Mort vs Death 2

Death hefted the scythe threateningly, incidentally smashing an hourglass by his shoulder….

…in Bes Pelargic the Emperor’s chief torturer slumped backwards into his own acid pit….

…and took another swing which Mort dodged by sheer luck. But only just. He could feel the hot ache in his muscles and the numbing grayness of fatigue poisons in his brain, two disadvantages that Death did not have to consider.

Death noticed.

YIELD, he said. I MAY BE MERCIFUL.

To illustrate the point he made a roundarm slash that Mort caught, clumsily, on the edge of his sword. The scythe blade bounced up, splintered a glass into a thousand shards….

…the Duke of Sto Helit clutched at his heart, felt the icy stab of pain, screamed soundlessly and tumbled from his horse….

***

Mort p198