Sword Masters

by Selina Rosen

  She sat on one of the benches and just took it all in.

  "You're leaving, aren't you?" Jazel asked.

  "Yes. You heard what that man said at lunch yesterday. The queen is paying for Amalite scalps. For me, getting paid for killing Amalites is like getting paid to eat my dinner. It's something I want to do any way," Tarius said. "I'm well and my body is healed. It's time for me to get back to work."

  "I understand," Jazel said.

  "When next I come here, I will pay for your services," Tarius said.

  "Good, because I consider us even now. Of course, if you could see fit to do my mate . . . badly, I would let you stay again for free."

  "I'll pay, thank you," Tarius said with a laugh. She stood up. "Time to ride."

  "Good luck . . . with everything, Tarius."

  * * *

  Tarius, Harris, and Elise started for the coast. Since they had lost the war with the Jethriks the Amalites had once again focused their attention on the Kartik. They had been raiding Kartik ships at sea and then using the ships to sneak into the country. They were trying to build up strongholds along the seacoast. Tarius hoped to stop them there before they got a chance to get inland. Before their numbers could grow.

  The Amalite presence in the Kartik now fueled Tarius's hatred for the Jethrikian king. It was his fault that their were still Amalites in the world.

  When they camped at night, Harris and Tarius took turns training Elise with sword, spear and staff. Tarius was happy for Harris, he seemed to have found his perfect match in Elise. However it left her odd man out, and she found herself getting more and more attached to her horse.

  It was warm, and there was no threat of rain, so they slept in the open. Harris and Elise were having sex, which was what they usually did as soon as they were sure she was asleep. As if their noisy love-making wouldn't have awakened the dead.

  As the sound of their ecstatic groans filled the night, she felt more alone than ever. She looked up at the sky through the trees and smiled at the stars. It was good to see her own night sky again. Good to be back in Kartik with all the familiar sights and sounds. She caught a scent on the wind—one that did not belong. She got up and carefully snuck out of camp, although she doubted Harris and Elise would notice if a horse went galloping past them at that moment.

  She called on the night as she walked. Her senses became keener, and the scent became stronger. She ran through the brush making hardly a sound. Now she smelled smoke, too, and in a few minutes she saw them through the trees. She stopped abruptly and looked down on the camp.

  Amalites. From the size of their encampment, there must have been at least twenty of them. They appeared to be armed to the teeth, and they had at least ten horses.

  They slept in six tents with two guards. From the looks of the camp and the manner of those she observed, these men were accomplished at war, but they were no match for her and Harris. Not with the element of surprise on their side.

  She went hunting, and then she went back to camp.

  * * *

  They had a hell of a time breaking the language barrier. They just didn't know nearly enough Kartik. They wound up with a job waiting tables and washing dishes in a pub for room and board. They had finished with the dinner rush and had just sat down for a meal.

  "Well, how did you do?" Arvon asked Jena as she sat across from him and Dustan.

  "I made twenty coppers in tips," she said. "I only messed up five orders, so I think my Kartik's getting better."

  "I just made fifteen coppers," Dustan said, "and I only messed up two orders, so that hardly seems fair."

  "Well, I only got a whole two coppers in tips, and I didn't mess up any orders, so I think this stinks," Arvon said making a face.

  "At this rate we'll be here the rest of our lives," Dustan said pulling a face. "We'll never make enough to buy horses, and I'm getting tired of the three of us living in the same tiny little room."

  "I don't know what you're bitching about. You have the bed. I'm sleeping on a bedroll on the floor," Jena said.

  "Where you listen to us," Dustan said.

  "I'd have to be deaf not to hear you!" Jena protested.

  "You could pretend not to," Dustan said hotly. "At the very least you could contain your urge to laugh."

  Jena laughed. "All right, I'll try."

  "Any word about Tarius?" Arvon asked.

  "I still don't even know if I'm asking the right questions," Dustan said, "and I can only understand about half of what they say."

