Disciple of War Disciple of War (Art of the Adept #4) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,28

feeling the characteristic stiffness sweep over his skin. There might be other bowmen he couldn’t see. And I’ll be damned if I don’t live long enough to kill each and every one of them!

The last two men finished loading and fired on him, but when he deflected their bolts they came to the realization that continuing to attack would only lead to their deaths. They dropped their weapons and began running.

Will had always believed in mercy when possible, but that principle had disappeared when he saw Selene’s still body on the ground. He carefully constructed two more light-darts spells, one after the other, then fired them at the backs of the steadily retreating men. The last one continued to run after he burned a hole through the man’s lower back, so he prepared a third spell, this one with five bolts. When they tore through the crossbowman, he fell and didn’t move again.

For a moment, everything was silent, and Will was left alone with the awful reality of his broken world. He dropped to his knees beside Selene’s body and felt his rage boil and swirl, becoming an awful mixture of sorrow and pain. His eyes locked onto Selene’s face, and the world began to swell and contract around him as a low moan slowly rose in his throat.

Will’s vision became so distorted that he almost imagined she was breathing. Was she? Reaching out, he put his hand against her chest, exploring where the bolts had struck. There should be blood, a lot of blood, but he found none, only the cold, hard resilience of the corset resisting his fingers. The corset!

Pulling and tearing at the fabric of her dress, he exposed the corset, then he used his knife to cut through the outer layer that covered it. He had assumed it would have bone or wooden ribs, but his blade revealed thin metal bands held together with fine metal rings. It isn’t a regular corset. It’s armor, like my brigandine. His eyes welled with tears as he did what he should have done from the start, put his first two fingers against her throat, feeling for a pulse.

Her heart was beating strong and steady. Will fought to stifle his falling tears as Selene’s eyes fluttered open and she groaned. Blue eyes focused on him. “What happened?” She lifted her head, and then he saw the blood on the rocks.

“Stay still,” he cautioned. “You’re hurt, but I’m not sure where yet.” With his fingers he began exploring her skull until he found a wet place on the backside. Either something struck her head, or she smacked it on the rocks when she fell, he thought.

A faint rumble in the distance caused Will to lift his head and look around once more. He didn’t spot anyone nearby, but small pebbles and dust were starting to rain down from the cliff. Staring up, he saw the figure of a man standing high above, watching them. More movement drew Will’s eyes, and he saw a massive form separate from the side of the cliff and begin flowing sinuously toward him. It was reminiscent of a snake, if snakes were made of stone, but Will knew what it was already. An earth elemental.

He’d already used the force-dome that he’d had prepared, and it would take too long to cast another, not that it would have helped. The elemental could attack from beneath them. The iron-body transformation was still active and would offer him considerable protection, but it wouldn’t protect his injured wife. Will’s mind snapped into overdrive. He doesn’t know she’s alive, so I’m the only remaining target. “Stay still and pretend you’re dead,” he ordered quietly. Remembering the heart-stone enchantment, he made a quick amendment. “If I don’t give you any other instructions, you’re free to do whatever you wish after ten minutes. Any orders I’ve given in the past will be void.”

Running sideways, he yelled at the man atop the cliff. “You’re dead! I’ll kill you for what you’ve done!” He was gratified to see that the elemental seemed to be following him. As long as I can keep the fight away from where Selene is, she should be safe.

He’d only gone fifty feet when something hard slammed into his back, sending him into a tumble across the jagged ground. If not for the iron-body transformation, he would have been bruised and bleeding from a dozen places. Will jumped up quickly and ran again, looking back to see that the elemental still