A Krondorian staggered toward William, blood running down his face. “William!” the man cried as he fell to his knees. “He’s immune to our weapons!” Then he collapsed.
William saw other men falling away. Bear’s companions had no such immunity, and by the time William reached the conflict, Bear stood alone. Like his namesake creature brought to bay, Bear stood defiantly, surrounded by a circle of six Krondorian soldiers. “You call that an attack!” he shouted in defiance.
Chills ran down William’s spine when he saw one of his men strike Bear from behind, only to see the blade of the sword glance off his back as if he wore invisible armor. Bear deftly reversed his sword, and stabbed backward, gutting the soldier. His one good eye was wide with madness. He laughed as if it were all a child’s game. “Who’s the next to die?” he shouted.
While Bear’s sword was reversed, one Krondorian took the opportunity to lunge at him, but the blade glanced off his arm without leaving a mark. Bear didn’t even bother to pull his sword from the dying man behind him; he simply kicked the man in front of him in the face, sending him sprawling. “You puny excuse for a soldier! You wouldn’t last a day in my company!”
William spied the amulet around Bear’s neck. He saw the red stone in the center aglow with a bloody light and knew that was where Bear’s power came from. William grabbed the shoulder of one of his men. “Get to his right side and distract him!” he ordered.
William’s plan was desperate, but he could see it was his only choice; somehow he had to get that amulet off Bear’s neck.
William looked as if he was hesitating, and at that moment the other soldier struck at Bear. Despite being invulnerable, Bear had human reflexes and he turned toward the blow. At once, William thrust with his long-sword rather than cutting, but instead of trying to skewer the man he attempted to get the point of his sword under the heavy chain around Bear’s neck. The links of the chain were large enough that William hoped he could flip the amulet like this, and then take great pleasure in killing him.
Instead, Bear reacted with unnatural speed, reaching out and grabbing the heavy blade. Shock ran up William’s arms as the blade froze as if stuck in a vise. With an evil smile and a mocking laugh, Bear looked at William. “Smart one, are you?”
Ignoring the frantic attacks by William’s men on his back and side, Bear moved toward William, forcing him to retreat or let go of his sword.
William released the hilt of his sword and dove for Bear’s legs. He tackled the man at mid-thigh, and lifted. Bear’s own momentum added to William’s lift and sent the huge pirate flying over William’s shoulders. “Pile on him!” William commanded.
Instantly a half-dozen soldiers obeyed, leaping atop Bear and attempting to pin him to the ground.
“Get that amulet off his neck!” William shouted.
Men clawed frantically at the chain as William ran around to try and seize the amulet. The pile of men heaved, but with unbelievable power Bear rose up, shaking the men from his back as a father might his playful children. He slapped William’s hand away and shouted, “Enough!”
With evil glee, Bear reached out with his right hand and crushed the throat of one man near him, while smashing the skull of another with a backhanded blow from his left. William stepped back, his eyes wide with shock as Bear systematically killed every man within reach.
The remaining two men backed away from behind Bear, and William shouted, “Run!”
They needed no second command and turned to flee. Now Bear faced William. He took one step toward the young officer. William feigned a move to his left, but then leapt to his right; Bear countered the move, staying between William and the road.
Suddenly William knew he had no other choice. Bear had been playing with his men the entire time. They had routed his mercenaries, but he himself was invulnerable, and he had lured them close enough to kill as many as possible with his bare hands.
William turned and ran straight for the cliffs. Bear hesitated, then gave chase. William didn’t look behind him, for he knew even a half-step could be the difference between escape and death. A leap off the cliffs would give him a chance, albeit a very slim one.
Reaching the edge of the cliffs William resisted the urge to slow and look down. Trusting to blind chance, he ran off the cliffs, kicking out as far out as possible, hoping he could hit the deepest part of the river below, a fall of nearly one hundred feet, for otherwise the rocks would surely kill him.
The fall seemed to last forever, with Bear’s curses ringing in his ears. Then William struck the water and crashed into darkness.
SIXTEEN - Temple
James hesitated.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded to himself. The pattern he had discovered in the rock face matched with what he remembered Hilda telling him. He took the ash-covered artifact and touched each plate in sequence, then waited.