The Burning of Stone Hill - short story

Hey all, it’s been a while! Sorry I didn’t post last week, I’ve been very hard at work preparing for the launch of The Whispering Depths in only a few months! It’s been very hectic, but all the work should pay off to give you all the best experience possible. We’re also looking for ARC readers, so if you’re interested in joining our ARC team let us know at lachlanbondauthor@gmail.com!

With that out of the way, let’s jump into this week’s story. We’re continuing the ongoing story of Halfast the Woodsman! This is the second entry into the Halfast story, if you need a refresher on part one just click here.

So, without further ado, let’s get to it.

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The Tale of Halfast the Woodsman - Part 2 - The Burning of Stone Hill

“Hush, Sidna. Hush now.” Mera held her daughter, sheltering the child beneath her cloak to shield her from the biting cold. Winter had come early this year, and they would not survive without her husband. The two hobbled down the dirt road, the mud and the snow mingling in their footsteps, coating their skirts in a thick layer of brown sludge. Behind her Freki limped, still hurt from the beating he’d taken from the large soldiers. She stopped, waiting for the dog to catch up with them. She knelt down and took his paw in her hand, scratching him behind the ear. 

“Good boy, Freki. Just a bit further.”

Freki only whined in response, but picked himself up as the Mera and Sidna carried on. 

The loyalty of a dog, Mera thought. She knew Freki would not leave them. Halfast had ordered him to look after Sidna, and she knew he would to his dying breath. 

“How far is it mama?” Sidna moaned. The girl was stumbling, barely able to keep her feet, but they had to push on.

“Not far, my love.” Mera said. “Stone Hill is just beyond that ridge, but you must remain quiet.”

“Why, mama? I’m cold. Can’t we go home?” The girl had started to cry, but her tears froze to frosted gems of crystal white on her cheeks. 

“No, Sidna. We have to reach the town. We’ll be safe there. Elder Haldor will know what to do. Now please, keep quiet. I don’t know what else is out in these woods at night.”

The little girl froze, eyes wide. Mera did not want to scare her, but she had little choice. They had to remain silent, unseen, and unnoticed if they were to survive. 

Further and further they trudged, the oppressive darkness and biting cold cloying to them, dragging them backward, turning every step into an agony, every bend in the road a battle to continue. 

As she rounded the edge of the hill she heard the calamity. 

She heard the screaming, the thundering, the clashing of steel and the cries of children. She saw now, the light sparking behind the hill. The amber glow flickered and shone, illuminating the valley that stretched out beneath her. 

She stared on as Stone Hill burned. 

The blaze spread with unnatural speed, engulfing the small town in an instant. Before her very eyes she saw the thickets burning, saw the citizens fleeing in terror. And, in its centre, she saw the band of bronze-clad soldiers laughing and plundering as the town fell to ruin. She saw, at the head of the mercenary band, the man who had taken Halfast, and his lumbering lieutenant at his side. 

She heard Freki let out a low growl upon seeing him.

“Hush, Freki. I know.” She stroked the loyal hound. 

Stone Hill had never had a formal military, and the men who were of fighting age had been taken to fight by one side or the other. A handful of grey old men with sharpened sticks stood against the northern invaders, but they were cut down like blades of grass before the strong young men, the soldiers and the mercenaries. 

It had never been much, this small town, but it had always been her home.

“Hide, Sidna!” Mera hissed. She grabbed her daughter and leapt into the bushes, concealing herself amidst the foliage and shadow. Freki joined them, pawing nervously at the ground as the fire raged before them. 

“Mama.” Sidna cried. “What’s happening?”

“Stay down, my love. We need to find Haldor. Or anyone who made it out. The survivors will need help.”

They crept through the underbrush, slowly drawing nearer the town. She could feel the heat emanating from the flames now, so hot it scalded her skin and burned her eyes even to look at. 

At the edge of the flames she saw the small hut that had once been the home of Haldor. 

They crept nearer and nearer, Mera shielding her face from the roaring flames and burning heat.

As she crept closer, amongst the rubble of the ruined home, she saw the body. A collapsed beam pinned it in place, and flames licked at the burning flesh.

She rushed forward, attempting to lift the rubble from the man. It burned her hands and singed her hair, but she shifted the wood from the body of Haldor.

“Haldor.” She held him in her lap. 

“M-Mera…” He rasped. 

“What happened?”

“Th-they came- in the night. Couldn’t fight them.”

“Just hold on, Haldor. I’ll find you something to-”

“Mera.” The old man stopped her. “You have to run.”

“No, I-”

“Yes. Take Sidna. Go.”

“I’m so sorry, Haldor.”

“Go, Mera. Now.”

She watched the life drain from the man, watched his final breath leave his chest. She closed her eyes, whispering a silent prayer for his soul, before turning back to her daughter.

“What have we here?” The soldier almost laughed as he wrapped his fist about her head, tugging on her hair, craning her neck to look at him. “A barbarian bitch, and her cub to boot!” 

Freki growled and lunged, but the man only kicked the dog away. Freki yelped and fell, still too weak to fight the armoured man. 

Sidna, too, cried out, and the back of the man’s hand sent her sprawling. 

“No!” Mera lunged to catch her daughter, but the man’s grip was iron. He held firm, dragging her back and holding her down. 

“Don’t worry, dearie!” The soldier mocked. “I’ll have plenty o’ time with ‘er once I’m done with you!”

Mera turned, clawing blindly with her fingernails. She felt his helmet, his hair, and his skin pass beneath her fingers, searching for his eyes. She found the two small holes, inset into his flat face. She dug in, clawing and tearing and ripping with all her desperate strength. She felt his eyes squish and bulge as she prodded, his bright blood dripping down her hand. The man cried and reeled away, grasping at his face with his gloved hands. 

