One moment the champion had been facing a mortal injury, and the next, he had one of his blades through the assassin’s sword arm, pinning it and the man’s poisoned weapon helpless. But it was the champion’s second sword that had spilled the most blood. It was buried hilt-deep in the assassin’s open mouth, and its point, having broken through the back of the man’s skull, vibrated like an instrument’s plucked string.
