2
The long wooden blade in my hands was not a tool. It was an extension of my body, a single limb that combined my two arms into one appendage that cut through the air with a high-pitched whistle. In a true battle, the new limb would leave a swath of blood and body parts in my path. Today, however, the blade was a simple bundle of thin lathes I used to train the best of Kara’s warriors. I had selected only a score of soldiers for this training. Eight of those soldiers had dropped out due to fear or inability and one unfortunate accident, leaving me with an even dozen. They formed a unique unit, or fire squad, whose sole purpose was to isolate superior warriors on the battlefield and neutralize them.
“Come on boys, I’m hardly winded.” I laughed and swung my blade a few times to keep my muscles loose and warm.
“Are you sure you need to beat us mercilessly every day?” asked one of the men, panting. He was tall and fair-skinned, the youngest of the small group.
“You can feel free to drop out, Jeris,” I chided, only half joking. “When Kara assigned the twenty of you to me, I told her we’d be lucky to keep half of you. If you quit, I’ll only need to convince one more of you that it’s not worth it, and I’ll win that bet.”
They had stalled long enough to regain their breath, then attempted to surprise me as I finished my taunt. The soldiers were instructed to attack in groups of four, but Jeris was just a bit faster and stronger than the others. His strike landed first. I brushed it aside, using his momentum to tangle his blade into another attacker’s arms, tripping them both. I ducked low and followed my own momentum into a spin. That was a good call, as two other attackers pressed forward, their blades swinging through the space where my head had just been, one rustling my hair with the wind of its passing. The men were getting better.
Of course, out of the whole group, they still wouldn’t land a single blow on me. While the two I had tripped rolled away, I stood and smoothly disarmed the two men left standing. They backed out of the fight, and four more soldiers immediately took their place. The dance continued for another hour before all of us were too winded or bruised to continue.
As I leaned on my practice blade, I saw Kara approaching. I don’t know if it was me or if she planned these things, but she walked toward me with the red dusk blooming behind her. The chain links in her armor reflected the dying light of the sun, wrapping her in a bloody glow. I managed to pull my attention from her long enough to finish the session.
“You’re all doing remarkably well, and I assure you that you won’t be fighting anyone nearly as fast or strong as I am on the battlefield.” I wasn’t joking or being arrogant, just stating the truth. “Jeris!” I called the man out. “Being stronger and faster is great when you’re fighting alone. However, this squad relies on you all working together and attacking at exactly the same time. Being faster weakens the entire squad.” Jeris didn’t care for the comment. He drew himself up taller despite his exhaustion, but didn’t complain. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to, though. He had improved immensely since I had chosen him for the squad, and it must have rankled to be held back to others’ abilities now.
“How are they doing?” Kara asked without preamble as the men dispersed to their individual duties. If I had thought she would treat me differently after last night’s activities, I was wrong. There were no knowing glances or cute smiles being traded under everyone else’s noses.
“They’re coming together very well as a group. Twelve is a solid number for the squad. I hate to toot my own horn, but I think groups like this could really turn things around when you start running into more Spellforged warriors.” I threw the practice blade to one of the other men and started unbuckling the straps on the padded armor I wore for these sessions. I had yet to be struck by one of the men, but it was good practice to follow the same rules as the soldiers I commanded.
“Of course, all of this would be unnecessary if you would just use your own power in battle,” I said as I walked toward the smell of cooking food. I continued to work on removing the annoying armor as I walked.
Kara must not have realized that I was walking away. She was too busy starting what would probably have been a lengthy lecture. She held up a finger, “One: you thoroughly enjoy tooting your own horn, loudly and frequently,” I heard as I turned away. Then her voice rang out louder, “Hey, we were talking!”
“We can keep talking, too,” I replied with what I assumed was a sarcastic grin; facial expressions were weird for me. “But I have every intention of eating hot food tonight—in comfort, if I can manage to get this ridiculous armor off.” Complaining about the armor wasn’t the same as refusing to wear it. “Now, about you using magic in combat.”
