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Chapter 10 - Ambush

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As the Silverborn rode uninterrupted for the duration of the next day, Skye couldn't help but feel they were being watched. 

It perched on the back of her neck as a prickling sensation that wouldn't go away. She felt constantly agitated, something that even a solid grip on her new sword's hilt couldn't fix. To counter it, she kept a constant watch over the treeline, wondering if her newfound magic would give her any forewarning of an attack while doing her best to stay on Alida's back. 

Twilight fell. The air remained silent. 

Alida seemed to know the drill. At the sound of a two-note blast from the horn, the grey mare slowed her steady canter to a walk with the rest of the Silverborn milling around her. Skye gave a lost glance at Jesse, hoping he'd have an explanation for her. He smiled and pointed at the gorgeous mare Tayne rode some metres away. 

"They're making a decision," said Jesse. "Probably about whether we're taking the usual route, or the old highway." 

It was the first Skye had heard of it. "What's the difference?"

Jesse scratched his head. "Usual route means we won't get back before the shadow cycle starts and we'll get swarmed with demons, but the old highway was closed because demons loved the area, so we'll probably get swarmed with demons there too. But it's quicker," he added. 

"I guess I'll get the chance to see how good these things are then," said Skye, tapping the pommel of her sword, shortly dropping her hand to the dagger's sheath Tayne had been reluctant to give her. 

Jesse's eyes went wide. "Uh, yea... If we do end up in a fight, Tayne will probably keep us two in the middle of the group." Skye raised an eyebrow at that, which led to a series of frantic hand movements on Jesse's behalf. "No, no! Not like that, just because, well..." He trailed off, gesturing to her arms and shoulders. "Well, you're not exactly in, um, an ideal condition to fight. Being a prisoner for weeks doesn't really--"

Skye cut the painful truth off before she had to hear it out loud. 

"I get it, Jesse." 

"Skye! Wait!" 

She turned Alida's head away without being entirely sure where she was heading. She just couldn't be near the words that her mind kept regurgitating into her thoughts surrounded by her degraded body. 

Prisoner. Captive. Useless, helpless, broken. 

Her hand went to her shoulder. 

Marked. 

Skye kept her head up, lest the Silverborn that glanced at her when she rode past figure out her internal turmoil. She found herself at the edge of the group, gazing out into the dense forest beyond. 

The prickling sensation evolved. 

Something wasn't right. 

Her hand flew to her ribs as imaginary claws raked along a trunk. She winced as something small and furry was crushed underfoot with little regard. She heard the sharp crack of a branch as it was knocked clean off its mother. 

"They're here," breathed Skye. 

Then, logic taking over, she twisted in Alida's saddle, looking for Tayne among the sea of silver knights. 

*+*+*+*

When Tayne heard Skye's warning, he didn't question it. He'd felt eyes on them for the last hour and wasn't surprised to hear it confirmed. 

Horn at his lips, he blew a long note followed by two short. 

The Silverborn dove into an organised frenzy as they formed up into a defensive position. They'd barely settled when leaves began to rustle and silhouettes became visible inside the treelines, the demented proportions of limbs and grunted communication confirming Tayne's worst fear--tainted were in this group.

There weren't many, only six or so, but it would be enough to ensure this wasn't an easy fight for the Silverborn. 

Even as Tayne was considering their game plan, the largest one with black horns that twisted back around his head and a hook-spiked tail stepped forward alone to scan the crowd.

The action in itself was enough to catch Tayne's attention. He nudged Wing forward with his toe, bringing her to the front of the Silverborn line. It gave him a chance to glimpse the tainted's rune on its forehead, the mark that showed the world whether they'd been forcefully turned or not. 

A stretched 'M' with a triangle implanted between the crests met his eyes, seeding anger in Tayne's thoughts. From the disgusted whispers passing between Silverborn, he knew he wasn't the only one. 

Vercton. 

Someone, who, before being turned into a monstrosity had been willing to let it happen. For whatever twisted reason, when the corruption had claimed their soul, they hadn't resisted it. They'd embraced it and maintained their former intelligence, unlike their unwilling counterparts, Crevtons. Those were distinctly more brutal than Verctons as a result of the hate they were left with upon their creation. 

The tainted gave a hiss of triumph as its eyes locked on something--more likely someone--in the crowd where Tayne knew Skye to be standing close to Wrain. 

It bared its teeth, presenting the full force of the jagged interior to Tayne, who raised his sword at its throat in return. 

"I am Neploc, third-in-command to the Hunter," it said in the gravelly voice of a tainted. "You, Silverborn, will give us the elf. We will kill you quickly if you cooperate." 

"I don't think that can be arranged," replied Tayne. No matter what, he was determined to keep Skye out of their hands. Not only because she was a Sentinel, but because the wounds she bore still made him cringe when he saw them. She's suffered enough.

