VOIDWALKER

by M. L. Brooks

  Adair’s whole team watched Masi with surprise, except Shea who seemed more focused on Nathaniel. Adair had expected Masi to run around them during the fight. She knew that Masi was going to be agile but her grappling hook had taken them by surprise. She turned her attention back to Nathaniel and drew her sword. Her team followed suit and Raz drew his sword followed by Petra who whipped out her nunchaku and threw her cloak to the ground.

  Shea clutched her pendant and started whispering under her breath. Adair actually inched back, unsure about how to attack them without opening herself up. Sensing her trepidation, Petra stepped in and took point. Raz moved into formation on Petra’s right. Nathaniel’s guards drew their swords and crouched down, preparing to fight.

  Shea’s spell finished and the ground beneath the feet of Nathaniel’s team turned to soft, slick mud. They started stumbling and breaking formation. Without missing a beat, Petra jumped in and swung her nunchaku at one of the knights in the center of the formation. She hit him hard in his chest plate, letting out a loud crack as her weapon struck him and he fell into the man to his left. If she had struck his bare chest, she would have likely broken bone.

  Adair and Raz jumped in, taking on the men on the outside of the formation. Adair’s wooden training sword made contact with the sword of the knight in front of her. Catching a glimpse of his features under his helmet, Adair could tell she was fighting Nathaniel. His footing was off and he struggled to keep up with her slashes.

  On the right, Raz was fighting with another knight of a taller, stockier build. They seemed to be almost equally matched in their swordsmanship until the knight pulled his shield forward and battered Raz to the ground. The crowd roared from up above, entertained by watching Raz get knocked down.

  Shea stepped forward and extended her palms in the direction of Raz. The chain of her of her necklace was wrapped around her hand, with the actual moonstone glowing in her palm. The knight in front of Raz lifted his shield to slam it down on Raz. The guard-in-training felt a tingling sensation in his right arm and almost instinctively lifted it to block the shield. When the knight’s shield hit Raz’s arm, the shield splintered and fell apart. Raz’s arm was completely unharmed.

  Raz sprang back to his feet and started swinging his sword at the knight. The two continued their fight back and forth. Raz was faster than the knight but even when he was able to get a strike in, a wooden sword against the metal armor was almost useless. To Raz’s left, Petra kept pushing back the two knights she was fighting against.

  Petra was more wild than graceful, fast and remarkably stronger than the two knights she was fighting. Every move they made she was striking them with her nunchaku or dodging a strike from their swords. She moved in close and used her muscle to keep hounding them. She was fighting against trained warriors but even with two against one they couldn’t beat her.

  Nathaniel managed to turn around to face Adair and with a swing of his shield had knocked her into the wooden fencing behind her. She watched Raz take a strike to the head before falling to the ground. Petra knocked one of the knight’s down but right after, the knight that had been fighting Raz moved in on her. Adair struggled against Nathaniel, trying to get him back from her.

  A strand of golden light flittered by and tied tightly around Nathaniel’s legs. Adair pushed him and he fell over. Adair jumped on top and ripped off Nathaniel’s helmet and started punching him in the head. Shea started chanting, preparing another spell. One of the knights fighting Petra broke away from fighting with her and charged Shea.

  He ripped Shea’s amulet from her hand pulled her blue bonnet off from her head. The audience gasped in surprise and then started cheering him on. Shea’s baby blonde hair flew free from her hat as he snatched it from her. He struck her hard across her face with his gauntlet. She screamed and fell to the ground. Shea’s scream drew Adair’s attention. Adair’s stomach sank as she saw her friend hit the sandy soil of the arena.

  Nathaniel didn’t miss his opportunity to throw Adair off him. She quickly got back to her feet and stepped away from Nathaniel, surveying the battle. They weren’t doing very well, but they didn’t have to win. All they had to do was hold off Nathaniel’s team while Masi captured the flag. With Shea down, the other knight turned back to Adair.

