*In editing DARAK THE MINOTAUR for kindle / paperback, I give you an excerpt from "Smoke and Flame." My new editing program is 'pro writing aide' and is a life saver. The stories are much more polished and totally my 'preferred version'.*
Darak lay face first in the mud, his body covered in rainwater. Lifting his head, he spits out a glob of dirt. The orc stood over his body, raised his hammer, and slammed the blunt metal end into Darak’s shoulder. The minotaur howled in pain as the shoulder snapped with a loud crunch that echoed through the sky. Darak’s left arm was of no use. Even the slightest movement caused pain to course through his nerve endings. With his right arm, Darak gripped Codd’s throat and stood up slowly, drenched in rain, blood, and mud. Codd tried to maneuver out of his grasp, but anger was on Darak’s side this stormy afternoon. Lightning illuminated the sky as Darak sent a kick to Codd’s penis. He yelled and swung his hammer to the right, which the minotaur swiftly dodged. “You have no ax minotaur. You flung it after I sent your ass careening towards the rocks. Perhaps it is unfair for me to have my hammer?” The orc chuckled and tossed his weapon to one side. The minotaur took this opportunity to pop his shoulder back into place, which only stung momentarily. With a swift movement, the orc removed his black armor-leaving himself in a white shirt and pants. Snorting a bit, Darak removed his armor. Leaving himself completely exposed to the elements and to the tall orc before him. Now the orc and minotaur stood in fighting stances. Rain cascading down their bodies, the mud at their feet, was now thick and brown and caked by anything it touched. Bodies of soldiers surrounded them, most were disemboweled and missing limbs. The air smelled of sweat and muck. Two seven-foot-tall creatures ran at one another, holding their shoulders, growling, and spitting into each other’s faces. Darak tackled Codd to the ground, kneeling above him, and sent a series of punches to his leathery face. Codd grunted. Black, gooey, blood filled the orc’s nostrils and the knuckles of the minotaur’s hands. Codd’s back was now covered in mud. Rain stung his eyes. Using one large hand, he gave a mighty punch to Darak’s chest. Causing him to cough. Breathing in and out stung his body. He wanted to collapse. He wanted to fall over and rub his wound, but he couldn’t let Codd win. Darak used two hands to squeeze the orc’s throat. He couldn’t choke the orc out, so in a flash, he released his grasp, and with a guttural yell, he bent his head forward and rammed one of his horns into Codd’s eye socket. With a deep, loud crunch of bone, the horn went through his eyeball and slammed into his brain. The orc convulsed for a moment before succumbing to the brutal injury.
art by: tahachughtai14
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