Va'del
looked up at Betreec through eyes that were blurry once more. "Does
that mean you aren't going to send me away?"
"No,
we aren't going to send you away, and if you continue to be the same
thoughtful, caring young man you are right now, I have every
confidence you'll someday make a very fine Guadel."
##
For
Va'del, the rest of the day had mostly been spent reading law books
and meditating while Jasmin had tested a variety of scared-looking
girls and anxious young men for the qualities that would make them
potential Guadel or healers.
Under
normal circumstances, the teenager would have been itching to get
out of bed and do something physical, but whatever Jasmin had done
to make him heal faster had exhausted him. Just a few cycles after
he awoke for the day, he found himself lying back down and falling
asleep for the night.
The
next morning found Va'del awake at his usual time, keyed up and
ready for weapons practice.
Surprisingly
enough, I'rone had chosen to have Va'del practice with some of the
guardsmen, and the teenager quickly realized just how much better
he'd become since he'd left home.
I'm
not the best here, but I'm not the worst either, and some of the
people he's matched me up against are blooded from fights against
bag'ligs.
I'rone,
on the other hand,
was
the best present, and not by a small margin. The massive Guadel was
skilled enough he could take the two next best fighters three fights
out of five, but watching his mentor in between fights, Va'del was
struck not by I'rone's unquestionable skill, but rather by the fact
he seemed just a pale shadow of the warrior the teen had seen cut
down eight bag'ligs with almost negligent ease.
Suddenly
bits and pieces of things Jasmin had said over the last few weeks
combined with observations he'd made, creating a picture he somehow
knew was right.
His
wives, they're somehow making him more than human.
Once
I'rone released him from practice, Va'del sought out Jasmin. "You
and Betreec did something to make I'rone so much faster during the
fight with the bag'ligs didn't you? You make him faster and
stronger."
Jasmin
put the harness she'd been mending down and nodded. "You're
right. I'rone is amazing by himself, but it is the augmentation
Betreec and I do that makes him capable of fighting off three or
four opponents. Of course, you must not ever let anyone in the
villages know that. If they find out, the female Guadel would be
even more vulnerable than they are already."
Va'del
nodded in understanding. "So the exercises you are having me do
are what makes it possible for someone to link?"
Jasmin's
eyes suddenly lit up. "Yes, and now that you know what they
are for, there isn't any reason we can't link to show you what it's
like."
Stretching
tired muscles, the teen shrugged. "If you say so, I would have
thought it'd be proscribed."
"Well,
it is frowned upon. Usually you wouldn't link until just before you
were accepted by the Council, but Stephens' bloodline has always
been more than a little unorthodox. I'rone and Betreec have more or
less approved the idea, so let's give it a try. If this all
works, go back out to I'rone and he'll put you through your paces."
Va'del
soon found himself meditating cross-legged on one of the thick rugs
that protected the guest rooms' inhabitants from the icy cold of the
rock floor.
Having
a purpose to the exercises somehow made it easier to focus on the
melting walls of ice, to ignore the vague sense of pressure on the
outside of his mind. Va'del found he was able to vividly picture
the trickling streams of water rolling down the ice, weakening it to
the point where a simple push would shatter it, and then Jasmin was
suddenly inside his mind.
The
Guadel's presence seemed to snap into place with a mental pop, and
tired muscles were suddenly energized as everything slowed down to a
snail's pace. The web of light Jasmin was creating inside Va'del's
mind became more intricate, and the effect increased until his body
seemed to hum with power and energy.
Rising
to his feet and snatching up his practice weapons, the teenager
found that even a task as mundane as walking had somehow changed.
The faster Va'del tried to walk, the more the cool air seemed to
resist his efforts, but it didn't matter as much as it would have
otherwise because his body felt strong and seemed to welcome the
fight. If nothing else, it represented a way to bleed off some of
the energy flickering back and forth between his limbs.
