Dragon Riders of Etrea—Chapter 29

It seemed the moment Henrik closed his eyes, Rasud was gently shaking him.

“Hey, wake up,” Rasud said quietly. “It’s time for your shift.”

Henrik rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “How long has it been?”

“A few hours,” Rasud said. “It’s been full dark for at least an hour, so I figured I’d wait up with you for a bit before going to sleep.”

“Probably for the best,” Henrik said. He stifled a jaw-cracking yawn, then pushed himself up into a seated position. “I’m going to assume you haven’t heard nor seen anything yet.”

“And you assume correctly,” Rasud replied.

Henrik twisted to one side then the other, then clambered to his feet. Glancing over at Shel, he saw she was twitching in her sleep. Probably due to the saddle as a pillow. 

He walked toward the wall around their camp and looked out into the night. The darkness out here in the wastes was something that took getting used to; back in the city, lights were always on. Inns often ran until late at night, and some brothels never closed their doors. But out here it was just inky black darkness as far as the eye could see. That would make it harder to spot the orcs.

“You think they’ll be able to see us in this darkness?” Rasud asked as he walked up to stand next to Henrik.

“Not very well, but I’m going to assume they know where we are,” Henrik replied. “That they’ve been watching us, they saw us build our camp, and they’re going to run straight for us soon.”

“That’s pretty specific,” Rasud said.

Henrik shrugged. “That’s what I’d do.”

They stood there silently for a while, watching the night. Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but things were still dim. 

“Should I wake her up?” Rasud asked.

“Not yet,” Henrik replied. “Let her sleep until we know something’s coming.”

Rasud scoffed. “Why can’t I get any sleep?”

“Because you’re a man,” Henrik said. “And a good one, no matter how much you pretend otherwise. And what a good man does is make sacrifices to make life better for those we care about.” 

Rasud frowned for a moment. “It’s never fun, though. Oh, why did we get into such a line of work, Henrik?”

“Because I’m good at stealing and killing and little else,” he replied. “And because you’re the best witchman around and you’re smart enough to use your talents to get rich.”

“Speaking of being rich, all of our money is back in the city,” Rasud said. “We’re going to have to go back there at some point. Can’t live in the desert.”

“I know,” Henrik said. “I’m not entirely sure what our future holds right now. I’m just focusing on right now, on what I can change. We’ll worry about our money after we give the dragon egg back to its mother.”

“I suppose I should do the same,” Rasud said. He turned his head to the side for a moment. “Do you hear something?” he whispered.

Henrik cocked his head and listened. It was faint, but definitely sounded like…

“Hooves!” he shouted. “Wake Shel, get her ready.”

Henrik grabbed Tobias’s bow and nocked an arrow. It was hard to see in the darkness of night, but he pulled the string back to his cheek and waited. He could hear them, in front and just slightly to the left. With the ground being as hard-packed as it was, hooves made considerable amounts of noise

Shapes began to form in the darkness. First just murky blobs, like ghosts in the night. Those shapes soon became riders on horses.

Henrik could have loosed the arrow then and hit the horse, but he didn’t like harming animals. He waited until they got closer, until he was sure of his shot. Behind him, both Rasud and Shel began chanting.

His arrow flew through the darkness. The rider shouted in pain and clutched at his chest. His horse veered sharply to the right, away from them.

Henrik threw the bow down and grabbed Tobias’s shield, which was against the wall next to him. He drew his sword right as nearly twenty orcs rode up to their fortified camp.

The orcs shouted curses, but the ditch and wall was enough to keep the horses from getting close, especially in the darkness. That was a broken leg waiting to happen.

Fortunately, none of the orcs seemed to have bows. Upon seeing the waist-high wall, they continued their shouting and steered their horses around the camp, circling it.

“Stay ready!” Henrik shouted. Three orcs moved their horses back and forth in front of him, but none were able to come close.

“Come out from behind the wall, little boy!” one of the orcs shouted. “Unless you’re scared to fight!”

Henrik just let them talk. His shield stayed up and he kept his head on a swivel in case those orcs were trying to distract him.