  "Same here," Jena said.

  Fact was, Arvon was picking Kartik up quicker than either of the others. "Everyone I ask says they have neither heard of nor seen a Katabull fitting Tarius's description. Nor has anyone seen Harris, and Harris would be more likely to stick out in their minds. I think the three of us are the only Jethriks I've seen since we've been here. But catch this, there are about fifty ports where boats dock. She and Harris could be anywhere."

  "Or nowhere," Jena said with a sigh.

  "When we get a little better with the language, we'll be able to understand more, and when we get a little more money, we'll buy horses and go looking for her," Arvon said. "Shouldn't be to hard to find a Katabull woman in Jethrik colors and a tall, thick, blond-headed Jethrik lad."

  "Unless they don't want to be found," Jena said. "We're talking Tarius. She doesn't have to come into a town unless she wants to."

  "But what's to keep her in the field? She'll have to find work teaching at an academy or in the king's army . . ."

  A man sitting at the next table laughed. When they looked at him he stopped. "Sorry. Couldn't help over-hearing you. I'm a sea-faring man myself. Work the shipping lines, own my own ship. Comes in handy if you can speak the language where you trade. First thing you need to know . . ." He moved over to their table. "We don't have a king right now; we have a queen. Queen Hestia. Second. The queen is paying five silvers apiece for Amalite scalps, so if your friend's a fighter, she could be anywhere."

  "Have you heard of anyone by the name of Tarius the Black?" Arvon asked.

  "Aye. What sailing man hasn't? One of our people who saved your people from the hand of the Amalites and was shot through with an arrow by your own king for her troubles," he said matter-of-factly.

  "If they know that, then Tarius must be alive!" Jena said excitedly.

  Arvon looked at her, not following Jena's logic. "It was a secret, Arvon. No one was supposed to know that Tarius was a woman or that the king had her shot. She's the only one who could have told that story."

  "She or Harris," Arvon reminded her gently.

  "But he didn't tell. Was the Katabull what told the story," the sailor said. "A friend of mine gave safe passage to your friends. She was in a bad way. Katabull don't do well when they are pierced with wood. They headed for the Springs of Montero."

  "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Jena ran over and kissed him. He blushed and harrumphed in discomfort.

  She looked at Arvon. "Come on! Let's go!"

  "How far away is it?" Arvon asked.

  "Five day's ride inland to the west," he said.

  "Then let's go," Jena said.

  "On what?" Arvon asked. "A five day's ride is a twenty day hike. We don't have enough money to buy even one horse."

  "Sorry I can't help you more," the sailor got up. "If you needed a lift out to sea . . ."

  "Thank you," they all said to him at once.

  He nodded, turned and walked away.

  "We're so close," Jena said resting her head in her hands.

  "At least we know she's alive, Jena," Arvon said. "If only we could get even one horse. I could ride over to see if Tarius is there."

  "We don't even have enough to get a decent meal away from the pub," Dustan said with a sigh.

  There was a commotion at the bar, and the owner called out for Arvon. Arvon got up and ran over.

  "Arvon, throw this man from the pub."

  Arvon grabbed the man by the collar and belt, hauled him to the
front door and threw him out.

  "And don't come back, you bum!" the owner screamed over Arvon's shoulder. "I wouldn't give you credit if you were the Katabull!" He walked over to the bar and started wiping glasses again and Arvon followed him.

  "Excuse me for my ignorance, Henry. But what did you mean, if he were the Katabull. ?" Arvon asked.

  "The Katabull bring good luck. They are notorious for generosity towards those that help them, so if you give one credit you will be rewarded ten fold," he said.

  Arvon smiled. That was the reason behind Tarius's strong ethics. Not Kartik, but Katabull ethics. Ethics he hadn't learned because he hadn't been raised Katabull. However, he was Katabull, and he would give back better than he got if that was what was expected of him.

  Arvon brought on the change and looked across the bar at Henry. "I need to borrow a horse, and I need a few days off."