Luke called out from several metres away. "Dammit, Tayne! I was looking forward to a nice, quick demise with no fighting back!" 

The demon growled, in what Tayne assumed was laughter.

"You should listen to your comrade, Silverborn." It pointed a taloned hand towards them. "It was reckless arrogance that placed you in this position, thinking you may disrupt the corruption's spread but the Master has decided it is time to end your meddling. Your pathetic attempts are becoming annoying."

"Glad to know we make an impression," said Nissa's voice. "Next time, we should announce we're coming with trumpets. Can you demons play trumpets, by any chance?" 

"Your bravado will not last long when my claws taste your flesh, half-blood," said the tainted. His gaze switched back to Tayne. "Give me the girl."

Tayne held its black depths of eyes. "Never."

The tainted's face twisted into what looked like a smile. 

"I was hoping that would be your answer." 

The Vercton threw back its head and released a bizarre noise somewhere between a roar and a gurgle. The sound vibrated inside Tayne's skull, imparing his vision to the point where he almost missed the blindingly fast swipe as the tainted brought its demon-blood coated talons down. 

Wing saved him, rearing and backing away. It gave him a second to pull the shield off his back and mutter a quick prayer to the Celestial while the area around him exploded into chaos. 

The other demons surged forward from the treeline, their answering calls wreaking havoc on the air around them as they swarmed out of the forest and laid siege to the Silverborn's circle that was already breaking under the presence of the other five tainted. Somewhere in the middle, he caught a glimpse of Jesse's blonde hair throwing glinting armour at Skye. 

Tayne didn't have time to watch them any longer. He threw himself off Wing's back, knowing that she'd just make an easy target for the tainted to maim and use against him, ducked under an awkwardly angled head ram, and charged. 

He avoided another narrow blow, managing to deflect part of it with his sword while his mind worked on a solution. A longer fight would favour the tainted even more than the shorter one did, which meant he needed to end it before he grew tired or the demon scored a lucky shot. 

Three places. There were three weak points on a tainted.  Behind the knee, at the base of the skull and between the shoulderblades. All were painfully protected by the interlocked plate scales, spines, horns, and the other billion natural defenses that came with being a demon, but Tayne only had to get a clean hit on one to end this. 

He blocked a forearm strike from the Vercton with his shield and instantly regretted it. It jarred his arm and left it numb. Tayne attempted a counterstrike, but it came off weak and barely glanced off the demon's protected torso. He rolled to avoid the next one, allowing himself a moment to see if help was coming. When he saw Luke up to his knees, dispatching a group of scattering imps before moving on to cover another Silverborn, he knew he was on his own. 

It went on for another few minutes. Tayne would dodge and make half-hearted attempts to land a hit, and the Vercton would reply with ferocious slashes from its tail, limbs and head that nearly decapitated Tayne. 

"You fight well for one so weak," growled the Vercton, pausing for a moment to consider its opponent. 

Tayne used the chance to study his options, running though a list of possibilities and recounting any and all stories Wrain had told them or from the texts he'd read. 

An idea hit Tayne. A crazy, wild idea that would probably get him killed but he could see no other way to end this duel that didn't have him skewered on a claw. 

The next time the demon struck, Tayne used its momentum against it. He left the shield hanging off his arm and gripped his sword with both hands, slamming the blade down on the Vercton's forearm and shoving it into the ground. Its head came down, which Tayne promptly bashed the edge of his shield against before climbing onto its shoulder and grasping its horns with one hand. 

The Vercton roared. It bucked and it kicked, it tried to manoeuvre its limbs to knock Tayne off its back but he clung for all he was worth. No matter what the demon did, he held tight in the seconds that followed before thrusting the sword straight down into the soft spot near the base of the demon's skull. 

It collapsed without a sound. 

"Rodeo isn't until next week, Tayne!" someone, probably Luke, called out from behind him. 

Tayne retrieved his sword and stepped off the corpse, ready for the next demon but it was for naught. The demons that remained, mainly imp fodder and one tainted retreated into the forest and the Silverborn knew better than to follow. A quick scan of the ground showed no still, silver bodies, and Tayne allowed himself a tentative breath of relief. 

Wrain moved to the centre, having returned to Storm's saddle. "Report!" 

Several replies came, shouts of 'all clear' and 'we survived no thanks to Luke' echoing around the clearing. They hadn't escaped unharmed, Tayne could spot several injuries among his knights even from a brief glance, but they'd been lucky to--"

"Over here! Help!" 

The faint cry rose over the other Silverborn. Tayne turned to find Verdrana staggering towards them, burdened under the weight of another silver clad figure draped on her shoulder. 

Tayne's heart sank. The figure was deadweight. 

Silverborn moved to help her, but no one missed how their shoulders sagged, even as they took an arm or supported the back. 

