Read Online Red Sky at Dawn by D. A. Adams - Free Book Online

had almost as much battlefield experience as he did, but most of it was as a member of an elite squad of archers that would strike a target and then disappear into the wilderness. She had not led many troops before. Leinjar had led scores of Tredjards into battle, but his years of isolation in the leisure slave cage had eroded those skills. Crushaw’s biggest fear was that, without him there to guide it, the army would fall into chaos.
    “We are held by a thin bond,” he said, staring at them with an intensity that made each uncomfortable. “Take the gold we’ve captured and pay them equal amounts. That should keep them loyal until the battle.”
    “Loyalty isn’t an issue,” Leinjar said, scratching his thick beard.
    “I’ve led many battles, and a little gold in a soldier’s pocket goes a long way.”
    “I agree,” Molgheon said. “We’ll start during supper.”
    “When you give them orders, be respectful but firm. If any get lazy, remind them of the orc’s lash. That’s why we really march.”
    “That should do it,” Leinjar agreed, his eyes glossing deep in memory.
    “The oaths they swore are feeble, at best.”
    “Red,” Molgheon said, pointing her thumb in the direction of the camp. “They’ll follow us because we follow you. Stop worrying. It ain’t you.”
    “There’s a lot that has to go right for us to survive this fight. I’ll stop worrying when we cross the Pass of Hard Hope.”
    ***
    Suvene scanned the guards and saw that all of them were enthralled by the drills. The runaway and the ogre were each putting on quite a show, and if he had not been so intent on escaping, he too might have watched them. A dozen slaves encircled the runaway, and at random two at a time would charge him from different directions, a game that reminded Suvene of one he had played as a boy. Without any wasted effort, the runaway would parry their blows and disarm them, which by the apparent rules of the game sent them back to the ring. The little bit that Suvene did watch impressed him. For a rock-brain, the runaway was skilled with a sword, and Suvene wished for an opportunity to draw blades against it.
    The ogre, meanwhile, had another group trying to get her off her feet. She was obviously trying to teach them about leverage, and in her drill the entire dozen would charge her at once. As they would pry at her legs and arms to pull her down, she would squat lower and lower to show them how a solid center of gravity could overcome their force. Suvene was more than a little scared of the ogre and her immense size and strength. As much as he wanted to strike down the phantom, he wanted to avoid her at least that much and probably more.
    But he was not concerned with watching those two dazzle the dim-witted slaves. His only care was reaching the army before the fugitives could slip by the Pass of Hard Hope, so as the drills kept the attention away from the slaves, he began loosening himself from the leather strap. As he had practiced so many times over the last few days, he shed the binding in less than thirty heartbeats and then, without anyone noticing, stepped from the wagon into a thick grove of scrub pines.
    The needles scratched and tore at his skin as he moved through the brush, but he was so focused on putting distance between himself and the camp that he barely noticed. Within a couple hundred yards the grove ended and open, rolling grassland opened before him. He would be completely uncovered for nearly two miles, and if his luck didn’t hold, even a mediocre archer would be able to hit him. Still, he had no other choice. This was his best and last opportunity to warn them. Taking a deep breath, he broke into a full run across the field.
    ***
    Molgheon saw movement behind Crushaw and lost his words as she focused on what she saw. One of the prisoners had gotten away from the camp and was running for the east. Calmly, she took her bow from her shoulder and notched an arrow. Then, aiming to account for