by Everson Cook
"Damon!" Kaateria screamed, her eyes holding on the movements of the man.
"Ok. Ok. Understood. Silence." Damon pantomimed zipping up his lips and locking them. It was for his own amusement really as everyone below was more focused on not dying than what Damon was doing above them. He was just about to act like he was tossing away the key when an idea struck him.
Damon went through the motions of unlocking his lips and then unzipping them.
"I had an idea," Damon yelled down.
"Damon!"
Damon grimaced, shrugged, and held out his hands palms up in an apology. Kaateria, of course, missed the gesture.
Damon pretended like he was going to swallow the key. He realized, after thinking it through some more, that it wasn't realistically going to work.
"Nope, looks like that won't work," he yelled down. "Seemed like a great idea at the time though."
The man swung at Kaateria who blocked it with a two handed twist of the sword that spun her body away from the blow.
"Shut up," Kaateria said when she had the breath. "Bless the Gods. You're going to get me killed. Seriously. Stop."
Damon sat back down. He quietly observed some more of the dance. Kaateria and the man below traded swings, but none of them made a fatal connection.
Damon burst from his seat and ran back to the edge.
"Oh. Nope. Nope. Really hate to admit this, but I was wrong. Sorry. He's favoring his left. Your right. Geez, that was terrible advice. Embarrassing really. Could've been horrific. To be fair it was kind of hard to tell from this angle."
Kaateria rolled her eyes and tried to mentally focus on the task at hand. This was just like any other practice she had done with the rest of the guards back in Flenshorn. She struggled. Damon had broken her concentration. He was safe up there on the ledge while she was down here. Risking her life. For him. She knew she was doing her sworn duty to the king, but was it really worth it? Protecting this man of unknown origin instead of those she knew and loved back home.
The man moved his left hand so that he was now gripping the sword handle in both. He brought it down overhead. Kaateria snapped back to attention and twisted her blade just in time to counter the man's move. The man dragged his steel down Kaateria's making a hissing noise. He then slipped it off and swung with great force to his right. His blade cut deeply into her side. Kaateria threw her head back and let out an animalistic howl as the pain ripped through her. The man pulled his blade through the cut. Kaateria's mind was on her wound and didn't anticipate the next move. The man swung his sword around and sliced into her other side. Kaateria dropped to her knees.
The man turned toward the other men. His arms out at his side. He laughed at how easy it had been to defeat Kaateria. He was expecting more of a fight from someone who was traveling with Damon Arkon. At least he hadn't expended too much energy. He was hoping Binnicus would allow him a shot at the world's greatest swordfighter. He wanted to prove that he could do more than beat just a woman.
Kaateria put her hands on her sides. She pulled them away, sticky with her own blood. Her mind quickly snapped back into focus. She picked her blade back up from the ground.
The men stopped cheering their friend and dropped their eyes to his chest. The man's eyes went wide and he stopped laughing and prancing around. He peered down where his friend's eyes were looking to find the tip of Kaateria's sword piercing through his chest. He looked back up at his now silent men, gave a smirk, and crumpled to the ground with a thud.
Kaateria stood with one foot on the man's back. She pulled her sword out and took a step backward away from the crowd. She winced slightly as she crouched down, her sword at the ready in her right hand. She didn't have time to appreciate her first official kill. She didn't know that she ever would. She just knew if she wanted to get out of here alive, it wouldn't be her last.
Belosic was holding his blade perpendicular to his body at about eye-level keeping three men's weapons at bay. The steel of Belosic's own sword cut into his hand, and while it hurt, he knew the alternative would be much worse. The three men pushed down together, moving Belosic's sword at such an angle that it brought it closer to his throat.
