Sacrifice (Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

target was obvious. Gen loosed the arrow at the Chukka, who turned just in time to take it in the face. Gen pulled another arrow and fired it at a nearby Throg before slipping behind cover. Torbrand went next, firing twice. As he retreated behind the boulder, a flight of arrows swarmed through the gap, clacking as they bounced around the stones. The archers kept up a steady stream of missiles to discourage any further forays into the narrow space.
    “They’ve got Gagons!” the Shadan exclaimed excitedly. “I hope we get to fight one.”
    Yellow eyes floated over the columnar stones of Butchers gap, staring at them and behind them before floating away.
    “Now they know we’re alone,” Gen commented calmly. He dropped his bow and drew his sword.
    The Shadan followed suit. “Gen, in all your reading, did it ever mention if Uyumaak can feel stupid? Or perhaps display admiration for a clever foe?”
    “No. The momentary genius of our little ruse is lost on them all, unless they have any Chukkas left.”
    Heavier, slower footsteps approaching signaled the arrival of a company of Warriors.
    The Shadan laughed. “Sounds like they sent about twenty to clear us out. You ready, Gen? This will be interesting. If we get through this, they will be angry. Don’t let them push you back if you can help it. Only two or three can fit through the gap at once.”
    As before, Gen and Torbrand broke cover and killed the first four with such speed that the rest flinched backward. The meaty Warriors held massive clubs and thick, hide-covered round shields, and once over the initial shock, they clumped together and charged. Gen knew he had to be careful not to be lured forward away from the gap, allowing his enemies to surround him, but he also couldn’t allow too much daylight between the Warriors and himself, lest the Archers find a clear shot. The Warriors, in their haste and anger, didn’t let him ponder the particulars of strategy.
    A wicked sidearm club swing whistled over his head and hit the red sandy rock of Butchers gap, sending chunks of the weak stone showering around him. Gen thrust upward, gutting his opponent and chopping down another at the knees as he dodged the falling corpse. The next threw its club—Gen whirling away—and then charged, hoping to catch his human foe off balance. Against a slower opponent, the Uyumaak’s gambit may have succeeded, but Gen’s reflexes were too quick, and he simply stepped aside and slashed a deep cut across the creature’s back.
    The Shadan met a club with his sword, grunting as he absorbed the force, disengaged and chopped deeply into a Warrior’s side. As it fell he stepped back and let the next Uyumaak over-swing and miss, cleaving its skull before it could recover. As the initial wave turned back, Gen and the Shadan pressed the attack forward, their footing tricky as they negotiated steps between the corpses. Not one of the Uyumaak Warriors had encountered such skill at arms, and the alacrity of the two men’s assault rendered any attempt or thought of retreat impossible. Twenty Uyumaak warriors lay dead at the two men’s feet, and they retreated behind the boulders as more arrows sped toward them, chipping away more stone and lodging in the creatures that were dead or dying in the gap.
    After a few moments the arrows stopped, and the Uyumaak again communicated amongst themselves. The Shadan and Gen grabbed their bows and fired two shots each before the archers pinned them again.
    The Shadan turned to Gen, face and armor covered in gore. “If you hit your targets, we are down to one thousand nine hundred fifty-seven . . . I think. Any guess as to what they will do next?”
    Gen tightened a shoulder strap. “If they have a brain among them, they’ll just send the army forward in a steady stream. They must realize we aren’t inexhaustible. It’s almost like they are afraid to fully commit to pressing forward.”
    “It’s quite possible,” the Shadan shouted over the