Lord Uriah shook his head. Raising his voice, he addressed the entire company. “All grooms and runners will board their master’s chariot. We will move to the beach at a trot.”
Herrek muttered, as did several other proud warriors.
“Sungara will ride with you,” Lord Uriah told the champion.
“No, no,” Sungara said uneasily. “Danger is near. I trust my own feet now.”
“Nonsense. We’ll outrace you and leave you behind.”
“Sungara not think so, Lord Uriah.”
“Let’s not argue over it,” Adah said. “We’ve already stopped too long.”
Lord Uriah agreed, and the command was given. The squadron moved at a fast trot. At their heels followed the dogs.
“Something feels wrong,” Gens said.
Herrek adjusted the grip on his shield.
“Remember the sabertooth who ambushed us at the black thorns?” Gens asked. “This has that kind of feel.”
Both Herrek and Joash looked back. Armor flashed, bright and ominous, and somehow seeming closer than before.
The stocky Huri, who ran easily and swiftly, grinned at Joash. It was an odd sight. The Huri seemed too massive to run for long, but he paced easily alongside the hounds.
“Do you think we’re being herded?” Herrek asked Gens.
Gens nervously chewed his mustache.
Lord Uriah slowed the rapid pace. Maybe he, too, was suspicious.
Suddenly, Shemul shouted, “Giants!”
“What?” Lord Uriah shouted back at him.
“I see the giants now, lord, not just flashes of light.”
Charioteers craned their heads east. The westering sun threw up odd shadows. The waving grasses seemed longer than before, and the stones and boulders taller and grimmer. In time, night would shroud everything in darkness. Even so, the armor-flashing giants were visible to all.
“The giant’s are running!” Shemul shouted.
“How far can a giant run in heavy armor?” Herrek shouted to Lord Uriah. “Let us stop and deploy, and attack them when they’re weary.”
Many charioteers roared agreement.
Adah, who rode with Lord Uriah, studied the giants. Her lips were thin. She whispered into Lord Uriah’s ear. He increased the pace.
It wasn’t long before Shemul roared, “The giants move quickly, Lord. Almost as fast as horses.”
“Impossible!” shouted shaggy-bearded Karim.
Many turned pale with fear. For now, many of them could see the giants, Joash among them. The tall, armored giants sprinted. They covered the ground in huge bounds, weapons and shields in their hands. As warriors, those in the company knew that to run far in armor was extremely wearying. These giants didn’t seem to grow weary.
The chariot squadron fled down a long incline of grass. Wheels clattered over shadowed rocks. Runners yelled and hung on with a white-gripped intensity. Seven tall giants sprinted after them, although the giants were still too far off for anyone to see their features. The speed at which the giants ran was unnatural.
“Magic is at work,” Sungara said. He no longer grinned but ran with determination.
Joash knew that Sungara was right. No one should be able to sprint so hard for so long, not armored in heavy mail and bearing shields.
Lord Uriah roared a sharp command. His team broke into a gallop. The others followed close behind. Many charioteers looked back. The giants didn’t diminish, but seemed incredibly to keep pace with them.
“At least they can’t outrun us,” Gens hissed.
“We should turn and face them,” Herrek said.
“Against seven giants?” Joash asked, before he could keep his thoughts to himself.
“Better that, than be driven like cattle!” Herrek snarled.
Joash saw that Sungara had dropped behind. The Huri could pace trotting horses, but not galloping ones. The Huri must have recognized his plight, for he veered and raced away from both chariots and giants. Joash wondered if he’d ever see Sungara again.
“The sea!” roared the foremost driver.
Herrek’s chariot topped the slight crest. Joash felt his stomach lurch at the sudden upward shift. Then they rattled toward the vast Suttung Sea. They shifted to the left and raced through a field of waist-high flowers. The flowers had already closed their petals, as if averting their eyes from the spectacle. To Joash’s relief he saw the two-masted Tiras and a horse-barge working their way toward the darkening shore. Surely now it would simply be a matter of racing into the surf and swimming for it. The horses were tired, but shortly the race would be over. They’d almost won.
In that instant, as the squadron rattled through the field of flowers, monstrous sabertooths arose from hiding and charged the chariots in the flanks. Surprise was complete. The dogs were in the rear of the company, and the horses had been driven too hard for them to have sensed the danger.
“The giants have herded us into ambush!” Gens screamed. Other men cried out as they drove through the gauntlet of death. Joash saw a chariot splinter under the impact of a shaggy monster. The warrior flipped backward and landed on his head. A loud snap told of a broken neck. The driver, Shemul, screamed, as heavy claws raked his face and chest. More feral sabertooths arose. Herrek, his teeth flashing as he roared his battle cry, leaned against the rail and thrust. A sabertooth tumbled head over heels. Gens barely turned the team from another snarling beast. Joash thought to feel the hot breath as the sabertooth’s jaws clicked together less than a foot from his back. Spittle landed on his neck. He clenched his teeth as he dearly held onto the vibrating railing.
In the growing twilight, the monsters seemed larger and more powerful than normal. Joash’s knees almost gave out in fright. The dogs ran into the gauntlet and helped divert the sabertooths, but fully half the squadron disappeared under the horde of savage, silky-coated beasts. Then the ragged chariot remnant broke free and raced for the beach. Behind them, the sabertooths followed, led by a frightfully ugly brute with a scar across his snout.
Joash yearned for the sea. The small waves disappeared into the horizon, and the smell of salt was strong. Seagulls soared overhead, crying out to one another as they watched the spectacle below.
Gens shouted, “Boarding a ship while in the presence of enemies is the most difficult maneuver possible.”
Herrek nodded grimly, his bloody lance ready.
The Tiras rose and fell with the wind. Bare-chested sailors worked heavy ropes. Big oars, five to a side, moved in a slow rhythm. They sluggishly propelled the Tiras toward shore. Closer in was a wide barge, armed men milling near the prow.
“Can’t the Tarshmen move any faster?” a driver wailed.
Lord Uriah led the way. He charged into the sea. Behind him the others followed. The beasts snarled with rage, hesitant. Some of them followed, despite their hatred of getting wet. They no longer bounded with savage enthusiasm, but picked their way through the water. Each time a wave washed against them, the sabertooths snarled.
Herrek shouted encouragement. “The advantage is ours. Look how only our feet are wet while the beasts’ are drenched. In our chariots we’re drier than they.” The Champion heaved javelins at the floundering sabertooths.
Others took heart, and followed his example. The sabertooths, baffled for the moment, retreated from the sea.
Elonites cheered.
“What now, Lord?” Herrek shouted.
Along with many others, Lord Uriah watched the sabertooths retreat to shore. The beasts padded up and down it, perhaps working themselves into a killing rage in order to try again. Joash turned seaward. The barge moved close to shore. Tall Elonites, with shields and spears, and small sailors with barbed darts and long knives, swarmed in readiness. Several rowboats packed with Huri had been launched from the Tiras, which stayed farther out because of its size.