Moonshadow (Book 1 of the Torrent Skies Saga)

Chapter Five: Hilltop Defenders

As they rode throughout the day both watched the roadside carefully, listening to every sound and watching every bend in the mountainside trail. Their last encounter had left them both on edge, and neither wanted to be caught in an ambush again. The sky was turning a beautiful shade of orange as the light began to fade into the long sunset, and it granted the emerald treetops a purple hue.

Fykes pointed ahead toward the next bend. "We'll be able to see signs of life, just around there."

Their excitement faded quickly when they rounded the corner. Smoke rose in billowing waves up the mountain, its source tucked in behind the rocky mountainside.

Fykes' relaxed and casual posture changed instantly, and his horse slowed, seeming to notice his hesitation. "Something isn't right. There shouldn't be that much smoke." There was an edge to his voice, and worry twisted his face.

He looked at Katerin, as if unsure what to do, but she was as unsettled as he was. He had kept a calm, relaxed, and positive attitude for the entire trip, even when fighting for his life, even while she was shaking and unable to focus.

There were at least two miles left to the fort, from what she could tell. She whispered under her breath, twisting a small piece of iron in her palm, then she slapped his horse's rump, imbuing the beast with speed that would far outdo its natural ability.

"Go! I'll catch up," she yelled, as his horse carried him off with a frightening speed.

He glanced back with uncertainty, before leaning over his horse and disappearing around the trail.

She followed as quickly as she could manage without injuring her horse or herself. She hoped that nothing terrible had happened and hoped she would not show up to the middle of a battle. The smoke was pungent and thick in her lungs, and she felt vulnerable alone on this road without another pair of eyes to watch the forest edge and the rocks that could easily hide any predator.

She galloped into the courtyard of the fort, jerking hard on her reins to slow her horse and quickly taking in her surroundings, processing every detail she could. The fort was a squat stone building, with tall, square lookout towers around its walls. The wall itself looked pockmarked, and one section of it had a hole the size of a man, the ground near it was littered with small gray pebbles and stone dust.

Outside the wall, the dirt was thick and stained with blood, most of it pooled underneath or near the corpses—green-scaled bipedal creatures and tanned people in cloth armor. Several dozen of them lay scattered around the area, and the striking teal and black uniforms of Sahn-Raidar were mixed into the bloody scene as well.

Her stomach blanched at the sights and smells, and the scene surrounding her left an uneasy feeling along her spine. The source of the smoke was the charred remains of two outbuildings. Flames still licked around the remaining timbers. She glanced around, watching the soldiers go about the gruesome but necessary task of sorting their dead. Inside the walls of the fort through the gate, she saw a line of injured men with a half dozen healers and clerics attending to them. She finally caught a glimpse of lavender hair and started towards it, trying to keep her horse to a walk for fear of trampling someone on her way.

Fykes was standing with rigid shoulders, talking with a broad man in a purple frock coat that was stained with ash and smeared with blood.

The man in the purple coat had a long, bushy beard and mustache, with black hair to match in a loose braid. He had a number of knives belted on his waist and a short, curved blade on his other side. He spoke in an animated way, clasping Fykes on the shoulder and laughing.

He followed Fykes' gaze and looked Katerin up and down as she approached. "There she is! What took you so long? I wouldn't recommend such leisurely strolls on this road. It could lead to one becoming a damsel in distress!"