One of them recovered quickly and leapt back, but the soldier’s friend wasn’t so lucky. Still slightly bewildered, the man took a hard blow from the thick wood staff, directly to his knee. He fell with a shout of pain.
Will heard his mother and Sammy emerge from behind him. “Please, don’t hurt us!” said Erisa, her voice full of fear and desperation. The soldiers grinned at her obvious fear.
The man who had been in the center took a step toward Will to help his friend who was being steadily forced to retreat before the long heavy sweeps of his staff. That left only two on the right for Erisa and Sammy to deal with. As soon as they were out, Erisa screamed at her niece, “Run, Sammy! Run!”
Sammy didn’t need much encouragement. She bolted like a frightened rabbit. In fact, she almost did her part too well, for she moved so quickly that the soldier on the far right nearly missed her, but his fingers caught the back of her tunic at the last second. The man jerked her back, catching her against his chest as she spun and tumbled into him.
Will thought she might have forgotten to use the knife for a second, for the man made no sound at first, but a few seconds later he began yelling and trying to push the girl from him. It was too late, of course. Sammy had been frantically stabbing for several seconds before his brain registered what had happened.
The dying man’s companion started to go to his friend’s aid, but the moment he took his eyes from Erisa and started toward them, she jumped toward him. Will’s mother didn’t even bother taking the sword out from under her cloak. She stabbed through it and into the man’s side with all the force her slim body could put behind the weapon.
All that happened in a matter of seconds, during which Will was forced to retreat from his two opponents. His back was nearly against the house, and as a result his movements were becoming even more hampered. The two soldiers knew how to work together, and he knew he’d be spitted by one of their swords soon.
One of the two was forced to turn and deal with Will’s mother, though, and once the pressure was off, Will was able to take the fight to his foe. He threatened the man with a wide sweep and then dropped the tip of his staff to the ground and pretended to stumble as the soldier came forward. Increasing his speed as much as possible, Will whipped the end of the staff up and drove it forward in a hard thrust into the soldier’s belly.
If it had been a spear, the man would have died there, but the hardened leather protecting the soldier saved him from the worst of the blow. Even so, he fell backward and before he could rise, Will thumped him on the head. Looking to his right, Will could see his mother retreating from the other soldier.
He’d been surprised by his mother’s strength and quick thinking, but she didn’t have the skill or muscle to match the man bearing down on her. The element of surprise was gone, and while Sammy might have helped, Will’s cousin was still in shock, her head down as she sat atop the man she had stabbed to death.
He started to go to his mother’s aid, but the first soldier, the one he had crippled, grabbed Will’s ankle and he was forced to club the man into unconsciousness. Several frantic seconds passed as he fought to free himself. He was in a near panic by the time he got loose, and in his mind’s eye all he could see was the vision of his aunt, stabbed and then beaten to death.
It was with immense relief that he saw his mother was still alive and fighting. She had continued retreating, making sure to keep her opponent’s back toward Will. Her eyes met her son’s for a split second, but she otherwise gave no sign that he was coming.
The last man went down hard as Will put everything he had into a wide swing that ended against the side of the man’s head. Erisa gave him a tight smile. “Good job.” Then she turned and helped Sammy up. The girl seemed numb with shock.
As she stood, Will could see that Sammy’s hands and the front of her tunic were covered in blood. Her face was white, but she wasn’t crying.
“It’s all right, Samantha,” said Erisa gently. “Come with me. It will be safe at Arrogan’s house.”
He helped his mother lead his cousin away, but he stopped for a second, looking at the wounded and unconscious men. “Shouldn’t we—make sure they can’t come after us,” he said uncertainly.
His mother’s eyes were cold as she responded, “Already thirsty for more blood, William Cartwright? They won’t be going anywhere. Our goal is to escape.” Without another word, she headed into the forest, pulling Sammy along with her.
Will followed them, but after twenty yards he stopped. “What about Granddad?”
“He’ll be fine,” said his mother, but Will could see uncertainty hidden behind her eyes.
Still scared, Will clenched the staff in his hands as he made his decision. “I’m going back.”
“He chose this, Will,” said Erisa firmly. “Don’t ruin his effort. If you go back and get yourself killed, where will that leave us? Think before you do something stupid.”
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he apologized, stepping back before she could grab him.
His cousin’s response was anything but reserved. “No, Will! You promised me!” she yelled.
Will was shocked at the volume of sound that came from his cousin’s diminutive form, but he kept going, jogging away as she yelled at his back.
Chapter 26
Will’s fear grew stronger as he ran, and he wanted nothing more than to turn around and rejoin his mother and cousin. The voice at the back of his mind was firmly in favor of that idea. You’re just going to get yourself killed, it told him. Your mother was right. He made his own decision. The wise move is to do as he said.
“Shut up,” he told himself, coming to a stop at the back door of his house. For a moment he considered going around the outside, but he knew he would be spotted then. His fear quickly overruled that idea. Instead, he opened the door and went back through the house.
When he reached the front door, he could hear his grandfather outside, talking in a strong, clear voice. “I’m not going to warn you again,” said the old man. “Take these ugly-ass soldiers and turn around. I don’t like killing, but I’m not above improving the world by getting rid of fools.”
He paused for a moment, debating what he should do. The door loomed in front of him. Should he open it? Terror gripped his heart at the thought of stepping out in front of so many soldiers, not to mention the sorcerer that must be with them. It was certain death, no matter how confident his grandfather sounded.
Ignoring those thoughts, he gripped the door handle and pulled.
Nothing happened. The door was stuck and refused to budge. Will stared at it dumbly for a second. He had used that door almost every day of his life, and he knew how much force was needed to open it. Then he noticed the magic that followed the edges of the door. His grandfather had used some sort of spell to keep it from opening.
Why? he wondered. Did he know I’d come back, or is this part of some strange plan? Shaking his head, Will went to the left and peeked out the front window.
He didn’t like what he saw. At least twenty men were standing in the front yard, spread out in a broad line. Behind them stood an extremely plump man whose head was entirely bald. Will could tell it was the sorcerer at once, for the man was clad in gaudy orange robes, and if that weren’t enough, a large flame hovered beside him, invisible to normal sight. Beside the sorcerer were four more soldiers armed with crossbows.