Ashar'an Rising (Nexus Wars Saga) Read Online Free Page A

last look at both prone figures. The first man had not moved from where he had slumped to the floor, and Valdieron wondered what power the pendant had used to strike at him, for it had definitely been a reaction from the Tear which had thrown him away with such force, almost like a lightning strike. He looped his baldric over his shoulder but kept his sword out, wondering if there were any more from the taproom who were a part of this.
    Shouts were springing up around the Inn as he kicked open the door, suddenly feeling the pain of his protesting body and the aching of his head. A slight haze still enveloped the corridor and taproom as he emerged, only helping to worsen his ill feeling. Figures were fleeing across the room, whether patrons from the previous night or those enjoying breakfast he did not know, nor did not care as long as they did not confront him.
    Kaz and his other equipment were missing.
    Two men who looked like guards he had not noticed the night before rushed at him from across the room, both dressed in dark leather armor. One carried a single bladed axe, long and hooked with a spiked counterweight, while the other carried a spiked ball swinging on a short chain from a metal handle.
    Cursing this and his headache, he leapt at the man with the strange weapon as he swung it around his head. The guard reacted quickly, angling it across his body at Valdieron, who was forced to drag his chest back from its path, his sword dropping low and wide out of its path, knowing the chain could hook it and pull it from his grasp.
    The heavy ball slammed into a nearby chair, splintering wood and knocking it across the room, but Valdieron hardly noticed as he reversed his weapon into a spin, keeping it low so that it circled to catch the man behind the knees as he tried to bring the awkward weapon to bear. The flat of his sword connected with considerable force, knocking his feet from under him and he tumbled, hitting his head on a nearby table as he fell, rendering him unconscious ever before his head slammed into the hard floor moments later, and blood began to pool from a gash.
    The crescent  shaped axe arced past Valdieron's face as he rose behind it, grimacing as it smacked into the floor, digging a groove into the stone where it struck. He backpedaled then as the big guard reversed the long hafted axe with remarkable speed and sent it at his stomach. It passed within a hairs breadth, tearing a long cut in his shirt.
    Another double  handed chop arced at his head, the guard buoyed on by his first two strikes, but Valdieron realized his opportunity and stepped to the side as the weapon descended. Despite his skill, the big man was not able to divert its path this time, especially as Valdieron batted it away with his sword, straight into the path of a table, where it dug into the hard wood.
    Valdieron released his left hand from the hilt of his sword and snapped his elbow into the man's face. His conical helm offered no face protection, and Valdieron's elbow caught him flush on the jaw. There came a loud crack of fracturing bone and his head snapped back. With his balance lost, he flailed backwards and he careened over several chairs before falling to the ground, dazed and inert.
    Determined to find his equipment and Kaz, Val scanned the room quickly, but it was deserted, the last of the patrons fleeing through the door with screams of surprise and fear. He paid them no heed as he heard yelling from the kitchen, but decided to check on the other bedrooms first.
    Most were empty and did not hold his belongings, while in one a young couple were just rousing on a curtained bed, clinging to each other as he entered, sword in hand. The woman screamed, while the man stared at him fearfully. Any other time he would have flushed at the sight of the half naked woman who was indeed pretty and womanly in all the right places, but his unblinking eyes scanned the room quickly. He winced as the woman screamed again, the high  pitched