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“General Meiffert told his men that he didn’t want to stand and fight, but it looked like they were going to have
to. Cara suggested putting you and the Mother Confessor over the back of horses. She said she and a couple soldiers could run for safety while the rest of the soldiers held the horde at bay. Zedd said in a low voice that it was a bad idea. When she asked why, he said that the worst thing you could do was run from predators because it excited them to chase. He said that there were people coming in from all directions and they would run down anyone who tried to get away.”
The room was dead silent except for the soft, sputtering hiss of the candle flames. Sammie sat frozen, wide-eyed as she waited to hear what had happened next. Even Ester had stopped working. Her hand, holding a poultice, floated frozen above Kahlan.
“Then Zedd threw his hands toward the sky, sending up a flare of light,” Henrik said. “At first, as it rose high up into the air, it was only a spark, but then it exploded into a bright, sparkling fire that lit the countryside all around.”
Henrik’s eyes brimmed with tears. “In that flare of light, we could finally see the thousands and thousands coming for us. I saw not only men racing toward us, but women, too. Most of the men had no shirts and were bare-legged. I didn’t see any of them with swords or spears or shields. A lot of them had knives, though. So did the women. Our men were on horseback and had much better weapons. I would have felt better about that were we not so overwhelmingly outnumbered.
“The fire that Zedd had sent up started to die out, and it was getting harder to see all the people racing toward us. As they got even closer, he tried to send up another flare of fire to replace the one that was fading, but nothing happened. Nicci asked what was wrong. Zedd looked confused. He stammered and said that he didn’t know. So Nicci tried then, but it didn’t work for her, either.”
Henrik swallowed again and looked down for a moment. Richard put a hand on the boy’s shoulder but didn’t say anything, instead giving him the time to find his words.
Henrik cleared his throat. “When they were close enough that they would be able to hear him, the commander of the cavalry stood in his stirrups and yelled at the people running in toward us, warning them to stop, to stay back, or they would die. It didn’t do any good.
“All the people had been silent up till then, but after the general told them to stay back or they would die, they started yelling battle cries, like they were eager for such a fight. It wasn’t the battle cries of soldiers, but some kind of shrill shrieks. It sounded to me like they were evil spirits charging out from the world of the dead. Their yells all jumbled together into an eerie howl that made my hair stand on end.
“When General Meiffert saw that they weren’t going to stop, and we could see the knives raised, there was no doubt that they intended to attack us, so he ordered the cavalry to cut them down before they could get too close. About half the men raced away across the open ground while the other half shielded the wagon.
“The cavalry sliced into the leading edge of the swarm, cutting them down like scything down a wheat field at harvest. Even though it was dark, there was enough light from the moon that I could see people falling in great numbers.
“I was relieved, thinking that such powerful cavalrymen would cause the attackers to break and flee in fright. But then I saw that the enemy didn’t fear the men on horseback. Most didn’t even cry out as they were cut down. Even though the cavalry was slicing down hundreds of enemy, it seemed that for every one that fell ten more appeared out of the trees.
“Then I saw the first man unhorsed. He was a big man, fighting fiercely, cutting down attackers by the dozens as he charged through the leading edge of the enemy. Unafraid, the people paid no attention to the danger and swarmed in around him as he was attacking. He hacked them to pieces as they came. His horse trampled a number of them. But he was overwhelmed by the incredible numbers pressing in on him.
“There were so many people piling in that there was no room for all those who were trying to get at him. They swarmed in, climbing over the backs of others both living and dead, trying to be the first to get at him. People were trampled and crushed by their own kind. None of them seemed to care about the dead and dying. They only cared about getting at the man on horseback.
“Despite how the soldier and his powerful horse struggled and fought, the weight of all the people finally dragged the big animal to a stop. Even as other soldiers raced to try to help him, hacking at the enemy to get through, I saw dozens and dozens of arms flailing, stabbing at the horse until it went down.”
Henrik swallowed again, and again wiped at his eyes. “Then they all piled on the man like a pack of wolves. The thing was, they weren’t stabbing at him, like they had been stabbing at the horse.”
Sammie frowned when Henrik fell silent for a time. “What were they doing, then?”
Richard knew the answer. It had almost happened to him.
“The throng seized his arms, legs, even his hair, and from what I could see it looked like they were all ripping into him with their teeth. They were tearing into him like a pack of wolves on a lamb.”
