The Robber Knight's Secret

57. Battle of the Titans

No, no, no, no! He's going to break his neck! No! For one agonizing moment, there was no room in Ayla's mind for any other thought than that. No, actually it was three and a half moments. Three and a half agonizing moments during which Reuben plummeted towards the ground that would break all his bones, towards the spears of the enemy that would impale him like a roast pork on a skewer.

Then, Reuben roared. It wasn't words. It wasn't even a battlecry. It was an animalistic roar, loud lenough to tune out the sounds of battle. Soldiers everywhere turned their heads towards it. Thus it was that when Reuben came down on top of the battering ram with a thunderous crash, every eye down in the courtyard and up on the walls was on him.

"Margrave!" he bellowed, striding along the gable of the battering ram as if it weren't just a few inches wide, and the slanted roof of the contraption didn't fall steeply down on either side. "Margrave! I challenge you!"

"No!" Ayla's fingers clawed into the crenels. "No, no, no, you stupid fool! Don't!"

Reuben didn't seem to hear, or want to listen. But then, when did he ever listen to her?

"Margrave!" His thunderclap of a voice alone was enough to make the enemy soldiers back off and lower their swords. Ayla could see it in their eyes: This is him! they were thinking. This is the Red Robber Knight! The man with the devil inside!

"Margrave! Come out of the hole you're hiding in! I, Sir Reuben Rachwild von Riffgarten challenge you!"

The Margrave stepped out from the shadow of the gatehouse. For the first time in her life, Ayla saw him clearly, the enemy who had haunted her dreams so long. He was tall, lean, and definitely not ugly, in spite of the broken nose that marred his features. Still, Ayla would never have described him as "attractive". In fact, the way his sharp, dark eyes were glaring up at the defenders of Luntberg right then made her want turn and run, not step closer.

The Margrave raised his chin just about an inch. "I do not hide. And unlike you, I do not play tricks, either. You are already defeated. You cannot issue a challenge in the middle of a battle."

Reuben grinned, and drew his sword. "Watch me."

With a few quick bounds he had reached the end of the battering ram's roof, and then he leapt. He landed in front of a gaggle of enemy soldiers, who immediately took a step backwards. Reuben laughed out loud.

"Kill him!" the Margrave shouted. "Whoever pierces his black heart shall have a hundred silver Thalers!"

"Only a hundred?" Reuben's glittering eyes wandered over the soldiers arrayed in front of him. "All right. Which one of you fine lads wants to die for a hundred silver Thalers? Which one of you wants his soul shredded by the demon in my sword and be dragged down to hell in burning pieces?"

The soldiers blanched. Reuben, his prowl like that of a panther, took a step forward. They took a step back.

"Which one of you wants to be dragged along the streets of Pandemonium in chains of burning ice? Which one of you wants to enter the doors of the palace of Satan under the stormy sky of hell from which tears and blood rain down upon you?"

He took another step forward, they another step back.

"Don't listen to him you cowardly maggots!" the Margrave screamed. "He's no devil! He's just as much a mortal man as any of you!"

"That's right," Reuben purred, still advancing. "Listen to your commander. I'm just like any of you mortals. After all, who couldn't do a simple thing like this?"