Silent Snow: Tales from Ancient Ieda 01

by Sarah Thomie

  I shook my head.

  “Maybe you should ask him about it. You might discover that you two have more in common than you know.” He helped me stand up. “Go talk to him.” He wrinkled his nose. “But first, I suggest going into the spring and scrubbing your adventures off your skin.” He smiled, as he teased me.

  I gave him a small one back, before heading toward the still water spring like he suggested. I took off the leathers and red linens I wore. I kept the dagger within easy reach, as I stepped into the cold water. I shivered but dove in anyway. Once my body acclimated, I took the fine sand from the bottom of the spring to scrub my skin. I scrubbed the blood off first, before checking the cut on my arm. I used that sand to scrub in my hair, cleaning it of the Gauntlet. I dove back under the water and washed off the blood and sand.

  I stood up in time to see the First Son standing on the bank. He was staring at the scars that covered my body. I ignored him, grabbed the linens, and cleaned them in the spring.

  He walked over to me. “Some of these are old…”

  I just nodded, as he touched one on my upper back.

  “How long were you with the humans?”

  I thought about what the Elder and Grandfather figured from when I lost my voice. I held up a two then a seven.

  “Twenty-seven hundred years? How old are you?”

  I gave him a three and a zero.

  “So, you were three hundred when you were first taken?”

  I nodded.

  “No wonder you killed the slavers with that dead look in your eyes.” He almost sounded impressed.

  I finished cleaning the linens and twisted the fabric to get as much water out of them as possible. I put the cold clothes back on.

  “Does Howling Wolf know about them?”

  I nodded since he had seen me nude before.

  “No wonder he thought that you could handle the Gauntlet. I am guessing that after all you have lived through, it was easy.”

  I shook my head, grinning at him. I mimed saving him and the other Candidates as the hard work it was. Then I mimed that they could hunt and fish, and I could not.

  He just laughed. “You were hopeless without us. Could not even catch a bunny on your own.”

  Sparrow walked over to us and said, “Grandfather says that you would be out here.” She stopped when she saw the First Son laughing so hard, he was crying. “What did you do to him?”

  I shrugged, as he sobered back up. “We were discussing how she is the worst hunter I have ever seen.”

  Sparrow stayed wary of him. He saw her take the mental step back from him. “Sparrow, I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you. You were one of my best friends, and I took that friendship and smashed it to pieces. I can never hope to have your forgiveness, but I wanted you to know that I regret everything I did to hurt you.”

  She looked to him, then to me. “Snow, can you give us space? Grandfather says that you need to find and talk to Howling Wolf.”

  I nodded to her, grabbed my stuff, dressed, and went back to the village.

  The celebration was dying down, and the cold wind blew through the wet linens. I sat near the fire, letting its warmth help me dry. Howling Wolf laid his heavy wolf pelt across my shoulders and back.

  “Grandfather said you wanted to talk to me?” His voice was neutral as he sat next to me.

  I nodded but did not know how to ask it.

  “You want to know how I became the Enforcer?” Grandfather must have told him my question when he sent him to me.

  He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his thighs. “An Enforcer is designated when a warrior kills a lot of enemies during a battle. I became the Moon Clan’s Enforcer when I hunted down the bastards that killed First Son’s Mother. It was as if the Dark Consort took over my body. I did not care who I killed, as long as they were the enemy. I don’t remember much of those I killed or even the kills themselves. First Son said that you had the same look of death in your eyes yesterday as I did that day. It is my job to get blood on my hands, so the rest of the Clan’s can stay clean.” He looked at me. “Out of the humans you killed, how many were for the sheer pleasure of it?” I started to answer with all of them, but he cut me off saying, “Without you doing it to defend or avenge someone?”

  I held up a zero.

