Cultivating Heroism

by Ray Torrens

  Minna watched him skeptically for a second before breaking into a grin. Everyone else took their cues from her and also brightened. The performers returned to their seats and looked eagerly at him to make sure they’d been well-received.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Minna said, taking his bowl from his hands and ladling him some more stew into it. Considering how emaciated some of the villagers looked, he didn’t want to have anymore, but Minna insisted, pushing it into his hands when he tried to protest.

  After the performers had finished their magic, another group of people stood up. They returned to their houses and fetched instruments. Most were stringed instruments like guitars and violins, as well as a large flute, as well as some kind of drum wide, narrow drum. They played tunefully and without vocals. Mack tapped his foot in time to the beat and was content to just absorb the conversation going on around him.

  He learned some much just from listening to them reminisce. Their stories seemed to go in a linear pattern. They’d talk about something how it had been in the past, and then people would complain about how much it had changed now. He could put together some of the pieces of what must have happened in the timeline after the book he’d read had finished.

  Somehow the local Lord who ruled the village and its region had become too powerful without the protectors there to keep him in check, and that had meant misery for the villagers who had been taxed too highly and pushed to the brink of starvation.

  And despite everything, they still had the spirit to throw a party like this.

  “The music normally has words that tell the story of the village, but we don’t have anyone who can sing a note in tune anymore,” Kaarina said, leaning close so she could be heard over the music with her quiet voice.

  Mack laughed. “Well I definitely can’t help out there.”

  His nose brushed against her cheek as he pulled away from the ear he’d been talking into, and for a moment their faces were close enough that they could have kissed.

  A hand slammed down on the table and Kaarina jumped violently.

  Okko had finally lost his cool and leaned over toward the two of them with eyes narrowed. “Duel.”

  Mack forced himself not to recoil. “What?”

  “Duel. Me and you. Now. Right now.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Kaarina shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Sparring is commonplace during a feast, but that’s what we normally call it.” She narrowed her eyes back at Okko. “Sparring, not a duel.”

  “Whatever. Let’s spar then, pretty boy.”

  Mack wrinkled his nose. He’d definitely never been called pretty boy before. He looked to Kaarina again, who was still glaring at Okko, wanting some kind of guidance. Did he have to do this? What went against him name if he decided to decline?

  He had no idea how powerful this Okko guy was, or whether this spar was going to end up with him humiliated in the ground or worse. What was more worrying was the prospect of him winning. He’d pulverized the lizard thing’s head until it was bloody pulp.

  As much as this guy seemed like an asshole, he wasn’t sure that caving his skull in was going to be the best way to keep the village looking favorably on him.

  He thought back to the line he’d read from the book before being whisked away to this planet. He was meant to do things, “not in competition with others or to sate my ego, but because it is true to my being.” But then he looked at Kaarina’s mortified body language at the fact Okko was challenging him to a duel over her. He thought back to Drake, the football player from his Muay Thai class, and couldn’t resist the temptation to teach this guy a lesson if he could.

  “Fine,” he said, folding his arms across his chest and hoping he hadn’t made a terrible decision. “Let’s duel.”

  Okko’s grin was that of someone completely overconfident, and Mack hoped that would work to his advantage. He was used to being seen as the underdog thanks to his lean frame, and that would give him the upper hand this time … hopefully.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Kaarina said. “No one would care, they can obviously see what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. And, he’s strong. He’s the strongest fighter in the village.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Mack said, more confident than he felt. “Don’t worry about me.”

  Kaarina gave him a small peck on the cheek. “I will though.”

  Filled with determination that he would not embarrass himself in front of Kaarina and the rest of the village, Mack stood up from the table and stretched his arms in front of him. He’d had maybe a couple too many sips of the Senko in his mug, but he wasn’t feeling off balance. It was enough to make him bold, not stupid.

  Okko was up and stretching elaborately in the place where the gymnasts had performed not long before.

  Mack, still in his slacks, shirt, and tie, did some basic stretches just so he didn’t stare at the ground waiting for Okko to decide he was ready. He should have asked Kaarina what moves Okko had, but it had all happened so quickly and now there was no time to get advice.

  He was going to have to just deal with whatever Okko threw in his direction.

  Okko finished his stretches and stood with his arms by his sides, his hands curled into fists. “Ready?” he barked.

  Mack didn’t feel ready but nodded anyway. He’d expected more ceremony or fanfare before the duel began, but the second his head moved in the affirmative, Okko lunged.

  He didn’t have a physical weapon in his hands, but he had magic probably beyond Mack’s knowledge. He was going to have to play this ridiculously careful, in case something unexpected happened. This might be a spar, but Okko seemed like the kind of guy who would let his anger get the better of him and take it too far.

  It wasn’t a risk he was willing to take in any case. He would just assume that Okko would go for the kill if he had the opportunity, and he could never leave himself open.

  Of course, never leaving himself open was hard when he didn’t know what he was leaving himself open to.

