Gren stepped forward and said, “You better be ready to eat your words, woman.”
Sherie couldn’t help saying something she shouldn’t have, “Oh, sure I’ll eat my words. And your lunch, and your man too, you mouthy bitch.”
Gren started to come at her, but the man that had gathered the coins stopped her and said, "This is unarmed, so you need to take your armor off Gren."
The smaller woman grudgingly stepped back and let him and another come forward help her out of her armor. There was no way Sherie could have put herself in Gren’s small suit.
Sherie just loosened her shoulders up and waited. She had more than enough anger and reasons to be angry to keep her blood moving for this. When the man walked to the edge of the circle of soldiers, the only other woman called out, “Kick her ass, Gren!”
Gren didn't wait for anything else, she came right at her, and made a three kick combo without ever lowering her hands from the guard position. Sherie was driven back and circled so she wouldn't collide against the wall of armored flesh. Gren just smiled as she continued her ferocious foot assault.
Sherie was able to get a read on her timing and blocked one of her kicks to the side with the intention of getting close and just beating her down, but the woman’s leg was too powerful. Her block was crushed and she lost her balance for a moment. Sherie was forced back into the defensive by this small woman with her iron legs.
Sherie knew she couldn’t just block force to force with her, her legs were too strong. So she would have to deflect them. Gren swung one of her legs in a roundhouse, and Sherie simply pushed up on it at the apex of her movement and walked towards her to knock her off balance. Gren launched her other leg up to strike Sherie, she was caught completely flatfooted by this unexpected strike. She had never seen anyone attack with their anchoring leg while their attacking leg was held.
The blow struck her in the top of her head; Sherie had been able to duck just enough so that it didn’t connect solidly. The bad part was that she had to let go of her hold to move enough. They were back at square one, staring each other down for a moment, but Gren was huffing her air. Her furious assault was taking its toll on her stamina.
Sherie went on the offensive then. She threw out a pair of front kicks that Gren narrowly avoided. Gren circled to her side and attacked with low kicks aiming for her shins or ankles. Sherie barely stepped out of the way.
Gren stepped in and pursued her lower legs with her attacks. Sherie avoided them again and blocked an unexpected punch for her ribs; which was aimed precisely for her solar plexus. Sherie knocked it down so it would miss its mark. It struck her in the stomach, but she endured it. Her blocking hand snapped up and crushed the woman's nose beneath it. Gren's screech was satisfying to hear. Blood welled from her nose and she swung at Sherie wildly with her fists. Sherie blocked a wild blow and with a full rotation of her hips smashed the side of her face with her left elbow. The small woman literally spun around before she toppled like a toy.
Sherie clutched her stomach where she’d been hit, and watched her opponent. Two of the men came out from the side of the ring of bodies around them and checked on Gren. A resounding “boo” filled the air, but there were a few cheers Sherie could hear, too. It was a welldisciplined and reserved crowd.
The man that had gathered all the Legionnaire’s coin for Gren’s side of the wager came to her. He inclined his head and said, “I wish I could have served with you when you were with us.” He handed her the heavy pouch of silver.
“Thanks," was all she could say while she stood there breathing heavily. She walked over to the pile of her belongings as the ring of soldiers dispersed. She saw increased respect in the eyes of all the soldiers, though.
She watched as the two men attending Gren poured water on her head to rouse her. She woke with a sputter. Sherie just took a drink of her whiskey and watched Gren as she looked around and recalled what had happened.
Gren looked at her, and Sherie looked back. No words were needed.
Gren averted her eyes. Sherie decided it was time to pack a pipe. She packed it well and lit it with a match; there were no branches thin enough in the fire. If she tried to use one, she would have ended up burning her face off for certain.
She puffed away at it while watching the soldiers. Then she saw the squad leader come back. He looked at Gren, who was holding a rag over her nose with her head tilted back and asked, “What the hell happened to you, Gren?”
“I broke my nose, sir," Gren squeaked in a funny way one speaks with a broken nose.
“How did you break your nose, soldier?” He asked.
“Settling a personal problem, sir,” she replied squeakily.
“Is the problem settled? Will you be ready for duty at sunrise?” He snapped.
Gren stood up and snapped to attention, still holding the bloody towel over her nose and squeaked, “Sir, the problem is settled, and I am always ready to serve!” She saluted with a vigor that earned Sherie’s respect.
“Good soldier, carry on.” He smiled wanly and seated himself. Gren seated herself as well.
“Sir, what’s the word about our guest?” One of the other soldiers asked.
“We are to keep her here, and take her to the tower tomorrow,” he said.
“Yes, sir. Is she a criminal?” The inquisitive soldier asked.
“There is no reason to believe that right now, soldier.” he said.
Sherie felt the tension leave her when she heard him say this. She was still unsure why they would want to take her to the tower, but at least she had one less fear.
The inquisitive soldier sat beside her and said, “Hi, my name is Bannon.”
She looked him up and down. He wasn’t an ugly man, “Hi. My name is… Jirai.” This was the first time since she’d started using this alias she had nearly slipped and named herself.
