by Susan Illene
“Are the contestants ready?” the organizer asked.
We nodded.
“Fight!” he yelled.
I stayed still and let Lorcan come to me. He raced forward with his sword held high, telegraphing that he planned a downward strike. I waited until the last moment and sidestepped the blade. He stumbled past me with his momentum still carrying him forward. I twisted around and struck him across the back with the flat of my sword. He almost stepped out of the ring but caught himself in time.
Moving to the center of the circle, I waited for him to come at me again. He moved more cautiously this time, judging my stance with a critical eye. I lowered my sword a few degrees, meeting his gaze. “Is that all you got?”
“That was only a test,” he replied, his face hardening into a mask. He was getting serious now. I was glad since I would have hated for the fight to be too easy.
Lorcan stepped toward me and swung his sword at an angle, aiming for my side. I twisted my blade and blocked him. He tried to muscle his way through to slice me, but I held firm, our blades locked in the space between us. A shifter in their human form wasn’t any stronger than a slayer. His arms shook as he fought to overpower me, and people murmured their surprise. They must not have realized it didn’t matter if I weighed a hundred twenty pounds or two hundred. I was gifted with a preternatural strength that wasn’t reflected in my muscle tone or size.
Lorcan pulled back, taking the pressure off. “I’m impressed. It never occurred to me a female slayer could be as strong as a male.”
“You know what they say about size,” I said.
He lifted a brow. “What’s that?”
“It’s not how big something is that matters. It’s how you work with what you got.”
He laughed. “That could be taken in so many ways.”
“Try this.” I swung my sword at him.
He pulled up his blade to block, but not fast enough. I sliced his bicep. He let out a growl as a trickle of blood stained his long sleeve tunic. Lorcan had been so sure of himself that he hadn’t bothered to don his warrior garb with the stronger protection spells on it. I had put mine on this morning, anticipating the duel. As good as I liked to think of myself, I expected to get struck at some point and wanted all the protection I could get.
We circled each other, both of us looking for a weakness in the other. My gaze stayed locked with his, but I used my peripheral vision to study his feet and the way he moved. Just as he struck out with his sword again, I dropped to the ground and kicked my foot out. It connected with his knee, sending him crashing down. As he put a hand on the ground to keep from planting his face in the dirt, I swung my blade, using the flat end to pop him in the head.
Lorcan snarled and leaped to his feet. I was already up and ready for the next strike he sent my way, but it came crashing down so hard I couldn’t quite stop the momentum in time. He cut me in the shoulder close to the neck where my top didn’t cover my skin, slicing deep. I winced and kicked him to force him away. Dammit, he’d cut into the tendon. It hurt like hell, but I’d had worse, even in the last week. One advantage to fighting all the time was that it taught me how to handle all kinds of pain. I lifted my blade, finding my coordination a little off but still manageable.
“Hope you enjoyed that,” I said, gripping my sword with both hands to keep it steady, though I usually only used one. “Because that’s the only points you’re going to get.”
He flashed his teeth. “We’ll see about that.”
Lorcan lunged forward with his sword pointed straight at my chest. I twisted to the side at the same time as I pulled my blade up to block his, missing being struck by a mere inch. Enough was enough. I’d taken it slow for the first couple of minutes so people could get their show, but it was time to speed things up.
I went on the attack, lunging forward to strike at Lorcan’s stomach. It didn’t break through the camrium since it was thicker there, but the point still counted. Then I started a series of strikes, moving as fast as possible so that he spent all his time trying to block them without being able to retaliate. I cut him in the arms, legs, face, and chest with so much speed and accuracy that he couldn’t keep up with them all. He stepped out of bounds, and I grabbed his flailing hand to yank him back inside. I kept pulling with all my strength, flinging him to the ground where he caught a mouthful of dirt.
