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Back The Killing God Save as PDF
Chapters (44)
  1. Cover
  2. OTHER BOOKS BY STEPHEN R. DONALDSON
  3. Dedication
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART ONE
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. PART TWO
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. PART THREE
  24. SEVENTEEN
  25. EIGHTEEN
  26. NINETEEN
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. PART FOUR
  33. TWENTY-FIVE
  34. TWENTY-SIX
  35. TWENTY-SEVEN
  36. TWENTY-EIGHT
  37. TWENTY-NINE
  38. THIRTY
  39. THIRTY-ONE
  40. THIRTY-TWO
  41. EPILOGUE
  42. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  43. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  44. What’s next onyour reading list?

As soon as Jeck returned with Elgart, King Bifalt took both men with him to speak with Klamath. Before the King received the Second Captain’s last report, he had hoped that Klamath might be able to provide a measure of support for the surviving horse-warriors as they fled toward the Hand. That was impossible now. The General would be under intense pressure to decamp a day earlier than he had anticipated. If he failed, he would not have the luxury of choosing the terrain for his first engagement with the enemy.

King Bifalt’s alliance with the el-Algreb had lasted for less than two days.

PART THREE

SEVENTEEN

UNFAMILIAR TACTICS

While General Klamath hauled the combined army of Belleger and Amika into motion by force of will, sub-Commander Hellick followed the el-Algreb south.

He believed that he had proven himself by leading the First Captain’s struggling company back to the Open Hand. His efforts had kept many of the smoke-stricken men alive. As a result, his assignment now had the effect of insult.

The bravado of the horse-warriors disgusted him. He had no patience for their extravagant assurance.

Worse, they were doomed.

They had reached the Hand after a long, wearisome journey. Then they had spent the previous day abusing their shoulders like children. They had no discipline. And they did not respect their foes, despite the fact that they were badly outnumbered. The raiders, the Cleckin, would shred them in a matter of hours.

Yet they were pestilentially sure of themselves. Riding out in the early dawn, they shouted raucously to each other and waved their guns, ignoring their own pain and ignorance. They seemed to imagine that their mere presence would rout their foes.

Under the circumstances, sub-Commander Hellick felt nothing but scorn for King Bifalt’s so-called allies.

He was not alone. Riflemen answered the silly display of the el-Algreb with ripe insults or hoots of derision. From his command-post, General Klamath paced back and forth, spitting a soldier’s obscenities. His aides shook their heads.

Hellick waited until the el-Algreb passed out of sight. Then he followed the horse-warriors, cursing to himself.

At the crest of the ridge, he felt a sour relief when he saw that the el-Algreb had put away their rifles and settled into a more disciplined formation. Now they looked more like men with a serious task. If they could refrain from taunting the raiders before they engaged, they might manage an exchange or two before they were savaged.

The horse-warriors set a stiff pace, one that Hellick did not try to match. Being left behind did not trouble him. They deserved whatever happened to them. He had other duties.