AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Two
“Often times it is not numbers that wins the victory, but those who fare forward with the most vigor.”
—The Saga of Thrond of Gate
Midgard (Realm of Men), sometime before the known Viking Age.
“FUCKING gods damn it!”
This invective was uttered a half second after a meaty fist plowed through his traveling companion’s smooth, porcelain-like jaw, snapping the victim’s head sideways with an audible crack.
Before the speckled spray of blood from Ere’s split lip and likely bitten tongue landed on Kai’s tunic, he was already throwing himself into the ongoing brawl, catching the next fist before it could land.
Yah! Fight!
His body vibrated with burgeoning adrenaline, fueling his power as he crushed the fist in his own larger, stronger one, eliciting a gurgled scream. At the same time, he struck with his other fist like a battering ram into his opponent’s solar plexus, knocking him clear off his feet.
Shouts of surprise and rage erupted around him, and four men attacked at once from all sides. One of them got a lucky kick in to Kai’s ribs, but that only spurred him on.
Ha! With these odds, his fun might last more than a minute, which was exactly what he needed to take the edge off his restlessness. It was fortuitous that the Jade Emperor, or whoever was pulling the strings, landed them in the midst of this violent scuffle. Kai couldn’t ask for better timing.
One of the burly, hairy beasts who attacked him wielded a club. Another hefted a rough-hewn hammer. A third held a jagged-edged dagger. The last man raised his axe. And Kai had his fists and feet.
Fantastic odds!
“Sorin! Help him!”
Kai growled low as he dodged the club, the same time as the dagger sliced across his middle, cutting through his tunic, but merely scratching skin. He caught the wrist that held the knife and squeezed, easily breaking bones, barely paying attention as the man shrieked with pain.
He was preoccupied with glaring at Ere and Sorin, making sure the blond warrior knew not to interfere.
This was Kai’s playtime. He would not be deprived of it!
Sorin met his eyes briefly, and he saw understanding there. The warrior inclined his head in acknowledgement and simply held Ere back, out of the way of the blood splatter, errant fists and feet.
Satisfied, Kai went back to work.
He deflected the jarring impact from the hammer against his shoulder as if it was a love pat, as he head butted the man wielding it while twisting his arm with brutal force, dislocating it from its socket.
He spun to the side when he felt another man at his back, swinging that battle axe. As he turned, he caught the man’s extended arm, used his own momentum to pull him forward—right into Kai’s raised knee. The man’s nose and one cheekbone were crushed with a gruesome crunch, and blood spurted everywhere, making Kai grin.
In short order, he dispatched his attackers until they lay in moaning heaps upon the dirt ground.
He was barely breathing hard. He only had a couple bruises and bloody scratches from the fight, even though he purposely went easy on the ruffians. But his body was humming with energy, despite the brevity of the exertion.
Ah, he loved this high.
This addictive, exalted feeling. When he thrummed with primitive bloodlust and raw power. And he was closest to the elemental, tumultuous earth.
It was the only time his world made sense. The only time hefitwithin it.
“You saved us!” a short (by Kai’s standard, anyway), stalky man said from the periphery, and Kai reluctantly turned toward him.
“These rogues came to my home, tried to steal my food, wares and silver!” the man waved about in animated, righteous anger.
“They leered at my wife and daughters, tried to abuse my slaves! We were unprepared. You have my eternal gratitude, warrior. Please allow me to repay your kindness.”
During the farmer’s impassioned monologue, a couple of his men, either sons or slaves, removed everything of value from the defeated attackers, including any weapons, coin, and in the case of one man, his sheepskin vest. They kicked and hauled the ruffians to their feet and pushed them toward the dirt road from whence they came.