  He sidestepped a punch aimed straight at his face and Okko went careening past him. If that was the best the guy had, then maybe it wouldn’t be much of a challenge after all. He might not even need to use the new punching move he’d acquired.

  But Okko was obviously just testing Mack with that opening move. From inside the sleeves of the plain brown tunic he wore, vines began to curl around his hand and formed into daggers that he wielded with such a tight grip his knuckles turned white.

  Mack was caught off guard for a moment just watching the plants move and wondering how resilient they would actually be as a weapon—too distracted notice how much quicker Okko was moving toward him this time. He only just avoided the attack with a quick movement of his right leg, but it wasn’t enough to stop the daggers coming into any contact.

  They dragged across the front of his chest and cut straight through his shirt. The bottom of his tie fell into the dirt beneath them. He hated that tie anyway.

  Mack grunted as the daggers sliced straight through his skin, but it wasn’t from pain. The pain hadn’t hit yet, and the cuts weren’t so deep that they would slow him down at all. He didn’t know how the daggers had managed to be so sharp when they were just plants, but he learned his lesson and didn’t allow himself to dwell on it right then and there.

  He turned, dropping back into his defensive stance and narrowing his eyes.

  He wasn’t going to be humiliated by this idiot.

  Okko flashed a grin at Mack when he saw the stance. His grip tightened further on the daggers and then he charged again.

  Mack didn’t mind being on the defensive. He was good at defending and counter attacking rather than being offensive himself. It was all part of how people underestimated him; he let them tire themselves out, put themselves out of position, and then he could strike.

  That was exactly what Okko did now. He over complicated things by using more magic than was necessary, putting a foot in a position that made his
stance weaker so that he could make the grass wrap around Mack’s right foot and hold him where he was.

  The second Okko put his left foot out of place, Mack used the grass around his foot as an anchor to deliver a swift roundhouse kick to Okko’s side. The kick wasn’t any more powerful than before he’d been given the powers by Jakke, but his speed had noticeably improved, and that was what ensured the kick connected. The misplaced foot meant that Okko lost his balance and stumbled a little, even though the force of the blow wasn’t that strong.

  And then he could deliver the final blow. A swift punch with each hand to the face that was impossible to dodge by the unstable Okko.

  Rage almost propelled Mack forward to keep punching even though he’d sent Okko flying to the floor and easily won the duel. He knew he could have kept going, he could have used the power inside him to completely decimate the tool who was writhing on the ground.

  But he held himself back, focusing instead on the root holding his foot down to the ground and trying to get it free. But it came away on its own as Okko fell unconscious.

  Kaarina was almost immediately in his vision, with her hands resting on his chest. He thought she was just being touchy-feely at first, until he saw the wounds Okko had opened with his plant daggers closing.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Is he okay?” He dared a glance around to see how the villagers had taken his easy defeat of their supposed best fighter. People were hauling him up and giving him a slap in the face to wake him up. They didn’t seem too concerned.

  “He’ll be fine. He might have a bit of a bruised ego that even our magic cannot heal. He will be upset about that one.” She grinned.

  Mack laughed. “Can’t say I don’t think he deserves it.”

  “You were really incredible. You move so quickly.”

  Mack just smiled. He didn’t have a proper explanation for that one.

  They returned to the table, and Okko, when he came around, stormed off into a house rather than rejoining the festivities. Mack drank more of the Senko than was probably a good idea, and chatted enthusiastically with the villagers, who were eager to keep telling him stories about their past.

  Several people apologized for Okko’s anger and said that there was no honor in the way he’d acted. High on his victory, Mack told them it was nothing to worry about. Kaarina hung on his every word.

  When the sun had set completely, people started to leave the table.

  “My father said you can stay with us tonight,” Kaarina said. “We have a small spare room. It’s nothing much but it’s a bed for the night.”

  “Thank you.”

  They stood up, and Mack said goodnight to the people who still remained at the table, lit only by a small cluster of candles and three moons in the sky. His legs were a little more unstable than he’d have liked.

  The blacksmithing shop was small, and they had to walk through it to get to the house behind. He would have stayed and had a look around the shop at the various weapons, to see how similar they were to ones on Earth, but Raita was guiding them straight to the house. He bolted the door to the blacksmith shop as soon as they were all through it.

  He lowered his head slightly toward Mack. “Kaarina will show you your room. This old man has had too much to drink and too much excitement for one day. I hope I’ll see you before you’re on your way in the morning.”

  “Goodnight,” Mack said, lowering his head in what he assumed was respect, too.

  That left him and Kaarina alone. “This way,” she instructed, beckoning for him to follow.

  The house was tiny, the living room and kitchen all one thing. There was no running water, and the stove was just a wood-burning fire with a griddle over it. The couch was rickety looking, and he had no idea what kind of bed his aching body was going to get. It definitely wasn’t going to be covered in a memory-foam mattress topper like his one at home.

  They walked through a door and he was greeted by a tiny box room filled completely with a slightly-bigger-than-single bed that had a rough but warm looking blanket. “I hope it’s okay,” she said. “Like I said, it’s nothing luxurious.”

