Panter's Pride:
Hunted
by T. S. Hubbard
Disclaimer It's still mine. Note: Panter's Pride must be read first, as this is book 2.
Thanks to Thorie for volunteering to proofread yet another story.
Email address: thubbar2@insight.rr.com.- comments welcome.
Chapter Fifteen
Alesia woke with a start. The thought that last night had been only a dream haunted her until a warm body moved against hers. She closed her eyes in relief before opening them and looking to the side to see Thira pressed close to her. Thank the Goddess. She turned on her side to face her and studied her partners sleeping features. Fine tremors ran over the surface of her skin and her ears seemed to twitch, as she stayed aware of her surrounding even while she was asleep. Noise from people passing made Alesia glance toward the entrance of her quarters while she laid a calming hand on her partner as the sound made her stir. She held her breath until it looked like Thira had settled back into a deeper slumber. She studied the dark marks under her eyes with a faint frown of concern. Alesia sighed as tawny colored eyes flickered open and met hers in a silent stare.
"I was hoping you would sleep a little longer." She reached up and laid her hand along her partners jaw her fingers lightly caressing the soft skin of her cheek. "Did I wake you?"
Thira turned her head slightly and pressed a kiss on the palm cradling her face. "No, I was awake before you." She reached over and brushed under her eyes gently. "You could use a little more from the looks of these."
Alesia shook her head. "Actually I feel better now then I have in days." Unlike most mornings when she had been separated from Thira her body was fairly thrumming with energy. Reluctantly she pulled away and sat up on the side of the bed. Raising her arms over her head she stretched and let out a small groan of pleasure as her spine realigned itself with a soft crack. Alesia stiffened in surprise as a pair of warm lips kissed her on the small of her back. A hand curled around her right shoulder and pulled her back down to the beds surface. A pair of hooded eyes stared into hers as Thira hovered over her. "You know we still need to talk about what's happened."
Thira lowered her head until her lips brushed Alesia's. "I know. We will but not right at this moment." A rumbling growl escaped her as their lips pressed together. Her awareness' of the outside world narrowed until it centered only on the body that moved under hers. The need for her mate flaring in her veins took over as the heat between them rose. She willingly lost herself in the lovemaking that followed.
*******
Panter studied the map spread over the tabletop. The rampage that Thira had went on after leaving had done a great deal of damage to the opposing force aligned against them. She had decimated at least six outposts that they had found while killing several hundred soldiers, but knowing the extent of her skills Panter suspected that the actual total was much higher. The aftermath of the destruction showed that she'd been in a rage at the time. Panter tapped her finger on the mark denoting the farthest outpost. Several towns were in the same vicinity but she dismissed them as being too small and rendering them unimportant. Their population and resources were rather meager and would be of little interest to their foe. The only one of any significance would be Rantis. It boasted a thriving population that at last count ran into the thousands. It was close to the size of Hawks Peak but had yet to reach the importance or magnitude that the seat of power that it held with being the base of the Regents rule. She attributed the growth to being a half way point in the travels of many caravans of merchants and visitors that spread out from there to the far reaches of the rest of the providence.
Footsteps had her glancing over at the entrance of the tent. She smiled as Alesia ducked through the opening. The paleness that had her so worried yesterday was no longer apparent. Her smile broadened as the reason for its absence became evident when Thira's form entered next. "Alesia, Thira." She deliberately made no mention of the time Thira had been gone. Right now there were much bigger priorities. She beckoned them closer. "We've laid out the camps that you took care of Thira." She rested a fingertip on Ranis. "The most likely place for them to hole up next would be here."
Thira glanced over the map and added a few more marks to it with the reed pen she'd took from beside the drawing. "Your right. I intercepted a group of soldiers headed that way." Her eyes flickered as she met their gaze. "They never made it." She tossed the pen back onto the tabletop as casually as she'd picked it up.
"I take it you were curious enough to check out their destination?" Alesia already knew the answer before she'd asked the question. She still had a bit of trouble accepting the sense of ease her partner had with killing. She took note of the extra marks Thira had added. They had almost doubled in number.
