by Candy Crum
Her fists clenched at her side and her mind wandered to the lives at stake back in her land. Innocent people going about their business and trying to do right, in danger from beasts that had no compassion.
This man may have been human, but he was no different.
And there was nothing Bast or her sister hated worse than assholes who had no respect for life.
She felt a familiar tingle travel through her arm and down into her hand, signaling she was ready. She gave a broad smile as she lightly shook her head, her eyes flashing bright blue as she did. "You're really gonna wish you hadn't told me to do this."
Bast’s fist hit him directly in the jaw, power exploding from her hand. She felt the bone in his face disintegrate under the blow and he was thrown several feet back. He screamed in pain as he hit the ground, but was unable to continue when the air was knocked out of him.
Her smile grew darker as she turned to the large group of men, arms rising out from her sides briefly as she said, "So, who's next?"
Another man ran directly for her, this one much broader and even a little taller than the other. He looked like he had been on a farm most of his life.
Her eyes grew bluer as she dropped to the ground, punching him directly in the knee with the same strength as before. The joint and epiphyses of the surrounding bones shattered, and she stood and drove her fist hard into his face, power once again exploding out of her hand. Just as his friend had before him, he flew several feet back and hit the ground.
His face was crushed in behind his broken nose, and his eyes were open and stared blankly. There was no doubt in her mind he was dead, but that didn't matter. She saw at least two dead rearick on the ground, so he had deserved it.
"Hey, fellas, don't let me keep you all to myself! I bet my sister would just love to get to know you better. Right, Sis?" Bast asked, glancing at the other girl.
As Cleo stepped forward, the rims of her irises started to turn blue and the darkness of the color began to slowly bleed into the natural green of her eyes. She gave the same dark smile her sister had as she stepped forward, balling her right hand into a fist and lightly punching it into her left palm.
"Oh, yes. There's plenty of us to go around, boys," she said with a wink.
The men looked at one another with fear in their expressions, their gazes darting to the much smaller but still terrifying teenage girls as they debated hard about what they should do.
Cleo turned to Bast, poking her bottom lip out as if she were pouting. "Aw, Bast, I don't think they like me."
Bast's jaw dropped open in feigned horror. "That's just rude. Maybe we should just make the first move."
Cleo laughed. "Yeah. Karma’s a bitch, boys. I think it’s time you met her."
The bandits turned and ran, but that only made things easier for the girls. They now had clear shots, because the men were no longer holding blades to the rearick’s throats.
They were free to attack.
Both Cleo and Bast charged after them, channeling their power through their feet as they sprinted. Their magic propelled them forward, making their strides several times longer than their much taller opponents and allowed them to move faster than any other human they had ever met.
Cleo jumped, landing on the back of one of the men and taking him to the ground, where they rolled several times before coming to a stop. She leapt up to her feet, diving forward and punching him hard in the stomach with her normal strength, though it was enough to do the job.
He stumbled back several feet before falling, curling up in a ball as he struggled to breathe.
She turned and ran for another, but was confronted with a sword. She jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the brunt of the hit, but it still slashed across her chest. She cried out in pain, but her anger at being injured only drove her harder.
Charging forward, she ducked another swing, coming up to hit her attacker hard in the ribs as she channeled a blast of power through her fist and directly into him.
He dropped the sword and clutched his side as he gasped for air. She had no doubt she had punctured his lung with one of his broken ribs, but she also knew he wasn't going to have to worry about it much longer. She snatched the sword and swung, slicing clean through his neck.
At that point, the rearick were back in the fight again, swinging hammers and kicking asses again.
Bast shoved one of her opponents away to allow her to deal with the other, kneeing him in the groin before delivering a power-packed punch to the side of his head, which dropped him.
As the first one recovered from the shove, he charged at her, but she was prepared. She caught him completely off-guard when she did a front handspring, wrapping her legs around his head before folding up and punching him hard in the face.
As he fell backward, she slid down his body and rolled to her feet. The last two men were being taken down by the rearick. As soon as they were out of commission, she and her sister went over to the rearick.
"The rest of you guys okay? I know you lost a couple, but how are the rest of you?" Bast asked.
Cleo clutched her chest, the blood from the wound not really showing up against her black shirt.
One of the rearick pointed. "We got some bumps and bruises, but yer sis there is the one ta worry ‘bout."
Bast’s eyes went wide when the gap in her sister’s shirt revealed a long gash. "Cleo, are you okay?" she asked as she rushed to her side.
An older rearick broke through the others and walked over, both old and new battle scars covering his face and down his arms.
"I don't mean ta look at yer goods, young lass, but I've seen me fair share o’ battles an’ battle wounds. Let me take a gander. I ain't no healer, but I can sure patch ye up good enough ta get ya back ta a med bed in Craigston. Maybe even ta Arcadia if it ain’t too bad.”
Cleo dropped to her knees, exhausted from the magic use and weak from blood loss. She turned her back to the others while the older rearick pulled her shirt back to examine her. He was careful to keep her breasts covered as he looked at the places that were bleeding the worst.
"It needs stitches, lass, but ye'll be fine. I've done ‘em enough times. I can do it for ye, or I can tell yer sis how ta do it. I understand if ye're more comfortable with her."
