They had seen Baoryn, leading the first Rahain company to climb the valley, guiding them towards the place where Keira was supposed to be mortally wounded. She smirked. The lizard had stuck to his part of the plan, to the amazement of most of the warriors, who had fully expected him to betray them. She had noticed Kylon gazing up the hillside, worried about the Rahain man’s fate.

  Keira glanced over at the warriors huddled in a long line to her left. She had divided them into two squads. Kalma was leader of the group beside the mage, and Doreen was in command of the squad on the opposite side of the glen, hidden among a patch of trees. Keira had kept Kylon, Lacey, Leah and Bedig out of the squads, to act as her personal guard, while Kalayne had disappeared. She imagined he was somehow already on the other side of the half-built Rahain fortifications, waiting for them.

  ‘That’s eight hundred,’ Kylon said, as the company moved out of view. ‘That should leave two hundred at the fortifications, and most of them will be busy with building work.’

  Keira nodded. ‘Let’s go.’

  She slipped through the undergrowth in silence, waving up to Doreen’s squad. Lacey and Bedig joined her by the banks of the wide burn, the shallow water rushing over the rocks below.

  ‘Two hundred’s still a lot,’ said Lacey.

  Keira shrugged, and glanced at Bedig. ‘You ready, big man?’

  ‘Aye,’ he said, patting the large sack over his shoulder, and hefting his new shield, taken from the cave supplies.

  ‘Mage,’ said Doreen as she and her squad reached the other side of the burn. ‘We heading down?’

  ‘Aye,’ Keira said, glancing along both banks at the assembled warriors. ‘That we are.’

  Leah joined her, a longbow resting in her right hand.

  Keira raised her right arm, and began running down the path by the side of the burn. The sun was out and the valley was glistening in a multitude of greens, the steep banks on either side of the river only yards apart in places. The ground was roughed up by the recent passing of eight hundred pairs of Rahain boots, and insects buzzed above the foaming waters. They were nearly in Kell, she could feel it.

  The glen began to widen, and she slowed, taking cover by an enormous moss-covered rock. The hills came to an abrupt end a few hundred yards ahead, and beyond that were miles of rolling grasslands, dazzling in the sunlight.

  Blocking the way was a large construction site. Scaffolding was covering a partially-built stone tower, while in front of it a long ditch had been dug across half of the valley. Behind it stood sections of a tall wooden palisade wall, and Keira noticed the countless tree-stumps scattered over the bare valley floor. Dozens of tents and small wooden structures were positioned behind the wall, clustered around the tower and the river that ran through the camp.

  Rahain soldiers were out labouring in groups of dozens, digging the ditch, extending the palisade walls, or hauling carts of stone towards the half-built tower.

  ‘Remember what the old bastard said,’ Keira called out to the two squads, ‘no fires, and kill every one of those scaly wee pricks.’

  They stepped out from behind the rock, and began walking at a steady pace towards the ditch. They kept close together in two lines, and marched in silence. Keira led the column, Bedig on her left, covering her with his great shield. Lacey was a step behind, a lantern clutched to her chest, and beside her strode Leah, with an arrow notched in her bow.

  The Rahain soldiers’ eyes were on their jobs, and no one paid the warriors any attention at first, but more gazes were drawn to them as they approached.

  ‘Lacey,’ Keira said. ‘Get ready.’

  ‘Aye, boss,’ the Lach woman said. She opened the sack hanging from Bedig’s back and extracted a torch from a thick bundle. She touched the top of the torch to the lit wick inside the lantern, and it ignited.

  ‘Ready, boss.’

  The soldiers working in the ditch were staring up at them. Several began to look alarmed, and within seconds cries went up, and the Rahain began dropping their tools and running for their weapons.

  Keira glanced over her shoulder, and saw Lacey, holding out the burning torch. Keira lifted her hand and a trail of flame leapt up, forming a mass above her fingers. She pulled fire from the torch until it was exhausted, then faced the Rahain.

  An officer was standing by the ditch, now only twenty yards in front of Keira, forming up her soldiers into a long line, where they were kneeling, and loading their crossbows.

