A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 2

pitch around the bend. Warcries rang in the air.
    'Clear a space!' Bairoth bellowed, driving his horse past Karsa, and then Delum. The bear skull sprang into the air, snapping as it reached the length of the straps, and Bairoth began whirling the massive, bound skull over his and his horse's head, using both hands, his knees high on his destrier's shoulders. The whirling skull made a deep, droning sound. His horse loped forward.
    The Rathyd riders were at full charge. They rode two abreast, the edge of the walkway less than half an arm's length away on either side.
    They had closed to within twenty paces of Bairoth when he released the bear skull.
    When two or three wolf skulls were used in this fashion, it was to bind or break legs. But Bairoth's target was higher. The skull struck the destrier on the left with a force that shattered the horse's chest. Blood sprayed from the animal's nose and mouth. Crashing down, it fouled the beast beside it – no more than the crack of a single hoof against its shoulder, but sufficient to make it veer wildly, and plunge down off the walkway. Legs snapped. The Rathyd warrior flew over his horse's head.
    The rider of the first horse landed with bone-breaking impact on the walkway, at the very hoofs of Bairoth's destrier. Those hoofs punched down on the man's head in quick succession, leaving a shattered mess.
    The charge floundered. Another horse went down, stumbling with a scream over the wildly kicking beast that now blocked the walkway.
    Loosing the Uryd warcry, Bairoth drove his mount forward. A surging leap carried them over the first downed destrier. The Rathyd warrior from the other fallen horse was just clambering clear and had time to look up
to see Bairoth's sword blade reach the bridge of his nose.
    Delum was suddenly behind his comrade. Two knives darted through the air, passing Bairoth on his right. There was a sharp report as a Rathyd's heavy sword-blade slashed across to block one of the knives, then a wet gasp as the second knife found the man's throat.
    Two of the enemy remained, one each for Delum and Bairoth, and so the duels could begin.
    Karsa, after watching the effect of Bairoth's initial attack, had wheeled his mount round. Sword in his hands, blade flashing into Havok's vision, and they were charging back down the walkway towards the pursuing band.
    The dog pack split to either side to avoid the thundering hoofs, then raced after rider and horse.
    Ahead, eight adults and four youths.
    A barked order sent the youths to either side of the walkway, then down. The adults wanted room, and, seeing their obvious confidence as they formed an inverted V spanning the walkway, weapons ready, Karsa laughed.
    They wanted him to ride down into the centre of that inverted V – a tactic that, while it maintained Havok's fierce speed, also exposed horse and rider to flanking attacks. Speed counted for much in the engagement to come. The Rathyd's expectations fit neatly into the attacker's intent — had that attacker been someone other than Karsa Orlong. 'Urugal!' he bellowed, lifting himself high on Havok's shoulders. 'Witness!' He held his sword, point forward, over his destrier's head, and fixed his gaze on the Rathyd warrior on the V's extreme left.
    Havok sensed the shift in attention and angled his charge just moments before contact, hoofs pounding along the very edge of the walkway.
    The Rathyd directly before them managed a single backward step, swinging a two-handed overhead chop at Havok's snout as he went.
    Karsa took that blade on his own, even as he twisted and threw his right leg forward, his left back. Havok turned
beneath him, surged in towards the centre of the walkway.
    The V had collapsed, and every Rathyd warrior was on Karsa's left.
    Havok carried him diagonally across the walkway. Keening his delight, Karsa slashed and chopped repeatedly, his blade finding flesh and bone as often as weapon. Havok pitched around before reaching the opposite edge, and lashed out his hind legs. At least one connected, flinging a shattered body from the bridge.
    The pack then arrived. Snarling bodies hurling onto the Rathyd warriors – most of whom had turned when engaging Karsa, and so presented exposed backs to the frenzied dogs. Shrieks filled the air.
    Karsa spun Havok round. They plunged back into the savage press. Two Rathyd had managed to fight clear of the dogs, blood spraying from their blades as they backed up the walkway.
    Bellowing a challenge, Karsa drove