Forged Destiny [Book 6: Ch. 13]

I turned Faith side on, just enough that I could see the man hurtling toward me, leaning out with his curved blade drawn back to take off my head. If the Soldier was surprised when I drew a sword, he didn't show it. Anyone could travel with a weapon. It didn't mean anything.

But there was definitely surprise when Crocea Mors swept through the man's sword, arm and neck in one fell sweep. The Soldier's horse veered in surprise, dodging Faith by a few inches as the headless horseman swept by, the body slowly tumbling to the side and falling to the dusty floor. The others hesitated.

I nudged Faith's side with my feet. "Charge!"

Faith obliged with a snort.

I'd not fought on horseback before. Not against people anyway. Before, I'd used Faith as a means into and out of combat, jumping off her if I had to, but since these were mounted I couldn't afford to do that. They could disengage and harry me from range if they had to, and that was something I didn't have an answer to.

Fighting on horseback was both easier and harder than I'd expected. Harder because my footwork was replaced with Faith's movements, which meant I could only reach out and swing. Everything was upper body strength – which would have made this harder for anyone else, and probably did for these people. For me, though? It was too easy. The fact they couldn't use their own Agility to dodge back only sealed the deal. I might not have been faster than them, but I was faster than their mounts.

The second died as Crocea Mors plunged into his chest, lifting him up and off his horse, who bolted in panic, clipping the side of another and causing the soldier to topple off with a startled cry. Faith moved before I could, rearing down with both hooves. There was a sickening crunch as she crushed his head. The final two came in, one from either side, the woman screaming as she thrust a short spear toward my heart. The man swept an axe for my neck.

The spear I caught by the shaft, holding it away despite her best efforts. The axeman, I outranged, poking him away so that he hesitated, and then sweeping my sword up at his wrist, cutting it off at the chink where his armour met his gloves. He gasped, and then choked as my sword pierced his neck.

By this point the woman had realised their error. She dropped her spear and kicked both heels against her mount's side, urging it to flee past me. As she did, I swept my sword back blindly, not aiming but knowing my arm would bring it at least in the way of her flight. There was a feeling of resistance. A grunt. And then the sound of something being dragged across the floor as the horse continued to flee, dragging its dead rider behind it, one foot trapped in the stirrup.

—Forged Destiny [Book 6: Ch. 13]