Chapter 95

AS THE CHARGING HORSEMAN raised his ax, I darted¹ to the side opposite his weapon. I swung my staff as hard as I could at his mount's legs. The animal neighed in pain, buckled², then threw its rider. The Tafur hit the earth with a mighty³ crash and rolled over several times until he came to a stop ten feet from where I stood.

His giant war ax had fallen to the side. I ran to grab the weapon. In the time it took to arm myself, the Tafur had managed to right himself and draw his sword.

Deus adjuvat, he taunted⁴ me in Latin-God aid me, as I send this little rat tail back to his maker⁵.

By all means, God, look on, I replied in kind.

He charged at me with a ferocious⁶ roar.

I could see him go high with his blade and met his blow, our weapons colliding with a loud clang. We stood there eye to eye, each trying to drive his blade into the other's neck, muscles straining to the limit. All of a sudden the Tafur jerked his knee into my groin. The air rushed out of me. I gasped⁷ and bent⁸ in two. In the same instant, he swept his sword toward my knees, and I summoned every sliver¹⁰ of strength to counter with the ax.

Again we faced each other, eyes blazing. He tried to headbutt me with the crown of his helmet, but I threw myself back. I stumbled, and the Tafur leaped at me, swinging his blade back and forth¹¹ with a maniacal¹² fury.

The Tafur saw that I was slowed. He laughed. Come here, fairy. You look like you might want to feel a set of real balls.

I crouched¹⁴ back warily¹⁵. His sword was too quick. In this form of fighting, I was no match for him. The ax was clumsy and heavy in my weakened grasp.

Come... He blew me a kiss.

I looked him in the eye, panting heavily. I knew I would not be able to ward⁹ off the blows much longer. I felt my legs wobble; I was out of strength. I searched my mind for any form of skill or trickery I had seen in the wars. Then one clicked in. It was crazy, desperate, not a soldier's but a jester's trick.

Why wait? I said, lowering the ax, pretending to be beaten, out of fight. What's wrong with now?

I turned my back to him. I hoped I wasn't insane.

I bent into a deep crouch¹³, flipped¹⁷ up my tunic¹⁸, and let him see my rear.C'mon... I said. I'd wait for a real man, but you're the only one here. I tossed the ax about four feet ahead of me.

In my crouch, I saw him raise his sword and come. Just as he was set to run me through, I sprang into a forward flip¹⁶. The Tafur sliced at the air where suddenly there was no person. His sword stuck in the soggy earth.

I landed on my feet and in the same movement pivoted¹⁹ and grabbed the handle of the ax. I sprang back around as the surprised Tafur struggled to free his sword.

A look of panic spread over his face. This time it was I who laughed and blewhim a kiss.

I swung with all my might and sent the Tafur's head hurtling like a kicked ball.

I sank to my knees, out of breath. Every muscle in my body felt as if it were about to explode. I dropped the ax, sucking precious air into my lungs.

Then I rose and picked up my staff. As I did so, a snickering voice intoned, Well done,innkeeper. But you must conserve²⁰ your kisses. You may need one or two over here....

I turned. There was another Tafur. He had a black cross painted on his helmet, but his visor was up, revealing a cold, scarred face that I thought I had seen before.

But it was not the face I was focused on.

The bastard²¹ was holding Emilie.

1 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

4 taunted   

嘲讽( taunt的过去式和过去分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落

参考例句：

• The other kids continually taunted him about his size. 其他孩子不断地耻笑他的个头儿。
• Some of the girls taunted her about her weight. 有些女孩子笑她胖。

5 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

6 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

7 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

9 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

10 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。

11 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

12 maniacal   

adj.发疯的

参考例句：

• He was almost maniacal in his pursuit of sporting records.他近乎发疯般地追求着打破体育纪录。
• She is hunched forward over the wheel with a maniacal expression.她弓身伏在方向盘前，表情像疯了一样。

13 crouch   

v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏

参考例句：

• I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。
• He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。

14 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

15 warily   

adv.留心地

参考例句：

• He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
• They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。

16 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

17 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

18 tunic   

n.束腰外衣

参考例句：

• The light loose mantle was thrown over his tunic.一件轻质宽大的斗蓬披在上衣外面。
• Your tunic and hose match ill with that jewel,young man.你的外套和裤子跟你那首饰可不相称呢，年轻人。

19 pivoted   

adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开

参考例句：

• His old legs and shoulders pivoted with the swinging of the pulling. 他一把把地拉着，两条老迈的腿儿和肩膀跟着转动。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
• When air is moving, the metal is pivoted on the hinge. 当空气流动时，金属板在铰链上转动。 来自辞典例句

20 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

21 bastard   

n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子

参考例句：

• He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
• There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。