  The owner smiled. "I've got a stallion out back. Rides like the wind. Take as many days as you need."

  * * *

  The dawn was just starting to break, and below them the camp was silent. Tarius called on the night then she ran into the camp. She slit the throat of one guard, and he never even knew she was there. Then she sneaked across camp to the other guard. He almost had time to yell before she separated his head from his body.

  Next she slipped into the biggest of the tents, and had killed five men before they even woke up. Two more never made it to their feet.

  Elise and Harris came riding into the camp, and the men ran out of their tents, armor-less and unprepared for the ferocity of the force that faced them. Twenty-three men were dead before Tarius was even winded. They took the scalps and any money, armor, weapons and gear that was worthy. Then they stacked the bodies on one of the fires, stacked the tattered tents and broken poles and some deadfall on the bodies, dowsed the pile with coal oil and set it ablaze. It wouldn't reduce the bodies to ash, but it would keep the flies down until the animals could pick the bones clean.

  They loaded everything else on the Amalite horses and started for the nearest town where they turned in the scalps for money and sold everything that they didn't need. Now Elise had good armor and a horse, plus they had a packhorse, good gear and supplies, so they started back into the field to look for their next target. They were already rich by Kartik standards.

  * * *

  Arvon hated to even walk into the pub, but he finally walked in with his head hung low.

  Jena hit him first, even before Dustan. "Well . . .well?"

  "Tarius is well healed. But she left Montero long ago to hunt Amalite raiders along the coast, and no one seemed to know in which direction she went."

  Arvon hugged Dustan tightly and reveled in the fact that when they kissed after being parted for ten days, not one person had even a single snide remark for them. Arvon was tired, and he pulled Dustan along with him to a seat.

  "I've taken care of your horse already!" Arvon hollered at Henry who just nodded. "Thanks a lot."

  "I'm sorry you didn't find your friend," Henry said.

  "Thanks," Arvon said.

  Jena sat down across from Arvon. "But you said she is well?" Jena asked. She couldn't hide either her relief or her disappointment.

  "Well enough to ride out after Amalites. Get this—Harris has a girl friend! A Kartik swordswoman who's traveling with them now. They might be headed this way, or they could be headed the other. Listen, it seems like I can get just about anything on credit just because I am the Katabull. I could get horses for Dustan and I, and we could head out—go hunting Amalites. We may just run into Tarius and Harris, and we can probably make enough money to pay back our debts here . . ."

  "I want to go, too, Arvon. I can fight. Better than I can wait tables!"

  Yes, just what I need! I should take Tarius The Black's woman out and get her killed or injured. "Jena . . . we may run in circles all around her. If one of us stays put here . . . Well, the odds are very good that she'll eventually come through here. Especially since everywhere I went I told people that if they saw her to send her here to this pub. Someone has to stay here in case she shows up. And, frankly, for very selfish reasons, I would prefer to have Dustan with me."

  Jena nodded, resigned.

  So she continued to work at the pub while Arvon and Dustan ran off to fight the Amalites. They were gone a month the first time, and when they returned they had not seen Tarius. However they heard tales of how she was single-handedly wiping the Amalites from their shores. They hadn't done too badly, either. They came back with three horses, enough money to pay off all their debts, and to leave her with quite a chunk of change before they took off again.

  They told her about their adventures in detail. They were careful not to pick on groups of more than ten Amalites, and they used the guerrilla tactics they had learned from Tarius.

  Jena didn't tell them how restless or lonely she was. She had learned Kartik well by now, and heard the same stories that they had heard about Tarius. With each person she talked to she sent on the word that if they should see Tarius to tell her that Jena was waiting in Pasco. She knew she had to stay here, but she hated it. There was nothing to do but work and think. She talked the boys into staying a couple of days and was glad of the company. When they left, she had a horse of her own, and he gave her some company as well as a way to get out of town a little bit and explore the countryside.