Which is why he saw an orc to his left draw his arm back and throw.

Henrik hurriedly brought his shield around and the dagger slammed into it with a loud clang. It barely put a scratch on the shield.

“Are you going to join in the fight?” Henrik asked.

“We’re working on it!” Rasud replied amidst his shouting. 

Fire suddenly broke out on one of the orcs. His hair lit up like a candle. The orc screamed and beat at his own head while his horse bolted away in fright.

“More of that!” Henrik shouted.

One of the orcs in front of Henrik sneered and jerked his horse to the side. He grabbed a small axe and held it as if he intended to throw it when he got the chance.

He never got that chance.

The ground erupted and a hand made of dirt reached up and grabbed the orc’s foot. His horse screamed and ran, but the dirt hand held fast. The orc was torn from the saddle and crashed into the ground. 

The hard desert ground sprouted a second hand, which grabbed the orc by the face. The two hands pulled, while the orc screamed and flailed. He beat at the magical limbs trying to pull him apart, but his attacks did nothing. His neck suddenly popped and twisted at an unnatural angle, and only seconds later his leg was torn off. The moment he was dead, the arms disappeared.

An arrowhead sliced across the back of Henrik’s shoulder as it narrowly missed him.

“Shit!” he shouted, turning to put his shield between him and the archer. “Get down, there’s an archer out there!”

Rasud put himself in front of Shel. His normally smiling face was hard at that moment as he scanned around them. He continued his chanting and pointed his short staff in the direction of the archer. Two of his spirit ancestors rushed away, barely visible in the night.

They had no protection, though. Henrik realized that and sprinted over to them. He made it just in time, and another arrow slammed into his shield. Unfortunately, one stuck right in the side of his leg as well.

He grit his teeth and powered through the pain. He could feel his anger rising, but it was no use here. He couldn’t fight that many men, especially when they had horses. Losing his temper was likely to end in disaster. He had to stay focused and pick them off, one at at time.

A scream in the night said Rasud’s ancestors had found their target. No more arrows came at them.

Henrik moved back toward the wall, limping heavily due to the arrow sticking out of his thigh. He bared his teeth in a snarl at the nearest orcs, but stayed behind the wall. They continued to shout insults in an attempt to draw him outside of the wall, but he was no idiot. Leaving their fortifications would be suicide.

Another orc drew back his arm to throw a knife, but Henrik saw him and turned in time. The knife clanged harmlessly off the shield. Henrik immediately spun, taking in his surroundings, and caught a second dagger just in time.

“They’re trying to wear us down!” Henrik shouted.

Another hand made of dirt reached up to grab an orc, but he moved away just in time, narrowly avoiding death. The orcs learned quickly and kept their horses moving. Rasud sent his ancestors after another one of them.

“Come on, you traitorous bastards!” the orc shouted as he turned his horse and galloped away. Rasud’s spirit ancestors followed.

“Fuck!” Rasud shouted. “I only have one remaining. Shel?”

“I only have two in total,” she said. “I’m trying!”

Dirt exploded near one of the orc horses, startling the animal. It ran a good twenty steps before the orc was able to get it under control again.

Henrik clenched his teeth and tried to focus on the fight. Ignoring the searing pain in his thigh wasn’t easy, but he had no choice. If he lost his temper right now, there was no telling what would happen.

A strange feeling came to him then. It was hard to fully understand; like someone trying to push their way into his mind. It was a powerful presence, but if Henrik had one thing it was iron will. Whatever was trying to invade his thoughts, he forced it down and held it there as if he had his boot on its neck. Whatever was happening, it seemed to work.

“Ahh!” Rasud suddenly shouted.

Henrik risked a glance over his shoulder. His jaw tightened when he saw the hilt of a dagger sticking out of Rasud’s stomach.

“Son of a fucking bitch that hurts!” Rasud yelled. “Gods be damned, I never knew it felt this bad! No wonder you’re so grumpy all the time, Henrik!”

“Stop shouting and let me help!” Shel said.

“I’m flattered, but please keep fighting,” Rasud said.

Seeing his best friend hurt was like throwing fresh kindling on a fire. His temper flared, and he struggled to keep it under control.