  While the fight was going on Masi had jumped over the tall wooden fencing and landed gracefully on the other side. She quickly identified the enemy tower by their dark blue flag that was waving gently in the breeze. Masi bounded up the stairs of the tower and onto the second floor to retrieve the flag. Just as she reached for the flag she felt a strong force strike her in the back. She toppled over the railing of the second floor and hit the ground below, dust flying up around her. She looked up into the bright sky, the clouds and the audience blurring together. She tried to stand up, every muscle in her body aching from the fall. Masi lost her balance and fell over onto all of fours, still fighting to pull herself together.

  A man in black walked casually down from the tower. He gave Masi a kick in the stomach, knocking her onto her back. Looking up at him she couldn’t see his face as it was obscured by a black mask. She laid back and closed her eyes, her body too sore and disoriented to get up and fight. Seeing his foe successfully laid out, the man continued on to the battlefield.

  When he walked out, he saw Nathaniel and another knight ganging up on Adair. She was fighting them both but they obviously had the upper hand. Another crack echoed across the battlefield as Petra struck down the knight she had been battling with her nunchaku. The man in black ran up and leapt into the air, bending his feet up into a jump kick aimed at Petra.

  She stepped to the side, swinging the polished wood bar of her weapon around at him. He landed with ease and ducked under her attack. As he ducked down, he quickly landed a series of punches into Petra’s hip and abdomen. She stumbled back, taken off guard by his skill in hand to hand combat. She threw down her nunchaku and leaned into her own martial stance.

  Adair fought hard against Nathaniel and the other knight but when she saw the new man in black emerge she knew Masi had failed. Discouraged, she lost her edge and moments later Nathaniel disarmed her with his wooden sword and the other knight struck her down. The two turned toward Petra who was fighting admirably against the man in black. She struck him in the center of his chest with the palm of her hand, knocking him off his feet.

  Nathaniel swung his sword up at her. She blocked it with her arm. The man in black took off and ran around her. Petra rolled away from the knights, picking up her nunchaku from the ground as she went. She was the last one up fighting Nathaniel and his ally. The crowd roared as she whipped Nathaniel with her weapon. Grabbing the bar of her nunchaku, she used it as an extension of her fist and jabbed it into Nathaniel’s neck. He let out of a gurgled cry and clutched his neck as he fell to his knees. When Petra turned to the last knight, he nervously took a step back from her.

  The man in black came back around with Adair’s red flag in hand. It streamed behind him as he ran. The red flag caught Petra’s attention and she maneuvered herself into the path of the black rogue. She tucked her nunchaku into the leather sash around her waist and dove for the red flag. The last knight tackled her. When they fell, Petra managed to position him beneath her. She punched him several times until his body went limp.

  The crowd rose up out of their seats, hollering in delight as the black rogue successfully planted the red flag back in his tower. Petra pounded the dirt in anger as she got back to her feet. Servants with stretchers came out and took the fallen contestants back to their resting areas.

  When Adair returned to consciousness, she was laying on a bench behind the iron gate of the arena. There was a servant cleaning her up with a wet cloth and checking her for injuries. Shea sat at the edge of Adair’s bench, her face sunken into her palms.

  “What was the final score?” asked Adair, trying to keep an optimistic tone in her voice.

  Shea looked up at her.

  “I took out most of them e
arning us eight points but they managed to take the flag back to their base so it ended with them at thirteen,” Petra chimed in.

  Another servant quickly ran into the chamber.

  “Captain Adair! His royal clarity would like to speak to have an audience with you as soon as you are well. He said take your time. You are being summoned but can arrive at your convenience,” stated the messenger. Without awaiting her response, the messenger turned tail and headed back out of the waiting area.

  Adair sat up on the bench and looked around at her teammates. They all looked defeated. The tournament was over, and Adair’s team had lost. Now she had garnered the attention of the king and was curious about what he would have to say.

