Sword Masters

by Selina Rosen

  She walked through the front doors of the pub just in time to see a drunken man accost a Jethrikian woman, and she reacted without thought.

  * * *

  It was the end of a busy day, Jena was tired and hot, and not in the mood to put up with any crap. A drunk grabbed her arm and tried to pull her into his lap.

  "Let me go," Jena ordered.

  "Ah, come on, be nice to Fred. You're so pretty," he slurred out.

  "I said, let me go," she said again.

  "I'll let you go . . . To my room," he laughed drunkenly.

  "Let the woman go, or I'll split you!" a voice boomed behind Jena.

  Jena had been holding a mug in her right hand, getting ready to slam it into this man's head. She dropped the mug and it hit the floor, shattering into a hundred different pieces.

  The man let go of her, and she turned to face her savior.

  Tarius stood with her sword held out in front of her in her right hand, her head tilted back and to one side. It was a stance that Jena instantly recognized, but it was a Tarius that Jena had never seen. Her long black hair was braided on either side of her face. She wore a brightly colored gambeson with metal pauldrons tied on the shoulders. The gambeson only came to her waist, and it didn't quite lace closed across her chest. The only other thing she wore besides boots was a black leather loincloth. Tarius was definitely a woman, and surprisingly, that didn't bother Jena at all.

  The whole bar was suddenly silent followed by murmurs of, "Tarius the Black."

  If possible, Tarius looked even more stunned than Jena was. The proof being that she almost dropped her sword. Tarius caught it quickly and then sheathed it almost in one movement.

  "Jena . . ." Tarius rubbed her eyes as if not trusting them. She looked again, but still seemed unsure. "Jena?"

  For answer, Jena ran to Tarius and threw herself into Tarius's arms. Tarius picked Jena up and swung her around. Then, as if suddenly remembering how they had parted, she let Jena go and pushed her away from her.

  "Jena . . . What the hell are you doing here?" Tarius asked.

  "It's a long story," Jena said. She wouldn't let go of Tarius; she just hung on to any part of her she could reach. There was no part of her that was willing to let go. "I have been looking for you. I had begun to believe that I'd never see you again. I have missed you so much."

  "After everything I did?" Tarius shook her head trying to comprehend.

  "Maybe because of everything you did," Jena said softly. She got on tiptoes and kissed Tarius's lips gently, and Tarius—no doubt still in shock—didn't respond.

  "How did you get here?" Tarius asked, still afraid to trust her eyes and ears.

  "Arvon and Dustan brought me."

  Jena looked over at Henry appealingly. He just smiled and nodded. Jena took Tarius's hand and started pulling her towards the stairs. Tarius stopped when she reached the man who had accosted Jena, and she glared down at him. She put a finger in his face only an inch from his nose and said in a hiss. "If you ever touch my woman again, I'll kill you."

  He gulped and nodded his head in understanding.

  "Jena!" Tarius protested as she continued to follow. "Where are you taking me?"

  "To my room," Jena said with a wicked smile that made Tarius blush.

  The patrons in the bar cheered, and Tarius allowed herself to be led up to Jena's room, where Jena pulled her in, closed and locked the door.

  Tarius looked around the room nervously.

  "Jena, what about the baby?"

  "I lost it," Jena said. "I don't want to talk about it right now." She undid the buckle on Tarius's scabbard, and sword and sheath fell unceremoniously to the floor with a clunk!

  "Jena, I'm so sorry for everything," Tarius started.

  Jena kissed her lips again gently, and this time Tarius kissed her back. "Oh, gods! You smell good," Jena said, breathing in deep of her scent.

  "I stopped and took a bath . . . I feel like there's so much that I should say. So much I should at least try to explain."

  "Yes. Well, all I want right now is for you to get naked." She started to undo the laces on Tarius's gambeson. She saw the beaded necklace she had given Tarius the day they married still hanging around Tarius's neck, and she smiled as she touched it. She pulled the chain with the coin from the top of her dress.

  "I still wear mine, too. I never took it off. Even when I was so mad at you I could have killed you myself, I still couldn't bring myself to remove it." She intentionally ran her hand across Tarius's breasts, and felt Tarius shake.