“Run, Sidna!” Mera lurched away, speeding as fast as her legs would carry her. She grabbed Sidna’s arm, almost wrenching it from its socket as they flew. 

The fire died, and the heat faded behind her as she rushed into the woods. 

“You filthy bitch!” She heard the soldier bellow. “I’ll wear your skin like a cape you mongrel!” 

She heard his footsteps, heard him thundering after her. 

She heard Sidna’s cries, but could not stop to comfort her. If she stopped he would kill her. 

“Keep running, Sidna!” She spurred the girl on. “Keep running, no matter what!” 

Her mind raced, the indistinguishable trees blurring past, the ceaseless cold pressing into her lungs with every heaving breath. 

And still the soldier pursued. 

She could hear him, feel him bearing down upon them. 

We cannot outrun him. She thought. We must hide. 

She turned, cutting right across her path, and dove behind the largest stump she could see, dragging Sidna with her. She clamped her hand over her daughter’s mouth, silencing the cries of the frightened girl.

Please, Gods. She prayed her silent prayer, curling her fingers around the small wooden idol that hung from a leather chord around her neck. Please shelter us. Do not let him find us. 

The soldier came stumbling through the woods, still clutching his bleeding eye, crying out as he chased her. 

“Where’d you go, she-bitch?” He snarled. She closed her eyes, clasping her hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying out. She clutched Sidna, holding her close. The girl had gone stiff, petrified in fear as they cowered behind the thick stump. 

“I’ll find you.” The man sang out, taunting. 

Mera dared not peer over to look, dared not make the tiniest movement. She only sat, clutching her daughter, praying against all hope that the man would abandon his search.

She heard nothing. 

The man’s footsteps had disappeared.

Carefully, painfully, as slowly as she could force her shaking hands to drag her, she peered around the side of the stump.

“There you are!” The man jumped from the shadows, making to grab for her.

Whether the Gods had answered her prayers, whether the man hadn’t found his target due to his damaged eye, or whether he simply missed, Mera did not know. But the man slipped, allowing her a single moment to flee, but one moment was all she needed.

She dragged Sidna with her, once again fleeing through the blurring woods. The moon illuminated the path ahead, placing her feet carefully to avoid the snagging roots and slippery ice.

But still the soldier pursued. With every step he gained on them. With every moment he drew nearer.

Mera dropped to her knees beside a thick bush, grasping Sidna by the shoulders. 

“My love, please, hide. He is after me. Stay here, and I will lead him away.”

Her daughter did not react, did not even seem to see her. 

“It’s alright, my love.” She kissed Sidna’s head, pushing the girl into the concealing shadows of the shrub. “Stay here. I will come back for you.”

“Don’t- Don’t leave me, mama.”

“I have to, my dearest. I can’t outrun him. I will come back for you, I promise.”

She kissed her daughter, before pushing her back into the darkness. She turned and raced through the dense wood, calling and screaming to draw the man’s attention. 

“Over her, you fat lout!” Her voice echoed through the night, and she heard the man huffing in response. “I bet you’re too fat to catch me!” 

She charged on, but her legs were already beginning to fail. The air caught in her chest, her throat was burning and sore, and bile rose in her mouth. She could not run forever. 

She heard the man behind her, so close now, his hot breath steaming the air behind her.

She felt the cold metal of his gauntlet catch her hair, dragging her to the ground. She felt a hard impact, the wind knocked from her lungs. She could hardly breathe, could hardly feel the cold ground beneath her. But she could feel him.

She could feel his hands pinning her wrists to the ground, could feel the weight of his armour fastening her in place, could feel the sweat dripping onto her skin as it rolled from his glistening face. 

“You little weasel.” The man laughed. “Finally caught you, didn’t I?” 

“Get off me you fucking pig!” She roared, squirming and twisting, though he barely budged. Even without armour she could not hope to throw a man his size, and with the gleaming bronze plates he was easily three times her own weight. 

His gauntlet struck her jaw, and she felt a tooth come loose in her mouth. She turned her head, spitting blood into the snow. 

“Now, time to take what’s mine.” The grubby pig of a man grabbed the collar of her tunic, tearing it down, exposing her chest to the freezing air of the night. 

She could not fight him, could not flee, and could not hide. She turned away from him, watching her blood mingle with the melting snow, running away down the rocks, gone forever. 

If only I could turn to water and flow away so easily. She thought.

She heard a deep growl from the shadows behind her. The man seemed not to notice, until a large black animal slammed into him, sending him sprawling. The beast was on him now, and she heard the man scream. She heard him cry out and plead as the creature tore into him. Then she heard nothing. 

The beast gave one last tug on the now lifeless soldier, before turning to her. She tried to crawl away, but her legs would not carry her, her arms too weak to move. 

The creature advanced, still soaked in the man’s blood. 

Then, ever so gently, she felt it’s wet tongue on her leg.

“Freki!” She called out. The dog whined, pressing itself into her lap, fighting back the penetrating cold. 

“You are a good boy, Freki.” She stroked his coat as he licked at her wounds.

She felt the tears freeze on her cheeks, just as Sidna’s had.

Sidna

She jolted up, a new life in her limbs.

“Where is she?” She spoke to herself. “Was it…that way? Or that way? Or…?”

The forest was identical in every direction, she could not recognise the way she had come. 

“Where is Sidna, Freki?” She turned to the dog. “Can you smell her?”

Freki paced back and forth, sniffing the ground, then turning his nose to smell the air. He turned back to Mera, whining, and lowered his head.

No, no, no. I have to find her.

“Sidna!”

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So that’s it for this week, everyone. Be sure to tune in next time to find out what happens next! You can subscribe to our mailing list below so you don’t miss out!!

As always, thanks for reading, see you next time!