When he tried to get up, I put a foot on his back. He fought it, but he couldn’t lift himself more than a few inches. I’d latched onto dragons who gave me a lot more trouble, and they rarely knocked me off. Pointing my sword downward, I plunged it toward the back of his neck, stopping just as the tip bit into exposed flesh. I held the blade poised on the edge of a killing blow.
Silence. Though I didn’t dare look up, I could sense the tension in the air.
“Finished!” the organizer called out.
Some of the audience must have been wondering if I could really stop at a simulated death streak and let Lorcan live. Granted, a part of me wanted to finish the job. My slayer side recognized the man below me was more beast than human and a threat. But I didn’t fear him, and fighting the rogues recently was enough to assuage my bloodlust even if I hadn’t killed them.
I sheathed my sword and removed my foot from Lorcan’s back. As he started to rise, I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up the rest of the way. “You fought well.”
He ground his jaw. “I am not so sure.”
“I’d intended to take you down at least a half dozen moves before I actually did,” I admitted. Men had their pride, and I didn’t mind telling him the truth. “You put up a better fight than I expected, considering I had the advantage of you underestimating me.”
His posture relaxed a little. “That is true. I promise that I will not ever make that mistake again.”
“Then consider this a learning experience. God knows I have plenty of those no matter how many battles I fight.” I held my arm out for him to clasp.
He glanced down at it, hesitating for a mere moment, before taking it. “We should do this again sometime—without the audience.”
I smiled. “Just give me a time and place.”
People had begun to talk again, murmuring all sorts of things about me that could be construed as good or bad. I’d earned the respect of some and the fear of others. A few thought someone as dangerous as me should be put down, but thankfully they were the minority. I caught at least one person say I’d be a major asset if they brought me along for their battle in the spring. If it entailed killing dragons between me and my family’s ranch, I was all for it. Hildegard had mentioned as much last night, piquing my interest. Aidan had also told me before that all I needed to do was wait until spring, and he’d be able to get me home safely. I’d known his clan had battles planned for then, but I’d never dreamed I would have the chance to participate in them.
The organizer announced my points, which totaled seventy-five. Someone else had already gotten over a hundred, so I was out of the running for winner. That was fine by me.
Hildegard stepped into the circle. She ignored her son and pulled me into her arms, hugging me tighter than I’d ever been hugged in my life. I couldn’t breathe until she released me. If I’d fought against her instead, I suspected I wouldn’t have won as easily—or at all.
“You’re the answer I’ve been looking for, little girl,” she said, beaming.
“Um, thank you.” I was at a complete loss. This was not how I’d expected the mother of my opponent to react after I defeated her son.
“Come the spring, you will be fighting with us. Yes?”
I glanced at Aidan, who nodded, and turned back to her. “If you want me there, I’ll come.”
“Good.” She gave me a discerning look. “But I do have one more trial for you. The final contest of the day is a brawl, which is an excellent opportunity to see you in action while facing multiple opponents.”
“A brawl?” I asked. Images were coming to my mind, none of them good.
&
nbsp; “It is one of our favorite events. You’ll love it,” she said, eyes gleaming.
The look I caught in Aidan, Phoebe, and Donar’s faces said I was in big trouble.
Chapter 12
Bailey
The lake water was cold, but I splashed it on my face anyway. The blood and yellow paint weren’t coming off easily. Every part of me hurt, and I was fairly certain I had cuts and bruises in places that shouldn’t even have them. No broken bones though, so that was a win.
“Remind me to never join one of your brawls again,” I said, glancing over at Aidan.
He was washing his fair share of blood off—and orange paint since he’d been on the opposing side. People had been chosen randomly for either the yellow or orange team, so friends, family, and even mates could end up having to fight each other. Aidan and I had stayed on opposite ends of the field to avoid that, but I was pleased to get a few licks in with Donar since he was also on the other team. That was the only part of the event I’d enjoyed.
Phoebe, who was crouched on my other side, lifted a brow. “I thought you’d like a chance to fight so many dragons.”
