Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #15 June 2015 | Page 63

on top of one of the dining tables. Blades cut at his
legs, and he jumped over the attacks, lashing out at
their heads in return.
A blow clipped one of the guards across the temple
and sent him staggering. One guard tried to jump
up and meet him on equal levels. As he set a foot
on the bench, Khellus struck his sword aside and
kicked out. His heel smashed into the guard’s face,
crunching bone and cartilage.
Khellus jumped down, but on the other side of the
table, forcing the remaining guards to split up as
they came at him again. One rushed around either
end while the third clambered up onto the table he’d
just vacated. Before his companions could get back
in range, Khellus surged back up onto the bench
and rammed his sword through the table-climber’s bowels. Shrieking, the guard toppled back and
flopped to the floor.
The last two attacked Khellus from either side.
He wielded both swords in tandem, blocking their
simultaneous strikes. A kick to one guard’s stomach
gave him enough time to sweep around and strike
the other’s head off. Then he spun through the momentum, caught the last guard’s frantic slash with
one sword and plunged the other through the man’s
ribs. Gurgling his last, the guard fell away.
Thumping footsteps jerked Khellus’s attention to
where Asmoran ran for a side door, Eogwen in tow.
He sprinted that way, vaulted a table, and threw
himself into the noble’s path. As Khellus intercepted them, Asmoran swept Eogwen up and held her
against his chest. A paring knife appeared in his
hand and he pressed his against her throat, dimpling
the skin.
Khellus hesitated just one step away from striking
range.
Asmoran’s jiggling cheeks creased in a smirk.

“Shall we wait for more of my men to arrive?” he
asked, “or would you like me to bleed her now?”
Khellus glanced at Eogwen.

“Shut your eyes,” he told her.
“No.”
He met her stare. Whatever tears she’d shed earlier
had dried, leaving her face scrunched in determination. A smile twitched the corner of his mouth.
“Well then? What’re you waiting for, girl?”
Eogwen grabbed one of Asmoran’s fingers, raised it
to her mouth, and bit hard. Asmoran jerked and hollered. Before he could drive the knife home, Khellus skewered the hand holding it. His blade shot just
over Eogwen’s shoulder and pinned Asmoran’s arm
to his own body.
The noble squalled and stumbled back, trying to
shake the sword loose as it stuck out from his chest.
Egowen fell from his grasp, and Khellus snatched
her in mid-air with his free hand and pulled her in
close. Frail arms wrapped around his neck as he
kept his other sword pointed at Asmoran.
Asmoran backed up until he struck the door he’d
been aiming to escape through. His whole body
trembled. “Wait. I can pay you magnificently. I
can—”
Bored by the pathetic pleas, Khellus thrust the
sword through the man’s sagging throat and into
the wood on the other side. The noble died upright,
choking on his own gore.
The whole while, Eogwen held Khellus tight. Once
Asmoran stopped squirming, he turned away and
carried Eogwen from the hall. His slaughter through
the tower must’ve severely depleted the number of