Tangled webs - Elaine Cunningham [55]
His worst fear-that Liriel would someday fmd her way into his nightmares-had come true. The berserker curse kept him from going to his friend's aid. Perhaps her blood was not on his sword, but it was on his hands. In the small part of his mind that was still his own, Fyodor knew a loss deeper than any he'd ever felt or feared. Some instinct of self-preservation reminded him that he would remember none of this at battle's end. This was no consolation to the young man, for the dead returned to haunt him whenever he grew too weary to keep himself awake. He would relive the horror and helplessness of Liriel's death, again and again, for as long as he lived and as often he slept.
A roar of rage and grief tore from Fyodor's throat. He whirled, slashing out viciously as he spun. The blow severed the head of a Northman warrior and sent it flying. Fyodor lunged after it and caught one of the red-blond braids in his free hand. He began to whirl the gruesome trophy overhead like a macabre bolo, then let fly at one of the dead man's horror-struck comrades. The missile flew straight and true. Bone connected with bone, and the man went down in a splash of gore, his own skull shattered by that of his friend.
An enormous, axe-wielding Northman waded toward Fyodor over the thick carpet of the slain. The fighter called out to Tempus as he came, and to the warriors who had gone before him, exhorting them to prepare him a welcome in the mead halls of their god. The warrior clearly knew he would die, and he came on determined to go out in glory and honor. Shrieking a final battle cry to Tempus, the axeman lashed out with religious fervor.
Fyodor stepped forward to accept the wicked bite of the steel. The axe never came close. Almost against his will, the berserker pivoted sharply away as the blade descended. He continued his spin, whirling in a complete circle and swinging his sword at waist level as he went. The black blade cut through the Northman's protective leather jerkin and chain mail, sliced deep into his body. Instantly dead, the man slumped forward, the heavy weight of his body pinning the sword firmly between two bones of his spine. The berserker tugged, but even his magically enhanced strength could not dislodge the weapon. Another Northman, seeing that the dangerous fighter was momentarily vulnerable, came at a run.
Fyodor kicked out hard, catching the dead warrior under the chin and sending the lolling head snapping back. There was a sharp crack as the spine fully gave way; then the two halves of the dead warrior slid apart, freeing Fyodor's sword and spilling blood and entrails onto the deck. Fyodor calmly sidestepped as the attacking Northman charged into the horrible mess. The man slipped, arms windmilling, his momentum taking him on a slide toward the side of the ship. Fyodor sped his progress with a slap from the flat of his sword. The man hit the rail hard, and his booted feet flew up as he toppled headfirst into the sea. The berserker swept a glance over the wild, surging melee. Over a hundred Northmen still stood, against less than a score ofRuathen. But Fyodor would fight until he'd killed them all, or until he himself was slain.
The young warrior no longer cared which came first.
Fearful and impatient, Xzorsh watched the battle raging overhead and waited for Sittl to arrive with reinforcements. The Ruathen pirates seemed to be doing well. At least, none of the bodies that sank past the sea elf wore familiar faces.
Then, suddenly; someone he did know plunged into the sea. The drow, tangled in netting, dropped near the startled sea elf: Her strange golden eyes settled on him for a moment; then she reflexively drew in seawater in a deep gulping breath. The amber orbs rolled up, and her thrashing limbs went still.
Xzorsh snatched up a handful of net and swam frantically for the surface, dragging the drow with him. He shook the water from his eyes and, taking stock of the battle, saw that the deserted Elfmaid was the safest place to revive the drow. He swam around to the far side of the pirate ship to