The Iron Empire

“Ride!” he yelled.

Sera turned to him and shouted back, “What about your parents?”

“They’ll be safe with Aristotle!”

“And Alexander?”

Dak shook with impatience. “Look at the dude — he’s in his element. Now ride!”

“You got it.” Sera shook the reins and made a nickering sound that somehow rose above the din of battle around them, and the horse leapt into motion, jumping over wounded soldiers as it fell into pursuit, chasing after Riq.

Dak held on tight.

AS MUCH as Alexander was in his element, Sera was far out of hers, and she knew it. Holding on to the reins so fiercely that her fingers hurt, she kept her eyes riveted to what lay before her, directing as best she could: swinging around one-on-one clashes, hearing the ring of sword against sword, jumping over fallen soldiers, dashing through every break that opened up. All the while, following the man who’d taken Riq.

Luckily, the horse they rode seemed battle tested and intelligent, knowing what to do and acting even before Sera tried to “drive” the reins. Most people in the army were too busy attacking or defending to pay them notice, and on they rode. Dak was hurting her middle, he squeezed so tight from behind, but it was comforting to know he was there and safe. For now, at least.

A soldier was running toward the path right ahead of them, coming in at an angle so he could intercept them. Dak yelled for her to look out.

“I see him!” she called back. “Put your foot to good use!”

She felt Dak shift behind her, leaning toward the right a bit. She leaned the other direction to maintain their balance. She didn’t know why this one particular soldier had singled them out. Maybe he just wanted some easy prey. But he came up to their side just as she rode the horse through a narrow clearing between major clashes of fighting soldiers. With a scowl that chilled her blood, he pulled out a dagger and made as if to throw it, aiming.

“Now!” Sera yelled.

Dak kicked out and knocked the knife away, then shifted his foot the other direction to smack the guy in the face so he couldn’t attempt to pull them off. Screaming obscenities, the man fell into a patch of mud just in time for two soldiers to trip and fall on top of him. Sera caught only a brief glance, but no one in the trio seemed too happy about the situation.

Dak had almost slipped completely off, but he righted himself behind her. She could feel the heavy breaths in his chest as he leaned into her and got his grip again.

They’d gained ground on Riq despite the little altercation. Sera willed the horse to go even faster.

Surprisingly, Riq felt no fear. Maybe, after overcoming so much, he’d finally grown cold to terror. Hardened up, grown thicker skin. Whatever the reason, he felt a calming wave slow his pulse as he was jostled along, thrown across the back of the enemy’s horse like a big bag of grain. The man who’d heaved him off the ground was shockingly strong, having quashed every tiny effort Riq had made to squirm out of the position. When it proved impossible, he’d decided to wait it out — wait until the perfect opportunity presented itself.

He didn’t understand why he’d been taken. Maybe this guy had seen a chance to have a prisoner — maybe he thought Riq was a close friend to Alexander since they’d been fighting side by side. Maybe the dude just wanted an excuse to get away from the battle and save his own skin.

It didn’t matter. Riq had no intention of reaching whatever the soldier’s destination happened to be. Risking the man’s wrath, he turned his head to look back in the direction from which they’d come. The horse jumped over something just as he did it, and his chin banged against the leather of the saddle. He bit his lip and cried out in pain. The rider punched him, right in the kidneys. The pain was intense — a flash of agony.

But then Riq saw Sera. And Dak behind her. Sitting on a horse. Coming at him. Coming for him.

My friends, he thought.

“Almost there!” Dak yelled, every muscle in his body tense. There was something amazing about riding on a horse like this — especially through a sea of fighting armies. The adrenaline pumping through him seemed like it had been amped up a million times over.

“What do we do?” Sera shouted without turning back to him. Dak knew keeping the horse under control had to take a ridiculous amount of concentration.

Dak had no idea how to answer. “Just get close! Something brilliant will pop into my head!”

She muttered something that he couldn’t hear. He imagined it was something to the effect of “We’d be better off using my head.” But this was Dak’s moment. He felt as if the others had saved him so often and had, whether meaning to or not, always treated him like the annoying little brother. But today he planned on becoming the big brother.

The sounds of war — screams and clanks and yells and grunts — filled the air as they rushed past countless soldiers battling one another. Sometimes the sight of it was gruesome, and Dak had no idea who was winning. But they kept their course, dodging and weaving and jumping whenever they needed to. Riq was only a few feet ahead of them now, the dirt kicked up by that horse’s hooves dusting the nose of their own horse. The thunderous roar of their galloping thumped in Dak’s ears.

Then, just like that, he knew what he was going to do. And he was glad he didn’t have time to think it over.

“Pull to the left!” he yelled at Sera. “Get as close as you can!”

Thankfully, she didn’t ask for any more details and guided the horse accordingly. Seeing her trusting him like this, following his command, made the whole ordeal worth it. Unless he died. He really didn’t want to die.

The horse kicked into high gear and lunged ahead, pulling even with Riq and his captor, who looked over at them like he’d just seen an alien spaceship zoom in. He yelled something unintelligible, then reached for the sword that hung from his waist, holding Riq down with his other hand. But Dak wasn’t going to let him get his weapon or do anything else.

Holding on to Sera’s shoulders for leverage, he brought both of his legs up until he could get his feet under him, then crouched on the saddle. The soldier had grabbed the hilt of the sword, had started to pull the weapon from its sheath. Dak straightened his legs with full force and jumped, leaping across the narrow gap between the horses and slamming headfirst into the shoulder of Riq’s captor. The man slipped several inches but then grabbed the pommel of his saddle, fighting for balance. Dak wrapped his arms around him and fought like crazy, tugging at the big guy with what little strength he had, trying to get him off the horse.