Bast knelt next to the rearick and across from her sister. "I've put stitches in my own wounds by myself, but I've never put any in someone else. Let him do it. I don't want to make things worse."
Cleo nodded, not really having the energy to argue with anyone at the moment. "Thank you…"
"The name's Sven," the rearick replied.
"Well, thank you, Sven. I appreciate you helping me," Cleo said weakly.
The rearick was standing now, and he smiled and shook his head. "Lass, if not fer ye and yer sis here, we'd all be dead. A stitch or two is the least I can do."
Sven went back to his group and gave them orders to separate their own dead from the rest and get them in the carts. He grabbed an emergency pack and carried it back before kneeling in front of Cleo again. He handed her a large jug before opening the pack.
"What's that?" Cleo asked as she took it. She had to use both hands to hold it.
He smiled as he dug through his bag. "That's whiskey," he replied with a bit of amusement in his voice. "Ye'll wanna take a few drinks o’ that. Big ‘uns. This ain’t gonna be pleasant, ‘specially when I dump some o’ that across yer chest ta clean the wound. It appears I left me antiseptic back in town."
The sisters looked at one another, wide-eyed, and Bast shrugged. "The mystics did tell us the rearick made good booze."
Sven laughed. "It might taste like a bucket o’ goat’s piss that’s had rusty nails soakin’ in it fer a week in the hot sun, but it’s sure as hell effective."
Cleo glanced at him in disgust.
Bast smiled. "And they said they were interesting people."
Cleo shook her head as she lifted the jug to her mouth, pausing before taking a sip. "Is this shit strong eno
ugh to kill the pain?"
He shook his head and smiled as he threaded the needle. "Lass, that’s strong enough ta make ye forget it tastes like shite. Now, start drinkin’, ‘cuz I'm ‘bout ta start stitchin’ ye from shoulder ta rib."
Cleo hissed in pain as she sat up a little straighter. "Sounds like this is gonna be a fun day." She tilted the jug back with both hands, taking several big gulps while trying not to throw up.
CHAPTER EIGHT
During Arryn's downtimes, she had been working with Corrine on her healing skills. It took patience, but between her lessons with Arryn and being in the Chieftain’s healing class with the other children, she was picking it up fast.
Today, however, Arryn decided she wanted to take a little time for herself. Every day, she dedicated all her time to everyone else from the moment she woke to the time she went to sleep.
Although she trained in combat techniques with Nika, Elysia, and Cathillian, today she wanted to work on her magic, some of which couldn't be taught by the others. She had to teach herself.
Midday, while Arryn was supposed to be relaxing and enjoying her hour to herself, she went to the river. She loved the water, and the river had always been a beautiful spot—but today wouldn’t be for rest.
Arryn wore nothing but a pair of leather shorts and a tight-fitting shirt, clothing that was suitable for swimming if her practice went badly. She stepped to the water, her toes sinking into the little bit of sand along its edge.
She took a deep breath and held it for a moment before slowly blowing it out, her eyes closing as she focused. When she opened them, they had turned black, and her power encircled her.
Carefully, she touched her toe to the surface of the water, freezing it solid as she slowly put weight on it. As her foot pressed down, the ice dipped under the surface, and the current immediately carried it away.
She sighed as she realized she was going to have to put a bit more effort into it. Taking another deep breath, she once again touched her toes to the surface, the water again freezing under her foot.
She pushed harder, the ice growing downward until it meshed with the bed of the river.
Arryn cautiously placed her weight on the ice again, but this time its wide base was buried deep in the dirt and rock beneath the water and it held her steady. She moved her other foot forward, daring to take another step onto the surface and repeating the process.
By the time she reached the center of the river, she was heavily regretting not having worn shoes. She looked at the edge, just where the grass began, and saw her warrior clothing lying there.
Stretching out her hand, she levitated her pants over to her, and quickly folded them and placed them on the ice beneath her feet.
She didn't feel quite as connected to the water as she had before, but she took that as a challenge. Focusing hard on the ice below her, she imagined it as a steady pillar below her feet, digging deeply into the river bed.
The trouble was that the water was warm and rushing quickly. If she didn't focus, the river would dissolve her steady pillar in a matter of seconds.
Once she had held it for a minute or two, she decided to challenge herself.
"What are you doing?" Celine asked.
Arryn almost slipped from the distraction. She had been focusing so hard on what she was doing that she had completely forgotten to pay attention to her surroundings.
"Nearly shitting my pants, that's what. You scared the hell out of me."
Celine laughed. "Sorry about that. I heard you headed off in this direction, and I wanted to check on you and make sure you were okay. You don't usually blow everyone off."
Arryn took a couple of deep breaths, centering herself again as she added more ice to the platform. It had already begun to melt with her distraction.
"That's very true, but today I just felt like I needed to train myself. I don't have a physical magic teacher, so the only way I'm going to learn is by practicing. When I came to the Dark Forest, I tried to learn by myself, but it never worked. I could do a couple of things, but that was it. I feel much more open to magic now."