  CHAPTER 6

  After their defeat, the team split up. Raz and Masi went off in their own directions and Shea, Petra, and Adair went back to The Salty Mug. It was late in the day and the sun had begun to set. As they walked through the town, most people cheered for them and seemed to be impressed by the fight. Adair couldn’t help but wonder how they would have been treated if they had won the match.

  The Salty Mug was alive with people. Inside the bar, lanterns were hung and lit around the room. People were drinking and talking as Shea, Petra, and Adair entered the tavern. Adair’s mother ran over and gave her a big hug.

  “You fought so hard!” her mothered grinned. She pinched Adair’s cheeks and then went back to serving drinks to the tavern customers.

  The three found a table in the corner of the bar. The corner was a little bit darker than the rest of the room. Adair and Shea sat down at the table. The table was sturdy beneath their weight. It was a dark wood that lacked any design or quality finishing work.

  “Petra, where did you learn to fight like that?” asked Adair.

  “I’m from New Valar,” said Petra. She shrugged and headed over to the bar.

  “The women there are renowned for their martial disciplines. When they built their city, they dedicated themselves to the art of war. They effectively mastered the weapon styles of both the Telmencian raiders and the Central kingdoms. Plus, their people were plains warriors so they probably just came from hearty stock to begin with. They’re actually part of the reason women are allowed to be guards here. Our king saw their prowess and wanted his own contingencies,” explained Shea.

  “What about the men?” asked Adair.

  Petra arrived back at the table with three tankards overflowing with froth from the ale inside. She slammed the tankards down, their contents sloshing around onto the table. Her face lit up at Adair’s question.

  “Buy me my next round, and I’ll tell you about our men,” offered Petra.

  “Uhh… Sure,” agreed Adair. She didn’t have much money but she was sure her mother’s hospitality had not been completely worn out yet.

  “Alright you sweaty fish flingers, listen up!” shouted Petra as she raised her tankard. “I’m going to entertain you with a popular tale from my people. If you know it, join in, if you don’t then hum along and pretend!”

  “We need some music. Here…” she started directing the people at the table next to her to stomp and clap their tankards together in a mid-tempo beat. Then Petra started reciting her verse, somewhere between song and spoken word.

  The people of the rose

  Traveled the plains

  Horses and swords

  Torches and pains

  Their last king

  Headed to war

  Leaving his wife

  Children and more

  The Mighty Queen

  Tended her tribe

  That was when

  Enemies arrived

  The Mighty Queen!

  The Mighty Queen!

  That night a hero was born

  The Mighty Queen!

  The Mighty Queen!

  Her crown struck like a thorn

  Raiders of the North

  Death was their quarry

  The queen opened her doors

  They entered in hurry

  She stripped her clothes

  And awaited her prey

  He couldn’t refuse

  Her offer that day

  In ritual combat

  She challenged their chief

  After blood and battle

  He found defeat

  The rose bloomed

  A Queen on her throne

  Her army returned

  But she ruled alone

  Petra had everyone cheering and singing. Adair was certain that half of the crowd had never heard the song before in their lives, but Petra had everyone carrying on through another round of the chorus. After a few rounds of drinking and songs, Adair headed outside and went up to her room.

  Shea followed her up.

  “Did you need something?” asked Adair.

  “I just wanted to say I’m sorry we lost,” replied Shea.

  “It’s not your fault. There were a million things we could have done differently,” said Adair.

  “I just don’t want to fight any more. I want to read and study and help people with my magic. Maybe change the way we do farming or develop new systems for cleaning our water.”

  “That’s an admirable goal. Anyway, I’m exhausted. I’m going to head in,” said Adair.

  They exchanged their goodnights. Adair went into her room and closed the door behind her.

