49 Rough Riders (1/2)
If I was in a car chase movie, this moment would be the perfect time for loud rock music to start playing, the kind that made the heartbeat pulse on double time while simultaneously increasing the tension up by several levels.
”We'll talk later,” I hissed in Collin's ear before I shoved him and his silver thread toward the elf soldier guarding the side of the lead wagon and told him to bring the prisoner back to the wagon where we stashed the other prisoners.
Then I got back up on my mount with less difficulty than I thought I would have. Obviously, I knew it wasn't thanks to my amateur riding skills. The swifthart was just intelligent enough to accommodate its new rider. If it kept impressing me like this, I was going to have to give it a name.
I looked quickly over to Aura and Qwipps, my brow furrowing in the seconds of hesitation it took me to say, ”Aura, get everyone out of here. Take them to the rendezvous point... We'll hold the line.”
Aura's eyebrows were knotted with worry. ”We are supposed to stick together...”
”Don't worry... We'll be right behind you,” thankfully, my voice didn't quiver when I spoke these words.
Aura held my gaze a second longer. Then she said in clear tone that was like a royal command, ”You'd better be.
I nodded at her. Then I turned my eyes on Qwipps. ”You and your squad are with me.”
”Muddamit, I knew you'd say that, Dean,” Qwipps said as he handed the reins of the Elken to Aura and jumped up to the roof of the wagon. ”Oi, Qwipps' Talons, we're going to hold those buggers off.”
”Go now, Aura,” I ordered before I turned my swifthart around to face our rear. I patted its neck and leaned in close to its ear. ”Ride as fast as you can, please... and keep me alive while you're at it.”
As if understanding my words completely, the swifhart lept swiftly toward the rear in speeds I would have expected a sports car to have—from zero the sixty MPH in a split second.
While the scenery blurred around me, I managed one final order. I screamed at the top of my lungs, ”Thom! Gather your gliders and follow me too!”
And we were off. One rough rider and nearly two dozen flyers—Qwipps' ten-man pixie squad and Thom's ten drow gliders—zoomed past the stolen supply caravan and back to the nearby hills we'd only just left behind.
My swifthart dashed through the grass like Ty's Camaro would have if someone other than Ty was behind the wheel. The cold wind prickled at the skin of my face as we continued to increase speed. The biting cold would have stung even more if the swifthart hadn't finally slowed down once it sensed the danger about to greet us.
”Oh, great fool, let me see the unseen that I might know the unknowable...” I whispered.
Since it was the second time I'd used Fool's Insight, I wondered how many more times I'd be able to call on the fairy gift this night before my eyesight went bad. I was sure the duration I could use it had increased since my dip into the mana well, but with all the running around, I was never able to gauge by just how much. this made its use a little more risky as the night was far from over. Still, I didn't really have a choice. I needed all the advantages I could get right now.
My vision warped into the enhanced perception that allowed me to see the most minuscule details in front of me, giving me the ability to predict and counter enemy attacks just by observing their movements.
The enemy was a mere twenty yards away. They numbered thirteen riders made up of half a dozen elves, three human viseres, and three hobgoblins. The lead rider was hooded and masked, but the grey cloak billowing behind it was common to Magesong clan commanders.
The masked rider reached down to its hip and unsheathed a curved shadowblade similar to the one Thom carried. It was a katana.
In response to this threatening action, I reached down to my own sword hilt, but I didn't pull out my falchion yet. I simply kept my hand there ready to unsheath it the moment we clashed.
The distance between us shortened to ten yards.
Behind me, I heard Qwipps cursing in a high-pitched tone. ”Muddamit, Dean! Wait for us!”
The enemy was five yards away. My fingers tightened on my sword hilt. From my peripheral, I saw Thom's dark cloak as he glided to the right of me. Enna flew on my left.
I took a deep breath. Now was a time for action.
There was an audible humming sound coming out of the shadowblade when I unsheathed my falchion from its hilt scabbard using my favorite quick-draw style. Predictably, the buildup from the shadows as they rocketed out of the sword hilt increased the speed of my swing to double the force. Then I sent my arm snaking forward just in time to block the shadowblade aimed at my head.
Falchion clashed with katana as I and the masked rider passed each other. Although our swiftharts momentum kept them from halting so we could exchange a second blow, the short time we glanced at each other gave me enough insight to determine who my enemy was.
She was noticeably female as the blackened steel plate strapped to her chest was shaped to fit a woman's body. The full face mask she wore was ebony black and shaped into a woman's face like the ones worn in the early days of masquerades and carnivals. The hood covering her was black as night and didn't seem attached to the grey cloak billowing behind her. But it was the narrowing eyes half-hidden behind the mask that caught my attention. They were pale, almost white but had a shade of purple in their irises.
My last glimpse of the masked rider as she passed me was the katana hilt in her black-gloved hand. It was beautifully crafted, wrapped in a combination of black and golden silk threads.
Immediately, my suspicions were aroused. If she was what I thought she was, then something was definitely not right with this war.
It was too bad that I didn't have time to spend more brain cells on whatever plot might be afoot because my swifthart had continued forward and I was about to clash with more riders.
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