Free The Warlock in Spite of Himself - Warlock 01 by Cristopher Stasheff Page B

shoved, letting the arm go.
    Brom flipped head over heels, sailed twenty feet past Rod, and landed on the stone flags with a grunt of surprise. He landed on his feet, of course, and spun about with a bellow of laughter. 'Very neat, lad, very neat! But not enough...'
    Rod was on his feet again, panting and shaking his head. Brom hopped toward him, then sprang.
    Rod ducked low, in a vain hope that Brom might be capable of missing once; but the little man's long arm lashed out to catch Rod across the throat, stumpy body swinging around to settle between Rod's shoulders. One foot pressed into the small of Rod's back, both arms pulled back against the base of his throat.
    Rod gurgled, coming to his feet and bending backward under Brom's pull. He seized the dwarf's forearms, then bowed forward quickly, yanking Brom's arms. Brom snapped over Rod's head and somersaulted away. He crowed as his feet hit the floor.
    'Bravely done, lad! Bravely done!'
    He turned about, the glint of mischief still in his eyes. 'But I grow weary of this game. Let us be done with it.'
    'Tr-try,' Rod panted.
    Brom hunched forward, his long arms flailing out, slapping at Rod's guard.
    He grabbed for Rod's knee. Rod dropped his right hand to block Brom's attempt, then threw his left about Brom's shoulders, trying to shove him forward to lose his balance; but the dwarf's hands seemed to have gotten tangled in Rod's collar again.
    Rod straightened, trying to throw Brom off, hands chapping at the little man's elbows; Brom's grip only tightened.
    The dwarf kicked out, throwing all his weight forward. Rod stumbled, saw the floor coming up at him.
    Brom leaped past him, catching Rod's foot on the way. Rod did a bellywhopper on the stone floor, but he slapped out with his forearms and kept his head from hitting.
    He tried to rise but someone had tied a millstone across his shoulders. A snake coiled under his left arm and pressed against the back of his neck.
    Rod tried to roll to break the half nelson, but a vise closed on his right wrist and drew it up into a hammerlock.
    'Yield, lad,' Brom's voice husked in his ear. 'Yield, for you cannot be rid of me now.'
    He shoved Rod's arm higher in the hammerlock to emphasize his point. Rod ground his teeth against the pain.
    He struggled to his feet somehow, tried to shake the little man off. But Brom's feet were locked around his Waist.
    'Nay,' the dwarf muttered, 'I told you you'd not be rid of me.'
    Rod shook himself like a terrier, but Brom held on like a bulldog. For a moment, Rod considered falling on his back to crush Brom under him. It was galling to be beaten by a man one-third your size. He discarded the idea quickly, though; there were many times in this bout where Brom could have played equally shabby tricks on Rod.
    So Brom had a strong sense of fair play; and Rod was damned if he'd come off as smaller than a dwarf.
    Brom's voice was a burr in his ear. 'Will you not yield, man?' And Rod gasped as his right hand tried to touch the nape of his neck. Then Brom shoved hard on Rod's neck, forcing his chin down to touch his collarbone. Rod staggered, lurched forward, and threw out a leg to keep himself from falling. The muscles across his back and neck screamed at the torture; his right aria begged to give in. His diaphragm folded in on itself, stubbornly refusing to pull in another breath of air. His windpipe crooked into a kink, and his lungs called for air. In a weird, detached moment he noted that night seemed to have fallen all of a sudden; and, stranger yet, the stars were tumbling... Water splashed cold on his face. The mouth of a bottle thrust between his lips, feeling as large as a cartwheel. Liquid trickled aver his tongue and down to his belly, where it exploded into fire. He shook his head, and noticed that there was cold stone under his back. Now, what the hell was he doing, trying to sleep on a stone floor?
    Voices echoed in his head. He opened his eyes, saw a round face with great brawn eyes framed in