  He gazed into the fire, a contemplative look on his face. “I talked with the Elder, and with First Son’s account, he has decided to change your position in the Clan. He wants me to train you to be my Second Enforcer. We need to kill without hesitation, and after what we saw, the Elder believes that it would be the better path for you. It will be harder than anything you have done here so far. You will have to become an expert in all weapons and hand to hand combat. Do you accept? By accepting, you will be training under me more, and you will have to take the test to become my Second. If you become my Second, if there’s a battle to be had, we are the first and last on the field.”

  I took my time to make my decision. I would not be protecting the village like I initially thought. Would it be the better fit? The Elder seemed to think so. I liked sparring with Howling Wolf, but something told me that this would be much different. I looked into his dark eyes and nodded. I was not sure what emotion crossed his face, but it was not one of his normal ones. Maybe it was worry and regret?

  “Get to sleep. We start tomorrow at dawn.”

  Chapter 09

  Howling Wolf slammed me into the dirt, knocking the wind from my lungs. “Get up,” he commanded from above me.

  I was tired, but I did not wait for him to say it again. I learned the hard way a while ago that he would kick me while I was down. I rolled to the side as his heel came down where my stomach was.

  The Snow Cat prowled at the edge of my mind, waiting to be released. The last time she fought for me, he knocked us out. Every time I tried to use her, he would knock us out. He refused to let me use her, wanting to strengthen my abilities without her. When he felt comfortable that I could do well without her, he promised that he would let her play.

  I rolled back up to standing. Sweat dripped down my skin, and I had to wipe it away before it got into my eyes. I was only wearing light linen clothes. He was shirtless, only wearing pants. I could see the sweat on his chest as he came for me again. He punched and I blocked, but his other fist came around and slammed into my chest. I coughed up blood, falling to the ground. I could not find my breath as his foot came up to smash into my face. I blocked it with both of my arms at the last second, the pain vibrating through my muscles and bones.

  Even after all I have learned from him, I felt like I was still on the first day. We had been working for over two years now, and we just arrived at the start of spring. We always started with a long run, wearing down the stores of energy I had. Next, was sparring. Followed by breakfast, weapons work, lunch, and learning something new and getting clean before dinner.

  I just got my breaths back when he picked me up and flung me over his shoulder. I dropped to a roll and popped back up. I did not lash out at him, since today was a defense day. My goal was to just take what he gave and try not getting knocked out completely. He grabbed me and tried to throw me down, but I dropped my knee, pulling him over my shoulder instead. He stared at me from the ground, surprise on his face. It was only for an instant before he popped back up.

  He got in close and punched me. I blocked each of the punches using alternating arms. He once hit me in the solar plexus because I used both arms to block just the one punch. I would not make that mistake again. I could feel the new bruises on top of the older ones, which just made my arms numb.

  “Are you just going to defend? Or are you going to hit me?” He growled through his attacks. It was the first time that it would be a full sparring session.

  I dropped to the ground, sweeping my leg at the backs of his knees, forcing them to bend forward. He fell on top of me, and we grappled.

  I kicked out with my feet, keeping a firm grip on his wrists. He flipped over me, and I us
ed the momentum to land on top of him. Then, I moved up to sit on his chest, moving so my legs were off to one side, preventing him from taking a full breath. I grabbed one of his arms, pulling it with me as I leaned back to his side. I kept hold of his arm, using my legs as leverage. Pain covered on his face, knowing that if I kept it up, it would dislocate his arm from the shoulder.

  First Son called out to the two of us. “Time!”

  I dropped his arm, releasing him from the pain. I stayed laying on my back, trying to will my aching body to stand up.

  He rolled from under me, pulling me up. He helped me walk over to where the First Son was sitting, a bucket of water to help us cool down. “When did you learn to roll me over your shoulder?” Howling Wolf asked as he handed me a wet towel.

  I grinned, not wanting to tell him that I learned it from before I ran from the cities. City Elves had their own methods of combat, usually fighting dirty, since sometimes that is the only way to win. I had been waiting for him to teach it to me, but I just did it without thinking.

