Snatched

by Vijaya Schartz

  Zania delicately took the point of the blade away. "Kneel?"

  Accepting her fate at the hand of a technologically advanced race was one thing. But submitting to a prison yard bully just didn’t sit well with Zania. The hall grew eerily quiet as the Amazons gathered around Zania and Dakini, keeping a safe distance.

  Zania wouldn’t let her first impression be that of a weakling. She straightened up to her full height. "I am Zania Nolev, Lieutenant in the North American Federation Army. I only kneel before my gods. Last time I checked, you weren’t one of them."

  "You better add me to your pantheon, upstart." Dakini looked quite serious. "I give you three seconds to kneel. One..."

  But Zania wouldn’t commit sacrilege by even pretending to worship a mere woman, queen or not. The point of the queen’s sword rose again to rest on Zania’s throat. This was too much. Zania pivoted, kicked the sword that clattered on the flagstone. She now faced Dakini on equal grounds.

  Dakini smiled, revealing two rows of perfectly white teeth. "So, that’s the way you want it?" Her eyes suddenly filled with malevolence. "No one insults the Queen of the Amazons," she said on her breath for Zania alone. Dakini motioned to the Gorgon, "Medusa?"

  The Gorgon joined Dakini’s side and the other Amazons widened the circle.

  Exalted by her own bravado, running on adrenaline, Zania pointed to her new old friend. "Morrigan?"

  But Morrigan shook her head apologetically. "Don’t do this, Zania. Please..." She looked terrified.

  Wasn’t that just perfect! Her would-be girlfriend was a coward to boot! Now Zania would have to face the two most powerful fighters of the tribe on her own.

  Dakini laughed and motioned to other Amazons. One at a time, the strongest elements in the tribe joined her ranks. Now seven warriors encircled Zania and more detached themselves from the onlookers to gang up on her.

  Zania had a bad feeling about this. No wonder Morrigan didn’t want any part of it. She must have known this wouldn’t be a fair fight, but a punishing onslaught. So be it. First training day would be a bitch. They wouldn’t dare kill her. Zania had fetched a high price and her new owners valued their investment.

  Remembering her military training, Zania knew they couldn’t all attack at the same time. Before Dakini could give a signal, Zania launched herself on the queen. The first kick connected with her jaw.

  Surprised Dakini held her jaw and yelled, "Get her!"

  Zania immediately dropped to the ground and rolled into the legs of the Amazons coming to the queen’s rescue. Alarmed, the onlookers retreated behind the pillars or climbed to the safety of the stone bleachers.

  Zania tripped the Gorgon, who splattered on the flagstone. Running then turning back to face her opponents one at a time, Zania focused solely on the instant. Her field of vision widened as she calmed her mind and set herself to automatic battle mode.

  She blocked an oncoming strike, twisted a foot in mid air, ducked a fist, punched an exposed belly button, rammed a spine with her head, kicked a rib cage, side stepped a charge. Emotionless, she acted and reacted with quick, eye-body coordination.

  So far she’d avoided hits to any vital parts. But soon she would tire. What then? Would they finish her off?

  Using the very strength of her opponent, Zania threw an adversary across the room. She hoped the variety of bare hand techniques learned in her martial arts days would surprise the others.

  Cheers and jeers erupted from the spectators, but this was a matter of principle. Zania wouldn’t submit. The adrenaline started to wear off, though. Her breath grew ragged. Her chest would explode if she didn’t stop. Yet, she couldn’t afford to give up.

  As her strength waned, Zania’s kicks lost power, and her punches missed. Then a fist to the face made her see sparks. She fell to the flagstone. During the pummeling that ensued, Zania folded herself in a fetus position and tried to protect her ribs. A kick to the back of the head sent her into a land where she couldn’t feel the pain anymore. The sounds of the training hall faded in the distance, then all went black.

  *****

  Zania’s head pounded. Someone probed her ribs. "Ouch!"

  "Don’t move, you’ll make it worse." It was Morrigan’s reassuring voice.

  How could it be worse? Only one of Zania’s eyes opened, the other felt stiff and swollen, encrusted with dry blood. She could see Morrigan applying a yellow goo on her painful ribs. It stunk of rotten fish. "What’s that?"

