Chris Pierson - Dezra's Quest

"Senseless, huh?" Dezra asked. "He'll be even less useful than usual, then."

A grim silence settled, punctuated by the moaning wind and the flutter of the sprites' wings.

Caramon glanced at the others. "So," he said, "they have us outnumbered, and Bor's their hostage. But we have a few things in our advantage too. They don't know about the sprites. And they don't know we know as much as we do."

The others nodded. "So what's the plan?" Trephas asked, pawing the earth.

Dezra frowned, studying the makeshift map. "Give me a minute," she said. "I think I have an idea."

The Skorenoi heard hoofbeats on the blasted earth and tensed, the archers raising their bows. Thenidor glanced at Borlos-the bard hadn't stirred-then peered into the shadows, his hands twisting about his halberd.

The hoofbeats stopped. A torch flared, less than twenty paces away. Trephas held it high in his left hand; his right was empty. He smiled as the bowmen trained their arrows on him.

"I'm flattered," he said. "Thou must think me truly important, to arrange such a welcome."

"I only wish thy father's head had been awaiting thee, beside Menelachos's," Thenidor leered. "Alone, art thou? Where are thy companions-the old man and the girl?"

"Waiting back there," Trephas answered, jerking his head vaguely behind him. "They needn't be involved in this. I've come to surrender to thee, Thenidor."

The Skorenoi stared at Trephas in astonishment. Two of the archers lowered their bows slightly; Trephas's eyes flicked toward them, then away.

Thenidor, however, wasn't fooled. "Surrender?" he scoffed. "Why wouldst thou do that, son of Nemeredes? It isn't thee I want. I seek Peldarin's axe."

"That's why I've come," Trephas said. He reached over his shoulder, groping for something on his war harness.

The archers' bows creaked, but Thenidor stayed them with a gesture. "Take care, Trephas," he warned. "Make an unwise move, and this will end poorly for thee."

"I know," Trephas declared calmly, and pulled Soulsplitter from his harness.

The Skorenoi gaped as he brought it forward and held it before him, glittering in the torchlight. Thenidor's eyes gleamed as they fell upon the axe.

Then they narrowed. "What trick is this?"

"No trick," Trephas replied. "I'm giving it to thee-in exchange for the bard." He nodded toward Borlos's motionless form. "That was the deal, wasn't it? Let him go, Thenidor, and Soulsplitter is thine." He extended the axe. "Take it back to Lord Chrethon. He'll surely honor thee as a hero. I only ask thee to let the humans go. This isn't their war."

Thenidor considered this, his heavy brow beetling. He licked his lips, staring at the axe. Finally, he nodded. "Bring it forward," he said. He gestured to the archers. "And remember-I can kill thee with a word."

Trephas strode forward, holding Soulsplitter before him. As he went, the two more alert archers followed him with their sights; the other pair tracked him too, but inattentively, their eyes on the axe. No one but Trephas heard the flutter of invisible wings, or the slight creak of tiny bowstrings being drawn back.

They did hear the sound that followed-a pair of high-pitched, harpstring twangs-but then it was too late. This time, the sprites' arrows weren't coated in their sleep drug; the venom they bore was much stronger. Both of the alert archers were dead before they even felt the shafts prick their flesh. They crumpled to the ground as if struck by lightning. Everyone glanced, just for an instant, in their direction.

Everyone, that is, except Trephas. He broke into a run the moment he heard the sprites fire their bows, casting his torch aside and raising Soulsplitter high. The inattentive archers brought their bows up again, but by then it was too late: Trephas was in the midst of the other Skorenoi. Then, just as quickly, Caramon and Dezra sprinted out of the darkness, weapons flashing. The archers turned to meet them, casting aside their bows and yanking their cudgels from their harnesses.

A hunchbacked Skorenoi interposed itself between Trephas and Thenidor, club raised to ward off the young centaur. Soulsplitter flashed and took the hunchback's right arm off at the elbow. The axe cleaved through flesh and bone, sending the Skorenoi's cudgel-and the hand that held it-spinning away. The hunchback screamed, clutching at the stump of its arm. Trephas reversed his swing and took off its head. Blood fountained, and the hunchback's body went down in a heap. Soulsplitter shuddered in Trephas's hand as the creature's magic tried to destroy it, but its power was too great. The axe stayed intact.

Trephas heard another Skorenos rush toward him from behind and spun, bringing up the axe in time to ward off its cudgel with its haft. Wood rang against iron, then Trephas fell back as the Skorenos pressed toward him.

Not far away, the others were having a harder time of things. Caramon took a mighty smash to the chest from his opponent's club; his breastplate turned the blow aside, making a sound like a gong. Even so, the force of the attack drove the wind from his lungs, and he gasped for breath as he fought on, blocking with his shield and making occasional, ineffectual thrusts with his spear.

Dezra fought with sword and dagger, needing both to ward off the flurry of her opponent's attacks. She cursed under her breath as she struggled to find an opening in her opponent's whirlwind defenses. There was none to be found, however; Dezra started to tire.

Trephas fought two opponents at once. One had cast aside its cudgel, which Soulsplitter had neatly shorn in half, and fought on with a bronze sickle; the other used its lance to keep out of Soulsplitter's reach. Thenidor circled around the battle, halberd upraised, staying away from Trephas's whirling blade.

Dezra yelped in pain as, finally, she missed a parry and her foe's cudgel struck her shoulder. It was only a glancing blow, but it caused everything from her elbow down to go completely numb. Her dagger dropped from her grasp. Wincing, she leapt back from her opponent, parrying its next stroke with her sword, then shifted her stance to fight one-handed.

At the same moment, Caramon's opponent slipped in the mud. Caramon seized the opportunity, driving his spear through the twisted creature's breast. The Skorenoi jerked wildly, its cudgel flying from its hand, and sank to its knees. Caramon stuck it again, in the throat, and his spear exploded. The force of the blast knocked him back, and he fell to one knee, gasping for breath.

Trephas danced sideways as Thenidor's halberd slashed the air; the movement brought him clear of the attack but put him at the mercy of his other two foes. Each struck home, the lance gouging a long, bloody furrow in his flank, and the sickle raking across his chest. Trephas stumbled, groaning, then lashed out in reply with Soulsplitter. He hit the sickle-wielder in the side, cleaving deep. The axe trembled as the Skorenos died, and again its magic kept it from shattering.

The attack had been desperate, however, and clumsy; the follow-through carried Trephas off-balance, turning him to face Thenidor and exposing his right side to his other opponent's lance. The lancer laughed with vicious glee, raising its weapon-

Twin harpstrings sounded. This time, the poison wasn't as quick; the lancer had time enough to grope feebly at the spot where the sprites' arrows had struck before it collapsed.

With a grunt of relief, Trephas wheeled, reared, and kicked Thenidor in the chest. Thenidor stumbled, then shoved Trephas aside with a sweep of his arm and cracked the butt of his halberd down on the young centaur's withers. Trephas staggered beneath the attack, bringing up the axe to hold Thenidor at bay while he regathered his strength.

Caramon stayed down, clutching his shoulder and groaning in pain. Dezra fought on, her slender sword flashing. She'd evened the odds with a lucky cut across her opponent's forearm. The blade had bitten deep, slowing the pace of his dancing cudgel. Now, bit by bit, Dezra gained the upper hand, jabbing his shoulder, then slashing across his stomach. Lunging, She drove her sword into his chest. The blade burst, and the Skorenos stumbled and fell… directly on top of her.