Lowborn Ch. 06

The fourth was a mountain of a man, sporting a black beard — almost bear-like in appearance — easily as tall as Mindblind and more muscular. It was he who bore the shield, and carried a sword that most men would need to wield in two hands. He swiped it through the air and announced, Kill them, in Draxnian, his booming voice easily overcoming the howling wind.

Steel clashed on steel, and Mindblind instantly knew that this opponent was far more skilled than the last assassin he had faced. Those of lower standing had failed, and so the best of the guild's murderers had come to finish the job. These were men trained to kill from the shadows, but prepared to take out their mark with main strength, should the necessity arise.

Mindblind disengaged from the assassin's first attack, put on the defensive by a flurry of blows. Training and adrenaline took over, bringing his sword into line and compensating for his lack of a shield, which he'd tossed into the wagon before stopping to evaluate the approaching weather. Though the hail had stopped, horizontal rain continued to fall, obscuring vision and making the grips of weapons slippery.

Though his opponent was faster, and perhaps more skilled, the killer seemed wary of Mindblind's reach and obvious strength. He kept his blade moving, never locking weapons for more than a fraction of a second. Mindblind immersed himself in the flow of the battle, his sword moving to parry on pure instinct, and to strike when an opportunity presented itself.

When the assassin's blade tangled in the hardy, blowing grass for the tiniest fraction of a second, Mindblind was ready. He thrust, forcing the murderer back, and took advantage of his longer reach to keep the man at bay. With the tables turned, his greater strength also helped to tip the scales.

A death cry sounded out, and the assassin facing Indigo dropped to the ground, sliding off the handsome Draxnian's blade. Mindblind barely had time to take note of it in his peripheral vision, as he had to keep up the pressure on his opponent. Grunts of pain and exertion mingling with steely hisses marked the battle between Raven and the last of the men.

The mountain of a man, who had stood aside since the outset of the battle, leveled his sword at Indigo, booming out something in his own language that carried a note of command.

"Do not call me your countryman, murderous dog. Your men killed my brother. Prepare to die."

Despite his pronouncement, Indigo could do little more than dance around the big man, seeking an opening while staying away from swipes of the killer's massive sword. His own slender weapon was no match.

Once again, the prairie provided an opening for Mindblind. The assassin's stumble was momentary — almost unnoticeable — but instinct and the heat of battle caused it to play out in Mindblind's eyes as if happening in slow motion. His arm already moving for a diagonal strike, he threw caution to the wind, leaning in, and adding the weight of his muscled frame to the blow.

The assassin's blade moved into position, angled to deflect, but it wasn't enough. The force of the blow slammed the weapon into his chest, cutting in. Mindblind's sword continued on, slicing into the man's neck. A fountain of blood and a gurgling cry preceded the killer vanishing into the grass.

A third body disappeared, as if swallowed by the earth, and Mindblind saw Raven whirl toward where Indigo faced the leader of the killers. Her arm whipped, and a dagger tumbled through the air with deadly accuracy toward the man's neck.

A flash of blue light erupted from a metal adornment on the man's shield, and Raven's dagger stopped mere inches from his skin. Before anyone could process the introduction of magic into the battle, the dagger reversed its course, speeding toward Raven. She dived out of the way, but screamed in pain, and didn't rise above the surface of the swaying grass.

Snapping his head to the side to dislodge water droplets clinging to his nose, Mindblind charged into the battle. Indigo was too hard pressed, so he had to trust that Raven would take care of herself. The big Draxnian laughed when Mindblind's first strike, a mighty overhand blow, ricocheted off the air. Once again, the ornament on the murder's shield flashed blue.

Mindblind knew they were in trouble. Though having a two-to-one advantage should have swayed the fight in their favor, the magic of the shield was nullifying their numbers. Whenever one of them took advantage of an opening created by the other, the blow never reached its intended target.

Time and time again, Mindblind slashed, stabbed, and hacked at the Draxnian, to no avail. Indigo danced on light feet, his sword whipping out to strike like a viper, but having no more effect than Mindblind's savage blows.

The bear-like Draxnian swung his sword in wide arcs, chuckling as the extended reach of his sword forced both men facing him to dance back. Mindblind and Indigo were tiring from having already faced a battle, and from the constant need to move. The ground was steadily growing more slippery as booted feet stomped the grass down into the mud amidst the torrential rain. Their opponent simply stood with his feet planted, trying to mow them down, and occasionally advancing when they retreated.

He didn't hear it sailing through the air, but Mindblind certainly saw the dagger when it stuck dead center in the Draxnian's shield. The big man's laughter abruptly ceased, and his gaze flickered to his shield in alarm. With no time to contemplate what it meant, Mindblind deflected a hasty strike of the giant sword. As it had dozens of times before, Indigo's sword stabbed in directly on the heels of the attack against his newfound friend.

This time, it drew blood.

The wound was little more than a scratch in the killer's side, but that it had reached him at all was telling. The murderer went on the defensive, raising his shield and swiping his sword to force a retreat. Mindblind only took a half-step back, angling his sword and bracing, sending the strike high. He immediately smashed his sword into the killer's shield, resulting in a satisfying thud of steel on wood.

Ducking under a hasty and poorly aimed defensive strike, Indigo darted in and stabbed upward. His fine sword slipped into the killer's neck, releasing a fountain of blood and a sputtering wheeze of air.

"My brother is avenged," Indigo declared, and then withdrew his sword, flourishing the weapon as he stepped back.

The huge sword fell from nerveless fingers, landing with a plop on the muddy ground below. The killer lifted his trembling hand toward his punctured windpipe, but never achieved his goal. Blood pouring down his neck and shirt, he collapsed into a heap.

"Raven!" Indigo shouted over a crash of thunder.

Mindblind whirled on the spot where he'd last seen her, but saw only rain and grass. A groan, barely audible over the wind, sounded from another quarter.

Indigo pointed, "There."

A flash of lightning illuminated something in the grass near where Raven had dived from the deadly flight of her own dagger. Mindblind yelled, "Check it out. I see something over there."

Indigo nodded and headed toward where he'd heard the sound.

After only a few steps, Mindblind knew that what he had seen was the thief. "She's here — down," he yelled.

"One of the assassins lives, but not for long," Indigo called back.

Mindblind knelt down next to Raven, but she didn't acknowledge him. When he rolled her onto her back, he saw the slash in her pants, high on the thigh. Blood darkened the cloth and stained the grass.

"Fuck," Mindblind cursed under his breath, and scooped her up in his arms. Though weary from the battle, he ran toward the turf house, hoping to get Raven out of the weather and somewhere he could see her wound better. The thief bounced limp in his arms, apparently unconscious, and he could feel the warmth of her lifeblood dripping from his knuckles.

He knew that few who took a wound so serious stayed above ground for long. If nothing else, he was determined to get her inside, where she at least wouldn't die alone in the mud. And so, he ran with his burden, hope washing away in the torrential rain.

****

Hope you've enjoyed the latest chapter! This one was fun to write, and was actually the breakthrough that got the story moving again after a long stall.

The goal is for chapters to post every Tuesday and Friday morning until the story is complete. It's working so far, but you never know what may happen with Lit's posting queue.

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