Lorik gave the rope a small tug and the outlaw cried out again.
“Wait, wait,” he pleaded. “I can tell you more. Just don’t pull that rope any tighter, please.”
“Funny how pain brings out the truth. Now tell me the specifics. How many men is Marsdyn bringing with him?”
“I don’t know,” the man said in a panicked voice. “Around two dozen pirates and fifteen riders. I don’t know for sure.”
“And what’s the plan? He’s sending in the pirates and then what?”
“He’s planning on killing you and taking Stone and the woman alive.”
“Tell me what I don’t know,” Lorik said loudly, but he only waved the rope, he didn’t pull it any tighter.
“He’s expecting the pirates to do all the work. They’re supposed to burn everything, once they’ve looted it of course. They’ll get paid to bring your head and the other two as prisoners to Marsdyn. He doesn’t really plan any more than that. He’s just going to attack.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
Lorik turned away from the man. The information wasn’t all that surprising. Two dozen pirates would be difficult to deal with. And if Lorik and Stone somehow managed to repel the sailors, Marsdyn could ride in and easily finish the job. He turned and tied the rope to a peg on the barn wall.
“Don’t go wandering off,” he warned the outlaw.
He moved back inside the barn. His muscles ached as he climbed the ladder up into the hayloft. He was tired of being in the dark, of the constant tension they were all feeling, it felt like he was slowly being drawn and quartered emotionally.
“What’d you find out?” Stone asked in a whisper.
“Nothing we didn’t already know,” Lorik replied.
“How can we believe what he’s telling us?” Vera said. “He could be lying to throw us off of Marsdyn’s real plans.”
“True,” Lorik said, “but he confirmed that Marsdyn’s hired a crew of pirates. He said they’ll be coming at dawn and that Marsdyn’s got well over a dozen Riders with him.”
“Like you said, nothing we hadn’t already guessed,” Stone said grimly.
“Over a dozen?” Vera said, fear creeping into her voice. “That seems like a lot of men to fight.”
“It is,” Lorik agreed. “I think we may be able to hold off the pirates, but if Marsdyn and the others come riding in, we could be overrun.”
“Maybe, but I have a plan that could turn things around,” Stone said. “Pirates are very superstitious. We could set up a surprise for them right as they come onto the property. If it scares them, which I think it will, they’ll be hesitant to attack.”
“But Marsdyn won’t let them retreat. He’ll trap them between my land and his Riders,” Lorik said.
“True, but if we can avoid using the liquid fire on the pirates, we have a chance to cut Marsdyn’s numbers almost in half.”
“So how do we scare the pirates?” Vera asked.
“Lorik,” Stone asked, “do you have any paint?”
Chapter 17
Cutting the head off a dead body was hard work in most instances. But Lorik’s axe was heavy and sharp, so it cut through the bones in a man’s neck easier than most other weapons. Stone’s plan was simple enough. Vera painted a message on an old plank of wood. It said, “Death lives here. Enter at your own risk.” It was cheesy and they all knew it. The sign alone would not have frightened anyone, but Stone didn’t stop there. He went down to the prisoner tied to the back of the barn and slit the man’s throat. He had no qualms about killing. He had slain his first man when he was just a boy, and there had been many more since then.
Lorik cut off the man’s head and they carried it to where Stone had dragged the body of the outlaw named Karnes. Then Lorik cut off that man’s head. They were tired and bloody when they finished, but they had successfully propped Karnes’s body up, so that it was sitting upright on the ground with its legs crossed. They stabbed a metal rod down into the outlaw’s neck and then stuck the second outlaw’s head on Karnes’s body. Then they placed Karnes’s head in his hands, which were propped in his lap, so that it looked like the mutilated man was looking at his new head. Finally, they laid the board with Vera’s message on the ground, propping it against Karnes’s knees.
