The Yellow Silk - Don Bassingthwaite [102]
"Laera!" he shouted. "Go!"
Lander caught a brief glimpse of Laera Dantakain ducking past Ovel and Tycho and darting across the sty, the velvet bag of beljurils whirling over her head. A bloody fortune twirling like a sling. Ovel stared. Nico and Serg half-turned as well. Lander cursed and dived for her. He caught her, too, locking one hand around her arm and the other onto the velvet bag-
–just as Ovel caught Tycho's spade in the gut then across the back of the head.
–just as Li Chien launched himself at Nico and Serg with another roaring shout. "Hrah!" The Shou's saber swept out of its scabbard. Nico's sword was out and Li Chien turned the saber against him first, slicing up in a backhanded arc that rang off Nico's hastily raised blade. Li Chien spun with the blow, bringing his weapon down and back around, slashing underneath Nico's sword. Nico fell back with blood pouring out of a wound that crossed his chest from ribs to shoulder.
The same whirling momentum spun Li Chien's off-hand wide and sent the empty scabbard slapping into Serg's face. As the thug stumbled back, Li Chien stepped around behind him, scabbard beating a stinging rhythm about his head until Serg brought his arms up to protect himself. Quick as a thought, Li Chien stooped down, dropped the scabbard and grabbed the tail of his own long coat, hauling it up and over Serg's head to trap his arms inside. His knee came up and drove sharply into Serg's belly three times in rapid succession. He released his hold on the coat. Serg, still shrouded in the long coat's thick folds, dropped to the ground with a groan.
Lander froze as the man who had just taken down two of his men in a heartbeat turned to him. Laera wrenched herself free and scooted back. The velvet bag of beljurils fell away as well, drawstrings tugging open as it slipped from his grasp.
Chunks of ordinary gravel tumbled out.
"Bind me!" he choked. Another switch. The girl had been nothing but a distraction! He scrambled to draw his sword. A hollow bellow of rage, however, froze him a second time. Froze him and Li Chien, and even Tycho. Lander had just enough time to spin around and see Black Scratch, bloodlust in the creature's eyes, thundering toward him. No, not toward him. Toward Li Chien.
He just happened to be between them.
He tried to scramble away, but he wasn't fast enough. A toss of Black Scratch's head caught him and jagged pain ripped across his hip. Suddenly he was up in the air, the world spinning around him. Then he was down, flat out on the ground and the only thing spinning over him was sky. Pigs were squealing like mad and pouring out of the shelter as if Black Scratch were the commander of an army, leading his troops into battle. Lander couldn't feel his leg for shock. He managed to turn his head, though. His trip through the air had taken only a heartbeat. Black Scratch was only just reaching Li Chien-except that the Shou wasn't there to meet him. Just as at the Wench's Ease, he was leaping up, letting the boar charge right under him. The ground in the sty wasn't the smootn floor of the tavern, though. Black Scratch came around in a tight circle for another pass, shouldering lesser pigs aside with ease.
Pain sank into Lander's head. He turned the other way and looked down the length of his body. He saw blood. A lot of blood. Too much blood. He didn't look any closer, but twisted his head up and away.
He wasn't too far from the table. His eyes met first Veseene's-then Brin's. The old woman's gaze was horrified. Brin's was just stunned. Lander reached out an arm.
"Brin!" he screamed. "Help me! It was your damned pig that did this!"
The halfling just spun around. Lander saw Hanibaz Nas-sor and Mosi Anu standing behind him on the other side of the fence, safe from murderous Shou and rampaging pigs. "Do something!" Brin bellowed