The Hermit Herbalist

Chapter 21 - To Protect & Serve

Clint felt like he tumbled down the stairs and into his clothes at the same time.  By the time he reached the door, he had an arrow on the string and his eyes peeled.  He could hear the other men sounding the alarm and calling all to arms.  The door to the inn opened, and a few of the women and children came in.  Clint stepped aside to let them pass, and as he looked out, he saw the rest getting ushered into Ogen's abode.  Clint could hear hooting and hollering and the pounding of horse's hooves as the marauders encircled the village.  "Heads down and eyes open!" Clint heard Ragnar call out.  The Avenger made a wild dash to the perimeter they had made out of wagons, and arrows littered the ground around him.  He actually snatched an arrow out of the ground, aimed, and fired.  One of the riders went toppling from the back of his horse into the grass.  "Clinton!" Ragnar shouted and the mortal joined him behind their barrier.  

"Has anybody seen Kael yet?" Clint asked before he fired an arrow.  A man fell and was run over by his companion's horse.  

"Not yet.  I fear that we will not see him unless they break through our lines.  As long as we keep them outside our perimeter and continue to harry them, they shall not pass," Ragnar answered.

"Damn!" Clint cursed as he released another arrow.  This was one of his specialized ones that attached itself between two trees, activating a garroting wire.  Three riders came along and had their heads severed and their horses toppled over, blood gushing from their necks.  

"Where's Ikol?" Lanh asked as he readied his boar spear.  

"She's safe at the inn," Clint responded.  He hoped.  He prayed that Loki would stay in the room until it was all over, but he knew she would not.  Loki would go to Ogen's house to tend to those who had been wounded.  

"Has the enemy made any attempt to advance?" Ragnar queried as Nanook came up.

"Not yet.  They're just circling us right now.  They'll ride up close until we start shooting them down, then they'll pull back.  They haven't attacked us at all," the butcher informed them.  Clint tilted his head at this before he gasped.

"They're counting our fighters!  Kael's having the raiders size us up, seeing how many bows and arrows we have, and which areas are weakest.  Keep the men moving!  Circulate them so that no spot is vulnerable for long.  Have the men stay down, and if they have shields, have them raise them!  No man without cover!" Clint ordered as he put another arrow on the string and darted out from his place.  He rolled into cover and peered out through an opening in the cart.  He saw the riders continue their patrol, but not attack.  Clint frowned deeply as he began to count the riders he saw he deliberately slowed their steeds down as they approached.  They were the ones counting.  The wild ones were the distractions.  "Inhale, exhale, draw, and... release," Clint whispered to himself as he fired.  The arrow had a steel tip he traded for with the village smithy, and it went through the horse's head and into the rider.  Shouts were heard from afar and three arrows converged on his location, and Clint ducked down.  He heard Ragnar shouting for holes to be plugged up in case they charged.  Clint watched as the arrows struck the cart he was hiding behind.  Clint pulled away once he was sure he was in the clear.  

He rolled along the ground and came to a stop by the cellar door of Ogen's house.  An arrow landed right by him and he stared at it.  "Clint!" called a voice and he turned.  Loki came running out of the inn towards Ogen's house as fast as she could.  No arrows were fired upon her for so blatantly putting herself in harm's way, and Clint was grateful for that.  This also proved that Kael was in command if they were not harming her.  "Clint!" Loki cried again as she slid along the ground beside him.

"What are you doing out here?!  You're supposed to be inside, where it's safe!" Clint scolded.  He cupped her cheek and stiffened.  Her skin... it was pale again.  "Loki?"

"I conceived, Clint.  I am carrying your child," Loki admitted, pressing her lips to the palm of his hand.  

"Loki," Clint whispered as he pulled her in close.  She was pregnant!  They were going to have a baby!  But first, he had to deal with the matter at hand.  He separated from her and looked her in the eyes.  "You're to go inside and stay inside.  Take a knife with you and don't come out until I get you.  Now go!" he ordered, pushing her towards the front door of Ogen's house.  Loki stumbled inside and closed the door.  Clint really could not help the smile that crossed his face at that moment.  He had been in such a hurry this morning when the arrow came through the window that he had not seen his wife's appearance.  A baby!  We're going to have a baby! Clint thought.  He already had a reason to fight, but that reason had just gotten stronger.  Clint had just pulled another arrow out of his quiver when he heard Ragnar raise the alarm.

"They're charging!  Make ready!" Ragnar ordered.  Clint saw the horses advance at full gallop, and he put the arrow back.  He removed two, specialized arrows and waited for them to get closer.  "Hold!  Hold!" Ragnar repeated.  Clint drew the string back to his ear and waited.  A split second after the horses rose up to clear the wagons and carts, Clint fired and the arrows struck the men, exploding a millisecond after impact.  Blood and guts went flying and scared the horses of the other riders.  The village men all gaped at this show of explosives.  Clint just grinned as he drew a knife from his boot and released it, burying it in the forehead of a marauder.  

I wish I still had my guns! Clint thought.  That was the only thing he missed was the occasional firearm.  The other horsemen came over the barrier and the villagers began to really fight.  Clint kept his eyes open so that he could watch his friend's backs; especially Ragnar, Lanh, and Nanook.  A spear went by Clint's nose by a hair, and the mortal archer grabbed the mighty shaft, ripping it out of his opponent's hands and flipping him off his horse.  Clint ran him through with the spear before twirling it in his hands and smacking another man in the face with the shaft.  He toppled over, but Clint could not finish him off.  He had to retreat a couple of steps as two enemies proceeded to attack him.  Clint remembered his old staff training while at SHIELD, and he found himself maneuvering the spear in order to keep himself from being gutted.  Clint spun the spear around, striking the first man across his face, before shoving the spear into the stomach of the second.   Clint picked up a discarded knife and slashed the throat of his foe, before throwing the spear at another rider as he vaulted the barrier.  

Suddenly, Clint got a knife that went through his shoulder from behind.  He stumbled forward and heard the cries of several of his friends.  He glanced over his shoulder and saw Kael Bjornsen approaching him, a malicious expression on his face.  "Your time as come, mortal," the hunter said as he put an arrow on his string.

"Clinton!" called out a female voice, and both men looked up.  Loki was standing on the porch of Ogen's house.  She must have heard Clint's compatriots give voice to their worry.  Kael grinned and looked back down at Clint.

"She'll be mine soon enough, Barton's son.  I'll mark her and erase every memory she has of you," he said as he started to pull his arrow back.

"You talk to much.  Villains have a habit of doing that," Clint said, tossing an arrow at Kael's feet.  A split second later, the arrow went off and knocked Kael off his feet, and flattened Clint to the ground.  "Ouch," Clint muttered.

"Her life has been too easy of late.  She must experience some pain again," Wyrd commented, and Verdandi and Skuld eyed her.

"What do you intend to do, sister?" Skuld queried as Wyrd tapped the surface of their Pool of Fate with her finger.

"I believe the mortal's friends have missed him greatly.  Can't we not take mercy on them as we have on her?" Wyrd suggested.

"You mean to lift our barrier and have Heimdall see him?" Verdandi challenged and Wyrd smirked.  

"Yes!  Let the veil be torn!"  Another tap and the shield that concealed Nornheim from Heimdall's all-seeing gaze.  As predicted, the guardian noted the conflict on Nornheim, and specifically, Clint Barton's presence there.

"Inform Prince Thor at once!  His friend, the Eye of the Hawk, has been found!"