Of Blood And Fire by Ryan Cahill

Author:Ryan Cahill [Cahill, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ryan Cahill
Published: 2021-03-16T22:00:00+00:00

Dahlen swung one blade overhead and blocked the downward strike from the soldier, then plunged his second blade straight through the man’s belly. One more for the gods.

Ignoring the aches in his shoulders and back, he looked over at Rist. The boy wasn’t as useless as he had initially thought. Two bodies lay at his feet, and he was holding his own against the third. He looked tired, though – far more tired than Dahlen would have expected. His shoulders drooped from the unfamiliar weight of the blade, his steps were laboured, and his eyes looked glassy. He wasn’t going to last long.

A ferocious shout came from Dahlen’s left. He side-stepped the incoming strike by the skin of his teeth. As he did, he stuck his foot out, sending the soldier barrelling down the cobblestone staircase to the left. He wouldn’t be getting up from that for a while.

Without hesitation, Dahlen lunged at the man who was attacking Rist.

Leaning in with his shoulder, he hit the man hard in the ribs, sending him crashing into the stone wall at his back. Dahlen followed through with his sword, up through the jaw. The man slumped, sliding down the wall like a snail.

Dahlen paused for a moment to catch his breath. “Are you okay?” he asked Rist, trying to fill his lungs with air. That tackle hit him almost as hard as it did the soldier. Rist’s eyes looked heavy. He fell to his knees, letting his sword fall. The clanging of metal on stone rang out through the now eerily silent street.

“Whoa!” Dahlen’s muscles screamed in protest as he leapt to support Rist’s slumping shoulders. “Rist, look at me. Are you okay?” Dahlen checked Rist’s body for wounds. Confusion set in when he could not find any. “Are you hurt?”

“I… I’m okay. I just feel so weak. I can’t control it.” Rist could hardly catch his breath. There were dark circles under his eyes, and Dahlen would swear to the gods that he looked fifty shades paler than he did before.

“Can’t control what?” Dahlen asked. His breath was starting to return, but with it, stiffness began to set into his joints. He couldn’t wait for the response. They needed to move; he could hear the shouts getting closer. “Can you walk?”

Rist didn’t respond. He stared off into the distance, his eyelids drooping and his mouth agape. Dahlen was certain that if he let go of his shoulders, Rist would collapse. His eyes were open, but he was lost in a dream. What’s wrong with him?

Dahlen dipped his arm under Rist’s and wrapped it around his back, heaving him to his feet. Dahlen’s entire body groaned in pain. The shift in balance almost sent them both crashing down onto the cobblestones. Dahlen attempted to keep Rist’s dead weight upright. His knees ached with the strain. The last few days were catching up on him. He needed to sleep.

“Come on, Rist. We’re not far.” Dahlen sighed heavily as he struggled to push one foot in front of the other.

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