The Brightest Shadow, page 28
"Surrender now and I'll make it quick!" The Catai unhooked a mace from his back, long but unusually thin. None of them reacted, and he grinned like he hadn't expected anyone to accept. All Deathspawn teeth were sharp, but his glimmered like daggers in the firelight.
He lunged at Veron first, thin mace whistling. It didn't have the heft of most Catai weapons, but he wielded it shockingly fast. Tani saw that Veron was hard-pressed just to defend herself and drew four knives, then hesitated. She needed to choose her moment.
Melal charged in from the side, shouting out a challenge. The Deathspawn's fist struck him in the mouth and he tumbled back in the opposite direction. While his back was turned, Veron struck again and the Catai barely deflected the blow.
Slaten hit next, flowing out of the shadows with a thrust. It hit the Deathspawn's back... and skidded to the side, drawing blood on the natural armor but not cutting deep. Though Slaten pulled back, his opponent turned on him swiftly, sword rising...
Tani threw her knives directly for his eyes. Both throws flew true, but the Deathspawn only flinched slightly and they bounced off his skull. Yet... he had moved his head to avoid the knives striking his eyes. His entire body couldn't be as tough as his muscle-armored torso, so she could make a difference if she used her knives well.
Roaring, the Deathspawn began striking about himself wildly, not trying to land a blow but forcing his opponents back. Slaten and Veron retreated to a safe distance and Tani didn't see a good opportunity to throw again. Where was Efeinas? As vile as the man was, they could have used his power now.
Too late, Tani realized that Napenel was just standing and watching the fight. When flames leapt up in the grasses near him, he flinched and blindly stumbled away, toward the fighters.
It only took a moment, the Catai's mace whistling around to strike his head. The blow struck so hard it both caved in his skull and tore it from his shoulders. Napenel's head sailed away and his body crumpled. Tani hated to see him die, but wondered if part of him had already been dead for some time.
Few of them had known him well, but Tani still felt a dull ache in her heart. Perhaps he could have recovered, if they had gotten to safety. Now he was simply gone. Melal was back on his feet, letting out a roar of anger and charging.
The others hesitated, not joining the attack. If Melal rushed in alone, Tani knew that the Catai would definitely kill him. She rushed to the side to get a good angle, then threw two more knives.
With a swift turn, the Catai kicked Melal away and let the knives bounce off the side of his head. But then he opened his eyes, and he was looking straight at her. If she had been hidden before, she definitely wasn't now. She saw the Deathspawn set his feet and prepare to charge at her, yet her body froze when she tried to move to the side. He raised his mace...
A strange weapon shimmered from the side, wrapping around his weapon arm.
Tani stared, her eyes tracing the unfamiliar weapon back to the source. Celivia stood at a distance, circular knife in one hand and the other holding onto what appeared to be a whip. Yet it reflected the firelight, and there were sharp blades along the side of it. The part that had coiled around the Catai's arm had blades as well, some of them digging in enough to draw blood.
The Catai roared and tugged on the chain, aiming to pull Celivia toward him. She let go of her end immediately, letting it fly. While his sword arm was still entangled, Veron and Slaten struck again. Slaten scored only another superficial wound, but when the Catai flinched away, Veron's sword hacked deep into his shoulder.
His mace tumbled out of his hand... and was caught in the other. With blinding speed, the Catai swung at both of them. Veron leapt back in time to avoid the blow but Slaten was an instant too late. The mace hit him squarely in the stomach and he started to crumple, the Catai turning on him for a finishing blow.
Before he could finish turning away, Tani threw another knife with everything she had. It hit the Deathspawn in the eye - no bouncing off this time. He roared and reached for his eye even as his body started to move toward her.
She should have thrown again, or dove to the side, but he was moving so fast and she had spent too much of herself in that throw. The Deathspawn man was a hideous sight, blood pouring from his eye with the hilt of her knife still jutting out of it. Soon he would be charging, his mace flashing for her...
