Krondor_ The Assassins Part 27

"Yes, squire?" interrupted the Prince.

"Forgive me, Highness, but I've seen that thing. We need a plan."

Arutha indulged himself in one of his infrequent laughs. "From you: a plan? Squire, that's rare."

"Well, I've seen that thing up close, Highness, and it's got the power to rip a man's arm from his shoulder with a single yank. We need a priest to banish it to its own realm, or a magician to destroy it."

"We have neither," said Arutha. "And from what I remember from my study of demonic lore, unless this is some higher power we face, it can be killed. If it doesn't care for sunlight or cold steel, we have the means."

The Prince turned to William. "Lieutenant, you and the captain ride back to the other entrance. Take a squad of archers with you. Drive that thing to this door before the sun sets."

Treggar and William saluted and rode off, leaving James holding on to Arutha's stirrup for support. "What if it doesn't want to be driven, Highness?" asked James.

'Then we'll have to go in after it," said the Prince. He then looked down at James and said, "And 'we' doesn't include you, squire. You've looked better." He motioned to one of his aides and said, "Take the squire somewhere and see he eats and drinks water. I don't think you'll have a struggle getting him to rest."

James allowed the soldier to lead him to a rocky outcrop where he sat in the shade, eating hard rations and drinking tepid water from a skin barely cooled by evaporation. He knew this meant that the baggage train was miles behind the column and this was probably as good fare as any man, including the Prince, had eaten in days.

James had to fight to stay awake between bites. He only half-remembered someone bringing him a fresh tunic and trousers. He knew his boots were down there in the room behind the armory, where he had been stripped for sacrifice, and vowed that when this was over he was going to get them.

That was his last waking thought.

William and Treggar mustered their men and the captain said, "Lieutenant."

"Sir?"

"I'm going down with the first six men. Wait a bit, then send the sergeant and next six, and you lead the last six a bit after that. The archers will stay here."

"Yes, sir."

Treggar said, "The first squad will move straight to the east. I want the second squad to move to the south. It's a fairly obvious route that will eventually turn east." To William he said, "You get the tough one, Will. Move to the north and head to the armory."

"Sir," said William.

"Whoever makes contact with the demon, sit tight and send for the other two squads. Defend yourselves if you must, but don't attack until we get organized. I want to try to use the archers to drive the thing toward the Prince's men."

Ropes were tied to the base of the two heavy ready racks and were lowered so that two men at a time could descend or climb back if need be.

When they were secure, Treggar led the first squad down into the darkness.

William watched as Treggar and his six men vanished, then the second squad under the command of a sergeant, then he led in his own six. Twenty-one soldiers, thought William, to drive a demon out into the sun. He hoped it was enough. Never a magician, he had lived among them all his life, and nothing he had ever heard about demons over those years was good.

Putting aside his misgivings, he motioned for the last company to move out.

William took the lead, refusing to let one of the soldiers go first. He justified the order by claiming he had been this way before, then realized that he needn't justify anything to these men; he just needed to give the order.

They were slowly working their way through a series of rooms that had been turned into one big abattoir. Blood splattered the walls and recognizable body parts were strewn around with chaotic abandon.

The one fact William noted was that all the heads had been split or bitten open, and the brains eaten. William glanced at the faces of his men and saw battle-hardened men go pale. He swallowed hard to keep from retching and felt less self-conscious.

A noise in the distance alerted William to the demon's position. He motioned for the others to wait while he quietly went ahead to reconnoiter. He moved in a crouch, slowly working his way down a hall. Before him was a large barracks room, if his memory served.

He glanced through the door in front of him and could see nothing, so he moved slowly, stopping every few feet to observe the expanded angle of view. As he neared the door, he had a terrible feeling the demon was sitting in one of the two corners beside the door, meaning that William would have to actually look into the room to get a view of the creature.

Right or left side? he asked himself.

The demon saved him the decision by moving, the noise coming from the left.

William put himself hard against the right wall, moving as slowly as he could, crouching low. The creature's legs came into view first, and William realized that it was sitting on the floor, legs extended, as if waiting.

Waiting for what? William asked himself silently.

