I noticed a silent exchange between Steed and
Chevelle. They were trying to decide what to do with me.
“
Since you’re apparently not
ready to retire for the evening, I suppose we will resume your
training,” Chevelle said.
Oh
great
.
“
Ooh, let me!” Ruby was
excited. Chevelle gave her a doubtful look and then glanced at me.
Yes, he thought I deserved this. He nodded once and walked toward
the rocks. Ruby bounced a few times, celebrating her
victory.
As Chevelle walked past Anvil and Grey, they
turned to follow him. I glanced around but didn’t see the other two
or their dogs. I was wondering where they had gone and looked back
to Ruby and Steed. Ruby was obviously very excited about the coming
torture. Steed was watching me again. I always seemed to forget he
was handsome until I was looking at him. He wore a loose shirt,
unlaced at the chest, covered with a leather vest. It matched the
long leather cuffs on his forearms and I was sure it was the same
dark, worn leather of his saddles. He stepped in front of me, took
my chin in his hand and twisted my face slightly, examining it. He
purred something toward Ruby about her decorations and gave me a
wink as he walked off in the direction Chevelle had gone.
We were alone now, Ruby and
I, and I was sure this was going to hurt more than my other
training. She untied her cloak and tossed it to the rocks where it
landed with a muffled sound. She was smiling a touch as she reached
her left hand across her waist to a black hoop there. She closed
her fist and pulled it out and around as a long black trail curved
in its wake and came to rest softly at her side.
A whip
. Oh yes, this would
hurt. I loosed my cloak and tossed it aside, lowering myself in a
defensive stance, hands out and ready.
Crack!
Okay,
not
ready.
“
Ow! Mother Earth!” I
cursed. I felt blood trickle at the strike point.
Ruby giggled a little. “Okay, we start
slower.” She considered for a moment, “Maybe we work on your
attacks instead of defense.”
I relaxed my stance. “Um, I don’t really have
any attacks.”
She hadn’t worried when
she'd asked me to assail her, but learning I lacked attack skills
seemed to trouble her immensely. “Well, then, I suppose we had
better focus on getting you some. How to begin?” She was talking to
herself now, I was almost sure. My mind started to wander. I
listened for the men below.
What were they
doing there?
“I‘m afraid we will have to
work with your anger.” She smiled a little. “It seemed to work with
your lunch.” I remembered the meat I had burnt when she’d been
trying to provoke me with Steed. I flushed with embarrassment.
“Yes, this could work,” she hummed with a sly grin.
“
Let me see… oh yes, I’ve
got it.” She began stepping a slow circle around me, talking as she
walked. “The dreams you had… after the fairy dust… do you remember
them?”
Oh
. “I have
a few questions, you see. You had plenty to say about someone as
you slept. You mentioned how his mouth tasted… muscles under his
shirt. And, well, I was curious just who you meant.”
No
. “It couldn’t have been
Chevelle; oh you should have seen his face. He was livid.”
No
. “Steed was certainly
enjoying it, but, my dear, he won’t spill the secret to me. Whose
strong back where you wrapped around, whose dark eyes–”
I was mortified and she was
using it to taunt me. There was nowhere to go with the humiliation,
it was too much, and it turned to fury as she continued. I snapped.
The flames that had been coursing through me burst in my hands. She
laughed and tossed her head. “Oh you should have heard it. You gave
us such
interesting
details!” The image of Chevelle hearing my dreams, the sound
of their laughter when I woke…
I knew what she wanted and I gave it to her.
Fire shot from both my hands toward her, hotter than any I’d ever
produced. I felt the warmth on my face and heard the slosh of
Ruby’s heeled boots as the patches of snow melted beneath her
steps. She batted away the flames and smiled. “Come now, you’ll
have to do better than that.” She kept circling.
“
Let me try harder.” She
flicked her wrist and the end of her whip caught my ankle so fast I
hadn’t even realized it was in her hand. She jerked and my leg came
out from under me, so hard I hit the ground, slamming down flat on
my hip. It hurt. The pain stole the heat from my anger, irritation
replaced it as I started to stand up.
Crack!
The whip struck at my head,
forcing me back down. She was still circling and every time I
attempted to right myself, she cracked it anew, keeping me from
getting a foothold.
“
Come now, Freya, you must
defend yourself. Fight me. Stop me.”
Snap!
Snap! Snap!
She was faster now, cracking
the whip above me and at each side, moving again and again, closer
and closer. I had to think of something but my mind could only
concentrate on the snap of her whip, closing in on me. I heard the
splash again, her boots in the melted snow, and I sent the icy
water racing up, under the material of her skirt, to her bare legs.
Shock crossed her face and I hoped it would buy the time I
needed.
What now?
The cold water had thrown her for no more than a
fraction of a second, but it was enough time to right myself and
execute one quick attack. I volleyed a nearby rock, which struck
her in the back of the head and threw her balance off for another
instant. I knew I was larger than her so I gritted my teeth and
lunged, grabbing her as I tried to figure my next
attack.
She raised her face and,
when her eyes met mine, they narrowed. Part of me was aware I
should have been scared, but I was
enjoying
myself. Whatever pain I might
receive didn’t factor; I had wanted to hurt this wicked little
redhead since the first time I’d seen her, since her hand reached
out seductively toward Chevelle and collected my ruby. My palms lit
where they wrapped around her arms, I would finally
burn
her. She cocked one
eyebrow at me. “Half
fire
fairy, silly.” And my body was flying through the
air to land with a heavy thump a few yards away.
“
Well, it’s a little
unorthodox but at least you’re thinking on your feet,” she mused.
And then she giggled as she realized I was, in fact,
not
on my feet.
