Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign - By Phillip Jones Page 0,227

advance with equal measure. The warriors’ blades clashed. They spun in unison, as if their actions had been choreographed before their blades met again.

General Graywind backed away and nodded, acknowledging the skill his enemy displayed. He attacked again. A series of rapid, metal clashes followed from many angles before the general’s foot made contact with the man’s chest and sent him rolling.

Justin motioned for the man to stand, and smiled as the fans screamed with pleasure from the exchange. He circled for a bit, feeling his excitement growing. He lived for this atmosphere. It was his heartbeat. He circled and held his arms high, absorbing the chanting of his name, waiting for his enemy to engage.

As Justin turned to face his foe, his eyes began to dim. He tried to rub the cloudiness from them, but this did not have the effect he was after. What’s wrong? he thought.

Through the fog, the general caught a glimpse of his enemy’s attack. His instincts took over as he stepped to the side to deliver a crushing, left hand to the side of the man’s face. The impact was enough to send his enemy to the ground, hurt and disoriented.

The general realized he did not have moments to waste. It would not be long before he would be unable to see, and now his chest was beginning to pound. Toying with his opponent was not wise while in this condition.

He moved over his opponent and thrust his sword into the back of the man’s head. The point of his blade passed through his skull, exited his foe’s right eye and stuck into the wood of the arena floor beneath the sand. The mighty Graywind left his sword buried in his victim’s skull as he reached up to clutch his chest.

Unaware of the poison coursing through the general’s body, the crowd erupted with sadistic joy. Despite his weakened condition, Justin raised his hands to acknowledge the mob.

The general stumbled toward the center of the arena. His eyesight was almost gone, and now his breathing was extremely labored. Justin dropped his arms and stood motionless. He was frightened, the way a young boy is when he believes something is under his bed. The beast in the general’s own chamber closet was emerging to steal him in the night.

The crowd continued to cheer, but Justin was not comforted by it. His body was cold as his heart slowly thumped against his ribs. He grabbed at his chest again and lifted his voice to shout for the king’s healers, and then he collapsed to his knees.

The crowd instantly silenced.

The king rose to his feet. “Healers! Make haste!”

Justin’s breathing was becoming shorter by the moment. Every breath he took was a gasp to fight for the air he needed to survive. His lungs were filling with blood, and the weight of his body was now too much to bear. He crumbled onto his side and rolled to his back. As he looked toward the sky, he could no longer see the brightness of the sun, and the only sound he could hear was the blood that bubbled in his lungs.

With the healers taking too long, Sam jumped from the king’s box and ran to Justin’s side. He stretched out Justin’s legs to ensure the leader of the army was flat on his back and then put his ear to Justin’s mouth. He could hear the blood gurgling, and Sam knew he had made a mistake by leaving the Soresym’s essence in his chamber. There was no other medicine on this world that could save the general.

Sam turned toward the king’s box and shouted for Shalee. The sorceress floated down to the sand and then ran to his side.

Sam pointed at Justin and said, “Teleport back to our room and grab the griffin’s essence.”

The sorceress vanished. Only a moment or two passed before she reappeared and handed the pouch to Sam.

Sam pulled the cork and poured the urine into Justin’s mouth, but it was too late. The general’s muscles had shut down, his tongue was the size of a small apple, and with his jaw locked, he was no longer able to swallow.

“Use Precious!” Sam ordered. “Make him swallow it!”

Shalee lifted Precious, but no words came out of her mouth. Her arm dropped, and the butt end of the staff buried into the sand. “I don’t know the words for that, Sam. I can’t do anything for him.”

“Teranay!” Sam responded. “Teranay means swallow.”

Without hesitation, Shalee lifted her staff. “Precious,