The Maharajah's General by Collard Paul Fraser

Author:Collard, Paul Fraser [Collard, Paul Fraser]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2013-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

A figure burst out of the bush to Jack’s left. He was dressed in a filthy robe that might once have been white but was now torn and stained to a muddy grey. Yet the flash of his talwar was bright as he rushed forward, his mouth open wide in a war cry.

Jack twisted in the saddle, yanking on the reins as he tried to turn to face the sudden threat. The ambusher was on him the moment his horse slowed. There was no time to react and he could only watch in horror as the bandit raised his weapon. The talwar slashed forward, the blade flashing once in a beam of sunlight before it thumped into the neck of Jack’s horse.

The beast screamed in agony as the weapon ripped through its flesh, blood gushing from the dreadful wound. The stricken animal pumped its legs, still trying to obey its rider’s command. Yet it was too badly wounded. Its forelegs buckled, its strength failing fast.

Jack pushed against the saddle as he felt the horse going down, kicking the poor beast mercilessly as he struggled to get free. For one dreadful moment his boot stuck in a stirrup, but he ripped it out and threw himself to one side, thumping painfully into the muddy ground. In an instant he had scrambled to his feet, ignoring the flash of agony that followed the jarring impact, knowing he had only moments before he would have to fight for his life. As soon as he found his footing, he brought the heavy shaft of his pig-sticking spear across his body, his hands locked liked claws into the thick wood. He had barely a moment to plant his feet on the slippery ground before the ambusher was on him.

The talwar slashed forward, a controlled swipe at Jack’s neck that he parried with the shaft of his spear. The bandit leered as he attacked again, his mouth twisted with hate. The blows came fast now, attack following attack with such speed that Jack was denied any chance to counter, his bamboo spear hacked and splintered as he was forced to block blow after blow.

He was being driven steadily backwards, forced to give ground as the bandit came at him relentlessly. Somehow he kept his composure, an eerie calm descending on him as he fought. He read his opponent’s intentions in his eyes and each time he was able to place the thick shaft of his spear in the right place to counter the vicious blows. He defended patiently. Waiting for the chance to strike back.

The bandit’s foot came down on a patch of sodden earth layered with a slimy crust of brown mould. It took him no more than a heartbeat to feel himself beginning to slip, but it gave Jack the opening he had been waiting for. The instant he realised what had happened, he whipped the spear around so the point was at his assailant’s stomach, then stamped his foot forward just as he

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