Castimir cantered away, distancing himself from the screaming man. He had to finish it now, for his enemy would not stop. Coldly, the wizard once more ignited the runes in his hand with the tip of his staff. He gazed toward the flailing man calmly, making sure he could deliver a clean end. Then he hurled his second fire strike, straight into his enemy’s exposed face.
The force of the blow bent metal already softened by heat, tearing flesh and cracking bone. The Kinshra officer fell backward without a cry.
Castimir gazed at the body, feeling neither triumph nor shame. Then he rode toward Theodore, who was slowly staggering to his feet.
“Kara! I must find Kara,” the squire gasped.
“Then you must follow me, Theo” the wizard replied. “But Kara might not listen to anything you have to say, for she is enraged, cutting unarmed men down before her.”
“What I must say to her will curb her anger” Theodore said through teeth gritted against the pain. “Come, lead me to her.”
To Kara, it seemed as if this moment was everything she had lived for. Her life had been ruined by the Kinshra and she had vowed to destroy them. It was simple justice. As she exacted her terrible revenge, she imagined she could smell the burning smoke of her village and hear the cries of her neighbours.
She never hesitated, sundering their blades as if the Kinshra fought with mere toys. She tripped an enemy onto his back and dispatched him with a swift stab of her blade.
She had just beheaded a dying man, her eyes already looking to her next enemy, when a familiar voice carried through the red haze. Theodore.
“Kara! Enough of this” he said. “Our victory is complete. But a friend has fallen. Even now, in his last moments, he wishes to speak with you.”
Kara noticed how pale Theodore looked, and she knew instinctively that he had been injured. The squire saw her concern and waved his hand dismissively.
“It is Bhuler,” he explained. “I shall take you to him.”
Commander Blenheim looked to her in concern. It was she who had commanded them so far, inspiring them in a way he could never have done.
“Continue the fight, commander,” she instructed. “Push the Kinshra into the wall and crush them!” Then she climbed up behind Theodore, placing her arms loosely about his waist. Despite her delicacy, the squire grimaced from the pain of his injuries.
Gar’rth and Doric followed also, the dwarf leaping up onto Castimir’s horse while the werewolf ran behind.
“They are coming, old friend” Sir Vyvin’s words were faint and far away and Bhuler knew his end was imminent.
“Have I done ill, Sir Vyvin?” he asked with a painful sigh. “Have I condemned us all?”
“You commanded us as no other could have, my friend,” the knight said earnestly. “This is your day, a triumphant day for our order and for all who would call themselves free. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten.” Sir Vyvin held Bhuler’s hand and wept, his tears falling on his stained breastplate.
“Tell Sir Amik that I am sorry for what I have done.” the valet whispered.
But Sir Vyvin calmed him.
“Do not speak, Bhuler, Knight of Falador. Save your strength, for Kara is here.”
Kara dropped to the ground at a run, unclasping her helmet and discarding her sword and shield, the battle forgotten. She looked to Sir Vyvin first.
“It is Bhuler in Sir Amik’s armour” he explained. “The men do not yet know, although we can tell them now. You can open his visor if you wish, Kara-Meir.”
Kara did so, raising it as gently as possible. When she saw her friend’s pale face she sobbed.
“Do not cry, Kara,” Bhuler said, reaching up with one hand and wiping away her tears. “You have made us all so very proud, for you have saved us.”
“I cannot lose you too, Bhuler!” she said through gasping sobs. “Master Phyllis is gone, and if you go also I will not have anyone left.” Her face rested on his chest.
Bhuler breathed deeply.
“You are not alone, Kara. Falador owes everything to you. You have your friends-Theodore and Gar’rth, Doric and Castimir, and that crazy old alchemist…” Then his voice changed, and his eyes grew serious.
“You must promise me something, Kara.”
Kara nodded.
“You must promise to let go of your anger. You cannot be angry all your life. It will destroy you in the end. Promise me that, Kara, so I can die in peace.”
“It is not something I can promise!” She wept, for she did not want to disappoint the man who had offered her friendship when she had needed it most.
“Then you must learn to forgive. You must let go of your hate and accept your history. Promise me you will do it, Kara!”
Kara looked suddenly at the faces of her friends and she knew then what they had each seen in her on the battlefield-the hatred that had driven her to cut down any man who stood before her.
“Very well, Bhuler” she said, turning back to him. “I promise. I shall do it for your sake.”
And with her oath given, Bhuler died.
Sir Vyvin raised the broken banner and rammed it into the ground at Bhuler’s side. All about him knights and peons watched in reverence, for the fighting on the field was over and the few remaining Kinshra were fleeing.
“Here fell Bhuler, Knight of Falador, hero of the city” he said loudly enough that all could hear. “May his name be spoken with honour by all men!”
From the circle of onlookers, men beat their swords against their shields and shouted his name. But Kara hadn’t moved. Her head lay rested against the valet’s chest as if she expected him to wake.
Then from the city it came, rolling like a thunder clap. Another cry, a second name that the men and women of the city called out in celebration. It was the name of the one person who had saved them all, the name of the girl who had inspired them and who was touched by the gods.
“Kara-Meir! Kara-Meir!” the voices shouted, thousands strong.
The cry was echoed by the dwarf warriors who had followed her and by the Imperial Guard who had ridden into battle at her side. It was her name they cried, for she was the saviour of Asgarnia and they owed everything to her.
“Kara-Meir!” the cry continued, echoing across the plain.
As Kara heard it, she stood, not knowing what to do.
Theodore picked up her sword and presented it to her.
“They honour you, Kara.”
But Kara-Meir said nothing.
She climbed onto the nearest horse and raised her sword in salute, noting how the citizens from the wall responded to her with another shout.
“What are you doing, Kara?” Theodore asked nervously.
“Pass me my helmet and my shield, Theodore. I am going to find the one man who started all this bloodshed. I am going to make sure he doesn’t do it again.”
Theodore did as she asked and then clambered awkwardly atop his own mare. Castimir exchanged a worried look with the squire as Gar’rth and Doric mounted their horses behind the two friends.
“I am going after Sulla” Kara said, goading her horse to the northeast.
SEVENTY-FIVE
Despite the distance, Sulla heard the cries from the wall as the citizens of Falador taunted him with the name of the girl who had haunted his nightmares
Kara-Meir!
The shouting drew the attention of the fleeing army as it marched north. They turned their heads south with a nervousness that Sulla knew marked them as broken men.
But as he looked over his defeated army, he noticed thirty horsemen riding toward him, asking questions as they neared. Men answered with raised arms, pointing to his location.
“They are asking directions” one of his officers muttered. “What do they want, Sulla?” The man spoke without respect.
As they rode closer, Sulla saw Kara-Meir at their head. He knew exactly what they were searching for.
“They’ve come for me,” he said.