Authors: Robin Roseau
"Hai, demon!" she screamed. And her staff twirled, faster than I had ever seen her fight. It came down on a demon arm, and then she was shifting to the right, the demon turning to face her.
"She is so fierce," the demon said to me. "But she does little damage with her little stick." From the ground, I watched Maya turning the demon away from me.
She was doing it again. She was protecting me. My sister, the worse fighter in all of Queen's Town, and she was protecting me.
"Hai!" Maya screamed again. "Demon, I am Maya Softpeace, Queen's Companion." She smacked him with her staff and ducked under a return strike. Miraculously, her staff spun and slammed against the wrist of one of the demon's lower arms, and I heard bones crunch. "I am teacher. I am protector!" And she thrust with her staff, smacking into the side of the demon, then backing away, leading it further from me.
"A teacher of children?" the voice said. "But so fierce. Perhaps she is more interesting than you are." And I felt the voice leave me.
Maya stiffened, but it was imperceptible, and then she smiled. "I have your attention now, demon?" she yelled. "Very good." She spun, and her staff smacked firmly against a demon leg, and then she danced way. "I am Maya Softpeace," she screamed again. "Bringer of the true death. It was I who killed the demon queen, Lathana Jara Marquine. It was I who summoned her true body forth across the void, ripped from her bubble amongst the formless soup." She paused. "Oh, yes, demon!" she yelled. "I know about the bubbles you form, and now. You. Are. Mine." She spun again, and her staff hit the same arm she'd already hit before, and the entire arm hung limply.
Slowly I climbed to my feet, shaking myself for a moment.
"I name you Larbo Parthon Wardine," Maya yelled. "That is now your true name in the name of all humanity, and when I summon you, you will be helpless but to come. You will come in your true form, and I will kill you like I killed the demon queen. And your head shall adorn my hall, and all will know you have died the truth death."
And then Maya turned the demon again, offering me a perfect attack on its flank. I realized that she had done it intentionally. I strode forth and thrust, up under the demon's ribs, my sword seeking its heart. And from the other side, I saw Malora
, her thrust a mirror of mine. I do not know which of us found the heart first, but moments later we were both sprayed with ichor from the demon before it crumbled into dust.
I collapsed to my knees, my heart pounding. I couldn't even look around to see what else had happened.
"Beria?" asked Omie. I couldn't even look up at her.
"Don't touch me," I said.
"Oh Beria," she said. "Too soon. It was too soon."
"Who took the voice?" Malora demanded. "Who took the voice?"
"I did," I said. And in front of me, my warrior collapsed to her knees, a mirror of my position.
But Maya strode forth, stopping between us. "And I stole it from her," she said. "Beria, your warrior needs you. She has a fresh voice to be stilled."
"I froze," I said.
"Everyone freezes," Malora said. "I told you. Beria, help your warrior."
"No," I said. "I'm... covered."
"Right now, honey," Malora said gently, "she doesn't care."
And then Omie was on me, pulling me into a crushing hug, looking for any bit of bare skin she could touch. We pressed against each other, and I heard her sigh.
"Not a warrior," she said. "Not a warrior. I thought I'd lost you, Beria. I'm not ready to lose you yet."
I looked up, looking past her at my sister. She and Malora were facing each other, not quite touching.
"Maya?" Malora said.
I saw Maya smile, and then she reached out and brushed demon ichor from Malora's face. She stepped forward and kissed her warrior. Malora froze for a moment, and then she gave a mighty sob of her own, pulling her companion deeply into her arms, the two of them wrapped in each other.
"Damn it," Ralla said. "I've tried that same speech on them, but they never believe me."
Maya pulled away from Malora. "They look inside and see the truth of my words," she said. "Sorry."
"I don't understand," I said.
"They're afraid of me, Sister. The voice fled as the body died." She looked at Ralla. "Come here and I'll still the voice."
"No need," she said. "Malora took both of them. I'll fetch the horses."
After that, I paid attention to my own warrior as we clutched each other and she said over and over, "I thought I lost you. I thought I lost this."
"You didn't," I whispered to her. "My sister saved us."
* * * *
We were late for our rendezvous. Maya insisted we swim. She'd been the only one who hadn't gotten sprayed by demon goo, but she was covered almost as badly as I was, most of it from Malora, but some of it from hugging me. She helped me silence Omie's new voice, whispering into her ear, "Demon, I know you hear me. You better hide from me. Hide, demon, hide."
We cleaned in a river.
"This is the same river that goes by our village," Maya said. "We could follow it home. I could swim home from here."
"If it weren't for the rapids in the way a mile inside our forest," Malora said.
"Pshaw. They're nothing."
We bathed, and then we soaked for a few minutes. Maya pulled away from her warrior and turned to me.
"Well, Sister. Did you care to critique my form?"
I stared at her and smiled. "I think your warrior is very pleased with your form."
She blushed and then scowled. "I could say the same for yours," she said. "But that's not what I meant, and you know it."
"Your form was perfect, Maya," I said. "I've never seen you fight better. Your staff was a blur."
She grinned. "There's something about demons th
at brings out my inner warrior. Malora's afraid it won't work with a sword, though, so she won't let me bring one."
"That's not it, and you know it," Malora said. "I'm afraid that one day, you'll encounter a demon too stupid to be afraid of you, and then I'll lose you."
"Pshaw," Maya said. "They're all stupid." She turned back to her warrior, and the two murmured at each other, Malora holding Maya tightly.
Omie hadn't released me since the fight. I pulled her more tightly against me, and she sighed into my ear. "I love you, Beria," she whispered.
"I love you, too, Omie," I replied. "I was so scared."