It was only an hour until dawn when they finished. Both men were tired, but they stripped off their clothes and built a fire behind the barn. Vera remained on watch and the light from the fire did nothing to diminish her night vision. They were counting on the fact that Marsdyn had sent someone to watch the property, so surely he wasn’t planning a sneak attack that night. Both men washed themselves, then their clothes. Then they hung their wet clothes by the fire to dry and checked their weapons.
Lorik had three javelins in the hayloft, along with his longbow and three dozen regular arrows. He also had half a dozen jars of liquid fire and as many arrows coated in liquid fire. He wore a utility hatchet on his belt. He’d used the little axe for years on his travels for everything from cutting firewood to defending himself from men like Grayson. He saw to his battle axe, making sure the blades were sharp and clean. He also checked the rawhide grip, which was still tight and in good shape. A weapon as heavy as the axe needed to have a well-maintained handle or it could slip out of a person’s hand during a fight. Lorik also had dagger in his belt and added another to the inside of his boot.
Stone checked both of his knives, cleaning any remaining blood off the blades and the knuckle guards. He also had a dagger in his boot. Lorik had a sword that Stone had placed inside the barn. They were as ready as they could be. It was already decided that Lorik and Vera would fight from the hayloft. Lorik would use his bow to take out anyone within range. Stone would fight from the main floor of the barn. There were two big doors to the barn, one on the side, the other directly below the hayloft. They had positioned the heavy wagons against the doors on the side of the barn, making it almost impossible for anyone to get in that way. They placed a heavy beam over the other doors. There was also a small door to the side of the larger, main doors. This was where anyone attacking would have the best chance of getting in. Stone figured it would work like a bottleneck, limiting how many men could get in at once. Of course, if the timber beam was broken or the barn set on fire, all bets were off.
“Just so we’re clear,” Lorik said just before dawn as they were pulling on their damp clothes, “you will fall back to the hayloft if they break through the main doors.”
“Yes,” Stone said. He was serious and didn’t mind being reminded of their plan.
“If we’re overrun or the barn is set on fire, you and Vera use the zip line.”
“And you after us,” Stone said.
“I’ll come if I can, but it’s more important that you keep her safe.”
“We all need to survive this, Lorik. Not just Vera and I.”
“I know, but I’ve been watching out for her a long time. It’s a habit, I guess.”
“Then you should take her down the zip line and let me hold the barn.”
“No,” Lorik said, smiling. “The two of you have a future, I’m just extra baggage.”
“You know, I can never repay you for what you’ve done for me. All I’ve brought you so far is misery.”
“That isn’t true,” said Lorik. “Marsdyn is no different than other outlaws. They all have to be dealt with sooner or later. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get out of this alive.”
“We will,” Stone said.
“Well, if you have to flee, go back to Pallsen. The people there will help you.”
“You’re their hero. You killed Thuryk, not me.”
“We both did what needed to be done. I’m going up. It’ll be dawn soon. Are you ready?”
“Always,” Stone said.
They shook hands, neither saying more, but both men looking the other in the eye. They had grown close over the last few weeks. Lorik thought it was nice to have someone to share his work with. Other than his father, Lorik had always worked alone. He’d grown fond of Stone and knew the young warrior was a good man. He approved of Stone and Vera being together. He was sure Stone would take care of her and treat her right. There had been plenty of opportunities for the younger man to sow his wild oats in Pallsen. He could have stayed and served as the constable, which would have been easier and probably more profitable than working with Lorik, but Stone had remained loyal.
Lorik climbed back up the ladder to the hayloft. Vera was sitting by the open window, watching as the sky turned gray. She looked tired but resolute.
“You think they’re coming?” she asked him.
“Sooner or later,” Lorik said.
“I wish it was sooner. I’m tired of waiting.”
“I’m sorry it’s come to this,” he told her. “You could still leave. Things will probably get bad. This plan may not work at all.”
“It’ll work,” she said. “It has to.”
“Do you regret not leaving sooner?”
“No,” she said, still watching the path.
