Blades of the Banished - Robert Ryan Page 0,6
beyond any doubt would kill him and Erlissa the moment they got the chance. He did what was necessary, but that did not mean he liked it.
As he crawled he came unexpectedly face to face with another elug doing the same. They were so close that even in the dark he could see its surprise. He must have shown the same astonishment. The elug reacted quicker though, for it held a sword ready in its hand. It stood and swung wildly, putting the weapon to instant use.
Lanrik dropped the bow and reeled back, coming to his feet awkwardly. It was just enough. The flashing blade of his foe past within an inch of his face. He staggered back another pace, and now Conhain’s sword was in his hand.
He attacked. This was a fight that he must win in seconds or risk others joining the fray.
The elug retreated in the face of swift blows, but it managed to get its scimitar up and block them. Steel on steel rang through the night. And then there was a scream as Lanrik thrust forward, driving his blade deep in the elug’s belly and up toward its heart.
He ripped the blade free, bent down and grabbed the bow, and then stood frozen for half a second deciding what to do next.
Elugs would rush here to see what was happening, and he had no desire to face them. He had retrieved the bow, which was his main aim, and counted the number of enemies: ten in total, now reduced to seven. It was time to get back into the camp and rejoin Erlissa, unseen if he could manage it. Let the elugs make of the noises and their dead comrades what they could.
He risked moving away without using the Raithlin crawl. Instead, he ran through the dark, considering that the way he had come was free of elugs; he had killed the closest ones in that direction.
So it proved to be, for he reached the point where he had originally exited the camp without incident, although within moments he heard noses from all around in the dark.
He rested a few seconds, getting his breath back and cleaning the blade as best he could, wiping the blood from it onto the back of his trousers. There was nothing else to use.
He sheathed the blade, for nothing would give him away quicker than the glint of metal in the dark.
Using the Raithlin crawl again, he moved in toward the camp. He circled the patch of dead grass, moving quicker than he had on the way out. There was no archer this time to pick him off. Still, he did not want to be seen by the elugs. Let them fear that their enemies were outside, as well as inside the camp, and that there were more than two to deal with.
He paused. A muffled noise came from somewhere behind him, but it was not close. Soon there was another and he heard whispering voices. That too soon stopped. They were bound to stumble across at least one of the dead elugs. While they wondered what it all meant, he made his way back into the camp.
He reached the cracked slab of stone, and Erlissa rose up, ready to strike him with her staff, but just as quickly ducked down again and out of sight when she saw it was him.
He slipped back into the crack with her. She looked at him. He saw her gaze fall to the bow and her realization of what that meant. At least one elug was dead at his hands, perhaps others. But her look was one of relief. He was still alive.
She leaned in close and whispered. “What now?”
3. That which Lies Beyond
Erlissa did not seem surprised when she heard his whispered plan. She was used to the way he thought. In truth, he supposed, his methods had become part of her own way of thinking. Just as hers were becoming part of his.
She got ready quickly, took a deep breath, and then raced toward the horses. At the same time, he leaped atop the slab of stone. It offered a good vantage point to see the whole camp, especially aided by the light that now flared at the tip of her staff.
Startled shouts from beyond the camp broke the quiet, and then, as expected, the elugs raced in. Their drawn swords gleamed wickedly in the lòhren-light, but Erlissa paid them no heed. Instead, she started saddling the horses.
Lanrik, an arrow