Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 507
Axel, and before it stopped sliding he was on his feet.
Marya stood at the entrance to the crypt. Several men
were converging on her; she cowered back against the stone.
"Hang on!" shouted Axel. Two more men were moving
to cut him off; he cursed as he saw swords gleaming in the
light from the house. Not that they could kill him--Turcaret
had tried that all too scientifically already--but they hurt.
And they could easily kill Marya.
"Stop!" cried the first man. He planted himself directly
in Axel’s path.
Axel kicked him in the head and kept on running.
Two men held Marya. She struggled, then slumped in
one’s arms. Or seemed to; Axel heard the man shout in
surprise as Marya slipped down and out of her peasant dress,
leaving him astonished holding it and her sprawled in her black
unitard on the snow.
She shrieked--probably from the cold. Then she rolled to
one side and disappeared.
Madwoman, thought Axel. Then he was there, with five
men surrounding him.
The best tactic was to let them stab him; that way they
overextended themselves, and none of them expected him to
reach over the sword in his chest and smack them in the face.
Which is what he did. As before, the blades lacerated him but
did not penetrate his skin.
The last two realized he was armored and became more
wary, but he didn’t give them any time, because he could see
the doors of the manor opening, and armed men pouring out.
"Axel!" He sent his last opponent down with a side kick
and turned to find Marya next to him. Her body below the
neck was enveloped in an inky black cloud; she was shivering
uncontrollably.