  "A local poultice. Works wonders on bruises." Morrigan expertly lifted her mid section to slide a rolled bandage under her, then she wound it tight around Zania’s chest.

  Zania could now see that she lay on her bunk in the dorm. No other Amazon seemed to be around. "Anything broken?"

  "You’ll live." Morrigan seemed good at nursing. "You’ve seen much worse."

  Zania wondered when. Had her friend cared for her like this in their common future? It seemed likely, given Zania’s reckless tendencies. But Zania didn’t want to ask. Better to go along and learn as much as possible. "Just like old times..."

  Morrigan laughed. "Sorry, in the euphoria of seeing you again, I forgot to warn you about Dakini."

  "Thanks for supporting me back there..." Zania couldn’t help the sarcastic tone.

  "It wouldn’t have helped at all." Morrigan ripped the end of the strip and tied the bandage around Zania’s chest. "Then we’d both be in terrible shape, with no one to take care of us."

  "What’s Dakini’s problem?" Zania winced at the sting of the salve on her cut arm.

  "She enforces the discipline and works closely with the owners. In return, she enjoys special privileges." Morrigan patted the arm and now inspected Zania’s head. "Just like Svend is in charge of the Viking warriors."

  "Svend?" The name brought a vision of his heavenly body. Heavenly?

  Morrigan frowned. "You know him?"

  "Kind of." Zania wondered how much to tell the red head, but she rather liked the woman. It felt good to have a friend. "We fought."

  "You are joking." Morrigan paused from applying salve on Zania’s swollen eyelid. "No one fights Svend and lives."

  "I suspect he let me win." Zania had spoken too fast but couldn’t take back the words.

  "Wow!" Morrigan’s face froze. She glanced around the empty dorm before whispering, "Never let Dakini find this out. She is the jealous type. The fact that you don’t like men won’t protect you if Svend favors you in any way."

  "You mean..." Zania raised her head from the pillow so Morrigan could bandage it.

  "Dakini has a claim on Svend." Morrigan secured the bandage over Zania’s eye. "They are an item, and she will kill anyone who gets in her way."

  Zania let her head fall back on the pillow and winced from the painful jolt.

  "Just perfect!"

  Chapter Four

  The next morning, the war cries of the Amazons and the clash of blades filled the musty air of the training hall. Zania stepped inside and stretched her stiff muscles. She’d overslept, and she would have preferred more time to heal her wounds, but Morrigan had insisted.

  The salves had worked miracles. The swelling had gone down around her eye, and although Zania would have to go easy on her braced ribs, the bruises already waxed yellow. Her friend’s potion effectively dulled the pain without slowing Zania down, or making her drowsy.

  Dakini, the Amazon queen, was fighting the gorgon and paid her no heed. Zania hoped the nasty woman wouldn’t start another confrontation.

  Morrigan, up in the bleachers, rose and rushed down to take Zania’s hand. "You are late. This way." She dragged Zania toward a red circle painted on the stone floor. "I saved the space for us. Go pick your weapon."

  On the far wall, Zania scanned a number of labrys, the double blade hatchet she’d learn to recognize as the symbol of the Amazons. Ignoring strange blades with curved or straight shapes, spears, daggers and axes, Zania selected a Japanese katana. She’d practiced the long sword back home and hoped to impress Morrigan
with her technique.

  Swishing the sword to check its balance, Zania returned to the ring.

  Morrigan hefted some kind of naginata, a slightly curved blade at the end of a long shaft. "There is a public fight in five days." She whirled the weapon with dexterity, lowering the blade. "Your name is on the list."

  "Five days?" Zania needed to get in shape fast. "Why would the owners want me to fight so soon? I just got here."

  "You defeated Svend, didn’t you?" Morrigan’s tone carried faint irony. "They probably can’t wait to show you off and get their money back."

  "Isn’t that perfect?" Zania adjusted her two-handed grip on the sword hilt, right hand forward, left hand back. As her teacher back home always said, there was no such thing as a left-handed samurai. She raised the blade in a defensive stance.

