City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [124]
“Really?”
Daine caught Lei’s eyes, and flicked a glance towards the floor. He went on the defensive, but no matter what he did, Hugal managed to dart past his blade. It was as if Hugal’s sword was made of mist. Every time he tried to parry, Hugal slipped around or over his blade, drawing another tiny cut. None of the blows were severe, but the pain and blood loss were beginning to take their toll.
Lei had already pulled the darkwood staff from the backpack, and as Hugal made another lunge at Daine she grabbed the staff and made a spinning strike at Hugal’s knees. Once again he reacted with inhuman reflexes, leaping to avoid a blow he shouldn’t even have seen. But a moment’s distraction was all Daine needed. A shining arc of dark adamantine cut through the air, and Hugal was left with a hilt and an inch of blade.
“Won’t your friend have something to say about that?” Lei asked Daine as she struck at Hugal’s legs.
“I never needed a dragonmark’s sword,” Daine replied. “How do you want to end this, Hugal?”
“I’ve got a few ideas,” Hugal said.
He moved in a blur, catching Daine off guard. He flung the useless hilt at Daine’s face then sent him tumbling to the ground with a swift, sweeping kick. Continuing the same motion he spun to face Lei, catching the staff in both hands. He raised his foot to kick her in the stomach—
—and then he screamed.
Black thorns had grown out of the shaft of the staff, and they pierced right through his hands. The twisted thorns pinned his hands to the staff, and the agony seemed to be precluding any conscious thought. He and Lei struggled over the staff, but Lei could shift her grip for superior leverage, and Hugal was weakened by pain, blood flowing from his pierced palms. He whimpered but still refused to surrender.
Daine snatched up the dagger. For a moment he hesitated. He had never liked stabbing a man in the back. But he had been a soldier for six years and a swordsman for many more, and he was covered in his own blood. This had to end now. He planted the point of his dagger in the back of Hugal’s neck and leaned in, putting his full weight behind it. With barely a cry, Hugal collapsed to the floor. His dead weight almost pulled the staff from Lei’s hands, but the black thorns vanished and the staff slipped free.
Even as Daine caught his breath, a crash came from behind him and an armored arm skidded along the floor. He turned to see Teral surrounded by the wreckage of the two scouts. The councilor’s robe was slashed and torn, and he was covered with bloody gashes. Despite his injuries, he faced Daine and Lei without fear.
“You can put an end to this, Teral,” Daine said.
He crouched and prepared for the attack, slowly spinning the chain attached to his left wrist. Lei was whispering behind him, and he knew that she needed time to complete whatever enchantment she was weaving.
“I intend to.” Teral hissed and licked at a wide gash that split the back of one hand. “Your blades have no power over me.”
Indeed, as Daine watched, he saw that the wounds in Teral’s fleshy armor were slowly healing.
“I’m impressed,” Daine said. “Does that work with a severed head?”
Teral sneered. “What are you fighting for, Daine? You have no country. All that you have worked for has been destroyed. Join us. Let the world share that pain.” He moved closer, and a fleshy tentacle drifted out from under his left sleeve and coiled above his hand, a blind cobra waiting to strike.
“You’re right,” Daine said. “My home has been destroyed, but that’s not all I have. I still have my friends. And you took one from me.” He rushed forward, and a lightning swift slash with his dagger severed the hovering tentacle.
Teral howled with rage. But even as Daine braced for the attack, Lei was moving. Her staff lashed out, catching Teral dead in the chest. The councilor stopped in his tracks, screaming in pain. To Daine’s astonishment, he saw that Teral’s unnatural armor had pulled back from the point of Lei’s blow.
“Come on!” she cried.
They charged. Teral had regained his balance. Moving inhumanly