The Elves of Cintra (Book 2 of The Genesis of Shannara)

He dropped any semblance of an attack using his staff, tucking it against his body with his free arm, relying instead on his enormous strength. He ducked his head between his hunched shoulders, shielding it as best he could, and tore at the smaller man. Logan was already losing his balance, unable to kick free.

When he went down, Krilka Koos was on top of him at once, pounding into him with staff and fists. Blows exploded against Logan’s head, and for a moment he thought he would lose consciousness. He survived mostly on instinct and training, burying his head in the big man’s shoulder while his fingers found a set of vulnerable nerves in the other’s thick neck. Krilka Koos gasped and cried out, thrashing to break free. His attack on Logan stalled as they rolled across the dirt arena in a tangle of arms and legs, the cries of the men and women on the bleachers rising to a fresh crescendo. Koos was bigger and stronger, but Logan, lacking size and strength, knew more about self-defense. Keeping his fingers locked on his enemy’s neck, he lifted his head out of its protective hunch and head-butted the big man in the face, breaking his nose. Koos howled in dismay, and blood spurted all over both of them.

More important, half blind and in desperate pain, he released his grip on Logan.

Logan broke free at once, scrambling to his feet before Koos could stop him.

Fire lanced down the entire length of his staff, a blinding blue-white brilliance that brought a collective gasp from those watching. With every ounce of muscle he could bring to bear, Logan slammed the fiery staff against the side of the other man’s head. The head snapped back, and Krilka Koos shuddered. Fighting his way past the clutch of feeders that had suddenly shifted their attention, Logan brought the length of his staff down hard on the other’s knuckles, first on one hand and then the other, breaking several fingers.

Koos cried out once more, dropped his staff from his shattered hands, and curled into a ball.

Feeders swamped him in a frenzied rush, a black, snarling mass of shadows.

The roar of the men and women gathered died to a soft buzz of disbelief. Logan ignored them, standing over his enemy—the enemy he had not wanted in the first place but accepted as one now. Krilka Koos was still gasping, trying to speak words that pain and shock were blocking.

Logan bent close. “Kill me,” the other whispered, teeth gritted, fierce eyes fixed on him. He thrust aside the feeders threatening to engulf him, his dark face twisting in fear and disgust. “Do it quickly, before they eat me alive!”

Logan hesitated. It was what the other man would have done to him if their positions had been reversed. It was the smart thing to do. He glanced at the crowd, looked into their faces, and saw that they were expecting it. He felt suddenly sick to his stomach, the magic roiling through him in steady, violent waves. Kill him. It would be so easy.

Instead he straightened, reached down for the staff Krilka Koos had dropped, and tossed it aside. “You won’t be needing this again,” he replied, bending down so the other could hear him clearly. He kicked at the feeders, scattering them back toward the bleachers. “You won’t be pretending at being something you’re not after this.”

“I’ll hunt you down!” the other seethed. The dark, scarred visage twisted with fury. “I’ll find you and kill you, no matter where you go.

I’ll kill all your children first. All of them! I’ll do it right in front of you!”

Logan bent close. “You’d better hope you never see me again.”

Krilka Koos grinned at him, a death’s-mask grimace, and then spit in his face. A moment later Logan felt something sharp pierce his calf, burning into him. He looked down just as the other man was withdrawing his hand, seeing the tiny dart sticking out of his leg.

Viper-prick.

Instantly the feeders were back, swarming this time over Logan.

He lost control then, slamming the hardened length of his staff against the other’s right knee, shattering it. Krilka Koos sobbed audibly. Logan hesitated a moment, and then he broke the left knee, as well.

“Find me if you can!” he spit. The feeders had become a dark mass at the edges of his vision. His head was buzzing with the magic and the world was all on fire around him, a bright red haze. “Hunt me if you want!

But you’ll have to crawl to do it!”

Unaware of what had happened, the crowd was celebrating his victory, cheering and calling out his name. In their minds, he had already taken Krilka Koos’s place. He had become their new invincible. He stood without moving amid the cacophony, staring down at their old leader, the fire of his staff running up and down its length like a live thing. The feeders seemed to be everywhere. He felt light-headed and disoriented, and everything around him began to lose shape and form.

He turned toward the crowd. “Get out!” he screamed.