The Final Redemption Michael Manning (best motivational books of all time .TXT) 📖

created a temporary bridge of pure forceacross the empty space. As a finishing touch he added an opaquebrown color to allow the men to see it. “Get across!” he shouted,and the soldiers with him began crossing as quickly as they dared.Their blind foes never stood a chance.

After that things got easier. Withonly four men left, they were more careful, but George blinded thearchers at each section before they could get a clear shot, and thelack of gangways was no obstacle.

Thomas and his group were the first tofind real trouble. Sprinting across the courtyard, they wererelying upon speed and surprise to protect them from the archerswho stood on the walls and atop the keep, until George and Egan’sgroups could take care of them. Arrows weren’t really a problem forThomas, but the men with him didn’t have the protection ofenchanted plate as he did. A well placed broadhead arrow orcrossbow quarrel could kill a man in chainmail, whether he’d beengraced with Doron’s strength or not.

Arrows turned out to be the least oftheir worries.

Running faster than the fleetest stag,Thomas led their charge across the open ground. Their goal was thearchway that led to the eastern courtyard; from there they wouldhead for the postern gate. The ground erupted in front of them withclouds of dust and dirt as they neared the center and strangecreatures emerged, rising like nightmare sentinels.

Ten of the strange, twisted forms hadappeared, from what looked to be small pits dug and concealedwithin the hard earth. Their shapes and limbs were bizarre in bothnumber and arrangement, but their purpose was clear.

No stranger to surprises, the calmminded Thomas veered to the left rather than springing into theair. An ambusher would be prepared for an instinctive leap, thefact of which was proven when two of the men behind him shotskyward, startled by the sudden appearance of foes in front ofthem. Neither reached the ground alive; two of the beasts in therear caught them with long clawed arms, ripping through chainmailand disemboweling one before he found the ground again.

The other died more painfully, as one of his legs was caught andsnipped off by a thing with claw-like shears for arms. He fell,blood pumping forcefully from the ruined stump and mercifully lostconsciousness before the diminished god could finish thejob.

Sir Thomas’s great sword removed thefront right leg of a four legged turtle shaped monster, causing itto topple awkwardly sideways as he skipped past. Reversing hismomentum, he spun back to the right and removed the arm of anotherbefore his ambushers could react. Moving in a pattern of almostrandom madness, the knight was among his foes and dancing with adeadly grace that reflected either a chaotic genius or a callousdisregard for his own life. He stayed nowhere, constantly moving,using the bodies of his foes to change direction and momentum inways that defied his own weight and previous movement.

Regrettably, his disordered dance alsokept him from doing serious harm to any of his foes, other than theoccasional removal of an arm or leg when his swings connected withweak points by chance. His purpose was far from random though, hiswhirling dervish routine confused the enemy long enough for theremainder of the men with him to reorganize themselves, forming twogroups, one of two men and another of three.

“Take the right!” shouted Sir Thomas.“Flank the tall one on both sides while you defend each other’sbacks.”

The soldiers, although lessexperienced, knew well how to take orders and coordinate. Reactingquickly they moved to obey, while Thomas tormented their foes fromthe left. The ‘tall one’ he had called out was a particularlyspindly, stork-like raptor with ripping claws for forelimbs. Thedisarray of their initial contact had left it farther out than theothers, and the men were able to flank it on either side. Two ofthe five struck alternately from either side, forcing it into alosing game, while the other three struggled to keep the monster’sclosest allies from moving to assist.

Continuing his desperate rampageThomas’ luck eventually ran out. Bouncing from the heavy trunk-liketorso of one near the center, he was brought to a standstill when,rather than empty air he found himself intercepted by the bulkybody of the weird turtle he had initially struck. The pause in hismotion proved disastrous.

Reacting with un-turtle-like speed,the beast he had run up against snapped down on Thomas with hugejaws. Acting on pure instinct, the knight brought his great swordup to protect himself and wound up impaling the beast, his swordsliding through the outstretched jaws to thrust through the back ofits mouth and into its head. The blow did little to damage theweakened god, but it completely immobilized Thomas’sword.

Knight and turtle stood at an impassefor a long second while he held its powerful head away with thelong blade of his weapon. Rather than release the hilt, Thomas tookhis only other option, uttering the word that would trigger thesun-sword’s flames. Fire exploded from the creature’s mouth.Shielded by his armor, Thomas felt only a momentary heat while thelight blinded him. The turtle-monster was less fortunate.Surprisingly flammable, its form caught fire within and without,and something deeper inside the strange beast exploded.

Thomas lost his grip on the swordthen, as he was flung back across the courtyard. Their enemies werealso thrown in different directions. The five soldiers with him hadfinished disabling the tall raptor, but one had been badly woundedduring the skirmish. The other four were tossed back like ragdollswhen the turtle-thing exploded. Arrows began to land around them asarchers on the walls took aim, assisting their monstrousallies.

Things looked grim for Thomas’soldiers, and their leader was far from being able to recover intime to help them.

A booming rush of wind from aboveheralded the arrival of a massive dragon-like creature. On its backwere numerous smaller creatures, terrible and monstrous in shapeand form. They were no less alien in appearance than the diminishedgod-seeds that Thomas and his men were fighting.

The Kriteck had arrived.

Chapter 39

The courtyard of Cameron Castledissolved into anarchy as creatures that defied sane descriptionfell together in combat. The massive flying dragon died first, asone of the god-seeds tore open its throat. Unlike the fallendark-gods, the Kriteck were