his metal shield. Even as that clang sounded, the big man exploded into a charge, holding his shield up.
Pony's responding thrust slipped her sword tip around to the inside of the shield, but it seemed to Seano that he had gained an advantage. On he came, shoving his shield forward to put Defender out of the way, then swiping his axe across viciously.
Pony ducked it, then ducked the ensuing backhand. By the time Seano came with the third vicious slash, she had slipped out to the side, out of his reach.
Now she suddenly had the advantage, and she stabbed ahead with Defender, forcing Seano to alter the angle of his next backhand to fend off the rushing blade. He did this beautifully-even Pony nodded her appreciation for the cunning parry-though he nearly lost his awkward weapon in the process. Then he rolled his shield arm forward, putting the defensive barrier between himself and Pony once more.
She hit that shield with three sharp raps, Defender's fine silverel blade creasing it twice and cutting a small line in the metal on the third slash.
Seano flashed his toothless smile, but there was a wince there, Pony recognized, for the battering had likely stung his shield arm.
'You should have one of these,' the man taunted, lifting his shield.
Pony hit the metal again, hard, and then jumped back as Seano's heavy axe swiped harmlessly across.
'Just slows you down,' she replied confidently. To illustrate her point, she launched her first real attack, sliding forward with three quick steps and coming in with a hard thrust that got inside the blocking shield. She had him beaten with the move, but couldn't go too deep with the cut, for Seano's axe was quickly swinging her way again. Pony did manage to stick the man in the belly, enough to draw blood through the newest hole in his ragged tunic.
'I'll make you pay for that!' he promised, and he came on in a rage.
Pony kept back from the first swing and backhand, ducked the second as she slipped in past his hip, reversing her grip and scoring another minor hit. She rushed by, then dropped to roll ahead of the next backhanded axe swing.
She came up in time to pick off Seano's next cut with a neatly angled diagonal parry, so that his axe slid out and down.
And then she had him, or would have, had not a noise to the side and Bolster's cry distracted her. She told herself repeatedly that she shouldn't be surprised to see that Seano had brought a couple of friends-both holding bows.
'You are the better fighter,' Seano admitted, 'for what good that'll do you.'
'Did you not claim that you fight fair? ' Pony protested.
'And so I did,' said Seano. 'But now I'm not fighting. No, girlie, now I'm thieving, so just be handing over that gemstone, and me and me friends will be on our merry way.'
Pony eyed him and made no movement to retrieve the gemstone or to put up her sword.
'My archer friend can get your companion where he's sitting,' Seano remarked.
'Belster,' Pony called.
'I see them,' the innkeeper replied. 'A pair with bows.'
'Are you clear to their aim? '
'Got a wagon right beside me,' Bolster explained.
Seano gave a chuckle. 'Are you to make it more difficult, then?' he asked. 'More's the pity. To think that my friend will have to take you down.'
Pony reached into her pouch and pulled forth the hematite, and Seano put a greedy hand out for it.
She didn't immediately turn it over, but stood there, staring at the gemstone, sending her thoughts into it, accepting its magic and blending that energy with her own.
And then she came out of her body, with enough magical strength to focus her thoughts into something tangible, to project an image of herself, elongated, twisted, and demonic. That horrifying image appeared before the two archers, issuing a hellish shriek, the specter's mouth opening wide.
The two archers fell back, crying out, and tripped over their own feet trying to run back into the forest.
'What?' she heard Seano Bellick cry, and she rushed back into her body, coming on guard immediately, and not a moment too soon; for the big man, apparently sensing some kind of betrayal, leaped forward, his mighty axe leading, a straightforward, downward chop aimed for Pony's forehead.
Purely on instinct, and faster than Seano could have believed possible, the woman's warrior reflexes took over. She lunged suddenly, her sword tip meeting the descent of the axe, chipping into the wooden handle just below the head, before Seano could gain any momentum.
In the same fluid movement, Pony disengaged, retracting her blade but an inch, then slipping it under Seano's axe and rotating her arm across and down, taking Seano's weapon along for the ride.
The man should have let go, surrendering the weapon, but he hadn't even really registered the parry yet, let alone the counter, and soon his arm had rotated in and down.
Pony slipped her blade free and brought Defender up over the axe handle and quickly across. And then she fell back, sputtering, as blood splashed across her face.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye, and Seano Bellick's weaponand the hand still holding it-fell to the ground.
The big man howled, throwing his shield aside and falling to his knees, clutching his wrist, trying to stop the spurting blood.
After the instant of shock, Pony knew that she could not pay him any heed. She turned and started to sprint toward the spot where the archers had been, but she hadn't gone two strides before the pair reappeared, bows drawn and ready.
Pony slowed, staring hard at the men, noting the trembling of their fingers, studying every aspect of them, body and weapon, in an attempt to find a way. She didn't think it likely that either would hit her, so unnerved they seemed, and yet…
'Are you still intent on this fight? ' she asked sternly, walking slowly but deliberately toward the pair. She was balancing here, measuring a guess against practicality. One line of reasoning told her to stay back, that the darkness and the distance would make their shots all the more difficult. A second line of thought told Pony to intimidate these already unnerved men to the maximum, make them see their doom, shake them so badly that they could hardly loose an arrow, let alone hit anything.
Then she caught a glimmer from their metal arrowheads.
'Ye give us the stone and we're on our way,' the smaller of the pair demanded, his cap, a triangular huntsman's affair, pulled low, accentuating his dark eyes. He was the more dangerous of the two, Pony noted, the steadiest of hand and, likely, the better shot.
'I will give you nothing,' Pony replied, 'but will take from you more than your hands, I promise!' She ended with a hiss and a flourish with her arms, and the larger man cried out and ran away, but the smaller growled and let fly his arrow.
As soon as he did, the man screeched and grabbed at his face, a great convulsion racking his frame. And then he dropped to the ground.
Pony didn't see it, focusing instead on the arrow's flight, aimed straight for her heart and too fast for her possibly to deflect. She did instinctively bring her sword across, and with hardly a conscious effort, sent her fears into Defender, a sword so named because of the line of small magnetites, lodestones, set into its guard.
In response those magnetites sent forth their waves of attracting energies, grabbing at the metal arrowhead, altering its course enough so that the guard intercepted it and held the missile fast.
Stunned, Pony looked down at the sword, at the arrow held there, the arrow that, she knew, would have skewered her.
Then she looked back to the archer, lying very still. Had his own friend shot him? 'Belster?' she called.
'Are ye all right, girl?' he asked from over by the wagon. Pony knew then that he had played no part in this. Confused, Pony went to the archer, lying facedown, and she grew even more perplexed, for the man showed no wound on his back.
Crouching beside him, her eyes scanning the forest for signs of trouble, her ears trying to tune away from Seano Bellick's continuing wails, the woman rolled the archer over.
He was dead, still clutching his face, his hand over his left eye. Pony pulled that hand away and found her
