Page 126 of Clash of Storms
Sirius whipped his sword up, trying to peer through the gloom. He could barely see out of his eye, but Lor's body was suddenly hauled toward the waters, his boots vanishing with a wet rustle.
And then there was nothing but silence.
They definitely weren't alone out here, and now the wyrm had gotten its first taste ofdreki, it would be hungry for more.
"Lor?" someone whispered loudly.
Sirius vanished into the mist.
"Lor? Are you there? Where is he?" Florian.
Sirius could just make out the man's shadow. He crouched low and stalked him, ducking into the thicker drifts of steam.
Florian turned around, presenting his back as a convenient target.
A quick dash and Sirius launched himself off a rock, his sword whining through the air—
And Florian spun at the last moment, steel shrieking as their blades met.
He landed awkwardly, blind on one side. It was enough to throw him off balance, uncertain of the terrain beneath his right boot. Lashing out, he parried the next thrust, but the rasp of a footstep caught his ear from the side. His blind side. Instinct screamed at him, and Sirius twisted out of the way as Roar came out of nowhere.
Roar's sword scraped off his own, and Sirius flung him past, driving him into Florian. Roar barely managed to avoid skewering his ally.
No point wearing Lor's face anymore. He shifted back into his own body, crouching low as the twodrekicircled him.
"No more hiding behind your girl of lightning," Roar taunted, drawing his dagger and wielding both it and the sword in a threatening manner.
"Who said I was hiding?"
They attacked at the same time. Sirius barely deflected both blows, his sense of perception askew. He was driven back, his heel catching on a rock. Florian smashed the sword from his hand. Roar's eyes glittered with malice, and he used the opportunity to kick Sirius in the chest.
He slammed into hard ground, and twisted as Florian nearly cut his head clean off his neck. Sirius rolled back, trapping Florian's sword point-deep in the ground, and driving his heel into the side of Florian's knee. No time to follow his blow.
He was forced to scramble backward as Roar missed him by an inch, his sword driving into the ground, right between his legs.
"The mighty Blackfrost," Roar taunted. "You don't look so mighty anymore, when you're on your back."
A shadow rose up behind him, near formless in the steam. Sirius tensed, his boot finding purchase on the rock plateau. He'd needed to time this perfectly.
The pair of them fanned out, grinning maliciously.
Florian kicked Sirius's fallen sword up into his hand, wielding both of them. Sirius's heart started to race.
I brought you dinner, you big ugly bastard. Any time you'd care to eat it....
"All my life I've lived in your shadow," Roar said, advancing with a menacing step. "You. The mighty Blackfrost. And now I've brought you low. When I return to court I'll murder that puling little whelp you call brother, and then I'll have everything. I'll be the heir. Not you. Father will never mock me again. I'll be the one the court cowers before. Perhaps I'll even mount your head on a spike."
Don't look behind you....
"I'll—" Roar's face fell. "What are you smiling about?"
"Sorry, have I stolen your moment? You were gloating so well."
His bastard brother pointed his sword in Sirius's direction. "You dare smile at me right now? All my life I've waited for this. I've dreamed of having you at my feet."
Sirius couldn't help himself.
He laughed.
