The Lost Library of Cormanthy - Mel Odom [126]
Baylee blocked the cut with the parrying dagger, put a foot on the dead drow he'd run through, and yanked his sword free. Xuxa swooped across the drow, raking away his eyes.
The dark elf fell back, screaming in pain.
"Down, lad," Civva Cthulad called from behind Baylee.
The ranger ducked at once, watching as the justifier thrust his military pick deep into the drow's chest. The drow struggled to get free, but Cthulad leaned into the weapon, giving his weight to it. The length gave him comfortable room to work with even from behind Baylee.
"Now," Cthulad said, withdrawing his weapon. The dead warrior dropped.
Baylee stood, aware that Cthulad was going to await any openings that might present themselves. Baylee cut and thrust, beating the swords of the next opponent down. The flames of the dead man's burning clothes continued to burn bright enough to cause the drow warriors problems.
"We can't stay out here in the open long, lad," Cthulad said, thrusting again. "We'll have to break the drow before the hook horrors get through Calebaan. Otherwise, a lot of those men behind us will die."
Baylee dodged another sword thrust, sliding quickly to the side. In a roll of motion, he thrust the parrying dagger on the ground, then reached for the extended arm of the drow, grabbed the man's elbow, and threw him over the edge of the chasm. The drow screamed the whole way down, then quieted abruptly. Long before then, Baylee had the parrying dagger in his hand again.
Cthulad lashed out with the pick again, driving another drow back. Baylee surged into the gap left by the retreating drow and the one he'd dragged over the side of the chasm. He used the long sword to hammer through the circle of steel the drow warriors tried to put up to block him. He swiped the parrying dagger across a man's arm, rendering it useless in a spray of crimson. The blood splashed across Baylee's face but stayed out of his eyes.
A drow behind the wounded man thrust out with a spear, driving it toward the ranger's face.
"Watch it, lad," Cthulad warned.
Moving with fluid grace, Baylee caught the spear thrust in the grip of the
parrying dagger and turned it toward the left to the stone wall of the runnel. The steel head grazed sparks from the rock, then came to an abrupt halt. Before the drow could draw his spear back, Baylee chopped it in half with the long sword. He brought the backstroke around as the man tumbled off-balance, opening up his midsection.
The drow went down trying to hold himself together. Baylee kept himself distant from the horror of the dying man. The watch party couldn't be allowed to be caught out on the ledge. He stepped over the drow warrior and felt the man grab for him. Bloody hands slid slickly over the ranger's leg, unable to get a grip.
Cthulad ended the drow's struggle with the pick.
Shadows wrapped around the tunnel in front of Baylee. He was uncertain of the placement of his opponents. He depended on his other senses, trained in the woodlands and honed by Golsway's attention, to make up the difference.
He felt Xuxa's leathery wing brush across his cheek, then he caught a glimpse of her as she hooked her claws into the drow's face just ahead of him. The man screamed in pain as the bat bit deeply, then reached for her.
Baylee thrust his sword, burying it almost to the hilt in the man's throat. The lantern swept across the scene, providing only brief glimpses of the drow warrior. Xuxa leaped into the air again.
Use the body as a shield, Xuxa advised.
Despite the fact that the dead man had bled profusely, Baylee stepped in close and sheathed the parrying dagger. He knotted a fist in the man's tunic, supporting the dead weight by bringing it close to him. He freed his long sword, then shoved himself forward. One of the drow behind the dead man tried to shove a sword blade through the corpse, but the blade halted only inches through the dead man's stomach, barely putting any pressure on Baylee's armor.
A moment later, Baylee listened to the whip of leathery wings, then heard a man