Lady of Conquest Read Online Free

hands over the rocky surface. He heard no sound from below. Near the apex of the hill he found what he sought. His knees, scraped raw through the cloth of his breeches, were abruptly cushioned in soft grass. His fingers dug into it, finding the contours of a makeshift trap door fashioned from a piece of wood covered with soil and grass. He leaned back on his heels, lips twisted in an unpleasant smile. From this vantage point a lone rider could be spotted leaving the plains before he ever entered the hills surrounding the cavern. He became more convinced that he was dealing with an intelligent creature, perhaps a giant.
    He loosened his sword in its scabbard. Lifting up the trap door a fraction of an inch, he saw a faint glow from the cavern below. His eyes darkened to midnight blue as he heaved aside the door and dropped a heel-stinging distance, landing as silently as a great cat on unrelenting stone.
    He found himself crouching at the rear of a large hollow room. The only sound that cracked the silence was the rhythmic drip of water from the dangling stalactites. At his back was a sheer rock wall. To his right was a barely discernible passageway that led deeper into the bowels of the cavern. Inside the main entrance two rows of torches had been placed along the wall, emitting the ghastly glow he had seen from outside. And between himself and that entrance stood his enemy, still facing the night, ignorant of the intruder in his domain.
    The babbling boy who had returned from this place had not lied. A huge, black cloak covered the ghoul from head to toe, a span that nearly doubled Conn’s own height. A faint demarcation at the back of a cowl drew the line between head and body. Conn’s eyes were caught and held by the shining sword wielded in the creature’s hands.
    All he need do to end this confrontation was rush forward without warning and ram his sword between the creature’s ribs. But the same code of honor that had refused to send more than one man to defeat a single creature stopped him. He pulled his blade, allowing the red hot center of his rage to return until the golden hilt he clutched seemed to glow with the heat of it.
    He stepped forward. “Turn around, evil spawn, and meet the fires of the underworld! I promised you!” His voice rose from a whisper to a roar.
    The creature turned so quickly that it swayed, nearly losing some precarious claim on balance. With the torches shining behind it, Conn saw that the cloak was not opaque but was almost sheer. He blinked, convinced there was something amiss beneath it.
    But there was no time to dwell on the thought. As the creature regained its balance, it swung on Conn with a two-handed blow from the sword that slammed into his shoulder and almost sent him to his knees. He growled, parrying the next blow easily. His fury culminated in a strength that rushed through his body like pure energy. Thrusting through the midst of the dark cloak, his sword felt no contact with flesh but he struck again, trying to estimate where the giant’s heart would lie.
    Still struggling to regain its balance, the creature swung again, aiming for a severing blow to Conn’s neck. He leapt aside as the blade whistled past his throat, and matched the giant’s swing with a lunge of his own. The swords clashed again, the bitter clang of metal against metal echoing through the cavern. Conn fought like a man possessed.
    He made a clever feint only to be surprised by the giant’s lightning quick riposte. The enemy blade sliced his left forearm, drawing blood. The pain eluded him but he could feel the blood soaking into the sleeve of his tunic. He retreated against the wall as the creature advanced, each step bringing the shining blade closer to his face. Conn’s swings blurred as he attacked again and again, not allowing the creature to do anything but parry his thrusts. The extra effort it took to aim at the chest so high above his head rendered his arms aching and leaden. The wall at his