He felt the sharp blade graze against the tiny hairs growing on his Adam's apple. Blood trickled down his hand and ran down his forearm, soaking his tunic. He breathed in through clenched teeth and flexing his powerful biceps threw the three men backward. The men, overly confident in their strategy, had not prepared for Belosic's countermove. The men tripped over each other and fell to the ground, the rocks below digging into the small of their backs. They tried to scramble to their feet, but Belosic was too quick. He stood over them one after the other and raised his blade over his head before driving it into each of the men's skulls.
Kaateria was now dealing with two men after showing she had the skills to defeat one of them solo. One of the men stood on her left, while the other stood on her right. Her back was to the wall, preventing them from circling behind her. Kaateria's eyes darted from one to the other. Blood dripped down her sides and spilled to the floor below. She could feel herself getting weaker as time passed. It was becoming more and more difficult to hold her weapon steady. Sweat was beading on her forehead. She was hoping one of the men would make a move soon.
As if they could read her mind, the one to her left, a squat man with short cropped black hair, poked his blade toward her.
Binnicus, Curly, and Longsleeves turned to the other four men still left.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Binnicus asked them. "Get out there!"
"And do try to kill him," Curly suggested.
Longsleeves jumped up and down, clapping his hands together in either excitement or encouragement, no one could say for sure. His sleeves flapped together as if clapping too in an also unclear manner.
"Why don't you do it?" a man with blue eyes and a long nose asked.
"Because I'm the boss," Binnicus said.
"Because he's the boss," Curly parroted.
"Well, how about those two? They aren't the boss. Six men would be better than four. He already beat four."
"You'll be fine," Binnicus said. "You don't need these two," Belosic gestured to Curly and Longsleeves.
"It looks like he's getting tired," Curly said directing the men's attention to Belosic.
Belosic glared back. Waiting. A tight smile played on his lips. His massive shoulders were rapidly rising and falling with each breath. He was covered in blood. Hard to say what was his and what belonged to the others. His tunic was soaked with perspiration as well as the red fluid. His sword hung casually at his side. It glistened with juice. Chunks of flesh and hair dangled from it. He looked like something from a nightmare. He did not look tired.
"Go on," Binnicus said again, shooing them with his hand. "Just think of how rich and famous we'll be after this."
"We'll never have to pay for ale again," Curly said.
The four men, while not confident after seeing how easily their other friends were dispensed, moved en masse toward the giant target in front of them. Their swords trembled slightly. Belosic spun the sword handle in his hand while waiting, but stopped as they approached.
Kaateria braced herself against the wall. Both men came at her fast and furious. She wasn't sure how much longer she could go. She had been successfully keeping them at bay so far, but the handle of her sword was becoming hard to grip with the combination of sweat and blood. And she was getting so tired. Her body tingled with each impact of her weapon against the two men she was fighting.
The man on her right came at her, his sword driving toward her skull. She flicked the sword away with her remaining energy. Then closed her eyes and slumped down to the floor. She was done. Too weak to keep fighting. Kaateria muttered a prayer to the Gods. Her head lolled to the side. And she hit the ground with a resounding thud.
Damon burst from his seated position. His eyes bugged and he gasped.
The man on her left wasn't expecting Kaateria to drop like
that and was already in the middle of a power swing that he couldn't pull back from. His sword drove through the neck of his partner slicing his head clean off.
"Belosic, quick. Kaateria is down," Damon screamed. He began pacing back and forth on the ledge. He couldn't tell if she was alive. He also muttered a prayer to the Gods. Although he was unsure of how effective his prayer would be. He had asked a lot from them over the years and it seemed like they had a response rate of only slightly above zero.
Belosic, while continuing to fight, turned to see Kaateria crumpled on the ground in a puddle of blood. He also noticed the man standing over her preparing to deliver a death blow. The man wasn't about to foolishly lose his life like his friend had. But first he had to catch his breath.
Damon searched for something to throw at the man standing over Kaateria. But there was nothing on the ledge. There was however, a piece of a rock sticking out from the wall. Damon began driving his shoulder into it, trying to break it loose. It was really painful to do. Damon began questioning why he was even trying to break it free. It didn't hurt that Kaateria was attractive, but that wasn't it. Damon had saved plenty of homely women. Then he realized that if she died, it would just be Belosic and him for the rest of the trip. And he drove his shoulder at the rock harder than before.
