Hyola’s eyes went back to the tree line in the northeast. If something had moved there, then it was probably not a deer or some other small creature. Not tonight. Any normal animal with sense would have run far from here by now, with a full adzee pack prowling in this area.
“Keep looking,” Hyola said.
The older guard clenched her crossbow and scanned the darkness. The younger one stared hard toward the trees, then suddenly raised a shaking hand.
“There,” she whispered. Then, louder, “There! I see something there.”
Hyola followed the direction of her finger.
At first, she saw only darkness and tree trunks, as her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark.
Then something moved out from the edge of the forest.
It was large, low at the shoulders but still as high as a grown man, with a heavy body and a head shaped too much like a wolf’s and not enough like any animal that should exist near people. Its hide looked more brown than gray in this season, blending into the dark ground and tree shadows. Even with the weak firelight, there was no mistaking the size of it.
Hyola’s hand tightened on the scorpion.
An adzee had come out of the forest.
Hyola kept her eyes fixed on the hulking beast for a few seconds.
It had come out from the tree line but had not moved much farther. Its head shifted slowly from side to side, its snout raised upwards, while its body stayed low in a way that made it harder to see against the dark ground. If not for the sheer size of it and the small movements near the trees, it might have blended back into the night.
Adzees weren’t called the apex predators in this area without a reason.
“You, keep looking at that one," Hyola told the younger guard. "Do not lose sight of it! I’ll alert the village.”
The girl nodded quickly.
Hyola grabbed the horn hanging from the side of the tower and blew hard.
The sound cut across the night.
She lowered the horn and turned to the older guard. “Let’s load the scorpion."
The woman moved at once.
Hyola set the string into place while the other guard helped with the side handle. The gears moved, pulling the string back slowly. It took around the same strength as drawing her crossbow, which didn't really make sense to her—how could something so huge not require someone the size of Hudan to load it—but it still needed careful work. If someone rushed and did it wrong, the weapon could become useless at the worst moment.
"Steady," Hyola said.
The string reached the marked point.
The older guard shifted the holding lever, then took one of the iron-tipped bolts from the storage compartment. The bolt was heavy and nearly three feet long, with a narrow point meant to go deep rather than cut wide. Feroy had said those were the ones to use against adzees. A simple wooden bolt might not pierce properly. A broadhead might bite into the hide but fail to go deep enough. Only a narrow iron tip had a good chance of driving into the flesh far enough to hurt something that large.
The guard placed the bolt into the groove.
Hyola leaned into the sights and turned the scorpion left toward the beast.
It would not turn far enough.
She tried again, pulling the frame a little farther left, but the mount reached its limit. The adzee was too far to the side, near the edge of the field of shooting. She could see it, but she could not properly target it.
"Come right," she muttered. "Come on, come right."
The beast did not listen.
Of course it did not. It only stood near the tree line, moving its head and sniffing the air.
Behind Hyola, the younger guard whispered, "Will it come?"
“Can’t say yet," Hyola said. "Keep watching it.”
“Can anyone even kill something like that?” the younger woman muttered with fear in her voice. “It looks to be the size of a room in the manor!”
The other guard glanced toward the village behind them. "The horn will bring the other guards soon. Don't worry.”
Hyola nodded, still looking through the sights. "But until they arrive, we handle this."
Another horn sounded from somewhere far to the southeast.
Then one more from the west.
Hyola's jaw tightened. So it was not just one beast tonight. A whole pack was around the village. The thought should have made her more afraid, but instead it made her grip the scorpion harder.
If they wanted to surround Tiranat, then let them try.
A howl came from the forest ahead.
But not from the first beast.
The younger guard suddenly pointed farther to the right. "There! Another one!"
Hyola turned her head.
Another shape stepped out of the trees, this one more toward the northeast, closer to the direction the scorpion could face. It was still far away, but it had come farther from the trees than the first one. The firelight did not reach it properly yet, but the outline was clearer than before.
