Read The Way of the Blade for Free Online Page A

autofly, but only managed to get Fawbry to stumble aboard.
    “Get back on the autofly. It’s not safe,” Javery said. “All of our guards are up at the Assembly Hall or flying down.”
    The barks came again, and then the creature. The wellspiker had a snake body thick as the ropes that held the Assembly Hall in place and nearly as long. Six massive arms poked out its sides — the back four ending in clawed feet and the front two ending in sharp points. Malja didn’t see any eyes, but what need would it have if it spent a lot of time underground? Instead, three enormous tusks grew from its head, curving in front and meeting at the points like a bizarre head-cage. Unlike most animals Malja knew, the wellspiker’s tusks were not smooth. They had jagged bumps and ridges, spikes pointing out at all angles much like the surrounding landscape — good for destroying rocks and loosening dirt as it traveled below.
    “Please,” Javery said. “I can’t allow you to get hurt.”
    A girl, no more than five years old, clutching a ragged doll and stood by a building, screaming for her mother. The wellspiker turned its thick head towards her and opened its mouth — a slobbering thing filled with flat, grinding teeth. On the opposite side of the street, a woman screamed as well, reaching toward the girl but unable to cross because the beast blocked her way.
    Tommy took off after her, never looking back for Malja’s approval of his actions. He raced down the street, muscles pumping and moving fast. Malja brought out Viper and ran after him.
    Watching him move with such grace and power, Malja thought he would be able to save the girl by himself, and she even slowed her pace. But then a shudder flowed up the wellspiker’s skin. It swept its head around, sending dirt and dust flowing like a wave, and turned its attention solely on Tommy.
    Tommy skidded to a halt, and Malja did the same. The creature could see them both, and she did not want to piss it off by charging in on it.
    “Fawbry,” she called without looking. “Protect that girl.”
    Keeping his hand low but splaying out his fingers, Tommy signaled for everyone to stop. Malja understood — he set out to save the girl, and he intended to be the one to do it.
    “We’re a team,” she said. “You and I can take this thing while Fawbry —”
    The wellspiker barked and clicked and lunged at Tommy. Its tusks smashed into the dirt road. The boy leaped away, fell, and rolled backward until he righted on his feet again.
    Yelling a war cry, Malja rushed forward and swung Viper at the creature’s tusks. Sparks flew but the damage looked minimal as it lifted its head. It flicked its pointed arm at Malja while searching the road with thick, mucous-filled sniffs. When it locked on Tommy standing in front of a wall, it shot towards him again.
    Tommy held his ground as the massive beast stampeded his way. Malja’s heart dropped. She knew she couldn’t reach the boy in time. But she also recognized his stance — her stance. He must have seen her play out this tactic a hundred times, and now he appeared to be pulling it off on his own.
    At the last second, he pushed off his back foot, propelling forward and to the side, right by the creature. Its momentum kept it from being able to stop and it slammed into the wall, tearing most of the building into pieces. With its back to Malja, she took full advantage. She flipped Viper in her hand and sliced down hard with its outer-crescent. A thick gouge spurted blood, but the wellspiker showed no sign it had even noticed. Then the wound stopped bleeding.
    Twice Tommy attempted to concentrate long enough to cast a spell, but each time, the wellspiker attacked, breaking Tommy’s focus and forcing the boy to race off in another direction. Malja tried to cut into the creature again and met with the same results.
    As Fawbry dashed by, Malja looked to Javery. “How do we kill this thing?”
    Javery stood in the autofly, his face pale, his eyes