safe.”
As if she needed to be told as much. She nodded anyway. “Aye, Baron. I am in no hurry to leave my perch.”
A faint smile touched his lips, then disappeared when he turned his attention to the bushes. The boar leaped forward then came to an immediate, jarring stop, a challenge to those who invaded its territory.
“I would rather we faced a boar with spears,” Guy told his men, “yet your lances will serve well enough in the open ground. If it bolts to the side, swing your lance up and over when you turn lest you unhorse the man next to you. Have acare for the branches overhead as well. If the attack is straight on, the three nearest the charge will use lances. Everyone else move in with swords or we will end up skewering each other. Understood?”
The men voiced their assent, then followed Guy’s lead and began to move forward again. Guy rode in the center of the company, a length ahead of the men around him. Claudia bit her lower lip. Riding before his men meant he made the most likely target. Was that his intent?
Whether he planned it or not, that was the result. The boar gathered its weight on its haunches and charged forward. The horses broke into a gallop at the same moment. Claudia’s fingernails dug painfully into the bark, but she kept her attention on Guy as the boar headed straight for him.
The animal swerved at the last moment, and the tip of Guy’s long lance glanced off its side. The slash from the lance did not stop or even slow the boar. It continued to head straight for Guy and his warhorse. Guy dropped his lance, and she realized that he held a sword in his other hand. In one blur of movement, he leaned low in the saddle with his sword extended. Another lance grazed the animal’s left side, but it was the lancer on the right who found a vulnerable purchase between the boar’s rib cage and haunch, an instant before the beast’s tusks would tear into Guy’s warhorse. That piercing blow made the animal stumble, then the lance snapped. The animal flailed its short legs then regained its balance, still looking as deadly as ever, still intent on Guy.
“Evard, Simon! Lances!” Guy gave that order as he wheeled his horse around. The warhorse bucked, then kicked its hind legs out in a flash of ironclad hooves. One hoof connected with its target and stunned the boar, but at a cost. The horse screamed as a long tusk raked into its hindquarter. Two more lances drove into the beast at the same moment, one into its neck in a blow that brought it to ground. Once more it struggled to its feet, this time with less vigor, and another lance appeared to strike its chest dead-center. The animal screamed long and loud.
Claudia turned her head and took deep breaths, trying to erase the bloody images from her mind. She couldn’t block the shouts of the men as they moved in for the kill, nor the eerie, almost human death cries of the beast. She wanted to scream as well.
The boar quieted at last, and Claudia lifted her head to search for Guy. He had dismounted, and another knight held the reins while Guy examined the damage done his horse. A slash of bright red blood streaked down from a wound to its back haunch, and the animal made restless movements as if to escape the pain. From the corner of her eye she saw the other soldiers as they tended their own horses and the fallen boar, but she refused to look in that direction.
“You may come down now, lady.”
The voice startled Claudia. She looked sideways and saw Evard. He was still mounted, his horse standing beneath the tree limb while he twisted in the saddle to look back at her. He gestured to the animal’s rump, then held up one hand. “Step onto my horse’s back, then I will lower you to the ground.”
She glanced toward Guy, then back at Evard.
“The baron must tend to his horse,” he told her. “Surely you do not wish to remain up there?”
Claudia shook her head. She eased her legs off the branch, then more of her weight, until her
As if she needed to be told as much. She nodded anyway. “Aye, Baron. I am in no hurry to leave my perch.”
A faint smile touched his lips, then disappeared when he turned his attention to the bushes. The boar leaped forward then came to an immediate, jarring stop, a challenge to those who invaded its territory.
“I would rather we faced a boar with spears,” Guy told his men, “yet your lances will serve well enough in the open ground. If it bolts to the side, swing your lance up and over when you turn lest you unhorse the man next to you. Have acare for the branches overhead as well. If the attack is straight on, the three nearest the charge will use lances. Everyone else move in with swords or we will end up skewering each other. Understood?”
The men voiced their assent, then followed Guy’s lead and began to move forward again. Guy rode in the center of the company, a length ahead of the men around him. Claudia bit her lower lip. Riding before his men meant he made the most likely target. Was that his intent?
Whether he planned it or not, that was the result. The boar gathered its weight on its haunches and charged forward. The horses broke into a gallop at the same moment. Claudia’s fingernails dug painfully into the bark, but she kept her attention on Guy as the boar headed straight for him.
The animal swerved at the last moment, and the tip of Guy’s long lance glanced off its side. The slash from the lance did not stop or even slow the boar. It continued to head straight for Guy and his warhorse. Guy dropped his lance, and she realized that he held a sword in his other hand. In one blur of movement, he leaned low in the saddle with his sword extended. Another lance grazed the animal’s left side, but it was the lancer on the right who found a vulnerable purchase between the boar’s rib cage and haunch, an instant before the beast’s tusks would tear into Guy’s warhorse. That piercing blow made the animal stumble, then the lance snapped. The animal flailed its short legs then regained its balance, still looking as deadly as ever, still intent on Guy.
“Evard, Simon! Lances!” Guy gave that order as he wheeled his horse around. The warhorse bucked, then kicked its hind legs out in a flash of ironclad hooves. One hoof connected with its target and stunned the boar, but at a cost. The horse screamed as a long tusk raked into its hindquarter. Two more lances drove into the beast at the same moment, one into its neck in a blow that brought it to ground. Once more it struggled to its feet, this time with less vigor, and another lance appeared to strike its chest dead-center. The animal screamed long and loud.
Claudia turned her head and took deep breaths, trying to erase the bloody images from her mind. She couldn’t block the shouts of the men as they moved in for the kill, nor the eerie, almost human death cries of the beast. She wanted to scream as well.
The boar quieted at last, and Claudia lifted her head to search for Guy. He had dismounted, and another knight held the reins while Guy examined the damage done his horse. A slash of bright red blood streaked down from a wound to its back haunch, and the animal made restless movements as if to escape the pain. From the corner of her eye she saw the other soldiers as they tended their own horses and the fallen boar, but she refused to look in that direction.
“You may come down now, lady.”
The voice startled Claudia. She looked sideways and saw Evard. He was still mounted, his horse standing beneath the tree limb while he twisted in the saddle to look back at her. He gestured to the animal’s rump, then held up one hand. “Step onto my horse’s back, then I will lower you to the ground.”
She glanced toward Guy, then back at Evard.
“The baron must tend to his horse,” he told her. “Surely you do not wish to remain up there?”
Claudia shook her head. She eased her legs off the branch, then more of her weight, until her
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