Page 49 of Agor

The boy nodded, looking eager to get out of the action. He was excellent with children, kind, and always happy to help. The one thing Ilya hadn’t been able to master, no matter how much I’d trained him, was the swordsmanship. Sadly, the elders believed it was a man’s duty to fight and the less a boy was apt to it, the more he should be pushed into it.

I finished the orc on the ground, but two more were already rushing my way. Agor had his hands full, too, fighting three orcs at once.

Meeting one of my attackers with my sword, I evaded the blow of the other. Gleb jumped to my aid, slicing through the neck of one of the orcs.

“Thanks.” I nodded, stabbing the other one in his side.

Simon ran past me without any weapons. He had almost made it across the open space in front of the hall when a huge orc caught him, then lifted him by his shirt.

“Weak, pathetic human,” the orc growled. “You and your ilk should’ve stayed in whatever hole you’ve crawled out of to come to the wetlands.”

“Let me go!” Simon shrieked, his voice high from panic, his feet dangling in the air.

The orc boomed with derisive laughter. “If human males are so pathetic, how is a human female running around killing my men?”

Hismen...

Blood chilled in my veins as I parried yet another blow from the orc I was fighting with.

Was the one who trapped Simon Farod himself?

“Shedid it!” Simon yelled with hope. “Is that what it’s all about? Is that why you came here? She is the one who killed him.” He pointed at me with both hands. “Get her and let me go.”

Gleb and I were in the middle of fighting another orc who just wouldn’t go down. I ducked, getting away from his axe.

Farod placed his giant hand on Simon’s face and gave his head a slight twist. That was all it took to snap the man’s neck. Simon’s body drooped lifelessly. The orc tossed it aside, his eyes firmly on me as he headed in my direction.

I threw a quick look around.

There were far more orcs than humans inside the fence now.

With Ilya’s help, Faeena got her children into the hall and now was helping other parents to do the same, ignoring her blood-soaked headcloth and unsteady steps.

Stephen stabbed an orc in his back, while his wife used her frying pan to knock another one unconscious. Elder Kazimir tripped an orc with his walking stick, then Artyom shoved a spear through the orc’s belly.

My people had hardened in our fight for survival over the years. We weren’t going down easily, but the odds weren’t on our side. It took at least two humans to kill an orc. But with more orcs rushing into the settlement, there soon would be two orcs against each human.

We were grossly outnumbered.

Doomed.

Separated from me during the fight, Agor saw Farod charging me. He roared, baring his teeth, but his three attackers kept him busy. Smashing his mace into one of them, he ripped his throat open with his tasks. The fourth orc crashed into his back, a long knife in his hand aimed at Agor’s neck. Agor gripped his wrist, stopping the blow, but he simply wouldn’t be able to get to me in time.

I was on my own.

Crouching down, I thrust my sword out, aiming for Farod’s legs as he approached. He leaped up in his mad dash for me. My blade sliced through his pants but barely scratched his leg underneath.

I jumped aside as he brought his mace down. One of the metal spikes on the bulbous end of the mace tore a long hole in the sleeve of my tunic. Pain scorched my upper arm. Blood soaked the fabric around the tear.

I met the next blow of his mace with my sword. Metal clashed with metal, sparks flying. The impact jolted my wrists with searing pain, knocking my sword out of my hands.

Farod sneered, raising his mace for another blow. There was no time to pick up my sword. All I could do was run.

Spinning on my heel, I dashed across the settlement. Another orc tripped me. I hit the ground hard, then rolled, barely avoiding Farod’s mace. The heavy weapon hit the dirt next to my shoulder with so much force, the ground reverberated from the blow.

I rolled away, scrambled to my feet, then leaped onto Farod’s back. Hooking my arms around his thick neck and my legs around his torso, I held on for my dear life.

Farod growled, my entire body vibrating from the sound. He jerked his head back, but I ducked my face to his shoulder, avoiding the crushing blow of his bald skull against mine. He grabbed with his free hand for my left arm, but I hid it behind hisback. When he grabbed for my right arm, I switched the arms, holding on with the left and hiding the right one.

---