The property was turning from dark grays and blacks, to lighter grays and browns. The sun wasn’t visible yet, but the light reflecting off the sky was growing brighter.
“I love you, Vera, always have,” Lorik said, even though he wasn’t looking at her.
She turned and saw that he was watching the path, too.
“You’re more than a sister, and I thought you should know that.”
“I always thought you asked me to marry you out of pity,” she said. “I never knew your feelings were deeper than friendship.”
“They are, although it’s not love like you have for Stone. Perhaps it is just friendship, I don’t know. And I’m not jealous that you love Stone. I’m happy, for both of you. I just want you to know that I’ve loved you in my own way since we were kids.”
“I’ve loved you too, Lorik,” she said, her tone sad. “I’ve always felt that we were the same somehow. You’ve been a good friend, and I’ll never forget all you’ve done for me.”
“Good. If things go wrong today, promise me you’ll take the zip line with Stone.”
“We’ll all go.”
“Yes, if we can, but I don’t want you risking anything on my behalf.”
“Stop talking like that,” she scolded. “I don’t like it. You aren’t going to die. None of us are. We’re going to make it, together.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said. “But I want your solemn promise that you’ll leave if you need to.”
“Will you promise not to do anything stupid and noble?”
“There’s nothing noble about what we’re going to do today.”
“So don’t try to be a hero. If I go, we all go, understand?”
“All right, I promise,” he said.
“And I promise, too.”
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She lingered for just a moment, and he breathed in the familiar scent of her hair. Then he stood up suddenly.
“They’re here,” he said. “Go tell Stone to be ready.”
She moved quickly away. He felt good. His conscience was clear. Fear was circling like carrion birds over a battlefield, but there was a cold resolution in Lorik’s gut. He was going to kill, and his mind focused in on the job at hand.
The pirates were moving slowly up the path. They could see the grisly message Lorik and Stone had prepared for them, but they weren’t yet deterred by it. Vera hurried back to Lorik’s side. He had his longbow in hand and his quiver of arrows close by.
The group of pirates slowed as they approached the body of the outlaw named Karnes. It was obvious they were startled by the sight and the message. Lorik nocked an arrow and aimed high. There was a sharp twang as the bowstring sent the arrow flying. It arced high into the dawn sky then fell into the center of the group of pirates. The arrow struck one of the sailors on the forehead. Lorik wanted to shout in excitement as the pirate pitched forward and the others scattered. Some ran off the path and fell into the muddy bog. It wasn’t sucking mud, but it was deep, and soon they were struggling to get back to the path. Others had turned and run back down the path.
It was several minutes before they saw the frightened pirates returning. Those in the mud were now trying to pull themselves back onto the path. Their comrades stopped to help. They seemed eager to take any opportunity to delay. Horsemen came into view further down the path. They had their weapons drawn but weren’t within longbow range.
“Wait until they draw close to the sign again,” Lorik said. “Then scream like someone is killing you.”
She looked at the big teamster, then nodded. It was several minutes before the spooked pirates drew near to the gruesome body of Karnes the outlaw. They couldn’t help but look at the body, and then Vera screamed. It was a long, blood-curdling cry that made the hair on Lorik’s arms stand up. The pirates froze when they heard it. They didn’t move until the sound drifted away, then they turned and ran.
Stone and Lorik had predicted that several of the pirates would take to the bogs to avoid the property and the outlaws on the path, but this time they charged back toward the horsemen, determined to not set foot on Lorik’s homestead. The Riders were surprised, but not unprepared. The pirates swarmed the Riders. It was difficult to see exactly what was happening, but Lorik could tell that three of the outlaws were pulled off their horses and another two went down when their horses were wounded. The skirmish between the outlaws and the pirates was heated, but short-lived. The Riders were outnumbered, but their mounts were used to close-quarters combat. The horses shifted, kicked, and bit anyone who came too close, and the pirates were in no frame of mind for a prolonged fight. They swarmed past the Riders and then ran on.