CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

“Damn fuck these ugly bastards!” Calium yelled, as he sliced the arm off yet another red demon. “Fuck you back to hell, you fucking son of a bitch!”

Nalyx, for his part, said nothing, too busy simply trying to breathe as he fought the demons back. Sure enough, with scant minutes to go, a great rush of them had swarmed the gate, and the army of warriors had pressed forward, doing everything in their power to block their path.

Over to the right, a hellhound broke through, rushing off into the forest, and a group of soldiers on the right flank gave chase.

A black dragon-like creature charged through the gate, taking to the air a moment later on great, bat-like wings. But at the rear of the battlefield, there were a dozen ballistas set up. Three rattling thunks filled the air, as three of them fired at the creature. Two of the long, steel bolts hit home, and the giant lizard fell to the ground with a scream, cut short as it hit the rocks below.

“Two minutes!” a deep voice bellowed. Two more fucking minutes until the gate closed, and by the gods, it couldn’t come soon enough.

“Hold your ground!” the Captain of the Guard yelled, and over to the left, Nalyx saw that a cluster of big, black demons were working together to punch a hole in their defences. He rushed over, vaulting over the dead body of a purple demon to plunge his sword into the side of one of them. The beast swung back at him, and he ducked, feeling the surge of air as its greatsword missed his head by scant millimetres. Had it been two minutes yet? When was the damned gate going to close?

But then another cry got Nalyx’s attention, at the same time as making his gut lurch.

“UNICORN!”

Nalyx muttered every curse word he knew as he saw the dreaded beast that had just charged through the gate. Fucking hell, he hated unicorns. They were the same size as a horse, but stronger, and as per the usual standard of the demon world, this one was on fire. Its mane, its body, its legs, even its fucking horn were all blazing with a fierce heat, and he ran to intercept it as it charged past him. He swiped his sword at its legs, hoping to hobble it and slow it down, but the damn thing just leapt clean over him. It knocked two soldiers over, one of them screaming as his face caught a blast of the flames. Three more warriors tried to stop it, but it charged straight through them, making for the forest, some two hundred metres away.

“After it!” the captain bellowed, unable to help as he himself was pinned down by two more black demons. Nalyx took off after the unicorn, then heard hurried footsteps behind him. Hallix and Henrick, the twins, were coming as well, and Nalyx cursed. The pair of them were two of the fiercest warriors in the army, likely to just shove him out the way and take all the glory for themselves.

But in this instance, Nalyx might just have an advantage. The twins were tall and strong, but not quick enough to be chasing a unicorn, so he ignored them for the moment, concentrating on getting his legs to move and his lungs to keep sucking air.

“Which way did it go?” he heard Henrick ask from behind him.

“Just follow the trail of fire,” Hallix said, his heavy boots thumping over the ground. Sure enough, the undergrowth was smouldering a short distance away, and Nalyx sprinted into the forest, hoping he could catch up to the unicorn in time. Even if it didn’t make it as far as the city, it could start a major forest fire, and with cottages and homesteads littered throughout the forest, that could be even worse.

Thankfully, the unicorn was creating an easy trail to follow – not just because of the smoking line of singed bushes, but also because it was trampling a path through the undergrowth. Nalyx followed the trail, his progress made much quicker without having to fight his way through bushes and low slung branches. And sure enough, some three or four minutes later, he spotted the creature. He skidded to a halt, ducking behind a large tree to keep out of sight. The unicorn had stopped by a small stream, stomping its feet in the water. It lowered its head, splashing water over its face, and Nalyx saw the flames over its head go out for a moment. But after only a second or two, the fire licked up over its head again, and the unicorn snorted, almost like it was annoyed with the development.

Well, fuck the damn thing. The gate would be shut by now, and Nalyx was annoyed by the fact that he was spending extra time hunting the beast down, instead of celebrating the relief that came with the closing of the mystical gate.

