Read The Cor Chronicles: Volume 02 - Fire and Steel for Free Online Page B

were tied into two rows; he and Thyss would each lead one. Once their few belongings were collected, Cor had the Dahken mount the horses two to a horse. He had several dismount and move to different horses, trying to find the best mix of older children with younger and so forth. After a few minutes of this, Cor gave up with the realization that this was an at best imperfect solution. At worst, it was downright foolhardy, and they would all be killed. Finally, he declared that they were ready, and he mounted his palomino. He was glad that the moonlight was partially obscured by clouds so that he could not see the fear he knew would be on the children’s faces.
    Cor set a slow pace at first, just walking the group toward the Loszian fort. According to Thyss, they were only a few miles away, and even at a slow pace, they would arrive at the outskirts of the fort in about an hour. At times they would top a hill, and Cor could see glints of moonlight reflecting off of objects in the distance. While he could not see any torches or distinct shapes from this far away, Cor was certain that the reflections came off of the Loszians’ black stone. The buildings emerged from the gloom as they approached, first as indistinct shapes, but then more clearly. A few flickering torches cast a constantly shifting orange light in the paths between the black buildings. Cor halted the horses; he could not see any of the patrolling guards, but there were several forms moving on top of the wall.
    “This is it,” Cor said to those behind him. He turned his horse about so they could all see him, and spoke in a loud whisper. “We’ll be riding as fast as we can. The horses are tied together so just hold on and don’t fall off. Once we get the gate open, we’ll ride through and into the mountains as fast as we can.”
    They started towards the fort at a walk, and Cor slowly urged the horses onward, faster. He had the group almost to a full gallop as they reached the first out buildings. Cor risked one look over his shoulder to see how his charges were handling the rough gait and decided that he dare not push the horses any faster; many of the smaller children were holding on only with the aid of the larger. The baby, strapped to the wet nurse’s chest, had begun to cry, awakened by the terrific bouncing motion of her horse. Cor pushed it from his mind as he focused ahead.
    They were now moving quickly through the clusters of buildings, and Cor could see the gate clearly. It seemed that the huge stone doors were each opened and closed by large upright wheels interlocked with some sort of gear system below the ground. Cor hoped they would not be difficult to operate, though he realized he only needed to open one door. One man guarded each wheel, and he counted four more upon the wall’s walkway, just as Thyss had reported.
    It was then that the alarm went up, not from in front, but from behind them. A black mailed guard, likely on his path patrolling through the buildings, shouted in Loszian that intruders rode through the compound, and Cor looked over his shoulder to see the man running for a large building he assumed to be one of the barracks. Cor pushed his horse faster, causing some of the children behind him to bounce dangerously close to losing their holds on their mounts, but he saw little option. At any moment, Loszian soldiers would come pouring out of their barracks.
    The guards in front had turned their attention to the oncoming group, and the first volley of crossbow bolts were loosed their way. Cor could not look to see if any of his charges had been hit by the attack; he charged his horse in a full gallop towards the men guarding the gate mechanisms. To an observer, it would have looked as if the Dahken intended to ride by the man, but just as he was about to pass the guard, Cor half leapt, half fell from his saddle. The impact jarred both men as Cor landed on top of the guard in a heap of arms, legs and steel.
    The Loszian received