The Huntresses' Game

by Joe Jackson

  “Since you arrived? Nearly all of them. Why do you think I have such keen insight into my enemies and allies alike?” Koursturaux turned and continued along a narrow track through the underbrush. “Don’t be so put off, Lady Vanador; if anything, it is a testament to your resolve that I can read you so easily. You are very steadfast and sure in your ways, which makes it easier to determine your thoughts and feelings. If you were lacking in conviction or intelligence, your thoughts would come across as little more than garbled gibberish.”

  “So how do I guard my thoughts better?”

  “The same way you do so in a game of chess, or poker. You must learn to mask your thoughts and feelings. Let your enemies – and allies – see what you want them to, and only become aware of your underlying intentions when you desire them to. You will find this is not solely effective against those like myself and your empathic sister-in-law, but even more so when dealing with those who have no such extra perception.”

  Kari wondered how the demon king knew Sonja was empathic. Had it come up with Amastri at some point, and she had passed along that information to the demon king? “So you’re going to give me a beating tonight to teach me this lesson, are you?” Kari asked.

  Koursturaux regarded her with slightly narrowed eyes. “Do you think so little of your prowess?”

  “You could kill me easily, we both know this.”

  “Indeed I could, but in a contest of steel only? I suppose that remains to be seen. And out here, we will not have to listen to the admonitions of my staff,” the demon king said, waving her hand about impatiently.

  Kari chuckled despite the gravity of the discussion. Koursturaux was powerful, enough so that she didn’t see the need to lash out against someone that threatened her, no matter how unwittingly. That she would not only refrain from rising to Kari’s unspoken threat, but in fact warn and advise Kari about doing so with their mutual enemies said a lot. And that was to say nothing of the fact that she would resort to humor immediately afterwards. She truly was an enigma.

  They hiked for several hours, and it felt good for Kari to get some miles under her feet after days in the coach and the palace. She got so little time to go out and feel the world beneath her feet anymore with two children and a demanding job. The beautiful estate she owned was a breathtaking wonder and she thoroughly enjoyed walking its grounds, but she found fewer and fewer opportunities to do so. That would change as the children got older, but she had to consider that as they got older, so did she.

  They came across tracks in the early afternoon, and Kari pulled out her folding bow from the hollow short-staff that housed it. Koursturaux took an interest in the small but efficient bow, but she grabbed Kari and pulled her back roughly when she nocked an arrow. “Don’t kill the hinds. I cull the male population, but leave the females to keep their numbers populous.”

  Kari found it curious that the demon king would even have such considerations, but as instructed, she worked to mask such thoughts behind those of admiration and an agreeable nod. Koursturaux smirked, and Kari wondered how much she had heard, but the demon king simply led her quietly along. They didn’t come across anything the demon king deemed worthy of hunting even deeper into the afternoon, and as the sun started to fade through the forest, the monarch looked for a good spot to set up a camp.

  “This looks like suitable ground,” she commented, finding a flat clearing between some trees. “You take your spade and dig us a privy over there, and a fire pit just here. I will fashion us some shelter.”

  Kari raised a single brow. The demon king didn’t bring a pack with her, and certainly no tent. As it stood, Kari had brought only the bare essentials in her own pack: some rations, water, the spade, her folding bow, and a blanket to sleep under the stars. “Should we have brought some tents?”

  Koursturaux didn’t answer. She turned away from Kari and faced the trees, and she held her hands out slightly to the sides, palms up. Kari felt a surge of power, not all that different than the one when Sekassus had killed Uldriana, but not as forceful or hostile. It caused none of the same discomfort as the previous time, but it was if the ground itself was welling up with power below Kari’s feet. The air became heavy and thick, charged with electricity like during a thunderstorm, and Kari was sure her hair would’ve stood on end if it wasn’t tied down in cornrows.