Veron's blade hit him in the back of the neck.
That finally dropped him, his body hitting the ground thunderously. All at once, Tani realized how hot she was, how much the fires had grown around them. Yet the sky had darkened, leaving her cool and hot at once. Her mind raced at the battle, so dishonorable and yet what they had needed to do to survive.
The still moment was broken when Veron stepped up to the Catai's body and started to hack at his neck. It took her multiple blows, but she managed to cut off his head. Tani watched in shock, almost wondering if she was taking the head as a trophy, but when she was done Veron just scowled at the corpse and moved away.
"We don't have any time to waste." Eraes emerged from her hiding place, eyes grim despite their victory. "Laeri, heal everyone injured as quickly as possible. If you're uninjured, grab a few more supplies if you can. As soon as we're fit to run, we flee south."
That took them back to reality and everyone began to move. Tani moved to check on Slaten and was glad to find that though he'd broken some ribs, Laeri was having success healing them. He grimaced when he stood up, but looked like he could run. Laeri couldn't do anything about the teeth that had been knocked from Melal's mouth, but healed the rest of his injuries. While she worked, Tani retrieved all her knives, though she couldn't find one and another lay in the middle of a growing fire.
They began to run south, but the problem with that quickly became obvious. Laeri couldn't run as quickly as them at the best of times, stumbling over her robes and nearly dropping her staff. Eventually Veron ran back to her and threw her over one shoulder. Laeri made a squawking sound and struggled a bit, face turning crimson, but eventually she cooperated.
While that was certainly faster, it might not be fast enough. Tani looked for Eraes and found the other woman nearby. She could see her teeth were gritted, very white in the darkness. But after a pause, Eraes looked up at her.
"I don't like to admit it, but I'm the weak link now. Can you...?" It seemed that she couldn't bring herself to say it. They shifted to a halt and Tani considered her.
"I can try to lift you, but I certainly can't do it as easily as Veron..."
"You only need to last until we get to safety. Tani, please." Tani could imagine reasons why Eraes might not want to ask the others. After only a moment, she nodded.
"Get on my back, I guess. Be careful of the knives."
Tani turned and offered her back. Eraes awkwardly tried to climb on, arms around her neck. It was like a game played with children, letting them ride the aurochs. After the death and violence, Tani let out an odd little laugh. When Eraes immediately cast her a sharp glance, Tani shook her head.
"Sorry, I just feel foolish. This isn't exactly a majestic retreat."
"Retreats are usually judged less on their majesty than on the 'not dying' aspect." Eraes did seem to understand, though, no longer glaring at her. Though it was difficult to run with another person on her back, Tani focused on increasing the sein flowing through her. She would exhaust herself much faster this way, but at least she could keep up with the others.
They sprinted into the darkness, away from the flames. Two of them being carried, all of them running awkwardly in the dark. It wasn't exactly the stuff of stories, but with luck it might keep them alive.
Chapter 19
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"Everywhere the Red Warrior walked, he found only insults to his honor and reasons to kill. He built nothing and understood nothing, seeking only power. That desire took him to an old master on a mountaintop who it was said could unlock great strength. The Red Warrior demanded to receive this power, but the old master told him that he was not ready. Angered by the insult to his honor, the Red Warrior struck the old master until he relented. Yet when he seized the power for himself, he felt the strength leave his body."
- excerpt from the Tale of the Red Warrior, a popular Nelhae story
-
Day by day, the emptiness filled with anger.
The events of that terrible, bright day had scorched Melal's mind clear. It still hurt to think of him, to remember the man who had once meant so much to him. When he tried to think about it, nothing seemed to make sense. He spent long periods of time just staring up at the clouds, thinking nothing.
Now, Melal thought of anger. They were lucky to have avoided being captured again and reached their destination safely. But all he could think of was that huge Deathspawn bastard and how casually he'd been knocked aside. Even the Rhen girl had been more use than him. It wasn't right and he wouldn't let it stand. He'd be strong enough that they'd all have to acknowledge him, they'd-
"Melal?" It was Slaten, staring at him with that same dead look. "We found a suitable cave."
