[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
The scream startled the druns into shrill cries and alerted the third sentry
on the far side of the camp. He raised his musket and let fly with a
thundering crash and a flare of orange-red flame. His ball sailed off into the
night, but the noise brought every man in the camp awake.
Blade shot a third arrow into the men as they kicked themselves free of their
blankets. Then he dropped the bow and drew both sword and knife.
"Get the animals," he called to Twana and ran forward. He knew without hearing
or seeing her that she was running forward with him, knife in hand. Now it
would be all close-quarters fighting, where Blade's strength and speed would
be deadly and the enemy's bows and muskets useless.
A soldier came at Blade, trying to cut between him and the animals. The man
wore only boots and breechclout but carried sword and shield. His sword
whistled at Blade's head. Blade savagely parried the cut with his knife.
Sparks sprayed down, and the man was a little slow in drawing back his arm.
Blade thrust his knife deep into the flesh of that arm, then swung his sword.
The man's throat gaped wide as though he'd suddenly opened a second,
blood-gushing mouth.
One of the druns screamed, in pain this time. Twana was at work with her
knife. Another man came at
Blade, this one carrying shield and a single-handed axe. He used both of them
skillfully, forcing Blade to give ground. Blade would have liked to close and
kill the man, but he knew he couldn't afford to let himself be held in any one
place for long. That would give the others time to surround him and put their
superior numbers to work.
Blade kept backing, until he realized be was in danger of being backed right
out of the camp, leaving
Twana alone. He charged, swinging around to the left of the axeman, faster
than the other could turn, then closing in. He stabbed the man in the groin
with his knife and hacked his weapons arm nearly free of the shoulder. The man
reeled back, dropping his axe. Blade snatched it up, looked for Twana's slim
figure darting about among the animals, saw her. He raised the axe, shouted
"Get this!", and threw it. The axe would be a good weapon for killing the
sniffers.
Now Twana had released one of the druns and prodded it into a panic-stricken
flight. It charged through the camp, nearly knocking Blade flat. He leaped
clear in time, got his feet tangled in someone's discarded blankets, went
down, rolled with expert skill, and came up still armed and ready.
His opponent's weren't quite so fortunate. The maddened drun knocked two of
them flat and brought the rest to a standstill. Before they could recover,
Blade charged.
He leaped over one of the fallen men and came down on the chest of the other
in an explosive crackling of shattered ribs. He leaped down to the ground as
the man went into a final blood-spraying convulsion.
Page 23
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
His sword cut the air in a flat arc and took a head off its shoulders. The
corpse toppled almost at Blade's
feet. He stepped behind it, keeping two more men at a distance great enough to
spoil their attack. Their swords lashed out. Blade parried one with his knife,
immobilizing it. He lopped off the hand that held the other sword, then turned
back to the first man.
As he did, Twana screamed in raw terror. Blade smashed the shield of the man
facing him with a brutal downcut, laid open his chest with a second cut, and
backed away as the man fell. Now he could clearly see Twana and why she'd
screamed.
One of the sniffers was loose. Twana was backed against the wagon, shaking
with fear as she stared wildly at the creature in front of her. Every time she
moved so much as a finger, the deadly spine-studded tail waved toward her.
Every time the poisoned tips stopped inches from her skin. At other times the
sniffer opened its mouth and hissed angrily. The mouth was full of teeth,
chisel-shaped like a beaver's-long and sharp enough to do plenty of damage if
they sank into human flesh. Twana's axe lay on the ground at her feet, its
head dark with blood.
Blade's sword chopped into the base of the sniffer's spine. The poisoned tail
lashed wildly back toward him, so hard that some of the spines raked across
his boots. They left dark, oozing lines across the leather but didn't
penetrate to the skin. Then the tail flopped limply to the ground as the
sniffer lost control of it. Half mad with pain, it turned to face Blade, and
Blade's sword came down across the back of its neck. The sniffer dropped nose
first to the ground and lay there, quivering all over. It made noises so much
like the cries of a kitten that Blade was relieved when Twana picked up the
axe and brought it down hard, ending the sniffer's death agony.
Then she was dropping the axe and clinging desperately to his left arm. Gently
he shook her loose and turned to face his remaining human enemies. After a
long moment's staring into the darkness around him, he realized there weren't
any in sight.
Instantly Blade's mind conjured up a picture of the Shoba's men backing away
until they could fill him and Twana with arrows, with little danger to
themselves. He grabbed Twana by the wrist and dragged her with him under the
sniffer's wagon. They lay flat, eyes searching the darkness for any sign of
the enemy, ears listening for the whistle of descending arrows.
He heard and saw nothing. He whispered to Twana, "What about the other
sniffer?"
"I killed it with the axe before the other one came at me." He could feel her
shivering. The generations-old terror of the Shoba's sniffers was still in
her.
Blade waited, but gradually he began to suspect there was nothing to wait for.
With both their sniffers dead, the rest of the Shoba's men might have decided
they had no chance anymore of carrying out their mission. The best course
would be to clear out, try to run down their scattered druns, and then ride to
rejoin their comrades.
Blade wondered, in spite of this. The Shoba's men could still have made a good
try at killing him while he was busy with the sniffer. As far as he knew, they
hadn't lifted a finger. They'd just vanished into the night. It wasn't what he
would have expected from soldiers who'd shown themselves so tough and
determined.
Slowly Blade crawled out from under the wagon. When this drew no shouts or
arrows, he called softly to Twana. She scrambled out with frantic haste, and
together they searched the camp. Blade gathered up two more knives, a sword,
and a spare bow. He packed his quiver full of arrows, but decided against [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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The scream startled the druns into shrill cries and alerted the third sentry
on the far side of the camp. He raised his musket and let fly with a
thundering crash and a flare of orange-red flame. His ball sailed off into the
night, but the noise brought every man in the camp awake.
