Teaser Tuesday

Yeah for Teaser Tuesdays! I intentionally picked an excerpt with very little dialogue (something I'm pretty good at) that's primarily an action description (something I'm not particularly confident about.) As always, all comments are hoped for and appreciated.

Her mount had a thick stream of foam trailing from his mouth and she could feel the tenseness in his muscles as he stretched his fore quarters, the entire mass of the animal suspended in midair for a fraction of a second before the hooves thundered to the earth once more. He showed no sign of slackening his pace as if he too could sense that speed could be a matter of life or death.

They made the sharp turn at the Horseneck crossroads, and as Maggie took a cursory look behind, her stomach dropped. At the bottom of the shallow hill less than a quarter league away, road a small brigade of redcoats at full gallop.

Lifting herself out of the saddle, she leaned forward in the stirrups, willing the horse onward. She had to make the Passaic crossing where the Continental Army patrolled the western shore, but it was nearly a half league and the British were closing in.

Down the country road Maggie's horse thundered. She could see the draping willows ahead, marking the banks of the Passaic River.

"Come on, Thunder," she whispered, naming the horse in the moment. "Just to the river, boy."

She could hear the cavalry clamoring behind her, but she didn't dare look back now. She and Thunder were focused entirely on the narrow bridge in the shadow of the willows that marked their safety. Or at least Maggie hoped. The redcoats wouldn't cross the river, would they?

An explosion of gunpowder broke through the cacophony of hooves and Maggie instinctively tucked her head low against Thunder's neck. The ball shrieked past her, splintering the trunk of an ironwood tree flanking the road. She could see the bridge but if her pursuers were close enough to use pistols she was running out of time.

Two more blasts sent balls flying on either side. This time she could feel the force of the bullet as it flew past her right thigh. Closer this time. Too close. She needed to slow them down.

Maggie wrapped the reins around twice around her left hand, then dug into her pocket with her right, grasping the rounded butt of the single shot pistol and yanking it free. In one fluid movement, she swung her right leg over Thunder's back, standing tall in the stirrup with her left. The solider was so close that she could the see the surprise flash across his face as she extended her weapon, cocked the hammer and fired.

She heard rather than saw his body hit the ground as she had clamped her eyes shut as soon as the flashpan sparked. A wave of nausea rolled through her at the thought of killing a man, even one who would have taken her life if given the chance. She forced the illness back, flinging the useless pistol into the woods and regaining her saddle. Perhaps he was only wounded.

Her unexpected attack slowed her pursuers just enough. With a sigh of relief she felt Thunder's hooves strike the waterlogged beams of the Passaic bridge.

"We're going to make it!"

The cavalry's horses hit the bridge and her heart sank. It was a bold move, coming after her into well-known enemy territory, especially since they didn't know exactly who their quarry was. Bold or not, she had no answer to this continued pursuit. What was she going to do now?

"Fire!"

As if in answer, the underbrush of the approaching shore erupted in gunfire, a half dozen muskets all igniting at once. A pair of splashes told her that at least two of the balls had hit their mark.

"Fire!"

Another volley just as Thunder's hooves reached the shore.

"Reload!"

Maggie flew down the road into the cover of the massive willows, then pulled and up and turned in the saddle in time to see the remaining British cavalry in full retreat back across the river.

"Yahoo!" she yelled. She pulled the wig and tricorner off her head and threw them in the air.

But the sound of a cocking pistol cut her celebration short.

"On the ground. Now."

Slowly, Maggie slid off the saddle and turned to find a dozen soldiers in Continental blue with muskets primed and trained on her.

"You best have a damned fine reason, lad," the Captain said, aiming his pistol at her heart. "A damned fine reason why we just saved your skin."