“Excuse me, gents,” I said into the ensuing silence. Eight pairs of eyes turned to look at me. I rose to my full height, managing not to wince at the soreness in my muscles. Three armed dwarves against one and a half hardly seemed like a fair fight. Then again, I had an ace up my sleeve.

I stepped out from the shadows and into the light, hands held up like a criminal. One of the dwarves shifted on his feet, and I almost summoned my weapon right there.

No, I counseled myself. Violence isn’t always the answer.

The leader had backed up a step, and his eyes raked over me with about as much welcome as I’d expected.

“Who the hell are you?” he growled, hefting his axe. I kept an eye on the blade as I circled slowly right, putting my back to empty air instead of the wall.

“Me?” I asked, trying to appear casual. “I’m just a guy.”

I had their attention now, and Dane, eyes hooded with pain seemed to realize that. Slowly his hand inched towards the hilt of a knife I saw protruding from one scuffed boot. Now, I just had to keep their attention.

“Human,” grunted the hooded dwarf to the right. He said the word like a curse. “He must have slipped past the wards.”

The leader smiled, flashing yellow teeth in the low light.

“Men are so like rats in that regard. Tell me rat, from where do you hail? A tribesman of the deep perhaps?” he sneered. “No, not pale enough for that. A mercenary whore of the Blood Elves then, no doubt.”

“I see no mark on him,” said the hooded dwarf as he looked me over.

The leader's eyes sparkled with amusement. He glanced at the hooded dwarf and gestured with his chin.

“If he’s a runaway then he’s free game.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I wasn’t about to admit it. Instead, I lifted my chin and adopted a cold and calculated smile. It was the kind I’d seen Uncle Vinny give right before he killed a man.

“So,” I said, tilting my palm and summoning just enough sand magic to coat my palm. The dry grains were a comfort, even as some tumbled between my fingertips toward the ground.

“These three seem hellbent on killing you, and I’m going to assume there’s no way to avoid bloodshed. Care to weigh in?”

It took the injured dwarf several seconds to realize I had been addressing him. He blinked, shifting the small knife against his side and out of sight.

“Afraid,” he rasped, practically wheezing. “not.”

I sighed heavily.

“Didn’t think so.”

My dagger manifested in my palm and I slashed the arm of the hooded dwarf before he had a chance to react. The sand blade cut through skin and bone, severing his hand from his arm without a sound. It had already hit the ground before he began to scream.

I had planned on catching the leader off guard, but his reaction time saved his life. As I went for him he sidestepped my blade, bringing up his axe faster than should have been possible. I managed to avoid the strike aimed at my neck, but only just as I danced backward.

The now armless dwarf had dropped to his knees, howling in pain as blood gushed from his stump. The sound echoed through the cave and into the darkness.

“So,” said the dwarf leader, his face screwed up in anger. “You’re an abomination then. A human who’s been allowed the use of magic. You are rare indeed.”

He lunged for me, and I ducked under his blow and darted to the side. My sand dagger was deflected and the sound of magic on metal made the cavern ring.

“The hell does that mean?” I growled, jerking aside as the third dwarf came at me with what looked like a small sickle. He slashed at my head, missing and scoring a burning line down my cheek. I grit my teeth, cursing as I scrambled back. My shoulder hit the wall. There was nowhere else to go.

The dwarves wasted no time in pressing their advantage. It was two-on-one, and I had neither the time or distance to summon a sand spike. It was nothing like fighting monsters. Pressed on both sides It was all I could do to stay alive.

I twisted, spun, and blocked, gritting my teeth as the axe blade cut a gash along my thigh. The dwarf leader smiled, his face triumphant as he lunged for me. I caught his axe blade on my dagger, grunting with the effort of holding him back.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Dwarves may be short but they were incredibly strong, and I was running out of time. Air whistled beside me. My hair stirred in the small unexpected breeze. I blinked, half turning my head to see a ball of black and white streak by.

The jumping spider had hurled herself forward, latching on to my attackers face and obscuring his view. He shouted, flailing his axe at me blind as he tried to beat her off.

I barked a laugh.

“That a girl.”

There is no such thing as a fair fight, that much I’d learned at a young age. While the dwarf was busy trying to pry the dog-sized spider from his face I went for his hamstring. My blade slide into the flesh with a wet snick.

The dwarf cried out as he went down, the sound muffled beneath the spider's fur. She jumped clear of his face as he hit the ground and scurried behind me as the third dwarf closed in. I raised my blade, preparing to defend myself but the dwarf had other ideas. He stumbled past, sprinting down the tunnel.