  The trees were the first thing to change, their branchless lower trunks sprouting growth between them that soon meshed into a living wall. More braches sprouted from among the closer boles and wove themselves into a roof, and soon they had formed a dome-shaped hut that was tall enough for the demon king to enter and exit without crouching. The ground began to reshape itself as well, and Kari saw soft soil form up into two raised beds for them, perfect to put a blanket or bedroll on and sleep. When all was complete, Kari was staring at a comfortable-looking domicile made out of the forest itself.

  “This is my realm, and it obeys my call and command,” Koursturaux said before Kari could even voice her thoughts. “Now, uphold your end of the work.”

  It had been a while since Kari had done any such back-breaking work, but she got busy with her spade and dug out a fire pit first. Once she was finished, the demon king began piling up some loose wood and sticks she had gathered while Kari worked. The demonhunter dug out a privy just away from the camp as directed, and when she returned, she found the demon king tending to the fire. Kari wondered what she planned to cook, but took a seat on a hard mound of dirt that hadn’t been there when they’d started.

  Koursturaux looked around between the trees surrounding their camp, and she took up Kari’s smaller bow and an arrow and bounded off. Kari stretched out her weary limbs and grimaced, not used to going so long without holding her children. It was about the time she’d be getting home from work, and she found herself a bit depressed. She missed that feeling of coming home and being greeted with a happy shout from Little Gray, and having Uldriana placed in her arms. Kari was confident Mildasa would take good care of her daughter, but Kari would have much rather done so herself, and she felt alone, even with the company of the presently-absent demon king.

  Koursturaux came back into the camp minutes later with Kari’s bow hanging over one shoulder. She had a felled turkey, or something akin to it, under one arm. She passed the bow and arrow back to Kari, and moved over to the privy pit, where she sliced the bird’s head off and hung it up, Kari assumed to drain the blood. She moved back to the entrance to their hut, where she called forth that incredible power once more. In this display, a rock bowl formed and rose up on a mound of dirt to waist level, and shortly filled itself with water, which the demon king used to wash the blood from her hands.

  “How do you do that?” Kari asked.

  “As I said, this is my realm, and it answers my call and command,” she repeated, but she seemed to anticipate that such wasn’t exactly an explanation. “It is not dissimilar to the arcane power your sister-in-law wields, simply much stronger, and more rooted in willpower. Dinner will be a short while before I prepare the bird for cooking. Would you like to cross blades with me before then?”

  “I’m not keen on crossing swords with you at all,” Kari answered honestly. She got to her feet and drew her scimitars, though, twirling them around to loosen up her hands and arms. “I suppose if we’re going to, best to do so before dinner, though.”

  Koursturaux drew her greatsword, and Kari nearly went weak in the knees. The sword was easily seven feet long, beautifully forged with a golden, gem-encrusted pommel and a silver sheen down the blade that said it was sharp enough to split hairs. Despite wearing her paluric armor, Kari had no desire to be hit by that weapon, certainly not by someone as powerful as King Koursturaux. The demon king twirled the blade around just as Kari had done with hers. Based on the motions, Kari got the impression that the greatsword was either lighter than it appeared, or the demon king was well-accustomed to a heavy blade.

  “So how do you want to do this?” Kari asked. “Touch points, sort of
like fencing? First blood would seem a little unfair with this armor; even though I don’t have my helmet on, I’d appreciate not having my head broken.”

  “Likewise, do not cut off my tail,” the demon king said, lashing the thin extremity back and forth. “Touch points seems fine. Shall we say first to five? If you are as hungry as I am, I shouldn’t wait too long to prepare the bird.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Kari said. “Say the word when you want to begin, Your Majesty.”

  “Begin when you are ready,” the demon king said, taking up a stance.

  Kari began to pace back and forth in a semi-circle. Her style, learned from Tumureldi, was primarily defensive, and she wondered if the same might hold true for Koursturaux’ style. Ideally, she needed to get the demon king to swing at her so she could parry and get a feel for the strength behind Koursturaux’ swings. Just as important, though, was to gauge distances: the demon king had long arms, a resulting long reach, and she was wielding a sword that was larger than Kari. Simply getting inside to allow for counterstrikes and jabs would be a feat in itself.

