Nothing but another resonance blade could parry his sword.
Energy rippled across the shield before it winked out of existence. The other bandits shouted, surged forward, triggered by Ōbhin’s attack. He caught his balance, falling in a guard stance while Ust smirked, arms folded across his chest.
Naston thrust a sword at Ōbhin. He flicked his blade, slicing through the tip. He followed with a horizontal slash that sliced through Naston’s upper body, severing both arms and his torso. He fell in pieces between Ōbhin and Ust. Ōbhin pivoted and changed his swing into a cutting arc at Ust’s right side.
The purple barrier flared. A shield of energy. Ōbhin’s blade struck, the humming increasing in pitch for a moment before his attack rebounded. He shifted on his boots, a growing fear swelling in his heart as Ust uncrossed his arms.
The bandit chief’s arm blurred. It moved faster than Ōbhin could see or react. It slammed into his chainmail armor. Ribs cracked. The force of the blow hurtled Ōbhin down the road. Fog swirled around him. He crashed onto the ground before the gate with a grunt. His head slammed back into the hard-packed dirt of the road.
Bright lights flashed across his vision as fuzzy pain danced across his mind.
“Ōbhin!” Fingers shouted, bursting out of the gate.
“Close . . . it . . .” Ōbhin groaned, his words slurred. It hurt to speak. To breathe.
Through dazed eyes, Ōbhin struggled to follow the battle. Struggled to stand. Numbness spread down his limbs. He’d been punched by Stone, and it never threw him back five paces. And the speed . . .
Fingers ducked a powerful swing from Stone’s maul. The guard slammed his rod hard into Stone’s liver. Purple energy sprang up like the shield. It bound up Stone’s arms, pinning them to his sides. Fingers hooked the bandit’s foot and slammed his shoulder into Stone’s torso, sending the huge man crashing on his arse.
Smiles went for Ust. He rushed past Ōbhin, binder held up and ready, purple light spilling over his chainmail. Smiles slammed it hard at Ust’s side, shouting a wordless howl of battle. Ōbhin struggled to move. To sit up. He gripped his sword, his digits locked around it.
Ust’s fist blurred in a sideways punch. Smiles struggled to change his momentum and dodge it. The blow hit him in the head. Ōbhin heard the loud crunch of a skull cracking. Smiles soared into the wall and slammed hard into it. He dropped his binder and hit the ground. For a moment, caused by some addled fancy in his mind, Ōbhin thought he saw Smiles’s skin ripple like it was liquid, becoming pasty white for a second before returning to Smiles’s beige.
Ōbhin grunted at the sting of grief. He’d heard the bone crack. Men didn’t survive injuries like that. “Bastard! Kill! You!”
“Will you?” Ust demanded. “Friend of yours? You’re good at getting those killed, aren’t you?”
Ust seized Ōbhin by the right ankle and dragged him towards the gate. Ōbhin groaned, breathing hurting. The fuzziness on his brain faded. He tried to shake it off then kicked, struggling to break free of the iron grip locked around his ankle.
Beyond, Fingers battled Whiner Creg. The skinny bandit might be a sniveling coward, but he had skill with the blade. He pressed Fingers back, forcing him to block with his binder instead of attacking. They vanished into the swirling fog, vanishing from Ōbhin’s sight.
Ust reached the gate and slammed his fist into the wood. It shattered into a burst of kindling. Ōbhin gaped. The display of titanic strength shocked him back into clear thinking. No man could do that, not even Stone.
“What are you?” Ōbhin groaned.
“Improved,” Hook said, looming over Ōbhin. “You shoulda run. He’s gonna make you watch.” The man leaned over, his nose smashed and broken many times. His hook loomed over Ōbhin’s throat. “I could be merciful. Save you the pain.” He jerked his hook away and cackled. “But where’s the fun ‘n that? You thought you were better than us. But you’re just a common murderer. How many did you kill for Ust?”
“Too many,” Ōbhin spat. He still held his resonance blade. It hummed, draining the charge in the emerald.
The rusted end of the taunting bandit’s hook pressed beneath Ōbhin’s eye, threatening to rip away his vision. “T’would be a mercy, but Ust wants you to watch. With his strength, I don’t think Avena will survive long. She’ll—”
Ōbhin’s sword slashed through both Hook’s legs above the knees. The bandit howled in agony as he collapsed on his belly, blood spilling from the severed stumps. He screamed, his good hand clawing at the grass, the hook tearing furrows.
Ōbhin already moved. He sat up, pain screaming across his chest as broken ribs ground together. He slashed at Ust’s hand gripping his ankle. Moments before impact, the purple flared, absorbing the blow. Ōbhin screamed in frustration and pressed his blade against the shield, struggling to cut through the protective energy.
A faint glow of purple bled out of the back of Ust’s hand.
With a snarl, Ust swung Ōbhin like a club. The air whipped past his head before the ground rushed up at him. He released his resonance sword and thrust out his arms before him. He hit, elbows bending to absorb the impact. His right wrist burst in numb agony as it bent back too far. Tendons snapped. Bones creaked. Almost broke.
He howled as he rolled onto his back. His hand bent at a strange angle, fingers splayed and useless in his leather glove. Ust, uncaring, dragged him through the gate and
