Portents of Doom by William King

Author:William King [King, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Typhon Press
Published: 2016-10-23T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

The giant jaguar thrashed and died. The smell of singed fur and burned flesh filled the air. There had been magic present within that huge carnivore; Kormak was certain. Someone had controlled the beast and sent it after him. It was no accident that he had been attacked. Someone wanted him dead.

The Siderean soldiers were already half-routed. Many fled along the road ignoring the commands of Sergeant Terves and Admiral Zamara. The rest stared at him as if expecting him to tell them what to do.

Hundreds of chanting savages were emerging from the jungle half a league away. They whooped and yelled and brandished spears as they raced forward. There were far too many of them to fight. Kormak exchanged a helpless look with Admiral Zamara. “We need to run. Now!”

Zamara did not look pleased, but he understood the situation was hopeless. He turned to his men and said, “Don’t leave any wounded to fall into the hands of these devils.”

The soldiers stared at him and then at the comrades they had carried so far. There was nothing else to be done. Those who were captured could expect ritual sacrifice at best probably preceded by torture of the most unspeakable sort.

That realisation settled on their faces. One or two nodded. Some shook their heads, not yet ready to die. They had no choice. Their friends were going to have to leave them.

A man slit the throat of a comrade he had carried for the last five leagues. Another put a crossbow bolt through the eye of a friend. One pressed his dagger into the hands of a blubbering man who begged him to carry him just a little further. Reluctantly his friend shook his head and turned his back and walked away.

Zamara himself walked over and beheaded the man with a slice of his blade. “Now run as if all the Demons of Shadow were after you—because they soon will be if you stay here! Run you dogs! Run!”

* * *

“I wish I still had my horse,” Rhiana said. Breath was coming hard from her lungs. Sweat ran down her face. She clutched her sword in her hand as if she was ready to use it at any moment.

“It probably saved my life,” Kormak said. He fought to keep his breathing even. He was weary, but he did not want to show it in front of the others. Soon they might need to turn and fight. There was no need to look behind him to see whether the enemy was closing. He could tell by the shouts.

Some of the troops had already fallen behind. Their screams echoed through the night as they were overhauled and dragged down.

“I’m not sure that was a good swap,” Rhiana said and grinned.

“I’ll remember you said that,” Kormak said.

“Save your breath for running.”

Up ahead loomed the squat stone structure of a Sunlander fortress. It stood on a low hill overlooking the mouth of the pass. Behind it rose grey mountains. In front of it was a flat plain, a killing ground cleared of trees and boulders.

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