Crow braced himself as his blade crashed against Layth’s once more. He had never seen Penelope’s brother fight before, but it was clear that the man was much more skilled in battle than many of the other knights the thief had faced before. Not only was he meeting Crow blow for blow, he was also slowly pushing him back. The thief was forced to fight more defensively than he had needed to in a long time, as he focused intently on avoiding getting caught by the knight’s sword.

He gritted his teeth as he caught sight of a sudden flash of silver in the corner of his eye and ducked just as a dagger flew over his head. His heart raced as he stepped back to put some distance between himself and the knight. Layth had drawn his second weapon while the thief had been watching his sword. If it wasn’t for his quick reflexes, the knight probably would have cut his throat.

However, Penelope’s brother didn’t give him time to recover. He lunged again and this time Crow didn’t get quite as lucky. He grimaced as the knight’s sword cut into his side before he could maneuver out of the way. The wound stung, but he didn’t have time to think about it. Instead, he took advantage of a momentary opening in Layth’s defense and swung one of his daggers to drag a deep cut across his hand. The knight winced and dropped his dagger, now reduced to just one weapon due to the injury.

He stepped back, raising his sword defensively. “Damn peasant,” he spat, shooting the thief a glare as he shook out his wounded hand.

“Peasant?” Crow clicked his tongue. Though he didn’t necessarily care if Penelope’s brother recognized him, he couldn’t help prodding at him a bit. “Come now, Layth. I know it’s been two years, but do you really not remember me?”

The knight’s eyes widened as he spoke his name. He stared at him for a moment before the pieces seemed to click together in his mind. He narrowed his eyes, “You’re that escaped thief.”

“We have a winner,” Crow grinned. He moved in to attack Layth again before he could regain his focus. Unfortunately, even in his distraction, the knight was still the more skilled fighter. He blocked the thief’s first dagger and narrowly dodged the second, following up with an attack of his own, which the thief quickly intercepted with his weapons.

“How fortunate it is for me that you lack the common sense to avoid fighting with opponents beyond your caliber,” Layth said arrogantly as their blades clashed again. “Now I’ll get to kill you, myself!”

“I’m amazed you’re able to stand upright with a head that big,” Crow snorted, sidestepping another strike from the knight’s sword. Despite his words, he was starting to worry that Layth was right. He was clearly outmatched against Penelope’s brother, as he was finding it more and more difficult to fight offensively as the battle dragged on. If he couldn’t find an opening soon, Layth was going to wear him down, and he would either be forced to retreat or risk suffering a fatal strike. It wasn’t looking good.

The two men continued to cross blades, with the knight still forcing the thief back, until Crow spotted the opening he had been looking for. Layth stepped in to bring his sword down on his shoulder, and he dodged to the side. In the next instant, he realized that he had a perfect shot at the knight’s throat from his current angle. Layth’s eyes widened as he seemed to realize his mistake as well, and he began shifting to cover the opening, but he was too slow. Crow smirked as he raised his dagger, [i]Too late.[/i] He thrusted the blade forward to deal the finishing blow.