The Reformation Wars: A Shadow of Gloom

Chapter 20

Dustin danced around the perimeter of the circle left by the marketgoers, warding off each of Paulo's attacks as he did so. The bystanders formed an enraptured audience reacting to particularly close dodges with collective gasps and impressive counters with the same. Anti-Monteraynian attitudes displayed themselves as certain witnesses cheered Paulo on despite him being the aggressor.

He caught Paulo's incoming blade with his own. The swords rang against each other as he used leverage to throw his opponent off balance. Ordinarily, Dustin would have followed up with an attack on his foe's exposed back or shoulder blade, but he had no intention to let even a single hair fall from Paulo's head on his account.

Instead, Paulo clumsily returned with a side swipe Dustin evaded merely by stepping out of the way. Next came a diagonal attack with so much power behind it that Dustin had to shift his footing to properly block it. The impact rattled his wrists. His blade vibrated at first, but then went rigid as Paulo attempted to press in.

Dustin threw all his might into one shove that disconnected their swords and sent Paulo stumbling into a soldier standing at the perimeter. He watched his opponent intently in order to devise a counter to whatever he threw at him next. And then Dustin found his focus broken by the impact of something hard hitting the side of his temple.

He glanced momentarily to the right and spotted an apple fallen beside him. The vendor whose apple barrel had been tipped over earlier now hurled the fruit at him in protest. Another fruit spun through the air, and Dustin moved quickly enough to slice it in half before it hit him.

Then he whirled to his left to block and parry an incoming attack from Paulo. The counter forced Paulo to jump back, giving Dustin a second to breathe. He ducked underneath another tossed apple and then side-stepped a loaf of bread.

Paulo renewed his attack with a thrust, which Dustin beat down. With both Paulo's arms faced down again, Dustin cupped his face in his hand and shoved him away again.

Momentarily, Paulo recovered, and he feinted a sideways swipe on the right before coming back around for a diagonal on the left. Dustin barely adapted in time to avoid getting his neck sliced open. And it didn't end there, either. Paulo bashed against his sword again and again with all the power of a club. Dustin feared his sword would crack or even shatter from the power of the impacts.

With their blades bound together, Dustin pushed against Paulo in a way he intended to wrest the weapon from his grasp. Instead, Paulo reversed the maneuver and wound Dustin's sword into the air instead. They watched it spin through the air and nearly cut an onlooker before she leapt back and screamed. It clattered to the ground several paces off.

Having been disarmed, Dustin had no choice but to dive out of harm's way. Paulo chased him, blade raised and teeth bared. Clearly, he had every intention of using his advantage to slay the crown prince of Monterayne.

Dustin snatched up one of the fallen apples and chucked it at Paulo's face to buy himself some time. Then he sprinted to leave the circle, only to meet firm resistance. Two disgruntled vendors checked Dustin and pushed him back into the fray.

He leapt aside and narrowly avoided one of Paulo's wild attacks, still losing a fold of his cloak in the process. Heart hammering, he ducked underneath another swing. Next came a thrust at his belly, which Dustin knocked aside with his bare hands, slicing deep into one of his palms in the process.

Dustin glanced up just in time to see someone had hurled a glass bottle at him. Quick reflexes worked in his favor, and he caught it in his uninjured hand. When Paulo swung again, Dustin blocked with the bottle.

Needless to say, the glass shattered, and Dustin was left with nothing but a jagged stub, but he could still threaten Paulo with that. He forced his foe to leap back to evade the improvised weapon, and before Paulo could regain his footing, Dustin was upon him, dropping the stub to grasp his hands.

After a few seconds' struggle, Dustin twisted Paulo's wrist in such a way he dropped his sword rather than bear through the pain. The blade had barely finished ringing against the cobblestone before Paulo's freed hands grasped Dustin's shoulders. He shoved him into the ring of bystanders, knocking quite a few people down in the process.

Dustin reeled, suddenly surrounded by Innutukians who had mostly shown apathy toward him if not outright antagonism. Having landed so hard on his hindquarters also hadn't been kind on his body either. Fortunately, instead of closing in on him, the crowd parted to form an even bigger circle, which Paulo dove right into.

Crossing his forearms, Dustin guarded his head while bracing for impact. He pumped his legs upward just in time to knock Paulo back and interrupt him from whatever he'd planned. Instead, he fell onto his hindquarters just like Dustin had a moment prior.

While Paulo gathered his wits again, Dustin leapt up to retrieve his sword. But of course, an Innutukian soldier leapt out in front of him. He knocked Dustin backward, right back into Paulo.

Before Dustin could fully recover from his fall, Paulo had clambered on top of him and forced him onto his back. Dustin threw up his arms just in time to block Paulo's first punch, and then he attempted to buck him off. His efforts were to no avail.

Paulo's hands each gripped one of Dustin's forearms, and he slung his forehead into his nose. He must have broken it—the impact sent shocks clear down to Dustin's neck. Crying out in pain, he wrenched his hands free to push Paulo off. He wouldn't budge.

Next, Paulo pommeled Dustin's face with blows, tossing his head from one side to the other each time. Dustin pried his eyes open just long enough to see Serena attempting to push through the crowd to offer what help she could, but she was prevented from intervening. He began to see spots in what vision he had left; his head swam as Paulo continued to rain blows upon it.

He raised a hand to stop the onslaught, but it only got smacked aside, possibly broken on the cobblestone. Dustin wouldn't know, because he didn't attempt to use it again. His strength had been spent, and it seemed the last sight he would see was Paulo's furious face as he pounded his face with his fists.

It was at that moment that a woman's cry cut through the air, and the beating stopped. Suddenly, Paulo's weight was removed from Dustin's chest, and he could breathe freely again. He pushed to a sitting position—finding his hand wasn't broken after all in the process—and caught a glimpse of who had saved him.

Though her brow dripped with sweat and a touch of weariness showed itself in her eyes, Bella Holt stood as strong as ever, sword drawn back and feet planted firmly on the ground. Paulo scrambled away from her in search of a weapon, and the only one he found was Dustin's own fallen sword. He plucked it up and stood back up to face Bella.

Dustin's attention momentarily left the pair when he spotted Serena in his peripheral. She knelt beside him and held him close. Her comforting touch almost made him forget his ailments, but not quite.

They watched as Paulo moved in to attack Bella. His wild swing met with a firm block and then a nimble parry. He dodged and withdrew to retake the offensive. To his visible dismay, however, Bella hadn't opted to engage him as passively as Dustin had. She pressed the attack, throwing an array of swipes and slashes his way that he could only block with considerable effort and concentration. Every time their blades connected, she nearly knocked the young man off his feet.

Finally, Bella finished Paulo off with a convincing feint and a graceful pivot that sent her blade skimming through the flesh of his forearm. She clearly could have done him more harm, but chose not to. While he stared at his new wound, she kicked him squarely in the chest, knocking him into several onlookers in the process. Bella retrieved Dustin's sword, which Paulo had dropped, and then she motioned for Serena to help the prince to his feet.

With a grunt, Dustin stood up, and he leaned heavily on Serena afterward. As much as the onlookers' antagonism caused his neck to tingle, he noticed not a soul dared challenge Bella Holt anymore. They made their way out of the circle without any challenge whatsoever, and even Paulo watched them leave with defeat in his eyes.