  Keira pointed her index finger, and the ball of flame stretched and burst towards the officer. It struck her in the abdomen, passing through in an instant, and she toppled into the ditch. The fiery spear swerved back until it was in line with the row of kneeling soldiers. Keira flicked her finger, and the flame shot through the air, piercing the first soldier’s head, then the next in line, and the next, until the entire row of soldiers collapsed, their blackened skulls smoking from the ditch.

  Keira staggered. Bedig’s arm came up, gripping her belt.

  ‘Did ye like that?’ she laughed. ‘Right through their fucking heads.’

  Bedig grunted, and they continued to march, his shield juddering from the impact of a crossbow bolt.

  Keira glanced at Lacey.

  ‘Another torch,’ she said, ‘and keep them coming.’

  She raised her arm at Kalma and Doreen.

  ‘Go,’ she cried. ‘Kill them all.’

  The two squads at her rear separated, and sprinted towards the fortifications, Doreen taking the left, Kalma the right. As they vaulted over the ditch, Keira heard Lacey light up the second torch.

  She formed another ball of fire, and started to flick her finger. Each time, a small sliver of flame would dart out from the mass swirling above her hand, and fly towards a Rahain soldier. She went for any she saw with a crossbow, leaving her squads to deal with those with shovels and pickaxes, while behind her, Leah picked off any she missed with her longbow.

  Keira jumped over the ditch, and formed a third fireball. Lacey’s hands, she noticed, were burnt. She faced the Rahain, and kept up her attack, striding through the camp, bringing down any she saw, leaving scattered corpses smouldering on the ground wherever she walked. There were huge piles of wooden posts and beams lying around the camp, but she was careful not to set any alight, her warriors being under orders to put out any fire that started. This was about getting into Kell, she had told them, not advertising to the world that the Mage of Pyre still lived.

  She reached the half-built stone tower, killing the few Rahain that cowered there. She had gone through four torches, and was swaying on her feet. She glanced around. The camp was littered with the bodies of Rahain soldiers, cut down, shot, or burnt. She smirked. The sky above was blue, with not a trail of smoke to be seen.

  Fighting was still going on at the edges of the camp, but Keira sat, her back to a thick scaffolding post. Lacey raked about in her bag, and produced a jug. She passed it to the mage.

  ‘Cheers,’ Keira said, taking a swig. ‘Ye did well today, my wee fire-starter.’

  Lacey looked at her scorched fingers, nodding.

  Bedig sat opposite Keira, his shield bearing four crossbow bolts. He eyed the jug, smiling.

  ‘Alright then, ya Brig buffoon,’ she said, passing it to him, ‘just a wee sip though, that Lach whisky’s mine.’

  ‘Thanks, boss,’ he grinned.

  Leah approached, stepping round the bodies on the muddy ground.

  ‘That’s all of them,’ she said. ‘No one got away, and no casualties from either squad.’

  ‘Good,’ Keira said. She glanced around at the warriors. Many were resting, drinking ale from skins in the warm sunshine, or looting from the tents of the dead Rahain soldiers.

  She frowned.

  ‘Where’s Kylon?’

  Leah shrugged. ‘Not seen him since we attacked.’

  Keira gazed back up the glen, her eyes narrowing. She remembered the way he had looked at Baoryn when the lizard had been sent down the valley hours before.

  ‘Fucking prick,’ she said. ‘He’s gone after his scaly wee friend.’

  ‘What?’ said Leah. ‘Ye mean…? Shit.’ The Lach woman’s face hardened. ‘We’ll have to go after him.’

  ‘Eh?’ Keira said. ‘No way, the prick’s on his own. He heard the orders, same as everyone else.’ She looked around at the warriors. ‘We’ll park our arses for a while, it must be nearly lunch, then head down the hill to Kell.’

  Leah glanced back up the glen, frowning.

  The squads unpacked food, and they all gathered by the scaffolding. Kalma posted guards by the edges of the Rahain camp, while the rest ate and relaxed.

  Keira sat in silence, her eyes gazing at the open countryside of her homeland. So close.

  Bedig approached. ‘Mage,’ he said, ‘what about Kylon?’

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘We can’t leave anyone behind, mage.’

  Keira glanced around at the expectant faces of the warriors. She jumped to her feet and kicked over a carefully stacked pile of wooden posts, sending them flying.

  ‘That stupid bastard!’ she yelled. ‘Right. I’m going back to rescue that prick Kylon. I want Bedig and Leah with me, the rest of you stay here.’