CHAPTER
13
Sammie glanced at the bleeding bite wound on Richard’s arm. “Just like the way they were starting to use their teeth when they attacked you, Lord Rahl.”
“It would seem so,” Richard said, waiting for Henrik to gather his thoughts and go on.
Richard knew that what he was hearing from Henrik about the bizarre attack fit with what he had overheard from the two men who had attacked him. As he had been waking up, he heard them talking about the Shun-tuk eating people. He remembered all too well seeing human bones and parts of D’Haran uniforms not far from the wagon. He didn’t know how many more such remains there might have been out in the darkness. He feared to imagine.
From what Richard knew, as crazy as it sounded, the two men had thought they could somehow capture his soul by eating him. Had it not been for the people of Stroyza, they surely would have killed him in the attempt.
“I saw more of our men going down,” Henrik said, his jaw trembling. “I heard some of those men scream in pain as they were pulled from their horses and torn apart while they were still alive and struggling.”
“What about Zedd and Nicci?” Richard asked. “Weren’t they using their gift to try to stop this horde of people? I’ve seen Zedd use wizard’s fire on enemy troops. It’s devastating, even when the enemy was coming in great numbers like you describe. The two of them should have been able to do something.”
Henrik wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Zedd was trying, Lord Rahl. As the charge of all those people got closer, more of our men joined the battle to try to fight them back and keep them away from you and the Mother Confessor in the wagon. The soldiers fought fiercely but the swarm of people were all howling like demons that had escaped the underworld and they just kept coming.
“With all the yelling and screaming, it was hard to hear. But I did hear Zedd and Nicci talking. The two of them were pretty frantic to do something that would help keep the advancing people away. I don’t know much about such things and I didn’t hear all of what they were saying, but I could tell that they were both trying their best to conjure things and cast their power out to fight back the waves of people charging toward us. It seemed that nothing they were doing, though, was working the way they expected. I don’t know what was wrong, but I can tell you that as hard as they were trying, if their gift would have been working right they might have been able to stop the enemy.
“Sometimes, though, something they did would work. At least, it worked to a degree. When nothing else seemed to work, I saw both Zedd and Nicci push their arms out together, with their palms raised, as if pushing against an invisible wall. When they did that, occasionally groups of people were thrown back and tumbled across the ground, knocking down others behind them. It blew them back like leaves in a gust of wind. While it did work, it only worked against small numbers at a time. It was taking them a lot of effort to do that much but it wasn’t nearly enough to cope with the endless numbers that were racing toward us across
the open ground.
“Zedd looked over at Cara, then, and told her what even I could see, that something was wrong with their abilities and it wasn’t going to be enough. The general said that above all else they had to protect you, Lord Rahl, and the Mother Confessor. He told Zedd, then, that if they all took a stand to defend the wagon, the people coming for them would know that we were protecting something important.
“Nicci asked what he was proposing. The general said that they had to abandon the wagon.
“I thought Cara might break his neck for saying that. She yelled at him, saying that as long as she was alive and could fight, she wouldn’t leave you for anything. He shouted her down, saying that if they left the wagon, like it didn’t mean anything to them, and instead made it look like they were running to try to escape, then the enemy would come after them and leave the wagon, thinking it was unimportant. He said that they appeared to want to attack and kill them. He said that they weren’t dying by the hundreds just to steal what looked to be nothing more than an empty wagon.
“Nicci said that he was right. Zedd said that he hated to admit it, but he agreed. He also said that they had better hurry and decide or it was going to be too late for the plan to do any good.
“Cara’s jaw was clenched so tight she couldn’t speak. Her face was as red as her leather outfit. Finally, she growled and leaped down into the bed of the wagon. She hurried to unfurl an old tarp that was shoved in the corner and with Nicci’s help pulled it out and along the wagon bed, covering up the both of you so that it looked like it was just a mostly empty supply wagon.”
Richard finally understood the mystery of why he and Kahlan were all alone in the back of the wagon, unconscious, lying under a tarp.
“I don’t know that I would have thought of doing that,” Richard said. “Ben is a general for good reason. So what happened next?”
“Cara lifted me off the wagon seat and set me down in the bed of the wagon with her. While her husband, Zedd, and Nicci jumped to the ground, she bent close and pointed her Agiel at my face. She told me to listen, and listen close. She quickly glanced toward a spot in the woods to the other side from most of the attackers, to where I didn’t see anyone.
