"I can't agree, not on behalf of the others. They fought hard for their freedom. I can't be the one to make them forfeit it."
"Then your mate becomes a mindless slave. Perhaps you'd like a mindless slave for a mate. I could see it might have some advantages. Is that it, Stryke?"
"If you'd only face me one to one, in a fair — "
She burst out laughing. "Oh, please. As if I'm going to do that. But perhaps there's another way of resolving this."
"How?"
"If you won't capitulate, then settle it in a way more to your liking. In combat. If my champion wins, you succumb. Well, you'll be dead actually, but you would have conceded defeat. You win, you have your mate back, good as new."
Coilla struggled against her invisible bonds futilely.
"Who's your champion?" Stryke said.
"She's standing right next to me."
" Thirzarr? I won't do it. She wouldn't either."
"Really?" Jennesta waved a hand at Thirzarr.
She seemed to come alive, yet not quite.
"Fight him," Jennesta ordered, "to the death." She handed Thirzarr a sword.
She snatched it and immediately made for Stryke. He stood stupefied for a second, not believing his eyes. Then he had to move fast to evade her singing blade.
Stryke twisted and turned to avoid the rain of blows she sent his way. He only reluctantly raised his own sword when he had no other way of fending her off. Every move he made was defensive. Her every stroke was calculated to kill.
It was getting desperate. Stryke was being driven to up the ante in the face of her inexhaustible attack. He dreaded his instincts taking over and, Thirzarr or not, his striking back in kind.
Suddenly Wheam reappeared. He popped from behind the outcropping. Of all the things he might have done next, Stryke would never have guessed the one he chose.
He threw a rock at Jennesta. It struck her on the shoulder and she cried out, more in injured pride than in hurt.
The unexpectedness of the attack broke her concentration and whatever mental power she exercised to maintain her enchantments.
Coilla unfroze. Thirzarr stopped, lowered her arms and dropped the sword. She seemed to have re-entered the state she had arrived in.
As Jennesta raged, and presumably struggled to re-establish her hold, Coilla grabbed Stryke and began pulling him away. He struggled at first, wanting to go to Thirzarr, but even in his frenzy he saw that was hopeless. He let Coilla and Wheam guide him.
They ran. Something like a thunderbolt followed them, but boomed harmlessly overhead.
The fighting had died down considerably, and although they faced opposition, which fell to Coilla to deal with, they got back to the others unscathed.
What had happened was quickly relayed to the band. Most took the news in dumb silence.
Coilla said, "Take us to Ceragan, Stryke. We'll raise an army and come back here to kick Jennesta's arse so hard — "
"We don't know if the stars would get us there. But there's worse."
"How could it be worse?" She had an icy churning in the pit of her stomach.
"Don't you see? Jennesta must have been there, to get Thirzarr. And Thirzarr wouldn't have come willingly. No orc would. They would have fought. It wouldn't be beyond Jennesta to wipe out every orc there if she could manage it. Coilla, we don't even know if Ceragan still exists."
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Document version: 1
Document creation date: 09.02.2012
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Army of Shadows o-2 Page 24