The Catastrophe of the Emerald Queen by LR Manley Read Free Book Online Page B

shouted.
      The
soldiers charged at Mordalayn with their swords drawn.
      "Yield!" one shouted. Mordalayn didn't pause but raised his
sword above his head and as the man raised his own to parry the
expected down swing, Mordalayn kicked out with his left leg, his
wide foot landing square in the man's guts. With a whoosh of air
the man flew back four feet and dropped his sword, grasping his
winded stomach and heaving in pain.
      Mordalayn then turned to the
other and brought the sword down in a vicious arc towards the man's
head. The man countered in terror as the three blades rammed down
with furious force upon his own steel. Before the soldier
could react Mordalayn brought
the hilt of his sword into the man's head, knocking him out
cold.
      Jared stood mesmerised on the
bridge watching this unfold. Mordalayn had put the first two
soldiers down in the space of a few seconds. He turned and
ran . “I don’t want to fall
in,” he thought but noting
through his fear that the boards seemed dry despite how close they
were to the water.
      Mordalayn ducked a blade aimed for his head and, holding his
sword in his right hand, grabbed the man's sword arm and kicked his
legs out from underneath him. He put his right foot on the man's
neck, the soldier gasping as his throat was constricted. The final
of the four hesitated, unsure of whether to proceed or not. Siavy
looked bored and as the soldier glanced at him he jerked his head
angrily. "Take him down! Unless you want to face me
later!"
      The
soldier lunged at Mordalayn who brought the flat sides of his huge
tri-blade down across the man's head, simultaneously dodging the
blow aimed at his own neck. The man fell to his knees and then
pitched forward in the mud face down. Mordalayn contemptuously
flipped him over onto his back with his foot.
      "Hmmm....impressive. I was thinking maybe you'd got rusty
after so long babysitting" Siavy said, adjusting his
cloak.
      "Count
yourself lucky I didn't kill them" Mordalayn growled.
      "Whatever" Siavy said waving
his hand dismissively and looking with
disdain at the prone and
groaning figures scattered like fallen dolls. Mordalayn turned on
his heel and marched quickly to the boat, not sparing a backwards
look to where he had wrought so much chaos. Jared stood transfixed,
still unable to comprehend exactly what he was seeing. The cat man
strode towards him, then took him firmly but gently by his shirt
and turned him towards the boat. “Come” he said. “We need to go,
mind your step as you get in.”
      The
boat was green and red, the paint chipped and flaking in many
places. It was big enough for about four people to sit comfortably,
with two benches with purple cushions across the middle of the
boat, one behind the other. The cushions were also faded. Mordalayn
gestured for Jared to sit down and then stepped into the boat
himself, the small capsule rocking slightly as his weight
momentarily upset the balance. He turned and began unlashing the
oars, the knots undoing easily under his strong fingers. He
released them with a grunt and dropped them into the boat, turning
his attention to the mooring rope. Jared glanced around. The had
cleared the horizon. Jared saw it was a gorgeous red colour. As he
stared colours and ripples danced across the surface, reflected in
the blue water.
     “ Who
were those men?” Jared asked glancing back across the bridge to
where the leader could be seen attempting to stir one of his prone
men by kicking him.
     “ Mercenaries” Mordalayn
replied. “Their commander is Galfront Siavy .”
      He
turned and extended his left foot, pushing against the dock hard so
the boat moved away from the bridge and the water lapped against
the sides. He picked up one oar and pushed against the wooden
surface, the boat turning slightly with the pressure. He then
slotted the oars in place and sat down, begining to haul on them,
pulling clear of the dock. Then both he and Jared turned to the
unexpected sound of