Guard of the Evergreen Princess

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Clearly having lost his patience, the Gem Warrior slammed his full weight against the flimsy wooden door of the house. With an ominous cracking, sending splinters of wood and a shattered hinge in my direction, the door fell to the floor and sent dust up in the air. I forced myself not to cough.

As the dust cleared, I saw an enormous Gem warrior standing in the doorway. He stood almost two heads taller than myself, and was stooping slightly in order to see into the doorway. His grayish-black beard was stained with ale and crumbs of food, and his mouth was twisted into a beastly snarl, revealing several broken and yellowed teeth. His muscled, heavily scarred arms flexed as he saw me standing there, my hand clenching the hilt of my sword. In his hand he held a gore-encrusted war axe, clearly never having cleaned the remains of any of his opponents off the blade save to sharpen it.

His face contorted into a vicious grin when he realized that I was not some simple peasant. A shiver ran down my spine as the Gem spoke in a guttural tone. I had never shared words with a Gem before. "And here I thought this would be an easy, pointless killing. I'm going to enjoy this!" His sentence turned into a ghastly roar at the last phrase, and he charged through the door and straight at me.

As a man of honor, I hadn't drawn my sword yet, foolishly expecting that the Gem would have given me the chance. I jumped aside from his charge, wheeling on my heels to keep him in my field of view. He swung his axe wide in my direction, and I ducked below the swing, lashing out with a fist into his gut. His abdomen was hard and muscular, and my fist seemed to have no effect on him. With his left hand, he took hold of my shoulder and flung me sideways across the room. I slammed into the table where Princess Seattel was hiding, feeling the pain of the table edge bludgeon into my side. The Princess shrieked in terror. In the spare moment I had, I drew my sword. Perhaps we'd be on equal footing now.

The Gem Warrior lunged at me again, swinging his axe wildly. Using an oft-practiced maneuver of my sword, I dislodged the axe from his hands and used his own momentum to slam his upper body onto the table. Without hesitation, I took hold of his hair-matted head with my free hand, slamming his face into the surface of the table. The cartilage broke under the impact. The Princess screamed again as the table shuddered from the impact and several of the clay vessels slid off the table and onto the floor. With a shout the Gem broke free, using both his hands to seize me by the shoulders and slam his forehead into my jaw. I staggered backward from the shock of the blow, feeling the warm blood rush from my lip. I really dislike a split lip.

Swinging low, I lashed out with my sword at the Gem's leg. He grabbed my arm mid swing and squeezed hard. I felt my muscles bruise and crush under his grasp and I am sure my bones creaked ominously under the pressure. My hand dropped my sword, and it clattered onto the floor. I lunged forward toward my fallen lifeline, the Gem's grip still on my arm, and we both tumbled to the floor in front of the hearth. The fire was blazing hot. I rolled with the Gem warrior until we were closer to the fire sill, feeling the singing heat of the flames on my hair. The Gem warrior shouted in pain as I wrestled my arm free and shoved his hand and wrist into the fireplace. The heat was almost unbearable for me as I watched his hand crisp and burn like a roast duck.

The Gem warrior took advantage of my distraction to grab me by the throat with his other hand, shoving my head towards the fire in the hearth. He roared. The flames licked greedily at my hair, and I rolled away in desperation, letting his burning hand go free. I snatched a burning log that had been half sticking out of the fire and rolling to my feet, I swung the log downwards on the Gem's head as he was struggling to stand. I bashed his skull with burning wood. Chunks of burnt wood, ash, and cinders sprayed across the floor as I swung the log into his head several more times. The Gem collapsed onto the floor, writhing in pain.

Quickly, I reached for the knife in my boot, and, unsheathing it, I plunged it into his chest. The Gem warrior gasped, and his bloodshot eyes locked with mine for just a moment. He laughed an awful, gurgling laugh. Then, the Gem laid lifeless on the floor.