Kagan breathed a sigh of relief as Giselle made headway towards the middle of the caravan.
"Good girl."
Giselle at least had the good sense to head for safety. Kagan wanted to stop to assist her but there was no possible way, he was needed at the rear of the train.
"JEEZELLE!" Kagan repeated.
Giselle didn't hear him as she raced past heading for the transport holding Sabin. Thankfully she looked steady on the manx. The look of determination transformed Giselle's face making her appear as fierce in the face of danger as any seasoned warrior he'd ridden with.
It killed Kagan to turn away and head on to aid his men, but duty called. He had to have faith Giselle would be safe, ensconced among the cargo transports. Surely Giselle was one of Kali's own.
Kagan reached his men. They had lost a half dozen warriors, and it looked like there were several more casualties among those that fought off the advancing enemy.
"I hear you need back-up." Kagan heard Cyprian's voice in the earpiece of his comm.
"Hell yes warrior!" Kagan yelled over the din.
Relief was an understatement at the moment. The rest of Kagan's army had to be close if Cyprian was contacting Kagan on the secure short range wavelength they used in battle. The back-up couldn't have come too soon. They would've probably made it through the pass but not without heavy losses.
"I've got your tail Daimio." Cyprian rallied.
Giselle
Giselle was able to ease back on her manx once she came up along side the transport.
"Thank god" She sighed as she saw Sabin whole and untouched.
A warrior approached her flank eyeing her with shock. Giselle didn't have the time or the patience for some double standard bull shit.
"Can you get him into the transport?" Giselle hollered, her ears still ringing.
The warrior said something. Giselle pointed to her ears and shook her head. The warrior understood and shook his head 'no.'
"Okay. Sabin hand me a blanket or something." The boy responded instantly. "Can you pack this against his wound?" Giselle asked the warrior.
He nodded, and she tossed him the thin blanket. Giselle did her best to keep the manx steady not twisting to look back, knowing it would encourage the beast to veer in whichever direction she turned.
The warrior rode forward and though he looked concerned he nodded to her indicating all was well before falling back into his position to guard the middle of the caravan.
Giselle wiped the sweat off her brow then returned her grip to the manx's furry scruff. She squinted against the light of the sun shining directly in her eyes as they moved closer to the pass.
There was a cloud of dust rising up from the earth less than a mile ahead. Giselle's eyes widened as from the shadow emerged hundreds of warriors swathed in black. The warriors were masked to fend off the dust. Ebony metal plates covered their arms and legs, along with a cache of weapons strapped to their chests. The way their dark cloaks flapped in the wind made the oncoming army look like a vengeful phantom horde, something straight out of Armageddon.
Giselle nearly reared back on her manx. She looked around and noticed the other warriors looked relieved.
"Hell yes this must be the cavalry!" Giselle whooped with a fist pump.
The warriors nearby grinned at her exuberant response.
Giselle kept a steady pace. They weren't in the clear just yet. The caravan formation tightened up as their allies approached, split and then enveloped their smaller group.
When she finally came out on the other side of the pass, the group started to slow and came to a stop near a hastily constructed base of operations. Giselle sat back and patted her manx's flank bringing the creature to a halt in an area that several other injured warrior were gathering.
Giselle looked down and realized there was no way she could hop off the manx, it was at least as tall as she was. Giselle was glad she hadn't looked down before now.
Several black clad warriors approached as she sat on the beasts back. They were speaking to her and looked perturbed. Someone had thankfully turned off the machines that made the infernal squall but her ears were still ringing.
Giselle shook her head then pointed to the injured warrior behind her.
"Help him."
The agitated warriors gathered round. The manx she rode must've felt threatened because the beast crouched and snarled. Giselle looked at the massive fangs the feline displayed and felt the rumble between her legs. She rubbed the manx's shoulder.
"Easy boy. Let them get the warrior."
The manx glanced at her then again at the warriors. She pet and massaged the beast till the tension dissipated from its haunches. The manx lay down and a couple warriors moved in and unstrapped the injured warrior.
Giselle slid off the creature's back. She was more than a bit unsteady on her feet from the harrowing ride. Instantly she was surrounded by the new warriors that had just come to their rescue. There was one making boisterous gestures towards her that weren't welcoming in the least.