It wasn't often the Silverborn lost one of their own. Tainted posed a problem, but they had strategies to deal with them fighting in a group. Had they not been caught so off guard at the end of patrol, they would have...

Tayne caught himself, not about to lose himself in the sea of 'what ifs'. 

"Who is it?" he asked softly. 

Verdrana's voice cracked under the weight of barely suppressed tears. 

"Nathaniel," she said, drawing in a shaky breath. "He was fighting a tainted, I was helping to watch his back because the imps kept flanking him and...I don't know what happened, Tayne. One minute he was there, the next his sword was on the ground and he was clutching his side, then..."

She mimed a tainted's kill-slash across the throat. 

The knights that'd taken Nathaniel's body from her laid it on the ground. The front of the dead Silverborn's armour was stained dark and split open at the side. His throat was gone, a look of final agony moulded onto his face. Without a doubt, the tainted had laced its claws in blood to ensure a painful end to any that met it. 

Tayne saw the haunted look in Verdrana's eyes and placed both his hands on her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. 

"This is not your fault, Ana," he said. "Look at me." Verdrana lifted her eyes, barely meeting his directly. "It is not your fault. What happened to the tainted?" 

"I killed it," she said. "It was too busy with Nat, so I killed it." A look of clarity crossed her face. "I think Nate Whispered his sword before he dropped it. I remember feeling like I needed to pick it up, not that...that's really important now, is it?" 

Tayne glanced at Nissa, who stood off to the side and gave her a quick nod. "We'll find it and see what it says."

Verdrana stepped away, hugging her arms close around her stomach as she found comfort from Luke, who pulled her to his side with a gentle tug. Tayne watched them, unable to deny that he'd put them in this situation when he diverted them to Darni. While he didn't regret it--he'd do it again in a heartbeat--he needed to accept the consequences his decision had cost them. 

In the crowd, he saw the Advisor lurk around the corners, face sneering as usual. 

"Silverborn," said Tayne. "I have nothing to say to you that you aren't already thinking. Nathaniel was our brother, and the corruption has taken him from us." 

More than one Silverborn closed their eyes as they learned the name of their fallen, but Tayne pressed on.

"The shadow cycle approaches quickly, and on our usual route, we won't make it back before it hits. Like they have tonight, the demons will strike without mercy or reason under orders from their Master to retrieve the one we stole from him, if he does not come himself. 

The only option we have is the old highway, and I don't think I need to tell you what that means. We'll be fighting every step of the way, but we will make it to Alguarde. More of us may die, but we will have secured a blow far greater than anything we've done thus far against the corruption: we will have taken a Sentinel from right under his nose."  

Tayne raised his sword. The Silverborn followed the gesture, pointing silvered blades towards the stars. 

"We will not let Nathaniels death be in vain. Celestial, guide him." 

"Celestial, guide him," murmured the Silverborn. 

"All very pretty, I'm sure," said the Advisor. "But why can't we just give the damned demons what they want!" He pointed an accusing finger at Skye, still flanked by Wrain. "Why is she more important than any of us? Why is she more important than me?" Panic cut away at the sanity in his voice. There was no trace of the smug smile. "Give her back! Let them have her, what do I care! We'll be inside Alguarde where I'm never leaving again!" 

Luke was throwing insults before the Advisor finished. 

"You cowardly, blighted, greed-driven bastard! You hid under the deities be damned tent the entire battle while we risked our necks to protect you? Did you think they'd spare you if you tied them up with loopholes for a week? Because that's something I'd sure as hell pay to see you try!" 

He wasn't the only one to respond with anger.

Verdrana's blank look was gone as she took three, brisk steps to stand in front of the Advisor and stare him down. Though he was taller than her, he shrank under her glare. 

"Her life is worth more than yours will ever be. Do you understand me, Donovan?" 

Donovan opened his mouth to speak, and Verdrana promptly closed it with her fist. 

Not one person moved to help the Advisor as he fell over. Verdrana gave him a final, disgusted look before marching off to where Jesse stood with Skye, desperately attempting distraction. 

The Advisor held his face and made one final plea to Tayne. 

"Tayne, please!" He crawled closer. "You have to understand--she's nothing to us! She's an elf, she's already corrupted! The demons will hunt us down to get her back, and how long until she decides she's one of them?"

Tayne spat on the ground. "At least she can claim she shares no blood with you. The rest of us have to share a race with you, at least." He pulled himself into Wing's saddle with one hand. "The demons won't stop hunting us now, even if we give her back. They sense an opportunity and they're going to take it. I just hope that if the Master comes, he finds you snivelling under a bush." 

Donovan seemed to regain some amount of composure, trying to scrape his dignity off the ground. 

"I will be reporting this defiance to the King, Silverborn," he said with a sniff.

Tayne gave him an unfriendly smile. 

"I dare you to."

*+*+*+*