I looked at her skeptically. “Sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch?”
She nodded. “There are several. For one, you could die. Sometimes, the body rejects the skill refusing to take it, yet not be able to get rid of it. This can cause a wasting of the body until the person dies. However, if done properly, that rarely occurs.”
“That doesn’t sound encouraging. What are the others?”
“Well, it takes a lot of myst and requires several sessions to transfer all that is needed. It will take at least a day to rebuild my myst for the next session. And also the techniques I would give you are mine. The skills transferred are only as good as the source. So any mistakes or bad habits will come with it. And finally, you will still need to practice what is transferred, or they will quickly fade. You have to practice them to make them your own.”
She paused. I could tell we had reached the part she really wasn’t sure about.
I looked at her levelly. “That’s not all, is it?”
She hesitated in her answer. “There are... side effects. The skills themselves are tied to my own memories of when I learned them. You will see things that I’m not really comfortable showing you.” She looked down. “Things that will make you despise me.”
I looked up in surprise. “Fumiko, I don’t want you to do something that makes you feel violated. If you’re not comfortable with it, then don’t do it. We’ll just have to think of another way.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to lose any more of my precious people. I only ask that you not tell my secrets. Not even to Zofie. What I’m about to share is more intimate than being lovers.”
I leaned back. “Fumiko, I don’t know about this. As you would say, I don’t feel worthy of this gift.”
She turned her face toward me, and she gazed squarely into my eyes. I could see a mixture of dread, hope, and sadness. “Will you accept my offering? It is the only way I can help you and the princess. Both of you mean more to me than life itself. You’ve given me a home, friendship, and a purpose. You have no idea how grateful I am.”
I glanced over to the bed where Zofie lay. In the silence of the room, I could hear her softly breathing. I thought back to the conversation Fumiko and I had in the carriage. How far would I go to protect Zofie?
Pretty damn far.
I turned back to Fumiko and nodded. “What do I need to do?”
She ran a hand through her hair. “This will be exhausting for both of us. I suggest you lay on your pallet since you will fall asleep immediately afterward. It’s part of the brain’s process to absorb the information. I’ll kneel beside you and manage the flow.”
I laid back on my blankets while Fumiko took her place beside me. She took my hand and raised it to her forehead. I felt her myst gathering.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said softly.
“Oh, but I do, precious person Coren. I most certainly do.”
And then the world began to fade, and I suddenly saw the world through Fumiko’s eyes.
The man that I faced seemed huge. Dressed in dark gray with a face and head completely shaved, he had to be one of the largest men I’d ever seen. Of course, most people were larger than me. I was already twelve, but I still looked like a child.
“Again!” he commanded.
The room was filled with over thirty students, boys and girls, all dressed in gray pants and a belted shirt. The air was filled with the sounds of grunts and yells and carried the smell of sweat and exertion. Like me, all were practicing the new form with a stick sword. Only most of the others were paired with other students. I was still with the teacher. Thank the Creator we weren’t using real swords. He would have cut off a leg by now.
I assumed the initial position of the form we were practicing. I tried to ignore the stinging pains in my thigh. I had been unable to follow the form one time too many, and the teacher had issued motivation in the form of hits to my thighs and buttocks.
We started again from the base form and then proceeded slowly through the routine: turn, step, point, stab—
Wack! The stick was immediate. I blinked and refused to give up my tears.
“Your stab is too low. It needs to be higher.”
The room was full of children and teachers going through similar motions. I had not been the only one to receive motivation, but for most, they had become sufficiently motivated that they didn’t need it anymore. I, on the other hand, was not doing so well. And being last in this class frequently resulted in one disappearing.
No one knew where.
The instructor considered me a moment. My battered leg began to tremble, but I ignored it.
He sighed and stroked his chin. “You’re normally better than this,” he mumbled.
At the words, several in the class cut their eyes in my direction. They were forbidden to outright stare, less they also end up being punished.