  Morrigan gyrated the long shaft above her head like a chopper blade, making it difficult to approach from any side. Zania wished she’d chosen a weapon with a longer reach. She stabbed below.

  The slight woman deflected her thrust. Her wiry frame could deceive any opponent. She was strong and precise in her jabs and slices with the wicked blade.

  But Zania didn’t give her a chance to break through her defenses. Soon, her muscles warmed and loosened. She ignored the dull pain in her rib cage and enjoyed the flexing of her thighs. As strength returned to her arms, she increased the speed of her repeated attacks.

  Morrigan blocked and accelerated her blows.

  Zania’s coordination improved, as if her body had never forgotten, even during all these years of inactivity. Amazing how quickly her old instincts returned.

  As Zania started to feel winded, the din of the practice hall ebbed and quieted. She stopped to stare at the man standing in the doorway. Svend! Bare to the waist, in black leather pants and boots, he reminded her of Hercules, with the face of Adonis.

  Something stirred in Zania’s chest. "What is he doing here?"

  Morrigan shrugged.

  As if to answer the question, Dakini strutted over to Svend and greeted him with a warm smile. Svend looked embarrassed, almost shy, facing the Amazon queen. When she kissed him lightly on the cheek, he looked down.

  Zania’s disappointment tightened her jaw. Why couldn’t he stand his ground against the bitch? For Aries’ sake, be a man! Used to aggressive military types, Zania had no patience for doormats. How could such a strong man have no backbone?

  Morrigan shook Zania’s shoulder. "Are you gawking?"

  "No." Zania hoped she didn’t blush. She forced a laugh. "Don’t be silly." Pretending to adjust her wrist brace, she kept watching.

  Svend followed Dakini to the central training ring and caught a battle axe the Gorgon threw at him. As Svend and Dakini fought, Zania found it difficult to tear her gaze from the unlikely couple.

  Nevertheless, she glanced at Morrigan. "Maybe if we watched, we could learn something."

  Morrigan nodded. "It’s time for a break anyway." She went to the stone bleacher, laid down her long-handle blade and sat.

  Zania backed up and sat next to her.

  Glancing at Zania, Morrigan frowned. "Good thing I know you don’t like men. The way you look at him, I might get jealous."

  Zania shrugged off the comment and made an effort to face Morrigan. "How come he can train with the Amazons?"

  "He’s the champion. We can all learn from his experience." Morrigan laid a possessive hand around Zania’s waist. "The owners probably requested that he teach us for the coming event."

  Although uncomfortable at Morrigan’s touch, Zania didn’t dare move away for fear of alienating her friend. But knowledge was power. "And who are these elusive owners?"

  "No one knows." Morrigan’s smile softened. She obviously enjoyed Zania’s contact. "We only see the grays. This is a highly illicit trade. If the good citizens of this planet discover this facility, the owners can deny having anything to do with us. I’ve asked. No one knows who runs this place."

  "Not even Svend or Dakini?"

  Morrigan shook her head. "They only deal with the grays."

  "The guards? Do they know?" Someone in that place had to know something.

  "I don’t think so. They receive their orders through talking machines."

  Zania smiled at the archaic description. Obviously Morrigan came from a primitive culture.

  "So many secrets..." If only Zania could figure out a few of them, maybe she could devise an escape plan.

  Svend fought almost effortlessly, quick and light on his feet despite his tall frame. His face remained unreadable and he didn’t flinch at Dakini’s strikes. He, golden, and Dakini so dark. Somehow, Zania couldn’t imagine them as a couple.

  To think of it, where did Svend get his tan? Not underground. And where did Zania get hers for that matter? Would it fade over time? Or was it a permanent gift from the Collectors, like her smooth, flawless skin. So many questions...

  With each thrust, each strike, each block, a slight sheen enhanced the play of light and shadow on the planes of Svend’s hard muscles.

  Zania ached to caress his smooth chest. She quickly banished the thought. This man had sampled the most beautiful girls in the galaxy, and he submitted to Dakini’s advances like a lamb. How could Zania even think of him that way?

  When Svend winked at Zania in the middle of a strike, she couldn’t believe his audacity. She glanced at Morrigan to make sure the girl didn’t notice. If she did, she didn’t show it.

