The Duelist

by Eric Vall

  The mansion the courtyard was attached to was a multi-terraced architectural achievement with at least five balconies and more of those jade stone domes, and exotic ferns and cascading blossoms in every color of the rainbow overflowed from giant ceramic pots.

  If my estate was similar to a sleepy Scottish homestead, then Shale-Lea’s was a Grecian palace.

  “This is your estate?” I breathed as we walked past the mirrored water surface.

  “Technically, it’s Bala’s, but all the staff answer to me, so don’t worry,” Shay said as she led us through a large breezeway embellished with gauzy sheer drapes, more of those decorative planter pots, and a smattering of cushioned lounges for sitting. “Wait until you see the rest.”

  As we all stepped out into the late afternoon sun, I had to stop and scoop my jaw off the ground at just how much The Rest actually was.

  There were at least two hundred acres of land occupying a quiet valley between two small peaks.

  The main hub of Shay’s estate was hard to miss because it was mostly composed of endless pastures, circular riding tracks, and a large structure that had to be the main facility where the canterflies were boarded and groomed.

  Beyond the sprawling white stables, there was an all-glass structure in the distance that reminded me of the Sydney Opera House with its winged design. I didn’t know what the purpose of it was, but the stained glass as the sun hit it was a work of art, and the gardens leading up to it were straight out of Buckingham Palace.

  “You have been blessed,” Zoie said with eyes as wide as mine.

  “The estate is beautiful, isn’t it?” Shay sighed as a shadow of that pained expression from earlier came back, but just like fog evaporating with the sun, her expression brightened. “Zoie, I believe your groom Mr. Daal arrived a while ago and is in the stables. Will you go ahead and see to him? I heard from my groundskeeper the boy has been most anxious for your return. We will be along shortly after I get Alex some proper riding attire from the carriage house. I believe my last trainer left something behind that will be suitable.”

  “Give me the pack. I will go check on Rylan.” Zoie took the pack from me and put it on her shoulders.

  “Tell Rylan hello for me,” I requested, and then my wife nodded, turned her back, and tickled me in the nose with her tail.

  “She seems to be feeling better.” Shay smiled fondly as she watched Zoie’s antics while the cat-woman flounced away.

  “I have you to thank for that, and I really, truly can’t even explain to you how grateful I am,” I said.

  “You don’t have to. I can see why she is easy for you to love.” The bird-woman tucked her hand into the crook of my elbow, and we continued to the carriage house arm-in-arm.

  After she showed me the riding uniform I was expected to wear, she told me to meet her by the stables when I was done, and then she left me to get dressed.

  I wrinkled my nose as I surveyed the starchy white shirt, collared vest, and tight high-water pants, and I imagined it would be really uncomfortable.

  I was right.

  When I’d finished putting on the riding gear, I went to find Zoie and Shay in the stables.

  Shay’s bright red hair stood out like a flickering flame right in front of the stable doors, and I made a bee-line for it. Hopefully, the sooner I could end these lessons, the sooner I could get out of this monkey suit.

  Shay herself was now dressed in something similar to my own riding gear, but the tight brown pants and shiny heeled knee-high boots looked way better on her than they did on me. In her hand, she was holding the reins of a familiar black and orange butterfly pegasus.

  “Prosper!” I grinned as I approached the proud canterfly, and I scratched his neck as he whistled and trotted happily.

  Then the doors of the stables opened, and a familiar sandy-haired stable boy came out holding a shiny new leather saddle.

  “Asher Alex!” Rylan yelled as he dropped the saddle onto the ground and then wrapped his wiry arms around my waist in a giant hug.

  “Hey there, Rylan,” I laughed and patted the kid on his messy mop.

  “I am so glad you and Lady Zoie are back from the Ruins, sir,” the boy said as he pulled back with a faint blush. “Mr. Jenner and I were very relieved to get Lady Shale-Lea’s correspondence.”

  “Thanks for taking care of the estate, Ry,” I said, and the boy grinned from ear-to-ear.

  Zoie tried to open the door to come out next but was prevented by the saddle Rylan dropped in his haste.

