David Gemmell – Rigante 4 – Stormrider

From outside came the thunder of horses’ hooves on the stones. Then a shot sounded and a man cried out in pain.

It had been so long since Winter Kay felt genuine fear that he was almost unmanned by the experience. He had believed for years that he was a powerful man, in full control, and merely aided by the magic of the skull. The realization that the essence of his power came from Kranos, and that he was, in truth, merely ordinary, was almost more than he could bear.

He had no idea how to plan the battle against Gaise Macon, no overall sense of strategy. He looked at the land, the high ground and the slopes beyond the ridges and saw only meadows, hills and a valley. With the skull in his possession he had needed only a glance at a battlefield to note instantly the key areas to control.

Winter Kay desperately needed to regain the skull. After the spirit of Powdermill spoke to him he decided to send Eris Velroy and a hundred Redeemers to make a swift raid into Eldacre and retrieve it. Velroy was willing, but pointed out that a hundred men riding from the battlefield would alert the enemy, and probably cause them to send out a cavalry troop in pursuit. A smaller force might pass unnoticed. Winter Kay agreed. He didn’t care how many men rode into Eldacre, as long as they rode out with the skull.

Then paranoia touched his soul. What if Velroy decided to keep the skull for himself ? Worms of doubt burrowed into Winter Kay’s mind. ‘I will lead the raid myself,’ he told Velroy. ‘Thirty Redeemers should suffice.’

‘Who then will conduct the battle, my lord?’ asked Velroy.

‘You will. It should hardly be taxing, my dear Velroy. We have overwhelming superiority in numbers.’

‘But the battle plan?’

‘You have always shown high skill in strategy, Velroy. Now is the time to display it.’

‘I am honoured, my lord. I … I thank you for your trust in me.’

‘As soon as I have the skull I shall return and we will review your actions.’

‘Yes, my lord.’

That had been just before the dawn. Winter Kay and thirty Redeemers had ridden away to the south west, skirting the woods and circling into the hills above Eldacre. Here they had drawn up and dismounted. With an ornate long glass Winter Kay studied the town. There were no signs of troops.

Then came the sounds of cannon fire in the distance. The battle had begun.

Winter Kay was torn between the desire to ride down into the town and risk entering the castle, and a sudden fear that it was all a trap. He sat in the shelter of the trees, his mouth dry. The men with him were nervous. They were all on edge, for none of them had received the power of the skull in days. Worse than this, Winter Kay found himself seeing them differently. His Redeemers, he had always believed, were the elite. Powerful, single-minded men, the best that the Varlish could create. He looked at them now and saw their fear. With the strength-enhancing magic of the skull, and the mystical advantages they gained, they had been elite. Now, like him, they were merely frightened men,

Once more Winter Kay scanned the castle. He could see a sentry at the gates.

‘Do we go in, my lord?’ asked a Redeemer.

Winter Kay rose. Before he possessed the skull he had been a soldier, and a fine swordsman. He had not lacked courage then, he told himself. ‘Yes. We go in.’

Mounting his horse he led the thirty men down the slope and into the town. They did not ride fast. There were some citizens on the street, but they largely ignored the riders. They had seen so many strange soldiers during the past weeks that they did not recognize the Redeemers as enemies. Winter Kay began to relax. They rode past the huge cathedral. His fears vanished then, replaced by the anger of memory. His brother Gayan had died here, killed by a highlander during the botched execution of a witch. Now that witch was sheltering in Eldacre Castle.