Metal and Flesh (The Rohvim, Book 1)

15.3 Bloodbath

Arturo called out, "Aeden! Wait!" But the young man did not heed him, nor did most of the others. He turned to Betha, "Go and alert the others. Tell them to meet us in the valley. Quickly!" and he likewise dashed after the youth. Lower and lower they ran, branches whipping them in the face, tripping over logs, until they reached the bottom, Aeden still madly dashing towards the group of soldiers, who took no notice of their pursuers. He ran to within one hundred yards of them, then slowed to allow the others to catch up. When they were near enough to him for his comfort, he sprinted towards the group, crossing the distance very quickly, for a rohva may run as a tiger for short distances.

   He caught up to the soldiers in the rear, and they only became aware of him as they saw two heads of their companions roll past. They turned, and without a sound, drew their swords and attacked. In such small numbers they were no match for the whirlwind called Aeden Rossam. Like lightning he fell on them, dealing death to all who lifted their swords, screaming in a blood rage as they mustered and rallied against him. The others finally caught up and drew their swords to meet the onslaught, some eighty or so men and women pressing against them. Priam yelled and plunged into the group while his sword flashed with arcing energy, every soldier meeting his blade jolting a bit before falling to the ground. Frederick and Darla were wonders to behold as well, and Stuart, flushed red with the run, managed to fell several with his rolls, spins and plunges, though how he managed to move his mass with such acrobatic grace was beyond any of them.

   Arturo fought with them now, cleanly slicing his way through his foes, though with less deadly precision and more unconsciousness inducing energy from his sword. He called out of the mass of flailing bodies, "We must fall back! Fall back! We need the others!"

   "No!" Aeden screamed, and he charged forward. More soldiers appeared at their left, and a murmur from behind alerted them to a larger body of the army they had not seen. Twenty bodies at least lay dead at Aeden's feet, and he drove onwards. He lost sight of Priam, who was a flurry of flashing energy amid a crowd of stone-faced warriors who plunged at him relentlessly. But the drone soldiers kept on coming. And coming. They soon found themselves surrounded by a mass of at least two hundred emotionless yet fatally determined soldiers.

   Frederick yelled-Aeden glanced at him and saw blood streaming from the side of his head, but he stayed on his feet. Darla sprung to his side and they fought back to back against a fierce assault by the opposing army. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Arturo springing from soldier to soldier, disarming and coming close enough to touch an enemy's head who then fell unconscious nearly immediately, and on to the next. Above the heads of his nearest foes, he saw a large group of the soldiers retreat, and he took heart, but noticed that the vast body of them remained determined to cut the small party down. Then, in a flash, it ended. From close nearby, an immensely loud snap and a flash of light was the last thing he saw before he fell down, knocked out by the force of whatever collided with his head.

   When Aeden awoke, he smelled blood and death all around him. When his eyes focused, he found the master healer staring down at him, a look of rage on his face-not an expression he was accustomed to seeing on the old man. The healer, seeing Aeden awake, yelled, "You foolish, foolish boy! Is your head empty? Are you as empty minded as these drone soldiers?" He boxed Aeden on his ear as he shouted this, his fury breaking the healer's usual calm. Aeden put his arm up to protest the beating, but groaned as he realized his head was nearly splitting open with searing pain. He looked around and saw the others waking up as well, rubbing their temples.

   He lay amidst scores of dead bodies, what he saw as his trophies of revenge. He said, "Well master healer, at least we won. Look-" he gestured to the fallen and to the freed prisoners who had huddled by the trees, "-the army is defeated, and we freed the prisoners."

   The old man socked the side of his head again, eliciting a cry of pain from Aeden. "You fool! Look around you! Do you see what you have done? You've killed all these people!"

   Aeden cautiously answered, "Yes. They are soldiers, and this is a war. I thought our mission was ..."

   "Our mission was to eliminate the warlord! Not massacre a group of innocent people!"

   Aeden squinted, replying, "They are hardly innocent, master. They are enemy soldiers."

   The master healer got himself under some control. "Aeden, these people are being controlled. Their actions are not their own. They are guilty no more than your sword is guilty-but the hand that wields it is another matter."