Serving the Amazons Ch. 09

She didn't bother to keep her voice down this time. She thought the bandits were too far away to hear her words. If they heard anything at all it wasn't important. She spoke a language they were unable to understand she was going to reveal herself to the enemy momentarily anyway.

"Yes, Mistress," he replied as he attempted to step back and place his bow in the large pouch on his back.

Loja tightened her grip and pulled him closer. "One more thing, Anteros, if I fall wounded, don't let them take me alive. Kill me. Do you hear me? You MUST kill me!"

"I will, Mistress. I won't let them take you alive," said Anteros, his voice revealing that the thought of killing Loja distressed him.

"Then come with me," she said as she walked toward the meadow.

Anteros followed and she looked over her shoulder and gave him a disapproving glance. Then he remembered that she said to walk beside her, but not too close. He moved into position.

When they entered the clearing he could see four men that were already half way across the meadow. They were walking in a line with about fifty paces between each man.

"They don't look like bandits. They look like soldiers. This isn't good," said Loja. "Don't touch your weapons unless I order you or we are attacked. We are outnumbered and I'm going to try to bluff them into leaving. We want to avoid a fight."

Loja raised both hands above her head and waved her arms. One of the intruders spotted her, raised an arm and shouted a command.

The warriors moved cautiously toward them. As they came closer Anteros could see that they were wearing identical armor. It was leather with metal plates riveted to it. Their helmets were metallic also. Each man was armed with a long sword, which was still sheathed. The one that appeared to be the leader waved his hand and more soldiers came out of the trees, advancing toward them. The four in the lead started to move in a semi-circle around them, still fifty paces away.

"Those are uniforms. They are soldiers, not slave traders. Be prepared to draw your sword and kill anyone you can on my order. If I retreat, you retreat. The leaders have no bows and their armor is heavy so we can outrun them. Is that clear, Anteros?" asked Loja.

"Yes, Mistress," he answered.

Loja was comforted by the strength of his voice. It didn't waver. He was probably frightened but she couldn't hear it in his voice. This made her confident that he would stand by her if they had to fight.

She shouted at the leader, "Halt! Tell your men to come no closer!"

He was close enough now that Anteros could see him smirk at a woman giving him orders. The soldiers continued to advance.

"Bow," was all she said to Anteros. He was only a second behind her in pulling his bow from its pouch and nocking an arrow. She aimed it at the leader's face and Anteros knew to aim for his legs. An experienced warrior may be able to avoid one of the arrows but only a very lucky one could avoid both.

The leader raised his hand and his troops stopped. Loja and Anteros held on to their bows and arrows but released the tension and pointed them toward the ground. They knew they could draw and fire before the warriors took more than two steps toward them.

"You are on Amazon land, Warrior. What is your business here?" she demanded in the language of Atlantis. She tried to sound arrogantly confident.

"We are simply here to trade, Woman," he replied. "There is no need threaten me with your weapons." The soldier sounded confident as well, but since he had at least thirty men with him and he saw only one boy and a woman. He wasn't intimidated.

"If you wish to trade go back to the road. Go north until you find the road leading west to our city. There will be merchants there you can trade with," she said.

The warrior laughed; as did his soldiers that were close enough to hear them. "I don't think so. They don't trade the goods we are after."

"Then be gone. We don't allow foreign men on our land," Loja said sternly.

"I think we will go where we please, Woman. You and the boy can't stop us and we have business to attend to," he snarled back.

Loja glared at him and tightened her grip on her bow. "And what business is that?"

The warrior laughed again. "Very well, Wench. Since you are part of our business I will tell you. Our queen sent us to capture a new slave for her. That boy will do nicely for her and you will do nicely for me. I'm looking forward to seeing what you are hiding under that armor."

Loja's face turned red with anger. If the odds weren't so against them she would have killed him on the spot. Since she was bluffing and trying to delay long enough for reinforcements to arrive, she had to stall. Killing him may bring the rest of them down on her and Anteros.

"Foolish words since you don't know how many warriors we have concealed in the trees, you pile of dung," she spat back.

