Warrior's Mind (Book 2 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 16

"We are under attack."

Leyla followed Raphael's gaze to the dark sands on the outskirts of the camp and shot to her feet. There were at least a dozen slowly moving shadows on approach.

"Bring the Bird Riders," Leyla said, looking around the fire for the Akrepa guards; she would have to organize them quickly.

Raphael put his hand on her shoulder, "I have a plan. Send Jara for the birds."

Before Leyla could protest, Raphael was heading for the tent where they had taken him to heal his wound. Alright, she would follow him. When it came to spur of the moment plans, she had never seen anyone as competent as the Prorex.

Keeping an eye on the shadows, she pulled out the bejeweled dagger from her boot as she moved to the other side of the fire. "Mik-Has," she approached the small group surrounding the Elder.

"Mahsapa," Jara was instantly on his feet and putting his arm around her to draw her close, "You uttering an endearment, did someone die?" He whispered under his strained smile.

"Many will if we don't hurry. Bring the Rezeg birds. Watch for shadows in the sand." She passed her dagger to him, careful for it not to be seen. The understanding in his steely eyes was all the affirmation she needed. Leaving the group with a quick nod, she moved back in the direction of the healing tent.

The shadows were closer now; they had little time left and Leyla was weaponless. Raphael came out of the tent just as she reached it, two large bottles in his hands.

"Akra poison," he said, passing one to her. "It's flammable. We need to make a circle."

"Fire worshippers," Leyla suddenly understood his intention. Unlike the Akrepa's, the rest of the tribes of the Misty Desert believed in Fire Gods and would not cross fire to spill blood.

"You go right," the Prorex opened the top of his bottle, his eyes moving from the approaching shadows in the desert to the dancing women. "Get the Elder, the rest will follow."

He moved without another word of explanation, and she followed, both of them tipping the open bottles onto the sand as they parted in opposite directions around the fire. They were almost finished with the circle when they ran out of time.

"Attack!" The shout came from the direction of the rising shadows on the outskirts of their camp. Leyla dumped the rest of the poison and reached for the Elder.

"To the Bonfire! Protect the Elder!" She shouted, watching with satisfaction as the Akrepas rushed to their leaders side. The guards whistled low, alerting those in the tents. Women rushed to the bonfire as men in animal pelts ran into the camp wielding spears. Long bone necklaces bounced off their chests and the camp lights lit the lines of red that were streaked beneath their eyes as they moved.

"Stand Back!" It was Raphael's voice. He wrapped his jacket around one of the smaller burning cactuses used as kindling in the bonfire and touched it to the wet sand. The Akra poison caught fire immediately, the flames spreading the stomach churning acidic scent of the arachnids as the wide circle around the bonfire lit up.

"Tell your people to stay inside the circle, help is on the way," Leyla told the Elder. The older woman nodded once. If she was afraid, she did not show it as she called out instructions to her tribe.

Some of the attackers were now diving into the tents, while others circled the fire border, looking for breaks in the flames.

"The fire won't hold too long," Raphael was beside her. He looked over her shoulder to where the Akrepa's had made a three-body thick ring around their Elder. The guards were prowling the perimeters of the ring of fire, pointing their spears towards the men on the other side of the flames.

"Jara will come," Leyla said, even as she observed their attackers for weaknesses. They were well trained, their angry hollars as they pointed their spears at the sky showing arms that were capable of quick, vicious jabs. She could take three, maybe four at a time, but how would she stop the rest in the meanwhile? "If something happens, run past the tents -"

"Pushing me out of a fight again," Raphael cut her off, his tone angry. "That will not happen."

She was saved from having to argue when a warning shout sounded from the attackers as the first arrows rained down from the sky.

The Akrepa women gazed with wide eyes at the massive birds that hovered high over the camp; the source of the arrows not visible in the darkness of night.

Cries of pain from wounded men was followed by a quick retreat by the attackers; it would be over soon.

"Die you bastards!" Pashtu's voice rung clear across the camp as she was dragged out of one of the smaller tents by two men. Her arms and legs were tied with what looked like Goddess Cloth; she must have been left that way in the tent as part of a punishment for her earlier behavior. Now it looked like the men were trying to take her with them as spoils of the raid.

An arrow landed near the threesome, almost hitting Pashtu. The Bird Riders wouldn't be able to aim with accuracy from the height they were flying, but if they came lower the wings of the Rezegs would put out the fires.

"Please." The Elder pushed through the bodies surrounding her. The woman who had shown no fear earlier now looked at Leyla with pained eyes. "My daughter."

"You can't!" Raphael put his hand on Leyla's shoulder to hold her back, "You will get burned if you try to cross the circle."

He was right, but she couldn't let Pashtu be dragged away. How...

"Jara!" Leyla called at the top of her lungs. "Bow!"

The Rezeg birds circled overhead for a moment before something dark fell from the sky. Raphael reached up and caught the bow and quiver, then handed it to her.

Pashtu and her captors were now almost out of reach of the light from the camp. She must have struggled hard enough to make the men decided knocking her out was a better plan. They were carrying her between them by her hands and feet, her head grazing the sand as they rushed away.

Leyla placed her arrow, pulled back, then squinted past the dancing flames to aim at the captor in the front. The distance was approximately the same as the length of the Warrior Kingdom's inner courtyard. Taking a breath she counted to three. The man went down with a scream, dropping Pashtu in the process. The second man decided to make a run for it, but he couldn't escape Leyla's second arrow.

The camp went still and for a long moment only the the sound of the crackling fire and the pained moans of wounded men could be heard.

Rezeg birds circled soundlessly above, looking for the shadows that had disappeared back into the desert.

The attack had ended as quickly as it had begun.