Leviathan (Fist of Light Series) Read Free Page A

splendidly. Yes, I sense you have much vitality left to you, regardless of your previous display.” He punctuated his speech by kicking a dead vampire, its head torn clean off by my icy projectiles.
    I reached into my jacket and rooted around for one of my throwing knives, firmly grasping its reassuring weight. “Wouldn't know how many times I'd be dead without the need for monsters to make a grand entrance,” I murmured.
    “I assure you I am no common monster.” The Royal's words were coupled with a psychic bombardment and the charging of his remaining minions.
    Fighting the urge to lie down and go into a deep hibernation, I unveiled my throwing knife, which resembled a dagger more than anything else. Its clean curves created lateral symmetry of both the grip and the blade. The heft of the sturdy weapon allowed for greater in-flight stability and feedback for a novice such as myself. In a fraction of a second, I threw the weapon as I’d been taught and the dagger sailed through the air, slicing through the space separating Royal from Empowered. Rather than sticking into the fleshy bits of the Royal's torso, my nemesis blurred out of the way, almost too fast to track. But the dagger was never meant to harm, only to distract long enough so I could cement my mental barriers and focus my attention on the vamps bearing down on me. The struggling presence of the oppressive will confining my thoughts dissipated and my thoughts were my own once more. Approaching footfalls caught my immediate attention and I reached over my back to grasp the hilt of my sword. I drew it from its sheath, lightning playing along the blade, as I shrieked death threats to those arrayed against me.
    Air answered my fervent call, enabling me to even the playing field against the vamps’ impressive speed. Despite the fact that they were considered lesser beings by their more refined counterparts, they were damn fast. The half-dozen vamps flourished their weapons threateningly. Sparks flew as I parried a thrust from a rapier then counterattacked, lopping off an arm at the elbow. Half-clotted blood seeped slowly from the dark wound.
    “ You’ll likely be overrun if you attempt to stand against a direct assault,” Jeeves pointed out rather unsupportively as I redirected two more strikes to the side.
    I snatched my stiletto out of my jacket with my unoccupied left hand. Dual-wielding was necessary. Otherwise, I’d never have been able to deflect all the incoming strikes. Calling upon Air, I launched the katana from my grasp, toward an unsuspecting vampire. One might think it wasn’t the best idea to discard a weapon so fruitlessly, throwing it away and leaving my person relatively defenseless. But then, they didn't know that my katana was never far removed from my grasp. I clenched my fist around a strand of purple-hued Air and swung my arm around at shoulder level while advancing with my stiletto. I sank my weapon into an exposed abdomen. A vampire hissed, exposing elongated canines. The same monstrosity quickly lost its head. The katana, directed by a whip-like appendage of Air, cut cleanly through the surprised vampire’s neck.
    My grin assumed a feral visage, directed at the five remaining low-tier vamps driven relentlessly forward by their master. The two I’d wounded were slightly slowed from the advance and I was determined to bring the score to even. I caught a lightning swift thrust with my stiletto's cross-guard, even as I shortened my Air-whip, bringing my sword to heel. With a weighty smack , Jeeves returned to the fold, his will driving the direction of another parry, saving me from a gruesome gutting from a wholly undisciplined slash enacted by a broadsword-wielding vampire.
    “Thanks,” I huffed through clenched teeth, sweat streaming down my forehead and into my eyes. “That was close.”
    “ I'd would rather see you utilize the techniques you were taught than depend on my intervention,” Jeeves said. “Widen your gaze, boy,”