Now the soldier's face was twisted in anger. Only the queen and a few of her aides would dare talk to a man like that where he came from, especially a captain of the queen's army. He would make her pay. After he satisfied himself with her he would give her to his men. They'd enjoy her until she died.

"Drop your weapons and surrender. If you don't I will make sure that you are tortured before we take you back," he said. He actually intended to take the boy back unharmed if possible. The woman was of no interest to the queen and he could do as he wished with her.

He was lying and Loja knew it. She'd be tortured and raped by all of the soldiers if she lived long enough.

"Leave now or die, Pig," she snapped.

Suddenly the four soldiers rushed them. Loja and Anteros both fired at the soldier nearest to them. Loja's arrow struck her target in the face and killed him instantly. Anteros aimed lower and put and arrow through his target's leg just above the knee. The man went down screaming in pain.

"Run!" ordered Loja as all of the visible soldiers rushed at them.

Anteros was quick to comply. He was a little faster than Loja but ran shoulder to shoulder with her. He looked over his shoulder and saw that they were putting some distance between them and their assailants. It was a costly mistake. Anteros tripped and fell.

Loja stopped immediately, turned and fired at the closest man. Since he was moving and some distance away she elected to fire at his legs. She didn't know if her arrow would penetrate his armor and a headshot was difficult on a moving man at this range. The man went down hard.

The leader stayed back and the three closest men were dead or disabled. The rest of the soldiers were moving toward them at a fast run. Some of them were wearing light armor and had advanced quickly.

Anteros was still on the ground. Loja wasn't sure if he was getting up. He heard Loja shout at him.

"Get up now, Anteros!"

He looked up and the sight caused a chill to run up his spine. She was aiming an arrow at him. There was no hint of doubt in what she was doing. If he couldn't get up, she was ready to kill him. From that range she could drive an arrow through his armor into his heart.

Anteros scrambled to his feet and picked up his bow. He took a quick glance over his shoulder before he started to run. He didn't make the mistake of looking back once he was at full stride.

When they were fifty paces from the trees he heard the welcome sound of the Amazon bowstrings being released. The arrows whistled over him and he heard cries of pain behind him as they reached their targets. By the time he reached the trees the Amazons had fired three more volleys. Each time he heard grunts, thuds, and screams. Amazons were deadly accurate archers, especially from such short range.

He saw Loja turn and pull an arrow from her quiver. Anteros did the same. It was the lightly armored soldiers that were close. Anteros fired an arrow directly at the center of one soldier's chest. His arrow penetrated the armor but didn't kill the man outright. The wounded man dropped to his knees, grasping the arrow. His face was contorted in pain. Anteros didn't know if the arrow penetrated far enough to eventually prove fatal, but that man was now out of the fight.

Loja shouted, "Skirmish!"

The women in the trees descended rapidly. They knew exactly what to do when Loja gave the command to skirmish. They would run while knocking an arrow, turn and fire, and then knock another arrow as they ran away. Fortunately the lightly armored soldiers were backing away. The arrows had dampened their spirit.

Now that Anteros had time to take a good look he could see that there were far more than thirty of the enemy. There was nearly that many on the ground, dead or wounded. Behind them were at least a hundred more. Some in light armor, some in heavy armor, but all dressed in black. There were archers too but they weren't yet in range.

The most striking thing about the invaders was that one at the rear. She was on a horse and wearing gleaming bronze armor that immediately drew his eye. He could just make out her long red hair and enough of her shape to know she was female. He couldn't look at her long. Loja was giving orders.

The band of Amazons ran through the forest as fast as they could for nearly a mile and set up an ambush. They couldn't defeat so many enemies but they could slow them down.

It was half an hour before they saw the first of the enemy come into view. There were about thirty archers and light armored soldiers spread out among the trees. The passed right by Gabrale, concealed high in a tree. She signaled Loja that there were no more enemies in sight.

Loja knew that the enemy commander was either setting a trap or had made a foolish error. Gabrale scanned ahead for any more soldiers. She couldn't see or hear any. She signaled Loja. Loja signaled back. Hand signals traveled from Amazon to Amazon. They were to prepare their bows and be prepared for a hand to hand battle with anyone that survived the arrows.

