A Link to the Heart Chapter 32
Time slowed as Link ran, the adrenaline rushing through his body sharpening his senses. He felt his heart beating in his chest, each pulse an elongated boom through his whole being. He felt the hot burn in his legs, his prolonged efforts straining his muscles to the limit. His breath heaved in his chest, lungs grabbing all the air they could, as if each breath would be his last. The shield on his arm was heavy but he didn't resent it, the protection it offered would be essential, while the sword in his left hand granted him the hefty weight he would need for his strikes. He was sharp and eager, driven by passion and adrenaline, as ready to fight as he had ever been.
Before him a crowd of Gerudo staggered and lashed the air wildly. Their vision was ruined by his Light arrow and all they could see were green blobs. Some fell back, waving their weapons before them to keep him at bay. Others were staggering about, rubbing their faces and trying to clear their eyes, fighting to recover their vision. Link counted fifteen Gerudo, exactly the kind of numbers he had desperately hoped to avoid confronting. In a straight fight they would overwhelm him with ease, but they were vulnerable and weak. If he could move fast enough he could end them before they could recover. If not, he was done for.
In the slowness of his combat rush Link could see every mud stain and blood spray on their robes, signs of their evil work this day. He saw the notched edges of their weapons and the slick marks of vital fluids from where they had been used to end lives and tear families apart. His hatred for the foe flowed hot through his veins as he counted their sins and to him they were no longer people, they were monsters. Ending monsters was what he did.
"Hyargh!" Link roared as he threw himself at the nearest Gerudo. A warrior with golden flashes sown into her robe. She bore a hefty sword in one hand, curved and broad like something out of the tales. Yet the bloody marks upon it showed she had used it well, accounting for many lives. Link hesitated not as he slammed into her and his sword plunged into her back, sliding into her spine and up into her body. The Gerudo stiffened with shock at his blow, air rasping from her lungs but he was already moving. He wrenched his sword back and at the back of his mind a small voice whispered, 'Fourteen.'
He spied another Gerudo, this one with a red ponytail dropping down to her waist. Her face was tattooed with writhing serpents, that undulated as she rubbed the back of a hand over her eyes, trying to clear them. She bore a pair of vicious knives, whose hilts were fashioned into snakeheads and the points dripped with blood. Link ran at her without pause, slashing his sword about in a vicious slice. The tip scored over her throat and Link wrenched his sword free with a snarl of, "Whaaaa!"
'Thirteen,' his mind whispered as he saw a Gerudo with a long spear flailing about, trying to hit him even though she was blind. She had gold-hoop earrings embedded in both ears, half a dozen of them attesting to her wealth, doubtless stolen on many raids. Link coldly stepped up behind her and drove his sword forward twice, stabbing her in the lower back and he spat, "Hut, hut!"
'Twelve,' his countdown reached as he looked for his next target. Beside him a young Gerudo backed away, she looked too young to be here, seemingly a mere child. Yet her grip on her weapon was anything but amateurish, she knew how to use a blade, the sure hold of one who had killed many times. Link felt no sympathy for her as he advanced and lunged over her low grip, plunging his sword into her neck as he hissed, "Tyha!"
'Eleven,' his count reached as he threw himself at the next, a fat woman with a double chin. She seemed too unfit to be here, yet as he stabbed her scimitar managed to block his attack. It was a random parry but the strength in her arm rang through the contact, making Link's teeth rattle. The Gerudo cried out as she felt his approach and she lunged forward in desperation but Link spun about, bringing his sword around in a sweeping blow that smashed into her side and bit deep as he yelled, "Hyaaaat!"
'Ten,' he counted as the woman dropped to the ground, blood gushing from her side. He was dropping enemies fast, but not fast enough. He knew with each second the foe would be closer to regaining their sight and his time was running out. He spied a tall Gerudo with a sneering expression and gold bangles on her arms. She was armed with a scimitar so long it took two hands to hold and was waving it blindly in sweeping pirouettes, desperately trying to keep a clear area around her. Link stepped back for a moment, letting the blade pass by then stepped in and drove his blade into her soft stomach with a barked, "Hyjet!"
'Nine' he thought as the woman collapsed in a gory heap but he felt the sands of time running more keenly than ever. He spied a Gerudo with two scimitars and a lean face. He started in shock as he realised this was the same duellist he had faced at Lon Lon Ranch, the one he had failed to defeat. That she was here spoke volumes and he guessed she must have been tracking him ever same, eager for a rematch. The thought that he had led the Gerudo to the innocent villagers clawed at his guts and the urge to claim vengeance ran through him. He gripped his sword tight as he stepped nearer and thrust for her heart, snarling, "Hyaaa!"
His attack was sure and steady, aiming right for her heart. Yet at the last moment her scimitars flashed up, forming a cross-x that trapped his sword and brought him to a screeching halt. Link was trapped, unable to push forward and his jaw fell as he realised his time had run out. The Gerudo had seen him coming and blocked his strike. She looked right into his eyes and a wicked grin spread over her face as she hissed, "I can see you…"
Link pulled back and retreated but it was too late. Behind the duellist the other Gerudo were recovering, their eyes restored. Nine sets of weapons were pointed right at him, more than Link could ever hope to defeat and as one they attacked. Link desperately backpedalled, holding his shield and sword high as he fended off blows. Shining points and vicious edges were everywhere, darting in from all directions and he frantically blocked and parried as he retreated. A slash from the left was caught on his sword and a thrust from the right bounced off his shield as his boots skipped backwards. He moved like the wind but speartips scores over his arms and scimitars nicked his side, drawing blood. More and more came at him, angling from every direction and Link had not enough arms to fend them all off.
