Champion

Chapter 54

Laurena was terrified. She had witnessed more violence in the mountains, Wolfsvale, and now here, than she had ever even heard of before. Now she was afraid of what would happen to her when the obviously overmatched warrior was killed before her eyes. She did not want to lose him, but she was more afraid of what they would do to her once he was dead. As the three attackers surrounded David, she watched, horrified by what she believed would be his final moments in this life. Instead, she had a front row seat to an epic ass whooping. The fight rapidly became a whirlwind of destruction, with David in the center.

The man in front of him didn't expect David to charge, so his axe swing was poorly timed and easy for the warrior to block. But David had no intention of fighting defensively this time. Striking out with his knife, the Champion sliced into, and then through, the elbow of the man. He had planned to sever the nerve cluster there, causing the man to drop the axe. Instead his enchanted blade cleanly severed the arm, and the man looked at the remaining stump in shock. Using this to his advantage, David stepped to his right and spun around the 'disarmed' attacker, placing the man between himself and the other two. As they split up to follow him, he reversed direction, moving in on one of them. He noticed the man carried a dagger, but didn't seem to have any idea about the proper way to use it. He was holding it out in front of himself, with his empty hand c****d back at his side. f*****g amateur. Changing to a reverse grip, he moved into striking range and baited the novice into a strike.

As soon as his dagger wielding opponent attempted a thrust at his left hip, he quickly stepped to out of the way and countered with a series of lightning strikes, working up the man's over-extended arm in an 'S'. First he sliced upward and outward, severing the arteries and tendons in the wrist. Next he came back down and in, striking the nerve cluster in the inside of the elbow. Then he completed the 'S' by slicing back up and out, c*****g his wrist to catch the brachial artery and nerves near the armpit, finishing with his arm out past the attacker's right shoulder and the point of his knife inward, lined up just below the man's occipital lobe. Looking into his enemy's horrified eyes; David mercilessly drove his point home, burying his knife in the man's brainstem.

Leaving his knife buried, he moved away from the last attacker and drew his second M9 from the thigh holster on his left side. At this range point shooting was perfect, so he merely pointed the index finger that ran along the trigger guard at the man's sternum, then lowered his finger to the trigger and fired off four rounds. As the man dropped to his knees, pouring his lifeblood onto the street from a cluster of bullet wounds in his chest, David turned 180 degrees to reacquire the knife thrower from earlier. Failing to see movement from that end of the alley, he turned back to see Sapphire, squared off against a man with a stout wooden club. Closer to him, the man with the severed arm had fallen to his knees in the middle of the alley, and was in silent shock as his life's blood poured from the stump of his right arm. David leveled his pistol at the injured man's head and fired one round into his skull. Severed arm or not, in the soldier's mind the man was a threat until he stopped breathing. Then he carefully aimed down the alleyway. He was slightly less accurate shooting with his left hand, but at this distance he could still put his next round where he wanted it to go. Firing a single round, he destroyed the kneecap of the club wielding assailant.

Sapphire was no knife fighter. She had learned how to throw knives as a hobby, just something that was fun and entertaining when she was younger. Now she was fighting for her life with a man that seemed to know what he was doing with that club, and she was quickly exhausting herself dodging his strikes. She lacked the knowledge and skill to use her shorter weapons and reach effectively in the fight, and her opponent refused to give her enough room to throw one at him. She had already tried to use her magic to push him away, but it had failed. These attackers were protected as well. Sapphire had heard David fire his weapon a few times, so she knew he was still fighting, and just hoped he could finish and help her out soon. This thought had barely passed through her mind when she heard his weapon fire again, and the assailant before her dropped to the ground, clutching his knee and screaming in agony.

"Keep an eye on him," she heard David say to her, and she looked over to see him already moving back down the alleyway that the first attack had come from. Between them lay the circle of devastation he had left behind.

David's arm was killing him, but the adrenaline and his anger helped to block out the pain. Moving down the alley with his pistol leading he came to the edge of the building that the knife thrower had ducked behind, and he swept the corner. The man was nowhere to be seen. Scanning the area, he saw no additional places that attackers could easily approach from. Recalling the pattern of the previous attack, he also checked the adjacent rooftops for movement, but found them empty. Returning to Sapphire, he retrieved his fallen M9 and knife along the way. Moving up to stand next to his love, he checked to see if she had been injured.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "But you aren't," she said with concern, looking at the knife sticking out of his arm.

