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Sana’a threw her scanty belongings away in the locker above the single bed, which had a rudimentary lock and key. She strung the latter onto the chain around her neck for safekeeping.
She locked her door, jogging to keep up with the fast disappearing Katánian.
Chapter 8
Kaniz led Sana’a through another labyrinth of galleries and passageways.
Into a large, long, well-lit hall.
Its four walls were packed with rows of hooks hanging bladed daggers of all shapes and sizes.
A few fighters stood around, none of them locals. Sana’a spotted several burly Iccythrians, a quartet of lean, hungry-looking Falasians and a stern-faced Edenite.
‘This is where the non-Katánian kavaliers, the xkénos k?thi, select their weapon of choice,’ Kaniz explained, gesturing towards the weapons. ‘Choose one that speaks to you.’
Sana’a hesitated for a moment. She strode to one wall, scanning the implements with a keen eye. Her gaze stopped on a long curved blade that glinted in the low light.
Her eyes widened as she recognised it as a shotel.
Reaching out, she took it from its resting place, playing with its weight in her grasp.
‘Good pick,’ Kaniz drawled.
‘The only one,’ Sana’a murmured. ‘Can’t be a Shotelai if I don’t favour the damn things.’
‘It’s a difficult weapon to master,’ Kaniz shot back.
‘Deadly in the hands of someone who knows how to wield it,’ Sana’a retorted.
Yet, no match for her secret and far superior blades hidden in the folds against her back.
Still, she gave nothing away of their existence.
Instead, she ran her fingers over the shotel’s curved, semicircular shape, sliding a finger over its flat, double-edged surface and diamond cross-section.
She spent the next few moments practising with it. Sensing how it moved and inclining her ear to its low whistling sound as it sliced through the air.
Although its hilt was not as well sculpted as she preferred, and its edge needed sharpening, it was good for now.
It wasn’t the blade; it was how you drew it. She jolted as her father’s voice echoed in her mind.
As she threw, thrust and wielded the curved cutlass, taking it through its paces, she sensed the eyes of the other fighters on her. Studying her every move.
Some were open with their hostility, others just curious.
But she ignored them all, focused on the task at hand.
Kaniz interrupted her flow. ‘Your people’s reputation with blades precedes you. Now I see why your Shotelai warriors garner great praise and veneration throughout Pegasi.’
‘Huh,’ was all Sana’a murmured.
The k?thi master studied Sana’a play with the shotel some more. ‘I sense I should not underestimate you and that you’re no bleeder,’ Kaniz murmured.
The Shotelai woman jerked her chin. ‘Remains to be seen.’
When she was finished, she rotated it in her hand. ‘This will suffice.’
‘It’ll need to stand up against the koya,’ Kaniz warned.
