The leader motioned towards the warrior to his right, who immediately stepped forward and withdrew a deadly looking, single edged dagger from behind his back. With a flick of his wrist, the dagger divided itself in two, the second half spinning down to lock in place in the reverse direction, turning the blade into a double ended weapon. He turned to one side, letting his armed hand fall behind him, and in a movement that looked almost elegant, he launched his arm around in a half circle, sending the deadly double blade spiraling in an arch towards Jarred.
Jarred reacted instinctively, dodging to one side and reaching out to snag the projectile from midair. Letting his body’s momentum carry him around in a circle, he sent the blade back at the warrior who had thrown it, impaling him through his apparently light chest armor and toppling him backwards to the ground. The look of frozen surprise on the dead warrior’s face was mirrored on those of his fierce comrades, excluding that of the leader, who’s expression remained unchanged. The scarred Rai Chi stepped over to the dead warrior’s body, kneeling and jerking the blade free of him. After a long moment he slowly stood back up with his back to Jarred, turning his head only slightly towards the other warriors before speaking. “Chu plah.”
Jarred didn’t have to know the Rai Chi language to understand what the leader had said, watching as the rest of the warriors began to fan out around him, the two from behind doing the same. He backed Elora and Ethan away with one arm and took a few steps forward to distance himself from them as he reached behind his head and slowly drew his sword from its sheath, pressing the actuator that caused it to shift into to it’s full length. It was five to one, excluding the leader. If they rushed him, he would have been finished. But then, he wasn’t expecting them to.
Confirming his theory, one of the warriors continued to close in as the others kept their current distance, spreading out over the perimeter of the tram. The approaching warrior spun his staff in a flashy display and it suddenly elongated, deeply serrated blades jutting out from each end. He took the weapon in one hand, resting half of it behind his back and stretched the other hand out towards Jarred, moving in on him with complete confidence.
Holding his sword with one hand at his side, Jarred assumed a non-defensive posture, hoping to goad his opponent into becoming
over
confident. The warrior began to windmill his staff around again, spinning his body as he did so, and lunged forward, swinging the bladed edge of the weapon around in a reverse strike.
Jarred brought his sword up to parry the strike and immediately lifted his foot to step over the follow up sweep at his legs. Bringing his sword around in a quick circle, he batted a third attack aside, exaggerating the ease with which he did so, all the while never altering his position. As he had hoped, this only served to enrage his attacker, who growled in anger before lunging forward with renewed enthusiasm. Jarred sidestepped and parried the wild attack, pivoting away and slicing through warrior’s armor at the abdomen. He walked away without a backward glance as the warrior collapsed behind him, keeping his attention on the four remaining Rai Chi surrounding him.
The warriors gave each other quick, surprised glances, one letting out what Jarred took to be a stunned curse before stepping forward with his weapon at the ready, barking his own challenge. Jarred motioned him forward and the warrior lunged, feinting and striking in a whirlwind of movement so fast it was difficult to stay ahead while maintaining the illusion of defensive ease. He dodged most of the attacks, moving just out reach of each slash or strike, goading the warrior into an even more furious attack until he was pressed back to the very edge of the car.
The warrior swung his spear around in a vicious blow that would have knocked Jarred off the tram, had he still been there to receive it. He easily ducked under the strike and came up on the opposite side of the warrior, kicking backwards into his stomach as he came around, sending him tumbling off the tram.
The remaining warriors seemed even more surprised as Jarred came around to face them again. They glanced back at their leader, who was still watching closely with a neutral expression. Offering them no support, he simply looked off into the distance, Jarred assuming the gesture meant that they were on their own. The warriors quickly turned back to Jarred and, after a quick glance to one another, they began to slowly move in on him, this time as a group. So far, Jarred had proven himself to be the superior fighter, at least one on one, a conclusion that they had obviously come to themselves, as they now appeared finished with personal challenges.
Jarred twirled his sword around behind his back and held it there, offering no defense at all. The ploy had succeeded in distracting the warriors thus far, throwing off their attacks by angering or frustrating them, and if he was to survive any longer, he would need all the advantages he could get. He risked a quick glance back at Elora and Ethan, who were observing him with expressions that seemed a mixture of both awe and terror, then turned back to nod at the approaching warriors, inviting them to attack.
The warriors seemed to have learned their lessons, approaching him much more cautiously than the others had, triangulating themselves around him. Jarred stood still, facing only one of the warriors, but forming a mental picture of the other two with the rest of his heightened senses. He had learned to fight without the use of his eyes, relying instead on what he heard, what he felt, or even smelled. His training had taught him to do without all of his senses if need be, acting purely on instinct, anticipating attacks before they came.
The best way to do that was to make your enemy strike when and where you wanted them to, so when the warrior in front of him feinted an attack, Jarred was already blocking the
real
strike that he knew would be coming from behind, sidestepping and parrying the expected second attack by the other warrior behind him.
Jarred blocked attack after attack, avoiding contact with as many strikes as he could as he worked to stay a couple moves ahead of the warriors. He was succeeding so far, but his attackers were good and their assault was becoming more and more coordinated. It was only a matter of time before something got through. He would have to go on the offensive, and sooner rather than later.
He lunged forward, directly into the nearest opponent’s attack, blocking and countering it with an upward slash across his torso, receiving a more angry than painful scream in return from the warrior as he dropped to one knee. Amazingly, he let out a defiant growl and thrust his spear out at Jarred in a final attempt to impale him. Jarred didn’t stop the strike, but used his parry to guide the spear end past himself and into the stomach of the warrior coming up from behind, impaling him instead.
