East of Ashes (15 page)

Bohemond looked up from his map: "I need 10 volunteers."

Othniel and Aubré's hands shot up immediately, followed by a number of other Crusaders. Lamech was the last volunteer to reluctantly raise his hand, bringing the group to ten.

"Excellent," Bohemond beamed, and turned once more to his map. "You will proceed down this path here until you reach the slope here. From there you'll have to make your way up the slope cautiously until you make contact with the Caracens."

He then looked at them with his steely light blue eyes, making Lamech flinch inwardly.

"Now listen to me very carefully: Do not, I repeat, do
not
engage the enemy for longer than a few minutes. I want you to attack them, but flee shortly afterwards. Sting them hard enough to get them riled up and then retreat to our position. When you reach us, circle around this hilly outcrop here and then attack their flank," he said, pointing at the ground once more. "We'll attack their other sides and surround them."

"Everyone clear?" he asked. When he was happy that they did, he concluded: "Good. Load your gear; we're heading out in 10 minutes."

Lamech was impressed.
This might just work
, he thought to himself.
It's risky and bold, but extremely calculated
. Othniel slapped him on the back in silent agreement and then went to pick out a horse.

-------

"Over there, on the left," Lamech pointed out the movement he had noticed to Othniel. Shielding his eyes from the sun with his hands and squinting at the horizon, Othniel looked in the direction Lamech had pointed.

"You're right, I see them," he answered and quickly issued orders: "Aubré, take four men and approach them from the left. Try to keep in the shadow of the slope as much as you can and then wait for us to make contact. Lamech and the rest of you, come with me."

They gave Aubré and his men a few minutes to get into position and then began to ride in the open towards the Caracen camp. The idea was to get noticed after all, Lamech thought grimly as the first warning shouts were raised by the Caracen sentries.

At the sound of their voices Othniel's group spurred their horses into a full gallop.

Their battle-hardened horses heaved forwards, eager to reach the enemy, breathing heavily in anticipation. Lamech focussed his attention on matching the pace of the riders on either side of him to hold formation.

Almost there
, Lamech thought
,
and stole a glance to the slopes on their left where Aubré and his men were concealed. He hoped their timing wouldn't be off. He turned his attention back towards the fast approaching enemy camp and watched as the Caracen soldiers hurried to get into position.

With a shout Aubré and his men charged down the side slope, heading straight for the enemy flank. Bewildered
,
the soldiers scurried around to face them too.

Aubré's battle cry triggered the rage inside Lamech, which he had kept locked up for the past few weeks. But now, here in the imminent fury of battle, he allowed it to pour from him in a torrent and ignite with hellish violence.

At the last moment, just before reaching the enemy lines, their group veered to the left, and joined forces with Aubré's group, forming an arrow head that aimed for the edge of the encampment.

Lamech braced himself for the impact, willing his eyes to stay open.

They connected with the first line of men with a thudding impact, trampling them underfoot and cleaving the edge of their line in two. Lamech screamed in fury and hacked and sliced at anything coming close to him as they continued pounding forward. To either side of him Crusaders were cutting their way through soldiers, lopping off arms and heads in a crimson display.

Lamech was vaguely aware of two of the Crusaders crashing to the ground as their horses were cut down. He stole a glance their way, only to see them disappearing beneath a rain of Caracen sword blows. He urged his horse forward, desperate to keep moving. To come to a standstill now would mean certain death.

At last they broke through the edge of the camp and just kept riding, spurring their horses forward. They had to reach the others before the Caracens caught up to them.

The world suddenly collapsed around him and he crashed to the ground in a billowing storm of dust. As if in slow motion
,
he saw the spear sticking out the side of his horse - and then Aubré charging towards him, holding out his arm. He grabbed it automatically and the force of the movement swung him through the air and landed him on the back of Aubré's horse.

Time sped up again, pummelling Lamech with sensation. He shook his head to try and clear the ringing in his ears. By some miracle he still had his sword in his one hand. He desperately clung to Aubré's waist with his free arm.

Aubré's horse was already sweating profusely and Lamech knew his extra weight was making matters worse. Behind them he could hear the enemy horses pursuing in a full gallop.
I hope Bohemond is in place
, he thought desperately as they entered a narrow gulley.

An arrow whirred past his left ear and slammed into Aubré's back. The force of the impact momentarily unbalanced Aubré but he quickly righted and urged his horse forward.

Lamech stole a quick glance over his shoulder. The Caracen pursuers were a lot closer than he had anticipated. The next arrow
wa
s going to strike
him
in the back and he wasn't so sure he could stay upright the way Aubré had.