Hyola shifted the scorpion toward it.
This time the weapon turned to target the massive beast easily enough.
"There you are," she whispered.
The first beast remained near the treeline on the left. The second stood farther right, its head lifted high as if scenting the air. For a few moments, neither moved closer.
The younger guard kept watch on the first one. The older woman stood beside Hyola, ready with the next bolt. The air on the tower felt hotter now despite the breeze. Hyola could hear the guards below speaking quickly, the scrape of shields, the dull thud of spear hafts against the ground. They would have also seen the adzees from the narrow gaps in the palisade. The wall and all the watchtowers had already been covered with clay, in case an enemy decided to shoot fire-arrows at them, but the guards had left a few small openings near the gates to see outside.
Then running feet sounded from the behind.
The older guard stepped back from the scorpion and looked down the ladder side. “More guards are coming."
Hyola did not take her eye from the sights.
"How many?"
"A lot," the woman said. A moment later, her voice sharpened. "The captain is coming too."
Hyola felt better hearing that.
She did not need someone else to shoot the scorpion, but it was good to know captain Hudan was here. The guards could not just run outside and fight the adzees before the beasts were hurt badly enough. Everyone knew that. Unless people were wearing plate armor, a single grown adzee could easily rip apart a dozen men on open ground. But once one of the beasts was wounded by the scorpion, the captain and his guards would be needed to finish it. The scorpion was only doing the easy part, from up here on the watchtower.
The second adzee, the one on the right, lifted its snout and howled.
The sound hit the tower like it had weight. It was loud enough that the younger guard flinched and covered one ear for a moment. Hyola did not move away from the sights. The beast was facing the village now, its throat stretched as the howl carried through the night.
Too far.
Still too far.
"Keep watching the left one," Hyola said.
"I am," the younger guard said, though her voice shook.
“The guards are here,” the older woman reported.
An archer reached the platform first, climbing up ahead of Hudan. Then the captain’s head appeared above the ladder, followed by his huge shoulders. The watchtower platform immediately felt too crowded. There were already three women, the scorpion, the archer, and now Hudan, who took up space like two ordinary men.
"Report," Hudan said.
Hyola kept her eye on the second adzee. "You report," she told the older guard.
The woman nodded and pointed. "Two adzees sighted on this side, Captain. One near the left tree line. One northeast, farther out from the forest. Neither has come close to the fire yet."
Hudan moved to the parapet and looked out.
The archer came beside him, bow in hand. He was one of the former hunters, a narrow-faced man with steady hands. He did not speak. He only looked where the guard pointed.
Hudan grunted. "I was hoping Darora would get enough time to mount the third scorpion. I don't think he did."
Hyola almost turned at that.
"The third one is ready?" she asked.
"Darora brought it this evening," Hudan said. "He went to mount it on the southeast tower not long ago."
Hyola felt a quick burst of pride for her friend from the quarry.
Darora had always been more talented than people understood. And people already gave him a lot of credit.
Hudan looked from one adzee to the other. "As planned, we do not shoot unless the beast crosses the fire and comes closer to the wall."
Hyola's hand tightened on the scorpion grip. "Shouldn't we still try if we get a good shot? We're safe up here."
Hudan looked at her.
"The adzees may still decide the village is not worth attacking," he said. "If we shoot first and wound one, we may force the whole pack into attacking. Our best defense is still that they leave without a fight."
Hyola did not like that.
Orders were orders, and she would follow them, but she did not like watching an enemy and doing nothing. Especially not when that enemy was right there, and the scorpion was loaded, and her hands knew exactly what to do.
Hudan seemed to read her face.
"That said," he added, "Feroy was saying earlier that if these beasts keep surrounding the village night after night, we may not have a choice but to fight them. So if one gives you a clean target, even if it is beyond the fire, you can take the shot. But only if you’re confident that you can make it.”
Hyola grinned. "Hell yeah."
