The Cor Chronicles: Volume 02 - Fire and Steel by Martin V. Parece II Read Free Book Online Page A

subsided, and he saw Thyss charging after him clearly having ended her spell. Cor expected it to be dark in the ravine outside of the fort, but there were a number of lit torches in front of him. He saw the Dahken still mounted but behind a dozen men who fired arrows towards the Loszian fort. One stopped firing and approached, and Cor recognized him as Thom, the commander of Fort Haldon.
    “Dahken Cor. Queen Erella commanded me here to provide you aid. We must make haste,” he said.
    The rangers continued to fire arrows at the Loszian wall, and the opposing soldiers could do nothing but stay under cover as they were out of range with their crossbows. Thom’s expert marksmen neatly skewered the few who were brave enough to venture through the small opening, but the gates were beginning to open wider. Shouting for everyone to follow him, Cor spurred his horse deeper into the mountain pass. The archers remained behind for just a moment to loose a few more arrows before following.
    They traveled the pass at a dangerous pace, considering they had nothing but intermittent moonlight and a few torches, but they had no choice. Cor could occasionally hear a large Loszian force on the move not far behind them. They were well beyond crossbow range, and the rangers from Fort Haldon did not stop to blindly fire their own longbows. More than once a horse stumbled or someone fell due to the treacherous ground. While he could not afford to dwell on it, Cor was amazed at the dexterity of these men who had saved them, and when someone did fall, the rangers seamlessly picked the child up and kept them moving. The men ran alongside the horses, keeping pace almost effortlessly.
    “We must keep this up for a bit longer,” Thom would say to him over and over, raising his voice over the sound of the horses’ hooves. “Just a bit longer.” Cor wanted to ask the man just how long a bit longer was.
    He tensely rode through the pass, and he could feel his muscles begin to protest with exhaustion. He could only imagine how the other Dahken, the children, were handling the pace. The girl had not moved in his arms once, and he was afraid she was not breathing. Cor looked over his shoulder and saw most of the rangers ran with steadying hands on small forms. These men were truly astounding.
    Cor shook his head to keep his wits about him; they had been at it for hours, something he could judge by the moon’s passage across the sky. The group tired, having already been through so much, and even the rangers seemed to be wearing down. The sound of the Loszians was not as far away now as the group’s pace continued to slow, and one of the rearguard announced that the Loszians were gaining. Thom implored Cor to keep the group moving, and he sprinted into the gloom ahead, saying he would be back soon. Cor watched the man disappear ahead, surprised at the commander’s sudden departure and that he had such energy left in him.
    Their pace had slowed to almost a walk as both horses and riders were exhausted from both the forced march and the uneven ground. There was little more Cor could do, and he readied himself to turn and fight. He would die, holding off the entire Loszian garrison if necessary, if it bought enough time for the rest of the group to escape. He continuously looked over his shoulder and more than once caught Thyss’ gaze. She looked ragged and exhausted, and her leg no longer bled though the crossbow bolt still jutted from her thigh. Watching him, the corners of her mouth turned up in a slight smile, and Cor could see the immutable fire burning in her irises. He knew she was with him, and he knew together no one would defeat them.
    The Loszians would not expect him to turn and attack, and he was just formulating his plan when he heard an odd sound. Cor stopped his horse suddenly, straining to hear the sound of a hundred tiny whistles as they passed overhead and behind them into the distance. And then men screamed in the gloom from behind,