The
walk out to the cavern where I'rone and the guards were practicing
seemed to take far longer than normal, but once Va'del arrived and
saw how slowly everyone was moving he realized just how much faster
he was really moving.
I'rone
looked up from the practice forms he'd been doing, and Va'del had
the satisfaction of seeing the Guadel's eyes slowly widen.
At
I'rone's command, the guardsmen in the cavern stopped what they were
doing and fell back to create a circle. The process was slow enough
that Va'del's attention wandered to other things, like the
subtle tightness of his skin where his muscles had swollen beyond
their normal size, or the pleasant sense of warmth flowing from his
navel out to the rest of his body.
Looking
up Va'del saw that three of the guardsmen had remained in the
circle, and were slowly bringing their weapons up in a salute to
him. An incredible sense of eagerness washed over the teenager, and
he drew his own practice weapons and returned their salute while
walking forward.
Normally
it would have looked like the guardsmen attacked as one, but Va'del
found he had plenty of time in which to analyze their expressions
and determine who would strike first. It then became a simple
matter to intercept the first blow with his sword while sliding far
enough to the right that the second guardsman's strike was easily
parried with his dagger.
The
normally complicated task of monitoring two weapons had become easy
due to the simple fact that Va'del had plenty of time
to shift his attention back and forth between the two, ensuring each
was moving in a perfect arc to land where he wanted it.
The
third guardsman was a heartbeat behind his fellows, and Va'del took
advantage of their dispersion to snap his foot out in one of the
powerful kicks I'rone had been teaching him. The blow took the
guardsman in the side and launched him back into the spectators.
The
first two guardsmen had disengaged and attacked again, but Va'del
easily dodged the first blow while parrying the second with his
dagger. Before either opponent could recover, Va'del's sword licked
out and gave each what would have been mortal wounds.
A
sudden whistling sound from behind the teenager clued him into a new
attack, but the air seemed to push against him as he tried to spin
around, slowing him just enough that I'rone's sword gently bounced
against his ribs.
As
quickly as that, the world returned to normal, speeding up until it
was just as he remembered it, and Va'del was left panting from
exertion.
I'rone
clapped his protege on the back. "Good. The blade you don't
see will be the one that ends up marking you." Giving the
young man a gentle push, I'rone sent him back to the guest quarters,
where he found Jasmin asleep.
Betreec
came out of the other room and smiled at Va'del. "The poor
thing is exhausted, but she'll be okay after a good day's rest. She
burned up her reserves during the fight with the bag'ligs, and with
the testing we've been doing, hasn't had a good chance to replenish
them yet."
The
euphoric high Va'del had felt after seeing how the guardsmen had
been looking at him came crashing down as he realized what it had
cost Jasmin. "You're sure she'll be okay?"
The
older wife nodded. "She's fine. She has a good heart that
one, but even so, she wouldn't exhaust herself like that for just
anyone. You're important to her, important to us all really, but
especially her."
Va'del
nodded past the lump in his throat. The feeling he'd finally found
a family was back, and somehow he didn't think it would ever leave.
As long as I have these
three, I'll never be quite so alone again.
The
leave taking from the village earlier that morning had been harder
than Va'del expected. It'd been obvious the villagers still didn't
know everything about the Guadel and their powers, but they knew
much more than the people in Screaming Wind, and as a consequence,
their welcome had been warmer, and their stay much more relaxed.
The
villagers had actually been sorry to see the Guadel leave, which had
shocked Va'del. It was quickly becoming apparent that a small
change in how the villagers perceived the Guadel made a huge
difference in how I'rone's family was treated. More and more,
Va'del was realizing just how little sense it made for the Guadel to
exert so much effort to remain a mystery.
The
path the small group followed had broadened out enough for Jasmin
and Va'del to walk side-by-side. The heavy coats and hoods they all
wore made it hard to tell much about what a person was thinking, but
Va'del nevertheless had the feeling Jasmin was deep in thought.