  “Rylan, is that where that goes?” she asked him like a mother would her son for leaving his shoes in the hallway.

  “No, miss, sorry, miss,” he said as he scooped it back up and began fixing it to Prosper’s back.

  “We must treat the Lady’s tack with care,” Zoie admonished in a gentle voice as she opened the stable door all the way. Through it, she led out a second canterfly by the reins that was a little smaller than Prosper and pure white with gray-glass wings.

  “Wow, this one’s gorgeous,” I said as the white butterfly pegasus nickered when Shay fed it some pink sugar from her palm.

  “Her name is Victory, and she’s one of my most loyal,” the bird-woman said and stroked the creature’s coiled muzzle as it nibbled the treat out of her hand. “She’s also the only one that boards here that’s mine and mine alone. The majority of the estate is for boarding and training many of the Ashers’ magnificent beasts and exotic pets, but I wanted Victory all for my own.”

  Victory whistled as she tossed her snow-white head and then bowed her neck until she nudged Shay lightly in the side.

  “Finished with Prosper, milady!” Rylan announced as he did up the final buckle on Prosper’s saddle.

  “Good work, Mr. Daal,” Shay said to the stable boy as she batted her long red eyelashes. “Might I trust the young sir to do me one last favor thus?”

  Rylan stammered unintelligibly as if his poor teenage brain couldn’t handle being blasted with the wattage of a woman on full Charm Mode.

  Although, as I watched the poised phoenix-woman wind her thick fall of scarlet waves around a hairpin and then stab it into a heavy bun as if it was the heart of her enemies, I couldn’t help but relate to the kid.

  She was knock-out gorgeous and also knew how to kick ass in her own way, what wasn’t there to be flustered by?

  Shay swung herself up into Victory’s saddle, untied a pair of gloves from one of the saddle’s loops, and took her time tugging them on over her slim fingers.

  “Mr. Daal?” she queried in her songbird voice.

  “Wha?” Rylan said as he started up at her as if she was the sun.

  “Can you run a very important errand for me?” Shay asked with a fond smile on her petal lips.

  “Y-Yes, w-whatever you need, milady, consider it yours!” Rylan stammered as he clasped his chest like he was swearing his undying loyalty.

  Which, knowing him, he probably was.

  “Oh, wonderful!” Shay clapped her red gloves together and laughed her harp-like giggle. “Go inside and find my head maidservant, Vera. She has the applications for Alex’s entry into the race that need to be registered today. Do you think this is a good task for you?”

  “Oh, yes, milady!” Rylan said in his puppy-dog voice. “I know every street and alley and all the best shortcuts, so I promise I won’t let you down.”

  “I knew I picked the perfect person for the job,” Shay said and reached down so she could ruffle his hair. “Quickly, now!”

  The boy snapped to attention and then took off in the direction of the Greek-like palace without even a goodbye.

  I shook my head at his eager antics, and I admitted privately to myself I’d missed the gawky kid.

  “Mount your steed, Asher Alex,” Shay said and walked her own mount around in a loose circle.

  I hopped up into Prosper’s saddle, slid my heeled boots into the stirrups, and then clutched the reins.

  “Let’s discuss form, and Zoie will take notes a
nd correct you when I’m done,” Shay suggested as she stopped her mount in front of mine. “Doesn’t that sound like good fun, Zoie?”

  “Why yes, Shay, it does,” Zoie said and swished her tail back and forth, and then my wife followed us as we led the way to the training paddock behind the massive barn.

  “Are you two ganging up on me?” I asked in a fake-wounded tone. Actually, I was kind of thrilled they were getting along so well and didn’t mind one bit.

  “Only to further your progression,” Shay said sweetly and then extended and patted her own leg. “Form dictates you must sit with good posture-- knees under hips, and hips squared with shoulders. And make sure you keep your heels down and eyes up.”

  I looked down at my posture and made any adjustments I could see as we approached the paddock.

  Zoie swung open the gate for us so we could enter, and then after she closed it, she took a seat on the top of the fence.

  I waved at her, and she smiled back at me.