  The next morning Adair got up and started getting dressed. She took the time to braid her hair back and wash her face. After that she opened up a small jar and rubbed a salve against her teeth before rinsing out her mouth with water and spitting it into the basin with her facial water. Adair brushed her thick blonde hair back out of her face. She wanted to be as fresh and clean as possible when she went to see the king.

  When she approached the gates of the Noble’s Quarter the guards recognized her and stepped aside without a word. Even when approaching the castle, the guards did not stop to question her. Everyone recognized who she was after the battle the previous day. People whispered and stared as she entered the castle.

  Adair had never actually been inside the king’s castle before. It was built of the same gray stone as the rest of the city, but she could tell it had been maintained where other structures had not been. Torches hung on the walls and an elaborate blue rug ran the length of the great hall. In front of her were stairs that she could only guess lead up to the throne room.

  As she walked up the stairs, she reached a landing. On either side of the landing were doors leading off to different areas of the castle. She continued up, eventually reaching the top landing. A large wooden door stood shut in front of her. Several guards and nobles were hustling about, attending to different affairs.

  “No no no!” shouted a thin man as he walked toward Adair.

  “The king doesn’t want to see you like this. Couldn’t you have worn something more befitting a meeting with someone of his stature?” asked the man.

  He looked down his strong nose at Adair, his brown eyes darting around her figure. He wore a silver tunic with the diamond of Guardia embroidered over his chest. He had messy brown hair and dark brown eyes. His frame was thin but on that lean frame was the plumpness of someone who had enjoyed a leisurely life in the castle.

  “What do you mean? I’m a knight. I’m dressed appropriately,” said Adair.

  “No no no!” he shouted again. “This won’t do. I can fix it though,” said the man as he took her by the arm.

  Adair pulled her arm back. “Excuse me. Who are you?” she asked.

  “Mitchel. I’m one of the castle reeves. My job is to identify problems and fix them. You’re not going before the king looking like a commoner,” he said, grabbing her arm again. This time she allowed him to lead her down the stairs and off through one of the side rooms.

  In a few minutes, they entered a chamber with a large vanity mirror on one side and several large windows on the opposite side, allowing some natural light to flow through. The wood of the vanity was a rich mahogany color and the surfa
ce of it was covered in potions and tinctures. Adair’s nostrils were filled with the heady scents of exotic perfumes and herbs. The room was well-lit with several lamps on the tables around the room. Several maidens followed in after them.

  “She looks clean enough but fix her hair and put a gown on her,” ordered Mitchel to a couple maidens who were cleaning the hallway outside.

  “Am I really that ba--?” began Adair but she stopped talking when the maidens approached.

  One of the maidens lifted up Adair’s arms and quickly took a couple of measurements using some kind of measuring ribbon. Once she was done, another maiden lead her over to the chair by the vanity and sat her down. She braided Adair’s hair up and over the crown of her head as if it were a tiara. The first girl returned with a deep navy colored dress and a silver sash.

  They pulled Adair up and started undressing her. One of the maidens snickered at Adair’s lack of royal undergarments before pulling out corsets, underskirts, and other small clothes for her. Adair blushed and tried to cover herself for a moment before she realized how futile modesty was going to be in the moment and just resigned herself to letting them do what they needed to do. The whole process of braiding up her hair and switching into the gown took a little over half an hour.

  “It doesn’t quite fit me…” said Adair as she tugged at the fabric of the dress. It was a beautiful gown but she felt like she was playing dress up in someone else’s clothes.

  “Well we had to grab it off the rack, didn’t we? Don’t worry though, love, that’s what the sash is for,” said one of the maids as she quickly tied a bow around Adair’s waist. She tightened the bow up, cinching Adair in at the waist. It made a difference.

  The maiden who did her hair turned her around and with a little brush started highlighting her cheeks with a clear gel that left an ephemeral sheen on the hollows above her cheek bones. Then the maiden plucked another pot of pale red wax and carefully buffed it onto Adair’s lips. Adair rubbed her lips together, they felt smooth.