Lorik then sat back and waited. Vera sat up with him for a time, talking in whispered tones. She reminisced about when they were young. Lorik tried to stay vigilant, but he often found his mind reliving those same memories with Vera rather than searching the night for intruders. Even after she had fallen asleep, Lorik found himself mired in the past.
He examined his life and why he made the decisions he had made. He thought about why he had stayed in Hassell Point after his parents had passed away. Most men were content to earn a living for their families, but Lorik neither had a family nor was content. He had stayed because it was easier than charting a new course for his life. He realized he should have taken Vera and found a new life for them both, long ago. Perhaps he was just afraid. He didn’t like waiting for conflict to happen. He preferred to get unpleasant situations over with as quickly as possible. He thought about sneaking away and attacking the Riders head on, but he knew that was suicide. He was outnumbered, even if Stone went with him. Their only chance of success lay in being able to hold their defensive position.
In the end, it was just lucky that he noticed a shadow moving near the house. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but then he saw the movement again. Someone was sneaking into the house, hoping to gain entry and kill them all while they were defenseless in their beds.
He knew he had to do something. Shooting at the shadowy target was difficult, as it was hard to judge the distance at night, and Lorik decided against using one of his fire arrows. He didn’t want to accidentally burn the house down himself. He focused on the shadow he’d seen moving and shot on instinct. The arrow disappeared into the darkness and all he could do was wait to see if the arrow found its mark.
The assassin was hit, but not killed, by the arrow. He screamed when the arrow struck, and Lorik waited to see what would happen. The man groaned and moaned, but no one came to his aid. Lorik watched intently, but saw no other movement.
“What’s happening?” Stone whispered as he crawled up beside Lorik. He was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“An assassin,” Lorik said. “I didn’t see him until he was almost at the house, but I got a lucky shot.”
“Why not use a fire arrow?” Stone asked.
“I was afraid I’d miss and burn the house down.”
“Good thinking,” Stone said.
They waited and watched nervously. It was hard to know that killers were lurking in the dark.
“There,” Stone said, and pointed at a shadow.
“You sure?” Lorik said.
“It was moving,” Stone replied.
The shadow was between the house and the barn. Lorik lit an arrow and fired quickly, but the flame alerted the assassin who was able to avoid being hit. The fire arrow seemed especially bright in the darkness between the house and barn. They saw the assassin slinking away. Another shadow was seen leaving the property, but Lorik let didn’t waste an arrow shooting into the darkness. Moving targets were difficult enough in the daylight, and the assassin was no longer moving slowly to avoid detection.
“What do you think?” Lorik said. “Will they come back tonight?”
“I doubt it,” Stone said. “When Marsdyn finds out they failed, he’ll be furious. He’ll probably attack tomorrow.”
“The whole gang?”
“Most likely, and probably more. There’ll be plenty of outlaws and pirates in the shipyards who will go with him for a little coin. Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll keep watch.”
Lorik moved back onto a blanket that was laid out on a pile of hay for him. He was edgy, but he fell asleep quickly.
The sun was up when he woke. Vera was at the hayloft door, watching the property. Stone was asleep beside her. Lorik stood, stretched his tired muscles, and joined her. He looked immediately for the assassin he had wounded, but the man was nowhere in sight.
“Did you see anyone?” he asked her.
“No, Liam told me that you killed someone, but the body isn’t visible.”
“I probably didn’t kill him, then,” Lorik said. “I got a lucky shot, but it could have just been a flesh wound. The man made enough noise, though. I’ll bet there’s a blood trail we could follow easily enough.”
“So what happens now?” Vera asked.
“Now Marsdyn brings his entire gang. They’ll come riding in—fast, I would expect. They’ll know we’re waiting for them, so they’ll want to get across the open ground as quickly as possible. They may even know we’re in the barn. I shot at one assassin who I know escaped. He saw the fire arrow coming, so he’ll know we’re up here.”
“We should move, then,” she said. “We can trick them.”
“No, they’ll be expecting that. Besides, this is our safest position. But we could put together a few surprises for them.”
He spent several moments in silence, thinking about how a group of riders would approach the property. He knew that some would go to the house, regardless of what the assassin told Marsdyn. They would break in, search it, and probably burn it. The corral didn’t offer much cover, and the only other building was just a small storage shed. He could cover a section of the path with liquid fire. In fact, the horse’s hooves striking against the exposed stones might even ignite it. They could also set traps in the house and shed that might take out a few of the Riders. It was worth the effort, if they could get it done in time.
“How long has he been sleeping?” Lorik asked, pointing at Stone.
“Just about an hour, since dawn.”
“Okay, let him sleep a bit longer. Are you okay keeping watch?”
“It’s the only thing I can do,” she said.
“All right, I’ll be busy, but call out if you see anything.”
He needed more lamp oil, and the ingredients to make more liquid fire were in the house. He climbed down from the hayloft and checked on the horses. They were fine, and he refilled their water troughs and measured out fresh oats for each of them. Once that was done, he lifted the long timber beam that held the barn’s main door closed. He took his time looking around the property before leaving the safety of the barn.
He then went to the fire arrow he had shot last night. There was nothing left but a stump of charred arrow and the arrowhead buried in the ground. Then he went to where the assassin had been wounded. There was a blood trail, it led to the far side of the house. The assassin had died sometime in the night. Flies were already buzzing around his body. Lorik knew the stench would become terrible, so he dragged the body away from the house and pushed it into the mud bog where the animals of the marshes would eventually pick the bones clean.
