If you’re going to fight him, get closer! You can’t do squat from here! Make him use that spear for thrusting. At least then you can parry it.
Edmund inched forward cautiously, closing the distance between him and the troll so that he was just out of the spear’s range.
“I’m going to tear your fingers off,” the troll said. “Then your stubby little arms.”
I have to get out of here . . .
Focus. Don’t let him distract you. You won’t get many opportunities. So when he attacks, block the spear and stab him. Keep your feet under you. Move!
Edmund circled a few steps to his left.
“I’m going to use your skull as a drinking cup,” the troll went on. “Why don’t you run and give me some sport?”
Yes, run!
Edmund wiped the sweat from his hands. “It’s too dark. I’d r-r-run . . . I’d run into a tree.”
“You aren’t as stupid as you look.”
The troll jabbed his spear at Edmund’s head.
Edmund sprang out of the way of its sharpened point.
Zipping up from behind, Becky nipped at the troll’s toes. A flick of its foot sent her flying off into the darkness with a yelp.
Do something!
Leaning forward, Edmund swung his short sword, missing the creature by at least four feet.
It laughed at him.
You’re never going to touch him from back here! Get closer.
If I get closer, he’ll skewer me!
Edmund took a step closer.
“How did you lose your eye?” The troll asked, as if wanting to prolong their battle.
He feigned a stab of his spear.
Crying out, Edmund hopped back.
Be calm! And buy time! Look for an opening.
“Goblins burnt it out,” Edmund said, conscious of the sweat-soaked patch covering the hole where his eye used to be. “Actually, you, you . . . you met them a while back. Kravel and Gurding?”
At this, the troll straightened, his face showing a mixture of astonishment and trepidation. Seeing his distraction, Edmund shot forward, swinging his notched sword. Recovering from his surprise just in time, the troll blocked Edmund’s blow with the haft of his spear. A small wedge of wood fell from where the sword struck.
Edmund scurried back, putting himself out of the troll’s long reach.
“Kravel and Gurding?” the troll asked, unnerved. “You’re joking.”
Becky reappeared out of the darkness, leaves and thorns sticking in her muddy fur. Keeping her distance from the troll, she snapped at the night air.
“Not at all. A . . . a c-c-c-couple, a couple of years ago they spoke with you about me. Something about a weapon made of a bluish metal, I believe.”
The troll flinched.
“You stutter,” he said, as if putting together distant memories. “And you have a dog.”
Get him in the knee! If he can’t run, you might be able to get out of here alive.
Edmund lunged forward again, jabbing at the troll’s elephant-like leg. The troll parried the blow with a swipe of his spear, the force of which nearly wrenched the ringing sword out of Edmund’s hands.
A cloud passed over the bright moon, plunging the valley into deeper darkness.
The roar of the river continued unabated.
“If you know Kravel and Gurding,” the troll said, stepping back still further, “tell me this. Which is the smart one?”
Force him into the river. Perhaps he’ll slip on the wet stones.
You’re good as dead if you stay here. You can’t fight a troll. You’re just a stuttering fool of a librarian!
“Kravel,” Edmund said, sliding to his left. “Kravel was the smart one. Gurding was just an idiot who did what he was told. But they didn’t have a brain between them.”
The troll retreated another step, keeping Edmund in front of him.
“What do you mean ‘didn’t’?”
“I killed them,” Edmund lied.
He sprang forward, the tip of his sword coming within an inch of the troll’s left knee.
Damn! You’re never going to stab him with this tiny sword. You need something bigger.
The troll laughed. “You’re a fine liar. I just spoke to—”
Suddenly, something the size of a bat flew through the dimness, sailing just behind the troll’s head and splashing into the river’s foamy current. As the troll spun to see what it was, Edmund drove forward again; this time his short sword scored deep into the troll’s enormous thigh. Black blood spurted, sizzling as it hit the damp ground.
Howling, the troll whirled around, his spear connecting with Edmund’s ribs. Edmund flew backward, landing ten feet from where the troll stood.
Becky launched herself at the distracted troll, biting its ankle.
As the troll attempted to fend Becky off, Edmund scrambled to his feet and charged. Shifting his weight, he was just about to impale the troll through its unprotected belly when something cold smacked against his temple. He fell sprawling to the ground.
“Sorry!” Pond yelled from the ridge high above them.
On his back, his head swimming, Edmund felt blindly for his weapon.
“There’s a reward for you,” the troll said, ignoring Pond’s volley of stones and the growling puppy clamped onto his leg. “A huge reward!”
Edmund’s fingers wrapped around the mud-covered hilt.
If only I had a lance or—
A longer sword? Your spell! Your spell! Use your spell!
The troll bent over, reaching for Edmund’s throat, and gloated, “You’re going to make me very, very wealthy!”
His hand trembling, Edmund pointed his short sword up at the troll and uttered the incantation his father taught him when he was a child. “Forstørre nå!”
In a flash, the sword doubled in length, piercing the troll between his eyes and popping through the back of its skull with a bone-splitting crack.
The troll shuddered, then toppled forward. Its immense leathery torso crashed down on Edmund’s face and chest, pinning him against the rocky ground. He screamed for Pond as the troll’s hot blood coursed over him, burning his skin.
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Table of Contents
RIDDLE IN STONE
Copyright
Dedication
PART ONE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
PART TWO
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
PART THREE
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
P
ART FOUR
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
PART FIVE
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
EPILOGUE
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Sneak Peek at Book Two...
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Robert Evert, Riddle In Stone (Book 1)
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