47 Who Can Kill a Child (2/2)
”You foul wicked monster!” Aura interrupted my outburst with her own. Then she walked over to him and slapped the elf in the face.
This elicited an outcry from Qwipps who was still inside the first wagon. ”Cut it out, people! Kids are getting hurt in here!”
Aura quickly backed away. Tears streamed down her face.
As if on cue, the drow, Enna, appeared from the eastern side of the road. Her brow dripped with sweat.
”Trouble...” she huffed.
”How many, Enna?” I asked.
”At least two dozen. Half are elken riders...” she said.
That was it. Our time had just run out.
I looked over to the supply caravan and calculated our odds. There wouldn't be enough time.
”Qwipps!” I yelled.
He poked his head out of the wagon. ”What?”
”How many kids did you count in each wagon when you checked them?” I asked quickly.
”Fifteen to a wagon,” he answered just as quickly. ”Well... less two, I guess...”
”Six wagons times fifteen,” I made a quick calculation. ”That's ninety children... eighty-eight...”
I turned to Edo next.
”How many wagons are still working?” I asked him.
”Four wagons are operational. We've got eight able elken too,” he answered.
”Luca!” I called his name but he was already up and aware of what I wanted before I could ask my question.
Luca wiped the remnants of puke with the back of his bracer. ”Nine prisoners... ten if we're counting that monster.”
We all knew which monster he was referring to.
”Dean,” Edo began, but I cut him off with, ”I know...”
It just wasn't feasible to transport nearly a hundred people, most of whom were kids, while we were under pursuit.
”Edo...” I started, but I couldn't ask him.
”You want me to hold our pursuers off?” he confirmed.
He already knew what I wanted but couldn't ask him. How do you tell a guy that he might have to sacrifice his life for strangers?
”I'll need some good comrades,” Edo said, not even hesitating.
”We'll go,” Ashley said.
She had arrived from the rear and was standing next to Varda and Luca.
”I'll take my squad. Plus Luca's raiders. Varda to cause a mudslide,” Ashley was counting with her fingers. ”That should be enough to hold them back and do damage.”
I nodded. ”Make your stand here. The broken wagons will limit their mobility. Harass them and prevent them from being able to follow us. Then double back to our fallback position,” I instructed her. ”Do you remember where?”
”The cliff wall south of here and right below our supply team's position,” Ashley answered. ”Are you thinking of...”
”Just make sure you lead any pursuers to that cliffside,” I said quickly. ”We'll double back to the west and take the fork that leads south... it should take us where we need to go.”
Ashley didn't wait for me to dismiss her. She quickly gathered her squad and they got to work setting up a second ambush here.
”She was amazing,” Aura whispered beside me. ”Her squad gathered and protected our wounded until the battle was over. It's why we have so few casualties.”
”We have six dead and another fifteen wounded,” I said with a heavy heart. The counting of wounded and dead were left to Qwipps, and he'd given me the report before I interrogated our prisoner. ”They died because my plan wasn't good enough again.”
Aura squeezed my hand.
”Stop beating yourself up,” she chided. ”Most of us lived because your plan went well.”
”Can you and Berrian take care of the children?” I asked. ”Divide them and our wounded on the three wagons... We'll leave the fourth one for our prisoners and our dead.”
Aura nodded wordlessly. Then she left me there to wallow while she led the others in moving the children to their wagons.
I ordered Qwipps and Donar to round up the prisoners and gather our dead. Put them all in the fourth wagon.
”You're all going to die!” The elf commander screamed. ”You will be pursued like prey in a hunt, and I will relish in watching you suff—”
Shaqs knocked him out with a hammer fist to the back of the head.
”Too noisy...” Shaqs growled.
No one complained that Shaqs had also knocked a dwarf kid out. We were just getting tired of the enemy's grating, spice-filled voice. Plus, no one wanted to complain to the massive troll while he had his battle-ax draped across his shoulder.
After all the preparations were ready and we'd hitched two elkin to one wagon each for increased mobility, I climbed up on the enemy Commander's green-furred mount—which I deemed was a very smart elkin to have survived in all the chaos—and readied the convoy to travel west.
Aura sat at the front of the lead wagon beside Qwipps who held the reins.
Those who would remain had repositioned themselves behind the trees. Their bows readied for a second ambush. It was a smart idea. After all, no one would expect enemies lying in wait in a spot that already looked like a warzone. At least, I hoped so.
”Heading out?” Luca asked.
I nodded. ”You okay with this?”
”Yeah...” Luca's eyebrows bunched together. ”After what we just saw... I feel like hitting something hard.”
”Try not to kill any Commanders you come across,” I said as an afterthought. ”We don't know who those kids are connected to.”
Luca planted his broadsword onto the grass. ”Yeah... bastards... all of them...”
I heard the hate in his voice. ”Luca...”
He glanced up smiling. It was that fake smile he always gave me during sunrise. It had arrived too early as dawn wouldn't arrive until much later.
”I'll be okay, Dean,” he answered.
”Fine... just don't die,” I said.
I wished I told him something else. Maybe an ”I love you, bro,” or something equally sappy. At least then I wouldn't have felt so guilty for leaving him behind again.