by Billy Wong
"I have experience in both."
She took the crossbow from her pack and offered it to him. "Then you'll probably be more suited to carrying this than me with my handful of hunting lessons."
He accepted the weapon, but looked uncertainly at it. "I'm used to hunting with a regular bow." He lined up the sights experimentally with a tree trunk. "But this doesn't look like it'll be too hard to learn."
She thought of something that quickened her pulse. "Wait—has the school sent anyone else after us? If you could find us this easily, I'm sure they have somebody who can too."
"I don't know. When I left, they hadn't decided anything yet. But I would expect them to try and get you back, and even if they didn't, those would-be kidnappers probably will."
"Maybe we should sleep less and hurry up. Think you can handle an early morning, Zack?"
She thought he might be hesitant to agree, but fear must have made his decision for him as he nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm sure I can do it. It kind of surprises me Marty's the one who followed us out here and not Leroy. Would've thought the rebellious hero image to suit him."
Marty shrugged. "He's too busy being hero of the class especially now that his only competition's gone. By the way Kath, can you let me up? You're still pointing that sword at me like I'm a captive."
With a start, she realized she'd been doing that through the whole conversation and retracted the blade. "Sorry, must be nerves."
"With good reason," Zack added in a weakly humorous tone. "Kath just got her ass kicked like a child."
"What? So you mean she isn't a peerless war god after all?"
"You have already seen me lose to Leroy a few times before," she said bashfully.
Marty chuckled. "Yeah, but those were competitive fights. Who was this beast who schooled our Kath the Blade?"
"There was a big woman with reddish hair," Zack explained, "She wielded a long axe and a bladed buckler, and even while covered in grievous wounds still showed exceptional speed and strength."
"Sounds like what Leroy would aspire to be... if he was a girl."
They went to sleep, then rose when morning light began to brighten the sky and sought the north again with one more in their group. Marty caught a rabbit for lunch, the fresh meat of which Kath and Zack enjoyed for a change. "So being a spoiled higher class noble does have its uses, eh?" Kath teased. "More training opportunities and all."
"Actually my older cousin taught me how to hunt and track, skills he picked up during the last war. So they're not a direct result of my family's standing."
"I see. Now that I think of it, those two... I wonder if they were veterans of that war."
"The man looked the right age," Zack said, "but the woman appeared a little young. Maybe that's why she called him boss. Could be that he trained her, and is much stronger still..."
Was it possible? Deidre had already seemed barely human, but her companion's odd movement could hint at even more uncanny ability. Kath gazed back in the direction of the building where they'd met. "I wonder which way they went, and how far they've gone by now."
"What, do you want to meet them again?" Zack asked.
"I know it wouldn't be wise to seek them out. But I just feel curious." She smiled at the boys' worried looks. "Of course, they must be far away by now and there'd be no sense in turning back to try and find them, especially since we'd probably get killed. I have no intention of straying from our plan to get through this forest, past the mountains and to Apsenia."
Zack seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. They journeyed on, and on... for several days they continued north without incident, though the heightened pace seemed to wear on the boys. Even Kath didn't like it much, as pain grew in her feet and knees. She hoped they would be able to endure the few weeks of this needed to reach Apsenia. The inability to bathe or properly cleanse herself added to her discomfort, but it did surprise her that at least they hadn't seen any monsters. Maybe numbers deterred them, especially given her party were all armed. But just when the map indicated they should not be too far from exiting the wood, they heard brush rustle and saw it shake violently about fifteen feet ahead of them.
"What is that?" Zack asked, reaching for his sword. "Do you think it could be our pursuers?"
Marty pointed his crossbow at the foliage with a focused expression. "It came from the front, so I don't think so."
A second later, a huge form flew out and landed before them. It looked like a giant lean dog which stood six feet at the shoulder, with a hairless scaly hide and long flexible tail ending in a shortsword-length bone spike. Its jaws parted to display rows of jagged teeth as it emitted a painfully shrill cry, making Kath and the others grimace. She drew her blade. "Guess it would be too much luck to ask for us get through without a fight."