  They all stared at her.

  Kalma frowned. ‘What’ll we do if… you know, if you don’t…?’

  ‘Then you’re in charge,’ Keira said, ‘and you can decide.’

  Kalma nodded.

  ‘What about me?’ said Lacey. ‘Don’t ye want me to come?’

  ‘No, hen,’ Keira said, ‘you’ve done enough for today.’

  She turned. Bedig nodded at her. Leah had her longbow across her shoulder.

  Keira glared at them. ‘Right then, ya pair of numpties, let’s go get him.’

  The three of them set off, running back through the camp towards the glen. They jumped over the body-filled ditch, crossed the valley floor, and continued up the narrower glen, following the burn. Keira led, her eyes searching the hillside for Rahain as they rushed up the valley. The sun was close to being directly overhead, and she was sweating in her heavy leathers. She loosened the sword at her belt as they passed their earlier hiding place. The glen narrowed further, and they leapt over the burn several times, keeping to the path as it switched banks. Leah raised her hand, and Keira slowed. She knelt by the cold waters and splashed her face as the Lach woman scanned the way ahead.

  ‘There,’ she said, ‘did you hear that?’

  Keira frowned, then a faint noise reached her ears, of raised voices.

  She drew her sword, and strode forwards, keeping close to the moss-covered cliffs on her right. The sounds grew louder, movement and cries of pain. Keira increased her pace, and burst through a thick patch of undergrowth. Two Rahain soldiers appeared on her left, re-loading their crossbows. They stared at her, and she drove the tip of her sword though the chest of the closest. An arrow from Leah’s bow brought down the other. Keira ran on, entering a small stand of trees by the banks of the river. Kylon was there, his back to the cliffside, a spear in one hand, a sword in the other. Facing him were over a dozen Rahain. Kylon danced among the trees, his spear darting out as crossbow bolts flew past him. Keira let out a cry, and charged the Rahain from the rear, her sword slicing down the back of one soldier. Bedig appeared at her side, his shield covering their flank as she advanced.

  A bolt struck Kylon in the right thigh, and he stumbled. A soldier aimed his crossbow at the Kell man’s head, but before he could loose, an arrow entered his throat, and passed out the back of his neck in a flash of blood. Keira kept swinging her sword, her arms aching, the sweat getting into her eyes. Bedig smashed the shield into the face of a soldier, one of the embedded bolts impaling him through the eye.

  The remaining Rahain broke and fled up the glen, leaving half their number dead on the ground.

  Bedig took hold of Kylon’s shoulder and lifted him to his feet.

  ‘Arsehole,’ Keira spat, slapping him across the face.

  ‘Quite right,’ said Kalayne, ‘a most foolish boy. Go on, hit him again.’

  Keira stared at the old man, her eyes widening as she noticed Baoryn by his side.

  ‘What the fuck?’ said Leah. ‘Where did you come from?’

  ‘Are you stupid?’ Kalayne frowned. ‘I was in the caves, extricating our lizard friend from the rather perilous position into which I’d placed him. Wait, did you think I was just going to leave him up there on his own?’ He shook his head at Kylon. ‘I thought you knew me better than that, boy.’

  Kylon said nothing. Baoryn stepped forward and embraced him.

  ‘Thank you, friend,’ the Rahain man said.

  Kylon glanced over at Keira. ‘Thanks for coming for me.’

  She leaned over, and yanked the bolt from Kylon’s thigh. He grimaced, sagging in Bedig’s grip.

  ‘I hope he can still run,’ Kalayne frowned. ‘There’s every possibility a large number of Rahain will be upon us shortly.’

  ‘Can ye not hide us?’ Keira said.

  Kalayne scowled at her. ‘I’ve just smuggled Baoryn out from under the noses of eight hundred of his compatriots. I haven’t enough energy left to hide us all.’

  There was a noise from further up the glen, cries of approaching anger.

  Keira frowned. ‘Running it is.’

  Keira kept to the rear as they bolted down the glen, Bedig’s shield slung across her back. Ahead of her, the big Brig man was carrying Kylon over his shoulder. Kalayne and Baoryn were next, and Leah led the way, bounding down the steep slope, while the sounds of the Rahain force grew louder behind them.

