders charge into their enemies, the latter pair took advantage of the diversion and ran through a burning house, using it as a dangerous, unstable gateway to the next street. He thought that one of them was the runner, Ralen, but in the smoke, in the frantic fight against the unmounted Leerans, Heast could not be sure.

Oya held to his left. The four Faithful fell quickly, and he was pleased to see that they were not alight with flames, but rather stained by smoke and ash. When the last of the four fell, Heast heard a loud crack from Oya after that caught his attention and he turned to see her pulling her axe out of the burning door frame. Her blow had taken off half the Leeran’s head on the ground but slammed into the wood after. The frame, though, was so weak that when she ripped it out, it began to crumple in thick pieces of black wood, bringing the house with it. With a kick, Heast urged his mount down the street, towards the burning buildings ahead. He would have to turn, left or right at the end, and he pulled to the right, in the direction that the two Refuge soldiers had run. There was a good chance, he knew, that the two of them had not known who had thundered down the street, and whether they were friend or foe.

‘Refuge!’ His shout drew the burning air into his lungs. ‘Refuge!’

He wanted to make sure that they knew who it was who came towards them.

‘Refuge!’

Beside him, Oya echoed his shout.

Then they turned left and rode straight into half a dozen riders.

They were as startled as he and Oya, but Heast’s blade caught the first Leeran in the face. She fell back while his and Oya’s mounts shouldered through the horses before them. Heast blocked a slash and backhanded another Leeran. Nothing fancy, he knew, but he and Oya emerged on the other side of the riders within moments. Heast took another burning breath and shouted ‘Refuge!’ again, and heard the cry returned. It came from ahead of him, but he could not tell if it was from one of the Queen’s First Guard or from one of the Faaishan members of Refuge. It could even come from a Leeran, Heast knew. He was not concerned if it did, however. The cry would force the Leerans to stop what they were doing, would give him time to pull those he could to relative safety, while also peeling off bits of the Faithful in quick, running attacks. He glanced behind him at the thought: sure enough, the riders he and Oya had burst through were behind them, riding hard.

Beside him, he heard a startling thud, and for a moment, thought that Oya had fallen.

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