  "Are you sure, Jena?" Tarius asked, her voice thick with repressed passion.

  Jena looked at Tarius. "Do I look like I'm just kidding, Tarius? Do I act like I'm unsure? Arvon and Dustan have been looking for you for months, and I have been waiting, and waiting here. I'm tired of waiting. I've had lots of time to decide what I want. I don't want a man—any man. Nor do I want any other woman. I only want you. I want you, and I want all of you. I want to be the one to make you cry out. I want to see you, to feel you. Be with you completely, in every way, and . . ."

  Tarius grabbed Jena up, carried her to the bed, and put her down. She finished unlacing her gambeson and slung it aside, then she lay down next to Jena.

  Jena smiled. "You're still not naked."

  "Oh, gods, if I'm dreaming, don't let me wake up this time," Tarius mumbled. She took a deep breath. "I might change, you know."

  "Into the Katabull?"

  Tarius nodded. "It's happened to me before."

  "I've seen you that way before, Tarius, and I've seen lots of them in the bar. They have one drink, and they're all teeth and hair and bulk. I can handle it. It doesn't scare me. You don't scare me." Jena started to undo the strings holding up the loincloth. Jena wasn't too surprised to find that Tarius knew the quickest and easiest way to get the wrap-around dress off her.

  When bare flesh met bare flesh for the first time, it was like lightning striking, and Jena knew she'd made the right decision.

  Jena didn't know how long they made love, but they didn't stop till they were both exhausted. She lay with her back to Tarius, loving the feel of Tarius's bare flesh against hers. She was wrapped up in Tarius's arms, and she finally felt whole again.

  Tarius kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Jena. I always have, and I always will."

  "And I love you, Tarius. You. Not the person you were pretending to be. I loved you all along," Jena said. "I . . . " she laughed nervously, "well I thought I could do it—you know make love to you—because I just wanted to make you feel the way you make me feel, because I do love you so much. I never imagined that . . . well, that I'd enjoy it so much."

  Tarius smiled and pulled Jena close. "Did I not tell you that making love to you was enough for me? That wasn't a lie, Jena. Not that I didn't long for your touch."

  "Did I . . . Did I do all right?" Jena asked shyly.

  Tarius laughed. "All right? Far more than just 'all right'." Tarius held Jena tighter. "You were amazing. . How did you know?"

  "I know what I like when you do it to me," Jena answered.

  She turned in Tarius's arms and ran a finger over the scar the arrow had left. It was a bad scar, a deep one. "He almost killed you, didn't he?"

  "Almost." Tarius kissed Jena gently on the lips. "But worse than all of that was losing you. Knowing that I'd hurt you. Even as I struggled for life I wished I would die and even long after I was well I found myself wishing I had died. My life had no meaning, I could take no pleasure in it without you. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it all up to you. Jena, I am so sorry . . . "

  "Shush," Jena held a finger over Tarius's lips. "There is nothing to be sorry for. I love you more than ever, Tarius. Everything that happened is as much my fault as it is yours. I've had a lot of time to think and I realized that you must have tried to tell me a dozen times, and every single time I said something stupid that made it impossible for you to tell me."

  "I was afraid, I don't know that there is
ever an excuse for cowardice. Jena . . . What happened to the baby?" Tarius asked gently.

  Jena told Tarius everything, and they cried and held each other until they were spent.

  "I wish you didn't have to go through any of those horrible things, and you wouldn't have if it hadn't been for me," Tarius said.

  "I don't want to dwell on the past, Tarius. You warned me about you and your secrets. Still I wouldn't leave you alone. I had to have you, and we both know why now. Yes, we went through hell, you and I. And none of the crap you went through would have happened to you if it hadn't been for me. So, we could blame ourselves and each other for an eternity, but the fact is that we loved each other, and it took all that for us to be able to be together now. I didn't know who I was, and the old Jena never would have accepted you as a lover if she had known. Let's leave the past in the past. I'll forgive you, and you forgive me. And no more lies."

  "No more lies," Tarius promised. "There's nothing to lie about now."

