Gods forbid if they carried bows or crossbows with them.
Think! What can you do?
“Vir!” Maiya shrieked.
Vir snapped to his senses, spotting a boulder protruding from the sand just ten paces away, and they were headed right for it. Bumpy was so exhausted that the beast hadn’t even noticed it.
He did exactly what he shouldn’t have—he panicked. The boulder loomed closer and closer, filling his entire field of view.
They’d be doomed if they crashed into that! The shock of the impact was one thing, but they’d be easy pickings for the pirates in hot pursuit if they fell off Bumpy, and Ash’va lacked the self-preservation instincts to avoid obstacles like this.
Vir’s body threatened to freeze up on him. He summoned up every drop of willpower he could muster and yanked on Bumpy’s reins. The Ash’va turned at the last second, clearing the boulder with less than a single pace’s width to spare.
They were still on Bumpy, but the desperate change in direction cost them their lead.
The pirates were now so close, Vir could make out the scars that marred their faces. And when he stared into the whites of their eyes, he saw only bloodlust. Their hooting and yelling sent shivers up his spine.
He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t control Bumpy and think about warding the pirates off at the same time.
“Take the reins,” he said, handing her the leather controls.
“O-okay,” she said meekly, not having recovered from the shock of their close encounter. She shook it off and grasped the reins confidently. She’d been learning Ash’va riding from Vir, and this was her chance to show off her progress. “You have something in mind?”
Vir didn’t answer, a little preoccupied in turning in his seat. Now, he faced backward, toward Maiya. Toward their pursuers.
Decorating each of his wrists were three chakris. On his neck, two chakrams. But he could not use them. If he threw them, he doubted he’d ever find them in the sand again, even if they did double back to search the area later. He doubted they’d have that luxury.
To use them was to lose them. And he loathed losing his only ranged weapons so early in their trip.
We haven’t even made it to Saran, for Vera’s sake!
Vir hesitated. That the pirates hadn’t struck with bows yet could only mean one thing: they weren’t carrying any. And now that the sun was higher in the sky, he confirmed that fact visually. Perhaps they hadn’t had the time to equip bows, or maybe they simply didn’t have them.
It was a mistake on their part that Vir could exploit. He reached into a pannier and came away with a handful of stones.
“You’re gonna throw pebbles at them! That’s your plan?”
Vir scowled at her. “Let me know if you have any better ideas! And they’re stones, not pebbles!”
“I do! Use those chakrams of yours! You crazy?”
Maybe he was crazy. But these weren’t just any stones. Vir had learned from his experience in the Godshollow. He’d handpicked the most angular of rocks. Then he’d chiseled them on Riyan’s grinding wheel to sharpen their edges. They wouldn’t kill a man, but getting hit by one of these would give anyone a bad day.
Assuming he hit them, of course, but he’d never once ceased practicing his technique, not even after coming to Riyan’s place.
Vir began hurling the stones. But with both Bumpy and their pursuers on the move, hitting his target was no simple task. He couldn’t really predict how the enemy would move. Not to a sufficient degree to anticipate and compensate for in his throw. The first one went wide. The second and third shots came close, but then the pursuers moved and the fourth and fifth went long.
Yet, with each shot, Vir learned something new. How to brace himself against Bumpy to stabilize his aim. How to guess the movements of the Ash’va, and what tactics its riders might use to throw him off.
Taking each of these factors into consideration, Vir’s sixth stone made contact, slicing across the nearest Ash’va rider’s face.
He may as well have splashed the pirate with water—the man barely even reacted.
Grak it! Vir only had a couple of stones left. I’m gonna have to do it…
He’d been intentionally avoiding the pirates’ Ash’va, but unarmored as they were, they made for a far easier target. Ash’va were no bandies. Their soft pink snouts were especially sensitive, so that was where he aimed.
The next throw connected, causing the animal to buck, throwing its rider off.
The pirate tumbled end over end on the sand. He didn’t get back up.
One down. One to go. Maybe I won’t have to waste my chakrams after all.
The other Ash’va was now only ten paces away. But the closer the enemy got, the more accurate Vir’s throws became.
Vir threw his final stone, but this pirate was far more experienced. The man kicked his beast, causing it to veer to the side at the last moment.
The pirate then reached to his boot and retrieved a knife. Vir could tell by his grip that he was planning on throwing it. And with Maiya sitting at the back, she’d be the one to take the hit.
No badrakking way, Vir thought. The mere thought of Maiya getting injured made him all sorts of upset.
The chakram was in his hand before he’d even realized it, the blade of the disk biting into the leather palm of his half-finger gloves.
Training chakrams though they may be, Vir had sharpened their rusted edges against Riyan’s grinding wheel. Maybe they weren’t seric, but they’d suffice. He hoped.
The pirate took aim. So did Vir.
“Slowing!” Maiya announced right before she had Bumpy reduce his speed.
In doing so, she threw off the pirate’s aim, forcing him to readjust. Vir, having the benefit of forewarning, threw first.
The chakram sailed through the air, its razor edge glinting with the promise of destruction.
It slammed into the man’s forehead, gouging a terrible cut before bouncing off and landing in the sand.
“Yessss! Nice going, Vir!” Maiya shouted, pumping her fists. “Now why couldn’t you have done that sooner?”
The man’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell off his Ash’va, causing the beast to careen off wildly.
“Did-did you kill him!” Maiya asked.
“Nah. Looks like he just fell unconscious. Uh, maybe? You think he’s dead?”
Vir took the reins back from Maiya and turned around, so he was facing forward again. He slowed Bumpy down to a fast trot, but he didn’t dare take a break until they’d penetrated many miles into the desert. As much as he wanted to go back and collect his weapon, there could be more pirates on their tail.
“I dunno, Vir, you tell me.”
Sweat broke out on his forehead as he considered the implication.
Even if the man was dead, he’d gotten what was coming to him. Right?
It wasn’t like Vir was going to grieve for a pirate who’d tried to kill him. Even so, he found his hands trembling, and an odd chill seeped through his bones despite the desert heat.
He ruminated over that thought for the next half hour. Both Vir and Maiya continuously scanned the horizon behind them for any signs of further pursuers, but thankfully, there were none.
Vir brought the animal to a halt at the bottom of a large dune. He dismounted, only to realize that his arms were still shaking.
Maiya held his hands in hers before embracing him. “It’s okay now, Vir. You saved us.” Vir finally let out the breath he’d been holding. His legs buckled under him, but Maiya held him up.
“That’s… that was the first time I actually fought someone. Like, for real,” he rambled. “I mean, I couldn’t do anything against the knight in the Godshollow. I just…”