Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

attacking?”
    “All right, I’ll bite. Why?”
    “Because they’re waiting for someone. Most probably Young Jack Random. With reinforcements he didn’t commit to the first battle.” There was a sound out on the plain, and they both turned to look. The sound quickly developed into the rhythmic hammer of marching feet and a second army of dead men came marching out of the distance, easily a thousand strong, with the shining silver, armor-clad figure of Young Jack Random smiling at their head. They joined up with the silently waiting first force, and then stood motionlessly in ranks, staring unblinkingly at the narrow opening to the valley—and the two flesh-and-blood legends who held it. They ignored the two human forces still fighting doggedly some distance away.
    Shub knew where the real threat lay.
    “Don’t you ever get tired of being right all the time?” said Ruby almost angrily. “These are not good odds, Jack. We really might be in trouble here.” “If there’s a choice between being taken dead or alive, I think we’d be wise to go for dead,” said Random. “Vivisection is probably no fun at all if you’re still alive when they do it.”
    “I’m glad I’ve got you to look on the cheerful side,” said Ruby. “I suppose running like hell is out of the question?”
    “Unfortunately, yes. We have to hold our ground to buy time. Time for Vidar’s army to defeat the rebels. For the lull in the weather to pass and the storms to return. Or, if all else fails, for us to whittle down the number of Ghost Warriors to the point that the city might stand a chance. Either way, it’s all down to us.”
    “Of course,” said Ruby Journey. “It always is, isn’t it?”
    “We’ve got eight, maybe nine hours till the lull is over,” said Random calmly.
    “We might last till then. After that things should get really interesting. Forget what I said earlier. They might just decide to come after us anyway, even through the storms. After all, they’re dead. They don’t feel the wind, or the cold, or the cutting dust. And Shub really does want us very badly. I wonder if that’s why they sent Young Jack Random here, to be bait in a trap for us… It doesn’t matter. No, Ruby, I think we have to accept that we’re here for the duration. Until one side or the other has nothing left to gain.” “Hold everything,” said Ruby. “I think the curtain just went up.” The entire army of Ghost Warriors came surging across the plain toward them, while Young Jack Random stood to one side and cheered them on with a cheerful human voice. The dead men were silent, the only sound the rumbling thunder of their dead feet on the hard, unrelenting ground. Random and Ruby hefted their swords and stood at the valley entrance, waiting. “If we do fall here…” said Random.
    “Yes?” said Ruby.
    “At least it will be a good death. A warrior’s death.”
    “Yeah. We were never meant for civilization, Jack.” “But if by some miracle we do come out of this alive…” “Yes?”
    “I’m going to do things differently. No more politics. No more compromises. I’m going to follow my heart and my conscience, and God help anyone who gets in my way.”
    “Sounds like a plan to me,” said Ruby.
    And then the first of the Ghost Warriors were upon them. Random and Ruby stood together and wielded their blades with more than human strength and speed, cutting the Ghost Warriors apart, literally dismantling the animated corpses until they fell helplessly to the ground. Those were quickly hauled out of the way so that more Ghost Warriors could take their place, and the struggle continued. Only five or six could enter the valley at a time, and Random and Ruby had no difficulty handling that many. At first. But there were always more Ghost Warriors to take the place of those who fell, and the dead never grew tired.
    Random and Ruby fought on, but after the first hour they had begun to slow, and their strength was not what it was. There was never any break, and they dared not retreat so much as a step. Enemy swords were starting to get past their defenses, and their wounds were taking longer to heal. It had been a long, hard day, even for two living legends. Their breath came raggedly now, burning in their lungs. Sweat ran down their faces, stinging in their eyes and tasting of salt on their lips. The ground grew slippery underfoot with their own blood. Still the Ghost Warriors came, and Random had to admit to himself