  A bolt whistled over her head as they emerged from the glen into the wider valley floor. Her knees were in agony, and she was panting. She risked a glance over her shoulder. Dozens of Rahain were in view, swarming down the glen after them.

  ‘Keep running!’ she cried as they crossed the open space before the ditch. She felt a bolt strike the shield at her back, and saw Kalayne ahead of her pick up speed and race towards the half-built fortifications. The old man overtook Leah, and raised his arms.

  ‘Get up, you fools!’ he cried to the warriors resting in the middle of the camp.

  Keira leapt over the ditch, her boots sinking into the soft soil at its lip. Ahead she could see her squads getting to their feet, gazing about in confusion as Kalayne sprinted through the midst of them without stopping.

  ‘Run!’ Leah cried.

  Another bolt hit Keira’s shield, and the force pushed her tumbling to the ground. She glanced back. The Rahain were forming up into ranks across the open space, their long line of shields like a wall.

  Bedig grabbed her arm and pulled her up, and they ran, Kylon over the Brig man’s shoulder.

  ‘Shit,’ said Kalma as they reached the centre of the camp. Warriors were tightening their leather armour, and arming themselves.

  ‘Pull back,’ Keira yelled at them. ‘Where the fuck’s Lacey?’

  ‘I’m here, boss,’ the young Lach woman said.

  ‘Looks like I was wrong before,’ Keira said. ‘You’ve more to do today, hen. Get yer lamp.’

  She unslung the shield, and dropped it to the ground. Bedig had passed Kylon to two other warriors, who were hoisting him up by the shoulders. Keira gestured to the Brig man to retrieve his sack of torches while Doreen and Kalma were getting the rest of the warriors ready to go.

  ‘Here they come!’ cried one of them, pointing towards the glen. Keira turned. The Rahain were rolling forwards, four thick companies of soldiers.

  ‘Get yer fucking squads out of here,’ Keira called to Kalma and Doreen.

  The warriors moved out, Keira at their rear. They reached the edge of the Rahain camp, and crossed an open stretch of fern and high grasses, heading for the path that led down to the Kell lowlands.

  Keira halted, gesturing to Lacey, Bedig and Leah to remain with her. Kalma nodded, and kept the squads moving.

  The small group crouched among the swaying grass as the other warriors disappeared from view. Keira gazed at the camp. The Rahain had reached the ditch, and were fanning out between the unfinished stretches of palisade walls and the clusters of tents.

  She nodded at Bedig. ‘Torch.’

  He reached into the sack and pulled out a fresh torch. Lacey opened the hatch on the side of the lamp, and he lit it.

  ‘Ye know what this means?’ Leah said.

  ‘Aye,’ Keira said, ‘but it’s either that or we let these bastards hunt us down.’

  Bedig shrugged. ‘I never saw the point in keeping it a secret anyway. I want the lizards to know we have a Mage of Pyre.’

  Keira smirked. ‘As these wee scaly fuckers are about to find out.’

  She raised her hand, drawing the fire from the torch until it extinguished, charred and blackened in Bedig’s hand. She formed the flames into a tight ball, hovering above her fingertips.

  ‘Fuck,’ she said, ‘I never brought the whisky.’

  Bedig grinned, patting a bag at his belt. ‘I’ve still got it.’

  ‘First useful thing a Brig’s ever done,’ Keira said. ‘Keep it handy, I’ll be needing some after this.’

  She turned, gazing at the fortifications, as the lizards continued to approach. They were in the centre of the camp, searching among the remains of the warriors’ lunch.

  Eight hundred. More than she had ever killed in one go before. She focussed her mind, concentrating on the small ball of flame above her fingers, then flicked her hand, and the ball soared through the air, landing on a pile of wooden building posts in the middle of the camp. Keira extended her fingers, feeling for the faraway flames at the edge of her reach, encouraging them to grow.

  The fire began to lick through the posts, sending smoke high into the sky, and several Rahain soldiers turned to stare at the flames. Keira sent her power into the fire, feeding it until it was consuming the entire pile of stacked posts. She stood, and raised her arms, and flames burst out from the sides of the fire, setting everything they touched alight. Tents went up in seconds, then flames took hold of the scaffolding surrounding the lower levels of the stone tower. Keira pushed her hands out, and the fires spread, enveloping the sections of palisade wall at the other end of the camp, and cutting off the soldiers’ retreat.

 

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