Free Mighty Hammer Down by David J Guyton Page A

his might and attempted to sever the
head of the man with the wounded arm, but only managed to cut his
neck open and knock him to the ground.
    With all the men bleeding into the
street, Rommus and Alana turned to the leader of the group. He was
already running down the alley and out into the street, tucking his
sword into his robes. It was all over before they realized
it.
    Rommus turned to her, panting. "Are
you all…"
    Alana screamed. The Mage Rommus had
stabbed in the leg had pulled the knife free while lying there on
the ground and stabbed Alana in hers. She screamed again before
Rommus could bring the sword down on the man’s arm, severing it at
the elbow. Another quick swing and the man’s neck was open and
bleeding out his life onto the street. He cursed himself for
killing the man in rage and not interrogating him before he did so.
He refocused on Alana, who had fallen to the ground, holding her
leg in agony.
    Letting his sword fall, he did his
best to comfort her, holding her head in the crook of his arm so
that she would not have to hold it up on her own. "It’s not very
deep, but I am going to have to pull it out, and it will need to be
sewn shut. Can you handle that?"
    "I think so," she said through gritted
teeth.
    "Good because that’s the only choice
you have."
    He took a firm hold of the bloody
handle and yanked it out, causing her to scream again. He tossed
the knife aside and took off his shirt.
    "I didn’t realize you were the kind of
man to take advantage of a woman in a situation like this," she
said with her best attempt at a smile.
    He paused a moment to consider what
she meant, the joke finally hitting him. "No, this is to wrap your
leg in so that we can reduce the bleeding. We’ll have to get you to
the Emperor’s Hall. It’s not far."
    "No!" she protested. "No I don’t want
to be anywhere that people might think I am that other Vindyri
woman. Please can we just leave Brinn?"
    "Leave Brinn?" he asked as he tied his
shirt around her wounded leg. "We can’t leave Brinn now, you can’t
even walk. They already released you, they know you’re
innocent."
    "Please Rommus, don’t take me there,"
she said softly as tears filled her eyes.
    She stared at him through that watery
gaze until his heart melted with pity for the woman.
    "All right. I shouldn’t go walking
around these busy streets shirtless anyway. If we take this alley
to the end, it connects to another alley that leads to my forge. I
live above it, so I can look to your wounds there. But let me tell
you right now, I am not skilled in the arts of healing." He slipped
his arms under her, getting ready to pick her up.
    "Are you skilled in the arts of
carrying women back to your home?" she said with a smirk as she put
her arms around his neck to help him bear her weight.
    "This is what you think of at a time
like this?"
    "A time like what? How do you know I
don’t do this every day?"
    "Well, since you seem to have a knack
for finding trouble, I guess I can’t assume this isn’t your
everyday routine. You must lead a very exciting life."
    She sighed and laid her head against
his bare chest as he carried her. He was a little embarrassed
because of how sweaty he was from the fight, but she made no
complaint, and he made no attempt to stop her.
    After a long silence, Rommus spoke.
"Thank you for saving my life back there. If those men had caught
me alone, I’m sure I wouldn’t have made it."
    "I should thank you, good sir. I
wouldn’t have made it without your help either."
    "Yeah that reminds me; where did you
learn to fight like that? I don’t know of any women who would hold
a sword, much less use one. Do they train women to fight in
Vindyrion?"
    "No. Vindyrion is much like Medora,
except there is not as much wealth or as many pretty buildings. Our
women are not warriors, just as the women here are not. We also
don’t have statues of the gods everywhere like you have here. You
Medorans seem to take your religion seriously."
    "Oh