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you ever have the stomach to do your own killing, Gasam? A warrior stands
before you. Fight like a warrior, if you know how." From far back in the city,
they could hear a great commotion.
"Listen!" Gasam shouted. "You hear? They have broken into the city! That is
what this renegade wants! He wants to delay us here while his wretched
mainlanders trap us!"
The Shasinn warriors looked to the east, where the first gray of dawn began to
spread. The sounds grew louder, but seemed to be no closer. One of the
warriors went to Gasam, and Hael recognized Luo.
"There is time, my king. They are attacking the gate. It will take them a
while to get into the city, even after they find there is no one left
on the walls. Fight him, Gasam. Even a king may not refuse a warrior
challenge."
Gasam glared in hatred and frustration. La-rissa came to him and laid a hand
on his arm. Quietly she spoke. "This is stupid, my love, but you must do it.
You must above all have the respect of your Shasinn. Do this, and you will
never be challenged as long as you live. Kill him, Gasam, for me if for no
other reason."
There was no help for it. Knowing he was neatly trapped, Gasam tried to put a
good face on it. "Very well," he said loudly. "I generously declined to kill
this fool when we were boys, so now I must exert myself to make up for my
mistake." He glared around him. "I want nobody standing around gawking! Keep
loading the ships, you can watch from there. A king should not have to stoop
to such foolishness, but if my people wish it, I shall not fail them."
The other warriors left the platform. Larissa and Dunyaz remained, and the two
kings stood in the center. Each gripped his spear with his left hand holding
the short wooden grip, his right on the long metal shaft of the butt-spike.
They held the long, swordlike blades slanting upward before them, each with
his point leveled at his opponent's throat. Gasam wore a shortsword as well.
Hael had not recovered his dagger from Shazad. He hoped she had hidden herself
well. Beyond Gasam, he saw more ships cruising out through the harbor
entrance. The stars were quickly fading, and the noise from the city was
growing loud. The two men circled warily, eyes locked.
Gasam stepped in, his spear engaged on Hael's right. He dipped his point and
came up
to the left of Hael's spear, lunging for the broad chest. Hael sidestepped
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easily, bringing his spear across to the left and batting the other blade
aside, replying with a short jab to Gas-am's face, turning that blow to a
swift cut with the blade's edge, directed toward Gasam's leading wrist. This
Gasam avoided with an adroit sweep of his spear in a wide circle, catching
Hael's, swirling it around, down and away from his body. Both men leaped back
a step and continued circling. The exchange had lasted only seconds, the sound
of the ringling blades loud in the harbor, where the only other sounds now
were the creakings from the ships.
Hael had learned much from the brief exchange. Gasam was not quite as strong
as he, nor as swift. But the steel spear was lighter than the bronze, and that
made up for the other man's deficiencies. Steel was also harder than bronze.
He could see the nicks made by the other weapon. And it occurred to him that a
truly forceful blow of the steel blade might cut through his own. He pressed
Gasam with a quick series of jabs, some of them feints, some in earnest,
driving him back against the railing of the platform. Hael tried to end it
quickly with a full-body lunge, but Gasam dived past him in a roll and Hael
had to whirl desperately as Gasam sprang to his feet and aimed a thrust at his
back. Gasam made the move too quickly, before his balance was perfect, and
Hael was able to avoid it by a finger's breadth. He was not so lucky with the
backstroke, which opened a slash along his ribs on the left.
They circled again and Gasam grinned. After a few seconds a ragged cheer came
from the
watchers as they saw the blood begin to stream down Hael's side. "First blood
to me, foster-brother!" Gasam crowed.
"Only last blood counts," Hael reminded him. It was high summer and the dawn
came quickly at this time of year. The sounds of the Nevan army were very
close now.
"Finish him, my lord!" Larissa cried. "We can wait no longer!"
With a wild cry, Gasam charged, swinging his blade straight down like a
longsword. Hael knew that the instinctive move, a block with his own blade,
might be fatal: the steel blade could cut through his bronze one. Diving to
one side, he swept the butt-spike of his own spear across, catching Gasam
behind the ankles and taking his feet out from under him. Gasam dropped
heavily to his back, his arms flying wide and the spear clattering away on the
platform. Hael jumped to his feet, his right arm rocking back, spear-blade
aimed down and he saw Gasam's eyes go wide in fear. Behind him the gates
opened and the Nevans began to pour into the harbor. His muscles tensed as he
began the cast that would put an end to Gasam.
"No!" The scream startled him and something leaped onto him. So total had been
his concentration on killing Gasam that he could not understand what had
happened. His nose filled with the smell of perfume and he thought it was
Larissa, and then a heavy lock of black hair blew before his eyes. It was
Dunyaz. He struggled with her hysterical strength to get a clear cast at
Gasam.
Recovering from his momentary shock, Gasam snatched forth his shortsword and
he
pushed away from the platform, lunging with his whole body. Hael swung around,
blinded by the woman's hair, trying to clear his vision and bring his spear
down, to kill Gasam. She clung tight, her arms gripping Hael's, her legs
scrambling to lock around his, to immobilize him. With a wrench of his body,
she swung before him.
Gasam's shortsword went into her lower back, just beside the spine. The point
came out just beneath her sternum. Her screaming halted abruptly, her mouth
agape. Her eyes rolled up until only the white showed and she fell.
Hael, shocked, watched her fall away. He saw Gasam standing before him, but
the man was looking down at the woman he had killed. Then he looked up and
Hael saw something in his face he had never thought to see there: remorse.
"Go!" Larissa grabbed at Gasam and whirled him around, pushing him toward the
forward rail of the platform. He stumbled away and Hael broke from his trance,
raising his spear for the final cast.
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Larissa caught the movement and put herself between Gasam and the spear,
pushing her husband, urging him. He sprang to the rail and jumped, clearing
the dockside and cleaving the water cleanly. With a look of triumph, Larissa
followed. Hael rushed to the rail but he could not see them at first. Then he
saw two figures swimming strongly for a nearby galley. He laid his own spear
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