Hope and Darkness

Chapter 4

Jeremy leapt into action, drawing a sword. “Anton! Children and women in the 2nd palisade, now! Detail off the smallest squad to guard them!” Anton was already leading 6 spearmen into place. “Sir!” Jeremy turned to the man who had taken care of Toby. “Samuel! I want all archers and doctors just behind the palisade!” Samuel walked up. “Right, dad.” Jeremy turned to look Toby in the eye. “And what are you going to do?” Toby had already started running in the direction of the palisade, skimming the table and picking up the sword and shield. Already screams were sounding from the injured men taken by the lightning fast attack. On the way he found Justin hiding behind a bush, taking careful, deliberate shots at the wolves trying to kill the wounded. Nearby Matthew and Charlie were guarding the injured guard commander, who was trying to order his men into a straight line. Without warning a wolf jumped at him, but he twisted to the right, bringing his sword on a downward stroke that cleaved its head down. Another wolf tried to pounce on his back but its claws caught on the pointy sharp heads of Matthew’s javelins. As it struggled to rise, Samuel picked it up and brought it back to where there was a small cage. Jeremy appeared next to Toby, swinging his sword at another wolf. He took a javelin from Charlie and threw it at one of the wolves. Suddenly the soldiers behind the others suddenly rushed forward, dispatching many of the wolves and continuing to move forward. Suddenly a wolf leaped forward at Toby. “Look out!” Jeremy cried. Jeremy rushed forward, but got swiped in the chest by the wolf. Toby ran toward him, but Jeremy killed the wolf himself. “I’m okay,” he said. Unexpectedly, the wolves drew back. Only now did a person step out from amongst the trees. He was dressed entirely in black, and next to him some more wolves appeared. By now Matthew caught up with his best friend, and he whispered, “Amaro.” Amaro walked close to the palisade, and instinctively the archers behind it brought their bows up. About 15 metres from the group did Amaro stop. “I am not darkness,” he declared. “Darkness is much, much worse.  I have joined the house of darkness, and they have shown me the way. We do not know who darkness is, but we know it is someone in this village. Be warned!” He raised his hand, and suddenly Samuel was knocked back, an arrow buried in his chest. Toby rushed toward Samuel and touched the arrow. When he brushed against it Samuel screamed in agony. When Toby turned back he focused his eyes on a spot behind Amaro and he saw the outline of a bow. He turned to some of the archers gaping at him, and he saw that they were to shaken to be of any use, so he turned to Justin. “There’s an archer in there!” he yelled, pointing to the spot where he had seen the tell tale gleam of a bow. Justin raised his bow, nocked an arrow and shot into the darkness. He heard a shout of surprise, trained his bow onto where he heard the shout, and nocked and fired another arrow. Out of the darkness a silhouette landed on the ground, and arrows spilled on the ground from his quiver. Amaro turned to his men and yelled, “Shoot them!” They were a little slow to react and Jeremy yelled, “Everyone under cover, now!” Toby was tackled to the ground by someone, and he saw that Matthew had hit him so that they were under the palisade. The men around Amaro brought their bows up to their shoulders, but the only thing exposed was the wolf Samuel had captured. Instead, Amaro raised his hands and the wolves attacked. This time, however, the guards were ready and they had received reinforcements, and the archers were firing into the air but leaving their bows a little slack, so that they hit some of the wolves in the front of the pack, but not to slack to hit their friends. The spearmen desperately stabbed at the wolves, trying to keep them at a distance. Finally the wolves retreated and the black archers went with them. Amaro was about to turn toward and follow them but Lucy drew back her bow, and fired a shot that hit him through the right shoulder. Justin hit the left shoulder and one of the guard archers finished the line by firing straight in between the two arrows. Some of the guards leapt out of the palisade, checking over some of the dead or dying fellow soldiers. Women from the 2nd palisade turned up with water in pitchers and cups. Some of the unconscious were carried back inside the village, and the other soldiers went around dispatching the last of the wolves. Lucy and Jeremy stood over Samuel, trying to comfort him. Toby and Matthew walked over to the spot where they had seen the wolves and archers disappear, but they found no trace of them save a discarded arrow and an empty package with a number of bandages still inside. Toby studied the ground, using his tracker skills, and found a slight knife mark in the tree. He considered using the snow marks, but decided against it. Who knew if an ambush was waiting further along. Moving further, beyond it was another. “Got you,” he whispered. A figure close to him, wearing a yellow crescent on his chest and clothes that suggested he was a scout, nodded to himself. “I hope you have,” the mysterious man said under his breath.