The Sorcerer's Ring: Book 05 - A Vow of Glory Read Free Page B

fell
forward, face-first, in a swan dive, landing with a splat on the beach at the
feet of his fellow soldiers, the sand staining red.
    Thor
and the others charged, a well-oiled machine in sync with each other. The sound
of their horses’ galloping gave them away, and the six other soldiers turned
and faced them. The soldiers mounted their horses and charged back, preparing
to meet them in the middle.
    Thor
and his men still had the advantage of surprise. Thor reached back and hurled a
stone with his sling and hit one of them in the temple from twenty yards away
as he was in the midst of mounting his horse. He fell back off of it, dead, the
reigns still in his hands.
    As
they neared, Reece threw his axe, Elden his spear, and the twins each their
daggers. The sands were uneven and the horses slipped, making throwing the
weapons harder than usual. Reece's axe found its mark, killing one of them, but
the others missed.
    That
left four of them. The lead one broke out from the group, charging right for Reece,
who was weaponless; he had cast his axe but not had time to draw his sword yet.
Reece braced himself, and at the last second Krohn leapt forward, bit the
soldier’s horse in the leg, and the horse collapsed, its rider falling down to
the ground and sparing Reece at the last moment.
    Reece
drew his sword and stabbed the soldier, killing him before he could regain his
feet.
    That
left three. One of them came for Elden with an axe, swinging for his head;
Elden blocked it with his shield, and in the same motion swung his sword and
chopped the axe handle in half. Elden then swung around with his shield and
smashed the attacker in the side of the head, knocking him from his horse.
    Another
soldier pulled a flail from his waist and swung its long chain, the spiked end suddenly
coming down for O'Connor. It happened too fast, and there was no time for
O'Connor to react.
    Thor saw
it coming and charged forward, to his friend’s side, raised his sword and
slashed the chain of the flail, before it hit O'Connor. There came the sound of
sword cutting through iron, Thor marveling at how sharp his new sword was. The
spiked ball went flying down harmlessly to the ground, lodging in the sand,
saving O’Connor’s life. Conval then rode up and stabbed the soldier with a
spear, killing him.
    The
final Empire soldier saw he was badly outnumbered; fear in his eyes, he
suddenly turned and took off, racing down shore, his horse’s prints leaving
deep impressions in the sand.
    They
all set their sights on the retreating soldier: Thor hurled a stone with his
sling, O’Connor raised his bow and fired, and Reece hurled a spear. But the
soldier rode too erratically, the horse dipping in the sand, and they all
missed.
    Elden
drew his sword and Thor could see that he was about to charge after him. Thor held
out a hand and motioned for him to stay put.
    "Don't!"
Thor screamed.
    Elden
turned and looked at him.
    "If
he lives, he will send others after us!" Elden protested.
    Thor
turned and looked back at the boat, and knew it would take precious time to
hunt him down—time they could not afford.
    "The
Empire will come after us no matter what,” Thor said. “We haven't time to lose.
What is most important now is that we get far from here. To the ship!”
    They
dismounted as they reached the ship and Thor reached into his saddle and began
to empty it of all its provisions as the others did the same, loading up on
weapons and on sacks of food and water. Who knew how long the ship ride would
take, how long it would be until they saw land again— if they saw land again. Thor also loaded up on food for Krohn.
    They threw
the sacks up high over the railing of the boat, landing on the deck above with
a thump.
    Thor
grabbed the thick, knotted rope hanging over the side, the coarse rope cutting
into his hands, and tested it. He draped Krohn over his shoulder, the weight of
them both testing his muscles, and pulled up towards the deck. Krohn whined in
his ear,