Heir

Chapter 1, Scene 6

Aldric and Maren ran up the street towards the row houses that Dylan had directed them to. The militiaman ran behind them. He had abandoned his makeshift shield and now stuck close to them for the protection of their shields. Three of Aldric’s soldiers followed, the rest had split off from them to approach from the other side. They had almost reached the row houses when a well placed arrow took down one of the soldiers. The rest raised their shields higher in defense, and immediately heard the thumps of more arrows meeting the thick wooden disk. They retreated to the front wall of another row of houses, but the arrows kept coming. They were pinned down.

“Psst! Over here.” Came a small voice from beside them. Aldric looked over and saw a boy peeking out through a door cracked open.

“This way!” Maren called as she kept her shield up and made a half-crouching dash for the door. The boy stood back, giving her plenty of room to slip inside, while using the door for cover. The two remaining soldiers followed her. Aldric provided cover for Dylan as the two of them slipped into the house last. They closed the door behind them and heard it stop two arrows.

“Thank you for your help boy.” Maren said. “Is there another way out of here?”

“Yes, Milady, through the kitchen.”

“Good.” Aldric said. “We’ll go up the back alley and find another angle to approach from.”

The two soldiers went back through the kitchen to find the rear entrance. Aldric and Dylan made ready to follow them.

“Where are your parents?” Maren asked the boy, as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t know.” He looked forlorn. “They were out in the field when the attack began.”

“We’ll come back for you as soon as the fighting is over.” She promised the boy.

“Thank you, Milady.”

Maren turned to follow the others out the back. The boy’s face grew grim. He ducked in under her shield arm and thrust a dagger into her side just below the armpit, taking advantage of the gap in her mail there. Maren cried out in pain, dropped her shield and began to fall to her knees. She maintained the presence of mind to roll onto her back and push the boy away with one swift kick before he could stab at her again.

Aldric was between her and the boy in an instant, his eyes on the boy. Dark skin and curly black hair clearly revealed the boy’s Aldmen ancestry. He realized now that the boy wore leather armor under his ragged wool tunic. He should have suspected a trap by the rangers. Aldric’s eyes locked with the boy’s. The youngster could not have been more than a year or two older than his own daughter, but there was such a look of hateful defiance in his eyes. Without hesitating a moment longer, Aldric plunged his sword through the boy’s chest.

Dylan and the two soldiers were back in the room as Aldric knelt beside Maren. The woman was losing blood quickly. She bit her lower lip to stifle a scream of agony.

“Is there a healer in the meeting hall?” Aldric asked Dylan.

“Yes, there is.”

“You two get the stewardess there as quickly as possible.” He directed the soldiers.

“Dylan, is there another approach to those row houses?”

“Yes, but we’ll have to be light on our feet.”

“Very well.” Aldric handed his shield to Dylan. “Take this.”

He picked up Maren’s sword along with his own. Bending over, he kissed the woman on her forehead.

“Hang in there, Maren.” He said soothingly. She gave him a tiny nod and a grateful look as she struggled to hold back an outcry.

“Come, show me the way to these demons.” Aldric commanded.

*****