Page 84 of Sword & Sacrifice

Unless Penn was no longer alive …

Fear burned in Archer’s chest, quietly kindling into rage.

He backed up a few paces and signaled Norwin to prepare. Once he was far enough away, he stomped on a branch, snapping it in half. The crack echoed through the forest, disturbing a bird that cried a startled note as it flew away.

Running footsteps approached, careless in their search of the area. Archer flattened himself against a tree and waited.

An alarmed shout and a heavy crash sounded, then the soldier rolled down the slope and collided with a tree. His eyes widened as they landed on Archer, right before he wrapped his hand around the man’s throat and lifted him up.

Behind him, he heard another fight begin as Norwin engaged with one of the other soldiers. The Bellacostan was loud, grunting and snarling as their swords clashed, compared to Norwin fighting in near silence.

“Who ordered you to hunt the Witch?” Archer growled, slamming the soldier’s back into the tree.

The soldier scrabbled at Archer’s grip, choking and sputtering.

“You have three other companions. I only need one of you to talk.”

“V-Varro,” the soldier gasped.

Satisfied, Archer knocked the soldier out with the pommel of his sword and turned to the other fight. Norwin had subdued the second soldier, pinning him to the ground and sitting on his back.

“Knock him out, tie him up,” Archer ordered. Once they had the Bellacostans under control, they could question them about Varro’s location, and why he wanted Adelaide.

As Archer approached the camp again, he saw one soldier still guarding Adelaide, his sword now raised in a defensive stance. The other soldier had abandoned their dinner on the campfire and disappeared into the trees.

A stick snapped behind Archer and he turned around, raising his sword in time to block the attack.

The soldier cursed and danced backwards, eyeing Archer warily. “Who are you?”

Archer swung at the soldier, who barely managed to block in time. The soldier disengaged and scrambled backwards, trying to avoid Archer’s next strike. “Lucan!” he shouted, barely keeping up with Archer. “Help!”

The soldier’s pleas choked off when he tripped over the uneven ground. Archer kneed him in the head with a loud crack, and the soldier crumpled to the ground.

One remaining.

Archer returned to the camp. The soldier guarding Adelaide had disappeared, leaving his hostage sprawled in a dark lump. He rushed forward to check on her, to make sure she was still breathing.

His boot caught on something and pulled it taut until it snapped. A spark and a loud boom shuddered through the trees. Heat bathed Archer as he fell to the side. He rolled over the ground, suppressing the budding flame, and pushed himself to his feet.

A crater opened where the explosion had occurred, trees toppling to the side. Although the hastily set trap had been too far away from the trigger to kill Archer, the trees had caught fire. If he didn’t put them out, the flames might spread through the whole forest.

A footstep behind him was his only warning. He twisted so that the blade sliced across his ribs rather than through them.

The soldier cursed and withdrew his sword, swinging it back to gain momentum.

Archer charged him, shoving the soldier to the ground. The heat from the spreading fire licked at their skin, formed sweat across their brows

“Fuck you!” shouted the soldier as he swung his sword wildly, clipping Archer’s ear, but couldn’t aim it from his sprawled position.

Archer reached for a dagger on his belt, intending to end the soldier’s life. His fingers brushed an empty scabbard just as pain burst through his stomach. He looked down at the jutting handle of his own dagger in shock.

The soldier’s cursing and sloppy swordplay had only been a distraction as he stole Archer’s dagger. The man smirked up at Archer, pleased with his own cleverness.

Archer reared his head back and slammed his forehead into the soldier’s nose with a loud crack. Blood spurted and the man cried out in shock and pain.

Archer ripped the man’s sword from his hand and turned it on him, driving the blade straight down into his chest. Firelight reflected in the soldier’s wide eyes, replacing the spark of life.

Stumbling to his feet, Archer faced the fire, watching in despair as the flames spread up the trees.