The instructor seemed to have an inspiration and looked around the room. “Jiaying!”
She was practicing with another student across the room and instantly froze. She stepped back and turned to face the instructor. “Yes, master.”
“Take this girl through the new forms. You’re free to issue motivation if she doesn’t do it perfectly.” He leaned forward. “And I’ll issue motivation to you if she doesn’t.”
“Yes, master.”
Jiaying stepped in front of me under the watchful eyes of the instructor. We each took the beginning forms. I had practiced with other students before, but only a few times with Jiaying. She was the best in our group. The instructors rarely issued motivation to her. All they had was praise. Most of our group hated her.
We were dressed in the same loose-fitting pants and shirt, and even in the same shade of pale gray. And as I readied for the first movement, I noticed even our black hair was cut the same length. It was almost like looking in a mirror.
“Wait!” she barked. I held my place. She leaned toward me and jerked me one way and then the other. “Like this,” she said loudly. And then she brought her face close, coming within a finger of my ear. She breathed, “It’s your monthly, isn’t it?”
She stepped back, and I tried to keep my face impassive. Was it that obvious? While I may have the chest of a boy, my insides were changing into a woman. The cramps had been especially bad this morning. So bad, my concentration had lapsed, and I missed some of the initial demonstration. I gave a tiny nod.
She nodded back. “We’ll go through this very slowly, so watch closely.”
And Jiaying began to move. Slowly, so slowly. I had to fight to move that slow. My muscles screamed at me to go faster, but I ignored them and followed Jiaying’s lead: turn, step, point, stab, block, slice—going through the entire routine. It was like watching another me—until we reached the end.
I blinked in surprise. I had made it all the way through.
“Again, faster,” she said.
And we did it again, it was still slower than I would have liked, but I made it through.
Three more times, we went through the routine. The instructor came back over and observed the last time. When we finished, he nodded in satisfaction. “Ten more times. Both of you.”
As the instructor turned away, Jiaying moved close to adjust my stance. “Next time, signal me,” she whispered. “I can show you an herb in the garden that will help.”
And when she stepped back, she did the oddest thing.
The side of her mouth curled up ever so slightly.
I couldn’t stop my own mouth from mirroring her.
I awoke slowly, feeling the presence of a comforting warmth beside me. My groggy brain was balking at the idea of actually letting me think. It almost felt bruised.
I slowly opened my eyes, expecting Zofie to be slumbering against me. Only it wasn’t. Fumiko lay curled up at my side sound asleep, her head resting on the edge of my shoulder, and her arm draped across my chest. I blinked, trying to clear the cobwebs and remember why she was there. Then it came to me—the
skill transfer.
I rubbed my face, exhaustion washing over me. I was so tired. My arms and legs felt like I had run all night long, carrying a load of lead on my back. I desperately wanted to go back to sleep, but my thigh hurt too much from the teacher’s hits...
My eyes went wide. Fumiko had been the one hit, not me. I ran my hand down my leg and could feel the sore spots just under the skin. I shook my head. She had warned me about the after-effects, but I hadn’t thought they would be that strong. I think I had bruises.
I felt someone looking at me and glanced over at Cabrina. I found her sitting cross-legged on her pallet, watching me intently. “Did you have sex with her last night?”
I immediately sat up and regretted it—my head was pounding. “No, we did not!” I rubbed my aching temples. “Why in the world would you even ask that?”
“Well, you and Mistress Fumiko are lying on the same blanket. Isn’t that customary after having sex? My host is very inexperienced on human reproduction, and both of us are very curious.”
“No!” I shouted. “We were just... sleeping.”
Cabrina looked at me skeptically. “My host says it’s only done in private, and it’s typical for partners to deny it. Why is that? If you’re going to reproduce, why don’t you just do it!”
“We did not have sex!” I yelled.