Then he washed up. He stripped out of his clothes and pumped water from the well, scrubbing his hands and then dousing his body in the cool water. He spent the next hour mixing enough liquid fire to coat the path. Normally, the concoction was used in bombs that would splash onto one’s enemies and burn them. Pouring it out on the path would allow the liquid fire to dry. It would still be combustable, but it wouldn’t be as deadly as it might be, since it would cling to the road, not the riders. Still, Lorik hoped that it would drive the gang into the bog where he could fire on them from the safety of the barn.
After pouring out three buckets of the liquid fire onto the path, he returned to the house. He had not moved his parents’ things, including several glass containers his mother used to preserve food. Glass containers were rare and expensive, but Lorik’s father had always tried to get his wife the very best. He filled six of the jars with liquid fire, the last of the large batch he had mixed. Then he melted several candles, using the wax to seal the jars and the wicks as fuses. Even Vera could throw the small fire bombs.
Next he set up spring-loaded traps at each of the doors. He sharpened wooden stakes that would swing down onto anyone who stepped through the door. It was almost noon when he finished, and he was forced to crawl out of a window to get back to the barn.
He went inside the barn and reset the timber beam. Stone was looking after the horses. He looked up and smiled.
“You finish booby-trapping the house?”
“Yes,” Lorik said. “If we survive this, we can’t forget and go in through either door.”
“The horses seem to be in good shape. I wish we could get them out of here to someplace more safe.”
“Me too, but if we leave them in the marshes, they’ll still be in danger. There are plenty of animals who could take them down.”
“What if they set the barn on fire?” Stone asked. “We can escape, but they’ll be burned alive.”
“I’ve thought of that. If they fire the barn, I’ll set them loose while you get Vera out on the zip line.”
“No, that wasn’t the plan,” Stone said. “We all go or none of us.”
“Be realistic. I’ll do my best to follow you, but odds are we won’t make it through this unscathed.”
“I should be the one to get the horses out, then,” Stone argued. “I got you all in this mess in the first place.”
“A partnership means sharing the work, the profits, and the problems. I knew who you were when I took you on. So did Vera. We’re in this together. I’ll set the horses loose because you have the best chance of protecting Vera. I’m pretty attached to this place. I won’t be much good to her if we have to flee.”
“Why are you working so hard to push Vera and me together?”
“Because you make her happy.”
“You make her happy, too,” Stone said.
“It’s not the same. I’ve been looking after Vera a long time. We’re family, but she’s been waiting on a man like you for a long time. I don’t want anything to spoil that.”
“Is that why you took me on?”
“No, in fact, I didn’t even know she liked you. She told me not to, but that was before you wooed her in the Boggy Peat.”
“If you knew me, I mean knew the kinds of things I had done, neither of you would feel this way about me. I think it might be better if I go and try to fix things with Marsdyn.”
“I thought about that. It’s suicide, really. Marsdyn can’t let you live, and he won’t let me live. You might get close, but I doubt you could kill him without getting yourself killed in the process. And we stand a better chance of surviving by fighting together.”
“I’m a killer, Lorik,” Stone whispered. “I’ve done horrible things.”
“I wasn’t there, and I won’t judge a man for something he did in the past. Maybe you’re no better than Marsdyn, but I don’t think so. You stuck your neck out for the people of Pallsen. You’ve worked hard here with me and on the road. You’re brave and smart. I think we’ll leave your past in the past. This is your chance to start a new life. Just don’t get killed.”
Stone was about to respond when Vera whistled from the hayloft above. Both men raced up the ladder to see who was coming to kill them now.
Chapter 16
It was just one man, sitting on a horse, as far out as he could possibly be and still see the property. He was beyond bow range, just sitting and studying the layout of Lorik’s home.
“What’s he doing?” Vera asked.
“Just keeping an eye on things for Marsdyn, I would imagine,” Lorik said.
“He doesn’t want anymore surprises,” Stone agreed.
“What should we do?” Vera asked.
“Nothing,” Lorik told her. “We’ve done as much as we can. We can disrupt their attack. The only question is whether or not Marsdyn will bring more men with him.”
They napped and talked in quiet whispers through the afternoon and into the night. The rider never moved. He sat on his horse and watched the property, although there was no light and he couldn’t possibly see anything.
“Should we pay him a visit?” Stone asked.
“The guy on the horse?”
“You bet,” Stone said. “I can do it. He’ll never see me coming.”
“What would be the point?”
“It would send Marsdyn a message. We aren’t going to sit back and let him do whatever he wants.”
“You’re talking about killing the guy?” Lorik asked.
Stone nodded. Lorik didn’t know why he felt conflicted. He’d killed men before, of course, but it had always been when he felt threatened. The man on the horse certainly didn’t have good intentions, but Lorik didn’t feel threatened by him. Still, if Stone could take the man out, it would be one less Rider to fight when Marsdyn attacked.
“Okay, but only if you can do it without risk. I don’t want you taking unnecessary chances.”
“All right,” Stone said. He was just turning to go when Vera stopped him.
“Wait,” she said. “Let’s think about this for a minute. You’re risking your life, and for what? That man isn’t harming us. He’s just sitting out there.”
“He’ll be reporting to Marsdyn,” Stone said.
“Reporting what? Maybe he saw us moving around up here, but that’s all. He didn’t see you setting traps or running away from the property. So killing him doesn’t really help us.”
“It might,” Stone said. “One man can turn the tide in a close fight.”
“He’s right,” Lorik agreed. “We’re going to be greatly outnumbered when Marsdyn comes. Any chance we have to even the odds is worth taking.”
“But is it worth risking Liam’s life?” she argued.
“No,” Lorik said emphatically. “And he isn’t going to risk his life. He’s already promised me that.”