A Link to the Heart Chapter 11

Link was out of bed before he knew what was happening. His feet hit the floor, sword was in hand, even as his brain struggled to wake up. Instincts honed through countless dangers compelled him into action, reacting faster than his sluggish brain could process. His eyes scoured the room, looking for danger as he held the sword across his chest in a defensive pose. It took his thoughts a few seconds to catch up and he wondered what had woken him but he could see nothing, there was no monster coming for him and he wondered what had disturbed his slumber.

Suddenly another scream cut the air and Link realised it was coming from outside the house. He could hear people running and the crackle of fires burning. For a moment he thought a fire had broken out in one of the barns but then he heard the sound of hooves galloping and the dreaded noise of metal slicing flesh, once heard never forgotten, and he knew Lon Lon Ranch was under attack. Who, why, how these things didn't matter, all that mattered was Link act fast.

He had been asleep in his tunic and he jumped into his boots in a moment, grabbing his shield and bow as he did so. He ran to the door and yanked it open, sticking his head out into the corridor. The bare passage was filled with smoke and the flicker of flames, cutting off any exit from that direction. Link slammed the door shut and turned to the window, throwing open the shutters to peer outside. There was no glass to stop him and he hoicked his leg out, sliding onto a tiled awning that ran under the window. He heaved himself onto the awning and to his surprise saw Tarren and Jortan doing the same from their window. The veteran Knights coming to the same conclusion he had.

Link called, "What's happening?!"

Tarren replied, "No idea but we have to do something!"

Link turned to look downwards and saw crowds of ranch hands milling about in confusion. The nearby barns and houses were on fire, consumed by roaring blazes as the wooden timbers burned fiercely. Screams rent the air and the red light of the bonfires cast a hellish glow upon the scene but what drew his eye were the figures on horseback. They were dashing through the crowd, cutting down many as they shrieked wild battle cries. Link recognised them instantly, their attire, their fighting style and the fact that they were all women told him everything he needed to know and he snarled, "Gerudo raiders!"

Jortan gasped, "This deep in Hyrule?! How?"

"Doesn't matter," Link snapped, "Draw bows!"

He sheathed his sword and drew his compact bow, not a great longbow that could punch through chainmail but a compact horse bow, quick to load and easy to draw yet still with power. He drew an arrow and fitted it to the string, blessing the Goddesses that he had kept it strung. He drew back the shaft and sighted down the length as he sought a target. He saw a Gerudo riding past, chasing a young man as he ran for his life. She was waving a glaive in the air, intending to cut him down from behind. Link pointed his arrow at her back, his breathing calm and measured. He lifted the point a fraction, compensating for drift and pulled the string taught, then let go.

The bow sang as the arrow flew away, soaring straight and true through the air. It crossed the distance in an instant and smashed into the Gerudo's back, punching her from her horse and sending her falling to the churned earth with a half-foot of wood buried in her body. Two more arrows dove into the enemy, Tarren proving either an expert marksman or stupendously lucky as his shaft struck a racing Gerudo in the neck. Jortan's shot was less lucky, merely hitting a horse but it was enough to make the beast stumble and throw the rider to the ground in a heap of broken bones.

Link saw they had taken out three attackers but ten-fold more remained and now they knew the Hylians were fighting back. They wheeled about, led by a woman waving a shining Scimitar and Link saw many horse bows among them. Three against thirty, those were terrible odds. Even Link, a survivor of horrors that had crushed whole villages, couldn't take thirty foes at once. The Gerudo would end the defiance in a hail of arrows and then finish the remaining Hylians once and for all. But Link yet had weapons he hadn't used.

"We have to run!" Tarren barked.

"We won't make it," Link yelled, "But I have an idea."

He hastily drew another arrow and slotted it home with practised speed. As he did so he reached for his magic, drawing upon the reservoir of power within his soul. Energy flowed down his limbs into the arrow and made it glow with a golden haze. He poured out his power, letting it build as he drew his bow back and sighted at the Gerudo attackers. They had come about, raising bows to finish the Hylians but Link was faster. He sighted upon the nearest rider and let fly as he shouted, "Close your eyes!"

The arrow spun through the air, trailing golden sparks in its wake and when it struck an incandescent flare of brilliant illumination erupted. Light Arrows, imbued with a holy radiance inimical to creatures of the dark and monsters alike, but also aching bright to human eyes. Link and the Knights had warning enough to shield their eyes but the Gerudo were caught in the flash of light, their eyes were dilated for night time and it seared their vision like a firebrand shoved in the face.

Link opened his eyes and saw the Gerudo screech to a halt, screaming as their eyes were blinded. Their horses bucked and reared in alarm and their formation broke up in a heartbeat. They broke in all directions, fleeing from the aching bright light as they desperately tried to clear the green bolts marring their vision. In their moment of confusion Link shrugged his bow and drew his sword and shield. He rose to his feet and took a step, jumping from the awning as he cried, "Follow me!"

He hit the ground with both feet and ran at a Gerudo in a black robe. Her horse was bucking wildly, spinning about without direction as she fought for control. Link didn't hesitate to stab upwards, thrusting over the flank of the horse to plunge his sword point into the rider's belly. The woman gasped as her gut was torn out and she fell off the horse with a limp cry. Link forced back a glut of shame, killing monsters was easy but fighting living beings was a harrowing experience. Yet he'd fought for his life on many an occasion and didn't let that slow him down.

