---
The ones still standing tried to swarm him now because orders had come again. They yelled because sometimes yelling lets you borrow courage from your own noise. The sound they made did not sound like courage.
Kai cut. He did not give them his back. He did not trip on the dead. He made sure to put his feet exactly where there was room.
At his next step, two men jumped at once, one low, one high. He spun to his right and shoved the high man's spear with his forearm. It slipped, cut his skin, and slid off. He stepped on the low man's wrist and the blade dropped. He brought his knee up into that face. Something snapped.
He grabbed the high man's neck with his hand and squeezed once. The spine lifted. The body dropped. He threw the head and spine sideways without looking where it went.
The circle around him widened again.
"Keep him moving!" Mardek yelled from the center. "Make him work!"