  When Dakini called a recess. the Amazons rose and applauded.

  Svend wiped his brow with his forearm as he came straight to Zania. "What happened to you?"

  Remembering the black eye and multiple bruises, Zania lied. "Rough training yesterday."

  "I’d say." Morrigan stepped forward and faced Svend, placing herself between the two, as if to challenge him.

  Svend winked at Morrigan, then he stared at Zania above the shorter woman’s head. "When we fought, I noticed you have a few interesting moves. I’d like to practice with you, study your tactics and teach you mine." He smiled to Morrigan. "If you don’t mind."

  Elated at the idea of practicing with Svend, Zania couldn’t help but grin. "She doesn’t mind." She glanced at her friend for confirmation. "Right, Morrigan?"

  Morrigan held both hands up in surrendering and stepped back to give them space. Dakini had resumed fighting with the Gorgon, but she kept glancing toward Zania and Svend.

  Zania squinted at Svend. "I’ll study your weaknesses, so I can win fair and square when we fight for real."

  "You are welcome to try." Svend grinned in an infuriating way. Who did he think he was? He tossed the axe from hand to hand as if to show he was ambidextrous. "The more each of us knows, the more chances of survival for the whole stable."

  So he cared about everyone’s well being... One of the few decent people left in this cutthroat world. Was that his only reason for saving her life? She hoped not. Somehow, Zania wanted to be special in this man’s eyes. Gripping the sword, she raised it slowly.

  "Ready?" She couldn’t help the eagerness in her voice.

  The axe whirled. Zania ducked just in time to avoid losing her head at the neck. She’d better step up her guard. Given Svend’s obvious strength and powerful weapon, she had to improvise. But he didn’t intimidate her. Zania had fought worse in her native world... berserk sand demons.

  Enjoying the challenge, Zania moved faster now. She parried, thrust and sliced, not worried about hurting Svend. He obviously could take care of himself. Once, she nicked his side. The thin trickle of blood brought a collective gasp from the Amazons. Zania realized then that they’d gathered to watch the exchange, and that included Dakini.

  Ignoring the black stare of the Amazon queen, heartened by her small victory, Zania kept charging, avoiding Svend’s quick assaults. This time, she had the superior reach with the long sword, and she intended to make use of it. But Svend didn’t let his guard down. When he charged, Zania rolled in a ball and tripped his feet.

 
Unable to slow the momentum of his attack, Svend toppled to the flagstone and Zania leapt on top of him. The position reminded her of their first encounter, when she thought she’d vanquished him. His warmth against her thighs brought lusty images, and she felt herself blush.

  The distraction allowed Svend to knock off her sword and roll over her. Her back pressed against the cold stone floor, with the axe poised above her throat, Zania stared into icy gray eyes. The savage grin on Svend’s face made her want to slap him but her body burned with a different kind of fire. How she wanted to kiss him. Kiss?

  Did he pick up on her thought? His eyes softened. He winked and lightly sprung to his feet, giving her space.

  Zania rose. Facing Svend, she bowed slightly in warrior fashion, accepting her defeat at the hand of a worthy opponent. Inside, however, she reeled with the unexpected attraction she felt for the man.

  Svend nodded, accepting her mark of respect, and the Amazons clapped in appreciation of a good fight.

  Morrigan rushed to Zania. "Are you okay?"

  "I’m fine." But Zania kept watching Svend, who tossed the axe back to the Gorgon then walked out of the practice hall without another word or a backward glance.

  Dakini walked up to Zania, dark eyes flashing. "If this was a real fight, you’d be dead!" She seemed to take pleasure in the idea.

  For some strange reason, Zania felt certain that Svend would never harm her, even in the arena, but she didn’t mention it. "In a real fight, I might have fought harder."

  "Did you whine to him about our little scuffle?" Dakini’s bravado seemed to hide deep insecurities. What did she fear? What power did Svend have over her?

  "I’m not a snitch." Zania scooped up her sword and faced Dakini, almost daring her to attack.

  Dakini ignored the taunt. "Lucky for you. What happens in the Amazon quarters stays in the Amazon quarters."

  "Or else?" Why did Zania feel the need to antagonize the vicious queen?