When the Amazons heard Loja's bowstring release, they all fired at the archer closest to them. Nine archers fell mortally wounded. Their light armor was of little use at this short range. Anteros struck one man directly in the heart and was certain that he'd killed his first enemy today. The one surviving archer fired blindly into a thicket, missing an Amazon warrior by a few inches. The other soldiers, being well trained, did exactly what they should do. They drew ran directly toward the source of the arrows. Running away would simply allow the Amazons to fire another volley. The only chance they had was to get too close for them to use their bows.

Eight more soldiers fell. Anteros had not fired a second arrow but had dropped his bow and drew his sword. Gabrale descended from the tree knowing that she couldn't fire another arrow before the hand to hand combat started. As she swung down, she screamed, causing many of the enemy soldiers to look back momentarily. Two of them turned and ran toward her.

The soldiers had made an error. In the second that they looked back the Amazons leapt from the shrubbery that concealed them and immediately put the soldiers on the defensive.

The first man to Anteros held his sword high and screamed loudly. Anteros knew from his training that this was a common tactic to frighten an enemy. Anteros stepped forward and slightly away from the screaming soldier and nearly cut him in half with a single powerful stroke of his sword. The sword cut through the light leather armor like it wasn't there.

Anteros knew he should hold the line with the others, but Gabrale was holding off two attackers with her spear. He dashed through the line, taking the two soldiers he passed between, completely by surprise. It was such a foolish thing to do that he himself didn't understand what possessed him to do it. It was a miracle that he wasn't killed on the spot.

One step past the soldiers that were now both turning toward him, Anteros quickly stepped right and pivoted 180 degrees. His sword cut neatly through the armor, spine and kidneys of his enemy. The man fell dead without a sound. He wasn't alive long enough to feel any pain.

The second soldier didn't hesitate to attack. Anteros blocked one blow and then another. This soldier was quick and no longer off balance. He swung his sword again and as he did he kicked Anteros in the midsection. Anteros blocked the sword but winced from the pain of the kick. The soldier tried the same tactic, this time trying a roundhouse kick. Anteros dodged the sword and blocked the soldier's leg with his slashing sword. The soldier went down, alive, but unable to stand and bleeding profusely.

Anteros ran to help Gabrale who was becoming exhausted fending off the two soldiers. If she wasn't exceptionally good with her spear she would already be dead.

The soldiers heard him coming and one turned to meet him. Their swords clashed as Anteros kept running right into the soldier's body knocking him to the ground. Anteros swung his sword to his right as he ran, cutting deeply into the other soldier's arm. This gave Gabrale an easy opportunity to finish him and she did with a powerful thrust into his chest. Seeing that the battle was over, she immediately placed the finely honed blade of her spear on the other soldier's chest and ordered him to stay down. He did as he was told because to disobey would mean immediate execution.

Anteros turned to return to the other Amazons but there was no need. The Amazons were all standing. The man whose leg he'd crippled was still down and disarmed. He was holding his wound tightly to slow the bleeding. Anteros knew the wounded man was already as good as dead. Loja might spare one man to tell the tale, but the crippled man wouldn't make it back.

Loja wanted information and she had two prisoners. If any of the other soldiers were still alive they were too badly wounded to regain consciousness. She would use the wounded prisoner to intimidate the one that Gabrale was holding.

"What is your name?" she asked him calmly.

"Go to Hades!" was his short and simple reply.

Loja glared at him and retained her calm demeanor, "Very well, I don't really care what your name is anyway. What I really want to know is why you are here."

The soldier said nothing.

Loja sighed, "I guess you are determined to make this difficult. I'll ask you one more question. If you refuse to answer I won't trouble myself by asking another. Who is your leader?"

"I'll bet you are a good fuck," was his foolish reply.

Loja quickly plunged her sword into his heart.

Loja approached the other prisoner while wiping blood from her blade. "Perhaps you know the proper way to address a woman. Do you?"

"Yes, Mistress!" exclaimed the soldier, anxious to stay alive.

"Then answer my questions if you value your life."

"General Leofric sent us to collect slaves," he quickly answered.

