Blind God's Bluff A Billy Fox Novel - By Richard Lee Byers Page 0,102

but more pain ripped through my left leg when it took my weight and I almost fell back down. It made the thrust clumsy and slow, and Wotan was able to backpedal out of range.

But he almost fell down doing that. We were both hobbling, me, thanks to a broken bone, probably, and him because of whatever damage the sword had done.

He snarled and said, “I’m… stronger.” He was forcing the words out with an animal’s throat and tongue, and I almost couldn’t understand them. “No dancing around… I win.”

I just glared. Shadow wasn’t much of a talker.

He wasn’t a quitter, either. Panting, what was left of my clothes glued to me with blood and sweat, I limped forward.

Wotan looked around, found another chair—the damn things were everywhere—and threw it.

He was right. I couldn’t dodge like before. I tried, but the chair clipped me anyway. Reeling, fighting to stay on my feet, I stumbled partway around.

At once I heard or maybe just sensed him rushing me as best he could. I lurched back around with my right arm raised like I wanted to cut at his head.

He grabbed it by the wrist and stopped it dead. Then the red eyes widened when he noticed the sword wasn’t in my right hand anymore.

It was in my left, where I’d shifted it during the instant my back was turned. I stabbed it up under his ribs, and it drove in all the way to the guard. Inside my head, the sword squealed like a little girl who just got what she really wanted for Christmas.

Wotan stiffened. His fingers clenched even tighter and ground the bones in my wrist. Then he toppled, and dragged me down with him.

I watched him, trying to figure out if he was still alive, and kept my fingers wrapped around the sword. My DI taught me that a knife sometimes does more damage if you stick it in, then pump the handle. I wasn’t sure it worked the same with a sword, but I was ready to pump like a son of a bitch if there was any chance that it would help.

But I didn’t need to. After a while I could tell that Wotan wasn’t breathing.

I twisted my wrist out of his death grip, nicking it on his claws in the process. Then I stood up and gimped toward one of the human-looking servants, just because he was the closest. I figured I’d kill him, and then work my way through the rest of the crowd.

It was crazy for all kinds of reasons, but with Shadow at the wheel, I didn’t care. All that mattered was hate. I hated everyone who’d tried to kill me or mess with me in any way. I hated everyone who hadn’t tried to help me against Wotan. I hated because I hated because I hated.

People shrank back when they saw what was in my face. Everybody but A’marie. She came forward, so I aimed the point of the sword at her chest.

She didn’t flinch. “You don’t want to do that,” she said.

Sure I did. She was the one who’d had me buried alive. But then something happened inside me. Maybe normal me dragged Shadow away from the controls, or maybe my wounds just caught up with me. My hand shook, and the sword dropped out of it. The room spun, and I fell sideways.

Metal clanked as A’marie kicked the blade farther away from me. Then she threw herself down beside me and pressed her hands against the cuts on my chest.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “It wasn’t me.”

“Shush.” She turned her head and shouted, “Somebody, help him!”

“Stand back,” said Queen. She handed a couple of her babies to her maids, came forward, and chanted words I didn’t know in a voice that buzzed.

The buzz made it feel like bugs were crawling all over my skin and inside the gashes, too. That part itched and stung, but at the end of the spell, I felt a jolt of energy like Red might have given me if I’d had any mojo left to call him. The cuts scabbed over all at once.

I sat up, took a couple deep breaths, and said, “Thanks.” I smiled at A’marie. “Both of you.”

The Pharaoh blew a stream of smoke. “I recommend removing Wotan’s head, just to make sure. It’s the victor’s prerogative if you wish to claim it. But I believe that even after Queen’s ministrations, you still have a fractured wrist and leg. So, if you’d care