Chapter 4
"It's b-big," Zack observed. "What should we do..."
Kath tried to formulate a quick strategy on the fly. "You circle around to its right. Marty, you head left. I'll distract it from the front, and then you guys can go for its eyes."
Unfortunately, the beast didn't seem inclined to cooperate. It looked back and forth between them with its sickly yellow orbs, then before any of them could get close, settled on going after the smaller Zack. It leapt at him, maw wide, and he backpedaled swinging his sword wildly in fear. It caught the blade in its jaws, ripped it from his hands and tossed it aside. He tripped over his own feet and fell. Just before it could lunge forward and sink those myriad teeth into its victim, Kath reached it and swung at its flank. Her edge didn't penetrate the scales, sliding down them though leaving a long scratch, but it felt the blow and thrashed its wicked tail.
She jumped back, tried to cut through the tail behind the spike and remove it but missed. "Marty, shoot it!" she yelled.
"Where?" He aimed at the monster's backside, hesitated to pull the trigger.
"Anywhere, just distract it!"
He shot, the crossbow bolt piercing but not deeply at all as it stuck out of its butt. It turned to face its new attacker and Kath saw her chance. She tried to stab into its eye, but mistimed it so the blade glanced off its brow. It roared and tried to bite her; her slash to its teeth actually backed it up a step. She realized its side faced Marty. "Shoot it in the eye!"
"Wait, I'm trying to reload..." She glanced at him and saw he did so with shaking hands.
It snapped at her again, spittle flying over her. She backed up, cut at its snout but failed to do visible damage. When it sprang forward once more, she steeled herself and dared to stand her ground, thrust into its mouth. She felt a brief moment of resistance as her point hit something soft, then went in. The dog-lizard wailed and butted her with its nose, knocking her away. Kath watched it toss its head in pain and wished it to drop dead, but it didn't fall. What had she hit, its tongue? She could glimpse the bloody thing swish around inside its mouth, staining its teeth red. At least she'd managed to damage it.
Marty's second bolt flashed towards its eye, but flew over its skull as it ducked low and stabbed over itself with its tail spike at Kath. Taken by surprise, she tried to leaned aside, but it grazed her shoulder and she yelped. She felt warm blood flow down her skin, tried to amputate the spike again. Too slow again as it retracted. The creature pounced. She blocked a bite with her sword, its weight pushing her back, and saw its tail rise up behind it. Darn it Marty... The spike shot forward, but she got an idea. She stepped aside and grabbed the tail behind it. It tried to pull back and jerked her upward with it. She chopped at the taut appendage.
The blade went through; the spike came free, and Kath fell through the air while its owner screeched. She landed on its back, clamped her legs around its sides to keep from sliding off. Ha! She threw the spike away and grasped her hilt with both hands. Now hopefully she could muster enough power to drive her point through its spine... She raised the sword. Before she could bring it down, the dog-lizard rolled over, crushing her into the earth under its massive weight. Pain shot through her shoulder, neck and back,
and she lost hold with her legs, but luckily it was only on top for an instant before rolling off and to its feet. It snapped at her while she lay on the ground, and she flailed her blade to keep it back. A shining projectile streaked towards it and buried itself in its eye.
"Yes!" Marty said as it stumbled.
It caught itself and wheeled on him. What, that wasn't enough? Kath reeled to her feet, but it already closed on Marty and she wouldn't reach them in time. She held her breath while its jaws reached for him... they fell just short as something slowed its forward movement. Zack stood behind it, gripping its shortened tail, veins standing out from his neck as he strained with every muscle in his body to hold it back. It spun angrily, whipping him into a tree. Bark cracked as he smashed into the trunk and flopped down.
