The Order of The Rose: Forsaken Petal (Book 1)
Page 31
Other Books by The Author:
Order of The Rose Trilogy:
Forsaken Petal
Black Petal
White Petal
How to Diagnose Your Character:
Using Psychology to Create an In-Depth Character
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Excerpt from Order of the Rose: Black Petal (Book 2)
…Horses could be heard behind them as they approached the half completed bridge. Terron rode out onto the bridge with Nadine close behind. They dismounted at the edge and Terron stood with his legs shoulder width apart and his knees bent. He stomped his right foot and then his left while he held his fists on his waist. His stance appeared like that of a wrestler right before a match.
Nadine also dismounted and turned toward the oncoming horseman. She pulled a bow from her saddle and notched an arrow. She took a deep breath and pulled the string back. She took another deep breath, aimed, and then loosed the arrow. With one fluid motion she had notched another arrow and released the second before the first hit the lead horse. The horse went down hard. Several other horses went down as they stumbled over the first. A man screamed as he flew off the bridge to the water below. The second arrow lodged deep into another man who went down instantly.
She released two more arrows and another rider dropped. A fifth arrow hit an unseen barrier, quickly going up in flames. “They have someone from the order, much more powerful than the last one we encountered.” Terron paid no heed to the warning other than another stomp of his feet. Nadine glanced over her shoulder and gasped. A huge bridge of rock formed from the other bank and headed toward them. Based on the rate of the bridge’s growth, Nadine estimated, it would take another two minutes before it closed the gap between the bank and the half built bridge. She turned back toward the men who approached more cautiously after losing several of their members.
She pulled back her bow again and loosed another arrow. Like the other arrow it hit a barrier and burst into flames. She replaced the bow in her saddle and pulled her sword out. She closed her eyes and held the hilt with one hand, the other she placed on the flat of the sword. Father, I need only a little. Terron grunted from behind her and she pulled from her father just as they had practiced for so many years. Her hand grew cold on the sword and within seconds the icy blade glowed blue.
The first man lunged at her and she swung her blade out in an arc. The blue blade left a trail of ice as it cut through the air. The man’s breath came out in white puffs. The blade connected with the man’s buckler, and it turned to ice instantly. He screamed out in pain and threw the buckler from his arm, and in that moment Nadine’s sword came back cutting the man across his chest. The man’s armor stiffened and the man screamed out again.
Two more men were within reach. One swung his sword high aiming for Nadine’s head she ducked and rolled to the left narrowly avoiding the second man’s axe as it pounded into the wood bridge where her torso had been moments before. She rolled to her feet and brought the icy blade up. The blade caught the man at his thigh. He went down with a howl. The man with the sword swung down before she could bring her sword around and caught her on the shoulder. She rolled to the ground to avoid the brunt of the attack.
Nadine reversed her roll toward the man. She pulled a dagger from her belt and thrust it up into the man’s calf then she smashed her foot into his knee with a sickening crack. The man’s eyes raged and he swung down with his gauntleted hand which he smashed into the side of her head. The world swam and Nadine fought to remain conscious. The man screamed above her as a rock hit him in the chest. As he fell he wrenched the dagger out of Nadine’s hand. Several more men were almost upon them when they stopped and jumped back. A large boulder sat where they had stood.
Nadine got to her knees still trying to shake the pain away and stop the world from turning. Another scream. She got one foot under and then used her sword to push herself up. There were still too many.
Terron waved his hand in front of him in an arc, sending tiny pebbles out from his hand along with a bead of sweat from his forehead. The pebbles landed several feet in front of Nadine, a wall of stone burst up, which impeded the men’s approach. “We don’t have much time,” Terron gasped. He went to one knee his staff gripped tightly with both hands to hold himself up.
Boom. The wall shuddered. Nadine staggered over to Terron and pulled on his arm. Then both of them struggled to the horses and pulled themselves on. The wall shuddered again. “Hit it again,” someone shouted behind the wall….