CHAPTER EIGHT
As far as he could tell, Phoenix had three advantages: he was smarter and faster than the troll; and there was nothing on this scoured-flat plateau he could trip on. As long as he stayed on his feet and didn’t succumb to exhaustion, he should be able to keep the troll occupied long enough for Marcus to complete his task.
Of course, the troll had at least two big advantages of its own: it was indefatigable and indestructible. Did his three outweighed the trolls’ two?
The creature trundled closer, looming over him like a mobile cliff-face. Phoenix looked up and swallowed heavily. From this angle, it was hard to believe he had any chance at all. His legs shook.
With one more fleeting glance at the brightening eastern horizon, Phoenix uttered the most childish war-cry in history. He stuck his thumbs in his ears, poked out his tongue and yelled:
“Nyah nyah nyah-nyah nyah – you can’t catch me!”
He dove and rolled clumsily to the left. Tiredness and pain made his aikido roll awkward and jarring but it served the purpose. A huge cloud of dust roiled up as the troll’s granite fist smacked into the ground where he’d stood.
Clambering to his feet, Phoenix clutched at his ribs with one hand and his sword scabbard with the other. He should have taken it off. It threatened to tangle his legs as he skipped aside again and ducked beneath a swinging, stony arm. The hand passed so close to his head that the wind tossed hair into his eyes. Impatiently, he brushed it aside and stumbled back just as an enormous, craggy foot stomped where he had been. This was never going to work. The troll was simply too big and too strong for him to keep being that lucky. He had to change; had to do the unexpected.
Something his aikido sensei often said came to mind: “Avoid the falling rock”.
If he hadn’t been so exhausted, Phoenix would have laughed at the irony of it. It was a central idea of Aikido: don’t be there; don’t go places where you were likely to get in trouble; if you did get into trouble then running away was a great option. His sensei probably never expected the philosophy would be taken quite so literally.
Aikido! That was it!
OK, he couldn’t actually throw the troll or put it in a wrist lock but there had to be some way he could use its own strength and movement against it. That was the very basis of how Aikido worked.
An idea glimmered.
Dragging long, painful gasps of breath, Phoenix turned and ran twenty long paces away then doubled back towards the troll at full tilt. The beast stopped short, appearing confused by this sudden change of tactics. It stood uncertainly for a moment. Then it raised a thick arm and swung down at Phoenix’s darting form. He dived directly between its legs at the last second. The momentum of its own arm carried the troll further forward than it probably intended. It tried to twist its heavy body to follow Phoenix’s path, the beast leaned just a fraction too far and overbalanced. It fell to earth with a resounding thump and a roar that shook the entire mountaintop.
Phoenix didn’t stop to watch. He only had a brief respite before the beast would be up again – and probably very angry this time. He spotted Marcus working frantically with a smoky branch. Several trees around the clearing were smouldering nicely. The Roman had chosen trees evenly spaced around the mountaintop. But there weren’t enough alight and dawn was still at least ten minutes away. There were big gaps. The creature could still escape if it wanted to.
Time for Plan B.
If only he had a Plan B.
“I need a rope!” he yelled.
Marcus nodded and reached beneath his fur coat. Rapidly, he unwound a long, thin rope from his waist. Phoenix decided now was not the time to ask why it was there in the first place. He was just grateful his companion was so well prepared. Snatching it with a brief nod, Phoenix staggered back into the clearing as the troll unfolded itself and pushed to its feet.
Star Wars time, he thought grimly – just like Luke taking out the Empire’s Walker on the snow world of Hoth. With hasty, trembling fingers, he knotted the rope into a huge lasso and laid it out on the ground like a giant snare. Next he laid the free end in a long straight line and backed away a few steps.
The troll paused and watched Phoenix with an air of confused stupidity. It clearly couldn’t work out why this puny human was laying such an obvious and ineffective trap. There was no way a troll could be snared by the strength of one man. It peered uncertainly at the loop and at the loose, untethered rope. Then, with a rough laugh, it placed one foot unconcernedly smack into the middle of the lasso.