  “It’s perfect.” They both lingered by the door. Mack leaned on the door frame and Kaarina was agonizingly close, staring at her feet.

  She cleared her throat and gestured to the door beside his. “That’s my room. If you need anything.”

  “Thanks.”

  Mack swallowed. He’d only known the girl a few hours, but he was seriously considering taking a step forward and cupping her face in his hands and kissing her.

  She glanced up at him and then swiftly away again. “Okay. I’ll leave you to it. Like I said, let me know if you need anything.” She dithered for a final second before turning away and going into the room beside his.

  Mack didn’t move. His heart was thudding in his chest and he replayed every interaction he’d had with Kaarina that night. She’d been touching him, leaning close, looking up at him with those gorgeous wide eyes.

  She was into him.

  She was into him and, just like her father had said, he would be leaving again in the morning. He would probably never see her again.

  There was nothing to lose.

  He pushed himself away from the door frame and up to Kaarina’s door. He glanced over his shoulder at the other side of the room where Raita’s door was. Plenty far enough away that he would never know the difference.

  Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his knuckles so lightly on Kaarina’s door he wasn’t even sure she’d hear them.

  Her door was wrenched open immediately and she stood in the doorway looking up at him with wide eyes. “What—”

  He didn’t hesitate anymore and took a large step forward, putting him right in Kaarina’s personal space. Their bodies pressed against each other, and her lips parted. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

  He half expected her to pull away, but she looped her arms around his neck instead, pushing herself onto her tiptoes.

  There was no way he wasn’t going to make the final move now. He brushed his lips softly against hers at first, some part of him still expecting her to pull away even now. But she didn’t. Her full lips molded perfectly against his, but she still let him take the lead. He deepened the kiss, and suddenly she was all fire, tasting divine.

  She pulled him into her room and shut the door too-loudly behind herself. He pushed her against it. Their hands were all over each other and his mind was blank.

  He wasn’t expecting her to push him away anymore. Not even as he lifted her shirt over her head and started guiding her toward the bed. She was just as eager. More eager, even, to get his shirt and tie off and to touch his bare chest.

  They collapsed onto the bed together, both ending up completely naked. The blanket wasn’t as rough against his back as he’d expected.

  He spent the entire time worried that Kaarina was being too loud, but she seemed to have no qualms about the noises she was making. At one point, Mack put his hand over her lips with wide eyes and said, “I’m pretty sure these wooden doors aren’t that thick.”

  She just kissed his palm and gave him an impish grin. “Magic.”

  When they were finished, they lay together in the bed cocooned in each other’s arms in the center rather than spreading out.

  Kaarina pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder. “You might have to go back to your room before the morning though. If my father does find you in here, he’s not going to be impressed—and he’s an early bird.”

  Mack didn’t want to know how severely unimpressed Raita would be if he knew what had just been done to his daughter. On the other hand, interrupting the embrace with her naked body was taking more will power than Mack possessed evidently.

  “Just don’t let me fall asleep.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “But I don’t want to leave just yet.”

  She curled further into his side. “You’re so different to everyone here.”

  “And you�
�re so different to everyone from where I’m from.”

  “Where are you from?” she snuck in now they were in such an intimate moment together.

  “Earth.”

  “The earth?” she asked, nonplussed.

  “You know it?”

  “I mean, the soil.”

  “No. Earth. It’s the name of the place that I’m from.”

  “Where is it?”

  “I… I don’t know if I can explain that. I don’t know how I even came to be here to tell you.”

  “You’re lost?”

  “Yeah. I guess I am.”

  “You can stay here.”

  “No, I can’t. I have some things that I need to do.” Though the offer was awfully tempting right then. Stay here with Kaarina. He could almost picture it, for a few weeks, or months. He closed his eyes and slowly inhaled, drawing her all in. Maybe forever…

  But he knew that even if he hadn’t made a deal with Jakke about learning how to control the powers that had been bestowed on him, sitting in a town this small for the rest of his life wasn’t going to keep him satisfied, even if it did have the beautiful Kaarina in it.

  “Oh. Okay.” She seemed hurt. “Will you come back some time?”

  “If you’d like me too.”

  She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I would. But right now, I’m falling asleep, so you have to leave.”

  It took all Mack’s strength to peel himself away from her. He was stuffing the remnants of his tie into his pocket when she sat up, blanket falling away and revealing her bare chest, which seemed in defiance of gravity. She took him by the collar and pulled him back down for a kiss. He only just stopped it turning into something more.

  “You must promise you’re not going to leave in the morning without saying goodbye to me,” she said, staring deep into his eyes. “Promise.”

  “I promise.”

  Mack returned to his room fully clothed, taking a glance at the still shut door of Raita as he eased his way back into his own room. There, he collapsed on his bed and took a deep breath.

  Well, he definitely hadn’t expected that when he’d made the deal with Jakke to accept the powers. Everything that had happened in the past day felt like a dream. He half-expected to wake up in the morning and find himself back in his bed in San Diego, the office and the assholes in it all waiting for him.