“Don’t let him get away,” the rough growl came from Dane, who had dragged himself up to a sitting position.

I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. He was breathing heavily from the pain but his dark eyes were sharp and urgent.

“If he lives then the others will know about you. The Foresworn were already hunting me, but you. You’re a stranger. You should stay out of it.”

I glanced around at the two dwarves slumped against the cave floor. One of them seemed to have fallen unconscious, or maybe he was dead.

“Bit late for that,” I said but I was already turning to jog after runner. No witnesses… that was the order of business and I knew it well. So much for avoiding bloodshed.

As I passed the leader I barely registered the flash of steel in the lamplight. The dwarf fell sideways, blood spraying from the side of his neck where a knife now protruded. Dane’s arm was extended but even as I watched it fell back to his side.

“Check his fist,” he rasped. His eyes slid downward toward the twitching form. I looked closer and something clutched in his fist. It was a small thin blade and the tip was beaded with a strange green liquid.

“poison?”

Dane nodded.

“What they got me with,” he said, gesturing. “Slow acting. Lethal in the correct doses. Did he cut you?”

I shook my head and he nodded, leaning back against the wall. The spider surged ahead as I jogged through the tunnel. She was agitated, racing up the sides of the walls and circling back to make sure I was keeping up.

“Thanks for that,” I said, feeling slightly foolish for talking to a spider. “You really had my back.”

She let out a chirp that sounded kind of like an affirmation. I smiled.

“Alright girl,” I said. “Let’s find this bastard.”

The low light made it difficult to navigate. I could no longer hear the pounding boots of the dwarf on stone and that made me weary. It could be that he had moved out of range, but it was just as possible that he was lurking somewhere in the shadows, waiting to spring on me.

I jumped at every sound, even going as far as to nearly bump into the spider as the darted between my legs.

“Sorry,” I hissed under my breath as she gave me a reproachful look. If this kept up I was going to have to name her. What the hell does one name a spider?

A sound from up ahead drew my attention. I slowed my pace and raised my blade. There was no hiding the golden glow of the weapon. Magic sand pulsed from the dagger as I approached a bend in the tunnel.

I held out a hand to the jumping spider as she made to scamper ahead. She paused, her round dark eyes watching me. I could see the glow of my magic reflected in them as I passed. I was straining, trying to hear any sound from the tunnel beyond.

All I could hear was the steady drip of water from deep within the darkness. I readied myself and raised my blade. I whipped around the corner, hugging the wall and going low. It was just as well because something whipped over my head, clattering off the stone behind me and falling to the ground.

“Russo?” the sound was unexpectedly familiar. Pam crouched by the corpse of a dead dwarf, her now empty crossbow now hanging loosely in her arms.

“Sheesh officer,” I said as I rose from my fighting stance. “That’s the second time you’ve almost killed me in 24 hours.”

“24 hours?” Pam’s brows drew together. “It’s been days.” For the first time, I noticed that she was covered in cuts and bruises and a dark smear of dirt covered her right shoulder and arm. She looked like she had been through hell.

I shook my head, examining the dwarf's corpse.

“It couldn’t have been that long,” I said. “We went through the portal hours ago if that.”

Pam was giving me a strange look and I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something odd was going on.

“What happened here,” I asked, gesturing to the dwarf. Pam shook her head.

“He was dead when I got here,” she said. “I looked at the body but the cause of death is.. hard to determine. There are no signs of wounds anywhere, and blunt trauma would have at least left a mark. When I heard you coming I assumed…”

I nodded and reached down to roll the body over. Glassy eyes stared at the roof of the cave. I suppressed my feeling of unease and examined the corpse for any unusual signs. Pam was right.

There were no signs of blood or injury. What’s more, the corpse was already stiff, something that shouldn’t have been possible in a fresh body.

I stood.

“Where are the others?” I asked. Pam swallowed and shook her head. My heart plummeted.

“When we first came through the portal we were attacked. I don’t know by what, some sort of worm-like creatures that swarmed us by the dozens. We had to retreat, it was the only tactical option but this place is a maze and we got separated.”

“It’s all right,” I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find them.”

She nodded and reached into the quiver at her hip to set up another bolt.

“Sorry about,” she gestured apologetically at the projectile now lying feet away.

I snorted.

“Good thing you have shitty aim, or I’d have kicked the bucket.”

“I’m more used to guns,” she groused. “But from what I hear they aren’t very effective weapons against these monsters.”

A rustle of movement had Pam spinning, bringing her crossbow up. I forced it back down and gave her a look.

“It’s all right,” I called into the darkness. “You can come out now.”