“Are you okay, Rasud?” Henrik called out.

“No, I have a fucking dagger in my stomach!” Rasud replied, sounding slightly frantic.

“You’re next!” one of the orcs shouted as he pointed a sword at Henrik.

“I fucking wish you’d try!” Henrik shouted back. The pain in his wounds began to fade. His grip tightened on his sword hilt.

The orcs kept their horses on the move as they circled the encampment. Shel used her magic and formed more arms from the desert ground, but the orcs moved too quickly for her to latch onto them. Rasud’s ancestors were still chasing after the one orc that fled, but he had a single remaining.

“Heal yourself!” Henrik shouted.

The orcs continued circling the encampment, throwing daggers when they saw an opportunity. Henrik knew exactly what they were doing; trying to bleed him slowly so they could get to the shamans. He felt his face twist into a scowl as he watched the orcs race their horses in a circle around the camp. Those fucking bastards.

Shel cried out in pain and Henrik turned to check on her. A dagger had struck her in the shoulder, but fortunately didn’t stick. The dagger was on the ground, but her shoulder bore a deep gash that oozed blood. That would take its toll, and rather quickly.

Henrik turned back to face the orcs just as one pushed his horse to jump. The mighty animal charged and leaped both the ditch as well as the wall, landing hard inside the circle. It was an impressive jump, especially carrying a large man on its back.

Before the horse had even settled, the orc leaped from the saddle and threw himself at Henrik. He fought like a madman, with wild swings of his two-handed sword. Henrik usually could have taken the man in a matter of seconds, but the pain in his leg was beginning to affect his movements.

The orc overextended himself during a brutal sideways slash, and Henrik took that opportunity to ram his sword into the orc’s stomach. Gut wounds were a hard way to die, but Henrik didn’t care. The orc screamed and clutched at his belly, and Henrik’s sword swung around a second time. He felt a shock in his wrist as the orc’s head was removed from his body.

Henrik turned just in time to see two more orcs leap over the wall. They practically flew out of their saddles and went straight for Rasud and Shel. Henrik rushed toward them, trying to intercede.

A thick hand made of hard dirt shot up from the ground and swung itself at the orcs right in time. Both of the orcs swung their swords, but the hand knocked one off of balance and threw the other’s aim off. One orc fell to the ground right in front of Henrik. He stomped on the orc’s face and rammed the bottom edge of the shield down on the orc’s throat as hard as he could, leaving a spray of dark blood across the desert ground.

The second orc recovered and went for Rasud again. Henrik managed to get there just in time to block a savage blow. The orc’s sword clanged off of Henrik’s shield, and Rasud began chanting.

This orc was in a frenzy and attacked with no care for his own safety. His sword thrusts were wild and dangerous, and Henrik worked hard to deflect each one.

“I said heal yourself!” Henrik shouted.

“There’s no time!” Rasud said, then went back to chanting.

The orc in front of Henrik suddenly screamed as his entire face became a mass of fire. His sword fell from his hands and he beat as his face, trying to put the flames out. Henrik moved in and drove his sword right through the orc’s heart, dropping him like a stone.

“There are too many of them!” Rasud said. His voice sounded weak. 

Henrik glanced over his shoulder and saw that blood soaked the front of Rasud’s robes. He wouldn’t last long with that kind of blood loss. Shel held him tightly and both of them chanted, but the remaining orcs moved too quickly for them to accurately attack.

“There’s only one way out of this,” Henrik grated. He felt his skin tingle as he relaxed his mind. That presence was still there, calling to him. It seemed like a manifestation of his temper, but he wasn’t sure. It had never been like that before. Whatever it was, it slowly grew until it overpowered most of his thoughts. 

“Stay away from me!” Henrik shouted over his shoulder. The pain in his leg faded to nothing as he ran toward the wall.

“Henrik, don’t!” Rasud shouted.

But Henrik didn’t hear the man. He cast his shield aside and leaped over the wall. Pain stabbed his leg with each step, but it was someone else’s pain. Lava flowed through his veins and fire burned in his mind. 

It was time to kill.