Then it registered: it was waiting for the sun to go down. William was torn between retreating now and calling for the archers, or glancing around the corner to get a better look at the thing. He judged the risk worth the reward.

He moved slowly, afraid that any sudden motion might catch the demon's eye. He saw the creature looking away from the door, several wounds visible upon its body.

He pulled back. Slowly, every step a painful exercise in self-control, he moved away from the room. When he was near the point where his own men could be seen, he held up a finger to his lips, then motioned for the men to move back.

William had the men fall back to the last intersection they had pa.s.sed. When he was certain they were far enough back to not be heard, he whispered, The demon's in that room ahead. Looks like some of the a.s.sa.s.sins gave as good as they got. The thing's bleeding a fair bit."

"Good," whispered one of the men.

William said to him, "Loop around to the south and find Captain Treggar and the others."

The soldier ran off.

To another man, William said, "Go fetch the archers, on the double."

The man hurried off.

William turned to the others and said, "Be ready, but no man is to speak or make a move until they hear an order from me."

The men nodded and waited, silently.

SIXTEEN - Discovery

The archers arrived.

The six bowmen lined up silently behind William. A little while later, Captain Treggar and his six men joined them.

"How lie things, Will?" asked Treggar.

William outlined the situation, drawing in the dust on the floor, to show where the demon waited. Treggar swore. "It will cost us to ferret him out. The first lads through that door are almost certainly dead."

William said, "Not if they don't stop."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Treggar.

"Hare and hound?"

Treggar smiled. "If the demon will follow them, the hare can lead him to the stable. Then we can drive him out to the Prince."

William began to strip off his armor. "Not they, me."

"You?"

"I know the way. No one else here does but you, captain, and, with respect, I'd wager I'm faster than you are."

Treggar said, "I remember catching up to you yesterday."

William smiled. "For which I'll be eternally grateful, a.s.suming I live an eternity." He handed his scabbard to one of the soldiers, but held on to the sword. He now wore only tunic, trousers and boots. He motioned for a torch, and was given one by a soldier near the back. "No time like the present," William observed.

William ran down the hall, not pausing as he entered the room in which the demon rested. He made it to the center of the room before glancing backward and was horrified to discover the demon was already after him, a specter of terror, bellowing in anger.

William still hurt from the struggle the day before and the hard ride with Arutha, but right now his body answered a basic demand: fleeing for his life.

He ran without hesitation and hoped his instincts would keep him from going the wrong way. Down a long stone corridor, through a large empty room, then into another tunnel he ran, the demon staying with him every step of the way.

William almost died when he burst into the stable and barely avoided running headlong into a forge. He bounced off the stonework and ducked his head under the metal hood that led to the stonework chimney. Had he struck it and fallen, he knew the demon would have overtaken him.

He was gratified to discover the demon wasn't quite as nimble, since a few seconds later he heard the crash of a heavy body against the forge and hood, followed by a scream of frustration.

William saw the sunlight at the far end of the stable and started the final sprint. It was only a hundred feet or so, but it seemed to take forever to cross that paltry distance.

He raced into the sunlight, half-blinded by it. Shading his eyes for a moment, he saw Prince Arutha and a company of hors.e.m.e.n directly in front of him. Behind him, the creature had come to a halt at the edge of the sunlight.

The creature might not be particularly bright, thought William, but it wasn't stupid either. It had recognized the ambush and refused to be baited.

William turned, pointing his sword. He took a deep breath, then shouted a challenge.

The demon suddenly bellowed in rage, but it had nothing to do with William's challenge. Rather, it was being attacked from behind by the six bowmen in the stable who were loosing their arrows as rapidly as possible. It spun around, and William could see three shafts protruding from its back and one from its side, and several minor wounds were also visible from arrows that hadn't penetrated.

The creature charged back into the stable and William ran after it. Inside the stable, the demon was standing in the center aisle, while the bowmen kept shooting at it. William saw that only a few shafts that struck square to the creature had gone in. The rest of the arrows glanced off, some shattering against the magically-imbued skin.

William was almost struck by one. He shouted, "Stop shooting! You're going to kill someone on the other side!"

