The Blight of Muirwood

“Which way?” Colvin gasped, his face streaked with sweat, his expression showing his barely tamed rage. The woods were impenetrable. The Sentinel oak was near, but what direction? Lia recognized the woods and pointed and then ran, listening to the sound of the knights dismounting and charging into the woods after them. A crossbow bolt thudded into a tree by her ear and she ducked. Glancing at her quiver, she saw that there were only five or six arrows left. The knights charged through the woods, shouting out loudly to draw others to them.

“This way! Over here! Over here!”

Lia heard the crashing of limbs and foliage, the crunch and crackle of dried leaves and snapping branches. Another crossbow bolt hissed at her, glancing off a tree and spinning wildly aside. She could not think of it. Colvin and Ellowyn dodged ahead of her, reaching the towering oak tree with its sagging branches. The ground was clear around it, without obstruction, making it easy to run past it. Lia risked a backward glance and saw several knights had reached the clearing as well. Shouts echoed throughout the grove, coming from every side.

“Which way!” Colvin shouted.

“The gully! Right there. Get the Leering open!”

Lia struck her gladius into the massive oak branch, sheathed her dagger in her belt and swung the bow off her shoulder. The men’s eyes bulged with anger and fear as she shot the first down. She stood firmly, without flinching, drew another shaft back to her ear and sent the second man down. The third rushed at her even faster, screaming with rage, raising his sword high to cut her down. She did not have enough time to draw another arrow. As he rushed her, she sidestepped his blow and jabbed the point of her bow into his throat. She could hear him gag and choke and she swung the bow around against his temple, stunning him. Grabbing her gladius, she sheathed it and started after the others as the fallen knights all twitched and groaned.

Reaching the edge of the gully, she stared down as Colvin’s eyes met hers, his face an expression of shock.

The cave had been filled in with earth. She could sense the Leering still, but it would take too much time to dig their way through. Not with so many pursuers – not with so many so close. The sound of crashing in the oaks. The scream and hoarse cries of vengeance. This was the moment. She realized it instantly, felt a cool pang of satisfaction for recognizing the Medium through the chaos.

“That way,” she said, nodding towards the gully trail. “Maderos’ lair is that way. The ossuaries. Go!”

The ossuaries. The place of the dead. The place where all the rings had been found. She knew it was the end. Her final moment with him. Reaching around her neck, she pulled off the string that held the gold wedding band. It flashed in the sunlight, the ring that reminded her of the Medium. It was something she had clung to since she was a child. She tossed it to him, staring into his eyes as he caught it.

“I love you – always,” she said and before her courage could melt, she ran the other way, where she knew the Leering was that would summon the Abbey defenses. She heard him shout her name, but she ran, bringing her bow around as the knights saw her.

“Run!” she screamed, waving her arm ahead of her pretending Colvin and Ellowyn were ahead of her still. “I will hold them off!”

The knights rushed at her from three sides. Lia pulled an arrow back and brought down one. Three arrows left. One swore at her, cursing her weapon. She dropped him next, his face a spasm of pain and frustration. Two arrows left. Lia ducked the blow aimed at her head, spun around and hooked her boot around his ankle. Grabbing his empty scabbard, she yanked hard and tripped him over her, letting him crash on the ground. She did not stop to kill him, she just ran as fast as she could, rushing to the Leering she knew was ahead of her.

From that very direction appeared four men, swords drawn. She changed course, using the trees to separate them from her. A crossbow bolt slashed against her shoulder, splitting her skin and sending a searing line of blood against her flesh. Her breath was so hard, she barely felt the sting. A knight grabbed at her, missing. She smacked him across the face with her bow.

They missed her again as she surged past them. There was another knight now, blade ready, waiting for her. Behind him, she saw the Leering – a boulder about waist-high and carved with the face of a fierce-looking man, a bearded man. It was the Aldermaston’s face when he was younger. Another man knelt by the Leering, head bowed, one arm out, his palm on the stone. The eyes on the Leering were beginning to burn, to flame.

Lia shot down the last knight opposing her, leaving her a final arrow. The man bowing before the Leering turned an rose, looking back at her with familiarity.