Page 88 of The Huntsman's Heart
“The hot oil!” I call to the men already on the battlements. “Light the fires. Hunters, I want them harried with arrows until the oil is hot.” I look to the western side of the wall where the enormous tree giant lumbers from the woods. “Wilhelm. Take two hunters and go out to the western tower. Hold that giant off until I can send reinforcements.”
Wilhelm’s face is grim, but he makes no protest. He, Tomas, and Viktor descend and hurry to their horses.
I turn back to the wolves. They snarl and snap at the arrows which fly down from above them, but it doesn’t stop them digging. Already the ground below the gate is torn up, the ditch is growing. I pray to all the gods we can heat the oil in time.
The fires are burning. We are doing all we can.
Frustrated with the slow speed of the heating oil, I climb down to the storeroom looking for ideas. All I find is three enormous slabs of stone destined to form repairs to sections of the wall where the stone is worn. They’ll have to do.
The stone is fucking heavy. It strains every muscle in my body to lift, but I can’t spare a man from the wall. I stagger up the steps, and when the others spot me, they move aside from the battlements. Two men rush to help, and together we heft the stone up and over the edge. Aiming is difficult. I cannot see around the sides or over the top. I close my eyes, push, and hope, relieved when I hear a whine from below a moment later.
Leaning over the wall, I see the stone hit one of the wolves, crushing its leg. It howls and bites at the crushed leg, but it can’t move.
I don’t wait to watch more. The second stone is even larger. I almost drop it as I heave it up the steps. At the top, four guards take the weight and fling it over. There’s a satisfying thump, but when I look, we have missed the wolves. They’re wary now. Looking up at us, snarling and growling. We may have lost that advantage.
I look up at a shout from above. “More coming this way!” Raban circles around the tower, clawed feet tucked up under him.
I curse. “What is it?”
“I cannot tell through the trees. I’ll get closer.”
“No!” Before he can fly off, I call him back. “Do not risk it.”
He laughs, placing a hand over his heart. “I think you’re flirting with me.”
I can’t stop the growl that erupts from me, conscious of the eyes of the others on me. “I think we are a bit beyond that, do you not? Just stay safe.”
He grins, gives me a dramatic salute, and twists in the air to fly back over the wall to the east. I watch him as long as I dare before I’m forced to turn my eyes back to the chaos in front of us. The oil is finally hot enough, which is good because the wolves have dug quite a trench. The huge metal vats can only be tipped without aiming. The trick is to get the enemy in the right position. In the end we toss meat down and hurry to tip the huge vats over. We catch one wolf right in the face. He howls until the sound is choked off with a horrid bubbling sound.
The second wolf escapes before the oil hits him. I’m debating whether we can afford to send a party out to finish off the injured wolf, when the wyrm appears from the trees. It rears up, flaring its scaly hood and hissing fiercely. The remaining dire wolf turns with a snarl.
While they fight, I seize the opportunity.
The guards raise the gate as quickly as they can, and I duck underneath while the monsters are distracted. They both turn toward me soon enough, and I’m forced to dodge an attack from the wolf while keeping my eyes on the snake.
They’re wary of each other, which I use to my advantage. When the wolf gets too close, the wyrm darts in with a lunge that narrowly misses its thick neck. A shame. Wyrm venom would be strong enough to take down even a dire wolf.
A well placed blow to the shoulder of the wolf is enough to finish it off, but while my sword is still stuck in its flesh, I hear a hiss from behind.
I jump out of the way, but in so doing I relinquish my weapon.
With a curse, I dodge the lunges of the huge serpent, trying to find a way back to retrieve my sword. The creature sees my aimand heads me off, curling its long tail around the body of my monstrous victim.
I’m beginning to think I’ll have to strangle the thing with my bare hands when Raban swoops into view, making straight for the serpent. I want to shout to him not to get too near its face. I can picture those enormous teeth sinking into his pretty flesh. I don’t want to alert it to his presence.
He’s too fast anyway, diving in and slashing with his claws at the creature’s eyes. I don’t wait to watch the outcome. My stomach lurches in my belly as I make a grab for my sword. If he’s hurt, the princess will be devastated. I tell myself that’s the only reason I’m so scared.
I yank the sword from the wolf and turn the motion into a swipe—just in time.
My blade slashes right across the neck of the beast as it turns in an attempt to catch Raban. He darts out of the way and the creature gasps. Its jaws open wide. A spurt of acidic black blood makes me duck.
Then it falls to the ground with a thump.
Raban alights beside me.
“Did you have to get quite so close to those fangs?”
He doesn’t get a chance to answer me, because at that moment, the bodies lying at our feet begin to stir. I know they’re dead. I’ve never seen a wyrm survive a blow to the neck like that, and the dire wolf’s heart is right below its shoulders.
