The Sword Brothers Read Online Free Page A

released his
pent-up sexual tension. A split-second later Conrad threw himself
onto Artur’s back and began punching the man in the face. Taken
aback by this unexpected assault Artur let go of Agnete and threw
his head back, smashing it into Conrad’s nose. The boy felt intense
pain in his face and wilted but held on to his target with grim
determination.
    Marie was lying on the
ground sobbing but Agnete used her free arm to gouge the eyes of
the man who continued to hold her, also biting his hand for good
measure. The man cried out in pain and released her, Agnete kicking
wildly at Adolfus who was still fiddling with his undergarments.
Artur had had enough. He reached behind him, grabbed Conrad’s hair
and then yanked the boy forward off his back, drew his dagger and
then punched Agnete hard in the face with his left fist. The blow
temporarily stunned her and stopped her struggling, before Artur’s
blade slit her throat and silenced her for good.
    Adolfus stood
open-mouthed, transfixed in terror at the murder of the woman.
Artur turned to face the boy in the dimness but then heard a shriek
of pain and realised that the baker had broken free. One of his
assailants had been preoccupied watching the attempted rape of his
wife and had loosened his grip sufficiently for Dietmar to free his
arm and smash his fist into the man’s groin, causing him to
collapse to the floor in pain. He then grabbed the other man and
dragged him onto the bed, biting his ear and tearing off a great
chunk of it with his teeth. That was the cry that Artur heard.
    ‘Take Marie and get to
safety,’ Dietmar shouted at Conrad, who was rising to his feet,
blood pouring from his nose.
    ‘I will not leave you,
father,’ replied Conrad defiantly.
    ‘Get out now!’
screamed Dietmar.
    Three of Artur’s men
were temporarily disabled and the other two had drawn their daggers
and were closing in on Dietmar, so Conrad grabbed his sister’s hand
and pulled her towards the door. And so he ran, dragging his sister
down the stairs.
    ‘Stop them,’ shouted
Adolfus, whose wits were returning to him.
    ‘You two,’ Artur
hissed at his two remaining men, ‘go and get them.’
    Dietmar flew at him as
the two men followed the boy and his sister down the stairs.
Adolfus was like a mouse trapped by a cat – totally helpless and
useless – but Artur’s mind kept working despite the exceptional
circumstances. He had seen rape and murder many times, had carried
them out himself, and thus was thinking ahead. This is what his
master paid him for. He saw Dietmar’s lunge, moved aside and then
hit the baker hard on the side of the head with the hilt of his
dagger. As Dietmar crashed to the floor Artur hit him two more
times with the blunt end of the dagger, knocking him unconscious.
He slipped the weapon back in its sheath and looked around. What a
mess.
    His other men were now
struggling to their feet as he roughly grabbed Adolfus’ sleeve.
    ‘Time to go,
lord.’
    ‘What about her?’ he
stammered.
    ‘She won’t be going
anywhere.’ Artur turned to his men. ‘Bring the baker.’
    One of the men was
rubbing his groin, still in pain. ‘Why? He’s unconscious.’
    ‘Because we need him,’
hissed Artur, ‘now do it.’
    It had been like a bad
dream to Conrad as he bounded down the stairs holding the arm of
his sobbing sister. As he raced towards the closed shutters he ran
into a man squatting by them, knocking him over. Despite the pain
in his nose and his wailing sister he still managed to direct a
punch at the individual, who curled up into a ball and begged for
mercy. Conrad pulled up the shutters and ran into the night,
pulling his sister after him.
    ‘Run, Marie,’ he
shouted, the two of them bounding up the street as fast as their
young legs could carry them.
    He had no idea where
he was heading or what he was going to do, only that he must carry
out his father’s orders.
    ‘Come here!’
    He turned to see two
dark shapes exit his father’s