Thira tilted her head slightly as she caught the odd tone in her mates voice but brushed it off. "Of course, a large military unit had taken over that area. It seems to be a staging area of some kind. I had considered taking care of the problem myself but I assumed you'd want to know about it."
Panter kept her reaction to hearing that to herself. "How large?"
"Low estimate, fifteen lokkos. High maybe twice that."
Alesia rubbed a hand over her face in frustration at the news. "So we're talking about going against fifteen hundred to possibly three thousand troops in a relatively short amount of time. Can we even think of doing that with the troops we have?"
Panter shuffled through the stack of parchments on the table for the latest count of the troop strength. Pulling one from the pile she glanced at it while the others watched her face intently for a clue. "Right now with leaving two units back at Tylan we are just over thirty five hundred strong. We got lucky when we released the hold they had over the Tylan regular troops. That little trick of using family and friends as hostages seems a bit too familiar doesn't it Alesia?"
"Doran, that bastard. I was hoping he was dead."
Thira's eyebrows rose at the impressive snarl that Alesia let out. She could feel her eyes change as the feeling of anger rose inside her, when she finally understood what they were talking about. "He must be working with my father."
Panter nodded in agreement. "He would use any and all opportunity's to retake the Regency. For all we know his aims may have gotten larger then that now." She lifted the paper in her hand. "The numbers of both armies are a little to close for comfort if they do have the total we think they might. This is going to be hard fought."
They all turned as a shout sounded outside. Before they could react an Amazon burst into the tent. "Arms Master, the forward scouts have sent back a messenger." She moved out of the way for a dust-covered form to take her place in the doorway.
Worried brown eyes met theirs as she spoke. "An army from Rantis is on the march."
Panter crumpled the parchment in her hand. "It's heading?"
"Straight for us."
"Let them come."
Everyone turned sharply to stare at Thira. Even Panter felt a shiver trickle down her neck at the cold look that had settled in her eyes. Canines flashed in the light as a cruel smile twisted her lips as she spoke. "It'll be the last thing they'll ever do."
Panter narrowed her own eyes at the comment. "We have a fifty-fifty chance at best to pull this off. That's only if we have very few casualty's in this fight."
"They are going to fight us in territory that we know. That gives us the upper hand." Thira gestured around them. "We're also on a rise. They'll need to fight us uphill. We'll have the advantage of shooting down at them. Your archers are widely known to be the best at their craft and with their bodkin points they'll punch through any protective gear they might be wearing including plate armor. To get to us they'll have to come from across the open field ahead of us. There's no other way to attack except maybe through the forest that surrounds it and that will be far to dangerous for them to even attempt."
Panter relaxed a little at hearing that. She really didn't know much about war. Thira's experiences as an assassin would have exposed her to many forms of battle. It was no wonder she knew as much as she did. She turned back to the messenger. "What's the estimate on the time we have until they get here?"
"One day perhaps two. They do have some troops on horse back but most are on foot."
"That's not much but it'll have to do." Panter inclined her head in thanks. "You're dismissed." The woman respectfully saluted and withdrew along with her Amazon guide.
Panter went to the table and pulled out the map for the area they were camped at. Everyone gathered around her as she considered their options.
"If we conceal some units in the trees we'll be able to keep a steady rain of arrows coming down on them even if they happened to gain the top of the rise. But we need to keep them back at all costs or they'll overrun our base camp." She glanced up at Alesia. "Do we have enough bow men to be able to split them up and still be a viable force?"
Alesia nodded. "Easily. I'll make sure most of our best archers are assigned that way they'll be more then effective. I have a plan in mind for the rest that will be quite effective. It's something we practiced before setting out and we've kept it up since then."
"Good. With some troops on horseback it might be wise to have the pike men towards the front." Panter clenched her hands into fists. Sending people into battle to possibly die bothered her a great deal.
