Read Online The Dark Warden (Book 6) by Jonathan Moeller - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jonathan Moeller
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Knight means to take the foe by surprise.”
“Correct,” said Ridmark. “Which is why we are going to stop talking now.”
Jager rolled his eyes but fell silent, which was a relief, and they made their way through the dark hills.
###
Ridmark’s headache sharpened, the pain throbbing through his temples with every beat of his heart, but something else occupied his attention.
There was something odd about the fighting.
Ridmark heard the sound of battle from the ravine ahead, the harsh roars of the enraged urhaalgars, an inhuman shout raised in command, and the hoarse voice of a man bellowing challenges. They had passed a dozen dead urhaalgars, and all of them had been slain by sword wounds.
There was only one weapon that could inflict such wounds upon a creature of dark magic.
Was the knight Mara had seen a Swordbearer?
A Swordbearer might be a powerful ally. Or the Swordbearer might attack Ridmark on sight. Most of the Knights of the Order of the Soulblade knew him as the man who had been stripped of his soulblade and expelled from the Order, and he was traveling with a wild sorceress, a dark elven half-breed, and a master thief. For that matter, the Enlightened of Incariel had infiltrated the Magistri, and they might have made their way into the Order of the Soulblade as well.
But Ridmark would not leave any man to die beneath the talons of the urhaalgars.
He crept over the slope of the next hill, the others waiting behind him, and looked at the fighting in the ravine below.
Close to thirty urhaalgars filled the ravine, standing in a half-circle around the base of a hill. Trapped against the base of the hill stood a knight in chain mail and half-plate beneath a blue surcoat. In his left hand he carried a blue-painted shield adorned with the red dragon sigil of the Pendragons, its surface scarred from the slashes of claws. A full helm concealed his face, marred with bright streaks where the urhaalgars’ claws had struck home.
In his right hand he carried a soulblade.
A blaze of white fire crackled around the weapon, and the soulstone embedded in the base of the blade shone like a star. One of the urhaalgars lunged with a hiss, and the knight wheeled, catching the creature’s claws on his battered shield and striking with the soulblade. The glowing sword parted the urhaalgar’s right arm from its shoulder with the barest hesitation. The creature stumbled with a scream, and the Swordbearer took off its head with a single powerful chop.
The other creatures edged back.
The mass of urhaalgars had trapped the Swordbearer in the ravine, but they were too frightened of his soulblade to attack in a single overwhelming rush. No doubt each of the creatures was hoping one of the others would die first. Ridmark was surprised that the urhaalgars had not fled in search of more vulnerable prey.
The reason became clear when he spotted the dark shape lurking behind the urhaalgars. It looked like a mixture of a human and a serpent, her sleek body covered in gleaming black scales. Hooked claws tipped her fingers and toes, and a segmented, scorpion-like tail rose over her shoulder, tipped with a barbed stinger. Her face was almost feline, the yellow eyes split with a vertical black pupil.
It was an urshane, one of the more powerful creatures of the dark elves. Unlike the urvaalgs and the ursaars, they could command lesser creatures like the urhaalgars. Yet evidently the urshane’s control was not strong enough to force the urhaalgars to attack. Had a dark elven wizard like the Warden or the Artificer been here, the urhaalgars would have rushed enthusiastically to their deaths, their heads filled with the strange song that Mara had described.
A second urshane appeared, shrieking commands in a hideous, grating voice. Two urhaalgars flung themselves at the Swordbearer. The knight blocked the first attack on his heavy shield and killed the urhaalgar with a quick slash of his soulblade. The
“Correct,” said Ridmark. “Which is why we are going to stop talking now.”
Jager rolled his eyes but fell silent, which was a relief, and they made their way through the dark hills.
###
Ridmark’s headache sharpened, the pain throbbing through his temples with every beat of his heart, but something else occupied his attention.
There was something odd about the fighting.
Ridmark heard the sound of battle from the ravine ahead, the harsh roars of the enraged urhaalgars, an inhuman shout raised in command, and the hoarse voice of a man bellowing challenges. They had passed a dozen dead urhaalgars, and all of them had been slain by sword wounds.
There was only one weapon that could inflict such wounds upon a creature of dark magic.
Was the knight Mara had seen a Swordbearer?
A Swordbearer might be a powerful ally. Or the Swordbearer might attack Ridmark on sight. Most of the Knights of the Order of the Soulblade knew him as the man who had been stripped of his soulblade and expelled from the Order, and he was traveling with a wild sorceress, a dark elven half-breed, and a master thief. For that matter, the Enlightened of Incariel had infiltrated the Magistri, and they might have made their way into the Order of the Soulblade as well.
But Ridmark would not leave any man to die beneath the talons of the urhaalgars.
He crept over the slope of the next hill, the others waiting behind him, and looked at the fighting in the ravine below.
Close to thirty urhaalgars filled the ravine, standing in a half-circle around the base of a hill. Trapped against the base of the hill stood a knight in chain mail and half-plate beneath a blue surcoat. In his left hand he carried a blue-painted shield adorned with the red dragon sigil of the Pendragons, its surface scarred from the slashes of claws. A full helm concealed his face, marred with bright streaks where the urhaalgars’ claws had struck home.
In his right hand he carried a soulblade.
A blaze of white fire crackled around the weapon, and the soulstone embedded in the base of the blade shone like a star. One of the urhaalgars lunged with a hiss, and the knight wheeled, catching the creature’s claws on his battered shield and striking with the soulblade. The glowing sword parted the urhaalgar’s right arm from its shoulder with the barest hesitation. The creature stumbled with a scream, and the Swordbearer took off its head with a single powerful chop.
The other creatures edged back.
The mass of urhaalgars had trapped the Swordbearer in the ravine, but they were too frightened of his soulblade to attack in a single overwhelming rush. No doubt each of the creatures was hoping one of the others would die first. Ridmark was surprised that the urhaalgars had not fled in search of more vulnerable prey.
The reason became clear when he spotted the dark shape lurking behind the urhaalgars. It looked like a mixture of a human and a serpent, her sleek body covered in gleaming black scales. Hooked claws tipped her fingers and toes, and a segmented, scorpion-like tail rose over her shoulder, tipped with a barbed stinger. Her face was almost feline, the yellow eyes split with a vertical black pupil.
It was an urshane, one of the more powerful creatures of the dark elves. Unlike the urvaalgs and the ursaars, they could command lesser creatures like the urhaalgars. Yet evidently the urshane’s control was not strong enough to force the urhaalgars to attack. Had a dark elven wizard like the Warden or the Artificer been here, the urhaalgars would have rushed enthusiastically to their deaths, their heads filled with the strange song that Mara had described.
A second urshane appeared, shrieking commands in a hideous, grating voice. Two urhaalgars flung themselves at the Swordbearer. The knight blocked the first attack on his heavy shield and killed the urhaalgar with a quick slash of his soulblade. The
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