  Kartik was beautiful. Every bit as breathtaking as Tarius had said it would be. Jena loved the bright costumes, and the wrap-around dresses that barely covered enough for modesty. Men usually wore brightly colored loincloths and nothing else but a sword and a smile. Yet another lie Tarius had told. It was far too hot here to bother with modesty. If you were going to be comfortable, you were going to have to wear as little as possible.

  When Arvon and Dustan left, she took some of the money they gave her and bought some new clothes. She indulged in a couple of the colorful wrap-around dresses, although she went with a more modest cut than the local girls wore. She bought a pair of black pants and a couple of bright, multicolored shirts to go with them. She also bought a dagger, as it was easier to handle than the sword when she was waiting tables. Everyone everywhere was armed. No one walked anywhere without steel in sight, and amazingly no one really bothered anyone. Oh, she'd had more than one man try to manhandle her, but as soon as she let them know she'd just as soon kill them as look at them, they backed off. That was another weird thing about Kartik. Here in Kartik, if you so much as threatened a person, they had the right to kill you and there would be no questions asked. Even so, she hadn't seen a single altercation that ended with anyone having more than a black eye or a fat lip.

  Best of all, everyone was treated as an equal here. No one said anything derogatory to her because she was from out-country. In fact, the phrase "out-country" didn't appear to be part of their language. Same-sex couples walked down the street, openly holding hands or kissing. The Katabull were revered, and women were considered every bit as capable as men.

  Yes, Jena liked Kartik; she liked it a lot. However after five months in the pub with still no sight of Tarius, and the boys only making it home about once a month, she was bored to tears.

  * * *

  Harris and Elise's more or less constant love fest was wearing on Tarius's nerves. It was hard to pretend she didn't see them necking or hear their insipid, love-filled whispering. It was annoying in the extreme, mostly because it reminded her of her own loss. So she had asked them to go on into town without her saying she wanted some time on her own to bond with the jungle. It was an out and out lie. She wanted to eat real food and sleep in a real bed. She watched them ride away telling them she'd meet them in town in a couple of days. As soon as she was sure they were gone she'd packed camp, jumped on her horse, and headed in the other direction for the nearest town. She didn't feel bad about her lie. Though they'd never say it, they were probably just as glad to be on their own for a change.

  She stopped on the outskirts of the small se
aport town and took a long refreshing bath in a creek. Then she put on clean clothes, saddled up and headed on into town. She could feel the energy of the town before she entered it. People were running every which way and the sounds of the street were like music to her ears. She needed some diversion besides killing men. There was life here, she hoped to take vicarious pleasure from watching other people who actually enjoyed their lives, as long as it didn't include Harris and Elise making baby talk with each other. The mere thought sent a chill up her spine.

  A man and a woman were chasing each other around the posts of a porch awning laughing as they grabbed at each other.

  Was I ever that silly? Tarius thought as she watched the couple. It seems like a lifetime since I held her in my arms, yet the pain in my heart is as new as if it were only yesterday. I should try to make a new life for myself. Harris keeps telling me that I should try to find someone new, someone who will love me for who I am. I know he's right, but I don't think I will ever be over Jena, and how fair is it to make someone else sleep with my memories of her?

  Tarius tried to chase the thoughts from her mind. She was here to indulge herself, eat too much, and sleep too late, and maybe if the mood struck her she would have a woman, too, someone who wouldn't mind that it was just for a night.

  She found a pub that looked friendly and smelled good. Then she dismounted and tied her horse to the rail. As she started inside she became all too aware that people were watching her, and heard her name whispered amongst them. She had become a creature of legend among her people. This should have warmed her, as a child it was what she had dreamed of, now it meant less than nothing to her because age and experience had changed her desires.

  If only she had killed Tragon any of the dozens of times she had wanted to. If she had let him die, let Persius die. Her whole life would have been different. Maybe she'd be here with Jena now. And maybe she'd still hate me. I can't build a future trying to rethink the past.