Chapter 17 Morco
MORCO
Low-burning candles were lit around The Gathering because we refrained from using the bonfire, the light so powerful that it could be seen from a distance.
Not everyone had armor because most of our supplies had been lost on our journey.
I did, along with our strongest fighters, the soldiers more likely to do the most damage.
I stood there with my sword across my back, my dagger in the belt on my hip, staring at the trees and the shadows, searching and listening for any sign of movement. Hours had passed, and nothing was amiss.
We slept on rotation, half of the men resting while the others remained prepared for an assault. I’d never wanted to a battle with the Knives, but I hoped for this one. The only way to know we were safe was to see their dead bodies in a pile.
My eyes were on the extinguished bonfire in the center, the blanket removed once the fire had been put out. It was ready to be relit when we needed it, needing the light to fight our foes who could see in the dark better than we could.
Then I heard a scream.
“Ah!” Just as quickly as it sounded into the night, it disappeared.
My heart dropped, knowing that my scout was dead.
They must have built a boat or swum in the dark, following the scent even without dirt or trees.
They’d been determined to find us, and Caius had had no choice but to come here or let himself be killed.
“Light the bonfire. Tell the guards to seal the Hall of Elders. Wake the others.”
Men ran to follow my orders.
I unsheathed my blade and watched the bonfire slowly come back alive and light our island.
“They’ll come from the path and the trees.
” The tables in the center had been moved aside for the battle.
The men held their ranks beside me. “Remember, there are more of us than them. We fight for our elders. We fight for our women and the children they carry. We fight and die so they may live on.” I banged the hilt of my sword against the armor of my chest and made a distinct thud that echoed off the trees and the cabins.
“They’ve failed to kill us before. They’ll fail to kill us again. ”
I listened to the silence, strained to hear the movement of a branch, a kicked rock.
My eyes stared without blinking, searching for a sign of their black hides.
Then I heard movement, the shake of a branch, the snap of a twig from a heavy boot, the progression of an army that walked in a horizontal line.
“They approach.” I stepped forward, putting myself in position to face them first, to give confidence to the men who stood behind me.
I saw the black hides glow in the fire as they broke through the edge of the forest, seven feet tall and heavier than a mighty tree.
Their arms were like trunks underneath their armor.
They had large faces, beady black eyes, and mouths with sharp teeth, along with a pair of long tusks that protruded down to curved tips.
I gripped my sword and stared them down, a beast a foot taller than me with more muscle than I could ever gain. But I knew how to fight them, had learned the sluggishness of their body when they tried to change their position, knew their instincts weren’t as sharp as ours.
But if they landed one hit—you were gone.
They released an earsplitting roar together, a sound so powerful that every creature in the Depths must have heard it. The women must have heard it in the Hall of Elders, and they were probably terrified.
“Rooooaaaaaarrrrrrrr!”
I knew Hanne was a lot more scared now than she’d been a moment ago.
They pulled out their long blades in a synchronized move, their tusks dripping with the saliva they’d produced in their roar. Then they moved, twelve Knives that looked like an army of one hundred men, and they came toward us.
The one directly before me lunged at me hard, knowing exactly who I was. He swung his blade left and right, trying to catch me off guard with his unpredictability, and then he roared in my face before he slammed his blade down on me.
I dodged it then struck my blade down on his arm.
It wasn’t enough to break the armor away from his flesh, but it was enough to dent it and cause pressure.
He swung at me again, and I rolled out of the way, then dodged left and right, the Knife coming at me with a blood lust as if I were the one who had ripped his mother’s eyes from her head.
I heard some of my men scream before they were killed.
Heard some call for help. It was chaos, but I couldn’t focus on anyone but the Knife that had decided today was my day to die.
When I felt the flames of the fire behind me, I realized that had been his goal, to corner me against the bonfire and push me on top of it.
He struck his sword at me, and I blocked it with mine.
His fists hit me square in the face, and I tumbled back, almost hitting the fire, dazed by the power of his blow.
