The falcon's daughters

Chapter 58

The soldiers approached fast and jumped off their horses. They drew their swords and slowly got closer to the trio in front of them. 

- Find the amulet. And kill them!

The soldiers rushed towards the battle-ready trio. One of the soldiers fell to the ground before reaching them when one of Kit's knives penetrated his chest. Kit and Cade gave each other a quick glance before shouting and rushing to meet the attacking men. One of the men fell under Dorcha's tremendous weight as she threw herself at him. He tried in a panic to keep her away and his waving arms calmed as she closed her jaw around his neck and bit down. The blood dripped from her mouth as she let go of him. Cade raised his sword to parry a blow. In the shiny steel he could see a man approaching from behind. He quickly pulled his arm back and crushed the man's nose bone with his elbow. The blow that hit the blade sent vibrations down his arm and he grabbed the sword with both hands. With one movement he turned the blade downwards and then drew the sword upwards. The sharp blade slid over the man's chest and he fell to the ground. He quickly drew his knife and with a sweeping motion cut the throat on the other man. Out of the corner of his eye he could see two men waving their swords in front of the growling Dorcha. Suddenly one of them fell with one of Kit's knives drilled into his throat. The other man's fear when he stood alone in front of the big cat was exploited by her and she threw herself at him. A moment later he lay lifeless on the ground. Kit parried a strike and took a quick step forward before driving up a knee in the man's crotch. He fell on his knees and a hard kick hit the side of his head and he fell to the ground. She took a step back and a pair of arms were locked in an iron grip around her upper body. They fell to the ground when Dorcha landed on his back and buried his teeth in his neck. Kit disengaged from his grip and got to her feet just in time to avoid another attack. She threw herself to the side and drew her knife. With a quick movement she pulled the knife over his side and it left a long wound. When she calmly met the hatred in his eyes, she noticed the men surrounding Cade. Dorcha followed her gaze and as reluctant as she was to leaving Kit’s side she knew that Cade needed help.

- Are you good?

- Don’t worry about me. Help Cade.

With a roar, Dorcha threw herself in amongst the four men and landed over one of them and quickly put an end to him. Out of the corner of her eye, Cade could see how she got another man to his knees. He drew the sword over the stomach of one of the soldiers and turned around to parry a blow. Dorcha jumped back when the man in front of her drew a knife. He plunged at her as he got to his feet. Her tail whipped angrily in the air and she growled dully. The man continued to make nervous attacks on her and slowly pulled back. For each step he took, she slowly followed. A twig broke under his foot and he looked down for a second. She was over him as fast as lightning. The pain cut through her as he stabbed the knife through her paw. His body jerked even before she closed her powerful jaws around his neck. The crashing sound of broken bones exploded through the air as she bit down. A scream escaped Kit as the soldier's sword stroked one of her legs and she fell to her knees. She kicked out with the other leg and swept away his feet. She quickly drew her knife and threw herself at him. She buried the knife deep in his chest and then sank back to her knees. She pulled a hand through her hair and breathed heavily. Cade parried bit after bit and watched in horror as the man whom Kit had knocked earlier got up behind her. The horror that appeared on his face made her react and she turned her head while the man hit her with the sword.

- Kit! 

Cade shouted when he saw how she collapsed on the ground. The soldier in front of him increased his attacks and he parried several blows before he got his chance. His sword slid into the man's chest and he fell panting to the ground. Cade dropped his sword and started to run when he saw the man stand wide-legged over Kit and raise his sword.

- No! Kit!

The pain pounded in her head when she heard a scream and she opened her eyes. Panting, she saw the man standing over her with a cruel smile on his lips. She fumbled for her knife and in horror she saw how it still remained in the body some distance from her. Desperate, she tried to reach one of the knives in her boot when his gaze suddenly became blank. When he fell to the side, she saw Cade standing behind him with a bloody knife in his hand. Relieved, she fell back to the ground and Cade dropped the knife and knelt beside her.

- Are you okay?

He gently stroked the hair from her face.

- Yes. I'm okay.

- We should leave. There may be more.

She nodded and he got up and helped her up. Moaning, she rubbed her neck.

- My head hurts.

- Can you continue?

- I'll be fine.

She took a few steps towards the horses and was caught by Cade when she staggered.

- Yeah I can see that.

He lifted her up in his arms and carried her over to the horses. There he put her down and put his hands on her cheeks.

- Kit look at me.

Foggy she looked up at him and when his fingers touched her neck she moaned.

- You got a real bang. You have a bump as big as an egg.

- We must continue Cade.

- You need rest.

- I'll be fine. We can’t stay here. If there are no more soldiers, the smell of blood will soon attract every predator in the area.

- Okay, we'll continue. But you’re riding with me. I don’t want to risk you fainting and falling off.

She nodded wearily and he lifted her up in the saddle. A low noise was heard and he looked away to Dorcha. One of her paws remained on a soldier's chest and out of it protruded the shaft of a knife. He made sure that Kit did not fall out of the saddle before hurrying to the panther. He carefully pulled out the knife and lifted her paw. The blood dripped to the ground and he gently put his hand to her head.

- I'll take care of your paw.

He took off the cloth that Kit had tied around her neck and put it as a bandage around her paw. The amulet gleamed in the sunlight and he looked thoughtfully at the cat.

- Do you think we should give it back to Kit?

She tilted her head forward so he could pull the chain over her head. He went back to the horses and took Chiro's reins before sitting up behind Kit. With a slight sigh she leaned towards him and he hung the amulet back around her neck. He tied Chiro's reins to the saddle knob and then put an arm around her waist. Dorcha looked at Kit anxiously before falling into Cade's calm pace. By the time they left the bloody battlefield behind, the vultures had already begun to gather.

The sun was slowly setting on the horizon and Cade looked down at the woman in his arms. He held the horses in and gently put his fingers to her neck. The steady throbbing under her skin made him sigh in relief. Several times since they left the battlefield, he had been worried about her light breathing and had to make sure she was still alive.

- I think this is enough for today. Do you think we can feel safe here tonight?

The panther gave him a long look and stretched before she lay down and yawned.

- I will take that as a yes.

With a light smile he tenderly touched Kit's cheek. She slowly opened her eyes and rested her head back at his chest.

- Cade, where are we?

- We're resting here tonight. For the moment, we can probably feel safe.

He jumped down from the horse's back and then helped her down. With his arm around her waist, he led her to a pair of large boulders. She slid down to the ground and leaned her head against the cold stone. Dorcha got up and lay down by her side. As the sun disappeared below the horizon, a hot fire burned in front of them and Cade sat down on Kit's other side. He took out a leather pouch with water and lifted up Dorcha's big paw that lay on Kit's legs. Carefully he removed the dirty bandage and washed the wound thoroughly before he wiped off the moisture and applied a new bandage. He smiled at the grateful look in the panther's eyes and then put a hand to Kit's neck.

- How's your head?

She winced at the touch and he looked sadly at her.

- Sorry about that.

- It’s ok. my head’s still spinning. I'm so tired.

He put his arm around her shoulders so she could lean her head against him.

- Sleep then.

He whispered and she closed her eyes. His fingertips touched her cheek as he stroked off a few loops of hair. He leaned back comfortably against the stone. The heat from the fire spread over them and after a while he closed his eyes drowsily and fell asleep.