Page 67 of Keeper of the Word (The Unsung and the Wolf Duology #2)

Chapter

Sixty-One

TOLVAR

T he grim feeling came to fruition when they stumbled upon the battle taking place between the Cattacor and the Namid border. It smothered the road. And Tolvar could not fathom how it happened, but a fire had started at the edge of a grove of evergreens.

The familiar sounds of steel against steel, shouts, and cries from men locked in violent engagement, and terrified horses slammed into Tolvar’s senses. They galloped into the nearby trees, dismounted, and walked to observe from a safe distance.

Madness. Mindlessness.

Neighboring provinces of Lenfore were allies and partners. What fray would these two possibly have?

Tolvar looked on, sickened as soldier after soldier was downed. Purple. Grey. Purple. Grey. What did it matter whose colors were borne? Whose cause one believed he served? ’Twas against everything for which the Capella Realm stood.

The others observed with the same horror. Elanna stood motionless, like cold, etched stone. ’Twas clear that the nightmare playing out in front of them was an event she’d already Seen .

“Did you know we’d run into this if we took this path?” Tolvar asked. “How are we supposed to travel by?”

“I did See this, but I did not know ’twould be here on this road.”

“Stars’ shadow, how are we supposed to get past?” Tolvar hollered.

“Do not raise your voice at Elanna!” Hux shouted.

“All of you, stop shouting,” Joss took command. “We shall travel through these trees until we can skirt wide of this fray. They battle each other. No one shall concern themselves with us.”

“Or we could backtrack,” Gus said. “True, we would lose days, but we could head south of here instead.”

The Wolf’s hackles stood on end.

“Or you could simply surrender,” a voice behind them said. The din of battle had distracted them.

The Earl of Greenwood stood with two dozen guards, either pointing a sword or an arrow at them. Another dozen encircled them.

“Lord Tolvar, I should kill you where you stand.”

“Then do it,” Tolvar said.

“Would that I could. But I promised your brother that he would have the honor.” He nodded, and guards raced over, and with bow strings pulled taut, arrows pointed at their necks, the six had little choice but to watch their weapons taken from them while their hands were bound behind their backs.

“Lady Elanna, we finally meet. Your sisters are expecting you.”

Elanna blanched.

Tolvar silently swore every curse word he knew. He glanced at Hux, who displayed a sly grin. Stars, Tolvar would never understand that infernal man.

Hux eyed his boot.

Greenwood’s men had missed Hux’s dagger.

“Let us return to camp,” Greenwood said. “Before Cattacor notices us.”

“He’s not with you?” Tolvar asked .

“Stars, nay. But he’s unknowingly assisting me dispose of Namid. I’ll thank him for that.”

They marched for about an hour until they reached Greenwood’s camp, or as was evident upon seeing it, the Brones’ camp. It reeked of the Curse of Adrienne.

Tolvar assessed the situation with the astuteness of the Wolf.

Four dozen men altogether. Some appeared to be trained knights.

Others were hired swords. Turas Anscom was nowhere to be found, nor was Crevan.

In the middle of the camp, surrounded by a dozen guards—and were those three hags witches? —were Kyrie, Casta, and Maristel.

The toddler noticed them first and leapt from Casta’s embrace, her arms reaching. Elanna cried out at the same time Kyrie and Casta discerned them. They leapt up and promptly had spears thrust into their faces, as they stood over the stooped witches.

This would have to be fast.

They could not wait until they’d been made prisoners, and the routine of the camp swallowed them. If that was Crevan’s plan. For all Tolvar knew, a sword, knife, or arrow would drive itself into his hide at any moment.

Nay, it would have to be fast. He glanced at Hux, wishing for the thousandth time he was Ghlee instead. Ghlee, who would already know what his moves would be. Gus coughed, and Tolvar found his three knights shooting him wide-eyed stares.

He nodded, hopeful he understood that they were ready to jump into action. He gave a shrug and leaned his elbow in the direction of the StarSeers.

A precarious situation at best.

Five knights and four StarSeers needed to escape four dozen guards, a pompous earl, a crazed brother under the influence of Adrienne—if he was here—and three witches.

The Wolf had seen worse.

The group was left to stand together at the edge of camp with a handful of guards surrounding them while Greenwood entered a nearby tent.

“Lanna!” Maristel cried .

“Keep quiet for the moment,” Tolvar whispered to Elanna. “Do not draw more attention here.”

Hux sneezed and bent over.

