The Dark Queen Read Online Free PDF

plucked a throwing axe from his belt and,
     scarcely rising from a crouch, launched it with a whirling sidearm motion at the head of
     the man on the right. The blade flashed neatly beneath the Istarian's chin, and, wheeling
     through the air in a bright red spray, embedded itself-in the other man's back. Both
     soldiers gaped and fell to their knees, their arms jerking grotesquely at their sides. As
     their eyes glazed over, the rebel passed between them and recovered his axe with no
     further resistance. Just as Fordus reached his troops, he heard the Solamnic war cry from
     behind, answered by a
    whoop from the Que-Nara, the shrill trumpets of the charging Istarian infantry, and
     finally the sudden clash of metal against metal as the armies closed and the first serious
     combat began. Rising to his full height, Fordus peered over the whipping grass as the rear
     guard of the Istarian army broke ranks and rushed to join the battle. He saw the enemy's
     battle standards dip and nod as the last of them breasted the tall grass, bound for the
     heart of the struggle. The cloud of wind-driven sand moved onto the field just as they
     reached it.
    Fordus chuckled softly. It had all worked according to his plan. In five minutes, maybe
     less, the two flanks of his army would rise from hiding and attack the Istarian army from
     behind. Assaulted from all sides, blinded and coughing, the Istarian soldiers would battle
     surprise and chaos as well as his seasoned rebels.
    The trap was baited, sprung, and closing. It was magnificent, clean and swift, like the
     tumble of a well-thrown axe through the air. And it was all too easy. In a matter of
     minutes, the battle was decided, though the sandstorm raged through the whole afternoon.
    When the Twelfth Istarian Legion hit the center of the rebel lines, Stormlight sprang from
     the rock- cloak and signaled his troops. The Que-Nara forces struck the reserves viciously
     with a flanking attack. Armed with the traditional weapons of the plains bow and bola and
     hook-bladed kala they tore fiercely into the unexpecting ranks. Reeling from the sudden
     onslaught, the Istarians panicked. The legionnaires dropped pike and sword, shield and
     broadaxe, and fled before the reckless barbarians, the fleet Plainsmen.
    Fighting with no more weaponry than his hands and feet, Stormlight cut his way to the
     midst of the Istarian ranks, the stony crust of his skin slashing arm and leg and throat
     like a fierce, serrated blade. Spinning around a grizzled lancer, he felled a swordsman
     with a crisp stroke of his hand. Two mercenaries rushed to meet him. He dove between the
     baffled pair, and as they turned to strike, the elf drove his heels into their faces with
     a quick, powerful handspring.
    Bounding to his feet, Stormlight spun high in a circle, his right foot catching yet
     another Istarian lancer in the throat. The man's javelin broke as he fell, impaling him
     and finishing what Stormlight had begun. With a deep breath, the elf looked around. There,
     on horseback, vainly trying to rally his troops, General Josef Monoculus caught sight of
     the charging Stormlight and drew his ancient Solamnic sword to receive the rush of the
     enemy. With a cry and a cartwheeling leap, Stormlight hurtled through the air, his heel
     crashing against the side of the general's helmet.
    With a soft groan and unfocused eyes, the Istarian commander fell heavily from the saddle.
     Stormlight bounded onto the horse's back and, raising a broken Solamnic standard, rallied
     the rebels to this spot in the center of the fight, laughing and singing an old
     Abanasinian war song. The men whooped when they saw Stormlight rise in the fallen
     commander's saddle. Descending from the grass-covered rise, they struck the leaderless
     Istarians from the other flank, dealing quick death as they slashed through the
     disorganized lines. From the high ground, Fordus watched a little