I wasn’t sure she was following until I heard her voice a few steps behind me. “Magic is prohibited in warfare. The leaders of the magical factions all agreed on that point centuries ago. Combat magic has been all but eradicated from the schools at this point. I wouldn’t know how to conjure up a fireball if I wanted to.”
As she spoke, I frowned and tugged ineffectually on a knotted strap. With a growl of frustration, I stopped and just pulled on the stubborn fabric. “That statement was loaded with things that don’t make any sense to me. I’m going to ignore the parts that would take too long to explain. You don’t need training to create a fireball. You need some control and a bit of concentration, but that’s it. Magic isn’t about these silly rituals you do. Just see the powers around you, and then mix them up until they do what you want.” I stopped struggling with the armor as I felt her hands gently push mine out of the way. “And in the case of a fireball, throw it before you lose control,” I finished with a chuckle.
Her hands made quick work of the soft leather straps. “To repeat my wise and all-knowing teacher, that statement was just loaded with things that don’t make sense to me. If by ‘powers’ you mean the elements that ancient wizards described during the Time of Chaos, then no one has been able to do that since Angel banished the EverOnes.” She gently pulled the layered cloth armor over my head and handed it back to me. I could see in her face that the topic frustrated her, but her hands lingered on mine during the exchange, leaving me genuinely confused about how we were supposed to treat each other now.
“That’s ridiculous.” I decided to just focus on continuing the conversation and making it to that cook pot in time. “I’ve used magic like that for my entire life. In your defense, though, that might stretch back to these ancient wizards of yours.”
Kara didn’t answer at first, as we had found the meal line. I was content to take my place at the back, but she shook her head and grinned at me. “There have to be some perks to being in charge, Elin.” She guided me past the line to grab two bowls of stew and a piece of bread.
“Mystery meat again, Nic?” she asked the portly cook who was manning the ladle.
“Mystery meat? No mystery here, I know exactly what I put into it. You wanna know?” he asked with a half-smile, his strange accent blending the words together.
“Mystery meat it is. Keeping my troops fed is your specialty, not mine.” Kara evaded the question with a genuine smile as she took her bowl.
None of the soldiers seemed to mind her intrusion. Most of them simply smiled or cheered as their leader strode past them, and it struck me again how well disciplined and blindly loyal Kara’s troops were.
As we walked out of the mess tent, Kara resumed our conversation. “Why don’t we talk about your magic usage? I can sense the little glow of magic potential in people that other wizards would completely rule out. You shine like a beacon in the night, though. It’s nearly impossible to concentrate anywhere in camp with you glowing like that. Surely, you can use some of that power to help us. Maybe if you showed me what you are talking about, it would be easier to learn.”
I hadn’t really been paying attention as we traveled through the camp, so I was surprised when we found ourselves at Kara’s tent. Without a word, she unfastened the tent flap and disappeared inside. I followed her j
ust as silently, wondering if tonight would turn out like last night had. I couldn’t completely dismiss that desire as a side effect of the foreign body.
“I understand your confusion, Kara. What you would call my ‘soul’ is brighter than what I’ve found in this world. It allows me to channel a large amount of magic, but I’ve already committed all of that power into controlling and enhancing this body. If I tried to use any of that magic, I would lose control of it completely. That wouldn’t go well, I don’t think.” I finished the little speech by sitting down and shoveling food into my mouth. It was always a shock to me how hungry the body I was using became after a full day’s work.
The serious conversation tapered off as the meal progressed, replaced by small talk and a surprising amount of simple flirting. I had to admit that I enjoyed this gentle banter of ours more than I had enjoyed anything in recent memory.
Social interaction wasn’t unheard of in the worlds my people had colonized, but it was different. It was as if our lives had become so static and similar that conversations between us were more like talking to a mirror. Perhaps it was that realization, somewhere in my subconscious, that drove me to leave my homeland and come out into the forbidden lands. Maybe seeing Kara’s vibrance all those years ago had ignited a spark in me that wouldn’t go out.
I snuffed that thought immediately. I would live out this curiosity and then head home. Perhaps I could convince Kara to go with me. Either way, there was no question I would be heading back home someday soon.