
That was the good news; the bad was that Riker’s sword fell in a tangle of tree roots with a loud splash.
There was no way for him to find it again in time. . . .
The second warrior whipped from the reeds, its own spear at the alert. Riker tried to move aside, but he
stumbled over something in the dark waters. He twisted as he fell, and fresh pain whipped up his entire
side. The fall saved his life. The blade of the spear slashed through his jacket, leaving a foot-long
blood-red trail across his back, and adding fuel to the fires of his pain.
Riker fought to remain conscious. The body of the first’tcharian had stopped thrashing, but its blood
was still gushing into the filthy swamp waters. It was bound to attract predators, most of which had
mouths overfilled with long, sharp teeth. And he wouldn’t be able to see them coming. . . . Ignoring the
pain, he grabbed the dead warrior’s spear and wrenched it from the lifeless grip. Then, with as much
speed and agility as he could muster, he turned to fight.
Alexander had beaten him to it. The warning he wanted to cry died unuttered in Riker’s throat. It was
too late and would only distract the Klingon youngster. His thrusting sword held firmly and proudly,
Alexander darted in for the’tcharian before it could take advantage of Riker’s clumsiness and finish him.
The warrior twisted to meet the new foe. It let go of the spear with one hand and swung it in a lethal arc
toward Alexander’s head.
Possibly the warrior was unused to striking at so small a victim. Possibly Alexander was faster on his
feet than Riker had ever imagined. Either way, Alexander shot forward, ducking under the darkness of
the foul swamp waters, and the spear blade missed him by several microseconds.
The’tcharian reared back slightly, obviously puzzled by this maneuver. When Alexander failed to
surface, it began stabbing at the water with the nasty end of the spear. Riker took advantage of the
distraction to get the butt of his spear into the mud and use it to lever himself to his feet. Pain zigzagged
up his side. It felt as if his back had been snapped in at least two places. Fighting down a wave of
nausea, he stumbled a step forward. His vision wavered and it took every ounce of concentration he
could summon up to make his other foot slurp forward through the mud and water.
The sound made the warrior snap around to face him. It hesitated in mid-thrust, wondering which foe to
tackle. That second of uncertainty was sufficient.
Like a dolphin leaping from the sea, Alexander shot out of the filthy swamp, his sword held firmly in front
of him. His whole body was as part of the weapon, and he lunged below the guard of the’tcharian . The
blade of his sword struck home below the creature’s breast-bone. There was the scrape of metal on
bone, and the warrior reared back, its forefeet flailing wildly. The spear fell with a splash from its
nerveless fingers. It screamed and then fell, dead, into the water.
And then there was—
A wild howl filled the air as the final warrior hurtled out of hiding. Alexander was too startled to react in
time. The sword was wrenched from his grip by the falling’tcharian , and he was left defenseless before
the onslaught of the final warrior.
Riker pushed himself into action. With a primeval yell of his own, he staggered forward, grimly ignoring
the pain. He lifted the spear and thrust as hard as he could. The point lanced home in the’tcharian’ s
side, slicing a great gash that fountained blood onto the weapon. Gritting his teeth, Riker threw his
remaining strength into twisting the blade.