  “Starting tomorrow, you will both attack and defend, putting together everything you have learned.”

  I nodded as I ran the wet cloth over my overly hot skin. I hoped the cool spring air would give us a breeze to cool down.

  Sparrow came over with breakfast. She set the food on the table and then looked at me. She carefully touched my face, moving to see the extent of the damage. “Do you have to be so rough with her, Wolf?”

  “Yes, I have to be. She knew what she was getting into.” He looked in my direction, but he cringed, seeing the damage he caused.

  I waved him off, letting him know not to worry about it.

  “Is she at least getting better?” she asked.

  Thinking about how I was still getting pounded into the dirt, I shook my head.

  “She is. She does not have the power that I do, but she makes up for it in speed. Sometimes, she is a blur when she is focused. If she has a dagger in her hands, she can easily cause a lot of damage before the enemy knows what hit them.”

  “She disagrees that she is getting better,” Sparrow pointed out.

  He caught my gaze. “Why don’t you agree?”

  I rolled my sleeves up, held up my arms, showing the mass of bruises. He just looked at them. I guess he did not realize what I was hiding under my sleeves.

  “I am sorry, Snow.” He looked like he hated the bruising, but I waved him off again. I had agreed to this and knew that there would be pain involved by sparring with him.

  First Son sucked in a breath, seeing the dark purple mixing with the green. “Not going to lie, I am glad that I am not you.”

  I smirked, thinking that he could not handle being me on my best days, much less the painful ones.

  “So, how much longer do you think she has?” he asked, while Sparrow pushed food in front of me to eat.

  “If she keeps it up, she could test at the end of the planting season,” Howling Wolf replied. The test was going to be a no-holds back, no time limit spar with the warriors then him. “How is your own work coming?” he asked First Son.

  “We are getting better at working as a team, but we keep hitting little snags,” First Son admitted. He and his friends had become warriors after the Gauntlet, but they were technically still in training, just getting better while the Clan was at peace. I learned that warriors never really stopped training and kept working on perfecting themselves.

  We finished eating, Sparrow taking First Son with her until lunch. I went with Howling Wolf and today, we were working with the bow, since that was still my weakest weapon. I was much better at close contact weapons, like my dagger and spear. We learned that I fought better with two daggers, instead of one. He set up the targets before we started.

  My arms were shaking as I drew the bowstring back. I let loose the arrow, and it hit the top edge of the target, just missing it.

  He came up behind me. “You are still too high.” He laid his chin on my shoulder and re-aimed the bow. “Try here.” He helped me pull the string back, letting me get the feel of it, without relying on my shaky arms. We let the string go at the same time, the arrow hitting dead center of the target.

  “I know your arms hurt, and that is affecting your aiming. But as Enforcers, we do not get the luxury of slowing down when we are in pain,” he explained right next to my ear. “If it was anyone else, I would have suggested stopping after the first few weeks. But I know that you can handle this and anything else that I can throw at you.” He moved away from me, handing me another arrow.

  I set it in the notch to aim it. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, pushing the pain in my arms down as far as I could. A moment later, I opened my eyes and raised the bow. I drew the string back, taking another deep breath as I aimed. The arrow flew, hitting closer to the center of the target that I had before.

  He picked me up and twirled me. “Yes!” He realized what he did and set me back on the ground. “Sorry about that. It is just that once you have this down, the only thing left is sparring with me. We might be able to test you earlier than I originally thought.” He grinned, “Or maybe I will take the extra time to let your Snow Cat try to beat me. Since I am sure she is raring for a fight.” My answer to him was giving him the hiss the Snow Cat wanted to give him. “Such a snarly pair of cats.” He pointed back to the target, a silent command to keep working.

  Chapter 10

  “Honorable Elder, I believe Silent Snow is ready for her test of abilities. I have taught her everything I know, and she has become an expert in all of our weapons,” Howling Wolf announced in front of the Clan one morning before the sun rose.

