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.The rock clipped his temple, and he stumbled to a halt.Looking shocked, his scimitar dangling at his side, he fingered the bloody graze.The blond youth must have realized his comrade had stopped running, because he, too, balked.It gave Aeron a chance to put his hand on yet another stone.When he grabbed it, though, the Red Axe started rushing in again.He must have decided that even a fair fight, one against one and knife against knife, was preferable to standing off and letting a foe pelt him with rocks.Aeron threw the stone.It smacked the youth in the chest but didn't stop him.He pounced, slashed, and Aeron, his hands empty, could only defend by springing frantically backward.The Red Axe pursued him.Aeron had to dodge two more attacks before he could ready his own weapons, his largest Arthyn fang in one hand and his cudgel in the other.He feinted a stab to the stomach with the knife, then lashed the club at the blond youth's face.Undeceived, the Red Axe simultaneously ducked the true attack and slashed at Aeron's wrist.The knife tore the underside of his forearm.Aeron thought, hoped, the wound was shallow.He couldn't stop and check.He retreated to a safe distance, fought defensively for a few heartbeats, then flowed into the same combination he'd tried before, a low feint with the knife and a strike to the head with the cudgel.He made the actions just big and slow enough that his opponent was sure to understand them.Naturally, the youth responded with the same counterattack as before.Why not, it had worked the first time.When his dagger flashed at Aeron's arm, the redheaded outlaw spun the club, trapped the blade, and carried it safely aside.At once he stepped in and hammered the heavy pommel of his own knife into the center of the Red Axe's forehead.The lad's eyes rolled up in his head, and his knees buckled.Aeron felt a momentary satisfaction, cut short when he sensed a presence at his back.He leaped aside, and a scimitar whizzed through the space he'd just vacated.One profile smeared with blood, the cutthroat in blue had shaken off the shock of his superficial injury and crept up on the person responsible.Aeron parried the next cut with his cudgel.It worked, it kept the blade out of his guts, but the force of the stroke knocked the club from his grip, leaving only his own blades with which to defend himself.The Red Axe hacked at him repeatedly, and whenever Aeron could, he used a variation of the blond boy's counter.He ducked or dodged his opponent's blade and slashed or thrust at his extended arm.Before long, the man in blue became accustomed to the pattern, to an adversary who fought as he did, with a single weapon, and that was when Aeron surreptitiously slipped a second knife into his off hand.He flourished the big Arthyn fang, locking the Red Axe's attention on it, then threw the smaller dagger.The knife plunged into the older man's throat.He made a gargling sound, pawed at the hilt for a second, and collapsed.The Red Axe's death left Aeron feeling vaguely disgusted, but it was not the time to dwell on it.He inspected the gash on his forearm.He'd guessed right, it wasn't bad enough to require expert attention, not immediately, anyway.Employing his fingers and teeth, he knotted a kerchief into a makeshift bandage, then crouched to check the yellow-haired lad.It occurred to him that it would be just his luck if he'd accidentally killed all three Red Axes, but in fact, the boy was breathing.He gripped him under the arms and dragged him into a recessed doorway, which might at least hide them from the casual notice of passersby.He kneeled down in front of his prisoner, then slapped and pinched him, trying to rouse him.It took a while—long enough for a couple of garishly painted whores to wander down the alley, discover the corpse of the man in blue and the still-unconscious gnoll, and steal their purses and other valuables.Finally, though, the blond lad moaned, and his eyes fluttered open.Aeron poised an Arthyn fang at his throat, and he cringed."Don't fight, stay quiet, and I won't hurt you," Aeron said."Otherwise, I'll stick you and talk to somebody else.""You're crazy," said the youth, sounding more indignant than frightened."Attacking us in broad daylight in the middle of the street? What if the Gray Blades had come along?""In case you haven't noticed, recently the law has been the least of my problems.At the moment, it's the least of yours, too
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