“It may get cold, tonight,” he said. This wasn’t a casual observation. This was the socially acceptable way to ask someone in your unit if they wished to share a bed. Sherie’s heart quickened.
She hadn't been with a man for nearly three weeks, and with an acceptable specimen of manhood asking respectfully if she wanted him to take her, she nearly orgasmed right there. She tried not to stare and composed herself by sucking smoke in from her pipe.
“True. I’m sure there aren’t enough blankets either. Do you want to share one?” She replied, feeling her heart flutter.
“Of course,” Bannon replied with a charming smile.
She picked up her skins and her weapons belt and walked to one of the large tents with him. She allowed herself to pretend for a moment that she could forget about another man that had asked her the same thing not so long ago.
Tuesday June 26th 1612th year of the First Great City The Tower
Sherie woke with a start; it was a bad dream of course. This one was when she saw her brother on the line at Vox. She didn’t scream when she woke up, but she lay there, breathing too hard and feeling like her heart was going to pop out of her chest. She waited for the adrenaline to fade.
She was still in the tent with Bannon and several other Legionnaires. She slid her arm out from under him and groped the ground for her things. She slid out of the bedroll and began putting her clothes on quietly. She had enjoyed her time with Bannon… to a point. He wasn’t able to take her to the heights of ecstasy that Bryce could have. Truly, Bannon had been a competent, attentive, partner with stamina, but there was something missing.
By the spirits, a man like this would have made her very happy before Bryce, but the passion that Bryce had made love with had been in a league of its own. Being with him seemed to have ruined every other man for her.
She wiped a tear as she buckled her weapons belt on. Sherie went out to the fire and sat by it. A few men and a woman she didn’t know were sitting by it now. She nodded to them. Then she pulled her pipe out to pack it. One of the men spoke.
“Are you Jirai Sonom?” He asked
“Yeah,” she said arou
nd the pipe in her mouth as she lit it.
And that was the extent of the conversation that involved her. The three men spoke quietly among themselves. The woman didn’t speak to any of them.
Sherie drank a bit more of her whiskey and pulled the short sword from her left side. She held that blade in her hand and laid down on her left side with her back to the fire. She closed her eyes to try to resume her sleep.
If she was lucky, she wouldn’t dream this time.
* * *
Sherie woke a bit before dawn; the squad leader had been about to tap her with the tip of her boot. Her sword was up instantly; he dropped a hand to his blade and stepped back. “I didn’t mean to startle you, Miss Sonom. We are getting ready to leave. I wanted you to have a chance to eat breakfast before we did,” he said while watching her closely.
When she slowed her breathing down she sheathed her blade and said, “Thank you.”
He simply nodded to her, before he turned away and went to his soldiers. One of them stayed with her.
It only took one inquiry for her to find out where the food was. On her way she went to the river and filled her water skin. She didn’t even have to go all the way; there was a squad of Legionnaires that were running a bucket brigade of water from the river. She simply filled her skin at the tub they were filling.
After her breakfast, she returned to the area in the camp that belonged to the squad to which she was assigned. The tents were mostly down and packed already. She saw Bannon and Gren both.
Soldiers were bringing horses down, including Lucky. She hugged the horse to her, and the animal nuzzled her. She still didn’t have a saddle on her, but what could she do? The saddle, tack and harness had been lost. She just hoped she could buy replacements at this Legion tower.
Then she saw Brina.
Brina’s face was almost white, and she was being carried on a litter between four men. Two of the men had the snake wand on their armor, marking them as medics. They set her down gently, and began checking her while the other two men went elsewhere. She was covered with a thick wool blanket. Sherie walked Lucky over there.
“Is she going to live?” She asked them, trying to keep her feelings out of this, but not doing so well. She just hoped desperately that she hadn’t failed this heroic woman in some way.
“We're not certain. We need to get her to the tower, we've done everything we can do for her here. My Lieutenant asked me to give you a copy of this, ma'am." He handed her a folded piece of paper.
Sherie opened it up and looked at it. There were words she didn’t know written on it, and a column of numbers. She asked; “What is this?”
“The bill for the care that we’ve given her. If she cannot pay it, and she lives she’ll be forced to serve until...”
“Until it’s paid,” Sherie cut him off with a growl. She looked closely at the bill and deciphered it; the total for the work was two silver marks, plus 5 silver coins. “I’ll settle this bill when we reach the tower,” she said. This was the least she could do for the woman that had saved her life.
“Very well, ma’am,” the Medic said.
The two soldiers that had left returned with two horses. The animals had straps wrapped around their bodies and stretched between them. There were six straps. The two legion medics lifted her litter onto the straps and tied the litter to it. Then they used a coil of rope to tie her to the litter securely. Brina still didn’t move or make a sound.
Sherie mounted Lucky and swung her around. She called out to the medics, “How can she sleep through that?”
“We put her down with an alchemist’s brew. It’s the best way for her to be moved this far, ma’am,” one of them replied.
Sherie nodded. This trip wouldn’t be fun for her if she was awake. She knew the medics were right.
“Thank you for taking care of her. No matter what happens, I know you did your best.”