My shout awoke Fumiko, who realized we were lying a little too close to each other. She refused to look at me and immediately got up. “I’m going to get breakfast for Zofie,” and grabbing her boots, she was out the door.
For myself, I kicked my blankets to one side and grabbed my sword. I pulled it and held it before me. It felt different—wrong, yet right. Remembering the routine from Fumiko’s memory. I tried to mimic it, only to find my body moved by itself, flowing effortlessly through the motions. I went through them again much faster and was amazed at what I could do. The blade almost sang as I went through the form. The technique had worked. All I had to do now was practice.
My mind drifted to the other parts of the memory. To me, it felt like it happened just hours ago, when for Fumiko, it was half her lifetime away. I understood why she had chosen that memory, being exactly what I needed to learn those forms. But what exactly had been happening to her? She was being trained for something. Something difficult. And harshly. But what? No wonder she rarely smiled. I could still feel the echoes of the inflicted pain.
And that girl Jiaying, I sensed emotions attached to her. Strong ones. But they were too vague to make out. I shook my head. Fumiko had asked that I keep her secrets, so I best not even think about it. I had been warned of the intimacy of the memory, but the reality was more than I had expected. I was seeing her closer than I’d seen any person. Even Zofie. It made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t help but wonder what it must be doing to Fumiko. I sighed. She was indeed giving me a very precious gift. I had to make sure I used it wisely.
I looked over to Zofie. Her eyes were open, but she just lay there, unmoving. For some reason, I felt guilty. Like I had been unfaithful. Something I would never do. Yet Fumiko’s memory haunted me. And I could never tell Zofie about it. Wasn’t that a form of cheating?
I frowned. But I had to do it to protect her. It was the only way. I just hoped it was enough. We still had a long way to go, and Lilith was not going to leave us alone.
Spraggel entered without even knocking. “Good morning.” He pointed over his shoulder. “I just saw Fumiko, and she was a bit on the grumpy side. Did you do something to her?”
“They had sex!” yelled Cabrina.
Spraggel shot me a knowing look. “Really.”
I decided right then that Cabrina might not live through the day. I swear. That girl was starting to sound like Abe.
After a quick breakfast, we set out for Oddfrid Vandobarre’s estate. The carriage we finally hired was a rickety affair with a roughly patched hole in one side and a broken step. It also only held four, so Spraggel volunteered to sit with the driver.
We had more trouble than expected hiring a ride. For one, our destination was far outside of town, surrounded by farms and forest. Quite isolated. The driver would take most of the day getting there and back.
Plus, Oddfrid had a bit of a reputation—several turned us down flat. They said the man was insane. From my standpoint, that just meant he would get along well with our group.
Under Zofie’s grandfather, Oddfrid had kept the kingdom supplied with long-range portals, and according to Spraggel, was quite powerful in his day. Some said one of the best. Rumors had it that the past king had begged him to save the villagers in the path of a forest fire. He only had minutes to do it, so he opened not one portal, but two, each leading to different locations. He held it until all the villagers were able to escape. No one had been able to do that since.
But now Oddfrid was quite advanced in age and long since retired. However, his leaving the royal service had been abrupt and clouded with rumors of strange circumstances. Some said he’d suddenly lost his powers and had been forced into it. But others spoke of trying to open a portal too far and killing someone. Exactly what constituted too far was a bit of a mystery.
It was late morning when our driver stopped at a branching of the road, saying he was as close to Oddfrid’s estate as he intended to go. He pointed up an overgrown path saying the house was just a short walk away. I eyed the indicated route. Had it not been winter, we might not have been able to follow it.
We walked up the path and discovered it led to a large house hidden from the road by tall unkempt pines and flanked by two massive oak trees. In its earlier years, the house would have been quite magnificent. But now it was showing its age. The faded paint was cracked and peeling, with dead vines having taken over the left side. On the roof lay a heavy branch split from one of the oaks, which looked to have knocked off the top of the chimney.
