Read Online The Vitalis Chronicles: Steps of Krakador by Jay Swanson - Free Book Online

mid-air like it had hit a wall. It went down as his second arrow ripped through his second target.
    Four Granhal were down before he threw his bow aside and drew his sword. His men were right behind him. They had to be. He bellowed anew as he swung the long blade down along his horse and up into the oncoming enemy.
    The stench of the thing alone made his horse shy to the left. The Greatbow's blade swung wide. He tried to regain control of his mount as the second rank bounded towards him, but it was too late. One of the grotesque monsters lunged at his horse, notched ax whistling down on its head. The Greatbow jumped from the saddle as his horse's neck was severed. He rolled towards his enemy, thrusting his sword into its side. The monster howled as it swung to strike him with its free hand.
    The Greatbow ducked, pulling back on the sword and stabbing up at its throat. It jerked stiff as it died. He yanked on the blade, pulling it free with a spurt of dark blood. His men were riding around him now. Some stayed close to protect him while others kept moving to the attack.
    “ Don't stop!” He yelled to those that had. “Their power is in their momentum! Move! Keep moving!”
    As he was yelling, a horseman in front of him was shouldered off his mount by a lunging Granhal. The horse collapsed. The Greatbow leaped forward to the man's rescue, horses and Granhal running and jumping in the whirlwind of combat. He was lost to the battle, focused on the kill.
    The Granhal stood over the downed soldier, ax in hand. Its bowed legs bent to accommodate the swing, its skull-face glistening in the early-morning sun. The ax came up over its victim. The Granhal howled in victory as it brought the ax down. The Greatbow closed the gap, swinging up and catching the monster's arms at the elbow.
    The howl of victory erupted into one of pain as ax and arms flew from their place, the blade burying itself inches from the head of its intended victim. The Greatbow spun, bringing his sword around at its neck. The steel connected, the skin-covered armor split, and the head was severed.
    “ Get up boy!” He yelled at the scout on the ground. “Die on your feet like a man!”
    He twisted to avoid a mace the size of his head as it flew down and lodged itself at his feet. He swung his sword up, catching the hopper in its exposed throat. It jerked back, but too late. He wrenched on the blade, grating out between plates of enfleshed armor and drawing a long spurt of blood with it. He grinned as he turned.
    “ That's how you do it bo-” but the words caught in his throat. A Granhal had the scout impaled on the curved peaks of its ax. It lifted him up, then changed its grip. In one brutal motion it brought the soldier down to drive him into the ground with a sickening thud. The ax followed through, splitting him in half like a ripe melon.
    The Greatbow launched himself forward in that moment. He jumped as he thrust the blade out, ramming it into the thick chest six feet off the ground. The blade punctured the armor. It slid into the chest, but stopped before coming out the other side. The Granhal howled, a deep guttural noise that ended at an eerily high pitch. Its face came down in a snarl.
    It roared as it swung its arm down across the Greatbow's blade, splintering it in his hands. The Greatbow fell backwards. He dropped the hilt of his sword, his arms numb from the shock of the strike, but he had no time to gather his senses. The Granhal moved forward, grabbing his throat with its bulky, dark hand. It clenched, crushing his windpipe and cutting off blood to his mind. His eyes bulged as it lifted him off the ground. The shard of his sword still jutted from its chest and glistened against the rising sun.
    It squeezed harder, then jerked his head to the side. He heard a loud crack as the world exploded in an array of colors. Suddenly, he couldn't feel much of anything, but he could sense it pull him up closer. It drew him in as if to whisper in his ear. To