“Thank you, ma'am," he said. With Brina secured between the two horses, one medic left and the senior medic went to speak to the squad leader briefly.
Sherie put herself behind the pair of horses with Brina’s litter on it. She wanted to be able to keep an eye on her. Before they left, the squad was arranged around her being behind Brina.
The squad leader situated himself by her in the riding arrangement. He introduced himself as Koal, then he started shouting to his soldiers, “Get your asses in line and get moving!”
They did so quickly. Watching the way they worked together, Sherie could see this would have been a good squad to have joined.
They began the ride south to the tower, and Sherie tried to remind herself that she wasn’t a suspect to keep her fear in check.
* * *
They traveled through the whole day, stopping once for lunch. In the late afternoon, they actually left the man-made pass and stopped to water the horses.
Sherie could see the Legion Tower now. She had heard about the Legion towers but had never been to one before. She knew that they were placed in the wilderness along roads where there were no holds for a long way. They were also places to stockpile soldiers and equipment that weren't affiliated with any Noble House.
The towers were used as a place to elevate the number of Legionnaires. Every Great City had an equal number of Legionnaires to House Guards. But most Holds outside of Great Cities had no Crown Legion presence. By the treaty of Fenel, the Crown Legion was to always be equal to the all the Noble House’s Guards. To accomplish this, the Legion Towers were created.
The Tower was impressive. Sherie guessed it was probably the tallest structure she had ever seen. She asked Koal, “How many soldiers are in there?”
He looked at her and snorted. “I’m not supposed to say. Crown secrets, you know,” he winked at her and smiled.
“Well I guess I know, now,” she replied with irritation.
“Don’t be so grumpy!” he laughed.
“Don’t be so cheerful! By the spirits, it’s a wonder someone hasn’t stabbed you for that!”
Koal laughed and shook his head.
As they continued their ride, the evergreen trees became mixed with deciduous trees. Sherie could see the stone tower growing even larger in the evening sky.
After riding the whole day, after full night fell they reached the gate of the Legion Tower.
The gate was a wide affair that was set into a ten-yard tall wall. There was a portcullis as well. Sherie could see several soldiers on the walls, and at the gate itself. They were stopped at the Gate, and their orders were verified before they were allowed entry.
Sherie was familiar with this kind of security. In Vox it only happened in the Legion Towers there.
They wanted to make certain no one who wasn’t supposed to be there could infiltrate to cause trouble.
The gate guards placed a visitor’s armband on both her and Brina’s arms. Brina was still not awake, and medics came to assist with her.
Sherie didn’t care for the looks they exchanged after they finished checking her.
“How bad is she?” Sherie asked them as they untied her from the straps supporting her.
They exchanged a look with the Corporal. Koal simply said, “It’s alright, you can tell her.”
“Bad ma’am. If she makes it through the night, she’ll have a chance. But I wouldn’t bet on that,” the medic said grimly.
Sherie just nodded. There was nothing she could do about it. She would do whatever she could, though. She had managed to return the favor to everyone else who saved her life while they still lived.
She just hoped she would have the chance to do that this time. After they entered the Tower's grounds, Sherie whistled in wonder.
She guessed the security was where the similarity between a Tower in a Great City and a Tower in the wilderness ended. She could see stables for horses, shops, and houses as well. She even saw some chickens running across a dirt road with a young boy chasing them.
In a way, this was like a Hold, except it was completely under the Crown's co
ntrol instead of a Noble's.
Corporal Koal whistled for his Squad’s attention. “I have to report to the Colonel. Take this woman to holding until she is summoned. Two of you will volunteer to escort her. The rest of you will get food. Understood?”
“Who are the volunteers, sir?” One of the men asked.
“I think you’d make a fine volunteer Uno. And Gren, no one gave you permission to get that nose broken! That’s Legion property! Consider yourself volunteered!” Koal barked.
The two of them saluted and acknowledged Corporal Koal’s command properly.
Sherie just shook her head at Koal’s vicious humor. The first rule of being in the Legion was when the word volunteer was used by any commanding officer, you shut the hell up and don’t say a word. Try to stop breathing, you don’t want them to remember you exist. She was pretty sure her friend Aaron had told her that during training.
She wondered if he had died as a man. She hoped so.
Sherie sniffled at the thought and followed the squad to holding after stablemen had taken their horses. It took some time for them to get to the Tower itself. Sherie was certain that she saw a tavern. This place seemed to be about one-fourth the size of Fenel Hold.
The main difference seemed to be that more than half of the people here were soldiers.
They entered the tall stone tower itself without an issue or another security screen. Then they logged themselves with the Watch Officer in the well-guarded entryway. Koal spoke to the Watch Officer at length to get orders cut for Uno and Gren. It seemed to her that he had to get a higher Officer's authorization for something. After they went through the procedure they walked Sherie to the back of the large room, past a guarded spiral stairwell that sat beside two large lifts.
The rest of the squad said their goodbyes to Uno and Gren and split off from the party. Koal went directly to the lifts, while the rest of them went to the stairs. Uno walked ahead of her and the wily fighting woman Gren walked behind her.
Fugitive: A Prequel to Spirit of Magik Page 9
