“
M
ake sure that they are all dead,” Horace said. He jabbed his spear into the heart of a Gond whose leg was cut off and who had a few bullets in him.
The Gond were the heartiest of fighters. They might be mortally wounded or crippled, but they would still try to kill. One of the king’s soldiers had found that out the hard way when a barbarian shoved a hidden knife in his back.
Horace walked over to a huge barbarian that lay twitching on the ground. “Ho ho ho, look at this one. Isn’t he the Gond leader?”
Bearclaw and Vern walked over to the spot where the man lay on the ground in spasms.
Bearclaw grunted. “That’s him. I should know. I fought him.”
The Gond leader, Glaag, clutched his big bloody hands open and closed like clamps. His remaining eye bulged inside its socket. His chest was caved in, and ribs were sticking out of the wound.
Vern made a sour face and said, “Ew. How is the man still living?”
“He’s a Gond. They don’t know when dying is good for them.” Horace stuck the tip of his spear in Glaag’s face.
Glaag knocked the spear aside with a shaking hand. His body shook like a leaf. He breathed bubbles of snot out of his nose.
Iris scurried over to the Gond. Her eyes were as big as saucers. “How can this be? Wasn’t this barbarian shot with that cannon thing? The fact that he breathes defies reason. I’m the one that pulled the trigger.”
“A shame. He’d have made a fine Henchmen,” Horace said.
“Agreed. He could swing an axe like no man I’ve ever seen.” Bearclaw looked at Horace. “Should I do the deed?”
“You fought him. If you want to show mercy, show mercy. If you want to let him live—and suffer—so be it.” Horace spat. “This Gond deserves no better.”
Bearclaw rubbed his chin. “I can’t help but be curious. Iris, is there any chance that he’ll survive?”
She looked at Bearclaw as though he was crazy and said, “Elders no. He’ll be dead by the dawn. His innards are scattered all over. I’m still scratching my head as to why he’s not in pieces. It’s as if the shell bounced off of him or he bounced off of it.”
Bearclaw took a knee in front of the Gond. He stared into the man’s bulging eye. “Do you want mercy, Gond? Eh? Blink twice if you do.”
Glaag stared right back at Bearclaw with a defiant and unblinking eye.
Bearclaw nodded. “So be it. You can die on your own then.” He stood up and shrugged. “What now?”
Horace looked at the House of Steel. Ruger, Prince Lewis, and a host of Guardians and Golden Riders had returned behind the closed gate. He clenched his jaws and said, “I suppose that we wait.”