03 Sky Knight by Kevin Outlaw Page B

clump of hazel and an outcrop of stone. From here, it was just possible to see the path that the caravan of Landmark villagers had trodden down less than an hour before.
    A tremble of fear passed through her as she thought about how close behind the villagers the enemy were. If Hawk couldn’t stop those two scouts from reporting back to their boss, then there might be no chance of getting the caravan up into the mountains before it was caught. A stretched out line of tired travellers wouldn’t stand a chance against even a handful of trained enemy soldiers. Men, women, children: they would all be torn apart mercilessly, and then raised again to swell the ranks of Crow’s army.
    Autumn’s grip on her bow tightened, and she tried to keep her breathing under control.
    She needed to be calm. For everyone’s sake.
    She needed to concentrate on...
    A sound. Up ahead, around the bend in the path. A tremble of motion vibrating through a small, bud–covered vine. The soft pat pat pat of someone running through fallen leaves.
    She bit her lip, and drew back on her bowstring. Her arm was shaking so much she didn’t think she would be able to hit the broad side of a giant; but she started saying over in her head the lessons that Hawk had taught her. Just thinking about his voice was calming, and made her feel stronger. Hawk had faith in her as an archer, and that gave her faith in herself.
    A shadow stopped on the path.
    Hawk.
    She cupped one hand around her mouth, doing her best impression of a hooting owl. Hawk glanced in her direction, took a quick look behind him, and then scampered over, bent almost double so that he was virtually impossible to see in the undergrowth. He dived into cover beside her.
    ‘What have you seen?’ he whispered.
    ‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘I’ve sent Furrow back to the caravan. The others are in the trees, just ahead. What about you? Have you tracked the soldiers down?’
    ‘They’re like ghosts.’ The agitation was evident in Hawk’s voice. ‘Almost impossible to track. I thought I heard something back this way. I was worried they might have followed you.’
    ‘Are we hunting them, or are they hunting us?’
    There was the snap of a carelessly placed foot splintering a twig, and they both jumped into action together, readying their bows.
    Hawk peered out of their hiding place, squinting as he scanned the trees for any approaching threat.
    Nothing.
    ‘Like ghosts,’ he muttered.
    There was another crack, much closer, and then a scream. Something fell out of a tree just a short way down the path, landing with a heavy, unpleasant thud. The leaves shook, there was a second of frenzied scuttling, and then another twisted form dropped to the ground.
    Autumn stared at the two shapes on the path.
    Her friends.
    ‘The soldiers are in the trees ahead,’ Hawk said, emerging from the hollow and dragging Autumn behind him. ‘Come on. They’ll be after Furrow next. We need to reach him first.’
    As he started to run, a spindly shadow – a floating cloak with wiry limbs – came leaping towards him from the darkness. He threw himself forwards, pulling Autumn down so that the spider–soldier hurtled over them both; and then he was back on his feet and running, holding Autumn’s hand firmly. There was the familiar, itchy–sounding scuttle behind them as the spider–soldier rearranged his limbs.
    ‘We can’t outrun it,’ Autumn said, yanking her hand free and turning to face the threat.
    The soldier was only a few strides away, sword a lightning flash in his right hand, his ghastly legs a blur of alien movement. Autumn notched an arrow and loosed it in one swift motion. The arrow punched straight through the soldier’s throat, stopping him in his tracks. He swayed slightly, and then dropped to his knees.
    ‘Good shot,’ Hawk said. ‘Now come on. We have to reach Furrow. He isn’t as good with a bow as you are.’ Something bounded through the trees above them, moving at dizzying speed.