On and on they came, the Gerudo matching him step for step as they chased him. They rushed to surround him, trying to cut off his escape as those before kept harrying with their weapons. Link could do nothing to stop them and he knew once they got behind him it was all over. One lucky stab and he was done for. He fought with all of his skill and ardour but no swordsman in the world was good enough to defeat nine attackers at once. Even the Chosen Hero could not take so many on even terms.
If only he had saved a drop of magic, he lamented. One blast of fire, one protective barrier or spin attack could have changed the odds but he had nothing left. He had wasted his magic, his fury and desperation making him expend his power in a brazen display of bravado. His reckless haste had killed him, he had lost his head figuratively and now was going to lose it literally. He could only hope that his death would distract the Gerudo long enough for Malon to flee, perhaps with his last breath he could buy her time to run.
Link saw a Gerudo angling in from each side, weapons gleaming with deadly intent. He knew the end had come and steeled himself to die on his feet. He prepared to spin about, determined to take at least one of them with him, but at the last second another force intervened. From nowhere came a pair of arrows, scything in from the side where no one was looking. One arrow struck a Gerudo between the shoulder blades, sending her crashing to the dirt, the other plunged into an eyeball, a truly magnificent shot that killed the woman on her feet.
The fighting stopped for a heartbeat and all eyes glanced to the side, to behold a miracle. Link's jaw fell as he saw two Hylian Knights in armour, standing proud with bows in hand. It was Tarren and Jortan, the brothers had caught up at last. Without hesitation they dropped their bows and drew swords and shields then they ran into the fray with a cry of, "For the King!"
"Finish him!" the Gerudo duellist snarled as she peeled off with half of her kin to stop these newcomers. The Gerudo had the edge in numbers, two each moving to confront the newcomers, yet the Knights had taken a moment to strap on armoured breastplates, helmets and greaves, in a close fight the armour may tip the balance in their favour. Link saw the number of attackers confronting him drop from seven to three and he grinned as he lifted his weapons and snarled, "Bring it on."
The remaining three bared their teeth and threw themselves at him, lashing out with their glaives and spears. They were quick and fast but now Link had their measure. He did not wait for them to attack but dove straight at them, closing within the reach of their weapons. A spearpoint gouged over his shoulder but he rode the pain on a rush of adrenaline and swept his sword low, tearing a deep furrow through a thigh.
The woman staggered but her sisters were not daunted and tried to stab Link with their long weapons. Yet Link was too close for them to use their weapons effectively. Hafts and butts slammed into him, bruising him deeply but drawing no blood. In return his shield smashed into a face, breaking a nose and causing blood to pour from her face while his sword swept out, slicing an arm off another attacker. The Gerudo fell with a scream as she went into shock from blood-loss and the one with the broken nose staggered back, snarling in pain.
The first Gerudo had rallied by then and came at him with a thrust for his back but Link spun about and deflected the blow with his shield, sending the weapon harmlessly to one side. His sword struck like lightning, spearing into her neck and tearing out the other side. The Gerudo froze with a look of utter shock as her mouth moved like a gasping fish, then Link withdrew his blade and she dropped to the ground.
A shuffle behind Link made him spin and he saw the Gerudo with the broken nose aiming a glaive at him as she spat through a mouthful of blood, "U… die… fo.. hat." Link saw her prepare to strike but suddenly he paused. The Gerudo frowned in suspicion but she should have turned about instead, for behind her emerged Malon. The ranch girl had been hiding behind a house but as the Gerudo confronted Link she emerged from the shadows and swung her long-handled shovel in an overhead sweep.
Malon was no dainty waif, no courtly Princess. All her life she had been dragging stubborn calves through muddy fields, lugging full milk pails and heaving haybales and her arms were corded with hard muscle. Her blow was inelegant and crude, painful for an experienced swordsman to watch, but her swing would have made a blacksmith proud. The broad metal struck the back of the Gerudo's head like a thunderbolt, ringing loudly across the clearing and the invader went down with a shattered skull, weeping blood freely as her brain was crushed.
Malon's jaw fell as she staggered back and she exclaimed in shocked wonder, "I got one!"
Yet a scream rent the air and Link swirled about as he yelled, "Malon, stay back!"
From across the clearing came the duellist, her sword wet with blood. Behind her Tarren had counted for one Gerudo, but he was rolling on the ground, trying to stem the bleeding from a vicious wound in his leg. Elsewhere Jortan was still trying to fend off one more Gerudo, having only beaten one of them so far. The duellist left the wounded knight in her wake as she advanced on Link and snarled, "Gurd, no… she was my oldest friend. I'll kill you for that."
Link raised his shield before him. He was battered and bruised, weary to the point of exhaustion and tiredness edged his thoughts. His magic was gone, his lungs burned and his heartbeat was a hammering in his chest, his legs were like jelly and he was bleeding from a score of cuts. Link was running on nothing save pure adrenaline now but he girded his soul for one last effort as he growled, "You killed innocents and children. You are the one who shall die."
"Then let see who is better with a sword," the duellist hissed, "I am Kinesha and I am your doom!"
With that the pair leapt at each other and the duel was joined.