I felt a bone in my face break, but I didn’t let the pain distract me for a second.
I pulled out my dagger and rolled away from his attack, and I stabbed him through the opening in his armor.
He roared in anguish then came at me with his sword.
I dodged it and backed up again, against the flames.
Then I saw something fly through the air, whiz past the Knife and impale the dirt ten feet away from me.
His eyes followed it, and then a brief look of confusion came over his ugly face. He jerked and swayed, his hand reaching for his neck, where another arrow had landed.
I took advantage of the opening and struck my blade against his neck, slicing deep into the flesh and releasing a geyser of black blood.
He crumpled to the ground, his hand still on the arrow, and after enough blood poured from his wound, he went still.
The chaos of battle still surrounded me, but my eyes searched for the person who had fired the arrows. I scanned the ground and the path between the cabins, and then movement caught my eye on the roof of Hanne’s cabin.
There she stood, out of danger from everyone else on the rooftop, her bow lowered to her side, her eyes emotional even at this distance. She looked at me as I looked at her, her hair blond in the light of the bonfire, looking like a goddess in the flowing smoke.
I was angry enough to breathe fire, but fuck, I’d never been prouder to call a woman mine. I gave her a slight nod in gratitude.
She nodded back then turned her attention elsewhere. She put an arrow to the string and pulled back until the string was packed with tension. Then she fired, aiming for a Knife that Caius and Liam tried to fight together. The arrow missed, so she put another to the string and fired again.
This time, the arrow hit its mark—right in the side of his head.
He crumpled to the ground instantly, a one-hit kill.
Caius and Liam leaped back like they didn’t know what had just happened. Liam figured it out quicker than Caius did and pointed to where Hanne stood on top of the cabin. Both men looked as shocked as I had a moment ago.
“Two down, ten more to go.”
Hanne missed her target more than she landed her hits, but she was still able to take down at least half of the Knives by herself. She distracted several of them once they understood what was happening, and when they rushed to the cabin to climb on top of it, we were able to attack from the rear.
We hacked and cut into their armor, stabbing swords into the openings between their arms and torsos and daggers into their calves and legs. We took them down quickly, leaving them in a pile against Hanne’s cabin.
I backed away once it was done, allowing myself to feel tired for the first time since the battle started. I let myself breathe until my lungs felt refilled, and then I returned my blade to the sheath across my back.
I looked around at the dead and saw ten of my own men.
Victories made me sad because they always came at a price.
This price was good men who didn’t deserve to die.
I came out of the battle mostly unharmed except for the break in my cheekbone.
It hurt, but it wasn’t terrible. It would heal on its own eventually.
At least I was alive.
Hanne squatted down and dropped the bow so the guys could catch it. She tossed the arrows too then started to climb down, the men grabbing her then transferring her to her feet on the ground.
I wasn’t sure how she’d climbed up there to begin with.
They patted her on the shoulder and thanked her with enthusiasm. She became the hero of the battle, and the story of her participation would make it through the tribe within hours.
Her eyes came to me with hesitancy, unsure what version of me she would receive when she came close.
She began her journey across the space between us, making it twenty feet until we were close together.
Instead of moving into my arms, she remained cautious like she expected a punishment rather than praise.
I wanted to be angry. I really did. But I couldn’t. “Thank you.”
Her features softened in relief.
“You saved many lives today. You may have saved us all.”
Her eyes flicked away like she couldn’t accept that level of honor. “I would do anything for my people. But I have to be honest…your mother told me to come.”
“She did?”
“She asked if I knew how to use the bow. When I said yes, she told me to use it.”
My mother wanted to ensure my survival, but she also believed Hanne could contribute to the battle. She believed in her as much as I did. “You were the one brave enough to come. Praise still rests with you.”
“I couldn’t stay in that hall and wait.” Her eyes began to turn emotional at the sight of me. “Not that I don’t believe in you or the power you wield with your sword. I would just rather die with you than live without you.”