9

The assassin was above Corc, almost floating. His torn tunic and trousers flapped in the air. His deep grooved and stringy abdominal muscles were tightly clenched. He had a fiendish wide grin. His eyes rolled back slightly, becoming euphoric as he sensed the swing of his dagger cut though Corc’s flesh. Corc had manged to step back enough for the stab to miss the inside of his rib cage. Only the outside flesh got cut.

Corc squinted and clenched his jaw. The pain was intense. He stepped back again and drew his sword with a muted intense, whimper. The assassin jumped backwards a couple of times, zigzagging. He had lost the element of surprise.

Just then, Kelso was about to reach Corc. He lifted his great heavy axe in the air, running at Corc. Corc went into a defensive stance, readying himself for the strike. Upon being in range, Kelso swung his big axe, that was high above down towards corc. Corc lunged to his right barely avoiding the axe that made a loud cracking noise as it cleaved the dirt and rocks beneath, leaving a big crevice on the earth floor and lifted dust.

Corc stepped back again. He had witnessed Kelso’s power. But there was no time to be fearful. Every move from now on had to be precise. One blow from Kelso could split him in half.

Kelso looked at him, then his glimpse drifted to the gold coffers that the solders were carrying away into a wave of Corc’s charging soldiers.

Kelso ran at the coffers but Corc followed getting in between. Kelso recklessly swung his axe at corc, like he was swatting a fly. Corc lunged back, dodging the strike. The axe carried through, striking at the wooden covers of the coffers, slicing them apart and gashing the soldiers who carried them.

The gold coffers fell to the ground, spilling the gold and silver bars on the moist dirt and small rocks floor. Blood from the soldiers drenched the bars, and flowed down their smooth shinny surface reflecting the blue sky.

Corc jumped a top the gold and silver pile of bars scattered on the ground. “Where is my sister?” he asked, yelling. He looked at Kelso with intense eyes and pointed the tip of his sword at him.

Kelso smirked then jumped in the air and landed on the scattered gold bars, kicking down to make an impact. He was now face to face with Corc, just as his brigand brigade and Corc’s army had managed to reach each other and clashed around them.

Kelso’s two hundred men vastly outnumbered Corc’s fifty men. But Corc’s had positioned his men mostly on flat terrain. Kelso’s men had to maneuver over uneven, rough terrain with jagged edges and rocks sticking out. Corc also had ten of Tidwield’s best men who could each bring down ten bandits by themselves, and ten of his own best men who each was good enough to take care of five bandits by themselves. Not to mention the rest of his men who were soldiers, trained and disciplined not just criminals with an axe.

“Defend this gold with your lives, the kingdom depends on it” Corc yelled as the battle raged on around him. He had Kelso in front of him, trying to push him off the gold pile with his hostile stare and overbearing presence.

Kelso lifted his axe and tried to step over to be within range of Corc, but the gold bars underneath his feet slid causing him to go down to one knee.

Corc saw the Kelso vulnerable, He raised his sword and stepped, but——he also slipped, falling on his knee. Now Corc was the one vulnerable. Kelso raised his axe and stepped. This time he didn’t slip. He was being careful, his legs shaky as he placed his foot atop of the gold bars. He started to swing the axe down with a mighty effort, but his support foot slipped from the force. Corc managed to recover his balance and raise his sword fast enough to block the weak swing. The slip had taken much of the strength out.

Corc countered, this time, he swung his sword without moving his lower body much, he didn’t want to put enormous leverage on the strike and risk slipping. Kelso quickly moved his axe, easily blocking the low impacting strike, but his axe was heavy, moving it made his legs shake as his feet adjusted to keep balance.

It became a fight of who unbalanced their opponent first, leaving them vulnerable or who gambled on a killer blow and landed it. For now Corc and Kelso traded light blows, waiting for an a mistake.

***

Siofra was fatigued. She felt like she had been running in the dark tunnels for half a day, and could barely feel her feet. Her breathing was heavy, her mouth wide open. She felt her whole chest was beating, in a constant rapid rhythm. She felt disoriented, the only thing she knew for sure was to follow the woman in front of her with the torch and——not to trip.

The bandits were right on their tails “come back here, we wont hurt you!” they shouted, three of them.

The gap to the bandits was closing, Siofra was slowing down. Her stepping was almost limping. Cirida was getting further away ahead. Siofra could see Cirida’s torch light become smaller in the distant darkness. Then——it just disappeared, like a candle being blown out.

Siofra’s heavy breathing started making almost silent, desperate weeps every time she breathed out. She kept on running forward, her eyes becoming blurry and watery. Then, for a small moment, she saw Cirida’s torch reappear, before it disappeared again.

She could not pick up the pace, her body did not allow it. She wondered if it was the last chance she had to catch up to her. She didn’t even want to look back, she knew the bandits were faster and were closing in on her.

But then, Cirida’s torchlight appeared again, this time it grew, until Siofra could see Cirida right in front of her. Her hand was stretched towards Siofra. “Come, we’re close” Cirida said in her hasty, calm way as she grabbed Siofra’s hand and started to pull her. Siofra softly smiled, her teary eyes reflected the yellowy lit, brown arch of the tunnel, Cirida with her out stretched hand and her guiding flame that lead the way in the darkness.

Some steps further ahead, Siofra understood why Cirida’s torch light had disappeared in the first place. There was a huge tunnel crossing chamber with visible paths to the left and some to the right. “This way” Cirida quickly said as she led her to a path to the right, then up a slope.

Siofra was really struggling on the slope. Her legs were shaking. She had started to trip, but every time her knee was about to hit the ground she would feel a hard pull on her hand from Cirida. She would lift her hanging head, raise her sight, from the ground to Cirida.

Near the top of the slope Cirida turned to Siofra “quick, give me your torch” she said softly. Siofra handed her torch over. Cirida then stood sideways, one torch on each hand. Before Siofra could react, Cirida brought her arm back then swung it forward throwing a torch far to the other side of the chamber. Quickly she did the same with the other torch. They were in pitch black darkness now.

Before Siofra could say anything she heard the voices behind, the bandits were entering the chamber. She looked back to see their torches lighting the top of their unfriendly faces with shaggy, unkempt beards and leathery skin. They moved their heads and torches side to side, up and down, their eyes squinting slightly.

It didn’t take long before they saw the torches Cirida had thrown glowing in the darkness “Look, there over there!” one yelled in a rough, excited voice. They started to quickly walk towards the torch lights.

Siofra felt two small tugs of her hand from cirida, almost like a signal. Cirida then started pulling her. Their steps were slow, steady and quiet. Siofra’s feet were welcomed this change of pace.

Siofra couldn’t see anything. She felt her feet suddenly stepping on flat ground, the slope had ended. Some steps later she heard the sound change, become close.

Many steps later, the the sound of the bandit’s ruckus had faded in to the distance leaving only the whisper of Siofra & Cirida’s feet lightly grinding the soil beneath them as they stepped.

Siofra looked ahead towards where Cirida’s arm was leading her. It was pitch black but in her mind she could clearly see Cirida guiding her, until some steps later she realized, it wasn’t in her mind anymore——there was light.