Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor

press of bodies was too great, and he had to stop for fear of striking down his own men. Instead, he concentrated on working his way through the crush towards Dominic. The Prince had opened the gateway in the West Wing.
    Hundreds had died, very nearly including his own Catriona Taggert. One way or another, he was going to have Dominic's head for that. He met Dominic's gaze for a moment, over the crush of bodies, and Cord grinned savagely as the Prince had to look away. He struck out at the guard before him, and the man fell screaming to the floor with his face torn away by the mace's spikes.
    The fight went this way and that as the two forces jostled for position. Blood soaked the ancient stone floor, and the living stumbled constantly over the broken bodies of the dead and the dying. Jordan wiped the sweat from his brow with a hurried sweep of the back of his hand, and glared about him for Dominic.
    His heart missed a beat when he couldn't find him, and then he spotted the Prince inching his way along the wall towards the door. Time seemed to slow and stop for Jordan. There was no way he could reach Dominic in time; there were too many people in the way. Nobody else could get there either. Dominic was going to get away. Jordan howled with rage, lifted his sword and threw it at Dominic. The whole battle seemed to hesitate as the sword went tumbling gracefully end over end through the air. Dominic caught a glimpse of something coming towards him out of the corner of his eye, and started to turn. The sword slammed into his chest, just below the left shoulder, and pinned him to the wall. He screamed once, the horrified, agonised sound rising clearly over the sound of battle.
    The fighting slowly stopped as everyone became aware of what had happened. Dominic looked disbelievingly at the blood spilling down his chest. He shook his head dazedly and tried to pull out the sword blade with his bare hands. Blood dripped from his lacerated fingers. For a moment it looked as though he might actually pull himself free from the wall, and then Cord stepped forward and crushed Dominic's skull with his mace.
    For a while there was only silence, and then one by one Dominic's men dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender. The fight was over. Robert Argent gave a low moan, and fell to his knees.
    Blood spilled between his slack lips as he clutched at the horrid wound in his chest. He began to crawl towards Dominic's limp figure, and all around him the guards fell back, horrified by the aura of death that hung around him like a palpable presence. Even Roderik could hardly bear to watch him. He finally reached Dominic, still hanging limply from the sword that pinned him to the wall. Argent raised his head
    painfully and pulled at Dominic's leg.
    'Do something, Dominic. I'm dying! I'm dying!'
    The blood at his mouth suddenly stopped bubbling: A faint look of surprise crossed Argent's face, and then he fell forward and lay still as his death finally caught up with him. Roderik looked away. The Steward sighed quietly.
    'What a mess. All right, some of you men, get Dominic's troops out of here. Escort those who can walk to the nearest cells, and drag the rest out and stack them somewhere. We'll worry about identifying the bodies later, when we've got time-Now move it!'
    She made her way through the crowd towards Jordan. He was leaning on his sword and breathing hard, but he still managed a small smile for her.
    'Can't seem to keep out of trouble, can you?' he said finally. 'I'd have thought you had enough problems of your own, without getting involved with mine.'
    'Can I help it if I feel responsible for your being here?' said Taggert, smiling. 'After all, I gave you the will. And besides, I'd been itching for an excuse to go after that bastard Dominic. Now if you could just find an excuse for me to go after Lewis as well, you'll have made a friend for life.'
    'Funny you should say that,' said Jordan. He reached over to King Malcolm's bier and picked up the crown and seal. He slipped the ring on his finger, and lowered the gold circlet carefully on to his head.
    The room went suddenly still and quiet. Jordan looked around him, as one by one the guards got down on one knee and bowed their heads to him. Taggert and Cord knelt and bowed, and then Sir Gawaine, and finally Count Roderik.
    'We have a King again,' said Gawaine. 'Redhart has a King! Long live the King!'
    'Long live the King!' roared the guards, and there was a clash