The younger guard looked at her like she was mad.
Hyola ignored the woman.
Hudan pointed at her. "Only a clean target, Hyola. Not a hopeful one."
"I know.”
"I mean it."
"I know, Captain,” she grunted. Who did they think she was? A trigger-happy fool?
The archer gave her a brief look, then returned his attention to the field outside.
Hudan glanced around the platform. "Too crowded here. I am going down to lead the guards. You are in charge on this tower. The archer’ll stay here with you. If a beast comes close enough, he can shoot too, though I doubt normal arrows will do much against those monsters."
The archer nodded once.
"If you think one is injured badly enough that it cannot run anymore," Hudan continued, "give a shout. If the other beast is not close, I will take the guards out to finish it."
Hyola nodded with a smirk. "You can trust me. I’ll make sure those beasts don’t leave alive."
Hudan stared at her for a heartbeat, probably deciding whether she was getting too excited. Then he climbed back down the ladder.
Hyola turned to the others at once, and started to give orders.
“You both," she said, pointing at the archer and the younger woman. “Take the left side. Keep the first beast in sight. If it moves closer, say so immediately."
The younger guard hurried to obey. The archer took a place beside her, bow ready.
Hyola looked at the older guard. "You come to my right. Help me reload when needed. Do not fumble the bolts."
"I won’t."
"Good."
Then Hyola leaned back into the sights.
The second adzee was still there. It paced slowly near the edge of the expanse of the dark ground, moving in a wide line as if testing the open space. It had not come close to the fire yet. The first beast remained near the left tree line, half hidden, still too far to target properly.
For a while, they all waited.
Hyola hated waiting.
She kept the scorpion trained on the second beast. The fire burned between it and the wall, sending up sparks now and then. The beast watched the flames from a distance, head low, shoulders moving under its hide as it moved slowly.
A new set of howls rose from somewhere beyond the village.
One from the west.
Another from the south.
Then the adzee in front of her lifted its head and answered.
Its mouth opened wide, and the sound rolled toward the wall.
This time, it looked directly at her. Or at least, toward the village.
Hyola's grin returned.
"Come on," she whispered. "Come closer."
As if it heard her, the adzee began moving forward.
Slow at first.
Then faster. It was still only prowling, not charging, but at that size even a quick walk ate up the ground too fast.
“It's coming," the older guard said.
"I see it.“
Below them, the guards near the gate shifted. She heard shields being lifted, spears scraping against the ground, and Hudan's voice telling everyone to hold.
The beast broke into a run for a short distance, and Hyola's heart jumped with excitement.
Then it slowed.
It stopped a little short of the fire, staring at the flames.
Hyola brought it cleanly into her sights.
The stone marker beyond the fire told her the adzee was less than a hundred meters away now. She could hit it from here. She knew she could. But it was not just a man wearing leather armor. It was not a bandit or a mercenary. Or even a knight in plate armor. It was an adzee. Bigger, stronger, and harder to kill than anything she had shot before.
The closer it came, the better the bolt would strike. She really should wait.
But what if it did not come closer?
What if this was the only chance?
Her finger settled near the trigger lever.
No.
The captain had said a clean shot. A good shot. The beast was standing still, but too far for what she wanted. If she shot and only wounded it enough to enrage it, she could bring the whole pack onto the wall. Or at least its friend waiting near the treeline in the northwest.
She forced herself to wait.
The beast lowered its head and took another step.
Then another.
It moved toward the fire, slow and careful. The flames showed more of it now. Its body was huge, as high as a grown man at the shoulder, shaped like some vastly oversized wolf made heavier and meaner. Its head—which was easily above the height of even the captain—was broad, the legs thick, the paws large enough that she could see them even from the tower. In the firelight, its hide looked rough and dark brown, the usual color of their fur in this season, while it turned grey in the winter.
The beast was close to the fire now, standing right across it.
Around fifty to sixty meters from the watchtower.
That was much better.