Phoenix darted forward and snatched up the free end and ran backward, pulling the loop taut around the stony leg. The troll laughed again and stepped back, jerking the rope tighter and pulling Phoenix off his feet. He managed a scrappy breakfall that protected his ribs but winded him. Holding onto the rope, he scrambled upright as the troll trod heavily toward him.
Again Phoenix rushed suicidally toward the monster; again he launched himself between its open legs. This time the troll was a shade quicker and he barely escaped being hit like a croquet ball by the swinging fist. This time it did not overbalance. Instead, it turned around to face this annoying gnat of a human.
In doing so, it did exactly what Phoenix hoped – it tangled the rope around its own legs. He ran as fast as his burning thighs would carry him around the thing. He stayed just out of reach of those fists, darting in every direction to confuse and encircle the troll. It twisted and turned to follow him until the rope was thoroughly snarled around its legs.
Finally realising its dilemma, the troll stood still and looked down at itself. Perplexed, it reached down to pluck at the thin cord. With perfect timing, Marcus managed to get a dozen more trees to burst into flame right in front of it at that moment. The troll looked up. Heat and flames leapt. Raising rocky hands to shield its face, the troll tried to back away. Then, as the ropes pulled taut, it toppled slowly to the ground with the booming sound of a mountainside avalanche.
Phoenix jumped aside and punched the air with a whoop of joy. He stumbled to Marcus’ side and the pair of them watched the troll thrash and twist on the bare earth. More trees flared into life. The circle of fire was complete – but it wouldn’t last long. With a loud twang, the thin rope snapped and the troll managed to bend a knee.
“C’mon, c’mon!” Phoenix breathed, staring at the eastern horizon. A thin, shivering slip of sun appeared.
The troll roared. Phoenix imagined he heard a touch of fear in that gravelly sound. Its struggles increased. Rope plunked, broke and fell away in loose segments. The troll heaved itself to its feet and lumbered toward the nearest trees. The fires there were reaching peak intensity. It backed away with a roar of pain and confusion.
Turning, it ran directly toward where Phoenix and Marcus hid behind an unburned sapling. Marcus gasped and backed away. His movement must have caught the troll’s eye and it raised a murderous fist right above them.
Phoenix caught Marcus’ elbow and dragged him aside.
“Run!”
The two bolted. Phoenix’s twisted ankle chose that moment to give out completely. He fell to the ground in a heap. Marcus stopped, turning back to help.
“Go!” Phoenix yelled, afraid they would both be killed. “Get out!”
At least with his digital lives he had a chance of surviving. Marcus had only one life in this world. The Roman shook his dark head and bent over to haul Phoenix to his feet.
He was too late. Overhead, branches snapped. Burning pine needles and glowing embers fell around them like fireworks. A fist of unyielding stone descended unstoppably toward their unprotected heads. Phoenix shoved at Marcus, pushing him aside. He stumbled away with a look of horror as he realised what Phoenix had done.
“No!”
There was a flash of brilliant white light, tinged with purple-blues that burnt into the brain and left strange after-images on the inside of Phoenix’s eyelids. Marcus’ despairing yell w
as overwhelmed by a horrendous cracking sound. It echoed like the crunching, grinding, snapping cacophony of noise an iceberg makes as it calves into the sea; or the sound of an earthquake destroying whole cities.
Then; silence. Profound, utter silence except for the crackle and sizzle of pine trees fizzling into bare trunks around them. Reddish sunlight poured through the smoky haze. Phoenix slowly turned his head and looked up. Two feet above him, the troll’s grey fist hung, frozen in midair. With a gasp of shocked relief, Phoenix dragged himself out from beneath the looming pile of stone. Marcus hurried to help him up and together they hobbled back uphill to get a better view.
Teetering on the edge of the hilltop clearing was an enormous, solid, statue of a troll. Spring sunlight had done its job. The troll had petrified, just as Truda predicted. As the two warriors watched, gravity took charge and the stones disintegrated. An arm shattered and smashed to earth just where Phoenix had lain. Then the other arm; the head; a knee snapped. Suddenly the whole lot imploded into a large, shapeless pile of grey rocks tumbling down slope.
Phoenix coughed as dust rose and added to the smoke already drifting around.
He exchanged looks with Marcus. “It worked.”
