Feathered Dragon - Douglas Niles [2]
Luskag felt, rather than heard, a presence behind him. The ground shook with the weight of a heavy footfall, and the desert dwarf spun, swiftly pulling his stone axe from his belt. He noticed Tatak’s face blanch, but the young dwarf sprang to his chief’s side without hesitation.
The creature looming behind Luskag almost sent him reeling backward in astonishment and dismay. Huge and vaguely manlike, it towered eight or nine feet in the air. Broad sinews rippled across its torso and limbs as it raised a club the size of a small tree. He dimly noted the blood-red brand, like the diamond-shaped head of a viper, on the thing’s chest.
But it was the face that drew Luskag’s attention, for he stared into the most horrifying visage he had ever seen. Tiny bloodshot eyes gleamed at him while a broad mouth, flecked with drool, gaped open to display sharp, finger-length tusks. Something within his nature rose in deep loathing at the sight of the monster, and Luskag’s body tensed in primitive hatred.
“Watch out for the club!” cried the chieftain, seeing Tatak charge forward.
The young desert dwarf carried merely a stone knife, yet he thrust the weapon at the beast’s sagging belly. With surprising quickness, the monster stepped back, at the same time hammering its club toward the charging dwarf. The stout limb met Tatak’s skull with brutal force, crushing bone and brain in the same instant.
Luskag snarled his rage, flinging himself into battle with all the primordial hatred this creature aroused in him. He had never seen such a beast, yet the dung’s mere appearance drove him into a killing frenzy.
Luskag’s stone axe, encircled by the tiny tufts of pluma, sought the monster’s bulging gut. Before it lifted its club again, the keen obsidian edge scored a deep gash across the creature’s flesh.
The sun-browned dwarf shouted his joy savagely, a harsh bark of vengeance as he saw the monster’s blood. A killing rage upon him, Luskag crouched, watching for the beast’s return blow.
With a bellow that shook the valley, the creature swung wildly at the desert dwarf. Luskag easily twisted away from the blow, and this time he chopped hard into its knee. The monster’s cry held tones of fear now, and Luskag attacked again, and again. His fury burned through his body, becoming a murderous rage that sent him after this grotesque aberration with brutal determination. Even without the slaying of Tatak, he would have had difficulty restraining his hatred.
As it was, the need for vengeance left no room for any thoughts of mercy
The beast cowered backward, stumbling away from the furious slashes of the gleaming stone blade. Suddenly it dropped its club and turned to flee, lumbering frantically up the loose stones toward the rim of the valley
One sharp chop into the creature’s thigh tore its hamstring. With a panicked bellow, the beast flopped to the earth, writhing pathetically. Luskag’s next blow, to the creature’s brutish neck, silenced it for good.
Gradually the battle frenzy disappeared from Luskag’s eyes, and he felt a great tiredness press upon his shoulders.
Sadly the chieftain turned back to Tatak’s body. He remembered the shadow across the sky and looked upward again, but only the clear blue sky arced above him, mocking in its pristine clarity.
Luskag gently lifted the body of his companion and turned his steps toward Sunhome.
The man and the woman rested, enjoying the quiet peace of their rocky niche. From here, atop the red-ribbed, twisting ridge, they looked westward across a brown and sandy expanse of desert. They savored these moments alone together, for they were young lovers, and of late times such as this had become increasingly rare.
They faced the pristine wild lands, away from the bitter trail and the thousands of footsore, weary humans camped