  Kari danced in suddenly, hopping slightly side to side in her approach, hardly shocked when the greatsword came at her in a sweeping motion. She scissored the massive blade with her scimitars, her bones vibrating with the force of the impact as she was pushed aside. Keeping her head about her, she slashed at her opponent’s blade, trying to knock it well out of position, and then she twirled in and slashed twice at the demon king’s exposed side.

  Koursturaux moved in tandem with Kari, staying out of reach and bringing her blade to bear. The whoosh of the greatsword cutting the air made Kari tense, and the demon king cut down, then across, and then spun a quick pirouette that brought the massive sword around the other way faster than Kari would’ve thought possible. She parried hard, but the demon king’s strength was going to wear her down quickly, and she was nearly knocked from her feet by the power of the spinning cut. In any other fight, such theatrics would be ill-advised, but with the reach of the demon king coupled with her long blade and the speed with which she moved, she could afford to be a little reckless toying with Kari.

  Kari stumbled, but turned and lunged back the way she’d been driven to try to surprise the demon king. The only surprise, however, was that greatsword coming at her from the same angle a second time in quick succession, and Kari felt the wind blasted from her lungs as she was flattened by the demon king. The paluric armor kept her alive, but her padded clothes could only absorb so much of the impact. She was afraid she’d cracked a rib or two, but once she got to her feet, she was hopeful that it was just bruising. That would make nursing Uldriana interesting for a week or so…

  Kari got back to her feet and squared off with the demon king again. She wanted to fight defensively, but Koursturaux would not come at her, forcing Kari to take the initiative. She tried to quick-step in and sidestep before continuing her path, but the demon king seemed to know just what she was thinking. The blunt side of the greatsword – it was not double-edged, thankfully – came up and hit Kari under the chin, the bad blind spot on a rir. She felt her teeth smash together, and her knees buckled as she flopped unceremoniously to the ground.

  After a few moments of near-blinding pain, Kari picked up her scimitars again. Thankfully, the sharp tip of the sword hadn’t cut into her, but that bloody well hurt regardless. “This is obviously a waste of time,” she hissed, spitting out some blood. She ran her tongue over her teeth, but they were all still firmly attached. She’d bitten the inside of her mouth and her tongue, though, and they were bleeding steadily, if not profusely.

  “Cease your whining,” Koursturaux chided her. “This is hardly a waste of time. If you challenge one of my peers or their children – I understand you had quite the interaction with Prince Amnastru – do you think they will fight you where you are strong? I could kill you in an instant without even drawing my blade. You must assume that should you ever come up against one of my peers, the same will hold true to some extent. You will need to engage them where you are strong – in a contest of steel – and these disadvantages you find stymie you so badly will be exactly what you must overcome.”

  “So you’re teaching me to kill your peers?” Kari asked with a roll of her eyes.

  “I knew you were smarter than Amastri let on,” the demon king answered evenly. “As much as I have enjoyed your company thus far, Lady Vanador, you didn’t believe I invited you here as a friend, did you? We share some common goals, and have several common enemies. I told you from the start that I planned to use you toward my ends. And as I also told you, you have the option of working with me or against me. Know that in the end, I will get what I want. Does it not benefit you to work with me, and get what you want?”

  Kari clenched her jaw and rose back to her feet. She re-engaged, but this time, she went against her instincts. Just as with her game of chess, she tried to think several moves in advance, and fought in a style unorthodox even for a student of Tumureldi. Her contrary thinking worked well, fooling the demon king however briefly, and she got close enough to strike. Her first few attacks were dodged, but Kari kicked the inside of Koursturaux’ planted knee, and her scimitar found one of the many unarmored parts of the demon king’s hunting garb.

  Koursturaux hopped away gingerly and chuckled humorlessly. “That is more like it,” she said, though Kari was busy staring at the blade of her scimitar.