Belosic was doing his best to fend off the men as quickly as possible. He punched his elbow into the nose of the first guy, driving it up and into his skull. Then, Belosic dispatched of the second guy with a well placed cut to the stomach.
Despite the adrenaline coursing through him and the need to help his friend, Belosic was finally tiring, making the next two men slightly harder to kill. The third guy punched Belosic in his bloody right side. Belosic dropped his sword as he grimaced from the unexpected blow. The man hit him again. The fourth guy caught Belosic with a solid blow at the same time. Belosic's blood squirted from him with each hit. Belosic flushed with anger. He grabbed the hand of the third man as he went again for a punch. Belosic threw him back. He then turned and drove his fist into the abdomen of the fourth guy, knocking the man's breath away. Belosic paused to assess the room and catch his own breath. Then he saw the chair and knew his next move.
He reached out and grabbed a piece of wood that was halfway out of the fire. Belosic stabbed the burning wood into the third man. His clothes caught and went up in flames. The man screamed and patted at the flames, trying to put them out, but his flapping arms only provide more oxygen to the fire. The smell of burning flesh filled the cave as the man's skin melted from his bones.
Belosic reached out and grabbed the fourth man by the shoulders. Belosic lifted him from the ground. The man's feet dangled below him. Their eyes locked onto each other.
"Mercy?" the man asked.
Belosic gave a warrior scream and threw the man into the wall. His head hit against it with a wet snap. The man's body slid down leaving a trail of red behind.
Belosic bent over to retrieve his sword from the ground. He turned to see the man standing over Kaateria bring his weapon over his head. He was going to be too late.
Damon slammed his shoulder into the rock once more. He felt it dislodge from the wall. He wasn't entirely sure it was going to work, but he was glad it had. He scooped down and picked it up.
"Hey," Damon yelled, "Only one of us gets to jam that lady with our blade and it isn't going to be you."
Damon threw the rock from his perch. It was awkward with the chains. He wasn't very good at throwing spherical things to begin with. He was accurate with a sword though. With a blade, he was able to hit a fly off of Buttercup's nose without interrupting her feeding. He had tried several times, much to her chagrin. With a rock, not so much. He was lucky if he hit the backside of a giant.
Damon watched as the rock twisted and turned through the air as it made its way toward its goal. Damon bent his hips and leaned his shoulders as if he was able to direct the object with his body.
A sloppy crunch echoed through the cave as the rock hit the man's nose. A geyser of blood squirted from his nostrils. The man yelped in pain. He dropped his weapon as he brought his hands up to stem the flow.
Damon gave a little hop and a yelp of excitement. Then quickly looked around to make sure no one had seen him do it. As far as he could tell, he was safe.
Damon's accuracy with the rock had bought Belosic just enough time. Belosic grabbed his sword and flung it. The blade spun rapidly end over end through the air before piercing through the back of the man with the bloody nose. Belosic picked up two more abandoned swords from the ground, one in each hand. Belosic strode toward the man.What would take a normal-sized man ten steps took Belosic three. He raised the blades and crossing them like a scissors cut the man's head off. The headless body dropped to its knees before falling to the ground.
Belosic glanced up at Damon who was still quite shocked that he actually hit the man in the nose. It wasn't exactly where he was aiming, but it was certainly effective. Belosic gave Damon a nod. Damon returned it. He examined Kaateria and could just make out the shallow rise and fall of her shoulders that told him she was alive. Damon sighed with relief.
Both men turned their attention to the three men who still remained.
"Terribly sorry to bother you, gentlemen," Binnicus said with a bow. He backed his way toward the stairs. He pushed Curly and Longsleeves along with him. They also bowed. "Clearly we aren't worthy adversaries. We'll have to work on that."
