a ruse. Rumhold rolled right and jerked the handle of his axe up hard. It thudded flush against Birger’s jaw.
With legs wobbling, Birger staggered back. Rumhold sprang up and swung at his neck. Birger ducked, but not quite low enough. The massive blade swept above his head, shaving a thin layer of skin from his scalp in the process.
Desperate to get at close quarters, Birger ran in and wrapped his arms around his opponent’s waist. Rumhold smashed the axe handle into his back three times before Birger was able to lift him from his feet and tackle him to the ground.
Scrambling forward onto Rumhold’s chest, he raised his axe. But before he could strike, Rumhold gave a desperate heave, forcing Birger to drop both hands behind him and push hard into the ground in order to prevent himself from toppling back. Once steady, he then squeezed his legs tight around Rumhold’s torso and regained his position.
Rumhold tried to lift his weapon, but it was too long and bulky to be of much use. Now in total control, Birger raised his small axe again, but after hesitating for a moment, tossed it aside. Instead, he produced a short dagger from his belt and pressed the blade to his opponent’s throat.
As the steel touched his flesh, Rumhold ceased to struggle. “You’ve won, my friend. Now finish it.”
Birger shook his head. “Just go back. Tell the king what has happened. Tell him I’m a traitor if you must. But leave.”
“You know I can’t do that. If you release me I will be forced to take up my axe and try again.” He locked eyes with Birger. “You must choose between us.”
With conflict and indecision contorting his face, Birger glanced briefly over to Ethan and the others. No one said a word.
Once again he gazed down at his helpless friend. “Forgive me,” he whispered, moving the blade away from the dwarf’s throat and instead placing it directly over his heart.
“You will doom us all,” said Rumhold. His voice was clear and without a hint of fear.
“I pray you are wrong.”
Birger plunged the dagger hard down. Rumhold gasped and clutched at his sleeves, but after only a few seconds went limp.
For a long moment Birger lay motionless on top of Rumhold’s body. Eventually, he rolled to one side and onto his back.
Ethan started toward him, but Jonas caught his arm.
“Give him a moment.”
The dwarf clambered to his knees and placed his head on Rumhold’s lifeless body. He remained like this for several minutes, his body shaking from a series of great sobs. Finally, he sat up and struggled to his feet. The tears on his face had mingled with blood from the wound to his scalp, creating a grotesque kind of war paint. His pants and boots were completely saturated.
“Are you all right?” asked Ethan, knowing full well what a damn fool question that was.
Birger blinked at him. “I’ve known Rumhold since I was a small child. My father was one of his first teachers. That I was forced to take his life has broken my heart. But he left me with no other choice. I will have to find a way to live with what I have done.”
“Can you continue?” asked Jonas.
He nodded. “My injuries are not as bad as they might seem.” Hobbling over to his pack, he retrieved a small phial of green liquid and poured a few drops of this over each of his wounds. Once finished, he tossed the phial over to Ethan. “You may need this. It will heal minor cuts and scrapes in hours.”
Ethan thanked him and stuffed it inside his pack.
“We should go quickly,” Birger told them. He picked up his axe and attached it to his belt. “The fight may have attracted attention.”
As he stepped toward the entrance to the tunnel, Jonas cleared his throat.
“I don’t want to be indelicate,” he said. “But are you going to leave your dagger behind?”
Birger glanced back at the body of his dead friend. “When they find him, my dagger’s presence will tell them it was I who killed Rumhold…not one of you. If there is to be any hope, it cannot be believed that you have spilled dwarf blood.”
“I understand,” remarked Jonas thoughtfully.
“I’m truly sorry about your friend,” said Ethan.
Birger frowned at him. “I am a murderer of my own kind now. I just hope that my crime is worth it.”
His words struck Ethan to his core. He felt as if a massive burden had been dropped onto his