Medieval 01 - Untamed

churned earth like a mad, bleeding beast.
    Meg watched in awe and fear, finally learning how Dominic had earned his name. If any man had questioned the Sword’s mettle after he showed mercy in the church and again in the games, no man questioned it now. Dominic hewed through Reevers like a scythe through a summer meadow. There was no mercy in him for the men who had stolen his wife.
    Abruptly Meg sensed someone coming up behind her. She spun just in time to see a battle-ax arc down through the dusk. The blade bit through the length of chain that was wrapped around the trunk of the oak. So great was the force of the blow that the blade sank into wood nearly to its haft. A gauntleted hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her to her feet.
    â€œQuickly, lady. ’Tis not safe for—”
    The knight’s words ended in a choked cry as a bolt from a crossbow struck his helm and ricocheted off. Without another sound he fell to the earth.
    Meg knelt, saw that there was nothing to be done, and stood quickly, dragging six feet of chain with her. With a growing sense of fear she searched for Dominic in the midst of the bloody battle. None of the men lying on the ground had his size, yet the certainty grew in her that the Glendruid Wolf could be lost almost in the same breath that he had been found.
    Nay! We have waited too long for him!
    Frantically Meg searched the gloom for sight of her husband. Dominic’s well-trained knights were making short work of the Reevers. Few of them were still able to fight, but they didn’t lack courage for all their wounds. They slashed with swords like madmen, trying to hew through the knights to the Norman bastard who had once again thwarted their ambitions.
    Rufus was nowhere in sight. Nor was Dominic. Finally the flash of Glendruid crystal in the wolf’s eyes drew Meg’s attention. Dominic was at the far edge of the camp, running toward her. Though his sword was still drawn, he ignored the final swirls of battle around him.
    Danger .
    With uncanny certainty Meg looked to her right. Just a few feet away, Rufus was stepping out from behind the oak that had been her prison. As she watched in horror, he raised his crossbow to murder the Glendruid Wolf.
    â€œNay!” Meg screamed.
    With the strength of desperation, she swung her manacled hands in a fierce arc. Six feet of chain lashed out and tangled with the crossbow, jerking it toward Meg as Rufus fired. The crossbow’s deadly arrow hummed harmlessly up into the night.
    Rufus dropped the useless snarl of crossbow and chain. As he drew his sword with his right hand, he lashed out with his left hand at the girl who had ruined his aim. A mailed fist thudded into flesh protected only by cloth. Meg spun aside, staggered, and reached out for her husband with chained hands.
    â€œDominic—!”
    Even as Meg crumpled, Dominic leaped forward and caught her with his left arm. His right arm swung in a fierce arc that made his sword flash in the firelight.
    Grunting with effort, Rufus began a two-handed swing that was meant to cut Dominic in half, and Meg with him.
    The blow was only a hand’s span from its target when Dominic’s sword sliced up through the darkness, deflecting the blade. Steel rang on steel with a force that sent shock through the men’s bones.
    Shouting a violent curse, Rufus swung two-handed again. Dominic barely parried the blow in time. He was fighting one-handed, holding on to Meg with the other.
    When Rufus swung a third time, Dominic seemed to slip. As he fell, he turned, protecting Meg with his own body. With a cry of triumph, Rufus lifted his sword for a killing blow.
    The Glendruid Wolf came up from the ground in a silent, deadly spring. Too late Rufus realized that he couldn’t protect himself from the sword that was leveled like a lance at his naked throat.
    Before the Reever could plead or flee, he was dead.
    Dominic withdrew his sword, knelt, and eased Meg into his arms. She made a low sound and turned toward him. Even in the glow of the bonfire’s leaping flames, her face was pale. From across the fire came the last flurry of battle. Dominic glanced up once, then ignored everything but his wife.
    â€œMeg,” he said, fear rough in his voice. “Where are you hurt?”
    Her eyes opened slowly. Reflected firelight made the silver pin on Dominic’s cloak burn. Meg looked deeply into the wolf’s savage crystal eyes and sighed. With fingers that