As
reluctant as he was to interrupt her solitude, the questions pulling
at Va'del's thoughts were so insistent he finally cleared his
throat.
"I
thought bag'ligs were lowland beasts—what brought them up so high?"
Jasmin
picked her way across the hardened snow, her breath frosting the air
before her, for nearly a minute before answering. "They are
lowland beasts, but they do sometimes come up this high when they
have reason."
"What
kind of reason would drive them up where there isn't really any
food?"
The
hooded figure next to him stopped for a second before pulling on her
gurra's lead and continuing on. "I don't know for sure, none
of us really know why such a large group would come up this high,
but I'rone suspects that they were driven up here, possibly as a
kind of weapon. There aren't many lowlanders who can survive up
here, but if they wanted to make life more difficult for us they
could always push the bag'ligs up the mountain. The elevation
doesn't bother bag'ligs as much as it does people."
Va'del's
question as to why someone would hate the People so much was cut
short as I'rone suddenly stopped, his head sweeping rapidly back and
forth, scanning an arc before them. Betreec took the lead to
I'rone's gurra as Jasmin and Va'del hurried over to her side.
Jasmin
took Va'del's lead and tapped his sword hilt as she gave him a
nervous smile. Within moments both women had sunk into the trances
that would allow them to augment I'rone's speed and strength, and
Va'del's heart was racing.
As
the now-familiar air of deadliness and grace settled on I'rone; the
Guadel pulled Va'del to him. "Be ready to protect the women if
I fall."
While
the teenager was still processing the words, I'rone took off at a
run through the snow towards the unseen danger. The whole situation
seemed so surreal to Va'del that he had a hard time believing it
wasn't all a dream until six rough-looking men rose from behind a
snow drift and pointed crossbows at the lone figure running toward
them.
Heart
in his throat, Va'del watched six quarrels leap from the crossbows
and streak towards I'rone.
He's
dead. Maybe if I charge them before they can reload?
Amazingly,
none of the deadly projectiles found I'rone. Instead, he dodged
some of them and even knocked one or two out of the air with his
weapons before rushing forward to engage the attackers.
Va'del
nearly stopped his headlong flight towards the attackers, thinking
that if I'rone had been able to handle eight bag'ligs that he'd be
able to handle six men.
But
the bag'ligs were shorter and didn't have swords of their own. Once
they've cut him down they'll use the crossbows to kill the rest of
us.
I'rone
cut down the first bandit before anyone else could reach him, but
the next three engaged him at the same time, and he was only able to
kill one of those before the last two attackers joined their
fellows.
Va'del
was now half way to the battle, his lungs burning from the cold air
and his legs starting to tremble slightly from the effort of running
with ice spikes strapped to his boots.
The
four men seemed to be pressing I'rone sorely now. He still moved so
quickly Va'del couldn't follow what was happening with his eyes, but
streaks of red were starting to appear on the Guadel's massive body
as more and more of the blows he was dodging didn't quite miss.
Va'del
stumbled and fell down as a particularly complex exchange resulted
in one of the men reeling away with what appeared to be a mortal
wound. The teenager scrambled back to his feet just as a scream from
behind him brought his head around in time to see Betreec slump
backwards, a stubby quarrel protruding from her chest as a pair of
gurra fled back the way they'd come.
Oh,
Powers! There was one more. He circled around behind us.
A
flicker of motion as the bandit disappeared behind a snow drift to
reload his crossbow told Va'del where the shot had come from, and he
once again broke into a run.
Jasmin
is still okay; maybe that will be enough.
Questions
about whether or not Betreec was already dead, or if I'rone was
still capable of facing three men with only Jasmin's help, were
secondary to the need to run, to put his body between Jasmin and the
crossbow.
Under
other circumstances, Va'del might have been able to make it, but not
tired and hindered by the snow. Va'del hadn't quite covered half of
the distance to the crossbowman when another quarrel sliced through
the air and tore into Jasmin.