Chapter 34: Over the bridge

Irin forgot how to breathe as she watched Koth go down. He was still looking at her with a mix of surprise and determination. Then Irin came back to life, and she increased her jog to a full-out sprint. She didn't care about the other attackers or the risk of running uncovered. She needed to get to Koth to heal him. As the stones and trees Koth was hiding behind grew closer, Irin calculated which route would bring her to him faster. In the end, she decided to use a small boost of magic and jump the boulders.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Koth exclaimed as she reached the point where the dirt wall no longer concealed her. Then he coughed, and Irin saw blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Don't talk," she told him as she landed next to him. She hurried around him and cast a look at the mage and the druid. The two men stood watching her and Koth, which made Irin uneasy. She then looked at Koth's back. The dagger was still sticking out. "I need to pull it out," she told Koth.

"We need to get out of here first," he said, his words a little slurred.

"Don't you dare go unconscious on me, Koth! I am not dragging your heavy arse around!" she ordered him.

"Has anyone ever told you how bossy you are?" he asked.

"Me? I'm the image of a fair, meek and well-raised lady," she told him. He laughed, which triggered another round of wet coughs. Irin used his distraction to pull out the dagger.

"Fucking hell!" he shouted. Irin had already started to pray to heal him, but she paused.

"No," she whispered.

"Poison," Koth confirmed. "I could feel it."

"No! This is not happening. I am refusing to give up. We just need to get away from those guys, and then I can heal you," she insisted.

"Not even you can stop death, little one," Koth said. Irin was scared by how tired he sounded.

"Says who? I will give him a piece of my mind," she hissed.

"Irin..."

"No. You listen to me, Koth! You are going to stay awake, and I will help you get on Maximus. Then we will get out of here and find someplace where I can heal you."

"And what about those two? You think they will just let us ride off?" he asked.

"No. I will find a way. There are only two of them left," she insisted.

"Two magic users," he pointed out. She walked around him again to face him.

"Can you get to your feet, or do you need help?" she asked.

"Irin, listen to me. This poison is spreading quickly. I can feel it. I don't have much time; let me use it for good. Take the talisman, get the horses and go. You know what to do next. I will hold them off as long as I can," he told her.

"Can you get to your feet, or do you need help?" Irin asked as she felt tears burn her eyes. She refused to cry, and she refused to leave Koth behind.

"Irin..."

"Help it is," she said and took hold of his lower arm to help boost him.

"You are hurt!" he exclaimed as he looked at her arm.

"It's nothing. I am trying to help you, big guy, but I need you to at least do some of the work." Koth looked at her for a moment. Then he sighed and nodded. Together they got him on his feet. Irin watched their opponents out on the field. They stood there watching. To be safe, Irin summoned a magical shield between them. It would withstand at least a dozen attacks. Koth wasn't stable on his feet, and he weighed more than Irin had counted on, but they managed to get to the horses, and somehow Irin managed to get him into Maximus' saddle. It wasn't dignified, and it involved a lot of pushing and pulling. Koth sagged in the saddle, and Irin decided to be safe and used a rope to fasten him to it.

"Please take care of him," she whispered to Maximus as she walked over to get onto Glima. Irin had a plan. She didn't know if it was the best plan, but it was a plan. They needed to get to the bridge. It wasn't optimal, as it meant they needed to go back the way they came, right past the mage and the shaman. She hoped she could keep the shield in place long enough for them to get past them. Irin hadn't seen any horses for the group they were fighting. Either they were on foot, which seemed unlikely, or they had left their horses further into the forest. Either way, Irin was hoping it would give her and Koth enough of a head start to make it. She grabbed Maximus's reins as she didn't trust Koth to stay alert enough to steer the horse. She then made Glima move. They increased their speed as fast as they could, and she heard the surprise in the mage's voice as they came thundering by him and the druid. Irin took them along the river, back the way they had come. She felt and heard spells hitting her shield. She counted them. After the sixth one, they stopped. Irin hoped it meant they had gone to get their horses.

"Look!" she excitedly shouted. She got no reply and looked back. Koth was slumped over in the saddle. Irin's instinct was to slow down and check he was breathing, but they couldn't afford to spare the time. What had made her shout in the first place was the bridge. She could see it in the distance, and at the speed they were travelling, it was getting closer fast. Irin could almost taste the victory of reaching their goal when she heard something to their right. She looked into the woods, and her heart sank as she saw the mage and the druid. They had horses and rode between the trees. Irin changed the placement of her shield. She needed a little more distance between them for her plan to work. She looked ahead and saw that the forest became denser. It would hopefully buy her the time they needed. Her shield was becoming weak.

"Just a little longer, not that much left," she mumbled to herself. She heard a curse as the pursuers reached the dense part of the forest. They decided to leave the forest and head towards the grass field. It gave Irin and Koth the few extra minutes she needed. She turned Glima and Maximus to go over the bridge. The river below them looked turbulent. The snow melting in the mountains had made it swell and move faster. When Irin was sure they had made it across, she turned the horses around so she could look at the bridge. Their opponents were already halfway across. Irin let go of the shield and prayed for a new set of magic. The support of the bridge crumbled, and the whole thing collapsed into the water. She could see the two men being swept away downstream. She didn't fool herself that it was the end of them. At most, it was a short delay. She turned the horses around again and continued to ride on at a fast pace. She had no idea where she was heading. She just wanted to get away, to put more distance between them and their pursuers. After half an hour, she left the road and headed into the forest. When she felt they were well inside, she stopped and looked in on Koth. His breathing was shallow, and his green skin looked pale. She didn't want to stop, not yet, so Irin called on a small prayer and did a smaller healing spell. It would keep him stable for now. Then she pushed on. She needed to find them a safe place to rest.