Carefully, she got her body into the appropriate position and waited, moving and flexing her muscles slightly every so often to stop them from getting cramped.
Katie smiled as she remembered Max and Mikey helping her prepare the arrows.
“Add more black-oil to the mixture,” Katie had instructed. “When the arrow hits it will splash out. There’s no guarantee that our fire arrows will hit on exactly the same spots.”
“This much more?” Max had queried, picking up the container with the noxious mixture inside.
Katie had peered in. “Seems about right,” she had said. “But make it a little thicker. It still looks a bit runny. Goodness only knows what Artem needs these for but he was pretty insistent.”
“This is the most disgustingest of disgustingest smells I have ever smelt,” Max had said.
“You sound like Mikey.”
Max had shrugged. “Close association with Mikey has a tendency to rub off.”
Katie had had to speak rather sharply to stop Mikey from launching his body at Max.
: Ready :
Katie came back to the present with a snap. She nocked her arrow, pointing her bow slightly to the ground and placing the arrow shaft on the rest, connected it with the bowstring. She raised and drew her bow, her eyes firmly fixed on the distant ASPC. The string was now so close to her face that she could feel it touching stray wisps of her hair.
: Now! :
She released the arrow, relaxing her fingers with her string hand and watched as it sped towards its target. To be on the safe side, she decided to repeat the procedure with the second arrow.
: Twins are readying their fire-starters :
Katie took hers out of her pocket and checked it. A quick blow on the lit end proved that it had not gone out. It had been a distinct possibility. She was relieved she wouldn’t have to try and re-light it.
: Tell them to fire as soon as they have lit their arrows : she ordered.
She took a third arrow out of the quiver. Like the first two, it was also coated in black-oil but no blast-powder. Quickly she lit the arrow, put it in place, drew her bowstring and fired. She was quick but not quick enough to stop the fire from burning a hole in her leather gloves. An unpleasant smell permeated the foliage top.
Yllatys! Now that’s my best pair of gloves gone too.
She watched her arrow arc towards the hilltop. It resembled a little, long fireball. The arrows of the twins followed a split tvan later.
All three rained down on their respective targets.
Katie’s fire-arrow hit her ASPC and immediately flared up as the flame made contact with the black-oil and blast-powder already there. Jack’s too flared, but Jon’s didn’t.
He must have missed, still two out of three is not bad shooting, Katie decided as she prepared to climb back to the ground. As she did she saw a streak of intense light pass by about twenty kells to the left.
: Paula and her rifle :
: Yes. Hurry up. The twins are mounted already. This is not the time to dawdle :
: Going as fast as I can :
She jumped down from the branch and ran towards Kenlei.
: Now we go to secure the retreat route : announced Kenlei as he bounded away. Katie holding on to his neck ruff like grim death.
* * * * *
Paula had also found a vantage point from which she could see the hill. She had also settled down to wait, ranging her weapon and setting the sights watched by a fascinated Hael.
“Fire!” he said at last as he received the call from Artem’s Larya through Mariya.
Paula squeezed the trigger, aiming for the ASPC with the roof not alight first. She had the satisfaction of seeing it burst into flame. She squeezed the trigger six times more in rapid succession. She wasn’t trying to hit a specific target now but was trying to create as much confusion as she could.
The seventh firing was neither as long nor as strong.
“That’s it,” she told Hael. “Out of power.”
“Let’s go,” he said and pulled her away down towards where Slei and Mariya were waiting.
“We should go help Thalia and the others.”
“No,” he insisted. “Orders are orders. We go to the rendezvous. What good could you do anyway? Could you kill a man or a woman with that knife?”
Seeing the sense in his words, Paula let herself be led away.
It was as they were riding back the way they had come that she became aware of an insistent pushing at her mind.
It was irritating and more than irritating. She actually felt it was pretty much the most annoying feeling she had ever had.
Stop it!
: Why? :
If she hadn’t been buckled on to the harness (Hael had prudently insisted on this even though it had taken time) she would have fallen off, so deep was her swoon.
: It is me. Slei. Why should I stop? :
: I don’t know. Slei? What is happening to me? :
: We have mind-bonded :
: Thalia said you are telepathic. Is that why I can hear you? :
: Not exactly. The mind-bond is between us. Only us :
The telepathic network was operating but Slei hadn’t wanted to overwhelm her and had blocked the access route through him and into Paula’s mind although he could still ‘hear’ what the other Lind were saying.
Paula was confused. Thalia had told her about the telepathy but she hadn’t said anything about it being exclusive between a Lind and a person.
: Can Hael hear you? :
: No :
: What does it mean? :
Paula was almost scared to listen to the answer.
: We are together now :
: For as long as we both shall live. Is that it? Like those archaic wedding vows? :
: It is more than a marriage. I have noticed that on occasion a man and a woman who are married no longer wish to be together. This will not happen to us. We stay together for always :
: But :
: There are no buts Paula. You are my vadeln :
A great outpouring of love, affection and everything else that was good enveloped Paula. The arguments she had been formulating in her mind dissipated as if they had never been.
