Page 8 of Badmouths & Bards

Only to have some unknown assailant knock her calf in with a harsh kick. Tala tried to resist it, but her knee buckled under the push and she fell onto it. With a grunt, Tala pulled her batons free, flipping them behind her just in time to block something heavy as it came down toward her back.

Okay, asshole.

Tala pushed with all her might and once the weight was off her, she tucked her body close and rolled forward. The attacker was right behind her—their movement was near silent save for whatever weapon they were wielding. Which meant this wasn’t any No-name or Mikol looking for revenge, but the question of who would have to wait. Arching her back from her crouched position, Tala raised her arms and crossed the batons above her head. She intercepted the weapon—a staff with the face of the Dauntless Verity in silver embellished at the end.

Realization had barely registered in Tala’s brain before the staff glided down between her batons and whopped her on the forehead.

Gods damn it all!

The pain wasn’t enough to make her vision blur, but it smarted like nothing else. She needed to regroup and quick. Tala closed the distance between her batons, catching the staff as it moved away—readying for a second strike. Her weapons caught the base of the dragon’s face, using the weight of her arms to shove the staff toward her left. The resistance wasn’t easy, but it gave Tala enough time to get her feet back under her and jump to standing position. She spun, preparing to strike her opponent’s side when the butt of the staff impacted her shoulder. The blow made Tala stumble, but she was ready when the staff came down to strike the side of her neck.

Tala caught the staff between her batons and glared up at the face of her superior.

“What the fuck, Aelidon?!”

Crack.

“Ow!”

The High Conservator had taken the opportunity to knock the top of her head with the staff.

“That one was for cursing in this sacred place,” Aelidon said.

“Sacred—” Tala blew out a puff of breath, hoping to move the chunk of hair that was in her face. “This is your office! It’s not like the entire city worships in this spot—ow!”

Another tap, this time to her side. Not enough to seriously injure, but enough to be fucking annoying.

“The Archive of the Valiant Circle is a place of worship, Taldesa. It’s best that you remember that.”

“I remember it fine!” Tala all but exploded as she yanked herself from Aelidon’s reach. “You’re the one who invited me here and started—”

This time, Tala intercepted the staff, winding her left arm around it and locking it in place against her body with the baton in hand. She used the other to aim the end at the High Conservator’s smug face.

“—would you stop doing that?!”

“I will when you prove to me you can make me stop,” Aelidon replied as she caught the end of Tala’s baton and pushed.

Tala tightened her hold, ready to resist the move when Aelidon suddenly let go. She hadn’t anticipated that and Tala found herself stumbling forward. The maneuver was enough to free the High Conservator’s staff, which she used to catch Tala’s heel, sending her to the floor.

Knowing how to take a fall was one of the first things the Moon Maidens had taught their disciples. In some ways, falling was just as important as knowing how to land a blow against an opponent. Tala loosened her grip on her batons, letting them fall vertically towards the ground. The moment they connected, Tala readjusted her grip and used all her strength to push herself back up. Unlike before, Tala wasn’t going to get hit by the face of the White Dragon again.

The force of the movement shifted her center of gravity enough to standing, allowing Tala to catch Aelidon’s staff. Once the weapon was entangled with her arm and baton, Tala brought the second baton down toward Aelidon’s shoulder. Naturally, the High Conservator caught the weapon before it struck.

That did not stop Tala from bringing her knee up into the High Conservator’s stomach. Tala felt the weakened hold on her baton, she pushed forward, coming closer to Aelidon. She looped the baton behind the High Conservator’s neck and yanked.

Aelidon fell to a knee as Tala firmly brought the end of her baton and fist to the base of the woman’s neck. One of her arms was locked against Tala in an awkward position, which meant if she wanted to be free, Aelidon would have let go of her staff. A small moment of victory swelled within Tala…

And then all the blood rushed toward her head and everything went black.

Aelidon’s reflexes were the only thing that saved her from getting cold-cocked the minute Tala woke up.

At first, she wasn’t sure what was going on. Waking up on the ground with her guardian hovering above her wasn’t exactly the norm for her. Besides, Tala had always been a punch first, ask questions later type of person. Tala eyed the High Conservator wearily as she tried to remember how she ended up on the floor.

“Sit up and have some tea, Taldesa. It’ll help with the numbness.” Aelidon said.

Wincing, Tala slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her body was tender, but what was worse was the groggy sensation in her head. Like someone had punched her in the back of the head just to see if her skull would explode like a watermelon.

Aelidon poured a cup of tea, sliding the cup toward Tala as she moved to sit on the other side of the table. Knees folded perfectly beneath her robes, Aelidon placed her hands on her lap and looked at Tala expectantly.