  The Elder looked down, then called out to the Clan, “Does anyone second his recommendation to test Silent Snow?”

  First Son stood up and stepped forward. “Honorable Elder, I second the recommendation.”

  “By seconding the recommendation, you understand that you will be putting your life and the lives of your fellow warriors in her hands.”

  “I understand, Honorable Elder. I stand by my words.”

  “Is there anyone who refutes these two?” No one said a word, so he looked to me, “What say you, Silent Snow? Are you willing to put the lives of other warriors in your hands, knowing should you fail, their lives can perish?”

  I used my hands to tell them that I deferred to the two warriors.

  “Then I grant permission to test you.” He looked back to the Clan. “The test will start at dawn.”

  Howling Wolf and the First Son escorted me to where the test would take place. Sparrow came running over. “Are you sure about this, Wolf?”

  “I am positive. The test has two parts. The first half, you will compete against the other warriors, those who are considered experts in their weapons. You must beat them all in a contest of accuracy. Then, you will spar with every warrior in the Clan, then you will take me on.”

  I swallowed hard, trying to see if I would be able to do what he was asking of me. Why did I defer to him?

  “It is all right. If I did not think you were ready, I would not have recommended the test today. For the accuracy, just take a deep breath. For the sparring, do not use the Snow Cat unless you must. But I will let her dance with me when you get to me. I want you to fight with everything you have. Got the weapons for her?”

  Sparrow pulled out a pair of fake knives, covered in an oily paint. “These should feel the same as your dagger. Since you will not be using real weapons on our warriors, these will work. You just must use them like your regular dagger. If the warriors are hit with what is considered a killing blow, they are out. But the same is true for you. If they get a killing blow on you, you fail the test.”

  I grabbed the fake knives, feeling their weight and balance. She was right. They felt exactly like my dagger. We had worked with two for the training, but it would not be realistic outside of training.

  Howling Wolf saw my confusion before he pulled out a dagger from the sheath under his shirt. “I found your da
gger’s partner. I knew that you would need it after seeing you fight with two of them. But you only get it if you take it from me,” he bribed.

  The other warriors came into the arena, stripping off most of their clothes, leaving only their lower underwear on. I followed suit and stripped down to only the binding wrap and my own underwear. The women set up everything, so we all could conserve our strength. They came over to give me good luck touches. They would not go easy on me, because they needed to know that I could keep them alive. I was just happy that they saw me as one of them. The Elder and Grandfather sat at the top of the arena, able to watch everything.

  Xerinae called to them, “Honorable Elder and Honorable Grandfather, the arena is set for the testing of Silent Snow.”

  “Then we begin!” the Elder called out.

  The first weapon test was the bow and arrow. I was glad that I had finally gotten the hang of the stupid contraption.

  The other warrior shook my hand, before he took his shots. Three arrows, each close to the bullseye. He passed the bow to me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I opened them and grabbed the arrow from the quiver next to us. I knocked the arrow, took careful aim, and let it loose. The first shot went to the outside of his arrows. My stomach dropped, but I refused to give up. I shot my second one, just inside of his. I would need a bullseye to beat him in points.

  I took one last deep breath and grabbed the arrow. I thought I could feel Howling Wolf at my back, as I thought about the first time, I hit the target. I released the arrow, hoping that it would not be my last test. I heard cheers as I looked to see that I made it just inside the bullseye. I sighed of relief as I handed the bow back to the archer.

  One weapon down, three left. Next was the spear, which I felt comfortable with. The spearman handed me a spear, as he grabbed his. There were a pair of dummy targets set up with a bullseye on their chests. He went first, sprinting and stabbing as he lunged. The spear hit inside the bullseye. He came back towards me. I held the spear differently than him, using two hands to steady it. I ran forward and lunged, hitting inside the bullseye as well. I could not tell who won this one, so Xerinae came down to measure the distances from the spear tips to the center. She measured three times, just to be sure.