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.”
104