Part 24 (1/2)

Evan stopped for a minute. Sasha sat waiting for him to finish his story.

”I realized he wasn't going to stop fighting. I had to end it.”

Evan slipped his hand over hers and squeezed it lightly.

”When he fell on his back, I stabbed him with the sword.”

Evan's head drooped and he wiped away tears with his free hand.

”I didn't want to do it,” he said. ”He didn't leave me a choice.”

”I understand. It was your survival or his Evan,” she said almost in a whisper. ”Don't feel bad. He would have killed you if he could.”

He nodded. ”I know. It still doesn't feel right.”

Sasha felt some anger burn in her belly. ”We shouldn't have been put in this situation Evan.”

Evan slipped his arms around her. They sat hugging each other for a minute. His arms were warm around her. After the drama of the last few days, she felt secure in his embrace. She didn't want to leave his arms. She pulled away dreading the task ahead. She ran her hands through her hair. How does she tell him about the ogre? He was already tortured about having killed a guard earlier today. Could he kill again?

”Anyway I've been roaming around the castle since. Hardly anyone noticed me. I kept the sword in a satchel. I heard your voice while scoping out the hallway behind the ballroom. I think it was just luck that I found you.”

She gave him a moment. ”I need your sword.”

Evan pulled away. ”Why?”

She opened the door to the storage room slowly and peered out. n.o.body was there.

”I have to kill an ogre.”

”How?”

”I have no idea but that's what Deal told me I had to do to get at the secret room. It's somewhere near the ogre.”

”I think I know where it is.”

”You do?”

”Does it look like a fat, ugly Buddha?”

”Maybe.”

Does the ogre resemble a Buddha? She didn't know but it was worth finding out.

”Take me to it,” She said slipping her hand in his. They eased out of the storage room. The hallways were dimly lit with artifacts hanging on walls. There was a beautiful stained gla.s.s window at the end of one hallway backlit with small lights. The image showed wolves in a forest following a woman with long black hair. Her face was hidden but Sasha had a feeling it was a portrait of the queen in her younger days. The woman seemed innocent, unaware of the danger following her. Was the queen ever innocent? It seemed hard to believe.

They came upon the ogre unexpectedly. The stone statue was set back from the wall in a deep recess. It wasn't visible from the hallway until they came upon it. It was as tall as the eight-foot hallway and five-feet wide. The head was round with pointed ears and bulging eyes. The legs were as wide as tree trunks. While Deal said it was 400 pounds, it was hard to tell its weight. It was big and bulky. It was also stone. How was she going to kill a stone statue?

The ogre was an inanimate object. It wasn't alive so there wasn't anything to kill. She a.n.a.lyzed around the statue, inspecting it from chest to toe. Even on tippy toe she couldn't feel above its shoulder.

”I don't get it,” she said after studying it. ”I don't know how to kill stone.”

”You think it's a trick?”

”I don't know why Deal would fool us. He seemed quite humorless.”

”We don't know anything about Horums.”

”True, but I don't think that's it.”

Evan, being taller, ran his hands along the statue's shoulders and back.

”I think I found something,” he said. ”There's a lever on the back of his neck,”

”Don't do anything,” she hissed panicked. She wasn't ready to fight the ogre yet. ”Give me the sword.”

Evan ignored her. He flipped the switch, jumped off the ogre and pushed her down the hall. She fell to the ground hitting her head on the stone wall. Her vision blurred. She saw Evan withdraw the sword from its bag and stand ready.

Nothing happened at first. Then the ogre s.h.i.+mmered and shape s.h.i.+fted. The skin went from stone to grey flesh. Sasha yelped when the statue's eyes popped open revealing grey eyes. The ogre grunted and twitched as if coming awake from a long sleep.

It was then when Sasha realized the ogre wasn't a statue. It was an ogre frozen as a statue maybe as a punishment or pay back for misbehavior. For a second she felt pity for the creature clutching a spiked club.

The ogre lumbered slowly to his feet.

”What do I do?” Evan said.

”Deal said I had to kill him,” she said a.n.a.lyzing the ogre's body for weaknesses. ”My guess is a beheading.”

Evan darted around the ogre, stabbing it frequently. The sword seemed to go in easily and came out covered in black blood. The fluid dripped on the ground and burnt holes like acid in the wood floors.

The ogre growled each time he was stabbed and swung his club in Evan's direction. He was slow moving and Evan was able to jump out of the way. Despite all the wounds, the Ogre didn't slow or seem affected.

Evan stabbed the ogre in the ribs, bent low and barely rolled out of the way as the Ogre raised the club, almost snagging Evan with a stud. He spun out of the way, seemed to twist his ankle and went down hard. Sasha heard his sword clang and hit the wall as it slid away.

She had to help Evan. She wasn't going to let him get hurt because of her. She leaped on the ogre's back, clutched its ears and twisted. The ogre turned away from Evan and swung around hard as if it could get her to fly off its back with momentum. It roared in irritation. Sasha squeezed her knees, digging them into the ogre's sides. She yanked the ear trying to tear it off. She'd probably be able to bite one off but that was so unappealing. She'd do it if she had no choice. She was hoping to create enough of a distraction to let Evan get his sword back and into a better position.

She knew she was in trouble when the ogre swung his club over his head and Sasha felt a stud sink into her back.

”Ahh,” she yelled out in pain. The ogre pulled his club free and made to swing it again when Evan stabbed it in the chest. It went in up to the hilt. Evan twisted it and angled it up then pulled it out.

That stopped the ogre for a second. It paused as if it were adjusting for the pain or injury. Sasha shuddered and slid off its back. When she hit the floor she rolled toward a wall. The Ogre roared in irritation and swung its club with more quickness and force.

It seemed to be getting stronger with each puncture. Was that possible? Where was its soft spot? As Evan parried with the ogre, Sasha watched the monstrous animal. It was laboring and yet seemed fueled by anger every time it suffered an injury. It never seemed to protect its torso. Was the head the key? The ogre's neck was too thick. A beheading was out of the question.

Sasha jumped back on the beast's back and pounded on its head, aiming for an eye. It reared back in anger and slammed against a wall, crus.h.i.+ng her. The pain was intense and for a minute she almost blacked out. When the ogre stepped away, she dropped from his back and thudded to the floor. She couldn't move. Her limbs felt numb. She tried to turn her neck and groaned in agony.

Evan took advantage of the animal's distraction and aimed the sword for the softness of its upper jaw. The blade went in easily. It roared in pain and whipped its head from side to side to dislodge the sword. Toxic black blood spurted from the wound. Sasha scooted out of the way to avoid touching any of the acid like substance. Before the ogre could recover, Evan sent the sword through an eye. The beast stopped fighting and grappled for a hand on the sword. It couldn't get one of its mammoth hands on the hilt easily. It gripped the blade, slicing open its hands and tugged the blade out. The sword clattered to the ground as the beast faltered and fell to its knees.