  * * *

  "I am tired of walking," Dustan complained. His horse had stepped on a rock and come up lame, nothing that wouldn't heal in time, but he couldn't be ridden. Dustan had been walking the better part of the day. "Couldn't we make camp for the night?"

  "It's midday," Arvon said. "We can make it home if we don't stop."

  "What's one more night out?" Dustan said. His feet were killing him, and he just wanted to lie down.

  Arvon stopped. "You ride for awhile, and I'll walk."

  Dustan shook his head. As much as he was tired of walking, he didn't want Arvon to have to walk. Arvon's leg still bothered him, and long walks caused him great pain. "No. I'm fine. I'm sorry I was whining. I'm all right, really."

  "I just . . ." Arvon stopped. "Tie your horse to mine, and we'll ride double. He'll be all right; it's only a few more miles." Kartik horses were not as large as Jethrik horses, and carrying two men was really too much, but it wouldn't hurt for a short way. Dustan tied his horse to Arvon's saddle and got on behind him.

  "Why are you in such a hurry to get home? We haven't found Tarius and Harris, and I hate to have to face Jena empty-handed once again," Dustan said.

  "I just have a feeling . . . I don't know how to explain it, except to say that I just feel like there's something happening with Jena," Arvon said.

  "Something bad?" Dustan asked, suddenly worried.

  "I don't know," Arvon said. "But something."

  By the time they got to the pub they had worked themselves into such a lather that they didn't even care for their horses, they just tied them at the hitching post and ran in. Jena was nowhere in sight, and a new girl was working the tables. Panic welled up inside them. Terrified, Arvon grabbed Henry, making him spill a pitcher of beer.

  "Damn it all, boy! What did you do that for?" Henry demanded, wiping beer off his apron with his hand.

  "Where is Jena?" Arvon demanded.

  "Oh that," Henry smiled. "She's gone off to Montero with Tarius the Black. They're waiting for you there."

  Arvon and Dustan just stared at each other. It took a second to soak in, but then they both let out a whoop of joy that startled Henry into nearly spilling another pitcher. They embraced each other and danced around the bar for several minutes. They spent that night at the pub hardly sleeping at all and took off early the very next morning. They bought a new horse and led Dustan's along behind them as they rode.

  * * *

  They had rented three of the rooms at Jazel's, reserving one for when Arvon and Dustan got there. Tarius and Jena got up early and went to the spring before anyone else, so they had it to themselves. Jena had never seen anything like it. The hot spring had carved a perfect circle in the red rock. It bubbled up from the bottom and ran over the top on one side. The water had a greenish-blue tint to it, no doubt from the heavy mineral content, and it was almost, but not quite, too hot. It felt soft, like being wrapped in silk.

  Tarius soaked in the water, enjoying having Jena rub her back and comb out her hair with her fingers.

  "You know what?" Tarius asked.

  "No, tell me," Jena said kissing the side of Tarius's throat.

  "I think . . . No, I know. This is the first time that I have ever really truly relaxed. The first time in my life that I'm not wondering where I am going to be tomorrow or the next day. I'm not sitting around worrying about things way in the future. I'm not even thinking about what I'm going to do in the next few minutes. I'm just happy to be right where I am, here with you. For the very first time, everything is right," Tarius said.

  "We will have a lifetime like this, Tarius," Jena said in a hoarse whisper. "You and me, here in Kartik. With no one to point fingers or click tongues."

  Tarius turned in the water to face Jena, and they started kissing. Tarius pushed Jena gently against the edge of the pool and started running her hands over Jena's body. Soon they were consumed with each other.

  "Ah . . . Now that's the way it should be."

  Tarius pried herself away from Jena, looked up at the intruder and smiled. "Arvon!" She jumped out of the pool, seemingly oblivious to her nakedness, and embraced Arvon, getting him almost as wet as she was. "I was beginning to think that some Amalite had taken you out of the game."

  Arvon held her tightly. He realized that tears were running down his face, and he didn't even try to check them. "I thought . . . I had begun to believe that I would never see you again."

  "No such luck," Tarius said.

  Jena snuck from the pool and grabbed a robe. She still wasn't used to the Kartik people's complete lack of modesty, and wasn't quite ready to run around unclothed in front of anyone who wasn't Tarius. Not even Arvon, who had delivered her poor, dead baby.

