The attacker attempted to use his sword, but Eskkar rolled away with two quick turns, regained his footing, and made sure the wall protected his back. On his left, he heard Grond shouting for the guards. Not that Eskkar had time to worry about Grond. Eskkar saw two shadows advancing toward him, but at least he had time to draw his sword. He used the motion to move back to his right, closing in with the closest of his attackers, the blade slashing at the man nearest the wall. Bronze clashed on bronze, and Eskkar felt something burn against his left arm. Again he used his body, moving forward, lowering his shoulder and thrusting himself into the man before he could recover and swing again.
As Eskkar rebounded from his assailant, he flung himself back into the first attacker, again ducking under another cut, and pinning the man to the wall for an instant with his body.
The second man proved quick in his reactions. A hand struck Eskkar in the face, a thumb nearly in his eye, and Eskkar was pushed back before he could thrust with his own blade. He dropped to his knees, swinging his sword as he did so. The attacker grunted as Eskkar’s blade struck the man across the leg, but the tip of the sword struck the wall, weakening the blow.
Still, it did enough damage to allow Eskkar to dart away, this time back toward Grond.
The shouting and clash of swords in the square had raised the alarm, and even in the confusion, Eskkar heard men stumbling about inside the house behind him. He half expected the assailants to flee, but these two men were determined, and they again pressed the attack. From the darkness, Lani threw herself in front of one of them, tripping him up. That one cursed as he stumbled and fell, though Lani’s cry mixed with the assassin’s oaths.
The other man kept coming, and Eskkar swung his sword at the assailant’s head. The man parried the blade, but Eskkar took control now, his feet firmly planted as he disengaged his blade, rolling it around his opponent’s weapon with a motion trained in hundreds of hours of practice, and thrust hard, brushing aside the parry and sinking the blade deep into the man’s chest.
He didn’t dare risk a moment to withdraw it, just ducked immediately to his right, half expecting another blow from the other man, but Grond arrived now. He had no weapon in his hand, but he caught the second man from behind, his arm around the man’s neck. Grond twisted him against his hip and flipped the man over. The sound of the man’s neck breaking carried over the rising din in the square.
Eskkar wrenched his sword free and looked up, as a tiny bit more light filtered into the square from the main house as the door flung open.
Another assailant stood there, backing away from the opening as men stumbled out, swords in their hands. The man looked toward his fallen companions, then turned and raced away, but Sisuthros and two men burst from the house and pursued him.
The assassin ran for his life, dropping his sword and taking to his heels.
With a burst of speed, he darted down one of the lanes. But a doorway opened ahead of him and a woman stepped out to see about all the commotion. They collided, both crashing to the ground. The man got up in a moment, but Sisuthros had closed the gap and flung his sword at the running man’s back. The blade landed nearly true, and the blow, while not deep enough to be mortal, made the runner cry out and stumble. Drakis and another man dashed past Sisuthros and even across the square, Eskkar heard the sound of the blade as it crunched into the man’s shoulder. A scream rent the air, cut short by another blow, and then it was over.
Eskkar stood in the same spot, breathing heavily, his back to the wall, the great sword held out in front of him. He heard Lani crying on the ground, and remembered that she had managed to trip one of his attackers. Grond moved toward him, gathering up Lani as he came to Eskkar’s side, then pushed her roughly behind them. He’d picked up the fallen man’s sword, and the two of them stood in front of Lani, swords glinting in the starlight as the blades weaved back and forth in the empty space before them.
Another soldier came out of the house, a newly lit torch in his hand, its flame reaching full illumination as he raised it above his head. In the flickering light Eskkar could see the bodies of three men. He saw Tippu huddled against the next house, her hands up over her head. More of Eskkar’s soldiers rushed into the square, those who had not gone to the local taverns and alehouses rushing out of the nearby houses where they were quartered, swords or knives in their hands.
In a moment a line of men stood in front of Eskkar, and he allowed himself to relax a little. He turned and found Lani slumped to the ground, her back against the wall. He reached down and picked her up with one hand, then pulled her along the wall until they reached the house’s entrance.
She stumbled and would have fallen if he hadn’t clasped her around the waist. Inside, he saw blood oozing from her forehead and cheek. Someone lit another lamp inside the house, and it gave him enough light to see. He pushed her hair aside to examine her injury. Eskkar found a welt and a bloody scratch, but no wound, so he carried her into the bedroom. Someone brought Tippu inside, and she rushed to join her sister.
“Take care of her, Tippu. Close the door!”
When Eskkar went back outside, Sisuthros rushed up to him. His subcommander had recovered his sword, and Eskkar saw blood still on it. Drakis, a few steps behind him, dragged the body of the assassin who had nearly escaped. Eskkar remembered that Drakis had been the first one out of the house at the sound of the attack; he hadn’t bothered with any clothes.
More torches flamed up, and Hamati arrived at a run from the local alehouse with another dozen men. Sisuthros shouted an order, and the trumpet rang out, its notes summoning every soldier to the house. Lamps and candles started to burn in all the houses around the square, adding their light to that of the flickering torches.
Soldiers dragged the four bodies from where they had fallen and lined them up next to the table Eskkar had fl ipped over. Another body lay near the doorway, that of the guard stationed at the door to the house; he’d attempted to reach Eskkar, but had been struck down from behind by the fourth assassin.
Eskkar grabbed the arm of a soldier bearing a torch, and ordered him to hold the light over the bodies. Eskkar studied each face closely, as did Grond and Sisuthros, but they recognized none of them. The torchlight showed that all the dead men looked hard and fit. They certainly had not backed off in their attempt to kill him, even after their initial attempt had failed.
“Sisuthros, get men out on horseback. They must have had horses hidden somewhere. Find them. Use torches to check for fresh tracks around the village. And secure every horse in Bisitun. I don’t want anyone getting away. If any have left the village, ride them down at first light, if you have to kill every horse.”
“I’ll do it,” Hamati said. He issued orders to his men, and they all raced off toward the stable.
Eskkar nodded and turned back to Sisuthros. “Have the rest of the men take a look at the bodies, see if anyone recognizes them. First thing in the morning, get every innkeeper… shopkeeper… no, get everyone in the village to look at these bodies. Somebody must know who they are, or where they stayed.”
“Yes, Captain.” He hurried off, giving orders to waken every member of the village council. The sound of hoofbeats rang out, and a single rider came back into the square, shouting for torches. He took two in his hand, struggling to keep control of the nervous horse spooked by the crackling and flickering torches. But the man retained his seat, and in a moment the horse steadied, and they galloped off down the lane.
“Grond, have a guard stationed behind the house tonight. And search inside, to make sure no one’s hiding with the women.”