Free Faery Born (Book One in the War Faery Trilogy) by Donna Joy Usher Page B

with him by my side, and then they were on us. Aethan danced to the left, slashing his dagger across one of their chests, opening up a trail of blood.
    I have to admit that my hands were trembling as I backed across the field. Two of the goblins stalked towards me. One had the dreadlocks that seemed to be common amongst them, but the other had a mowhawk. Both had triumphant sneers on their faces.
    A girl and a stick?
    I didn’t stand a chance.
    This wasn’t how I had envisioned spending my birthday, but strangely I found I preferred it to the thought of tottering around in those stupid shoes.
    I dashed to the side, swinging my branch low at Mowhawk’s shins. It wasn’t at all what he had been expecting, and the wood had no impediment before it slammed into the tender tissue on top of the bone. He roared and swiped at me with his dagger, but I was already gone.
    Dready closed the gap between us and plunged his weapon at my chest. I pivoted to the side, swinging the branch up to deflect his dagger. Hot pain flared in my arm as the tip of his blade sliced through tissue.
    I let my momentum carry me around and my branch slammed into the side of his head. He wobbled unsteadily on his feet while he shook his head, his eyes narrowed in anger.
    Mowhawk circled around behind me. I threw my stick into the air and cartwheeled forwards, uprighting in time to catch it with one hand.
    I heard a grunt and looked over to where Aethan was fighting the other two. One of them was clutching the end of Aethan’s dagger where it emerged from his chest. Blood dribbled from his mouth as he sank to his knees. Aethan grabbed the longer weapon from the goblin’s hand and then wrenched the second one from its sheath.
    ‘Here,’ he said, tossing one of the blades to me.
    I grabbed it out of the air and held it up between me and the approaching goblins.
    Be a sabre, be a sabre. I stared at it, willing it with all my might. But of course it stayed just as it was. I shook my head in frustration.
    Stupid, stupid, stupid.
    The goblins spread out, one to each side of me, and then they attacked at the same time. I jumped into the air, wishing I could just stay up there out of their reach, and executed a foreword somersault. I landed so that they were both on the same side of me again. I couldn’t let them divide my attention. I had to make them attack me one at a time.
    But of course
they
had realised that as well. I danced and jumped and cartwheeled and tumbled, trying to keep them from a double attack. It rankled that my plan was to hold them off long enough for Aethan to dispose of his second goblin. That would mean that he would get three and I, only one.
    And then of course there was the ludicrousness of that thought. Who cared if he killed more goblins than I did?
    He was trading blows with his goblin, throwing in punches and kicks around his blade strikes. He was mesmerising to watch as he flowed across the field. I tore my gaze away from him. I couldn’t do with any distractions, or staring at him would be the last thing I did.
    It was all very well to stay out of their reach, but I was starting to tire. They were getting closer and closer the slower I got. I parried a blow and swiped at Dready’s neck with my blade. He ducked and I caught the top of his head, jarring my wrist as I sliced through to bone. Blood ran freely from the cut, down his forehead and into his eyes. He dashed at it with one hand, growling angrily.
    I turned my attention to Mowhawk, but I was too slow. He laughed wickedly as he grabbed my blade arm. I batted at him with the branch in my left hand but he was too close for me to do any real damage. He twisted my wrist till a bone cracked. I screamed in agony, the dagger dropping from my useless fingers.
    I kicked him in the shins and tried to pull my arm away but he tightened his grip, pressing his fingers between the broken bits of bone. Red clouded my vision as I fought to stay conscious.
    So, this was it.
    This was how I