Tuesday Excerpt, "Revenge"

“A cowardly move,” Linvin observed, “but not an unexpected

one. You did exactly what I wanted you to do. Now I do not need

to track down your friends. As for your fate, I hate bullies and

cowards. You are both of those things and will die before your

friends can save you.” Linvin knocked the man back a step with a

sweep from his shield. It left the man’s body open and Linvin did

not squander the opportunity. He plunged Falconfeather through

the man’s stomach and pulled it out through his side. The bandit

fell to the ground, dead.

The other three men were almost ready to strike. One bore a

broadsword while the others carried battleaxes. Three more men

could be seen running from the front of the column. Linvin quickly

sized up his opposition. If he hurried, he could kill the three men in

the back before the others arrived. The battleaxes were unsuited

for close-quarters combat while the broadsword was perfect for the

fray. He decided it was best to save the swordsman for last as the

axe men were at a disadvantage when close to their peers.

Linvin sprang into action, kicking one of the men baring an axe

and using his shield to absorb a sword thrust. Then he struck

behind the knee of the second axe-man and sent him to the ground.

Not wasting time to bend down for the kill, he stomped the man’s

windpipe with the heel of his boot and left him to asphyxiate.

Now Linvin had enemies on both sides but turned his attention

to the man with the axe. Linvin expected a quick swipe. When the

man hesitated, he knew a blow was coming from behind. He

instinctively ducked and saw the broadsword pass over him. Not

being able to stop his momentum, the bandit fell over Linvin. His

motion carried Linvin with him as he fell to the ground. Knowing

it was imperative to reach his feet again, Linvin kneed the man in

the groin and cast him aside. Then he rolled back onto his feet just

in time to block a blow from the axe with his shield.

What no one including Linvin had realized was that the staff

holding the red sapphire had come loose in the scrum, growing to

its full length, and lay unattended on the ground.

Linvin, meanwhile, spun off the axe blow and twisted toward

its owner. When the two men were face-to-face, Linvin struck the

man in the forehead with the pommel of Falconfeather. As the man

stepped back, Linvin drove the mighty sword though the man’s

torso and then withdrew it. The dying man fell to the ground in

agony.

Expecting another sword attack, Linvin turned back to the man

with the broadsword and raised his shield. To his surprise, the man

had stepped back and was waiting on his companions who were

almost on the scene. “We’re going to need everybody down here

for this one!” the man called to the front.

Linvin’s best chance for success was to keep the participants he

fought to a limited number at one time. With that in mind, he

drove at the man, brushing aside a sword swipe and a punch. At

close range, Linvin bashed his shield into the man’s face and then

drove Falconfeather deep into his belly. He quickly withdrew the

blade and brushed aside the body.

It was not a moment too soon as the three from the front arrived

in force. They wore leather armor, and all carried swords similar to

their recently killed comrade. The first man charged into Linvin

and tackled him. Falconfeather and the shield flew from his hands.

The man’s companions came up alongside as Linvin wrestled

with the man. Linvin rolled over on top of him and was about to

deliver a punch when he saw a sword blade plunging at his back.

With a quick spin, he switched places with the man he was

wrestling and let him take the blow. The blade buried deep in the

man’s spine and lodged there. Casting the injured man off him, he

precisely aimed and struck his boot into the kneecap of the man

standing nearby who was still armed. A loud crack was heard as

the man fell to the ground, holding his broken knee.