She looked over at Hael. He was riding as if he hadn’t a care in the world. She didn’t think he had realised what had happened to her then he turned and looked at her with a smile so gentle it brought tears to her eyes.
“Welcome to our midst,” he said.
“I don’t understand,” she stammered.
“Do not fret. Do not fear what has happened. Accept. All will become clear. Calm your inner-self. Slei will help.”
“He will?” faltered Paula.
“Of course. Relax. You are shaking like a leaf. You will never be alone again, no matter what happens. Slei will always be beside you, supporting you like an anchor in a storm.”
“Anchor chains break.”
“The bond between you and Slei never will. What’s that?”
: There is someone there : Slei and Mariya screamed at their respective partners.
Paula gasped at the intensity of his warning and heard Hael mutter as he drew his sword.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered. Slei hung back a little but not by more than half a length. Both Lind were ready to jump into the attack at any moment.
A man’s figure stepped out in front of them. He had in his hands, as all four of them immediately realised, a laser rifle and it was pointing straight at them.
Hael and Mariya didn’t hesitate.
Mariya bounded forward and before Paula could do anything (her hand was half way to her belt and Artem’s knife) she saw the man’s head leave his body and fall to the ground. She shut her eyes and so personally didn’t see the large spurt of blood erupting from his severed neck as his torso crumpled. The head bounced twice then came to a stop.
“That was for Vandiel, Zandya and the others,” said Hael in a venomous voice. Mariya was growling. Hael was having trouble s
topping her from leaping on to the body and tearing it apart limb by limb.
Slei, aware of the turmoil Paula was feeling as she came to terms with the fact of their life-bonding immediately followed by a bloody encounter, refrained from sharing the image of Hael’s execution and Mariya’s subsequent chela marks on the man’s torso.
Paula opened her eyes and tried to avert them away from the blood-soaked tangle that had been once a living, breathing man.
“That’s how the Vada punish the evil,” said Hael. “Now, we’d better get going or we’ll be late. Coming?”
“Aren’t, aren’t you going to do something about the body?’ asked Paula timorously.
“No. He does not deserve it,” he answered as Mariya began to walk away.
* * * * *
From a clump of foliage near the foot of the hill, the six vadeln-pairs waited until the other two groups reported that they were in position. Artem ordered them up the hill. They kept a wary eye out for warning wires but didn’t encounter any.
: Perhaps they didn’t bring any with them. We didn’t find any last time either : telepathed Thalia as she and Josei pushed through a particularly abundant area of foliage.
: Only an idiot would not have placed any if they had them : agreed Josei : Lean down closer on to my neck :
: I’m watching for wires :
: I do that. You concentrate on keeping your head down :
They inched their way up the slope, paw by careful paw. Artem had already ordered that they should be able to ‘hear’ each other so Thalia was aware of a low dichotomy of muttered thoughts as their attacking group got closer and closer to the hilltop.
At last they were in position. As the telepathic reports came in one by one, Thalia and Josei knew battle was imminent. She readied her sword and made sure her firearm was loaded although she prudently left the stop switch set to safe.
: Arrows fire! :
Thalia and Josei didn’t see the first six. Like long, black shadows they hurtled through the dark and landed. Josei was sure he had heard the clatter of one of them but Thalia thought it was wishful thinking on his part.
: It was not : Josei retorted indignantly : I have very good ears :
: Can you hear any reactions from the enemy? :
: Nothing :
: Paula said that they would rely on their, their, what did she call it? :
: Ground sensors :
: That’s it. Artem believes they’ve got so used to relying on their technology that they’ve forgotten the basic principles of a ground battle. The sensors are set for large, metal incoming. Individual attackers with hardly any metal on them will hardly show up at all on their screens. Paula’s words, not mine :
: Good thing for us that it is so. If this was a Vada training exercise the guards would be sure to have growled out warnings by now :
They did see the fire arrows. The made a pretty arc as they flew over. A faint smell of burning black-oil permeated through the air.
Then Paula started to fire. It seemed to the vadeln-pairs that great white streams of light were hitting the hilltop in a series of blinding flashes.
: Close your eyes : ordered Josei : or your night vision will go :
Thalia could hear panicky shouts from the hilltop.
There was a bang as the first of the blast-powder coated arrows exploded.
: Go! :
The six vadeln-pairs were off on the word. They rushed to the hilltop and entered the enemy camp, into a morass of thick, oily smoke and panic.
They swept through the smoke like the Riders of the Apocalypse, except that they numbered six, not four.
Thalia and Josei ran slap bang into the middle of a clump of enemy soldiers. With her sword she slashed at the exposed shoulder of the one who tried to grab at her. He collapsed screaming on to the ground clutching his wound.
Josei bit the second, his huge jaws crunching his lower arm until the hand below it began reacting like jelly, all floppy and completely useless.
To Thalia’s astonished surprised the enemy were not dressed for battle, neither had they brought their laser rifles out of the ASPC’s with them.
Fleetingly, Thalia wondered why. She assumed they had emerged from their ASPC’s believing that they were investigating a falling piece of foliage or some such natural occurrence. Some of them even looked drunk!