He spun about as another Gerudo rode up behind him, swinging a glaive at his back. Thankfully her sight was still ruined and her clumsy blow was deflected by the perfect sheen of his shield. She reared back, lifting her glaive for another thrust but Link swept low and struck at her horse's leg. It was a shameful blow, to injure a poor animal, but Link knew honour was useless to a dead man and struck anyway. The horse shrieked as it toppled, slamming into the ground with a broken leg. The Gerudo woman was trapped underneath, her lower half crushed by the weight of the screaming animal. Link knew such injuries were fatal without magical assistance and he put her out of her misery with a swift thrust.

He spun about looking for more enemies but found the Gerudo had scattered, racing off behind the other buildings. Terran and Jortan had cut down another warrior who had been too slow to flee and their heavy swords were wet with blood. Tarren's face was flushed with exertion and by the light of the raging fires he exclaimed, "They'll be back!"

"Then we'd better not be here when they come," Link cried, "Scatter and pick them off one by one!"

The pair broke away as Link ran into a narrow gap between a barn and the smithy, running down its length. He was halfway through when he ran into Ingo, who was cowering in the dark. Link pulled up and shouted, "Ingo!"

"Link!" Ingo stammered, "What's going on?!"

"We're under attack," Link snapped, "I can hold them off but I need you to rally the ranch hands."

Ingo's eyes widened in fear as he yelped, "I can't do that!"

Link snapped, "You have to, we're outnumbered and we need more help. I'm not asking you to fight, just round up the hands and get them facing forward."

Ingo face was pale but he nodded once then scurried away. Link left him behind as he advanced and paused at the end of the alley. He heard hoofbeats closing rapidly and lifted his sword with both hands as he waited. The noise reached a crescendo then he stepped out and swung hard. His sword point caught a horse in the neck and it toppled into a heap, throwing the rider to the ground. Link jumped forward and stabbed her in the back before she could rise, then spun about looking for the next enemy.

He saw a gaggle of Gerudo swirling about on horseback, surrounding a knot of Hylians. These ones had presence of mind enough to grab pitchforks and dipping ladles and were trying to hold back the attackers with desperate thrusts. They were failing though, the Gerudo had height and reach from their horses, their mass intimidating, their bulk overpowering. The Hylian's defiance was admirable but they were farm workers and ranch hands, not warriors, and the Gerudo were more than their match. They cut down another man and then Link saw something that made his heart skip a beat: Malon and Talon were among the last survivors, desperately fighting for their lives.

Even as he watched a glaive flashed out, striking Talon in between the shoulder blades and driving deep. The man fell with a cry and Malon screamed as her father was cut down. Then a Gerudo reared up behind her, scimitar dropping like an executioner's axe. Link reacted on instinct, reaching deep within and letting his magic flow even as he ran to intervene. He grabbed every last morsel of magic he had and sent it forth, casting a defensive barrier between Malon and the Gerudo. A shining prism of light enveloped Malon, spinning gently around her form. The Gerudo's strike hit the barrier and bounced off, leaving her unharmed. The Gerudo started in surprise but reacted swiftly, striking again and again. The prism flickered as it lost integrity, then it blinked once before disappearing entirely, leaving Malon defenceless. Link was still five paces away and he watched helplessly as the Gerudo lifted her sword in triumph, intending to finish the girl off. Yet Malon was no meek maiden. She swung her pitchfork hard and slammed it into the horse's rear as she cried, "Get!"

The horse reacted instinctively, bolting forward and taking its rider with it. Link spied his chance and threw himself at the remaining Gerudo, sword lashing out like a blur of lightning. His world closed in around him and all he could see were heaving horse's flanks and silver blades. It was chaos and madness but Link had spent every day fighting for his life and he ducked and weaved and deflected blows with his shield. In return his sword thrust and slashed, hacking and slicing at anything that came near to him.

Anger swelled up within him for the lives lost this day, the innocents slain and it drove his arm, making him stronger and more deadly. He had fought countless horrors, always defending the helpless and in his eyes the Gerudo became only more monsters, preying on those who could not fight back. He struck over and over, fuelled by the knowledge that one misstep would spell his end and only his swift evasions and merciless counters were keeping the enemy at bay. Gerudo fell to his swift strikes, falling in bleeding heaps as he wove among them. He was everywhere, cutting and stabbing with furious vengeance and none could touch him.

Suddenly there was a harsh cry and the Gerudo fell back, retreating from his sword. Link found himself standing over a pile of slain foes and horses, back-to-back with Malon. By his count he had slain four more Gerudo but the other Hylians had not made it either. Malon was gripping her pitchfork in both hands and bleeding from a wound on her scalp but she gasped, "My father, is he…"

"No time," Link snapped, "Focus on the fight or we all die."

Malon cast her head about as she asked, "Why did they retreat?"

Link glowered, "They're getting lined up for a massed charge, they'll overwhelm us in one rush."

It turned out he was wrong about that. From the dark came a lone figure, a Gerudo approaching on foot. She had dismounted so she could draw two scimitars and she held them in low grips as she stalked forward. Her face was grim and she had fierce anger burning in her eyes as she glared at Link. Firelight washed over her face and her lips drew back as she spat, "You… you killed my sisters."

Link raised his sword and shield before him as he growled, "You dare, you who killed helpless men and women!"

The Gerudo lifted one scimitar high and held the other low as she hissed, "I am Kinesha, leader of the Padwe clan and it is by my hand you shall die."

Link only growled back, "You're just one more monster, needing to be taken out of this world. Killing monsters is what I do."

Then the pair leapt at each other and the duel was joined.