The monster returned its attention to Marty. Unable to load a bolt in time, he resorted to swatting at its nose with his crossbow. That would hardly stall it for long. Kath ran around its blind side and dove in front of it just as it sprang, sticking her sword out. Its maw enveloped her upper torso, and she closed her eyes. But though it bore her down and its teeth poked uncomfortably against her uniform, they didn't bite down and tear her apart. She opened her eyes again to find it lay dead, jaws slack around her. She'd successfully put her point home through the roof of its mouth and into its brain.
"You did it," Marty breathed.
She scooted free of the corpse and lurched up. "We all did our part," she said, rubbing her shoulder which hurt the worst from the dog-lizard rolling over her. "You blinded it after all, and Zack saved your life." She knelt by the latter, who lay clutching his back under the tree. "You okay?"
"Hurts like a female dog... but I guess it's better I can still feel pain than not. It sure is embarrassing that I got hurt again."
"Don't feel bad, it was a tough fight. Hell, I came the closest to dying of us all considering I was in the beast's maw."
He seemed to take some comfort in not being blamed for his weakness. She was a little disappointed in the limited amount he'd been able to contribute, but he had done his best and shown courage. Hopefully he'd keep improving in the future. "I suppose so. I'm glad there's a town soon after we leave the forest. I'm looking forward to taking a bit of a break."
Though she worried about pursuers catching up to them, she said, "I am too. Beginning to feel like a old woman, the way my joints hurt."
Marty laughed. "I guess we're all old then."
They continued on. A day later, they came to the end of the wood. They stepped out and could see far again, the view of open blue sky lightening Kath's heart with a sense of freedom. A sight of more immediate importance was a cluster of little cottages surrounded by crop fields. "Looks less dry than the last one, but just as small," she said.
"We are in the middle of nowhere," Marty replied. "At least that bigger building is probably an inn where we can drink some wine to remind ourselves of Apsenia."
She looked curiously at him. "Have you been to Apsenia before?"
"No. I just said that for the benefit of our mutual friend." He indicated Zack, who bore a wistful expression.
They walked past the fields towards town. "We should buy some new clothes too, so we have something else to wear besides our uniforms. Do you guys have money?"
Marty jingled his purse. "Plenty."
Zack exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness."
"What were you going to use all that money for at school anyway?" Kath asked.
"It never hurts to have some coin on hand in case somebody needs to be persuaded, to say overlook a wrong answer or two."
"You corrupt cheater!" Zack cried.
He chuckled. "I do plan to study hard. But just in case I really have trouble with something, it's always good to have a backup plan."
Kath raised an eyebrow. "Will that really work? They seem pretty strict over there."
"I think you'd be surprised."
"I think you'd be surprised," Zack said in an offended tone. "I think your entitled self would get the boot."
"Let's remember we're all in this together," Kath reminded them. "We should probably just be happy we have ample travel funds."
They reached the edge of town, and a girl in her early teens wearing a heavy-looking dress waved to them from a porch. "Travelers, are you?" she asked in an enthusiastic voice. "We don't get a lot of you around here. Did you come through the forest?"
Kath didn't feel very confident in how she should respond. "Yes..."
"That's impressive! People say you should never go into the Soullit Forest because of the monsters, and the cursed witch who lives there. Did you see any monsters?"
Cursed witch? Maybe that had something to do with Deidre and her companion being there. They could have sought to kill the witch, and left after the man accomplished the task. But what had been all those other warriors' purpose? Before she could answer the girl's question, Marty replied, "No."
"Yes we did," Kath whispered, "why are you lying?"
"Isn't it obvious? I don't want to scare her."
"She doesn't seem like she'd be that scared... but okay, I guess."
"You look like you would be prepared if you did see one anyway," the girl said. "You must be warriors, carrying weapons like that."
She smiled slightly. "Warriors in the making, at least."
"Nice! Did you get those injuries fighting people then, and did you kill them?"
