Neq the Sword by Piers Anthony Read Free Book Online Page B

indecision. She needed protecting.
    "I never was kissed before..." she said, as though nothing had happened in the interim.
    Had he done that? Suddenly he felt as though a sword had grazed his scalp, and he was weak with reaction.
    Neq lay in the back of the truck and slept, ignoring the continuing drizzle. He was a warrior; he could sleep anywhere, regardless of the weather. Miss Smith--Neqa pro tem--needed the shelter of the cab.
    He dreamed. He had treated the transfer of his bracelet lightly, but it was fundamental. For the first time a woman had accepted it, and they were married, however tenuously. The rest would surely follow. That was his dream, and all of it: a lovely woman bearing his bracelet, loving him.
    "Neq!"
    He woke immediately, sword ready. She was right: there were men approaching the truck. In the face of his warning there could only be one reason, and no mercy.
    Silently he dropped from the back and flattened himself against the side. He identified the marauders by their sounds: they were clumsy stalkers. Six, seven, eight or more.
    It was dusk--bright in the sky yet, but dark under the trees. An advantage for him, for he could strike anywhere, while they had to watch for each other.
    Neq wasted no time. He ran noiselessly at the nearest, a sworder. The man was dead before he realized the fight had started. Neq took his place and stalked the truck with the others. Nothing showed in the cab. Good--Neqa was staying down.
    "See anything?" a clubber whispered as they converged. "That guy is dangerous."
    It was the man Neq had warned before. He walked up as though to whisper a reply--and ran his point into the man's neck so that he died without a cry.
    But the group had converged too much for further secrecy. "That's him!" someone cried.
    Then Neq was lashing out, dancing here and there, cutting down whatever he could reach and jumping away in a fury of swordsmanship. Six men hemmed him in--two sworders, two clubbers, a staffer and a dagger. It was the staffer he was most cautious about, for that weapon could interfere with his action while the others closed in. He retreated toward the truck.
    Two more men ran out of the forest and climbed on the truck. "Neqa--defend yourself!" Neq cried. Beset as he was, he could not go to her himself.
    One man yanked open the door. "A woman!"
    He reached in, then fell back, grunting. Neq knew she had used the knife. In the cramped space of the cab, it would be more effective than a sword.
    The cab door swung closed, and the second man backed away from it, joining the main force. Seven warriors remained to the tribe, and now they knew the limits of their opposition. The element of surprise was gone. Neq had hoped to do more damage before it came to this. Had it been down to three or four functional enemies, in the near-dark, he could have brought them down. But seven threw the balance against him unless they were extraordinarily clumsy or unlucky. He could dodge and run, but he couldn't fight them long without getting hurt himself, and ultimately killed.
    Then the motor of the truck started. It roared, and the blinding headlights came on. She was going to try to drive it away!
    But the truck backed and turned, its rear wheels spewing up gouts of wet earth. The lights speared toward him. The motor roared again, like some carnivorous animal at bay, and the vehicle bounced toward the group of men.
    She wasn't going to stop! Neq threw himself to the side, out of the path of the great rubber tires. Mud and sand sprayed at him.
    Not all the outlaws were as quick to realize the danger. They hadn't ridden this machine for three days, and didn't respect its potential. They stared, confused.
    The front bumper caught two, not striking them hard enough to kill at this slow speed, but knocking them down. One screamed horribly as the wheel went over him. The other scrambled to safety, only getting clipped on the foot.
    In the confusion Neq clove a sworder across the face, and one more was