The Black Horseman

Chapter 2

II

          Karl woke Gwaynn very early the next morning. The boy was confused for a moment, and then the memories of the day before struck him like a hammer blow.

‘Gwynn is dead,’ he thought listlessly. Not that he had ever truly forgotten the fact. All through the night, dreams haunted and reminded him of the previous day’s horror. Through most of the night visions Gwynn was being raped. She implored and begged Gwaynn to save her, but he did not. He just watched, remaining quiet to save himself. He made no move to help her even when she turned to him, her intestines hanging from her naked midsection, and pleaded.

            ‘Keep the dogs away. Please, keep the dogs away.”

            But in his dreams he had done nothing, nothing at all.

            “Karl,” Gwaynn said, softly rubbing his forehead, trying his best to dispel the horrible visions running through his mind.

            “Come lad,” the big man said laying a hand on Gwaynn’s shoulder. “The mornings will be the worst for a while now,” he added and set clothes on the foot of the bed.

            Gwaynn sat up and looked about the room, but thankfully Karla was gone. He was surprised he had slept at all.

“Last night was no picnic,” the boy answered sitting up and dressing, wincing from his sunburn as he pulled on a shirt.

            Karl chuckled despite the emotional pain. “No, no picnic,” he replied as Karla moved into the room. Gwaynn made a move to cover up, but then shrugged and stood, pulling his pants on. Karla appeared not to notice his nudity.

“I’ve packed you two some food, a lot of food ‘cause I know how much Karl eats,” she said as Gwaynn added a leather vest. He was pulling on some old worn boots when she knelt before him. He stopped and looked at her, smiling ruefully.

            Karla smiled back, tears in her eyes. “Come back to us soon, my King.”

            Gwaynn could not speak, so he just nodded, shifted his feet inside the boots. They were big but fit reasonably well. He stood and tried not to look at Karla, but found that he could not help himself.

            “Thank you,” he said choking up slightly, but he somehow maintained control and she seemed to sense that he wanted to keep his composure.

            “You need to get moving,” she said to help cover his emotions. “The Zani will soon spread all throughout the land, and it will be easier to come here by sea. We may not have much time.”

“She’s right,” Karl said and they moved one after another down the hall and then the stairs. They paused at the front door for only a moment and then without saying good-bye stepped out into the cool morning air. The sky to the east was a deep purple-black, the sun not yet above the horizon. One of the soldiers from the night before ran to meet them.

            “Sir,” the man said to Karl. “The Zani are coming.”

            Karl cursed and stopped walking. “By sea?”

            The soldier shook his head and Karl started walking again. “No, by land. About fifty foot soldiers.”

            “How long?” Gwaynn asked, nearly jogging to keep up with Karl’s long strides, but he noticed that the soldier was moving his legs rapidly also, which made him feel better.