Kath hesitated, aware that some other villagers had stopped to watch their conversation, before a middle aged woman stepped out of the house behind the girl. "Rebecca, are you bothering these weary people?" She gripped her daughter's collar and dragged her back towards the door. "Sorry, she always acts like this towards travelers. The inn is right there, if you want to rest."
"It's all right, we don't mind. But where can we buy some clothes first?"
She pointed back over her shoulder with her thumb. "The tailor lives two houses behind ours."
They visited the craftsman, a young man who fidgeted with his fingers a lot when he talked, and bought comfortable travel clothes that would not instantly give them away as runaway military school students. "You look good, Kath," Marty said after they'd all changed in the room the tailor provided and walked towards the inn.
She blinked. "What? I'm wearing the same kind of clothes as both of you."
"They, um, make your breasts stand out more than the uniform jacket did."
"I'm offended."
"Oh, sorry. I thought you wouldn't mind me saying it since you know, you're almost a boy..."
Kath tried to hold it back, but couldn't and burst out laughing. "Not actually... ha... offended. Maybe a little by you calling me almost a boy. You don't know me well enough to say that."
"You're like the toughest or second toughest boy in military school!" Zack teased.
"In our class you mean. And come on, there are expectations to act a certain way in that environment. I'll have you know I can walk in high heels, dance, and sew pretty well."
"Only the first one is girl-specific," Marty pointed out.
She muttered under her breath, "You guys keep going on like this and maybe I'll start acting more 'girly' and hiding behind you two in battles..."
Zack recoiled. "What the, we're just joking around with you!"
"I'm joking around too. Do you really think I'm that mannish, though?"
"I never really thought about it before, actually," he said after a moment. "To me you're just a strong, steady person brave enough to risk everything to help a friend and who I'm proud to call my friend."
"You flatter me. I think the same way about you."
"Minus the strong part, you must mean," Marty added. "I mean, at least I didn't need to be carried to finish the fitness test."
Now that genuinely got Kath a little miffed, as she looked and saw Zack hang his head in shame as expected. She punched Marty hard in the shoulder, making him stumble across the street. "Ass." She patted Zack's back. "Don't worry about it. You were getting
better, I'm sure you would have passed the second time. And you looked pretty heroic pulling on that monster's tail with its blood dripping out into your face."
He laughed. "You get credit for that last bit. But thanks."
They made it to the inn, where they ordered roast chicken, lamb, stew, and a large pitcher of wine. It could be the last time they got to indulge for a while, since it would take weeks to get through the mountains and then to Apsenia. The drink seemed to affect Zack rather quickly. "Because Leroy's not here," he slurred, "I should take on his role and act like him." He stood up and threw some punches at the air, then beat his chest. "Me big man, me hero! World come fight me if you dare!"
"Maybe you should sit down before somebody decides they actually want to take a shot at fighting you," Marty said, easing him back into his chair.
Kath decided to ask around in hopes of learning about Deidre Wilde, and possibly her companion. Besides her and her friends, there was only the innkeeper and a table of presumed regulars, so she tried the group first. "Excuse me, would any of you know of a person named Deidre Wilde?"
A balding man looked up. "Name doesn't ring a bell."
"Never heard of him," a younger man said.
The bucktoothed girl who was probably his wife or sister shoved him. "I think it's a woman, stupid! But no, I don't."
Another man and woman just shook their heads no. Kath headed to the counter. When the thin-mustached innkeeper came over to ask what she needed, she replied, "I think my friends and I have enough to fill our bellies for the night. But say, do you know anything about someone named Deidre Wilde?"
He pondered it briefly. "I may have heard that name before, but I can't remember too much. I think she might be a warrior of some sort, a mercenary perhaps?"
Yes, that was it! "Can you recall anything else?"
"No, actually wait, maybe... it seems like the time I heard her name it was being mentioned by a group of mercenaries who happened to be passing through. 'You're no Deidre Wilde, that's for sure,' or something like that, was what one of them said to another."
