By the Sword - By Sara Flower Page 0,68

spun around. Talya backed away, holding her sword out in front of her.

Ittonifer slashed her right shoulder and she stumbled backward. The beatings and the spell had taken their toll on her as it was. She wouldn’t last long now with the fresh, gaping wound.

Ittonifer blocked a swing from Jalarn that was aimed at his neck. The former general stared, wide-eyed, at Talya.

“Get out of here, Talya. You’re too weak to fight,” said Jalarn.

“I can’t leave you here alone.”

Sickening whelps!

Ittonifer took a run at Talya, who had just managed to get back on her feet. She steadied herself against the wall, clearly delirious. He jabbed her in the thigh before quickly spinning around to block Jalarn’s next attack.

Talya’s legs gave out and she fell onto her backside. She would bleed to death in no time.

“You have to leave now!” said Jalarn.

Ittonifer could not believe what had unfolded. After so many years of hard work and dedication, Jalarn had thrown it all away – for General Edandir’s daughter, no less. He would have killed her a week ago.

*****

Chrissa pressed on through the fighting crowd. Her sword collided with another enemy’s. At least she now had full assurance of where she would go when she died. She had never known such peace as she had when she had accepted the Savior into her torn heart the night before. He had mended it like she never could have imagined. It was an honor to fight for the country that upheld the respect and freedom of all people.

The giants were working on bringing down another great beast, which made it easier for her and the other knights to make their way into the heat of the battle. Only seven of her father’s vicious animals remained now.

Two Malinorian knights charged at her. Chrissa dodged a jab from one and stabbed the other one in the stomach. He fell to the ground with a grunt. Her father had trained her well. Now she could use her skill for the right cause.

Chrissa regained her balance as another warrior came at her. They slammed their swords together. Her arms ached from the impact, but that would not stop her from conquering him. She feigned a jab at his torso and then brought her sword through his chest.

She moved a few more paces before running into another brute. He charged at her, his broad sword high above his head. She ducked under his swing and tripped him, sending the large Malinorian into the ground.

He stood again and looked at her.

“What is it going to take for you to be mine?” he asked.

“Naeshi?”

She recognized his striking eyes and the scorpion emblem on his breastplate then.

“I never would have dreamed that I would find you out here,” he said.

“You never did know anything about me,” said Chrissa.

A roar came from behind Chrissa and she turned around, blocking a Malinorian knight’s swing just in time. She slashed at his throat before he could attack her again.

Then, she remembered that Naeshi was still right behind her.

Too late.

Naeshi wrapped one of his arms around her and brought his sword to her throat with the other.

“If you struggle this time, I will kill you,” he said.

*****

Tanel and the other archers had nearly reached the thick of the battle. It appeared that the catapults had run out of ammunition for the time being. The flaming boulders had ceased falling.

He glanced over his shoulder. The unnatural creatures were still lashing out their demoniac fury on his fellow soldiers and knights. The ten giants were working hard at taking down a serpent with long, razor-sharp fangs. The beasts were not as difficult to defeat as Ittonifer had counted on.

Tanel returned his attention to the task at hand – to take out the catapult operators before they started firing again.

A scream only a few paces away distracted him. It was Chrissa. A Malinorian warrior had thrown her over his shoulder, carrying her into the heart of the battle. It must have been that same bull-headed man who’d come to their camp and attacked the general.

Anger surged through Tanel. He fired an arrow into the man’s leg. Naeshi yelped and dropped Chrissa as he tried to remove the arrow. He looked up and saw Tanel.

“You again!” he shouted.

In one fluid motion, Chrissa yanked the sword out of his sheath and held the point of its blade to his neck. She looked over at Tanel and nodded her gratitude.

The willowy girl could hold her own. Like Talya.

Relieved, Tanel followed the other