  She had clearly struck home, yet there was no trace of blood on her blade or the demon king’s leg. Was Koursturaux impervious to physical blows with a sword? Even one fashioned by Terx, the legendary harmauth smith? Kari wasn’t truly looking to injure the demon king, but she had struck home cleanly and yet garnered no result. Much like when someone struck Kari’s paluric armor, the kick seemed to do more than the sword strike.

  Koursturaux came in this time, and after only the most momentary panic, Kari fell into Tumureldi’s defensive style. Around and around they went, Kari fending off the demon king’s blows now that she knew the strength and speed to expect. Kari was sure that Koursturaux was holding back to some extent, but she held her own in their deadly dance, and had put in a good deal of work before the greatsword at last found her armored hamstring and dropped her to a knee. Kari blew out a deep breath and leaned on one of her swords. Five rounds of this just might kill her from exhaustion…

  Koursturaux slid her greatsword into its sheath across her back, then unstrapped the scabbard and leaned it against their hut. “Not a poor performance for your first time,” she said, no trace of fatigue in her voice. “Now you are more accustomed to the strength and speed you would encounter dueling one of my peers. I suppose it was a touch unfair to march you for most of the day and then have you spar with me, but understand that fairness is something you will never encounter when it counts the most. You must assume that should you fight any of my peers or their children, they will fight you where they are strongest, and use any and every type of advantage they may hold over you.”

  Kari nodded, got to her feet, and blew out a long sigh as she got her wind back. “When Amnastru slapped me, it felt like I got hit with a hammer,” she said. “If you’ll forgive me saying so, you don’t look as strong as you are.”

  The demon king made a short gesture of agreement. “You are not used to dealing with something of my size and stature. An erestram doesn’t look as strong as a harmauth, but they use their size and body styling to advantage, and nearly match the mighty rams. You are too used to the physiques of your mate’s siblings which, while impressive, don’t match those of my size or that of a harmauth or erestram.”

  “No doubt about that,” Kari returned. She moved in tandem with the demon king to ready a spit to cook while Koursturaux prepared the bird. They had dinner cooking in but a few minutes’ time, and took seats near the fire. While it was still warm, the winter season was nearly upon Mas’tolinor, and even this far south, with the forest blocking much of the sun’s light during the day, the night was going to cool off
a bit.

  Kari took a long drink from her canteen. There was no conversation around the fire while they waited for dinner to cook. Kari wanted to ask Koursturaux many things, but she thought they might sit better after dinner than on an empty stomach. It was going to be an early night with how tired Kari was, but that made sense anyway if they were planning to hunt in the morning. Kari simply hoped she wasn’t too bruised and sore after the exercise she’d just gotten.

  Once dinner had cooked, the demon king served it up. Kari wasn’t exactly surprised or amazed, but she found it impressive that despite being a king for ten thousand years or more, Koursturaux was still self-sufficient and not just a pampered monarch. She seemed to relish her time away from palace life, and getting dirty and physical clearly appealed to the demon king. It left Kari to wonder how old she would get before she started preferring the politics of the Duke’s court to the front lines of battle. At nearly forty years old, Kari still felt no inclination to give up the life of the hunter, even when she took a beating like she had in the sparring session.

  Kari gave a short, silent prayer of thanks before she began to eat, but when she opened her eyes, she found the demon king staring at her with those unreadable, glassy ebon pools. She wondered if she had possibly insulted the king, but Koursturaux said nothing and began to eat. It did leave a bit of tension in the silence between them, though, and Kari considered what the demon king was thinking. A part of her wished she could hear the thoughts of others the way Koursturaux could, but she nearly chuckled when she thought of reading the mind of someone like Typhonix.

  With a good deal of meat consumed, Kari pulled out her trail rations and offered some dried fruit, nuts, and cheese to the demon king. Koursturaux accepted them with a grateful nod, and she wrapped some of the cooked meat in leaves to save for the morning. Once the meal was done, the demon king went and filled a cup from the nearby brook. Kari found that interesting in light of Koursturaux having filled a bowl with wash water. When the demon king returned, she sat across from Kari and looked as though she expected Kari to ask questions.