He involuntarily pulled closer to Aubré, as if to make himself a smaller target. With his cheek pressed against Aubré's back, he was alarmed to feel him easing the pace.
Is he going to...

Aubré slumped sideways. Even though their pace had slacked, they were still travelling at a blistering speed. Aubré's movement at that speed sent both of them tumbling to the ground while the horse sped away down the gulley.

Lamech managed to roll free of Aubré without getting tangled. He was on his feet in a flash, sword still in hand. But even as he faced the oncoming Caracen soldiers he knew there was no way he could survive on foot against a cavalry charge.

One Caracen soldier was leading the pack, a good couple of metres ahead of the others, charging relentlessly towards Lamech. It took him mere seconds to reach Lamech where he stood with raised sword to protect Aubré, who lay motionless on the ground.

Out of options, Lamech braced for the inevitable impact. But it never came.

Screaming in rage, Othniel suddenly appeared next to him on horseback, parrying the Caracen soldier's downwards stroke aimed at Lamech. Bewildered, the soldier swung around to face the new threat, sealing his own fate as Lamech took the gap and sprung to action.

He viciously struck out at the horse's hind legs, half severing one of them. The horse neighed painfully as its legs buckled underneath it. Crashing to the ground, it pinned the soldier underneath it. Lamech was on him in a split second, his vision blurred as adrenaline and rage pumped through his veins. With one clean stroke he decapitated the soldier.

Putting the screaming horse between him and the rest of the cavalry, he watched as Othniel engaged another soldier. As they fought it out on horseback, Lamech saw an enemy soldier riding towards Aubré. The burly Crusader had come to and was now trying to push himself up from the ground.

Where are the others
? Lamech thought desperately as he ran towards Aubré. The Caracen rider slowed down as he reached the fallen man, relishing the opportunity of an easy kill. As he circled Aubré, he turned his back to Lamech, not noticing the Crusader charging towards him.

Lamech vaulted into the air, his raised sword gripped in both hands, and furiously slashed into the back of the soldier. Screaming in pain, the man dropped his own sword and clawed at his back.

Lamech landed on the ground, spun around and thrust his sword into the soldier's stomach. He grabbed the dying rider's tunic with his left hand, pulled him from the horse and threw him to the ground. He paused only to sp
i
t in his face and then turned to see how Othniel was faring.

Othniel was grappling with a soldier on the ground, having fallen off his horse while pulling his opponent down with him. Lamech dashed over to lend him a hand, but was thrown to the side as an arrow slammed into his left shoulder. He barely had time to register the wound before he had to roll out of the way to avoid being trampled by more Caracen riders.

He struggled to get up and winced as
the
pain flared through his body. He clawed his way to the side of the gully, desperate to gain an elevated position as Caracen soldiers dismounted and began walking towards him, the now dead horse and their fallen comrades making it difficult to manoeuvre in the narrow space.

As he propped himself up on one knee with his sword, two of the soldiers broke free from the group and began running towards him, eager to finish him off quickly. He straightened up, his left hand hanging limp
at
his side, and readied for the assault.

To the right of the oncoming soldiers Lamech glimpsed Aubré being decapitated by the Caracens before the two attackers were on him.

He parried the first blow and ducked under the second, grimacing as the pain in his shoulder almost made him fall backwards. But seeing Aubré's lifeless body slumping to the ground drove him to the edge of insanity and fury exploded through his mind.

He screamed and drove his sword upward and through the one attacker's throat. He moved it to the side as he pulled it free, partially severing his head. Turning, Lamech faced the second soldier, who was staring at him with bulging eyes and an open mouth.

Lamech swore at him and cut him down with a single stroke.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Othniel engaging more dismounted Caracens while three others came running towards him. In the distance he could see more riders approaching fast.

Where is Bohemond
? Lamech's thoughts screamed at
him,
and then ran toward the soldiers. He met them in a blurring storm, cutting off the arm of the first, slicing the second across his chest and diving to the right to avoid the wild swing of the third. He wasn't quick enough though, and his thigh exploded with pain as the Caracen's sword cut him.

He almost blacked out from the pain, but anger propelled him onwards and he plunged his sword through the stomach of the soldier standing over him. As the man dropped on top of him, Lamech screamed in agony as his arm was wrenched at a wrong angle, breaking with a loud pop.

The darkness came crashing in from all sides now. His mind desperately clawed at consciousness, but he could feel his strength draining rapidly. The pain momentarily helped to fight back the writhing darkness, but it didn't last and he found himself slipping away.

So this is it
, he thought as he began easing into the darkness. Peace suddenly flooded him as time seemed to slow down. Dying violently was always going to be the way he would go out, he
had
thought. He welcomed it, wanted it.