Luke saw his friend battered and booted across the road. It was insane just to watch the thin teenager trying to hold himself against that giant warrior. The Tengura leader had just taken down the best swordsman in the village! Even if Charlie had a sword, he couldn't fight him. He couldn't win.
He was going to be killed.
The stocky teenager turned to Malik beside him. The jujitsu student was undoubtedly thinking the same thing, watching Charlie fight with disturbed and fearful eyes. Malik was a proper martial artist, he of all people knew about fighting and would know the victor right away. His expression spoke volumes and Luke felt conflicted, uncertain he should move or not move. People were being slaughtered before him, innocent men and women, hacked to shreds by monsters in helmets of horror. Charlie would be no different.
This wasn't right. Standing here, watching the massacre, useless and stupid. He was no better than the door post pressing against his back. Luke couldn't see the rest of his friends but he knew that he couldn't deal with finding them in pieces, just another victim of these vicious bastards.
'We have to fight,' he said suddenly.
Malik turned to him, puzzled and stunned.
Luke held him with a firm glare. 'We have to fight,' he said again.
His friend took less than a second to respond.
'Yes!'
They leapt forwards, evacuating the wall and running straight into the middle of the fray. They dodged a charging rider who swung his blade down but missed Luke entirely.
The teenager recoiled and then hurried after Malik who was sprinting towards two dismounted Tengura warriors. They saw the two teenagers and rushed to meet them, hooting with glee.
Malik was a jujitsu student but he was trained with weapons. With sais. With bo staffs and many others Luke couldn't count. Yet the most impressive thing was he wasn't afraid of a fight.
They didn't see it coming.
Luke watched Malik leap into the air, arching his bamboo back over his shoulder. He was aiming for the warrior on the left who was still readying his sword when the boy came flying down. The bamboo spear tore through the Tengura's neck, puncturing his throat entirely.
It was the most incredible thing Luke had seen.
The other warrior ignored Malik and made a beeline for him. The Tengura's blade whipped out violently, cutting the air with shrill noise. But it missed. Luke had darted back, quicker than he anticipated, far quicker than the warrior thought he might. But faster still was the counter. Like a bullet he launched his spear, thrusting it deep into the Tengura's chest, right between the chainmail. Luke could feel the ribcage cracking under pressure and everything inside bursting from the sheer force.
The warrior screamed and crumpled in a heap. Luke withdrew his bamboo spear, both stunned and satisfied by how well he handled the fight.
Damn he was strong.
'Luke!' Malik cried.
He looked to his flank and saw Malik was crouched in the road, waiting for a figure that was racing towards him. It was another rider, mounted on his hound, spurring he beast to charge the boy down.
Malik wasn't moving.
'Move!' Luke roared.
Instead the jujitsu student threw back his spear arm and then like an Olympic athlete he flung the bamboo like a javelin. The shaft sliced through the air with such speed that Luke actually blinked and missed it.
The spear slammed into the face of the rider's hound and the beast fell into a tumble. Its mounted warrior was thrown from the saddle, flying past Malik and rolling to Luke's feet.
Instinctively, the stocky teenager thrust his bamboo into the rider's throat. The man let out a scream and raised his blade to cut him. Luke simply stamped down his foot, pinning the arm to the ground. He then twisted the bamboo, snapping the warrior's neck in one move. The arm went still.
Luke abandoned his spear in the rider's neck and ripped the blade from his dead hands.
'Thanks,' he muttered.
He heard a cry and turned about to see another rider was charging towards Malik. This one was carrying a spear and was aiming to skewer him. His friend's bamboo was still stuck in the hound so he was totally defencelessly.
But this was Malik...
As the spear came flying down, the martial artist simply dipped sideways to avoid the lunge. Then in the same movement, his hands grasped the polearm tightly, yanking it forcefully from the rider. Stupidly the warrior didn't let go and Malik dragged him off his mount, slamming him on to the dirt.
The jujitsu student put a boot on the rider's chest and forcibly ripped the spear free from the man's hands. A split second later he plunged the lance into man's heart, killing him instantly.
'Luke!' Malik called out to him as he withdrew the weapon.
Turning about, Luke saw other warriors had noticed the carnage the two teenagers had caused and were discarding their victims so they could engage them.
Bring it on, thought Luke.
He ran to meet them. Malik rushed in at his side. Together they charged the Tengura warriors. And they showed no mercy.
YOU ARE READING
Our Destiny: Bearers of the Dagger
Fantasy... Emma felt the confidence start to seep away. Her earlier thoughts were not pleasant but she couldn't ignore them. 'What's going on?' the questioned burned through her mind. 'Where are we? How did we get here?' Charlie's smile vanished at once. '...
