Chapter Thirty-Two
Schutz Ridge
“How many?” Yulen called to the men.
“At least a dozen, but there could be more,” one soldier answered, pausing to catch his breath. “They’re swarming from the north.”
“What if they’re from that bunch that tried to attack New Bearinger?” Renken remarked.
“Could be. We can’t take the risk in thinking they might have low numbers. We gotta get out of this forest where they have the advantage.” Raising his sword to signal to his men, Yulen yelled orders at the top of his voice. “Free the prisoners! Mount your horses! Head for Schutz Ridge! Leave the wagons and tents! We don’t have time to waste! Go, go, go!”
Yulen began running toward the area where the horses were corralled. Lucien hurried to join him when the battle lord stopped. “Go to the tent. I’ll join you there.”
“Why Schutz Ridge? It could be indefensible.”
“It’s our only chance in case this Blood army has substantial numbers.”
Lucien didn’t question his father’s decision. He saw the logic in it. The compound may be a crumbling ruin, but it would provide them with a modicum of protection, unlike the surrounding trees.
By the time he reached the tent, soldiers were already riding away, heading down the road toward the deserted fortress. Flinging aside the door flap, he entered the tent just as a spear appeared at his throat. Johna pulled back on the weapon at the last second to avoid piercing him through the jaw. She was barely able to stand, and her face was pale and sweaty.
“Oh, God, I thought it was you, but I wasn’t sure!” She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Her body radiated heat. “My senses are all screwed up from this crap!” He wanted to keep holding her, but there was no time. They had to flee, and do it now.
Over on the other side of the tent, he saw Iain standing over Atty’s unconscious form. The physician held his mother’s bow at ready, an arrow nocked and ready to be released in case they were attacked. Unlike his father, who had no skill with any weapon, Iain practiced whenever he could with the archers under the battle lady’s guidance. Seeing Lucien, he lowered his arms.
“What’s going on?”
Lucien pulled Johna’s arms away. “We gotta go. Grab Mom. Dad’s coming with the horses.” He turned to lead Johna outside, when she stumbled. It set off a fit of coughing that dropped her to her knees. He lifted her into his arms and glanced back at Iain. “Hurry!”
Throwing his medical satchel over his shoulder, the doctor bent and picked up Atty into his arms. Together they exited the tent just as Yulen and Echo galloped up with two extra horses. Iain handed Atty up to her husband, who placed her in front of him. Echo slid off her mount to help lift Johna up to Lucien once he was mounted. When he was assured she was secured in his lap, he took off down the road, following his father, and with Echo and Iain directly behind him.
They could hear the screeching and howls coming from the woods as the Bloods swarmed the campsite. Lucien also caught the screams of men being overtaken. Men who were probably being eaten alive in their haste to get away. More than likely, after they were freed to fend for themselves, the fake battle lord’s army had attempted to flee in the other direction, or further into the woods, and were now paying for that bad decision. Lucien pressed his lips together at the irony. Bloods wouldn’t eat the soldiers’ horses. They’d use them like any other army would, for transportation. But they wouldn’t hesitate to eat their enemy, which was why they were so dangerous. Being taken a Blood’s prisoner meant you were only being kept alive long enough to feed them.
The trees thinned out as they entered the more desert-like terrain. When they topped the rise, Yulen pulled his horse to a stop to check behind them. He waved for Echo and Iain to keep going as Lucien adjusted his grip on Johna and also turned around.
The shrieks were fewer, but the bone-chilling howls continued. Two soldiers galloped up to the battle lord. “Are there any more left?” Yulen questioned.
“Don’t know, sir. I think we’re the last ones out.”
“What about the prisoners? Do you know if any of them were able to escape?”
“Most of them fled back into the trees.”
Yulen nodded. There was no need to ask any more questions.
The guards had managed to pile up broken and burnt furniture in front of the main entrance when Yulen and the others finally arrived. Once everyone was inside the compound, the soldiers finished blocking the entrance.
Mastin ran over to help take Atty from the battle lord. Iain accepted the unconscious Johna from Lucien’s grasp. Renken hurried up and motioned to the doctor. “We’ve set up a temporary clinic this way.”
Paxton, Destino, and Grimsy rushed up to them as two soldiers led away their horses. “I’ve ordered perimeter guards on top of the catwalks, including our archers,” the second informed them. “The other captains have gathered in what’s left of the main house. This way.”
“Did any of the prisoners end up here?” Yulen asked as they hurried for the building.
“I know for certain Pechard and his two men came in. I had them placed back into custody. To be honest, I think they’re happier to be in our company than risk being taken by the Bloods.”
It was evident the moment they entered the main meeting room that the place had been abandoned for quite some time. The wood floors were covered with so much dirt and debris that their footsteps left deep prints. Every table and chair worth salvaging had been carried out into the main yard to be used to help fill the holes in the walls.
A movement to his left caught his attention. Lucien glanced at where the upstairs bedrooms were located over the lower kitchen area. Soldiers were removing what they could from those rooms and taking it outside to be used for barricading material. Thankfully the stairs leading up there were made of stone and not wood. Scorch marks evidenced where there had been doors, and the rooms appeared empty.
A blanket of dread wrapped around him, filling him with apprehension. This was new to him, this uncomfortable sense that set his teeth on edge. He briefly wondered where his mother and Johna had been taken. But if the clinic was situated in the same place as it was in Alta Novis and New Bearinger, he knew where they were isolated.
Yulen took in the dilapidated building. “I need to see what’s behind us.” Without explaining further, he exited out the side entrance. Everyone went outside to examine the rear of the dining hall, where the market places and homes should be located. The battle lord pointed to the wall. “We can’t defend this whole compound. The walls aren’t supportive. We need to set up a new defense perimeter. Bring the troops in to circle the main hall. We need to keep it tight. Let’s get this done ASAP, before the Bloods get here.”
“I’ll notify Cole,” Paxton informed him, and left. The two captains ran off to reassemble their men, leaving Yulen and Lucien alone.
The battle lord narrowed his eyes at his son. “I noticed earlier you were starting to twitch. Why?”
“This place gives me the creeps.”
“Most abandoned places will do that to you.”
“No. I mean, I get this feeling…”
“Something dangerous is about to happen?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe it’s the Bloods. Maybe you’re reacting to them.”
“No,” Lucien firmly denied. “It’s not the Bloods. It’s this compound. There’s something here that isn’t right. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific.”
Yulen stared at him for a long moment. “You don’t have to be specific, son. Your mother got those kinds of reactions, too. When she did, she told me about them. The majority of the time her warnings saved our lives. Let me know if it gets any stronger. Listen, it’s going to be a long night. Let’s check on the women before all hell breaks loose. How are you feeling?”
Lucien knew what he was asking about. The sun was starting to set. More than enough time had passed for the virus to take effect if he’d been contaminated. “I’m not sick.”
“That’s what I figured, but how could that be, when you’d been exposed to your mother’s germs the same as Johna?” Sighing loudly, Yulen looked around again at the tumbled ruins that once had been a working compound. “Come on. We’ll discuss it later with Iain. Right now I need to see how your mother’s—”
Shouts of alarm erupted from the direction of the front gate. Lucien and his father raced toward the entrance, both of them fearful of what they’d discover.