that was almost akin to how he felt when buggering some comely lad. He looked from the shimmering glow encompassing the Red Dragons from the flaming arrows and he was very pleased with them. They looked fierce, invincible, handsome. “Ready!” he shouted, and the archers raised their bows again to the proper trajectory. “Aim and fi—”
His sentence was cut short by the wagonload of oil suddenly hurtling toward his men at breakneck speed—as if being pushed by an unseen force. A rope on fire was tired to one of the casks of oil. The next second the wagon rammed into the battle line and exploded into a billowing holocaust of fire, shooting up into the sky and engulfing most of the archers. Sade was nearly sucked into the conflagration himself, for a long arm of fire reached for him on the boulder, but he jumped out of its grasp to the sand.
Rut most of his men were not so lucky. They had become human torches and were now either rolling in the sand or running into the ocean to extinguish the fire. The sound of their screams and the sizzling of flesh coupled with the flapping and belching of flames was deafening.
As Sade lay on his belly in the sand watching this incandescent horror and confusion, he noticed the band of rebels cautiously nosing out of the cave to observe the fiery chaos. And as if it weren’t humiliating enough to see his own men turning to cinders, the rebels started to laugh and cheer.
Sade scrambled to his feet and looked left and right down the enflamed shoreline, wondering which way to run. It was then that the long shadow of a leaping figure crossed the periphery of his vision. When he looked in the direction of the shadow he saw a very large man standing on top of the highest boulder, his muscular legs spread wide apart, his arms akimbo and his thickly tressed head thrown back in an eruption of raucous laughter. The swine was derisively laughing at the destruction of his beloved Red Dragons. To add insult to injury he heard the rebels join him in the mockery.
“Ho, all you rogues and rascals!” he shouted to the rebels who were still more in than outside the cave. Talon made a general motion toward the half-dozen dazed archers who had survived the flames. “Do you expect me to do all your killing? Come outside and split some skulls!”
Rodrigo signalled that his men obey the stranger and the motley warriors came charging out of the cave to quickly vanquish the straggling archers—but sparing the handful of weaponless vassals.
Sade watched this perverse turn of events, at first incredulously and then going mad with murderous rage. He yanked his sword into view and went scaling and cursing up the boulders to the one where Talon held fast. Below, beyond the still roaring fire, the rebels looked up at Sade and the grinning barbarian who had saved their lives. They were enthralled with the clash that was about to take place between these two titans, the firelight silhouetting their bodies with a grotesque glow.
As Sade crouched and stalked the seemingly fearless and mocking young hulk, he kept inching away, moving circularly. Occasionally he would take a whack at the handsome dog with his sword but missed; the youth moved with the speed of quicksilver. If he could only take that youthful head back with him to Cromwell perhaps the king would not deal too harshly with him for his defeat here. “I don’t know who you are or how you did this,” he said, gesturing toward the flapping flames, “but you’ll pay for your tricks, pig!”
He swung his sword at Talon again, but Talon ducked. As the sword whistled over his head Talon kicked the blade out of Sade’s hand and immediately grabbed him by his sprained wrist with one hand, wedging his other one between the general’s legs. With one swift lift he hoisted Sade high over his head with the ease of lifting a child. The rebels below murmured in awe of this show of strength.
“To h-e-l-l with you!” Talon droned out, as he hurled Sade into
His sentence was cut short by the wagonload of oil suddenly hurtling toward his men at breakneck speed—as if being pushed by an unseen force. A rope on fire was tired to one of the casks of oil. The next second the wagon rammed into the battle line and exploded into a billowing holocaust of fire, shooting up into the sky and engulfing most of the archers. Sade was nearly sucked into the conflagration himself, for a long arm of fire reached for him on the boulder, but he jumped out of its grasp to the sand.
Rut most of his men were not so lucky. They had become human torches and were now either rolling in the sand or running into the ocean to extinguish the fire. The sound of their screams and the sizzling of flesh coupled with the flapping and belching of flames was deafening.
As Sade lay on his belly in the sand watching this incandescent horror and confusion, he noticed the band of rebels cautiously nosing out of the cave to observe the fiery chaos. And as if it weren’t humiliating enough to see his own men turning to cinders, the rebels started to laugh and cheer.
Sade scrambled to his feet and looked left and right down the enflamed shoreline, wondering which way to run. It was then that the long shadow of a leaping figure crossed the periphery of his vision. When he looked in the direction of the shadow he saw a very large man standing on top of the highest boulder, his muscular legs spread wide apart, his arms akimbo and his thickly tressed head thrown back in an eruption of raucous laughter. The swine was derisively laughing at the destruction of his beloved Red Dragons. To add insult to injury he heard the rebels join him in the mockery.
“Ho, all you rogues and rascals!” he shouted to the rebels who were still more in than outside the cave. Talon made a general motion toward the half-dozen dazed archers who had survived the flames. “Do you expect me to do all your killing? Come outside and split some skulls!”
Rodrigo signalled that his men obey the stranger and the motley warriors came charging out of the cave to quickly vanquish the straggling archers—but sparing the handful of weaponless vassals.
Sade watched this perverse turn of events, at first incredulously and then going mad with murderous rage. He yanked his sword into view and went scaling and cursing up the boulders to the one where Talon held fast. Below, beyond the still roaring fire, the rebels looked up at Sade and the grinning barbarian who had saved their lives. They were enthralled with the clash that was about to take place between these two titans, the firelight silhouetting their bodies with a grotesque glow.
As Sade crouched and stalked the seemingly fearless and mocking young hulk, he kept inching away, moving circularly. Occasionally he would take a whack at the handsome dog with his sword but missed; the youth moved with the speed of quicksilver. If he could only take that youthful head back with him to Cromwell perhaps the king would not deal too harshly with him for his defeat here. “I don’t know who you are or how you did this,” he said, gesturing toward the flapping flames, “but you’ll pay for your tricks, pig!”
He swung his sword at Talon again, but Talon ducked. As the sword whistled over his head Talon kicked the blade out of Sade’s hand and immediately grabbed him by his sprained wrist with one hand, wedging his other one between the general’s legs. With one swift lift he hoisted Sade high over his head with the ease of lifting a child. The rebels below murmured in awe of this show of strength.
“To h-e-l-l with you!” Talon droned out, as he hurled Sade into
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