Trojan Slave (Book 1)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chaos. That's all battle was. Bloody chaos. There was the clanging of metal. The war cries of the living. The grunts of the injured. The screams and begging of the dying. Sweat dripping into eyes. The smell of blood and heated bodies all around them. All the senses hit at once. The only way any one survived was purely the will of the gods and the strength of your sword arm. The looks of anguish on the faces of the enemy as they knew they would not get back up again.

It leaves a scar on a man, even if he survives, a part of him is torn away and left with those who died by his sword. Victory is still death.

Theod saw all this, felt all this; yet in his cocoon of chilled silence, it would not touch him until the end. Either when he died or after the battle had been won, yet the end at this point was nowhere in sight. In the heat of the battle, he and Androcles were working as a well-oiled machine. One dodged as the other took down the enemy. One parried as the other landed the death-blow. Theod with his deadly calm and Androc with his unleashed energy, they complimented each other in a way that meant death for those around them.

Never looking further beyond those just in front of them, they heard the cry from behind about the new volley of arrows heading their way. Shields went up, arrows bounced off and embedded in the lightweight wood, some skimmed past them. A small grunt brought his attention back to Androc to see that his left arm had been pierced just above the edge of his shields protection. Sharing a look, Theod took the shaft of the arrow, as Androc braced himself briefly, and within a moment he had ripped the barbed arrow from Androc's arm. As his shield arm, he did not particularly need full mobility, and with the adrenaline in his system, he still felt he could take on the world.

Injury had been inflicted upon them before and they knew they were on a time limit of top performance now. Cutting down another Trojan in his path, one more to send his father on his final journey to a peaceful afterlife. His family were as avenged as much as he could ever ensure they were. What came next was all for survival, his survival and that of the crew of the Nike.

Seeing a path to the side, he wondered if he could get their men there. Dodging the blade of a Trojan by a hair, he turned and sliced him open. Not the nicest of ends, but effective as any other technique. Using his signals that he knew Androc would pick up, they headed towards the somewhat clear stretch of beach.

It took them longer than he had hoped, and even then it was only a short respite while they took stock, he knew they had lost two already. One man was limping, and another was held up between two who had followed knowing there would be a reprieve if they were being taken from the centre of the main action. He turned away from the battle to scope out the land around.

They were on a slight rise, and a slight glint in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Facing out to sea he knew there would have been an evacuation to the main city, all the important figures, the high priests and priestesses. That meant if there was gold behind that glint, then surely it would be for the taking. There may be a small force there to protect those left, but they could be easily taken. Turning around to face their men again, he saw that Androc had already received battle treatment for his wound and the other injured had been put to one side behind a few boulders, keeping them as safe as possible in these circumstances.

He knew his decision would not be over ruled, but Androc was still his superior. The grin he received in return was all the acceptance he needed. He knew he was going to find something there. What he didn't know was what he would find; all he knew was that it was important.

*

Elpis had heard the battle cries, knowing that the warriors had probably deemed the gold in the temple more precious than the lives within. A small guard unit surrounded the front steps. The men coming at them in ones and twos were easily cut down. She knew it would not be long before that stopped being the case. Moving further back against the surrounding wall of the alcove, she knew it was almost time. Her reprieve was over.