Page 44 of Somewhere down the Ley Line
Felix shoved him away. His former captain was bigger than him, but Felix didn’t remember him as a particularly brilliant swordsman. From the corner of his eye, he saw Luella take out a crossbowman. He could not see Leif, but he heard the clash of weapons behind him. Felix lunged, swinging in a wide arc. Alwin sidestepped, parrying the wild blow with his longsword.
“Came to throw yourself at us, huh? I always knew you were stupid,” the mercenary taunted.
Felix blocked a strike with the haft of his axe, slashing at Alwin’s leg. The man stumbled but recovered quickly, lunging forward with a stinging stab that caught Felix’s shoulder, making him grit his teeth. He ducked under another swing and countered with a quick slash. Alwin turned just in time, the blade carving a shallow gash along his ribs.
They circled each other, Alwin’s heavy breathing matching Felix’s own. Blood trickled down his arm. He feinted, then darted in dagger first, swinging his axe toward Alwin’s head. The larger man ducked, causing Felix to miss by inches and embedding his weapon in a tree. Alwin laughed, a low, guttural sound.
“All that running away has not made you any faster, I see.” He stepped forward, pressing the advantage while Felix struggled to wrench his weapon free. A quick swing of his sword forced Felix to duck, his knees hitting the dirt as Alwin loomed over him.
Alwin sneered, raising his arm for a finishing blow, but Felix changed tactics, let go of the axe and flipped the dagger to his other hand. Alwin cursed as Felix’s blade scored a deep cut along his forearm, forcing him to drop the longsword. Felix rammed his elbow into Alwin’s jaw, sending him staggering backward.
As Felix leapt to finish what he started, a scream tore through the chaos, and somehow he knew it was Leif. He froze mid-strike, his heart lurching in his chest. His head whipped toward the sound, and time slowed down. Leif lay sprawled in the dirt, his limbs twisted awkwardly beneath him. Blood seeped from a woundin his side, staining the ground a deep, dark red. A mercenary loomed over him, sword raised high, eyes alight with the cold certainty of a killing blow.
Time slowed down, and sound dimmed. There was nothing but fear on Leif’s face as he made a helpless, desperate attempt to crawl backward. If Felix didn’t move now, Leif was dead.
He turned away from Alwin and threw his dagger. The blade struck the mercenary’s shoulder, and the man stumbled. Felix charged, tackling him and driving him into the ground with a crunch. He yanked the blade free and buried it in his adversary’s eye socket. One of Luella’s arrows flew over his head, aimed at Alwin.
By the time Felix turned around, Alwin was in full retreat, rallying the remaining mercenaries. “Fall back!” The captain barked, clutching his injured arm, an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. The surviving men scrambled to obey, disappearing into the dense underbrush.
Felix wanted more than anything to chase after him. Alwin was hurt; finishing him would be easy. But Leif was on the ground, thrashing and bleeding, and he couldn’t abandon him. Luella jumped down from the ridge, her bow still drawn, scanning the trees where the mercenaries had disappeared.
Felix jogged over to Leif. He bent down next to the younger man and swore at the sight of the injury. It was a jagged cut, and it was deep. He started ripping pieces of fabric from his and Leif’s clothes, pushing them onto the wound. Leif whimpered in pain.
“Sorry,” Felix mumbled. Luella stood over them, her bow still at the ready. “We need to get him back fast,” Felix said.
Luella looked at Leif’s injury, and her eyes widened. “Shit. How long is the walk?”
“No clue. Trees all look the same to me.”
“I can show the way… I’ll be fine… Help me up,” Leif’s voice sounded, weak and hoarse.
“Shut up,” Felix said harshly. “Spare your energy.”
With Luella’s assistance, he tied a makeshift bandage of cloth strips across Leif’s abdomen. They lifted him to his feet, and each of them slung one of his arms over their shoulders. If the mercenaries came back now, they were done for, but theywould worry about that if it happened. Leif managed to tell them which direction to go, and they made their slow and painful way through the forest. Felix kept glancing down at Leif’s side, watching with dread as the bandaging and the rest of his clothes slowly darkened with blood.
17
Tapestry of life
It was nearly nightfall, and there was no sign of Felix or Luella. Garren had asked around the village, but nobody had seen them. He told her not to worry; they would turn up. They could take care of themselves. Isolde knew that, but the knots in her stomach did not. She wanted to see Felix, to apologize. To make sure nothing was irreparably broken between them.
She paced the cabin, stepping outside to look around every few minutes. When the sky was almost completely dark, she heard voices. Isolde threw open the door and barged out to find Felix, covered in blood, half-dragging an injured Leif along.
“Felix! Are you hurt? Where have you been?” she stammered, rushing to his side. “What happened? Where’s Luella?”
“Long story,” Felix said grimly. “Luella is looking for the elder.”
Together they carried Leif inside and laid him down. Felix checked the bandage, his face tight and pale.
“Felix,” Garren said. “Tell us what happened.”
Felix sank down heavily on a bench, resting his head in his hands.
“We went out into the forest to hunt,” Felix said, his voice muffled against his palms. “Luella spotted a group of mercenaries heading for the village. We were behind them. We were too far to warn you in time, so we ambushed them. Leif got hurt. We took out a few and drove off the rest. Their leader is injured, but still alive.”
“How many were there?” Garren asked.
“Eight.”
