Read Scenes from an Unholy War for Free Online Page A

section in particular as being impregnable. Rust and Lyra really didn’t have to go check on the northern wall, of all places. But the two of them went out there just to be on the safe side, as was entirely proper, given that they were the law here. The rock wall ran for a mile and a quarter across plains, through the forest, and between paddies. In places it was a single layer of rock; in others multiple layers were stacked together like a sheaf of paper, making clear to all who saw the wall the sheer power of Mother Nature. The western corner of the rock wall was surrounded by deep woods.
    As they approached the end of their rounds, Rust declared, “All clear.”
    “For the time being,” Lyra added as the sun went down in the west. As blue tinged the air, Lyra suggested, “I suppose we should start thinking about who to post as guards on the wall. Drifters and mercenaries will be coming in soon. So long as they get paid, they’ll do what they’re told. If the Black Death gang’s got sixty people, we’ll need at least twenty. The rest we’ll manage to cover with folks from the village. To save their own skins and everything they own, they’ll fight pretty much down to the wire.”
    “If it looks like we’re going to lose, you know both of us will probably get it in the back.”
    “Well, you don’t get to choose how you go.”
    “Isn’t that the truth,” Rust said, a bitter grin rising on his lips.
    At that instant, a black sphere came from nowhere and landed between the two of them. When it hit the ground, it transformed into hundreds of black bats, but by that point the pair had galloped a good thirty feet away.
    “Must be the same person who went after D,” Rust groaned.
    “Now it’s us they’re after,” Lyra laughed bitterly. Above her, she heard flapping wings drawing closer.
    Lyra’s right hand flashed into action. Drawn from its sheath without a sound, her longsword limned an arc through the air, and a dozen or more bisected bats fell to the ground.
    “Ugh!” Rust groaned sharply.
    One of the bats was trying to sink its fangs into him through his bandanna. If the venom entered his bloodstream, he’d meet the same fate as D.
    “Just hold on, Rust!” Lyra shouted to him.
    Tearing the bat off, Rust threw it away. Its fangs hadn’t reached his skin.
    “No, I can’t,” the sheriff replied, his tone low and morose. He looked up at the writhing ball of darkness formed by the flapping wings. “Besides, it’s the only way the two of us will ever get out of here. Lyra—stop me again!”
    Dozens of the flying creatures swooped down toward his neck and back.
    Twisting around, Rust looked up. The black cloud of winged demons that’d blotted out even the darkness had suddenly vanished. They’d flown away like a shot from a gun.
    The moon in the night sky glowed ever brighter.
    —
    III
    —
    “Rust?”
    “Stay back.”
    His vehicle growled, the roar echoing from its exhaust pipe. As Lyra gave a kick to the flanks of her cyborg horse and put some distance between them, the sheriff vanished into the depths of the forest.
    Lyra poured on the speed as a cry reached her ears. Saying nothing, she galloped on. The moonlight made her lovely face glisten like a death mask.
    She spotted the skeleton vehicle parked among the trees. In what could only be described as a lithe movement, Lyra leapt down from her cyborg horse before it’d come to a halt. She quickly surveyed her surroundings. Her nose had already caught the scent of blood. Before she could ascertain where it came from, a voice called from the trees to her right, “Over here.”
    Circling around the front of the vehicle, Lyra headed toward the source of the voice. The warrior’s eyes could see through the pitch-black darkness as if it were midday.
    Rust stood with a short bow in hand, and at his feet lay a figure in black.
    “How on earth did you—”
    “Don’t worry about that,” Rust assured her. His face was hidden by the darkness.