But then he reconsidered… Killing a unicorn would almost certainly earn him the recognition he’d been craving for years. There were always bigger prizes for anyone who took down the larger beasts – the black dragons notwithstanding. The ballistas routinely took out three or four of them each cycle, and while everyone admired the skill and aim of the operators, it had become rather old hat now.

But last cycle, Renfold had killed a troll – a great big beast that had stood over nine feet tall – and the celebrations in the city had gone on for over a week. Anyone would have thought he’d managed to seal the gate for good, given the way the townsfolk had carried on. Captain Leefe had been just as bad, setting aside the best food for Renfold, upgrading his room in the barracks to a bigger one, and making a speech in the town square thanking him for his service. And he’d had no fewer than four of the serving women offer to marry him – not that he’d taken any of them up on the offer.

It wasn’t the gifts and food that had Nalyx champing at the bit to kill the creature this time around, and it certainly wasn’t the women. The last thing he needed at the moment was a wife. But he’d always been a very middle-of-the-road soldier, as far as the captain was concerned, and if he managed to take down a unicorn singlehandedly, he’d prove once and for all that he was far from the mediocre nobody the man seemed to think he was.

Moving slowly and cautiously, he crept around to the right, keeping in the shadows of the bushes. The unicorn wasn’t paying him any mind, pawing at the water again, and he slid behind an outcrop of rock, placing his feet carefully so as to avoid making a single sound. Closer… closer… just a few more metres now…

Suddenly, as if alerted by some sixth sense, the unicorn spun around, eyes wide as it saw him approaching. It reared up, hooves beating the air, and Nalyx dashed forward, expertly avoiding those lethal weapons. He stabbed upwards, landing his sword in the beast’s chest. It screamed and lurched towards him, but Nalyx was quicker. He ducked to the side, yanking his sword back, then swung again…

But at the last second, as he aimed the tip of his sword at the creature’s throat, it swung its head. It thrust its long, pointed horn at him, and in doing so, charged directly into the point of his sword… but at the same time, plunged the flaming horn into Nalyx’s right shoulder. He screamed, the flames causing as much pain as the horn. He dropped his sword, grabbing futilely at the horn, trying to rip it out of his flesh. He felt his hands burn, like he’d just grabbed a red hot poker, and stumbled backwards, thankfully freeing himself from the horn in the process. His heel caught on a rock and he fell backwards, and for an endless moment, the unicorn loomed above him, huge and menacing…

“Get back, you motherfucker!” Hallix came thundering out of the undergrowth, bellowing as he lashed at the unicorn with his sword. “You fucking well want a piece of me? I’ll give you a fucking piece of me!” He slashed left, then right, then as the unicorn reared up again, Hallix thrust his sword upwards, straight into the beast’s chest, right through to its heart.

The unicorn’s hooves hit the ground… and then its front legs stumbled. Hallix was there, slashing a gaping wound into its neck, blue blood spraying the earth. Then, with a wailing groan, the unicorn toppled over sideways, landing with a great splash as it tumbled directly into the creek. Hallix waited a moment, tense and alert, ready to kill it all over again.

But it was clear the beast was dead. Hallix dropped his sword and rushed to Nalyx’s side. “Oh, sweet gods, you’ve done it this time.” He yanked Nalyx into a sitting position, ignoring his groan of pain, then pulled out a knife and sliced through the straps on his armour. The horn had gone in just at the point where the tough metal plate ended, and Hallix yanked the breastplate off, peering at the wound underneath. “What a bloody… wait a sec… oh!” He let out a chuckle, more nerves than real amusement. “The heat must have cauterised the wound. There’s not much blood.” But then his face fell. “I dare say you’re going to be feeling that for days, though. Hey! Henrick!” he yelled, waving to his brother, who was just now making his way through the undergrowth. “Come and help me over here!” He peered at the wound again, then grinned, relief catching up with him in a hurry. “Damn, Nalyx, you are one lucky son of a bitch. Henrick, help me get him up.” He winked at Nalyx. “If you can manage to hold on for a piggyback ride, I’ll carry you back to camp.”