“Not when five of them pile on me at once,” I growled, then splashed more water on my face. “If you hadn’t come to my rescue, they might have trampled me to death. I don’t like fighting dragons when I can’t kill them.”
Most of the Taugud and Faegud had taken their beast shapes for the brawl. After seeing how it went, I could understand their reasoning. I was one of the few who fought as a human, and it was overwhelming to say the least. Maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad if there weren’t so many opponents gunning for me and most of my team didn’t care to watch my back. They looked out for each other, but other than Phoebe, I didn’t have anyone’s help.
“You fought hard and proved you could show restraint even under the worst circumstances. Everyone here respects you more after seeing that.” She patted my back. “Even I’m impressed, and I’ve seen you in action a few times.”
That was a comfort—sort of.
“Thanks,” I said, then resumed scrubbing the last of the blood and paint off of me. Aidan and I helped each other with a few more spots we each missed since we didn’t have mirrors.
He rubbed a thumb across my cheek. “I was worried you wouldn’t be able to handle coming here, but you’ve done well. No one can fault you for anything, not even Nanoq.”
The pendragon in question was about ten feet away, washing himself off. He gave me a curt nod. No one got out of participating in the brawl except humans and a few of the organizers. By the end of the battle, we had a whole village of wounded and bloody people and dragons. Everyone was in good spirits, though. Shifters appeared to enjoy that sort of game a whole lot more than I did.
Hildegard shouted from nearby. “It is time for the feast!”
“Please tell me it won’t take long,” I whispered into Aidan’s ear. “All I want is to go home, and we’ve still got a long flight ahead of us.” Not to mention the sun was close to setting.
“Perhaps an hour or so,” he said, and stood.
I sighed. “Alright.”
Getting off my knees, I followed him and Phoebe to the village. We picked up Donar and Lorcan along the way, who’d been off washing at another spot along the lake. As we entered the village, I discovered Ruari and Freya were already waiting. They gestured at us to join them.
The servants had pulled the trestle tables outside and added two more while we’d been away. They were laden with all kinds of meat and vegetable dishes, as well as plates and utensils. It was far more civilized than I’d expected, especially for being outdoors. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen that much to eat, either. Off to the side, I noted roasted meat that had been left to cool on low platforms so the dragons unable to shift could enjoy a good meal as well. I half-wondered what would happen if I tossed a chicken leg their way. Would they be like dogs and scramble over each other to gobble it up? Probably best not to test that theory.
Our group lined up on either side of a trestle table on the far right. Hildegard and Nanoq stood at the end, waiting for everyone to arrive. Once the last of the stragglers had taken their places, the Taugud pendragon addressed us.
“Dragomas is not a holiday that comes from our goddess, Zorya, but it is in thanks to her that we celebrate it. This is the first time in a thousand years that any pendragon has been able to provide such a worthy feast to their toriq.” Nanoq ran his gaze down the tables. “And we must give thanks that we are finally home.”
Cheers rose up, and some shifters pounded on the table.
The Faegud pendragon waited for them to quiet down. “I thank Zorya for our creation and continued existence. Though we can’t see her, we know she is with us in spirit, and we will meet her in the next life. This is also a time to celebrate our families, friendships, and all that we have. Enjoy your meals, and may Zorya be with you.”
Another round of cheers went up. Being that I didn’t worship the dragon goddess, and it would be weird if I did, I could hardly join in the shouts and table pounding. Still, I could appreciate the shifters enjoying their holiday. It showed me a side of them I hadn’t seen before and somehow made them more relatable. They weren’t just animals. They had hopes, dreams, fears, and all the usual emotions that humans did. I was thankful that Aidan and the others could show me that.
We dug into our food. I’d worked up quite an appetite between my duel with Lorcan and the brawl. Before becoming a slayer, I’d been a light eater. That evening I filled my plate twice and ate several helpings of dessert. The humans came out to join us, getting their fair share of the meal they’d worked hard to prepare. It was almost as good as Christmas.