Loja didn't understand this. Soldiers were known to take slaves, but in Amazon territory? Why risk being killed when there were so many hapless villagers to take?

"Why here? Don't you know that you are in Amazon territory?"

"Yes, Mistress, the general said that he would pay a handsome bounty for any Amazon slaves we captured. He offered each man 20 pieces of silver if we were able to capture an Amazon male."

"Tell me more," Loja insisted.

"Please, Mistress, I don't know any more."

"How many troops are here?"

"We are 200 in number."

"Not anymore," laughed Loja. "Look around you. How many dead soldiers do you see? How many dead Amazons do you see?"

The prostrate soldier swallowed hard and said nothing. He knew that twenty-nine of his comrades had been slaughtered by eight women and one man.

"Still counting, fool?" asked Loja. "There are nine of us and we just killed three times our number. I don't know how many we killed in the meadow but I'll bet there were at least twenty. So nine Amazons have killed about fifty of you and we still haven't suffered a casualty. Who was the woman with you?"

"There is no woman with us."

"You still have a chance to leave here with your manhood, soldier," said Loja as she poked the end of her sword into the man's groin. "Would you care to reconsider your answer?"

The soldier was sweating profusely despite the moderate temperature. "That is Morrigan. She is the daughter of the general. If she finds out I told you she'll torture me to death!"

"I have no plan to tell her anything, but I will kill her if I see her on Amazon land again. The same goes for you. I am only going to let you live so you can tell your general that we will show no mercy. Any other invaders we see will be killed and their bodies will be left for the animals."

"Thank you, Mistress!" exclaimed the soldier.

An Amazon drove the butt of her spear into the soldier's right hand, crushing it on the ground. The soldier screamed in pain and grasped his injured hand. Two of his fingers were broken.

"That will insure that you will not fight us again today, or for several weeks. Return here and die. Now go!" Loja said sternly.

The man rapidly rose to his feet and started running back toward the meadow.

"Well go another two hundred paces and set up another ambush," Loja said to her troops.

Loja selected another spot for an ambush and showed Anteros where she wanted him hidden. She didn't bother telling the others what to do. They were experienced and knew what was required. They waited for hours but there was no sign of the enemy. The first troops they saw were Amazon and approaching from the rear.

It was their reinforcements. Although Loja could see only a dozen, she knew there were hundreds in the forest. They would advance slowly in case the invaders had set up their own ambush. There were also Amazons moving rapidly and a wide path around the meadow. The object was to encircle the invaders. If the invaders were still in Amazon territory and met up with the main force, they would experience heavy casualties if they ran. They'd run into a barrage of arrows from the front and rear. The Amazons wanted the invaders gone. Driving them out would be acceptable but killing them would be better. Dead soldiers never came back.

Loja and her platoon stayed at the edge of the meadow where they'd first encountered the invaders. The foreigners had picked up their dead but the blood trails on the ground told the story of the battle. The rest of the Amazon column advanced two miles past the edge of the meadow. They found nothing but tracks.

Three platoons were sent on to insure that the invaders had left Amazon territory. Ten platoons camped around the perimeter of the meadow and the rest went back to the city.

Loja's unit talked quietly and ate their meager rations. Two at a time they went to a nearby stream to bathe. One would bathe while the other kept watch. Anteros and his shadow, Gabrale, were the last two to bathe.

Anteros had some difficulty maintaining his concentration on his duty while Gabrale bathed nearby. His first real battle had frightened him at first but once it was over he was exhilarated. He was feeling a great deal of lust. Anteros did not know that this was something which many warriors felt just after they've survived a battle.

When Gabrale finished she didn't dress but came to him completely naked.

"Go clean yourself, Anteros. I will keep watch," she said as she picked up her spear.

Seeing Gabrale's nakedness in his already aroused state was more than he could stand. His penis hardened immediately. Unable to reach full erection under his trousers, it was painful. Something about a naked woman holding a spear was even more arousing to him.

He disrobed with his back facing her. This was no place to show off his erection. Sitting in the cool water of the stream solved the problem immediately. He shriveled to the size of a young boy.