Thira watched Panter silently. A light frown crossed her face when she noticed her frustration. "Their first charge will probably be the horsemen. Your militia is trained to fight from horse back correct?"
Alesia was the first to answer. "It's part of their training. Why?"
"From the information we've received the majority of their forces are on foot. If ours are mounted that will give us an edge they won't have. At least six units will work."
Panter saw where Thira was going with her comment. "So after we repel their first charge with the archers and pike men we send out our own horsemen."
Thira grinned with satisfaction at the plan. "With the sheer number of troops we have we'll simply run them down and crush them. The archers and foot soldiers will merely mop up the ones that get through." Her eyes glowed in anticipation. It'll be a virtual blood bath. She couldn't help it; the lust for the kill was a part of her that's why she'd taken to being an assassin so easily. She knew that it bothered Alesia but was thankful she didn't try to make her change what was only her essential nature.
"But will that work. There's not much to it." Panter didn't condone killing in anyway but she accepted it if it was in defense of her partner and the ones close to her. Even she couldn't deny that her other side was starting to stir with excitement at the thought of the conflict that was looming ahead of them.
"Simpler is sometimes the best plan you can have. Anything more invites discord and mistakes."
Panter slapped her hands on the table causing the others jump a little at the unexpected movement. "I suppose now that we have a plan we need to fill in the rest of them." She looked toward the door. "Sentry!"
The guard ducked into the room at her call. "Arms Master?"
"Please find the Regent and send her here. Tell her it's of great importance. Then gather all the amazon commanders and the militia captains. I want everyone here; there are no acceptable excuses. Do you understand?"
The look on Panter's face made the command clear to the guard. "Yes, Arms Master!"
"Dismissed." Panter waved him away absently as her thoughts moved back to the fight ahead. She was fervently hoping that what ever happened in the future they would be the ones to end up on top.
********
Tera shifted her sword into a more comfortable position then test drew the blade to make sure the new location wouldn't impede her arm. Satisfied she looked over the militia that spread across the rise that led into the camp. Dust rose in small puffs as the horses stamped their feet restlessly as they stood idle. Their muscles quivered in their hindquarters as they tugged at their bits. Their whole bodies seemed to scream that they were ready for action. Tera turned her gaze to the nearby forest. The amazons had scattered throughout the trees with several hundred arrows each that had been rapidly fashioned in the past day, as they got ready for battle. Their concealment in the trees would be a surprise to the advancing army even if they were expecting an attack of that kind. The sheer number of arrows that were going to be launched would be significant, add that the amazons were handling the bows and it was going to be devastating to their ranks. Tera bounced on her toes to help settle her armor into place.
You'd think, as many times as she'd had to wear it over the past few months she'd be used to its weight by now.
"Nervous?"
Tera glanced up at her mate. She was decked out in most of her own armor; she'd declined to wear the heaver pieces, as they'd slow her down while she fought. Panter wore a thick leather breastplate that covered her front and back but left her arms free for easy movement. She wore her customary greaves with the emblem of her station. Leg protection overlaid her pants legs to her knee high boots. The hilt of her sword protruded over her left shoulder and twin daggers rested on each hip. She declined to wear anything more in protection despite Tera's worried pleadings.
"A little." Tera wrapped her hand around Panters forearm. She could feel the faint tremors that ran through her body. "How are you doing?"
Panter smiled at her. She was aware that she'd felt the pent up excitement that thrummed in her veins. "Fine." She glanced over as her attention was caught by someone's approach. Panter nodded at Alesia and Thira as they stopped at her side and glanced over the gathered troops. Alesia was garbed in layered leather armor with her sword on her left hip and a bow over her right. Quarrels filled the quiver that rode over her right shoulder a strap ran diagonally across her chest to hold it in place. She wore similar greaves with her mark of station and had donned leg protection also. She moved her glance to Thira. An eyebrow rose at the lack of armor she was wearing. A simple leather breastplate was her only change from her normal attire of tunic and leggings. Daggers bristled from the knife harness strapped to her back. Hilts glinted on her hips and were also tucked into the sides of her boots. Panter kept the remark that struggled to part her lips to herself. She looked back at Alesia.