“Are you finished?” Aidan asked.
I nodded. “Definitely.”
“Then we will say farewell to the pendragons, give our gift to Hildegard, and be on our way,” he said, stepping over the bench.
I got up and followed him. Nanoq looked up as we approached the end of the trestle table where he and Hildegard sat together. “You are returning home?”
“Yes.” Aidan bowed to his pendragon. “It is time.”
Nanoq directed his attention to me. “I admit that I did not agree with the idea of you attending the festival and thought it would end in disaster, but you proved me wrong.” He glanced at Hildegard. “And the Faegud pendragon did as well by believing you would be worth the risk. From this point forward, Bailey Monzac, you will be allowed admittance to the fortress as long as Aidan is escorting you. This is my Dragomas gift to you both.”
Aidan bowed, and I followed his example.
“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate it.”
I hadn’t been expecting anything from Nanoq. The Taugud pendragon had hardly said a word to me since I arrived, but I’d caught his gaze on me many times. He’d been observing me closely, and probably waiting for me to screw up. Surrounding myself with over a hundred dragons from two clans had seemed daunting at first, but now I was glad I’d come.
Aidan produced a jewel-encrusted dagger from shiggara, knelt on one knee, and held it out to Hildegard. “And this is our gift to you.”
Her eyes rounded, and she quickly grabbed it, admiring the fine blade. Aidan had told me he made it not long after he worked out the treaty. He’d anticipated that he’d need a Dragomas gift for her, and he didn’t procrastinate the way normal people did.
“This is beautiful,” she said, dipping her chin. “You chose your gift well.”
We didn’t have to provide a present for Nanoq. He’d told Aidan before the festival that all he wanted was the rogues’ heads on spikes and posted at the western border. We would have to get on that once we got back. The bastards were out there, and we’d catch them eventually.
After exchanging farewells, we left the pendragons and headed for the field outside the village. Aidan shifted, strapped me into the harness, and we began the three-hour flight back home. I dozed off for part of the journey, trusting Aidan not to cr
ash and kill us. Between the heavy meal in my stomach and still darkness of night, it was tough to stay awake.
When he began his descent toward our home, I woke up. The moonlight reflected off of a familiar vehicle. For some reason, Earl’s old beat-up car was parked next to my truck. I couldn’t think of a single reason for him to visit when he knew we’d be gone until late in the evening, and he didn’t like coming by often anyway since he didn’t approve of my living with Aidan. The Vietnam vet was old-fashioned about couples living together without marrying, and he didn’t care for shifters all that much, either. It was going to take a lot to change his mind.
Aidan landed in the field behind the house. While he shifted, I searched for Earl. He wasn’t inside, and I picked up the scent of two others who were with him. One was Danae, but it took me a moment to identify the other.
I tensed and glanced at Aidan. “My father is here.”
“I noticed that as well,” he said after completing his shift.
We followed the scent trail to the front of the house where they must have gone inside. Since looters would just break into the place if they really wanted to enter, we didn’t bother to lock the door. As of yet, no one had tried to take anything from our house, but we were out in the middle of nowhere, and there wasn’t much reason to come our way.
Earl opened the door as we climbed the steps. “About time.”
“We didn’t know you would be waiting on us,” I said, crossing the porch. “What are you doing here?”
He stepped out of the way to let us pass. “You’ll see.”
I found Danae hovering over the couch. Moving closer, I caught sight of Wayne lying there with a pain-filled expression on his face. His clothes were ripped to shreds, his leathery skin was covered in wounds, and his long, brown hair was a tangled mess. Danae had her hand over his right shoulder, working to heal it. His right foot was propped up on a pile of pillows at the end of the couch, swollen and bruised. I noted a bump on his forehead as well. He’d been beaten up pretty badly, which was surprising considering his skills and reputation as a fighter.