“Seems that way,” the Roman said, but there was a look his dark eyes that hinted he would remember this night forever. “I owe you my life.”
Phoenix shrugged, grimacing as the motion sent stabbing pains into his chest. “I think we’re pretty even.”
There was a pause at the two silently surveyed the scene.
“Sorry about your rope,” Phoenix said.
Marcus shrugged, still watching rocks roll away. “Easily replaced.”
“And your sword.”
“Now that is going to be more difficult.”
There wasn’t much else they could really say. Now was the time for some witty quip like, ‘well, he took the rocky road to enlightenment’ but Phoenix was too tired to summon up the energy to utter it. Come to think of it, the idea of enlightenment was probably not a Roman one, anyway. Marcus would just give him a blank look and a perfectly good pun would go to waste.
Where was Jade when he needed her?
Speaking of which...
Phoenix turned a slow circle. The sun had cleared the horizon and the last of the burning trees was dwindling into smouldering sticks. The hilltop looked like it had been hit by a bomb.
Squinting through the smoke and sunlight, he tried to work out where they were. He’d become so turned around there was no way of telling. He thought about following the path of destruction left by the troll, but they had lead the creature in circles last night and it would take hours to get back to the cave. By then the others would have left for the village.
Water glinted off to the east, through the glare: probably the same large lake they had been aiming for yesterday. Their best bet was to head in that direction with the hope of finding Jade and the others along the shoreline. It was a long shot but he couldn’t think of anything else.
Belatedly, Phoenix remembered his own resolution to be a better leader. He swung about to find Marcus gazing at him gravely.
“Any idea which way to go to find the others?”
Marcus gave him a rare, small smile. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
Phoenix laughed, feeling a twinge in his abused ribs. “East then? Toward the lake.”
Marcus nodded agreeably. He slung Phoenix’s arm over his shoulder and together they staggered toward the distant lake.
The pair made their way down the steep, rocky slope they had climbed so recklessly an hour before. Neither of them commented. Already the hazards of the night faded into a dream. The fact they had survived was so outrageous that Phoenix began to wonder if, perhaps, one of Truda’s godly relatives watched out for them. Weirder things had happened here - and would probably keep doing so.
It took two solid hours of walking and hobbling before they again saw a hint of water through the trees. They were utterly exhausted and it was only the fear of what might have happened to the others that kept them going. Phoenix had no memory of most of the walk. He relied on Marcus to keep them going as he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Pain shot though his ankle and chest with every step. The world beyond his feet blurred. It took all his willpower just to stay upright. If something attacked them now, they were dead.
Hearing Marcus’ sharp intake of breath, Phoenix raised his head. Tall and barbarically-dressed, a dozen heavily armed men stepped out from behind the trees and encircled them. Their long, blond hair lay loose over thick fur cloaks, which were flung back to reveal rough cloth shirts, sturdy leather pants and heavy boots. There was nothing barbaric or rough about the sharpness of their swords, however. One of them stepped forward and growled what might have been a challenge or perhaps a question, but it sounded like gibberish. Phoenix blinked vaguely and looked at Marcus. The Roman shook his head to show he couldn’t understand either.
The circle of long, unpleasantly pointy broadswords closed in. The leader repeated his words in a singsong voice that sounded almost familiar. Phoenix smiled dreamily. Truda had said they were in Svealand. Marcus had named the Suebian Sea. Which meant they must be in...Sweden. Knowing where they were didn’t give him the power to speak ancient Swedish, unfortunately. A sword jabbed at his chest. He raised his hands above his head, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his ribs. Marcus did the same.
A second man came forward. He was smaller and darker than the others. He spoke to them in broken Latin.
“You will come with us.”
Phoenix blinked as the world spun in front of his eyes.
“Are we your prisoners?” he managed to ask, also in Latin. The man nodded curtly, gesturing with his sword. Phoenix swayed. “Are we being taken to your village?” He wasn’t sure if the words came out clearly but the man nodded again. Marcus cast his companion a perplexed look.
“Oh good,” Phoenix murmured, “but I think you’ll have to carry me.”
He slid to the ground, welcoming the darkness that enveloped his exhausted body and mind.