"Everything ready?"
"As much as it can be." Alesia looked out over the empty meadow below them. Flowers waved gracefully in the slight breeze that swept over them.
At this moment things were pristine in their simple beauty but she knew in a short time the blossoms would be ground under foot as two large armies struggled to be the one to survive. "I better go join my troops." She started to walk away from them but came to a halt after several steps. Turning she approached her friends and embraced them both briefly. The sudden hugs startled them but they gladly hugged her close in response. She moved away after the embrace with Tera ended.
"I'll see you both later." Alesia was confident that she would indeed see two of the most important people in her life after this fight had ended. She turned her gaze to the third. Amber eyes watched her from an expressionless face. People would have thought that the person those eyes belonged to was as cold and unfeeling as she looked, but they could have never been more wrong. Alesia could clearly see the glint of worry that lurked deep inside those impassive orbs. She closed the distance between them and pulled her into her arms. Alesia pressed a kiss against still lips. She didn't think Thira was going to respond for a moment before the lips under hers softened and parted. Strong arms drew her closer as they kissed. Alesia opened her eyes to see the once blank eyes alive and full of heat as they looked down at her.
"Stay here with me." Thira insides twisted as she asked. She knew her mate couldn't ease her fear and stay beside her so she could keep her safe. Her position was far too important to be able to indulge her pathetic plea. Other things were more vital then what she wanted. Her eyes closed briefly as Alesia raised her hand and ran her fingers lightly over her jaw line.
"I can't."
Thira reached up and stilled the caressing digits. Clasping her fingers in her hand she moved it away from her face. "I know." She eased herself out of Alesia's encircling arms. She needed to prepare herself for the battle that would soon take place. Thira knew that she would not have been able to act freely and do whatever must be done if Alesia had been by her side so she was almost relived she wouldn't be there. Almost, she still worried about her mate but Alesia was an excellent fighter and she would be with the Amazons who she trusted more then any others. She would be fine. "Go, I know you have things that still must been done." Thira kissed her again and then pushed her away gently.
Alesia watched her for a moment then walked away. She was quickly engulfed in the bodies that surrounded them. Something clenched in Thira's chest as she disappeared from sight but her scent lingered for a while longer before gradually being covered up as many other scents continued to overlap it.
***********
Thira had taken refuge in the deep undergrowth that dominated the west side of the field. To her right the militia waited patiently for their opponents to show. The latest messenger had reported that they were only minutes away. She could already feel the slight shaking of the earth as the massive army marched toward them. By that alone she knew that their high estimate was the one that would face them. She was certain that Panter had grasped the same thing by now. She shifted farther back into the growth as she started hearing the stamp of feet marching in unison.
Time seemed to pass by slowly before the glint of metal flickered from the spot she'd been watching intently. Row upon row of riders broke through the trees and rode into the clearing as they'd expected them to do. Now if the rest of the plan was followed just as conveniently it would be over before the days ended.
Long moments passed as the rest of them filled up the lower end of the large meadow. Thira cursed under her breath as the reason for the long delay rumbled into sight. Damn it. Two medium sized horse drawn catapults stopped at the armies rear with their ammunition wagons close behind. This changes every thing if we can't get rid of them quickly. Thira's jaw tightened and she nodded as she made her decision. She'd take care of them. She had the speed to do it with. She would have to use all the power at her disposal and at her top velocity. It would drain her but there was no other way.
Her eyes moved to the front as the army gradually came to a halt. A smirk flickered across her lips as she realized they had stopped just outside the range of a bow. A normal bow, they obviously never studied their adversary like they had and found out that their bowmen didn't use normal bows like everyone else. A fact they found out in the next second as the air filled with whistling shafts. Several sections of them fell as the bodkin points punched through their armor like paper. Shocked gasps reached her ears, as they understood their predicament. There was nowhere in the field that was safe from the lethal missiles as they mercilessly rained down upon them. A shout had what was left of their horsemen springing into action. They rushed at full gallop toward the pike men that stood their ground at the onslaught. A number of horsemen fell from their galloping mounts as arrows continued to cut them down. The rider less horses slammed into several more causing them to unseat their riders and get trampled by the horses behind them.
