Dreams of the Oracle

Chapter 36

Dain moved forward cautiously watching the two combatants battle each other. He held his sword slightly raised in his right hand. Rain poured down his body and glistened across the edge of his blade. His cool eyes appraised the creature before him.

The beast was tearing into Segurant's magic. Its claws were batting the man's sword aside and pounding into the blue aura that protected him. Dain watched the scene with cold calculation.

He had been waiting in the shadows. He had watched the battle go back and forth. At one point he had thought that the Iron Hand was on the verge of victory. Then the monster had caught the man in its claws and pounded him into the ground.

In all his years in the Order he had never seen such a monster. As he drew closer he could feel the evil swirling around it. It was well that Segurant was here. He took another cautious step forward. His eyes slid across the shining surface of his sword. No mere dagger was going to bring this creature down.

He watched the monster's motions. He had learned long ago that every creature in this world had a pattern. Once that pattern was learned the creature was as good as defeated. He almost had this monster's pattern down.

He began raising his sword. The beast was so focused on killing its stubborn magical prey that it didn't even know he was coming. Dain cooled all his emotions. His eyes flickered across the motions of the shadowy monster. He didn't dare to blink.

Then he had it.

Permitting himself a cool smile he lunged forward. He had its pattern now. The monster was his.

* * *

Ashur finally found the corpse of one of the Janin. He dropped to one knee and searched the man's belts for spare weapons. As he did so he looked up involuntarily to watch Dain slowly approach the creature. Then he returned to his own task.

His eyes suddenly jumped to a hilt that was hidden beneath the dead man's body. He turned the man over and saw two daggers sheathed in his belt against his backside. Uttering a quiet thank you to the dead man underneath his breath he wrenched the two blades free.

As soon as he had shoved them into his own sheathes he looked up to see how the Sword was doing. His eye caught the shining blade of the sword of Janos almost instantly. He watched the man prepare for his attack.

Then Ashur turned his gaze to the beast. The hulking monster was throwing itself against Segurant's magic with almost reckless abandon. Its huge dark form was a blur of speed and movement as it tried to tear through the Iron Hand's defenses.

Ashur looked back at Dain. The man crept a little bit closer. Then he suddenly raised his sword and leaped into an attack. The movement was smooth and sudden. As Ashur watched him lunge forward he was astonished at the speed but not all that astonished. After all, he had seen a man move faster.

He followed Dain's sword as it sliced through the air. He began sprinting forward, even though he wasn't sure what he could do.

* * *

The glimmering blade of Dain's sword slid through the pouring rain. His body followed it in perfect balance. He felt no fear or triumph. All he felt was his own body executing a flawless attack. His mind had done its work and found the weakness of his opponent. Now years of training and experience had taken over.

The world slowed down around him. He could almost see the fat individual droplets of rain that smacked into his face and dripped across the surface of his blade. He was calm and in complete control. The huge shadowy form before him was of no concern anymore.