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Marrok couldn’t walk, but he could ride. Kiki and Topaz’s heads were together. I connected to Topaz, and asked, Go home? Miss Peppermint Man?
No. Stay.
Why? Topaz had been with Cahil for a long time.
Bad smell. Blood.
I turned to the captain. “He’ll sit on his horse.”
With the lieutenant in the lead, Moon Man, Leif, Tauno and I followed. The captain and his remaining soldiers formed a rear guard. We traveled north through the Snake Forest. On a map, the forest resembled a thin rope of green that undulated along the entire east-west border from the Jade Sea to the Emerald Mountains. After a half day of travel, we arrived at a guard station and barracks.
Another round of explanations had to be endured before we could care for the horses and eat lunch. We sat in the middle of the guard house’s dining area surrounded by fifty suspicious soldiers who shot us hard glances between bites of food. Moon Man guided Marrok with a gentle patience. Basic skills like eating and caring for himself would all have to be relearned.
During our cold meal of venison jerky and bread, I explained to my companions about Ixia’s uniform system. “Everyone who lives in Ixia must wear a uniform. The standard colors for the shirts, pants and skirts are black and white, but each Military District has its own color. We’re in MD-7, which is governed by General Rasmussen, who reports to the Commander. Rasmussen’s color is yellow and you’ll see a line of yellow diamond shapes somewhere on the uniforms.” I gestured to the guards around us. Their uniforms matched the captain’s, but the rank insignia on their collars were different. “A cook’s uniform is all white with diamonds printed side by side across the shirt. The color of the diamonds tells you which district the cook works in. Red is the Commander’s color.”
“Who’s that?” Leif pointed to woman heading our way. She wore all black, but had two red diamonds stitched onto her collar. Her blond hair was pulled into a tidy bun. She held two bows in her hands.
“She’s an adviser to the Commander.” I stood and grinned.
She tossed me my bow. I caught it. The noise in the room ceased the instant it hit my hand.
“Okay, Puker, let’s see if you’ve been practicing,” she said with an exultant yet predatory glint in her eyes.
“Adviser Maren, didn’t your mother teach you it’s not nice to call people names?” I hefted my bow. “Especially not armed people.”
She waved away my comment. “We’ll deal with the niceties later. Stuck in this backwoods, I haven’t had a decent bow fight in a long time. Come on!” She beckoned me to follow as she threaded her way through the dining room.
“Should we be worried?” Leif asked.
“She taught me all her tricks, but I’ve learned a few new ones since our last fight. This should be…interesting.”
“Play nice,” Leif said.
I navigated through the quiet room. It erupted with sound as soon as I left. A mass of soldiers followed me outside.
Maren stretched her muscles before picking up her bow. Tall and lean, she made a formidable opponent. She swung her six-foot staff with deft hands. At a slight disadvantage, my bow measured only five feet. I removed my cloak and rubbed my hands along the smooth wood of my weapon, setting my mind into the zone of concentration I used when fighting. Not quite magical in origin, this mental state kept my mind open to my opponent’s intentions.
As soon as I was ready she attacked with two quick strikes toward my ribs. I blocked both, countering with a strike to her arms. The fight began in earnest.
The rhythmic crack of our weapons filled the air. I ducked a temple strike and thrust the end of my bow staff toward her stomach. She stepped back and attempted to trip me with her bow. I jumped and did a front kick in midair, hitting her shoulder. Maren retreated a few steps before coming at me with a series of jabs.
“Did you get tired of losing to Janco all the time and request a transfer?” I asked, knocking her bow aside and executing a flurry of temple strikes. Maren had been a captain in the Commander’s Special Forces, along with my friends Ari and Janco.
“I was promoted,” she said. She met my assault and feinted to the right.
Sensing her intentions, I ignored the feint and stopped the blow to my head just in time. “Promoted to adviser? Sounds shady. Bribe anyone I know?”
“Once I beat Valek, I could choose any job in Ixia.”
I froze for a moment in surprise and she hit my upper arm, knocking me over. I rolled, avoiding her jabs, but she pressed her advantage. Two moves later, she sat on my chest and pressed her bow to my neck. The crowd of soldiers cheered.
“Concede?”
“Yes.”
She grinned and pulled me to my feet. “Rematch?”
“Give me a minute.” I brushed the dirt from my clothes.
“What’s with the skirt?”
“It’s not a skirt. See?” Pulling the fabric apart, I revealed the pants.
She snorted with amusement. “We need to get you back into uniform, Yelena.”
Her use of my proper name meant that I had at least impressed her with my fighting skills. Which reminded me of her comment that had thrown me off guard. “What’s all this about you beating Valek? You’re adequate with a bow, but, come on, Valek?”
Valek had issued a challenge to everyone in Ixia. Beat him in a fight with the weapon of your choice and win the right to become his second in command. Many soldiers had tried and failed to win the right.
“Adequate?” She laughed. “I guess when I beat you again, you’ll up it to decent.”
“That’s if you beat me, and you haven’t answered my question.”
“I had help. Happy now? Valek never said we had to beat him one on one. Three of us got together and we won the right to pick any position in Ixia. I chose to become an adviser for the Commander. I’m in MD-7 on a temporary assignment to deal with some—” she glanced at the soldiers “—issues.”
Three against one was still good odds for Valek. I wondered who the other two were, and the answer came to me. “Please don’t tell me Ari and Janco were your partners.”
Her chagrined expression confirmed my guess.
“Janco was insufferably smug before. There’ll be no living with him,” I said.
“Valek’s challenge has been modified. Since Janco and Ari have been promoted to Valek’s seconds, if other soldiers want to claim the second positions they must beat Ari and Janco, but no more than six can attack at one time. Valek’s seconds should be able to handle three each. If a soldi
er wishes to fight Valek alone, he must beat one of us to have the chance.”
“Having Janco in charge when Valek’s away is a scary state of affairs.”
“Not as scary as when you’re begging for mercy.” Maren swung her bow.
I blocked and countered. Soon we were engaged in another brisk fight. But this time I stayed focused. I swept her feet out from under her and stepped on her bow before she could roll away. I won the match and received a few cheers from my brother, who had joined the audience. Moon Man and the others stood apart. He watched me with no expression on his face.
“Tie breaker?” Maren didn’t wait for an answer. Round three began.
We fought until we reached an impasse.
Leif’s voice interrupted us before we started another match. “As much as I enjoy watching my sister get beaten, we really need to talk to the Commander. You’re wasting time.”
Maren studied Leif with a dubious expression. “I don’t see a family resemblance.”
I introduced my brother to Maren. “Although I hate to admit it, Leif’s right. We need to go.”
Maren shook her head. “General Rasmussen wants to talk with you first. These soldiers have orders to keep you here until he gives you permission to leave.”
“But I’ve explained—”
“Everything but exactly what you need to discuss with the Commander.”
“That’s classified.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” Maren leaned on her bow. “The general has become…cautious in his advancing years. He won’t let you leave unless you tell him the reason you came to Ixia.”
From her choice of words, I could tell there was more to the story. She worked for the Commander but was helping the general, and probably reporting every bit of information to Valek.
“We’ll talk to the general then,” I agreed.
“Great. I’ll schedule an audience with him tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? We have pressing business.”
“I’m sorry. The general retires early. He’ll see no one tonight.”
Leif opened his mouth to protest. I touched his arm, stopping him. Maren and I had dueled the afternoon away, and I suspected she had a good reason for it.