“Hux!” Tolvar growled, before he understood what the Ravyn suggested. Tolvar eyed the guards. Already, they’d loosened their surveillance on them. Two even started idly chatting. Fools.

With Joss and Barrett stepping in front of Tolvar, he crouched and retrieved Hux’s dagger. Hux then pressed his back into Tolvar’s and, working his bound hands behind him, cut through Hux’s bindings. Immediately, Hux proved why the Ravyns had been a gang difficult to detain, even if captured.

In two heartbeats, Hux used the dagger to slice through Tolvar’s bindings, all while keeping his hands carefully behind himself.

Hux then turned his attention to Joss while Tolvar, back to back with Gus, worked at the knot in his rope until it’d loosened enough for Gus to slip out of it.

When Tolvar had done the same with Elanna, Hux had Joss and Barrett free, and the four of them, with their hands clasped behind their back, whispered together.

Tolvar met Elanna’s eyes. “Can you help?”

She eyed the witches, hunched with pale faces and dark eyes.

They paid them no heed. They appeared deeply focused on a strange glowing orb that sat in the middle of the StarSeers.

“The witches hold hostage my sisters’ power.

’Tis why I have not been able to sense them.

We need to break them away from the witches.

We must smash the orb. But I cannot touch it.

None of the StarSeers can without midnight gloves. I know not if Kyrie has hers.”

Tolvar nodded. “But can you help?”

Elanna scanned through the canopy of trees. “Not with the stars veiled by midday.”

Stars. “Very well.”

Tolvar scrutinized the area one last time. Only three minutes had passed, but Greenwood would most likely reappear soon. The element of surprise was the only chance they had. Most of the men were having midday meals and appeared bored or distracted. These were not disciplined men.

Mayhap he had seen worse, but Tolvar would not lie to himself. This was perilous at best.

He took a breath and flexed his healing thigh. This would not salve its healing. “Gus, you make for the StarSeers and smash that orb. Get them to safety. The rest of you, on my command. We’ll take the weapons from the guards first. Avoid the arrows.”

Hux smiled. “This should be exciting.”

Tolvar rolled his eyes and launched himself at the two nearest guards. He snatched the first’s sword, used it on the other before ramming into the first as the second one fell. He had two more downed, and the others each having one down before the rest of the camp realized what occurred.

Someone from the far end of the camp shouted orders, and men sprang up from their meals to gather their weapons. At the same time, Greenwood exited the tent, followed by Turas and another man unfamiliar to Tolvar. Turas murmured frantically while Greenwood shouted orders.

Tolvar had taken up a long knife in addition to the sword and made use of it to fight two or three at once. A sword swiped at him, and already Tolvar had dodged out of harm’s way. The more men came at Tolvar, the more vigorous he felt.

An attacker ran at Tolvar from behind. Tolvar spun, dropped his weapons, lifted the man by his neck, hurled him over his shoulders, and plowed him into the ground.

Then Tolvar broke his neck. The next two opponents came at his sides.

Tolvar gripped the first by his shoulder, hurtling him into the other before retrieving his sword and driving it through both.

Tolvar jerked the sword through their impaled torsos before sliding it out. They slunk to the ground.

The trace of Adrienne was evident on both their necks.

Barrett, Joss, and Hux were preoccupied with battles of their own. Joss and Barrett had wisely taken the tactic of fighting back to back so they could defend one another at the same time as attacking. Tolvar briefly wondered if ’twas the nature of their relationship that assisted their odds.

Hux was becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the growing number of guards surrounding him. Tolvar gripped the tip of the long knife, squinted, and launched it into someone’s back, giving Hux one less opponent.

“I need not your aid, but I thank you all the same,” Hux shouted.

Gus and Elanna neared closer to the StarSeers. Three of the soldiers who’d been guarding them lay on the ground, dead. Gus’s sword dripped blood as he fought.

’Twould be only a matter of seconds before reinforcements buried them.

Tolvar strode toward them, his sword e’er wielding.

Elanna knelt on the ground.

Tolvar quickened his steps, fearing the worst, fighting off and downing opponents as he did so.

But she was not injured. She was praying. In the middle of a battle.

Eyeing the other Seers, they, too, prayed.

The sun was high in the sky. Could they call to the stars in the middle of the day?

The witches remained engaged in the same trance as when they’d entered the camp.

Tolvar downed another opponent. Close now.

Suddenly, Elanna plunged her hands forward toward the circle of StarSeers and witches. A light as bright as the sun exuded from her hands as she let out a cry that eclipsed Tolvar’s fiercest war cry.

Whoosh!