My body ached as I stood and
my best skill was
useless
. I desperately wanted to ask
her to simply show me the way, but my ego stubbornly
refused.
She must have picked up my mood. “You see,
most of us choose one particular favorite, we focus on that and
practice constantly. That way, it becomes easier, uses less energy,
you know.” I didn’t know. “Maybe we should see what your strong
suit is,” she said and motioned me to follow her as she walked to
the rock ridge and jumped over, hurrying down to the men.
“
Sorry to interrupt,
gentlemen,” she announced. “I was wondering if you’d mind a little
demonstration?” They broke their circle,
yes, they had looked as if they'd been
planning
, and gave her their attention.
“Frey here hasn’t found her rhythm yet,” she explained. They seemed
to understand and she bounded back over to me and drew me to sit
beside her on a large rock facing the men before cueing them to
begin.
The largest stepped forward, boasting deep
brown hair and eyes. He wore plain clothing but his broad shoulders
and massive size made him seem regal. “They name me Anvil but I am
Reed, of Keithar Peak.” His voice was thick, though it was
impossible to tell whether it was an accent or he had difficulty
speaking. He was huge, frighteningly so, but something about him
was drawing me in, I wanted to be his friend for no reason I could
rationalize. He walked to me and reached out his hand to shake. As
I took it in mine, a tingle ran up my arm. I looked down and the
hair was standing on end.
I glanced back at him and he was smiling.
“Sorry. I’ll try to avoid touching you.”
“
It’s fine, really,” I said,
though I didn’t understand, it was like a static charge. Meanwhile,
I had decided the thickness was a drawl. “I don’t know your accent,
where is it from?”
“
North Camber,” he replied.
A snicker slipped from Steed and Anvil glanced at him before
amending, “Well, that is where they cut out part of my tongue.” I
recoiled suddenly at the idea and unintentionally wrenched my hand
from his. The tingle remained. He didn’t seem offended; he simply
took a few steps backward to start his demonstration. I brought my
arm back to my side and it brushed Ruby, shocking her just enough
to make both of us flinch. She didn’t appear to mind, smiling at me
as she returned her attention to the start of the show.
The other men drew back, some sitting, some
standing but all giving him their full attention and space as he
raised his hands and seemed to brace himself, taking one full deep
breath before leaning forward slightly. A thunderous crack and
excruciating light flew from both of his outstretched hands,
slammed into a tall pine, and snapped the top third of the tree
off. Several limbs splintered and popped as it crashed its way
down.
I was dumbfounded. I looked
again at the large man. Sweat glistened on his forehead in the
moonlight and his breath was a little labored but still, he
stood
. Understanding came
slowly. He had shot
lightning
from his
hands
. The others nodded
appreciatively. I was having second thoughts about my desired
friendship with this man. Though not being his friend was probably
more dangerous.
I realized I was shaking my head in disbelief
as he turned back to me and bowed slightly. I felt as if I should
applaud. He stepped back and took a seat. I could see he was still
winded.
The wiry man stepped inside
the circle then, his movements were erratic, jerky. He nodded to
me.
Grey
. He was
thoughtful for a moment, deciding the best way to display his skill
before finally approaching to offer his hand in greeting. My own
hand was in his for a split second, and then he was gone. Not just
his hand from mine, but
he
, his entire body, had vanished. I
half expected to feel his palm against mine, perhaps he’d merely
camouflaged himself, but my hand was empty. Automatically, I looked
around, baffled. The makeshift audience wore easy, amused smiles.
They watched me, not the vacant space from which Grey had evidently
disappeared. And then I noticed someone beside me who hadn't been
there before… it was him.
“
How…” But he was gone
again. I'd been staring right at him and had no idea where he
went.
I was just beginning to
doubt whether I'd seen him at all when I spotted him standing
across the circle, grinning fiendishly while he dangled an object
from his hands. It was the feather Ruby had tied in my hair. I'd
forgotten about it, I reached up to feel for it, to be certain it
was the same one, and it was gone. I started to get irritated but
then, suddenly, the feather was in my other hand and he was back,
or still, standing where he had been, his hands now empty. And
then, for no apparent reason but amusement, he did a few
somersaults and landed in the center of the circle, smiling.
So weird
. Ruby clapped a
few times from beside, me, clearly thrilled with his show. I
thought I must have missed something.
Grey bowed out of the circle and was replaced
by the two tall, silvery elves. I found myself startled again; I
had not seen them sitting with the group, or anywhere else. For
some reason, it was much more eerie than the little wiry man who
blinked in and out of vision. One of the men spoke, his voice
smooth and melodic. “We will not demonstrate their full power at
this time. We will not short our forces a man for mere display.” I
thought there was humor in his voice. “As you can see, they can be
frightening, however, without attack.”
At that, the dogs walked
into the circle. I had not seen them either, before they were
approaching their masters. They came forward to snarl, one
regarding Ruby and one Steed, and I could only be glad it wasn’t me
as their muzzles pulled back and exposed a vicious set of teeth,
complete with meat-tearing fangs. The hair rose on their backs and
I was suddenly positive they were larger than Ruby. A horrific
growl ripped from their chests in unison and I cringed. Then, at
once, they settled back into relaxed seated positions as if they
had never been angry. “We also do not do
tricks
.” Yes, there was humor there. I
was relieved to see the intimidating pair might not be as formal as
I'd imagined. “We will return to watch.” They nodded toward me and
walked out of the circle in unison, disappearing from
view.
I twisted the feather I was
holding in my hand. Something about it, something about the dogs.
How remarkable it must be to master a beast.
I wouldn’t have to be battered during training then.
I winced a little at the thought of Ruby cracking
one of those wolf-dogs with her whip.
Better them than me, I guess
.