The arrows stopped flying. Then William drew back his sword and attacked.

He swung as hard as he could against the creature's back, but when the blade struck, the shock ran up both his arms as if he had struck the bole of an ancient oak tree. The demon screamed in pain and rage and turned to make a backhand grab. William fell back just in time to avoid being decapitated.

He rolled to his feet and ran, uncertain as to whether the demon was following, or turning its attention to the other soldiers in the stable, but just as he reached the door and sunlight, a crus.h.i.+ng blow to his back informed him of the demon's whereabouts.

William went sprawling forward, sc.r.a.ping his forearms and hands, then scrambled to get to his feet as quickly as possible. A scream from behind alerted him to the fact that someone else was distracting the demon while he made good his escape. With a lunge, William staggered upright in time to see a score of hors.e.m.e.n riding straight at him.

The vibration coming through the solid rock under the earth and the sound of hooves growing louder by the second caused William to glance to either side, seeking escape.

Given the circ.u.mstances, he did the only thing he could do: he stood stock-still and prayed that they would ride around him.

The riders drew up their mounts and leapt from their saddles, the closest rider hitting the ground less than a yard from William. Displaying years of drill, one man in each group of five grabbed reins and led mounts to the rear as the other four drew weapons and stood in a line. They waited until Arutha joined them. At his signal, they charged.

William hoisted his own weapon, and charged with them.

The demon had backed the bowmen into the stable, but it turned at the sound of so many new arrivals. The Krondorian soldiers spread out and quickly formed a ring around the demon, using their s.h.i.+elds to good effect.

Arutha shouted, "When you see its rear, attack!"

At the sound of Arutha's voice, the demon turned and two men behind it dashed forward and struck as hard as they could. It whipped around, and as it did so other men struck from behind.

Within a few moments, the demon seemed to be spinning in place, its back a ma.s.s of bleeding cuts.

Despite the damage being done, the tactic was not without cost. At least three men had been struck so hard they had been knocked across the room where they now lay dead; and two more were gravely wounded. The demon lashed out to right and left, with no apparent pattern, occasionally slas.h.i.+ng a s.h.i.+eld or, worse, over a s.h.i.+eld into armor or exposed flesh.

Men cursed and bled, and a few more died, but they continued to fight.

William poised himself and delivered a spine-crus.h.i.+ng blow with his two-handed sword, and was rewarded by the sight of a deep groove fountaining black, smoking blood. The creature spun, slas.h.i.+ng at William, who used his sword to parry. Sparks flew as black talons sc.r.a.ped along the steel blade, but as the creature drew back its other hand to strike, it screamed and turned away, distracted by a blow from the opposite side.

William took a step back, getting ready to deliver another blow when a voice from behind said, "How goes it, lieutenant?"

Recognizing the Prince's voice, William answered: "b.l.o.o.d.y work, Highness. The creature bleeds, but seems reluctant to die."

Arutha moved to stand next to William, sword at the ready.

In that instant, there was no doubt in William's mind that his cousin was no mere court ruler, who wore armor only for state occasions, but an undoubted warrior who had seen more conflicts than most men twice his age.

Arutha said nothing, but stepped in front of William, pointing his sword at the creature. A small portion of the demon's side, under the left arm, was exposed, and Arutha struck with such swiftness that William was only aware of the strike when the Prince pulled away.

The demon seemed to freeze for an instant, and then it trembled and screamed louder than before. But rather than rage, the scream was one of terror. The demon faced Arutha, its eyes fixed upon the Prince as if he were the only enemy in the room.

Instantly those soldiers behind the creature closed in, slas.h.i.+ng at its already bloodied and tattered back. But the demon's fiery eyes were focused solely upon Arutha and it slashed downward with a raking blow.

Arutha moved back deftly, then slashed with his rapier, and a smoking, dripping groove appeared on the back of the demon's clawed hand. The demon swung a backhand blow, which caused William to leap backwards, while Arutha simply moved aside a half-pace, then stepped in, slicing the creature across the chest.

William shouted, "Your blade! It somehow does more dam-age!"

Arutha said, "Ask your father about it some time. Right now I'm busy."