Page 24 of The Healer and the Warlord

“Alyx!” Kelvar screamed.

Before I could clear my swimming vision, a heavy boot landed between my shoulder blades, keeping me pinned face first in the dirt. Unable to move or get to my feet, I lifted my head, finding Kelvar, sword drawn and staring at me with murder in his eyes. I didn’t even need the strange connection between us to feel the way his magic roiled and raged, ready to explode out in an almighty wave.

He could level this camp. He could kill everybody in this clearing with a swipe of his arm. I had seen the destructive power that lurked under his skin. Kelvar could save me, but at a price I was not willing to pay.

“Wait!” I shouted around a mouthful of dust. I said the word out loud at the same time as I tugged on the strange tether between us. Kelvar stiffened, as did everybody else in the large audience that had now gathered to watch the commotion.

“A duel,” I panted. “Such matters should be decided with a duel of honor.”

I couldn’t live with the all-out destruction of this clan on my behalf, but one clean death could buy peace.

Lord Deryn sneered, “And why would I agree to this duel when I have already gained what I want?” He nodded at me where I lay on the ground.

I tried to push to my hands and knees, but the man with the boot on my back bore down harder, grinding his heel into my spine painfully. I gasped, and lightning crackled in the air as Kelvar’s anger flared.

“Do you truly think your men would still live if your Warlord wished them dead?” I asked, even as my voice was thin with pain. “They are only alive by my mercy. Because I haven’t told Kelvar to kill them yet.”

Lord Deryn blanched, and the pressure on my back lessened slightly.

“If you refuse to duel with Kelvar, you may as well admit that he is more skilled than you,” I continued. “And strength is the highest law of the Ballan Desert. Refuse to duel him, and you are admitting you are an unfit Lord.”

He bristled, but the murmuring of the crowd around us told me I had hit a nerve. Kelvar had only been controlled by his disinterest in more power. But just as I was no longer going to allow anybody to deny me my freedom, he would no longer be a weapon.

Neither of us could be controlled anymore.

A metallic shink marked Lord Deryn drawing his blade and turning it toward Kelvar. “A duel of honor it is. No magic, just our skill with a blade,” he agreed. I almost admired the bravery in his firm tone, but it wasn’t quite enough to hide the trembling of his hands. Kelvar was a fearsome opponent, and duels in the desert only ended one way.

“The victor will be the Lord of Clan Katal, and the desert will drink the blood of the defeated and be sated,” Kelvar declared.

“The desert gives, and it takes,” Lord Deryn agreed.

Everybody in the vicinity backed away as Lord Deryn began to circle, creating an open space for their battle. I found myself dragged backward by the man who had pinned me down. I scrabbled back on my hands, barely noticing as I refused to rip my gaze from Kelvar.

While the Lord circled him, searching for openings, Kelvar remained preternaturally still, simply pivoting in place. His feet were planted, and he held his over-long saber before him with its tip pointed at the ground.

He seemed nearly unprepared, like an easy target. But his magic was pulled taut, like a bowstring ready to spring forward with lethal efficiency.

Lord Deryn sprang forward, incomprehensibly fast. Kelvar was faster, though, stepping to the side and throwing his own blade out. Lord Deryn was barely able to stay his momentum enough to avoid slicing himself in half.

He stumbled, and Kelvar pressed the advantage, pushing forward with a flurry of blows. Lord Deryn got his saber up in time to block them, and sparks flew from the clash of their blades, dancing in the deepening twilight.

I gasped as Lord Deryn managed to parry one of Kelvar’s blows, shoving it aside and creating an opening. He stabbed forward, straight at Kelvar’s chest. But Kelvar moved inconceivably fast for his size, lunging sideways and ducking low. The blow whistled over his head, and he came up under Lord Deryn’s guard.

The crowd hissed in unison as Kelvar slammed the pommel of his saber into Lord Deryn’s face. His head snapped back and he stumbled away, blood streaming from his nose. Kelvar advanced, and I could feel the thrill of battle singing in his blood second hand, but still enough to be all-consuming and intoxicating.

Kelvar fought like I healed: With every fiber of his consciousness.

He swung his saber down in a brutal overhead strike. Lord Deryn lifted his weapon just in time to defend himself, and their hilts caught. They bore down on each other, limbs shaking and teeth bared. Lord Deryn was taller, but Kelvar’s added bulk made him difficult to overcome.

Kelvar gained the upper hand, driving Lord Deryn to his knees, but he still didn’t let his guard drop. Instead, a potent mix of fear and fury sparked in Deryn’s eyes.

“I was the one who recognized your power, and you thank me by betraying me for some woman,” he hissed.

“She’s not just some woman,” Kelvar growled in response.

Their words distracted me enough that I didn’t notice Lord Deryn letting go of his saber with one hand and sneaking it into his boot. Kelvar was able to push aside his sword, with only one hand holding the guard. But Lord Deryn already had what he needed.

His wrist snapped forward and he threw a lethal silver blade straight at my face. Time seemed to slow as it flew toward me. I tried to dive out of the way, but the rider who had grabbed me still held me in place.