Herba's Forrest [Complete]

Chapter 13

They were at dinner when they heard a commotion outside. The army had arrived. Led by Kotaku, the soldiers of Simone attacked the camp.

Natalie let out a whoop of excitement and disappeared into the mass of fighting soldiers. Most of her guards had disappeared as well, probably grabbing their weapons and joining in the battle.

Allen lost sight of Ben as he ran after Natalie.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw Kotaku battling two men at once and rushed to his side. He finished one man off for the king quickly.

"Kotaku! Did you see where Natalie went?" Ben yelled above the noise of the battle.

"What?" Kotaku yelled back. "I can't hear you!"

"I said, where did Natalie go?" Ben returned, raising his voice even louder. "She disappeared!"

"I don't know!" Kotaku plunged his sword into the belly of the soldier he had been fighting, then ordered Ben, "Go find her!"

Ben nodded quickly then fought his way toward the stable, thinking he might find her there. A sword crossed in front of his path.

"Stop right there," said a voice from Ben's right.

Ben turned to see Darion standing there with his sword extended.

"You're a spy," he said. "I don't like spies."

Then he and Ben entered into a complicated series of steps, reminding one onlooker of a pair who executed an impossibly difficult dance down to the letter. The two could read each other's body language perfectly, always knowing what the other would do. Ben managed to swat Darion's sword arm with the flat of his blade and was rewarded when Darion dropped his sword. Darion reached down and retrieved his sword quickly, but when he looked up again, Ben was gone.

Ben could see almost nothing through the haze of dirt being kicked up by soldiers all around him. He could hear almost nothing over the metal on metal sound of swords clashing. He looked around frantically, but could see no sign of Natalie.

Then from behind him came a voice that sent relief flooding through his body.

"Take my hand!" Natalie yelled to Ben from atop Basche. He reached up to her and she grabbed his hand, slinging him behind her onto the big stallion. As soon as his arms closed around her waist, Natalie kicked the horse into a flat out gallop.

"Where are we going?" Ben yelled over the wind rushing in his ears and the sounds of the battle all around them.

He opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, something struck his right shoulder blade. The ground rushed up to meet him and Ben hit with a scream. As he lay there gasping he reached back and felt the shaft of an arrow protruding from his shoulder. He quickly broke the shaft and struggled to his feet.

"Just hold still now while I kill you," said Darion's voice, approaching quickly on horseback.

Ben attempted to draw his sword, but he clenched his teeth and bit back a cry of pain from the movement. Instead, he turned tail and ran, weaving though the trees to avoid making himself a target for another arrow. He hoped to get close enough to the road to alarm Darion. There were no hoof beats behind him to warn him of Darion's approach. Suddenly there was a dagger lodged in a tree just inches from his head.

Ben turned his head to see Darion following him on foot now. Ben reached down to grab the knife that he kept in his boot and continued to run. Another arrow hit a tree nearby him. The trees rushed past him in slow motion.

With perfect clarity, Ben felt the wind of the arrow just before it lodged into his shoulder not far from its fellow. He screamed again and fell to the ground. He tried to break his fall with just his left arm, but landed wrong. He heard the sharp crack and felt the pain that shot through his arm as bone broke through the skin.