"I'll come when I'm ready."
Not that he was doing anything. They'd split up to find a place to hide among the hills and crevices, but he hadn't done much looking. This whole area felt wrong to him, the usual grasslands strangely broken. In places it seemed as though some giant had torn into the earth, turned it over, and smashed it down. The sides of the strange protrusions were covered in layers of rock of many different colors that he found off-putting, though he couldn't put a finger on why.
If they'd found a cave, he'd have to get used to it. Melal turned around and followed Slaten's dark form. As they went, he glanced over his shoulder again, telling himself it was to search for allies and not thinking about how the Deathspawn had looked rushing out of the horizon toward them.
Veron had left to run to the nearest town to acquire supplies and as far as he knew she wasn't back yet. Stranger was that Efeinas and the other men were still gone. While Melal didn't mind being one of the only two men in the group, their continued absence bothered him. Had they actually abandoned the cause?
He followed Slaten to the cave, though he had to squeeze through a crevice to reach it. From the wrong angle, the entrance was nearly invisible, and even from the right one, it looked like nothing in particular. Melal wondered how the hell they'd found it before remembering how small Tani was. She'd no doubt wormed her way in here to find the hiding place.
The cave itself disappointed him. It smelled filthy and his boots crunched through small pellets of dried shit. Bats? He'd heard about them but hadn't been sure they were real. Worst of all, the floor was terribly uneven, even if they cleared out all the rocks. There were few places to sit, much less anywhere to lie down comfortably.
"This will do," Eraes was saying, "but we shouldn't start working on it yet. If they do send anyone down this way, it will be over the next fifteen days or so. As soon as Veron gets back, none of us leave again, even if we have to ration out our food at the end."
Melal didn't like the sound of that, especially since the whole plan consisted of cowering in this filthy hole. He'd expected Eraes to come up with a brilliant strategy since she was supposed to be some sort of tactician, but this was only a little better than standing and fighting to the death. She might be nice to look at, but he wasn't impressed otherwise.
"Took you this long to find a good place?" The voice was Veron's, and Melal turned to find her walking in after them with a heavy pack over her shoulder. "Looks a bit deep, so I guess it will do."
She dropped the pack heavily, though not before removing a flask from it. As she started to drink, Eraes frowned at her. "I thought we said no alc-"
"If I'm stuck with you lot through the whole rainy season, no way in hell I'm doing it sober." Veron drank longer, sighed, and capped the flask again. "But I'll pace myself, because you're right. We need to avoid any attention. I went to the second closest village and I don't think I raised too much of a fuss, but you never can trust these shitty little villages."
The others moved forward to see everything she'd bought, but Veron waved them away with her flask.
"I'm not done. I've got more news."
Laeri gave a hopeful smile. "Did you hear anything about Efeinas or the others?"
"What, you thought it'd be good news? Want me to tell you about the local wedding? True love, that is, definitely won't end with them hating each other." When Laeri lowered her head sadly, Veron continued. "No, the news is that Aryabaus has troops in the region. They're not looking for us, but there are a lot of them about. Even if we wait through the rains, getting out won't be as simple as we were hoping."
"Did you get any information on their numbers?" Eraes chewed on her thumb for a while. "No, I suppose you couldn't have. My hope was that we could sneak to the Bundlin region and split up, but now we might have to plan for another encounter. I don't like the odds there. Give me time to come up with a plan."
"I've got a plan. You little shits are going to spend the rainy season working your asses off so that you're worth something when we have to get out. I've saved you enough, I'm not doing it any more unless you can actually watch my back. So no more fucking around."
Slaten frowned at that. "We've been training regularly this entire time."