"Well, you have certainly learned a lot since then, especially in the last few months. So, I guess we are focusing on water today?" Celine asked. "You want me to leave you alone?"
Arryn shook her head. "No, actually I can use the distraction. It's good for training, so you’re more than welcome to hang out and talk to me if you want. And yes, I'm working with ice. I remember seeing Mom practice when I was little. She was always best with fire and ice."
"Yeah, you have no idea. When we were younger, I used to pick on her all the time. I was the typical bratty sister. I'd steal her hair clips and hide them in the horse stalls. When she found them, they’d be covered in horse shit."
Arryn started laughing. "You seriously did that to her? That's terrible! Actually, that sounds like something I would do to Cathillian."
"Hey, she deserved it! She ruined my favorite dress. She flicked ink all over it from my father's inkwell, and I had nothing to wear to the big dinner that night. One night she got so mad at me that she set my bed on fire."
Arryn's eyes widened as she looked at her aunt. She felt a wobble in her ice platform and realized she had lost concentration completely on hearing that her mother had nearly killed Celine in a fit of rage.
"Whoa," Arryn said, focusing again. "She must've been pretty pissed off."
She took a deep breath and slowly blew it out, lifting her hands from her sides and keeping her palms flat and facing the water.
"Well, I might have destroyed a few things of Dad's and then told him it was her. She got in so much trouble for that. She had been out with your father that night. It was the first night they’d really spent any time together, and Dad said she was not allowed to see him again for a month. Boy oh boy, was she ever pissed at me."
Arryn smiled as she listened to the story. It made her happy to hear about any of her family, but especially about her mother and father when they were young.
Keeping her focus on the rushing water as well as the ice below her, Arryn lifted her hands slowly, bringing ribbons of water up to her palms. She threw out her right hand, attempting to sling the water like a whip, but instead she completely lost her balance.
The ice below her disappeared as she landed flat on her back in the waist-deep water and was immediately swallowed by it. As she fought the heavy current to come up to the surface, the water surrounding her swirled and froze, lifting her to safety and carrying her to edge of the river.
As the ice set her down on the shore, she saw Celine's eyes fade back to their normal color. Her aunt flipped her hand toward the river, sending the water cascading back into it.
"Your mom wasn't the only one who was really good with water and ice," Celine said with a wink. "Don't be afraid to ask me questions. I'm not as good as she was, but I still might be able to help."
Arryn was still breathing heavily from the combination of magic fatigue and being under the water. She laughed, realizing just how stubborn she had been. She felt as though she had relied on everyone else so much while growing up, and even as an adult, that when she finally figured out how to do things for herself, that was the way it should be.
But it didn't have to be.
Asking for help didn't make her weak, and it didn't make her needy. It made her smart and resourceful. Her community thrived entirely on the push and pull of asking for and giving help. There was no reason she should be any different.
In fact, she felt a little embarrassed.
Arryn nodded. "Thank you. Sometimes I feel like I should try things on my own before I ask for help."
Celine laughed. "That's exactly how bad things happen. Had I not been here, you could've busted your head on a rock when you fell and drowned."
Arryn briefly looked at the river before meeting her aunt’s gaze. At that moment, Celine looked just like Arryn's mother. "Trust me, I won't be doing that again. Well, not alone, anyway."
"I'm glad to h
ear it. So, how are things?" Celine's eyes flashed black as her hands briefly lifted in front of her, the tips of her fingers touching before she pulled her hands apart. The water that had soaked Arryn lifted free of her body and hair, leaving her dry. Celine dropped her hands and the water fell to the ground as her eyes returned to normal.
"Things are good," Arryn said. "But I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work. How about we change tactics? How are you and Samuel? Speaking of good ol’ Sam, where is he this lovely afternoon?"
Both Celine and Arryn turned east to make their way back to the village. Arryn stopped to pick up her training shirt and boots before going any farther.
"If you tell him I told you, he'll kill me, so keep your mouth shut. But he's with the Chieftain. It's downtime for everyone, so he and the Chieftain are training."
Arryn looked at her curiously. "Training? Hand-to-hand or healing?"
Celine looked at her with a shocked expression. "How did you know?"
Arryn winked. "I'm a good judge of ability, and sometimes I just sense things. I can tell when someone is a good person, which was what led me to hate Talia so much, and I can also sense magic. That's kind of a druid thing, though. In fact, I'm sure if you asked any druid here who knows Sam, they’d tell you they could sense the ability in him."
Celine laughed. "You guys are all just being nice to him and not saying anything, aren't you?"
Arryn shrugged. "Honestly, it's my nature to give him a hard time, but I don't for the same reason everyone else here doesn't. Even Cathillian hasn't mentioned it, as far as I know. The rearick hate magic with a passion. They just don't understand it. If we picked on him about his curiosity and desire to learn, he would stop immediately. And his motives are pure, so we don’t want that."
"That's really nice of you guys, especially Cathillian. I'm really quite shocked he hasn't said anything, because he and Samuel are always giving each other a hard time."
Arryn laughed. “Oh, trust me, the time is getting near. Once Cathillian figures that Sam knows what he's doing and that it won’t matter if he quits or not, he'll start picking on him pretty good."
