Read The Twilight Herald: Book Two Of The Twilight Reign for Free Online Page B

plate-armour now, as if the loss of youth had drained inches and more from the man. The battle in Narkang had been evidence enough; Carel was still undeniably good with a sword, but hours of combat in heavy plate was exhausting for anyone; this time the effort had nearly killed Carel. When we get to Tirah I’ll speak to Lesarl about widows with manor houses and grandchildren he could grumble about , he thought to himself.
    ‘Lord Isak’s right; the woods are too quiet,’ commented Morghien as Vesna and Carel helped Tila and her chaperone pull shields onto their backs. Neither had armour, of course, but the chances were high that any ambush would be by light cavalry, and while the shields would be useless against a longbow, anything smaller might not penetrate.
    ‘The quiet could be good for us,’ said the count. ‘There’s no wind, sound will travel well, and any ambush will require more than one regiment - having seen Lord Isak in battle, any force of fewer than a hundred men would be taking quite a risk.’
    ‘Vesna, find us somewhere to defend,’ Isak snapped, scanning the trees ahead. He could feel movement out there somewhere, movement, and eyes on them. There was magic involved, but this was a predator and the animals of the forest had recognised it.
    They broke through a line of high ash trees and moved on to clearer ground. A gentle slope ran down towards a stream which disappeared from view behind higher ground off to the left, but it was steep and thick with tangling hawthorns. Isak didn’t need to be told that that was the wrong direction; they could find themselves cornered fifty yards in.
    ‘There should be rocky ground there, where the stream comes out,’ Vesna said, pointing to the right. ‘Look at the lie of the ground: those bushes are probably hiding a sharp drop where the stream comes out. We aim for that rocky ground, and if there’s no threat when we get there we move in to the trees behind and find our scouts. We must move fast. If we’re caught in open ground by cavalry we don’t stand a chance.’
    As one, the horses moved forward at a brisk trot. Isak sat high and tense in his saddle, straining to detect anything over the rattle of armour and the thud of hoofs on the hard ground. He snapped at the reins irritably, trying to hold in Toramin’s impatient steps, and as he did so his arm brushed the Skull fixed in his breastplate, reminding him of the power the objects gave him. Forged by the last king of the Elves for use in the Great War, the Skulls gave access to more magic than any mortal could naturally summon. With a Crystal Skull, even the Gods of the Pantheon’s Upper Circle could be killed -so he should be able to open his senses to the Land around him while he was running for cover.
    Isak touched his mailed fingers to the Skull and through the enchanted silver encasing his body he felt an immediate rush of exhilaration flow through him. The power he could access now was simply terrifying -he’d been nervous about experimenting with the Skulls until he was safe in Tirah Palace, but now he didn’t have a choice. He was careful to allow only a trickle of energy to leak out of the artefact and into his body, but that tiny fraction was enough. A sense of the terrain around them settled over his mind, like a silk cloak descending. The wind rippling through the fat blades of grass on the open slope made him shiver and the chill trickle of water cut sharp through his soul. He focused on the trees ahead and a noise suddenly filled his ears: hoof beats, and the clatter of metal.
    ‘Riders ahead,’ he called quietly. ‘They’re closing fast. First squad with me, battle order.’
    Aryn Bwr stirred hungrily in his mind, but Isak angrily crowded it out. This was Isak’s fight and he didn’t need anything to distract him. At his urging, Toramin leapt forward and the rest followed in two groups, one with him, the second dropping fifteen yards behind to give them space to manoeuvre.