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I pointed at the six and said, "Head for them," and we did, spurring our horses to a gallop. I drew my sword. I had no intention of wasting arrows trying for an impossible shot from horseback. A
We had no choice but to fight the closer riders, and unless we disposed of those six-five after A
Only one of the first five riders looked less than human. His grotesque face looked akin to the swamp trolls, but this one was wearing clothes and armor. A
It was something more than paranoia that made me think that these riders, like the swamp trolls and the weird flying creature we met on our way north, were all aiming specifically at me. You're paranoid if you think "they" are out to get you and "they" aren't. Well, you may still be paranoid if "they" are out to get you, but it's not a delusion then. It's real. I wasn't wearing a sandwich board that said "I'm the Hero of Varay" on one side and "Come and get me" on the other, but I didn't have to make any great mental leap to decide that these creatures of Fairy must somehow be able to sense that I was the one to focus on.
The four riders who were left after A
I had never attempted fencing on horseback. A gap in my education as a swashbuckler. And all of those years of learning what to do with my feet and body while I parried and feinted and lunged, all the wild language of formal fencing, were wasted when I crossed swords on that beach.
Maybe that's going a bit too far. The situation was novel, but I did manage to get my sword up to block the blade that was swung right toward my nose. The other guy might not have known from quarte or sixte, so we started out fairly even. He was more a hacker than a fencer, and I don't mean that he played with computers. All I had to do was keep getting my sword in the way of his until our horses danced around enough to let me get past his guard. I didn't worry about style either. And I didn't wait to see him fall. As soon as I pulled my blade free, I kneed my horse and pushed past to reach Harkane. He was in trouble.
Harkane backed away as I caught his opponent from the side. There was no trouble with elegant form this time either. My first swing bit about halfway into my foe's upper arm. He turned toward me but couldn't do much to defend himself. He managed to block my next blow, but not the lunge that caught his throat after that.
I didn't waste time looking south for the other group of riders. I didn't need to look. I could feel the elf warrior and his band getting closer, and, near the end of my second duel, I could feel something more deadly than a host of elf warriors.
Harkane and Lesh combined to dispatch the last member of the small patrol. I looked south and then up finally… and saw death overtaking the elf's band. An immense shadow drew my eyes upward. A dragon was swooping down toward the galloping riders.
"To the swamp!" I shouted at my companions. We raced northeast, but we kept looking back over our shoulders toward the group pursuing us and the dragon pursuing them. The elf drew his six-foot sword, looked back, and kicked at his horse's flanks, looking for more speed from the already-overtaxed steed. The elf's head turned left, then right. Maybe he was shouting at his men. He was still too far away for me to be certain. His men spurred their mounts on, hardly needing encouragement, trying to outrun the flying death behind them.
It was an impossible flight.
"Hold up!" A
I reined in quickly. There wasn't time for a round-table discussion on the subject, but it made a certain kind of sense. We dismounted and moved to our horses' heads to hold them as still as possible. The horses weren't happy about sticking around.
I saw a large blob fall from the dragon.
"What's it doing, bombing them?" I asked softly. It wouldn't have surprised me.
"Just lightening up, I expect," Lesh said. "Dropping a load of crap from his last meal." Lesh's snort wasn't quite a laugh. "I've seen dragon droppings. Must drop more'n ton at a time. One of those turds hits you, you've had it." He was serious. That was obvious, but the image he conjured up almost sent me into hysterics. I managed to hold back the laugh that was trying to get past my fear, but it was a struggle. Still, there was nothing at all fu
The dragon struck. There was nothing the four of us could do but watch. At the moment, that dragon was saving our bacon, but I couldn't help but feel for the men-and even the elf-that it was attacking. Each massive front talon grabbed a horse and rider. The dragon's jaws opened and bit off the top half of another rider as it pulled out of its dive. The elf stood in his stirrups and took a full swing at the beast. He co
The elf jumped off his horse and slapped its rump to run the animal off. I couldn't guess if he hoped that the dragon would chase the animal and leave him alone or if he just wanted to get the horse out of the way. The dragon circled and dove again, not at all distracted by the panicked horse racing north. The elf faced the dragon, his claymore out in both hands, ready for his last stand. It couldn't be anything but a last stand. The dragon came low, then climbed and circled again, surveying the carnage he had already caused. He eyed the elf, then climbed to make another power dive, pulling up just as he reached his target, stalling to a stop.
As they met, the elf sliced at the bottom of the dragon's jaw and black blood spurted down on him. As far off as we were, I heard the thud of the blade biting into the dragon, the rushing sound of blood gushing out-like water from a fire hose. The dragon reached out with a talon that was bigger than the elf… and the elf sliced it off cleanly. More blood spurted. I wondered how sharp that blade was. It seemed incredible.
The dragon folded his wings and dropped on the elf. I figured that that was the end of the affair, since the dragon had to weigh hundreds, maybe thousands, of tons. But after a long moment of the dragon thrashing about, we saw the elf crawl out from under one wing. The wing flailed and knocked the elf face first into the sand-hard. Almost at once, the elf started crawling forward again, dragging himself a few feet farther from the dragon. The reptile was still thrashing, its head weaving like a cobra rising from a snake charmer's basket. Thunderous groans came from its slack jaw. It was hurt, but still very much alive.