What a shock this must be for them, she thought and grinned, cleanly slicing through the fingers of a hand that came at her through the smoky gloom. The fingers fell to the ground like thick, stubby twigs.
She and Josei were moving away from the smoke. On their way back the enemy would have realised what was happening. The return would be the dangerous sortie. She sheathed her sword and took out her firearm. Snipping off the stop switch, she prepared to go again.
As they sped back through the smoke, it was getting marginally less dense, she identified a stream of red light as an ASPC door opened. Someone had kept their wits about them and had gone for a laser rifle. She saw the flash stream as it fired and heard someone scream with agony.
: Ail! He is hit. Iya is taking him away :
: Time to go :
Larya’s order filled Thalia with deep relief that they were getting out and she urged Josei to run as fast as he could.
As each vadeln left they each threw a portable smoke bomb (they called them bombas) behind them as they bounded away. They wouldn’t do much damage but would create more smoky confusion.
They congregated at the bottom of the hill. Ail and Iya were there and Rodick (who had more training in first aid than anyone else) had already dismounted and was tending to Ail’s injury.
Artem and Larya thundered in behind Thalia and Josei. He slid off Larya’s back and went to help Rodick who was frantically trying to stem the flow of blood coming from Ail’s leg.
Every vadeln was taught how to administer battle aid. The two men set to work, frantically bandaging as fast as they could. At last the blood loss began to slow down and Artem called for a stick with which to immobilise the leg. Thalia cut a suitable piece from the foliage with her knife and went to help. They could hear confused shouting from the hilltop but not a single enemy soldier was coming down the hill after them.
The three worked on Ail until at last Artem pronounced himself satisfied.
“When we get back to the cave Astrid will be able to help. She’s got medical training under her belt. She told me before we left,” he said. “Until then we keep a weather eye on him. Iya will warn us if his condition gets any worse. Rodick, did you give him some smaha to ease the pain?”
Rodick nodded. “Enough to ease but not enough to render him completely unconscious. He’ll make it all right.”
They lifted Rodick back on to Iya’s back and fastened the straps. Once they were ready Artem ordered that they go to the rendezvous where the others were waiting.
There was no pursuit.
Behind them, on top of the hill, three ASPC’s sat merrily burning.
* * * * *
“Me and Mariya are getting a bit old for this,” Hael joked as he placed his gloved hand on his sword hilt. I believe, Vadryzka Thalia, that we may be requesting retirement when we return to Tak.”
“You! Old! Never! You’ll be riding into battle when I’m sitting in my bath chair!”
The three groups were at the rendezvous.
They had been lucky and everyone knew it. No one had been killed. Three Quorkos (or ASPC’s) had been destroyed. At least twenty enemy soldiers had been killed or wounded. There were some injuries, yes, but only Ail’s was serious. It was not however, serious enough to delay them. Ail was capable of riding although he was complaining in a sluggish voice that the soporific he had been given was making him feel woozy. A vadeln-pair would ride beside him monitoring his progress.
Zeb was teasing him about the strange sight he looked with his leg immobilised and sticking out at a right angle but Ail was laughing about it, claiming he wasn’t feeling a single nuance of pain.
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“We have put a vuz in their burrow,” Artem said with satisfaction. “Even if, as we suspect, their star ships are on their way here it will take them time to sort out the mess we left behind. They were,” his gaze took them all in, “much better at running about and shouting than fighting. Good job everyone.”
“The important thing is that they have lost their ASPC’s,” added Thalia. “Their hunt for us, if and when they get organised, will have to be done the old-fashioned way.”
“We go back to the cavern and get ready to move out north from there. Katie and Kenlei. You take point.”
“Yes Artem.”
“Zeb will keep riding beside Ail. Jim and Avdrya will cover our rear. You okay with that Jim?”
“It’s only a scratch,’ Jim answered cheerfully waving his bandaged hand.
Artem looked at Paula. “And I’ll be meeting you in the salle one day soon,” he teased.
“Er, yes.”
“Well done,” he said. “That laser rifle of yours made quite an inroad into the enemy numbers. A dozen at least. Good shooting. I hope you’ll take to cold steel in the same way. See you later. Slei, I think you’ve made a good choice.” He and Larya rode off.
Once he had gone Paula turned to Thalia.
“Thalia,” she queried. “What’s a salle?”
* * * * *
As they rode, Artem updated everyone about the news he had received not long before their attack had commenced. Rsya and Jvldr had found Belu!
: He’s been hiding : he told Larya so that she could pass it on to the other Lind : He is uninjured. He saw what was happening at the headquarters dom but realised there was little one Brai, even though he can flame, could do to help. All that would have happened is that he would have been killed too. He, with Rsya and Jvldr are waiting for us in an underground tunnel system he has located. That is where we will go :
: Has he been able to make contact with the Aikko? : asked Josei.
: Not as far as I know but he has been trying. Rsya thinks he believes they are out of range. The communications device is only for space ship to surface use. He’ll keep trying though :
Paula, through Slei, received the same information as the others but naturally she didn’t understand more than the basics of it.
She decided to use the questions this information had brought with it to practice using her mind-link.