  “Now, I am assuming you know a little about the verbal commands seeing as how you have ridden Prosper before, so for your first test, capture me that flag,” Shay said and pointed to the top of a metal pole mounted in the center of the training arena.

  A large silk flag billowed in the slight wind from where it was clipped to the top of the pole by a metal ring.

  “Pop quiz already?” I snickered and braced myself for the surge of sheer power I knew would explode under me when I issued the command. “Prosper, fly!”

  The butterfly pegasus reared back on two legs and launched himself into the air with an excited whistle.

  He immediately wanted to just go off and fly wherever he wanted, but I wrestled with his reins and barked the “down” command so I could hover next to the flag and tear it off its loop.

  “Down, Prosper!” I said until we landed on the ground again, and I was able to hand my prize over to Shay.

  “Wonderful,” Shay chirped and clipped the flag to the back of her saddle. “Now, follow me as I take you through the paces. Use the verbal commands for now, but if you focus, you will find the rhythm you and Prosper connect on. Then you won’t even need to say a word.”

  To demonstrate, Shay and Victory reared back and then sprang into the air in a flash of silvery-white as if they were one being that shared the same mind. They circled around in the sky above my head and then skimmed low to the ground.

  “Follow me!” Shay shouted as she whooshed past me, and the flag on her saddle teased me as it flapped in the breeze.

  I was going to catch that flag. And then, hopefully, I’d catch myself a bird.

  “Up!” I shouted as my blood ignited with competition.

  Prosper launched himself so hard I panic-grabbed his reins with a sharp backward jerk, and he whinnied in surprise as he flap/galloped in jerky motions that came close to unseating me from the saddle.

  “Don’t focus on the goal, focus on your mount!” Shay called out as she flew circles around Prosper and me as we tried to stabilize.

  “Up-- no, forward-- argh, Prosper!” I said as the stubborn beast tried to wrestle me for control again.

  “Don’t think of Prosper as your vehicle, think of him as your partner!” the glorious phoenix-woman advised me as she did another drive-by that was half barrel-roll.

  Sexy show-off.

  “Alright, buddy,” I gritted out to the frustrating canterfly. “Maybe we can make a deal. If we catch Shay and Victory, I’ll give you one of those purple carrot things you like.”

  Prosper snorted and tossed his head, but the jerky movements were starting to smooth out into something more fluid.

  “Watch your form, Alex!” Shay said, and she brought Victory to hover near us as Prosper and I worked out the kinks in our harmony. “Back straight, head level, and make sure your knees have a little give.”

  I nodded my understanding as I applied the tips to my posture. Once I did this, most of my weight was supported on the balls of my feet in the stirrups, and I was able to hover over the seat so Prosper wouldn’t have to keep pushing me up in the saddle with every powerful flap of his wings.

  That redistribution of weight was just what was needed between the butterfly pegasus and me because the awkwardness faded and we were able to complete a full soaring circle without issue.

  “Good boy, Prosper,” I said and then patted the beast’s neck. “What do you say we open up the throttle some, hm? Forward!”

  The powerful monster under me gave an excited whistle and flattened himself as he cut through the wind, and I did the same by trying to keep my head lowered along the profile of Prosper’s sleek body so we would be as aerodynamic as possible.

  “Very good, Alex! Now, try and get the flag!” Shay and Victory dropped down from above and then took off in a taunting streak of white.

  “Ready, boy?” I asked, and my mount gave an eager toot. “Let’s go get ‘em!”

  This time, when Prosper and I chased after our prey, we were a coordinated pair instead of two disjointed halves of a whole.

  Shay’s words about understanding my mount as a partner instead of just a workhorse were starting to make sense because the longer we flew together, the more I discovered.

  For example, I didn’t know how I came to know this, but Prosper somehow telegraphed flickers of his personality for me to pick up on. I could sense how proud and loyal he was even if he was obstinate and more than a little mischievous. I could also sense how he had a tendency to compensate for his left wing, and I wasn’t sure if it was from an old injury or not, but whatever the case, I tried not to lean too far into any left turns.