We paused at a gate in front of the house. It was open, hanging by only one rusty hinge, and allowing entrance to a walled yard, filled with generations of dead leaves courtesy of the massive oaks. I left the others at the gate and picked my way to a small stoop, which groaned and popped when I stepped on it. I could feel the board sag under my weight. The door, worn and cracked, had a dull brass knocker, which I tried to use, but it fell off.
I knocked. “Hello,” I called. “Is anyone home? We’re here to see Master Oddfrid Vandobarre. Princess Zophia Xernow requires his assistance. I am Coren Hart, her knight.”
There was no reply from inside. I began to wonder if anyone lived here anymore. Then I heard a squeak from above, followed by a gravelly voice. “Go away,” it said. “I have no use for royalty.”
I looked up and noticed a worn shutter on a window high above the door had opened. I took several steps back but didn’t see anyone inside.
I looked over my shoulder at Spraggel with a questioning look, but he just shrugged.
“Please, sir,” I called again. “It is a matter of life and death. The well-being of the kingdom is at stake.”
Croaking laughter drifted toward me. But it came from a different direction: my left and from around the side of the house. “You have no idea how many times I’ve heard that same line. I can’t count the times I saved the kingdom.” All the mirth drained from the voice. “I don’t do that anymore. I have nothing left to give. I just want to live out my remaining days in peace.”
“Sir!” I shouted. “I beg you, please listen to us. We need to go to the Kuiojia Empire as quickly as we can.”
“Leave,” came the gravelly voice, only this time from behind me. I wheeled to see no one there.
Spraggel frowned and stepped forward to join me on the stoop. “Good man,” he said. “Will you please stop with the parlor tricks. You’re scaring the young ones.”
“Then maybe you should be scared. How do you know I’m not a ghost, and I’m trying to capture your soul.”
Spraggel snorted. “Not very likely. All you’re doing is opening up tiny portals and speaking through them.”
&
nbsp; Suddenly, swords and spears appeared sticking up from the ground around us. And from their base, blood began to seep from the ground.
“Now leave before I take your blood too.”
Spraggel rolled his eyes. “Please. At least be a little more original. You pushed those weapons through a portal. And the red water is likely from the nearby ironworks.”
Suddenly a naked man appeared in front of us, with his feet hovering at about head height. “Oh really, then how do you explain the apparition before you? Now leave before I eat you!”
Spraggel waved a dismissive hand. “Another parlor trick. You’re just teleporting between you standing somewhere and being in the air. You’re just doing it so fast you’re not falling. And put some clothes on dammit. We’ve got ladies here.”
The naked man disappeared. A few moments later, the front door opened and slowly swung inward. The previously naked man came out wearing a worn cloak. He looked to be even older than Spraggel, and I thought Spraggel was ancient.
“That was most disappointing. All that work and you saw through all of them.” He examined Spraggel closer. “Do I know you?”
“Spraggel van Deviante,” he gave a short bow. “You’ve transported me several times over the years.”
Oddfrid nodded. “I remember now. You pissed off that myst user, and she transformed you into a cat.”
Spraggel nodded sheepishly. “That would have been me.”
He considered Spraggel for a moment longer and then harrumphed. “She should have left you.” He turned back to us and straightened. “But none of this changes anything. I won’t help you. My days in service to the kingdom are long past.”
I was starting to get a little miffed. “I noticed you said won’t, not can’t.” I marched down the path to where the rest of my party stood and took Zofie’s hand. I led her forward. We stopped in front of the man. “This is Princess Zophia. Now tell her that you won’t help. That you won’t help her get her mind back.”
Oddfrid ignored her. “I told you I won’t get involved in the affairs of nobles ever again. I don’t care if she is the princess.” He glanced her way and then immediately looked again. His expression softened. He then leaned forward and gently pushed back her hood. She stared at him blankly.
Assassin of Curses: (The Coren Hart Chronicles Book 3) Page 13