Chapter 51: 61. The Battle on the Balcony

Bilge

 

“Oi!”

Bilge ducked behind one of the pillars, clutching his pocket knife close to his chest.

“I’m really not wontin’ ta kill ya, mate, so how’s about we make a deal, yeah?”

He kept his voice level and strong, despite the adrenaline gushing from his heart.

“You crawl back inna woteva hole ya crawled out of, an’ I’ll pretend like ya didn’t jus’ shoot at me ‘n me buddy. Tha’s a bargain there, mate, y’can’t pass it up!”

His bluff was met with silence – he couldn’t even be sure that his attacker understood the Elvish dialect he spoke – but it bought him precious seconds to think.

Based on where the shots came from, and with as open as the balcony area was, the Duén had to be behind one of the columns. They were the only structures available for cover, and since he hadn’t heard or seen any other arrows being fired, he assumed the attacker was alone, waiting for him to reveal himself – and at that thought, an idea struck.

“No? Right, well, ay, while I gotcha here, I gots a question for ya…”

He undid his shoelaces, careful to keep his movements subtle and quick.

“I heard you cave-dwellas ride aroun’ on giant snakes n’ shite? Is ‘at right?”

He stood upright, gripping his shoes tightly by the laces, his socks leaving sweaty prints on the cold marble floor. He hated to do it – they were his only nice shoes – but he was running out of time.

“Can’t b’lieve it, myself. How d’ya keep a saddle onnit wifout it slidin’ off? Be honest, mate,” he said, praying his silly misdirection would be enough to fool the bowman…

“I gots big money ridin’ on this one!”

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He threw the shoes to his left, then pivoted to his right and launched into a sprint for the next pillar down the line.

Fwip—

One shoe flew away, impaled by an arrow, as the other fell harmlessly to the ground. He threw his arm around the column, harnessing his momentum to circle around its side, and he found himself face-to-face with the bowman frantically nocking another arrow.

Without hesitation, Bilge plunged his pocket knife into the elf’s side, eliciting a guttural, pained grunt. The elf knocked Bilge’s arm away with their bow-holding hand, then plunged the arrow in towards his neck. Bilge jerked away, narrowly dodging a hit to the jugular. The arrow penetrated the soft spot between his shoulder and chest, piercing his cephalic vein. He gasped and gritted his teeth, grabbing his enemy’s wrist with enough force to release their grasp on the arrow shaft. Bilge caught the bow’s upper limb as the elf swung for his head, though his arm trembled, and his grip was rapidly losing strength. He growled and bashed his knee into the enemy’s groin. The elf grunted and doubled over. Bilge snatched up the bow, slipped it over their head, and pulled the string deep into the flesh of their throat.

The elf gurgled, struggling against the human’s raw strength, the whites of their eyes flashing in the moonlight, spit bubbling between their teeth, knife still wobbling in their side. Just when he thought the elf would fall, they jerked their arm free, took the knife, and cut the string, releasing themself and leaving a deep gash in Bilge’s hand.

“Agh!”

He recoiled, and the elf sprint-hobbled away, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. Bilge started to pursue the enemy, but he stumbled, panting heavily, as intense, crippling pain exploded out from where the arrow still wobbled in his chest. He grunted and clutched the wound. It was stuck deep in his muscle. He knew enough not to rip it out, lest he lose too much blood. But blood still wept from the hole, slowly diffusing its deep red stain into the fibers of his fine shirt.

 

The smoke in the hall was thickening. The screams were getting louder. The heat from the fire crept up on him, toasting the bottoms of his shoeless feet. He turned to the open air and staggered to the balcony’s edge, wincing with every step. While he still had the strength to stand, he searched the grounds below for the reckless little forest elf, but his head was beginning to drift, and darkness was creeping in.

“’Oly…”

His eyes flashed wide as he took in the scene—

“Shit…”

—then collapsed to his knees and fell to his side, hitting the floor with a heavy THUD.

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