"You've been jumping from technique to technique like this whole world exists for you to train a bunch and get stronger." Veron started to unplug the flask, thought better of it, and threw it down onto the pack in disgust. "What we're going to do is focus on power, raw power. Technique is well and good, but what matters in the end is being able to kill whatever's in front of you."
They were silent at that, but after a pause Eraes nodded slowly. "That's not an unreasonable way to spend our time here. There's always the possibility that we'll be found, and we'll need power if we have to break through anyone on our way out."
"Figured you'd say that. Alright, everybody that's fighting, get over here. Laeri, get ready to heal, because there's gonna be some blood."
Laeri jumped when she was addressed, then bobbed her head seriously. "I'll do my best!"
That left four of them: him, Celivia, Tani, and Slaten. The others seemed more or less ready, but didn't say anything. The way Veron was speaking bugged him, though. He admitted that she could kill him, but that was just because she was so damn fast. This idea of focusing on power just sounded like nonsense to him, so he decided to say as much.
"Are you sure that all of us should be focused on power? I've been training my strength since I was a child." Melal flexed one arm, being sure to flex his inner strength as well. The pool of strength welled within him, deeper than he would need to draw. Veron eyed him for a moment, then gestured for him to approach.
"Alright, you first. Come hit me."
The blow wouldn't land, obviously. She'd dodge aside or knock it away or something like that. Still, this was his chance. Melal focused on his arm, letting the inner strength flow from his core all the way to his fingers. Then he lunged forward, punching at her face.
Veron caught his fist.
Melal's eyes shot open in surprise and he threw his weight into it, yet she didn't budge. She was smaller than him, surely even with inner strength he should be able to overpower her. He could feel the flow through her hand and threw what he had against it, struggling to force her back.
"See, this happens with a lot of young fighters. You think all that matters is having a lot of sein, like that's all there is to it. And I admit, you've built up a lot over the years. But what the fuck makes you think that you can actually use it all at once?" She began to push back and pain shot up his arm. Melal had no choice but to sink toward his knees as Veron overpowered him. "Having big reserves matters in a long fight, but if you're doing your job, the fight should be over quick. So all that matters is how much you can bring to bear at any one moment, and your body doesn't just learn that easily. It takes internal channels and other shit you don't need to care about now."
Melal's knees hit the ground and Veron finally let go of his arm with a slight wrenching movement. Melal clutched his arm to his chest, glowering at her. Laeri hurried closer with her staff to help him, but he pulled his arm away. It would be fine, Veron had just wanted to humiliate him. She'd pay, one day...
"Alright, you next." Veron drew her sword and pointed it at Slaten. "Show me."
He didn't hesitate, drawing his sword and thrusting forward. Even though there was little space between them, Veron knocked the blade aside easily. After a pause, she gave a small shrug.
"Could be worse, I guess. Your form is okay, and your sein is intense enough. But your work with the sein channels in your arms is shit, so the whole thrust is shit."
Slaten just accepted this mutely, nodding as she humiliated him. Of course, that's what he would do. At least Veron was going to treat them all equally. She gestured at Celivia next.
At first it looked like the other woman wouldn't do anything, then without warning her hand flashed out. The coil of metal in her grip shot forward, flying straighter than Melal would have thought possible. Veron took a step to the side and batted it to the floor contemptuously.
"Okay, I admit that your sein is good. You could still use more power, but I don't have any pointers. Figured it would be that way, actually." Veron stomped on one of the whip's blades. "I just wanted to say that your weapon is really fucking stupid."
Celivia narrowed her eyes and refused to back down. Finally, a proper reaction.
"How are you going to whip this thing around in close quarters? Like this cave, or, you know, any building? Throwing it out like that is a nice trick, but it's all you have in here. And it's not that great even outside, because your opponent has way too many chances to grab it."
"I don't deny that the weapon has weaknesses," Celivia said. "I intend to reduce those over time."
"You'd better reduce the hell out of them." Veron turned away and gestured at Tani. "Alright, you last. Throw or attack, whatever you're more comfortable with."