Thira heard the screaming of injured and dying as the lines meet with a thundering crash. A roar rang throughout the meadow as their own horsemen went on the attack. An answering howl vibrated in her chest as she just kept herself from echoing the challenge. She focused on the job she'd assigned herself. The creak of tightening rope had her rising to her feet and drawing knives from her harness. She gripped them firmly as she drew a deep breath. Dirt flew up as she pushed off. By the time she'd hit two steps outside the tree line she was already at her top speed. If anyone had seen her they would have convinced themselves it had only been a trick of their sight as she'd disappeared in the very next instant.
The first pass had the horses attached to the catapults cut free and running off at the sudden sting of a slap on their flanks. The catapults listed forward as their stability was compromised at the loss of the horses. The next pass cut the ropes that drew down the arms. The boulders that filled them flew a short ways before crashing into their own men. The catapults then crashed down onto their sides. There was no way to use them now. Thira could feel herself tiring as time went on. The men that had been the crew for the catapults eyes widened as the cause if their misfortune ground briefly to a halt in front of them.
"Sorry boys, no more toys for you." she purred as she grinned at the astonishment on their faces. Her smile faltered as with screams of rage they pulled their weapons and attacked her. Her eyes narrowed as a bubble of delight filled her at the sudden change of plans. She kicked out and nailed one in the throat as she dodged the blade of an axe as it flew by her head. The sharp crack of breaking bone followed his body to the ground.
Thira caught a descending sword blade on her crossed blades. Strength flowed through her as her energy came flooding back. She shoved and sent the man stumbling backwards at the sudden move. A rapid step forward launched her into a spinning kick that slammed into his head. She turned back to the remaining two as his body fell. "Playtime's over." Thira watched passively as the two men fell when her daggers pierced their throats. She walked over and retrieved them. Her small section of isolated time started to collapse as the men turning to inspect why their own catapults were firing on them caught sight of her. A large number of them surged toward her.
"Shit." Thira braced herself. As the men got closer her vision started to gray out. Power surged through her body as her senses heightened. A roar broke free as she was surrounded. Her eyes glowed as she threw herself into battle. Thira never took into consideration the number of men that fell from her blades. A sudden sting along her back made her hiss in pain. She lashed out with her claws and sent several more bleeding to the ground. Thira knew she could be seriously hurt from the amount of warmth she could feel trickling down her back. She fought harder and finally cleared a path to the outside. She used the last of her strength to push herself into a run. She was gone in the briefest flicker of movement leaving behind a pile of dead men to prove that she'd been there.
Thira made it back to their camp just before the last of her energy flickered out. She fell forward but was caught just before she hit the ground.
"You took care of those catapults didn't you?" A wealth of admiration and understanding filled the voice asking the question.
Thira panted hoarsely as pain pulsed throughout her body from the strain of the run and her injury. "Yeah." She met Panter's gaze. The trust that glimmered in them made her catch her breath. She'd never worked to have the Regents trust in her she'd only cared for what Alesia thought. She hurt too much to ponder over the flicker of warmth she felt at seeing it. She froze with a hiss of pain as she tried to disentangle herself from Panter's hold. She closed her eyes at the stab of agony that flared in her back at the movement.
"Stop it, you'll only hurt yourself more if you fight me."
Thira's eyes flew open as she was picked up and cradled in Panter's arms.
"What do you think you're doing?" she rumbled. Outraged at the horror of the situation she unexpectedly found herself in.
"Taking you to the healers, now do me a favor and shut the hell up." Panter ignored the anger that radiated from the woman in her arms as she walked toward the healers tent. The sound of battle continued behind her. After she dropped off the burden in her arms she would seize the opportunity that Thira had given them by her altruistic act and end this fight as soon as possible.
Continued...