Amazon Challenge (20 page)

To our left, Chief Loren stepped forward with five warriors, all carrying horns. They lifted and
, together, blew a challenge.

Several demons shifted direction.

To the right, another group of Amazons strode forward, bellowing into their horns, and more demons changed direction.

Their organized charge had fractured, but there were still six bearing down on us.

When the demons reached two hundred yards, Ralla raised her horn, as did Valen. Up and down our line, Amazons were using horn or voice, hoping to disrupt the demons' organization.

Many of the demons stopped, bellowing their own challenges. Only two remained
thundering towards Malora and me, then another challenge from Valen, and the leftmost one veered for her, stopping to bellow.

The remaining demon charged Malora, lowering its head. She leapt from the path, rolling away, and I charged in, Clara and Bea beside me. Beyond us, I saw six
Queen's Town Amazons assisting Balorie, and behind me I heard more.

I dashed in, lunging for Malora's demon, but it spun, and I barely avoided the tail.

It swiped at Bea, and she fell away, Clara leaping into place to protect her companion. Clara took a swipe of the claws, barely getting the sword in the way. The claws scored a line down her arm, but the demon was bleeding. Clara flew to land past Bea, and Amazons moved between Clara and the demon. Bea ran to her warrior, but Clara waved her off. "I'm fine!" she yelled.

Malora lunged, scoring a strike along the leg. And then all together, the Amazons of Queen's town struck.

Our demon fell.

We looked around. There were pockets of fighting. Then, far to the south, I saw a group of three demons turn tail, bounding away far faster than a human can run. One more picked up an Amazon, threw her, and I knew even from this distance the woman was dead. Then that demon ran as well.

To the north, one more escaped. The rest died.

The demon incursion was the biggest we had seen in years. All told, twenty-four demons died, or at least their bodies were destroyed. Two Amazons were killed, none from Queen's Town. None of our companions became warriors, which was an unspoken relief to every warrior living in Queen's Town.

My new voice receded, becoming a loud addition to my existing cacophony. I
desperately needed Maya.

Malora took two voices
, and from the lines around her eyes, I knew they plagued her. She needed Maya even more than I did.

It took
two more days before we finished the mop-up, hunting down the demons that had run. That actually wasn't bad. No others were seen. The last night, Malora, Omie and I sat up next to a fire. "It's been five days, Omie said. "Are they still in Green Arrow?"

"Maya will have left not one second later than necessary," Malora said. "
They'll have gone home by now."

"My horse is in Green Arrow," I said. "It's only an extra half day to go that way, or I can go alone."

"No," Malora said. "We'll all go. Although I doubt it, they may have stayed there, or waited in Broken Knife, and I for one don't want to face Maya if we go straight home and she's waiting for us somewhere along the way."

* * * *

I've never seen Malora angrier, and Omie was deeply distraught. We made the trip from Green Arrow to Broken Knife in record time, and when we arrived, the companions there gave us more of the story. Yes, Maya and Beria had been there in the morning three days ago.

"Maya told us to tell you they're heading home," Viera said, one of the companions. "I hope they're okay. Beria was in bad shape."

Hearing that, Omie nearly broke down, but I pulled her to me and whispered frantically, "Hold it together until we get out of town. Hold it together, Omie. Maya's smart. She'll take care of her sister."

"If Malora doesn't kill her, I'm going to, Nori," she said. "I hope I have help.
She had no right to touch my companion."

"Let's worry about our friends first," I told her. "We need you, Omie. Hold it together."

She nodded and began demanding supplies. But then I saw Malora and she wasn't staring north, she was staring west. I stepped closer.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Maya's fine, and she'll take care of Beria."

"Not here," Malora said. "Keep it quiet. Get us out of here as fast as we can. Take supplies for a week."

"It's only a day home."

"A week. Just do it."

So I went in search of Omie, and we loaded down with supplies. I grabbed another first aid kit while I was at it. Five minutes later, we were on the trail to Queen's Town. We rode for ten minutes before Malora brought us to a stop, turning to face us. Then she looked west again.