"I probably won't," said Curly. "I'm thinking of opening my own bar. Drink enough to one day forget all of this."
"Not a bad idea," Binnicus admitted. "If we run into you again someday Mr. Arkon, sir, I hope you'll find it in yourself not to kill us. And you too, sir," Binnicus turned his attention to Belosic.
"I guess we'll have to wait and see," Damon said, too distracted by Kaateria's condition to make any promises.
"Do you know of a healer in these parts," Belosic asked. His only concern was for the woman below him. Belosic knelt down next to Kaateria, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. It moved slowly, but enough to let Belosic know she was still alive.
"Just over the hill. It's the first house on the trail," Binnicus said. "There's a sign out front. You can't miss it."
Belosic nodded. He reached down and scooped up Kaateria's increasingly limp body in his muscled arms. It looked like he was cradling a baby.
"You have until I get out of this cave and lay her body on a horse to get out of my sight. If I catch you after that, know that you won't live long."
23
Damon found that getting down from the ledge was much easier than getting up. He jumped.
His fall was broken by one of the many bodies scattered around the floor. The impact of his body on top of another caused some blood to squirt out of the corpse's mouth and splash against the wall. Damon watched as it slowly dribbled down to the floor. He didn't envy whoever would have to clean up this mess. He thanked the Gods it wasn't him.
Damon rolled off the body and sprang to his feet. He picked up his step and quickly caught up to Belosic who was taking the stairs three at a time.
The two men squinted as they emerged from the tunnel. The rain had ended giving way to blinding sunshine and a sticky heat.
Damon scanned the woods for Binnicus and his buddies, but saw only trees.
"Impressive. I wouldn't have thought they could move that fast. I wonder where they went."
Belosic grunted.
"Wait here. I'll get the horses."
"I'm not letting you out of my sight again. You'll only try to escape," Belosic said.
Damon looked at Kaateria's body dangling in the strong arms of Belosic.
"No, I won't. I'll get the horses. Just wait here."
Belosic nodded. He could use the rest. His sides ached. The blood was beginning to clot so he wasn't losing as much, but he had lost enough. He slowly brought himself down to the grass careful not to jostle Kaateria in the process.
Damon dashed down to the horses. Bu
ttercup snorted as he approached.
"I'm fine," Damon said. "You worry too much."
She whinnied and shook her head. That wasn't her concern at all. She was disappointed that they were moving again. The grass was some of the best she'd ever chewed.
Damon untied her and the two other steeds. He wouldn't be able to mount Buttercup without help, so he grabbed the reins of the three beasts and ran back up the hill with them following close behind.
Belosic stood as he saw the horses approaching. He should've known he could trust Damon to come back. He'd seen the way he looked at Kaateria. Neither one of them would allow her to die.
Belosic helped Damon get on Buttercup, before mounting his own horse. He would carry Kaateria to the healer while Damon trailed after with Kaateria's horse in tow.
They rode hard and with determination. It reminded Damon of some of the best nights he spent in a brothel. Except for the dying woman. Well, there was that one time though... Damon's focus snapped back as the house came into view right where Binnicus said it would be.
Damon dismounted from Buttercup as they came to a halt in the front yard. He brought her and Kaateria's horse to a post by the house to tie them up.
"Nope. Not here. We need to find someone else," Damon said. He brought the horses back to Belosic.
"What do you mean find someone else? Binnicus said there's a healer here. Kaateria needs a healer. Now. Not later."
Damon nodded his head toward a sign on the post he was about to tie the horses to.
"You see that sign over there? The one with the red "H's" that look like a cross the way they're intersected? This house belongs to Hope and Pray Harry. Used to be Healthy and Helpful Harry, but then he got old. Our odds of him fixing up Kaateria are just as good if we stand outside on his front lawn and do nothing. Maybe even better."
"I've never heard of this Harry, but if you say he's a healer. Then he's a healer. And that's what we need."