He ripped the knife from his arm, gasping at the pain, and poured his magic into healing the wound. In less time than it would take to explain it, the wound was closed and the damage repaired. Moving and flexing his arm, he smiled at her. "See, good as new."

His expression hardening, he turned his gaze to the only attacker still breathing, and gave Sapphire instructions without even looking at her. "Check on Laurena, and get her moving to the side of the alley. I'll be with you in a moment." He wasn't sure how long they had, but it was time to get some answers. As she walked toward the acolyte David called out to her grimly. "And Sapphire, no matter what you hear, don't look this way..."

***

Claudius was making his way along the rooftops towards the fighting. He recognized the sound of David's magic weapons. Given the number of the loud noises he heard, he assumed the fight was going badly for his people. As he raced along the tops of the buildings, jumping from roof peak to roof peak, he realized he might not make it there in time. What would happen if he arrived late, and he had to face down the trio alone? This thought caused him to slow his rush a few buildings away from the conflict. Pausing to listen, he no longer heard the sounds of David's power, or the clash of weapons. The only thing he heard was a single voice crying out in pain.

Crouching low, the Shadowmaster crept toward the noise. He was surprised when it peaked to a crescendo, a piercing howl of agony flying through the night. He recognized the voice as one of his men, and realized that it was a very bad sign. Pulling his bow from across his shoulders, he prepped an arrow and crept to the edge of the building. Looking down into the alley, he saw the man, David, crouched next to one of his men. It was the voice he recognized, and after taking in all of the bodies scattered about the alley, he realized it might be the only man still alive.

Only somewhat listening, he scanned the surrounding area to try and find the two women. If they were both dead then he could kill the man and complete his mission. He noticed the pair crouched further along the alley - in a doorway - at the same time he realized what his man was talking about. He was telling David everything! Turning back he drew his bow and sighted in his target. He couldn't allow their secrets out.

***

The wounded assailant had been belligerent when David asked his first question. So the soldier drew his knife and buried it into the man's uninjured knee. Once he finished howling in agony, David ripped the knife back out, and placed the tip against the man's crotch.

"Listen up asshole. Every time you lie to me, or refuse to answer a question, I will destroy something you value. Both of your knees can be healed, but I doubt anyone can re-grow your balls. So I'm going to ask you again, how many of you are there?" David asked him.

"Scores," the man gasped in pain and fear, "nearly a hundred. I don't know exactly how many, but I know it is at least that much."

"How many more are after us tonight?"

"None. We were the back-up teams. We were only supposed to join in if you avoided the trap or managed to get through it."

David took a moment to think about this information. It was what he most needed to know, but if it was true it meant he could take his time and get to the bottom of this whole f*****g mess. Deciding on his next line of questioning, he asked, "Why are you after us?"

"We were ordered to attack you. The boss wanted the three of you dead."

"Why?"

"I don't know. The boss didn't say, and none of us are dumb enough to ask."

"Who's the boss?" David continued, annoyed.

"Shadowmaster Whisper. He's in charge of protection and enforcement for..." the man trailed off.

Rolling his eyes, David grabbed the man's wrist and pulled his hand away from his torn knee, laying it out on the hard packed dirt. Then he stabbed his knife through the man's hand and into the dirt, pinning him to the ground. After the next round of screams stopped, he addressed his captive, "You were saying?"

"He's in charge of protection and enforcement for the Night Lord!" the man screamed.

"And who is the Night Lord?"

"I can't talk about it. He'll kill me!" the man cried.

Pulling a throwing knife from his vest, David waved it slowly in front of the man. "What the f**k do you think I'm going to do to you if you don't answer?"

David never learned what the man thought, or anything else from him. Kneeling on the ground was hurting his knee, so he shifted his weight to the side to relieve some of the pressure. As he did so an arrow shot past him in the darkness, grazing his cheek and burying itself in the man's heart. Dodging to the side, David tucked into a roll that ended in a crouch, pistol drawn. Searching the moons-lit darkness for the archer, he heard a scuffling noise from one of the rooftops. Deciding that reconnaissance by fire was an acceptable option, he shot the rest of his clip into the eaves of the building near where he heard the noise. As soon as the last bullet was fired he ejected the clip, and performed a tactical reload.

Moving into slightly better cover, he waited for retaliatory fire, but none came. After nearly a minute of waiting, he figured that whoever had shot that arrow was gone or hiding. Either way he had more important s**t to do. Retrieving his empty pistol clip from the ground, and his knife from the now dead attacker's hand, he linked up with the two women and led them back to the temple.