  She walked over to Arvon, and when he finally released Tarius, Jena hugged him. "Biggest lie she ever told was about the Kartik's modesty. She certainly has none."

  "Never did." Arvon hugged Jena tightly then released her, and Jena walked over and grabbed a robe for Tarius. She brought it over and helped Tarius into it. Then Jena wrapped her arms around Tarius, putting her hands into the pockets of Tarius's robe. Pockets were another great Kartik invention.

  Jena leaned her head on Tarius's chest, and Tarius wrapped her arms around her.

  Arvon looked at them together and smiled. "So I'm guessing, Jena, that you didn't have any trouble with Tarius's gender."

  Jena moved her head just enough so that she could see him. "None at all."

  "You should get in the spring. It will do your leg good," Tarius said. "Of course you'll have to bathe first."

  Arvon nodded. He'd wanted to try it when he'd been here before looking for Tarius, but he hadn't had the money. Besides, Jena and Dustan had been waiting back at Henry's pub.

  "So, where's Dustan?" Tarius asked carefully. When people lived by the sword, if you didn't see them immediately where you thought they should be, you tended to think the worst.

  "He was detained by Harris. I didn't realize how close they had become when they were riding with you. They're catching up. I like Harris's young woman, very nice. She hugged me like I was a long-lost relative."

  "It's a Kartik thing, she did the same thing to me," Jena explained.

  "So what now, Tarius?" Arvon asked. "When do we ride out?"

  Tarius thought about it only a minute. "For now we stay in Montero, enjoy the spring, the atmosphere and each other. I don't know when we ride out again. I refuse to even think about it right now."

  Chapter 17

  They were prosperous and successful in their slaying of Amalites, and so they soon collected a small army of Kartik and Katabull followers. They swept the seashore until the pickings were slim. No force could stand against them, and word of the might of Tarius's the Black's mercenary army spread throughout the kingdom. The word also spread by way of trade ships into the land of the Jethriks.

  * * *

  The king stood at the window looking out at the city below as the herald read off the latest reports.

  "Tarius the Black has
assembled a small army. The Kartiks call them the Marching Night. They have swept practically every Amalite from the kingdom of Kartik. They say no man can stand against Tarius the Black, and that no army can stand against the Marching Night. The Amalites are beginning to retreat from their attempts to infiltrate the Kartik and are starting to once again push through our borders. Two towns close to the border have already been taken in spite of their best efforts."

  "Had you followed through with Tarius's plans to strengthen the borders, had you not halted the construction of the garrisons, the training of the peasants . . . You know, your stupid pride will be the death of us all," Hellibolt said in a whisper at Persius' back.

  Persius turned, his face a mask of rage. "Shut your mouth!" he hissed at Hellibolt. "Your words tell me only what I have done wrong. They give me no way to fix it."

  "Try to put it right now, Persius, before it's too late. Restart the work effort on the garrisons. Start training the peasants," Hellibolt begged. "It's not too late if you go to work now."

  "Go!" Persius screamed at the herald, who left at a dead run. Persius looked at Hellibolt. "The whole kingdom knows now. After three years there is not a peon in even the most remote village that doesn't know that I put Tarius the Black, a woman, at the head of the Jethrik armies. Not one that doesn't know that I tried to kill her for her betrayal, and not one that doesn't know that she cheated death. What will they say? What will they think if I start up again with plans that they know she made?"

  Hellibolt put a gentle hand on Persius' shoulder and met his eyes. "Perhaps they will say that Tarius the Black is the greatest warrior that our world has ever known. That she drove the Amalites from our land, and now she is driving them from the Kartik. Perhaps they will say that you care more for the welfare of your people than you do for your pride. Do it, Persius. When you went to Tarius's bed in the night and exposed her without even giving her a chance to explain herself to the naïve woman that married her, that was wrong. When you threatened Jena, when you incarcerated Taruis, when you decided to execute her, when you decided she should die a slow and painful death, all of these things were wrong, and everything you have done since has been wrong. Can't you see that, Persius? The first sin led you to commit all the others. If you do not stop the madness now, it will consume you.