Half a Defeat 6

“What is that?”

“Whatever it is, it can’t be an enemy. Look at their reaction.”

“Could it be… Captain Tahyang?”

All was dark except the dim shadows beyond the places where the enemy had set up torches. At the mention of Captain Tahyang, the rest of the patrolmen crowded toward the entrance. A moment later, a familiar, powerful roar rang out, and they cheered as one.

“It’s Huka!”

Unable to contain herself, Rosa too stood up and caught hold of the broken door’s hinge. A great shadow raced across the square. With terrifying speed and force, it threw the enemy’s ranks into disorder, while Tahyang’s long blade flashed down upon the soldiers scattering in every direction. His sword was half again as long as Gene’s and perfectly suited to swinging at a run. Dozens fell beneath its strokes to right and left, and those who did not dodge in time were trampled. Then he passed a torch, revealing his outline. In its dark red light, Huka’s glittering eyes and flying mane, with Tahyang above wielding his sword, looked as though they had just burst out of the underworld.

“Aaagh!”

Soldiers fell on their backs in surprise, froze in terror, crawled away, or dashed into other people’s houses. It was as though a predator had sprung among sheep. Some withdrew and reformed their ranks, showering him with arrows, but not one struck. Beside Rosa, Mikun shook his fist and shouted, “Do you think arrows like those can hit him? He’s the fastest man in Delphinad!”

Soldiers who thought the dark put them at a disadvantage raised torches one after another, revealing Tahyang on every side. But seeing him did not mean they could catch him. Huka was not merely fast. Every movement, stopping precisely where needed, changing direction, leaping, accelerating again, surpassed imagination. Rosa too stared in amazement. She had seen Tahyang ride when they went to General Nikephoros’s manor to rescue Nana, but this was different again. Now he looked like a commander on a battlefield.

He looked so natural in that role that it was almost suspicious. Having grown up with warfare as part of ordinary life, Rosa knew the air of a commander well. A man who led troops was different not only from ordinary people, but from soldiers and mercenaries too. Was Tahyang truly no more than a wanderer?

As he swept across Hawk Square, spearmen tried to close around him in a crescent. Yet again and again his unpredictable movements pierced their formation and broke it apart. At last, he raced up before Hawk House and turned beneath the steps. With some distance between them, they heard a commander’s shout, and the ranks were clumsily restored. Then a whistling volley of arrows covered them.

“Aaagh!”

Three men fell in succession, their necks bent back. Unlike his usually gentle manner, once Tahyang began fighting, he did not waste a single arrow in the wrong place. The men in formation hesitated, unable to advance. Binias screamed, “Everyone to your positions! Hold your ground!”

Tahyang spoke.

“Three for every Brother of the Hawk. Do you want more? Then keep coming.”

Before long, silence wrapped the square. Tahyang stood motionless before Hawk House like a guardian image protecting it. As though facing every enemy alone presented neither difficulty nor inadequacy.