But to suggest that the man she knew as Cedric could actually use the tool, that left Onion warily incredulous. But even if she could not know his skill with the blade, the taste of fear in the air was palpable and of all people in this small world, Onion knew what fear could do to a man.
Suddenly, he made his move, advancing with deft speed Onion had not thought possible, the scarecrow of a man lunged at his target. Onion dropped down to the ground smoothly and rolled to the side where she found a fist sized rock along the fire ring, careful to touch only the cooler outside edges of the jagged granite.
She looked up just in time to see the scrawny man plunge the blade into the space that she had occupied only moments before. Cedric glared at her, wide eyed with obvious frustration. He had likely not expected much resistance from his opponent either.
As Onion stood up again she assessed her options. A warm rock might be a fine bludgeon weapon for some, but Onion had never mastered the skills of melee. Her strength was in surprise attacks and guerrilla assaults. When her assassination attempts were successful, she would kill quickly and move on to her next target. When she failed, she would attempt to flee.
But here she was, one on one with an aggressor she could not run from in the confusion of a larger battle. And this time she had no brothers around to save her.
By now Cedric had reappraised his opponent. Feverish drips of sweat coalesced from his temples and beady eyes fixed upon her every muscle. She had been quick. The hostage blade was easily avoided without an attack in return. But within the core of the man, blood pumped adrenaline from heart to head, searing his mind with the imperative to destroy that which could ruin everything. He had to remove the threat that stood before him now.
He lunged at her again, but this time kept his attacking shoulder low and his left hand in a fist behind his back. Onion saw the advance and thought to use the opportunity to incapacitate her aggressor with a dodge and counter attack. While she was not sure she would be able to overcome Cedric, the violence of his attacks had pushed out any thoughts of self-doubt or unsurity. She had to take him out quickly, and hopefully without doing any lasting damage to him.
As before, Onion positioned herself to drop and roll away from the attack, but this time she merely spun herself around to Cedric's weaponless side when he lunged. She raised the stone, hoping to strike a knockout blow, but Cedric must have anticipated this, acting before she could strike. Sweeping his bladed hand behind for momentum, he delivered a solid punch to her diaphragm, knocking both the rock and her breath from her.
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