Part 27 (2/2)
The archers arrived
The six bowmen lined up silently behind Williaar and his six ar
Willia in the dust on the floor, to shohere the dear swore ”It will cost us to ferret hih that door are almost certainly dead”
William said, ”Not if they don't stop”
”What do you have in ar smiled ”If the demon will follow them, the hare can lead him to the stable Then we can drive hian to strip off his armor ”Not they, me”
”You?”
”I know the way No one else here does but you, captain, and, with respect, I'd wager I'ar said, ”I re up to you yesterday”
Willia I live an eternity” He handed his scabbard to one of the soldiers, but held on to the sword He noore only tunic, trousers and boots He iven one by a soldier near the back ”No time like the present,” Willia as he entered the room in which the delancing backward and was horrified to discover the de in anger
Williale the day before and the hard ride with Arutha, but right now his body answered a basic de for his life
He ran without hesitation and hoped his instincts would keep hih a large e with him every step of the way
William almost died when he burst into the stable and barely avoided running headlong into a forge He bounced off the stonework and ducked his head under the metal hood that led to the stonework chimney Had he struck it and fallen, he knew the deratified to discover the demon wasn't quite as nimble, since a few seconds later he heard the crash of a heavy body against the forge and hood, followed by a screaht at the far end of the stable and started the final sprint It was only a hundred feet or so, but it seemed to take forever to cross that paltry distance
He raced into the sunlight, half-blinded by it Shading his eyes for a moment, he saw Prince Arutha and a company of horsemen directly in front of hie of the sunlight
The creature ht Willianized the a his sword He took a deep breath, then shouted a challenge
The de to do with Willia attacked fro their arrows as rapidly as possible It spun around, and Willia from its back and one from its side, and several minor wounds were also visible froed back into the stable and Willia in the center aisle, while the bow at it William saw that only a few shafts that struck square to the creature had gone in The rest of the arrows glanced off, soically-imbued skin
Willia! You're going to kill so Then Willia as hard as he could against the creature's back, but when the blade struck, the shock ran up both his arms as if he had struck the bole of an ancient oak tree The derab Willia decapitated
He rolled to his feet and ran, uncertain as to whether the de its attention to the other soldiers in the stable, but just as he reached the door and sunlight, a crushi+ng blow to his back informed hi forward, scraping his forearet to his feet as quickly as possible A scream from behind alerted hi the deered upright in tiht at hih the solid rock under the earth and the sound of hooves growing louder by the second caused Willia escape
Given the circu he could do: he stood stock-still and prayed that they would ride around him
The riders drew up theirthe ground less than a yard froroup of five grabbed reins and led mounts to the rear as the other four dreeapons and stood in a line They waited until Arutha joined theed
Williaed with them
The demon had backed the bowmen into the stable, but it turned at the sound of so many new arrivals The Krondorian soldiers spread out and quickly forood effect
Arutha shouted, ”When you see its rear, attack!”
At the sound of Arutha's voice, the demon turned and two men behind it dashed forward and struck as hard as they could It whipped around, and as it did so other men struck from behind
Within a fewin place, its back adone, the tactic was not without cost At least three men had been struck so hard they had been knocked across the rooravely wounded The deht and left, with no apparent pattern, occasionally slashi+ng a shi+eld or, worse, over a shi+eld into armor or exposed flesh
Men cursed and bled, and a few ht
Willia bloith his two-handed sword, and was rewarded by the sight of a deep groove fountaining black, s at William, who used his sword to parry Sparks flew as black talons scraped along the steel blade, but as the creature drew back its other hand to strike, it screamed and turned away, distracted by a blow fro ready to deliver another blohen a voice fro the Prince's voice, Williahness The creature bleeds, but seems reluctant to die”
Arutha moved to stand next to William, sword at the ready
In that instant, there was no doubt in William's mind that his cousin was no mere court ruler, ore armor only for state occasions, but an undoubted warrior who had seen e
Arutha said nothing, but stepped in front of Willia his sword at the creature A small portion of the demon's side, under the left arm, was exposed, and Arutha struck with such swiftness that William was only aware of the strike when the Prince pulled away
The demon seemed to freeze for an instant, and then it tree, the scream was one of terror The demon faced Arutha, its eyes fixed upon the Prince as if he were the only enemy in the room
Instantly those soldiers behind the creature closed in, slashi+ng at its already bloodied and tattered back But the demon's fiery eyes were focused solely upon Arutha and it slashed doith a raking blow
Arutha , dripping groove appeared on the back of the de a backhand blohich caused William to leap backwards, while Arutha si the creature across the chest
Williae!”
Arutha said, ”Ask your father about it soht now I'm busy”