The Lord of Death (The Age of Dawn Book 2) by Everet Martins Page A

swords, no its hands were the menacing blades. The longest blade had letters engraved along its edge, much like the letters covering Malek’s robes and quarters. The creature’s hard pulls of air painfully hissed in Walter’s head. He saw the plate under its bicep shift ever so slightly. It strikes.
    “Grim!” Walter shouted, thrusting his hand fruitlessly. Grimbald blocked the wicked slash of its long sword with the axe’s head, a clang splitting the air. The force of the blow threw Grim off balance, and the warrior followed with a stab of its short sword, sliding through Grimbald’s shoulder. Grimbald screamed in pain and the beast swung again from overhead with its long sword. A glowing shield materialized in the air before Grimbald’s face and the attack was repelled, sending its arm bouncing back.
    It turned towards Walter, all four lips flaring in an exasperated hiss. Grimbald swung from overhead with his axe and the creature rolled forward, avoiding the blow and sprinting towards Walter.
    “Shit!” Walter breathed. He pushed with both hands and the creature slowed as if moving through water. Two burning discs sliced through the air, winding towards the golden armored creature. It raised its swords and struck the discs from the air, sending them spinning and smoking into the sky.
    “Impossible,” Walter said. Not regular swords.
    “I’m spent!” Nyset gasped, hands resting on her knees, her face pale. She stumbled to the low wall along the roof’s edge and put a hand on it to hold herself up. “The training, too much.”
    Walter risked sparing her a glance. No, no, not now. His concentration wavered and in a blur of movement the beast slammed into him, blowing the air from his lungs. His eyes watered and he couldn’t see clearly for what felt like forever. The beast’s horns and blades pierced the stone on either side of his torso, narrowly missing him and pinning him against the roof entry way’s wall. Lady luck is on my side today.
    Grimbald roared from behind the creature and swung his axe, shining mirror bright. The warrior withdrew its short sword hand in time, twisting its body to Grimbald, but its parry was off. Grimbald’s axe tore through its beautiful armor and half way into its arm.
    “That’s for my arm, you bastard!”
    It shrieked and yanked its horns and other arm free from around Walter. Grimbald withdrew his axe from its half-cleaved arm and started to swing again. Black blood gushed from the wound and its arm flopped uselessly above the elbow. Its short sword hand clanked against its armor as it pivoted to face Grimbald.
    It sent a gut-penetrating front kick squarely into Grimbald mid-swing. He fell to his knees and his axe chopped into the roof, wide of its target. Grim was gasping for air. Time crawled and the creature raised his long sword over Grimbald, lips sputtering and spittle flying.
    No choice. Walter let his eyes droop and he saw the Dragon before his vision, lurking, waiting for his touch. He did and his body filled with vigor and the pressing urge to destroy. Walter swung and, in mid-flight, Stormcaller’s amber tendrils materialized, sparking and burning. They snapped around the creature’s arm. It should’ve taken that arm off. It pulled hard against Stormcaller when it tried to finish Grimbald, lurching Walter towards it. He used the momentum and created a Phoenix shield around his shoulder. He rammed the creature in the back, sending it reeling.
    Walter slashed diagonally with Stormcaller again and again, leaving sizzling burns on the beast’s back plate. Armor intact . He struck again from overhead as it recovered, creating more black lines in the golden metal. It swung its vicious blade and Walter jumped, but not far enough. The blade cut horizontally across his chest, tearing through muscle and gouging bone. Walter winced, ducking the next cut. He sprung forward from the low position, bashing its knee with his shoulder, sending it rolling to ground.
    He