The Tales of the Wanderer Volume One: A Book of Underrealm (The Underrealm Volumes 4) by Garrett Robinson (elon musk reading list TXT) 📕

All this I took in with a moment’s glance, and I felt my limbs seize with fear. My right hand, holding the arrow, was slack, and my bow arm lowered towards the ground. Oku gave a tiny whimper and slunk back behind my legs.

But Mag, of course, felt no fear at all—or if she did, she hid it perfectly. Without hesitation she took one step towards the creature, taking no care to soften her footfalls.

The vampire, which had seemed to be snuffling at the ground, snapped its head up towards her. It bared sharp teeth and let out a long, hateful hiss.

“Sky above, you are ugly,” said Mag. “Come, let me wipe that hideous grimace from your face.”

If the creature understood her, it gave no sign, but it did begin to slink towards her. I wondered for a moment why it moved with such caution—it knew something of humans, clearly, and had already killed many of them. Why would it not think that Mag could be hunted as easily as anyone else? Mayhap it was uncertain because Mag was so brazen in her defiance, because she did not show the slightest hesitation or dread.

And then I recalled that I was not just a spectator, and that I had remained inactive for too long. The vampire was a few scant paces away from Mag now, and soon I would lose my shot.

The arrow was already nocked. I lifted my bow, drew, and fired straight towards the creature’s heart.

It moved.

When people of other kingdoms see the archers of Calentin, they are astounded at our skill. Most who met me thought my bowcraft was something of legend, that I must surely be the greatest bowman who ever lived in the nine kingdoms. Indeed, I am a skilled archer even by Calentin standards—or I was, in those days when I had both arms. And yet, for all my ability, I have met many masters who far surpassed me at the height of my skill. I was trained by a woman who could fire arrows faster than heartbeats, faster than blinking, and send them all with enough strength to pierce chainmail. If an enemy shot at her, she could shoot their darts from the air with her own. I know because I saw her do it. Her eyes were unerring and sharper than an eagle’s, and her limbs were a blur.

And yet the vampire moved faster than her. It saw the arrow from the corner of its eye, turned, darted aside, and snatched the arrow from midair before I realized what was happening. Then it flipped the dart around and threw it back at me—not with the strength of a bow, but still fast enough to pierce skin. I was saved more by luck than reflexes—I tried to duck, almost too late, and slipped on a patch of loose leaves. I struck the ground hard, the wind driven out of my lungs.

Sky save me, I thought. How is it so fast?

I heard an inhuman screech and looked up just in time to see it charge me. All four limbs ripped and tore at the earth to propel it forwards, sending clods of dirt in all directions.

But as fast as it was, Mag was able to catch it. She ran and leaped in between me and the vampire, and it skidded to a halt before her. But hardly had it paused before it struck with one clawed limb. Mag blocked the swipe, and I heard the deep rending of claws on wood. She stabbed in retaliation, but the vampire spun out of the way. It tried to turn the movement into another attack, but Mag’s shield was there again to stop it.

It was not until that moment that I realized something about Mag. I had only ever seen her fight another human or animal. When she did so, it was a slaughter. I had never seen her face another opponent who had stood a chance. But now, facing a foe that was so much stronger than a human could ever hope to be, Mag’s skill was displayed in full. My eyes, sharp as they were, could not follow the speed of her swings and thrusts. My mind could not comprehend how she knew where the vampire would strike next, nor how she could twist in just such a way to avoid it, place her shield in just the right position to block its swiping claws. Once or twice the vampire struck her mail instead of the shield, and I winced. But after the first time, I realized that even that was part of Mag’s plan. She only let it strike her when the blow would glance from her armor, and when it gave her the opportunity to attack with her spear. Her armor was part of her, just like her shield and spear, and she fought now with her whole body instead of only her weapons.

Unfortunately for me, the vampire still outmatched her in strength. That meant she had to be more nimble than it was—and after a few heartbeats of frantic battle, that meant she had to leap out of the way of a swipe, landing on the vampire’s other side.

It turned on me in an instant and pounced.

I shrieked—and not a noble battle-cry, either—and barely managed to leap to my left as its slashing claws sailed past. But now it had me backed up against the steep slope, with nowhere to run.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the natural wall that climbed up like a stair.

Nowhere to go but up.

I jumped atop the stone surface just as the vampire lunged, and it slammed bodily into the slope. Oku came flying from nowhere, snarling and yapping, and the vampire recoiled from the hound. Then Mag attacked, and the vampire screamed hatred at her as it retreated. But it, too, had nowhere to run other than the top of the