The Dawn of the Raven Omnibus 1: Episodes 1-5 by J.L. Blackthorne Read Free Book Online Page A

comrade.  His attack was too clumsy as
he tried to capitalize on what appeared to be a huge advantage over the warrior
maiden, and she was able to evade him and trip him, buying herself enough time
to pull another sword from the side of another fallen soldier.  She engaged the
Gekken foe, throwing three quick attacks, the first two swings designed to
expose the Gekken for the third.  The opening was there as planned, and the
Gekken’s sword hand was quickly severed, as was his spirit from his body as she
thrust her blade into his throat. 
    The Gekken leader was pleased by what he saw.  Finally, a
human with some fight in her.  This would make it all the more satisfying to
take her life from her.  He had not expected to see this kind of spirit from a
human, but it was a pleasant surprise.  He stepped up to her and paused, giving
her a moment to collect herself, making sure that she was ready, and that he
wasn’t going to defeat her too easily.  He had seen how she had fought his
soldier.  He knew she possessed strategy.  He also knew that she, like the rest
of the humans, would probably underestimate the fighting skill of the Gekken. 
She would not expect him to know such tactics.  Sure, he could defeat her with
brute force, but to show that his tactics were superior to hers, that would be
even more satisfying. 
    He allowed her to take the first swing, assuring she was
ready.  He evaded it easily, but didn’t want to make it look too easy.  He
wanted her to underestimate his skill.  He let her think he was off-balance. 
Yes, she came in for the kill, just as he wanted.  He used her same trick. 
With one swing, he blocked her blow.  With the next swing, he got her off
balance.  With the third swing, he stepped in, capitalized on the opening his
second swing had created, and stabbed his blade into her lower abdomen.  Yes,
she was a worthy foe, a great warrior, but not as great as he had hoped.  “Humans
are disappointing adversaries” he thought.  “They die too easily.”
    But this human wasn’t finished.  Though the Gekken leader
thought that the blow was a death-blow, that surely it would fell even the
strongest human, Raveena didn’t fall.  It caught her off guard, this level of
sophistication in swordsmanship from a Gekken.  Even she didn’t expect it.  And
the feeling of the blade cutting deep into her flesh stunned her.  But, the
intense pain was quickly overtaken by rage.  Rage that pounded through her veins,
pounded in her ears and her temples.  Her mouth sneered, looking the grinning
Gekken leader in the eyes.  He thought the battle was over.  He underestimated
his opponent.  He saw her swing too late, and his smug face flew through the
air, his head cleaved from his shoulders by her blade, making a thud as it hit
the ground and rolled, finally settling with his eyes, still grinning, fixed up
into the heavens. 
    The beautiful warrior maiden surveyed the battlefield.  Death
surrounded her.  Every one of Captain Vol’s men lay butchered, but so did the
Gekken.  She looked down at the headless corpse of the Gekken leader, smiled,
and then collapsed.
     
     
     
     
    To Be Continued
    In
    Episode 2:
    Bitter Enemies
            
     
    The Dawn of the Raven
    Episode 2:
    Bitter Enemies
     
    Kiella stared in disbelief.  Was she the only survivor?  The
carnage, the horrors she had seen . . . it was beyond any nightmare.  Beyond
anything she ever could have imagined.  And yet, she was alive, when all the
others had perished.  She looked to the gorgeous Typhorian, the one who had
finished off the Gekken.  The other soldiers had looked so outmatched, yet she
alone had killed four, including the one who appeared to be the leader, the one
who had so easily relieved the great Captain Vol of his life.  Yet, she had not
survived.  Kiella had seen the Gekken’s blade go deep into the Typhorian’s
stomach.  Such a wound could mean a long and painful death.  Perhaps