A Whisper to the North

Chapter XLV ✠ Fire and Blood

Una's shoulder blade felt the full brunt of a shield, and she fell forward into the mud and blood. She turned around quickly, pinpointing who struck her from behind. He was coming swiftly down with his blade, shining crimson in the light of midday sun.

"You bastard!" Una bellowed out as she held her shield up.

The soldier came down on her shield again with the full force of his blade. He would not let up. Slowly, Una's shield began to splinter and crack. Una's shield she owns back in the mountains of Snowdon was made of bronze. This shield was heavy oak with leather, painted boldly to distract the eye.

"Damn you!" Una screamed.

She crouched down in a squat and pushed up as hard as she could. She propelled her shield up as high as she could until she slammed into the man. She then pierced her sword through the crack that the soldier made and felt her blade slice into him. He let out a blood-curdling wail as she ripped the steel out of his neck. She dropped her shield and busted the blade out of the wood. She watched as the man fell to his feet, gargling and moaning in pain as his life force left his body.

Una heaved. Her breaths were healthy and quick. She might have died if the shield did not hold as long as it did. She wished she had her old shield. It was stronger and lighter.

"Una!" She heard someone cry out in the distance.

She turned and saw a few soldiers coming toward Gareth. He was on his horse now, galloping toward her. She looked around to make sure there were no more soldiers after her. A twenty-foot radius of bodies stacked two feet high that Una had plowed through with her sword. It was not her Ulfberht sword, but it still did a beautiful job giving these men a quick death. Gareth's horse approached but reared around the bodies. It would not trample over them.

"Let's go. Ingrid and Laurel are waiting!" He said.

"Don't wait for me, go ahead of me! Let me take these men!" Una called to Gareth as she saw a group running towards her.

She quickly jumped over the bodies, running the opposite way of Gareth. Gareth hesitated, but he knew he must meet with Ingrid and Laurel again. Ingrid and the archers went first on horseback, then the archers on foot. This was followed by Laurel's men, the spear wielders. They would impale the ones headed for the archers on foot. The rest of Laurel's men stayed behind Una and Gareth. They were the last ones in. Alaric floated around, looking to drag off any injured soldiers who called for help with his men.

"Go!" Una screamed as she sliced her sword across the first man's sword arm, chopping it in half.

Gareth watched from a distance, hesitating to go. She was all alone out here with these men, and her horse Gwen was nowhere to be found.

The partially severed arm swung violently. Blood spewed out of his arm as it dangled freely, bashing against his side. He cried out in a terrible roar as Una ran up to him and drove her sword deep under his armpit, turning it as it pierced his heart. She took her boot and pushed his body away from her sword as she released her blade out of his chest cavity.

Gareth finally cracked the reins against his horse and trotted forward, moving into the woods surrounding the field. He could see a great fire in the distance had started to drive the pendragons back from pressing further into their territory.

"Come on!" Gareth beckoned his horse as he propelled into a full gallop.

Una watched as he disappeared, and she returned to the three men running to her in different directions. She held her breath and waited till the last second, observing that they all used swords shorter than hers. Before they could pierce her at the same time, Una twisted her body around with her sword high in the air. She aimed it horizontally and spun, feeling her sword crack through the tendons and bones of their necks. Blood poured out like the river from the gaping slits in their necks. Two of them fell to the ground, paralyzed from Una severing their necks deeply. Only one stood, with a hand on his neck and the other still pointing his sword.