  Also, I somehow had a strange image of those purple aforementioned carrot things pop into my head. They were tied in a picture-perfect bundle and rested on top of a pile of similar bundled vegetables and fruits.

  “How about this, if we can catch that flag,” I said and visualized myself snatching the flowing flag with my fist, “then I will give you a whole bunch of them.”

  Like pressing a button, Prosper tooted and tore off toward the sparkling white mount and her fiery-haired rider, and within a matter of seconds, I was able to tear the flag out of the loop on Shay’s saddle.

  She laughed her sing-song laugh and then waved us both down for a landing.

  “I ripped your flag,” I said to her as I dismounted.

  “Nothing Noona can’t fix with her expert needle and thread,” Shay said and jumped down, too, so she could lead us to where Zoie was sitting by the water trough. “Good riding for your first time. I can tell you and Prosper already have a bond.”

  “Thanks,” I said as I watched the canterflies each lap up water through their coiled ant-eater muzzles. They still struck me as a little freaky, but in a weirdly fascinating way. “Do they always communicate through pictures and images, or does a person need to be riding a canterfly first?”

  “Pictures…” Shay trailed off with a frown. “How did-- wait. Did Prosper actually speak to you?”

  “Yeah, when we were up there flying I was thinking about what you said, and then it was cool because I started getting flashes in my head that didn’t come from me,” I said and rubbed Prosper’s back as he slurped noisily like a water buffalo.

  “How do you know these flashes were not from you?” Shay asked carefully as she tied the canterflies to the iron ring attached to the fence.

  “Well, I don’t think I like those purple root vegetables as much as him, for one,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

  Shay wasn’t in a joking mood, though. No, instead she stared at me with that all too familiar look I was used to seeing on Zoie’s face, and I knew something freaky happened with me again, so I waited for the verdict.

  Right on cue, the phoenix-woman bit her lip as if she was staring at a puzzle that just happened to solve itself with no rhyme or reason.

  “Alex… it usually takes many seasons before a rider and his mount are able to communicate with images such as you describe,” she said, and her clover-green ir
ises shimmered in awe.

  “Here we go again,” I grumbled under my breath at the same time as Zoie cracked up with her chiming laughter.

  “What is going on?” Shay asked and darted her confused gaze between the two of us.

  “My dear Shay,” Zoie said when she finally caught her breath. “You will soon come to realize our Alex is full of surprises.”

  “I’m not sure I understand, but I would really like to,” Shay said as she looked at Zoie’s grinning face.

  “Would you be up for a quick demonstration, husband?” The sly cat-woman shot me a saucy wink.

  “Carry on, my wife,” I said with a playful grin.

  Zoie hopped off the fence she was sitting on, raced toward the stables, and then ran back out with our travel pack slung on one shoulder.

  “Are you going to throw knives at me again?” I asked when she tossed me a dull short sword, and I pulled it free of its scabbard.

  “Knives?” Shay echoed, and her wide green eyes bobbed between Zoie and me. “Is that safe?”

  “No,” Zoie said.

  “Definitely not,” I parroted, and then I took Shay’s hand so I could help her sit up on the fence where Zoie was sitting a moment ago. “But that’s kind of the point. Trust us, it will make sense, and I promise I will be okay.”

  “Okay,” the bird-woman said and then clasped her hands in her lap as if preparing to watch a show.

  I stood across from Zoie, who stood with her eight shuriken-like death wheels interspersed between each finger, and then I squared my feet and held my sword at the ready.

  “I’m going to be aiming at your heart on purpose this time,” Zoie said in her low sultry voice.

  “I sure hope so,” I teased back, but I could hear the serious warning under the flirty banter.

  I took it for what it was as an order to focus, and I inhaled so I could clear my thoughts. The seed-pod image that was my go-to popped up in my mind, and I narrowed down my senses so my hearing and my vision were open wide like a camera’s aperture.

  “Ready?” Zoie whispered, but I heard her as if she was standing five feet away instead of twenty-five.

  I felt in tune with the very earth under my feet, and I gave her the barest of nods.