Asgoleth the Warrior - By Bill Kirkwood Page 0,40

bloodied and battered figure of the barbarian stumbled back out into the light of day. The savage looked weary unto death but Demos cared nothing for that. All of his attention was focused on the glowing jewel the Calthian held in his hand.

Excitement coursed through him at the sight of the gem. There lay the key to power beyond his dreams and it was now his for the taking. He strode forward so quickly that his guards had to run to keep up with him and in mere moments he stood in front of the swaying, blood smeared barbarian.

‘The gem, savage!’ he snapped. ‘Give it to me.’

Asgoleth raised his head and looked him in the eye then slowly raised his hand. The Heart of Ra gleamed and shone in the light of day and all eyes were upon it, except for those of Amira. She stood, staring vacantly into space and for the moment she was unwatched. It was time to put his plan into action.

Asgoleth drew back his arm and hurled the gem straight into the tyrants face. Demos had seen the determination in Asgoleth's eyes and threw up his arm just in time to deflect the gem as it hurtled towards him. The move saved his skull from being crushed but he screamed as the bones in his arm snapped under the impact of the blow. In his haste to seize the gem he had neglected to erect his protective shield and now he was paying the price in pain for his lapse. He leapt swiftly back, away from the barbarian and Asgoleth took full advantage of the confusion he had caused among the tyrants guards.

As soon as the gem had flown from his fingers he ripped his dagger free of its sheath and leapt to the attack. Once, twice, three times his blade flashed and three Akonites fell dying to the stony ground. He snatched a sword from a falling warrior and pushed the body roughly away. He grinned as the body fell heavily upon Demos causing the broken bones in his arm to grate painfully together. Demos cried out and Asgoleth laughed as he ran on. This would teach the Akonite wizard that just because a man looked bloody and beaten it did not mean that he was.

He charged on, invincible in his blood caked savagery. His sword and dagger ruthlessly cut down those that tried to bar his way until at last he reached Amira. For a brief moment he considered putting an end to her misery then discarded the idea. He had vowed to rescue her and he would do so. There was however, no possibility of allowing her to fall back into Akonite hands. If he had to he would slay her to prevent it. He hoped that that would not be necessary.

Barely breaking his stride he scooped up her unresisting body in his strong arms and threw her over his shoulder. Behind him he could hear curses of pain and yells of fury as Demos and his men began to recover from his sudden savage attack.

Arrows began to whistle past his ears as he ran but the archers were still shaken by the violence of his attack and the deadly missiles sped by to shatter harmlessly among the broken tumbled rocks. Then he too was among the rocks and for the moment out of sight of his enemies.

That would not last for long though; already he could hear pounding footsteps approach and he knew that if he was caught he would certainly die. He glanced to his left and saw a narrow crevice between the boulders and pushed Amira in ahead of him.

‘Be silent now if you value your life Amira. We can stay hidden here until they pass.’

She made no reply, merely stood there quietly with that terrible vacancy in her eyes. He looked at her in concern and wondered if her ordeal at the hands of Demos had irretrievably broken her mind. Then he stiffened as he heard voices approach and turned his full attention to the mouth of the crevice. With luck the Akonites would not spot it for what it was and think it only a deeper shadow among the rocks. He held his weapons ready for battle and waited.

An Akonite voice snarled,

‘Where is the dog? If we fail to capture him lord demos will have our heads.’

Another voice answered,

‘Fear not, my friend he can’t have gotten far burdened as he is with that Torran slut. We will