Sensing movement again behind him, Jarred immediately ducked under an incoming spear and spun in a full circle with the blade of his sword cutting through the air as he went, coming up to face the third, stunned faced warrior, his spear held high over his head. The warrior remained standing a moment, his face contorted in a look of pained confusion before he finally toppled over, and Jarred heard the other two behind him do the same, finished off by the same stroke of his blade.
As he stood, Jarred glanced towards the Sect carrier that was still hovering along next to the tram, contemplating the possibilities for how he might board and commandeer it. He pushed the problem to the back of his mind and turned his attention to the greatest obstacle still remaining between him and escape, standing on the other side of the tram car, glancing off towards the carrier as well.
Seeming to follow Jarred’s train of thought, the scarred Rai Chi elongated the staff he held at his side, which appeared much more complex and elaborate than those the other warriors had carried, and in a gesture that appeared to be some kind of respectful challenge, he lightly pounded his chest with his free hand and held it out to the open space between them, bowing his head as he did so.
Jarred looked over his shoulder at Ethan and Elora, who had moved to a new position at the rear of the car. Seeing them again, their faces full of more emotions than he could recognize, he was instantly reminded of just how much was riding on him now. He was used to defending and risking his own life, but now he had taken responsibility for the lives of two others. His actions would determine not only his fate, but theirs as well, and at that moment he knew that he could only allow one outcome. Nodding to them both reassuringly, he turned back to the Rai Chi, clearing his mind of everything else as he did so.
Nodding his head in return to the warrior, he raised his sword in a quick salute.
Chapter 14
The Rai Chi warrior raised his head and with a single twirl of his staff, lunged forward into a sprint.
Jarred did likewise, letting his sword trail behind him as he charged, quickly closing the distance between them. Before coming within striking distance, Jarred leapt into the air and somersaulted over his opponent while slashing downwards with his sword, his blade being met by the warrior’s solid staff. The Rai Chi’s counterstrike came so quickly, Jarred barely managed to raise his sword in time to block, his feet just reaching the deck as he knocked the blow aside. Spinning away, he came up into a guard position as his opponent did the same and they began to slowly circle one another, both taking a moment to analyze their first exchange.
The pause was brief and they rushed in again, the warrior attacking first this time. Jarred parried and sidestepped the thrust at his stomach, back stepping as he picked off a blow to his head, followed quickly by another meant to sweep out his legs. As the warrior came around, he brought his staff around with him, swinging it down hard for the top of Jarred’s skull. Blocking high, Jarred shunted the attack aside, quickly lunging forward with his own assault, striking high and low, from side to side, trying to throw the warrior off balance.
The Rai Chi’s quickness and skill had taken Jarred by surprise, but even now, as he fell into full attack mode, unleashing a frenzied barrage of strikes and blows on his target, none of them hitting their mark, it was obvious that this warrior’s expertise were far beyond what he had expected, possibly even rivaling his own training.
That thought sent a shiver up his spine as a thousand memories of painful lessons learned came flooding up into his consciousness. His attack faltered for an instant with his lack of focus and he quickly shunted the distraction aside, forcing himself to concentrate on his foe, but not quickly enough.
Taking advantage of the split second lapse, the warrior reversed the attack once again and Jarred found himself suddenly falling back, barely picking off the whirlwind of strikes that were suddenly raining down upon him. He silently cursed himself as he fought to stay ahead of the assault, hearing the words of his old mentor scorning him for being so sloppy, words that had usually followed the sharp sting of a wooden stick on the back of his head. Though often a bit painful, the memories weren’t bad ones, and he resisted the urge to ignore the feelings that came with them this time, instead using them for the strength that they inspired.
Focusing his thoughts, Jarred regained control of his defenses, relaxing his form and flowing with the Rai Chi’s assault instead of fighting against it. He parried one slash after another from the serrated spearheads of the warrior’s staff, spinning himself around with each one as he continued back stepping. On the third parry, he reversed his momentum suddenly and lunged forward, stabbing his sword outwards for the warrior’s stomach, or at least for where it should have been.
Apparently anticipating the move, the warrior had pivoted away to one side, leaving Jarred’s back open and exposed for a killing strike. Where normally he might have jerked away to avoid the inevitable blow, Jarred was now in tune with the warrior’s movements and, instead, let his sword naturally glide around into a guard position behind his back, crouching in a low stance to catch the powerful strike. Quickly guiding the staff around in front of him with his blade, he threw his shoulder up into the Rai Chi’s chest, knocking him back a few steps.
Not wasting a moment, Jarred launched himself into the attack, unleashing a flurry of strikes and slashes so fast and powerful, the warrior actually appeared stunned, struggling to keep his footing as he retreated back against the barrage. Jarred’s blade danced from side to side, almost of its own accord, as he gave himself over to his instincts, removing all conscious thought from his actions, as he had been taught to do, becoming one with his weapon.
The warrior ducked under a strike meant for his head and came up behind Jarred, who easily pivoted and circled his sword around his head to bat away his opponent’s spear, immediately unleashing another flurry of lightning quick strikes, giving the warrior no opportunity to open his own attack. He slashed left then right at the Rai Chi’s shoulders, raising his sword up high to deliver a heavy blow to the top of the warrior’s head, who raised his spear to block as he stumbled back. Jarred let the strike fall short and instead, thrust kicked the warrior in the stomach, sending him back another couple of steps. Seeing his opportunity to strike, Jarred lunged forward, and swinging his blade upward one handed, knocked the warrior’s spear high over his head, spinning away to slice horizontally across his chest.