room to work in . It was going to be a battle to the death and I had no intentions of being the one lying on the floor in the end .
“ Do you step back from me in fear ?” he sneered . “ I thought I was the fearful one , according to you ?”
“ You are .” I moved quickly forward while drawing my sword upward , slashing him from hip to chest in a diagonal gash that ended at his right shoulder , the obsidian blade cutting through his skin effortlessly . Damascus stumbled backward taken by surprise ; not dead but definitely hurting . Before he could regain his composure , I pulled my dagger and returned it to its sheath in a single fluid motion , slashed across his chest from right shoulder to left , cutting the leather thong which held the medallion , forcing him to stagger back yet again . As he did , my hand shot out catching the medallion before it had fallen six inches . All of this happened in the blink of an eye . Movements so quick , no human ’ s sight could possibly have tracked them .
Damascus went to his knees before me , the shock of what I had just done to him carved into his face . The blood coursed down his torso in rivulets of crimson . The stench of it , almost to the point of being overpowering , called to my more sinister nature , but I refused to allow it out of the cage I kept it so tightly imprisoned in . Stepping close I crouched down in front of him , grabbing his hair , pulling his eyes up to meet mine .
“ Where – is – Lazarius ?” I enunciated every word through gritted teeth . “ I want to know where he is hiding .”
Damascus smiled painfully at me , “ I think you ’ ll find what you ’ re looking for sooner than you think .”
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