"We were all scared," she said.
Ralla gave us a few more minutes before she said, "As nice as this feels, it will feel a whole lot better back in our own pools, and one of us isn't holding her companion."
Malora chuckled then stood up, Maya still wrapped around her, arms and legs clamped together behind Malora's back. Walking like that, Malora slowly climbed from the river.
"Don't even think it," Omie said. "I'm not carrying you like that."
"I was just wondering if I could carry you."
"That's not happening, either, although the two of them seem to enjoy it." She paused just a moment then added, "I need you to ride with me, and I'm going to need as much bare skin as you can leave me."
And so I dressed in my leggings and an undershirt. We climbed atop
our horses, me sitting before Omie, her hands wrapped underneath the shirt, her head pressed against my back. It was another hour to the rendezvous, and when we got there, Balorie looked upset.
"You stopped for a swim?"
"We were all a mess," Ralla said.
"All?" Balorie asked. "How many?"
"Four. Malora took two voices, Omie the third."
"That's three," Balorie said.
Ralla looked pointedly at Maya.
"Oh," said Balorie. "She scared another one off? How did Beria do?"
"Took the voice and froze, but Maya pulled its attention," Ralla said. "They're both still companions. I don't know if Beria will freeze the next time or not."
"Everyone freezes the first time," Balorie said. "And we don't have any experience with someone becoming a warrior, then losing it again like that. Beria, any predictions?"
"I don't know," I said. "I couldn't move. Maya had to save me. She knocked me down, and I think I stayed there for another two minutes."
Maya laughed. "Honey, it was about five, maybe ten seconds. I just had to keep it busy until you and Malora took care of it. Easy job."
"Easy job, she says," Malora muttered. "Dances a demon around, steals its voice from our newest warrior, turning her back into a companion, then tosses the voice aside like discarded bones, and she calls it an easy job."
"I didn't mean mine," she said. "I meant yours."
No one said anything for a second, and then together, Malora and I began laughing. Maya had broken the tension. Again.
I turned twenty-one. Omie and I had been lovers for three years, warrior and companion for over seven. I loved her more and more each day.
It was only luck that had kept me her companion. I'd been in three more demon fights, one of them against two demons, but other warriors had taken the voices.
Bea became a warrior. She came home ragged, the only companion along on that trip, and Clara was nearly as distraught. Maya saw them riding into the village and grabbed me right out from Omie's arms. She shoved me at Clara and practically pulled Bea from her mount, pulling her into her arms. While comforting Bea, she began giving orders, even to Malora.
"Malora," she said, "we're leaving in the morning." S
he looked around. "Serra, we need trail food for four for a week."
"Yes, Maya," Serra said immediately.
Her eyes settled on me. "You have my duties here."
"Me?"
"You're already doing the duty roster and handling inventory."
"How long will we be gone, Maya?" Malora asked.
"Three weeks," she said. "Cancel whatever you have to cancel." Her eyes scanned the crowd. "Balorie, Clara and Bea will be gone for two weeks, but you probably can't put them on patrol for a couple of months after that."
"Why is that, Queen's Companion?"
"And where are we going, Maya?" Malora asked.
"They're going to have new companions to train," Maya said. "We're going to Gallen's Cove and coming home via White Pine."
"No," Bea said. "I'll be fine."
"You never wanted this, Bea," she said. "I will find you a companion, and one for Clara too." She looked around. "Where is Nori? She's coming, too."
"Maya," said Balorie. "You have to leave me enough warriors to patrol."
"And if you're going home, I want to go," I said, still holding Clara.
"Why are we going to White Pine?" Malora asked.
"We're going to browbeat lumber from them," she said. "They are under-tithing, and I am tired of it.
They'll give us enough materials for two huts. They can afford it. Malora, we're going to need some muscle. We'll send Clara and Bea back with their new companions, but I want ten more warriors when we enter White Pine, warriors you trust. Go arrange it. I don't know where we'll meet. Figure it out."
Then she turned to Balorie. "Borrow a couple of warriors if you need them," she said. "I don't care. Nori is coming with me."
She didn't stop. "Aura. Take care of these horses."
Aura was the only one without questions. She grabbed the horses and led them to the stable, her warrior following after her to help.
Maya looked around. "Well? Balorie, you have a schedule to adjust, and you need to do it now so Beria can adjust the duty roster later."
"We can run short handed in the kitchen," Serra said. "Beria, I'll only need one assistant, but then when it's time to serve, the companions can help."
Maya issued a few more orders, then she told me, "Take Clara to her hut. When she's feeling better, help her pack for traveling. Pack up Bea's things and move her into our hut while we're gone, but make sure she's ready to go in the morning."
"Yes, Maya," I said.
I pulled Clara away, leading her to her hut, soothing the voices. She went complacently, but when we sat down on her bed, still holding each other, she chuckled.
"Your sister was born for her role amongst us," she said. "She just turned the entire village on its head, and everyone said, 'Yes, Maya'."
"Feeling better?"
"A few more minutes, please," she said. "Thank you, Beria."
"You're welcome, Clara," I said. "Was it bad?"
"No. Typical fight. Bea hung back, and it looked like Balorie would take the voice, but it ignored her and focused on Bea. The fight was short, really short, but she took the voice anyway. Sometimes when it's like that, we can kill them before anyone takes a voice. I wish we'd been faster. Bea didn't want this. God, I'm going to miss her." She started to cry.
It took a while to soothe her, her soul calmed, but I knew her heart was breaking.
"I wish your sister had been there to yank that damned demon across the void," she whispered finally. "I'd like to give it the true death."