Blade shot a third arrow into the men as they kicked themselves free of their
blankets. Then he dropped the bow and drew both sword and knife.
"Get the animals," he called to Twana and ran forward. He knew without hearing
or seeing her that she was running forward with him, knife in hand. Now it
would be all close-quarters fighting, where Blade's strength and speed would
be deadly and the enemy's bows and muskets useless.
A soldier came at Blade, trying to cut between him and the animals. The man
wore only boots and breechclout but carried sword and shield. His sword
whistled at Blade's head. Blade savagely parried the cut with his knife.
Sparks sprayed down, and the man was a little slow in drawing back his arm.
Blade thrust his knife deep into the flesh of that arm, then swung his sword.
The man's throat gaped wide as though he'd suddenly opened a second,
blood-gushing mouth.
One of the druns screamed, in pain this time. Twana was at work with her
knife. Another man came at
Blade, this one carrying shield and a single-handed axe. He used both of them
skillfully, forcing Blade to give ground. Blade would have liked to close and
kill the man, but he knew he couldn't afford to let himself be held in any one
place for long. That would give the others time to surround him and put their
superior numbers to work.
Blade kept backing, until he realized be was in danger of being backed right
out of the camp, leaving
Twana alone. He charged, swinging around to the left of the axeman, faster
than the other could turn, then closing in. He stabbed the man in the groin
with his knife and hacked his weapons arm nearly free of the shoulder. The man
reeled back, dropping his axe. Blade snatched it up, looked for Twana's slim
figure darting about among the animals, saw her. He raised the axe, shouted
"Get this!", and threw it. The axe would be a good weapon for killing the
sniffers.
Now Twana had released one of the druns and prodded it into a panic-stricken
flight. It charged through the camp, nearly knocking Blade flat. He leaped
clear in time, got his feet tangled in someone's discarded blankets, went
down, rolled with expert skill, and came up still armed and ready.
His opponent's weren't quite so fortunate. The maddened drun knocked two of
them flat and brought the rest to a standstill. Before they could recover,
Blade charged.
He leaped over one of the fallen men and came down on the chest of the other
in an explosive crackling of shattered ribs. He leaped down to the ground as
the man went into a final blood-spraying convulsion.
Page 23
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
His sword cut the air in a flat arc and took a head off its shoulders. The
corpse toppled almost at Blade's
feet. He stepped behind it, keeping two more men at a distance great enough to
spoil their attack. Their swords lashed out. Blade parried one with his knife,
immobilizing it. He lopped off the hand that held the other sword, then turned
back to the first man.
As he did, Twana screamed in raw terror. Blade smashed the shield of the man
facing him with a brutal downcut, laid open his chest with a second cut, and
backed away as the man fell. Now he could clearly see Twana and why she'd
screamed.
One of the sniffers was loose. Twana was backed against the wagon, shaking
with fear as she stared wildly at the creature in front of her. Every time she
moved so much as a finger, the deadly spine-studded tail waved toward her.
Every time the poisoned tips stopped inches from her skin. At other times the
sniffer opened its mouth and hissed angrily. The mouth was full of teeth,
chisel-shaped like a beaver's-long and sharp enough to do plenty of damage if
they sank into human flesh. Twana's axe lay on the ground at her feet, its
head dark with blood.
Blade's sword chopped into the base of the sniffer's spine. The poisoned tail
lashed wildly back toward him, so hard that some of the spines raked across
his boots. They left dark, oozing lines across the leather but didn't
penetrate to the skin. Then the tail flopped limply to the ground as the
sniffer lost control of it. Half mad with pain, it turned to face Blade, and
Blade's sword came down across the back of its neck. The sniffer dropped nose
first to the ground and lay there, quivering all over. It made noises so much
like the cries of a kitten that Blade was relieved when Twana picked up the
axe and brought it down hard, ending the sniffer's death agony.
Then she was dropping the axe and clinging desperately to his left arm. Gently
he shook her loose and turned to face his remaining human enemies. After a
long moment's staring into the darkness around him, he realized there weren't
any in sight.
Instantly Blade's mind conjured up a picture of the Shoba's men backing away
until they could fill him and Twana with arrows, with little danger to
themselves. He grabbed Twana by the wrist and dragged her with him under the
sniffer's wagon. They lay flat, eyes searching the darkness for any sign of
the enemy, ears listening for the whistle of descending arrows.
He heard and saw nothing. He whispered to Twana, "What about the other
sniffer?"
"I killed it with the axe before the other one came at me." He could feel her
shivering. The generations-old terror of the Shoba's sniffers was still in
her.
Blade waited, but gradually he began to suspect there was nothing to wait for.
With both their sniffers dead, the rest of the Shoba's men might have decided
they had no chance anymore of carrying out their mission. The best course
would be to clear out, try to run down their scattered druns, and then ride to
rejoin their comrades.
Blade wondered, in spite of this. The Shoba's men could still have made a good
try at killing him while he was busy with the sniffer. As far as he knew, they
hadn't lifted a finger. They'd just vanished into the night. It wasn't what he
would have expected from soldiers who'd shown themselves so tough and
determined.
Slowly Blade crawled out from under the wagon. When this drew no shouts or
arrows, he called softly to Twana. She scrambled out with frantic haste, and
together they searched the camp. Blade gathered up two more knives, a sword,
and a spare bow. He packed his quiver full of arrows, but decided against [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]