"She went home," I said. "Let's go. We can be there by nightfall."

"She went home, Nori," Malora said, her voice dead. "She left us a message. She went home. Home! Don't you understand?"

I stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

"She went home. Not to Queen's Town.
To her home. Gallen's Cove."

"She wouldn't!"

"Beria wouldn't leave me," Omie said, her voice in anguish. "She loves me. I know she does. She needs me now. Parlomith hurt her!"

"You didn't hear carefully. Beria wasn't being responsive, and Maya is exceedingly protective of her sister. She's taking her
little sister to safety. She's mad at all of us right now. The purple was too much. She's been stressed lately, anyway, and the purple dye was too much. She would have been livid being left behind, especially the way I did it. Now this? She went west, I know it."

"She won't travel through the dense woods," I said. "She'll stick to trails. We'll check the trails, but our best bet is to go home. If she's not there, then we can assemble a team and go after her."

Malora looked at me. "I can't go, Nori. You know I have to stay here. You two will have to go get her, and we have to keep it quiet. You two listen to me. No one can know!"

I nodded. She'd be declared a deserter
; they both would. Malora would have to whip them both, and Maya would never allow that. She'd be lost to us. We could jail her, but if Malora touched either of them with a whip, Maya would never forgive us, and Malora would lose her companion.

"We're wasting time," Omie said. "Let's go."

"They have three days lead," Malora said. "We're faster than they are, but they have three days. We need to be smart."

"She'll stick to trails," I said.

"No she won't," Omie said. "She loves the water. They both do."

"She'll follow a river," Malora agreed.

"And I know which one," I said.

"Now we go," Malora said. And then she spun her horse, opening him into a ground-eating trot. The urge to spur the horses faster was high, but if we did, they would burn out and be worthless to us.

At each river we stopped, looking for tracks. "They won't take this one," Omie said at the first. "It's too narrow. Maya would know better." We didn't check it carefully.

When we arrived at the first braided river, all three of us stared at it. "Either they took this one," Malora said, "Or they're safely in Queen's town."

"This is the one I was thinking of," I said in agreement. "Yes, either they turned west here, or they're waiting for us at home."

She climbed from her horse, twisting his reins around a convenient tree branch. Omie and I followed suit, then the three of us began inspecting the riverbed, looking for tracks. We headed west a half mile, finding no signs, then returned along the opposite side seeing no more signs.

"How much time do we lose if we go home first?" Omie asked.

"Almost a day," Malora said. "Check it again."

"Check in the water," Omie said.

"If they went through the water, it could be miles before we find a sign," Malora said. "We'd be better to go home and see if they are there."

"Half mile," Omie said. "They were pulling the pack animals, too, and one of them will leave a sign. It hasn't rained, and the water is low, barely flowing. It's shallow, and there are sandbars. Even if she keeps her horse in the water, the ones being pulled behind won't necessarily follow the same path.

So that's what we did, checking the edges of the water, and Omie waded through the stream, checking every sandbar until she stopped and stared.

"Malora," she said quietly.

We both rushed over, and clear as day was a horse hoof print
, shoed in the Amazon style, pointing west. We all stared at it.

"Beria," Omie said, pain in her voice. She looked west. Then she turned to Malora. "She's not a deserter! She's not!"

"Neither of them are deserters," Malora declared. "They are running for their lives, and now it's our job as their warriors to protect them. Back to the horses."

We climbed out of the water and ran. It wasn't far.

"You guys take everything, just leave me my horse and a canteen. If we're wrong, then I'll send someone after you with several changes of horses. She'll be able to catch up."

Omie scrambled to grab the horses, but Malora grabbed me, turning me to her. She stared into my eyes, her expression filled with pain. "You find them. You promise them anything. Anything! I'll back you. Get them back here.
Both of them. Just do not bring them back the way you did the first time. I don't think she'll forgive us a second time."

"What if she won't come?"

"Challenge me."

"What?"

"Challenge me. Your fight is one month from today in the afternoon."

"Malora, no!" I said. "I don't want it."

"You know the alternative. Challenge me, Nori!"

"Omie!" I called out. "You are my witness."

"Witness to what?"

"Malora, I hereby challenge
the Amazon Queen to a duel to the death for leadership of all Amazons."

"Nori, the queen
accepts your challenge," Malora said strongly. "Your fight for leadership of all Amazons is to be one month from today, any time you choose that day. I will allow you to withdraw your challenge at any time between now and when swords clash."

"What are you doing?" Omie screamed.

"Shut up, Omie," I said. "Let's go."

"Find them!" Malora said. "Tell Maya I love her. Tell her I need her. Beria, if your companion is not ready to return, you may stay with her. If she never wishes to return, I release you both from Amazon service."

"No!" said Omie. "We're both coming back."

"She's fifteen," Malora said. "It's not going to be her decision this time."

And then I was on my horse, and we were heading west.

* * * *

Omie disparaged me for the first hour. I finally pulled us to a stop and said, "Think about it, Omie. Just shut up and think about why Malora ordered me to challenge her, and why she gave me permission to withdraw my challenge any time I desire."

After that, she was quiet. We rode on opposite sides of the river, watching
carefully. Periodically, we found signs of their passage.

"They were moving slow
ly," Omie said.

"Not surprising," I replied. "They were traveling all night, and Beria was hurt.
Maya knows no one is following her, so she's protecting her sister."

We kept up our pace, emerging from the forest late in the afternoon.

We stared out across the plain. "How well do they know their way across?" Omie asked.

"Poorly," I replied.

"There are bandits," Omie said, "and Beria was hurt."

"Maya would have thought about that. Think. Think."

"Would they stay to the river?"

"Maybe for a while, but it curves north."

"Then they followed it until it curved north."

"They may follow it after that, hoping it curves west again, or perhaps following it all the way to the coast, then turn south."

"No," Omie replied. "Maya's running. Beria is hurt, and she's frantic. She's got one thought: get Beria home. That's a straight line. Nothing fancy. She's not thinking."

"Maya is always thinking," I said. "I treated her badly, and she was hurt and scared, and still she ran verba
l rings around both Malora and me together. I had thought I could cow her, but it only made her more stubborn."

"Will she come back with us?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"I know."

Omie's voice cracked. "Will- Will Beria?"

"If Beria won't return, you can remain with her, if she'll have you."

"Vorine-"

"I'll send Vorine, if she wants to come, or you can rejoin us later. We're agreed, they would follow the river?"

"South side," Omie said.

"I bet she doesn't know it curves north," I countered.

"Fine," she said. "You take the north bank, I'll follow the south."

* * * *

We followed the river, riding until it was close to full dark. Periodically, we saw more signs, and Omie grinned at me each time.

When it grew dark, Omie wanted to press on, but I told her the horses wouldn't last if we did that.

"We could catch up to them," she protested.

"Omie, the only way we're catching up to them is if Beria is so sick they're forced to stop, or they encounter bandits and are too hurt to continue."

"Then why are we following their trail? There's a faster route to Gallen's Cove."

"In case they stopped for Beria or there are bandits."

She stared at me, and we set up camp.

* * * *

The next day, the river curved north. It took us three hours before we found where they had left the river, heading due west. Maya had picked her place carefully, and it was only from some broken vegetation that we had the right path.

"Isn't there a village in this direction?" Omie asked.

"Several," I said.

"She's probably still a little purple. She kind of stands out."

"I bet she's been scrubbing hard at her hands and face."

"She's been scrubbing for two weeks and it hasn't washed off. That was a really shitty trick."

"She'd have been okay with it if she'd gotten even a little warning. I think it was getting laughed at before she knew the joke that had her most upset," I replied.

"You heard her play the fiddle. She's never played like that before."

"We've all been pushing too much on her. If it wasn't this, something else was going to cause her to snap. This trip was supposed to be a vacation for her. She wasn't supposed to have any responsibilities. That's why
Malora brought all of us, too. Malora wanted Beria along, and I was there for more company."

"She used to say that her village elders used to make her take time off for recreation. Now the only recreation she has is for fishing, and even that's rare. Beria has been worried about her."