by D. R. Rosier
She wasn’t too worried about it though, it wasn’t the first time she had gone against the grain after all, and he didn’t seem turned off by a strong woman. In fact, it seemed to her the opposite was true. Plus, he had no idea how things worked here, which she found almost unbelievable, how would he have known she was open to it, or even that it was an option if she hadn’t taken the lead? That led her to wonder how far away he came from, and why did he?
She really should get up and go back to her room, sleeping the night was supposed to be only after growing closer, and actually was a sign of commitment. She sighed softly and gave up on that idea. She felt warm, comfortable, and safe. She was lulled to sleep by the steady beat of his heart…
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Nora ran so fast she was practically flying. Her feet were barely touching the ground every twenty feet or so. The tears in her eyes were not from the wind, the wind obeyed her and did not bother her eyes, in fact, it was the wind that buoyed her and pushed her along at such a fast pace. No, her tears were for her sisters in arms.
She hadn’t had an easy life once she turned thirteen and became a woman. The power she had gained set her apart, had made her strong, but in turn caused problems. In a world where women were supposed to be meek she had dared to try and soar. It had only gotten worse as several of the boys her age tried to set her straight, and wound up beaten and broken instead.
She could have faked it, acted in a correct manner just to get along, but it was not in her nature. Like her power, her personality was wild and free, and at times unpredictable. The wind would not be tamed…
She had been independent but miserable for three years, but at sixteen she had come to the attention of the kingdom’s elite women warriors. At first she resisted their attempts at recruitment, but they had been persistent, and understanding. For each of them were like her, had magical talents that made them strong, stronger than most men.
They simply did not fit in, not with anyone, except for themselves. The king was wise enough to recognize the problem of women with too much power and no place to call their own. There had been incidents. To try and fix things, he created their military unit. While they were really no more accepted, they at least had a place to belong, and for the most part, were left alone.
When she finally consented to join, she had not had occasion to regret it in the last two years. The group of nine women had been a law unto themselves; she had found acceptance of who she was, and a place to call home. Simply put, they had become her family. But now… she was once again alone… and it was her fault.
Two months ago, she had heard a young brazen knight in training going on about how women couldn’t be warriors, and that the king was a fool to allow it. She was already in a bad mood that day and had promptly, and rashly, challenged the young man, then trounced him. She didn’t just beat him, she toyed with him and embarrassed him badly.
It wasn’t until later; she learned his father was highly placed in the nobility. The king in a tough position, decided to send them on a six month mission to the southern border on patrol duties. He hoped that would give time for emotions to settle. She knew the king wrestled with having enough troops to cover the southern border at all times, and the raids that came every few years caused suffering down there.
They always managed to force a retreat when a response was made, but it never seemed to be enough. He had briefed them to keep a close eye out, that another raid was likely to happen soon and to do what they could to protect the villages down there, and get an earlier warning back to him than usual. Perhaps that would help keep the casualties to a minimum.
The king had been killing two birds with one stone when he sent her group south.
They were tough, the nine women were confident they could handle anything, after all they had already proven that singly before being recruited. Together they were unstoppable. The talents in their group were air, fire, earth, telekinesis, affinity with weapons, hypnotism, mind reading, speed, and their most powerful member was a mage, the ability to control actual magic.
Just a few days ago, they had found an army gathering on the other side of the border. They spied the best they could from the Abelaweth side of the border for three days to get the enemy numbers. Her and Bria, the speed talent, were going to run back north and warn the king, if he responded quickly enough, perhaps it could be stopped before it started.
They were confident… they were fools and underestimated the enemy.
A simple assassin had infiltrated their camp with a silence talent as far as she could figure. Whatever led up to when she awoke or even why she did she would never know. All she knew was she woke up with a spike of fear, fully alert. She could hear nothing, the forest was silent and a man stood over her, a knife aimed for her throat.
She reacted instinctively. I tight blast of air snapped his neck back while twisting it, it was so strong it stripped the skin off of one side of his face and he died as his spinal cord snapped. She stood and looked around, the rest of her unit was dead, she could see the blood pooling beneath them. What had waked her up? She took notice of the sounds coming to life around her as the assassin’s magic died with him. She appeared to be surrounded.
Instincts and training took over, she took three steps to the north and jumped, calling the wind to her. She flew a few hundred yards, over and past the enemy. She had cushioned her landing and started the run north. She wanted nothing else but to turn around and kill them all in revenge. She was so tempted to just keep fighting and killing until she was taken down. Her family was dead. Once again, she was alone.
But… she had a duty. Her sisters would not thank her if she did not warn the king, if she put her revenge over ensuring the protection of the southern villages. Once her duty was done… then she would seek revenge. She was moving so swiftly, she knew she would arrive back at the capital in hours, when it took over a week to reach the southern border at a normal walking speed.
She ran wondering why she was still alive, wondering why she had even woke, she should be with her sisters, she should be dead. By tomorrow afternoon she would once again be in the south, her duty satisfied she would not need to run again…
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Arnath stared coldly at the dead assassin on the floor. The fool had let one escape. He growled, wishing he could kill the other incompetent as well, but the air user had already seen to that. He was old for a soldier in the Egerian military. Had reached the rank of colonel.
He had already participated in five campaigns. In the past, they had simply raided the southern villages, taking everything of value, along with young woman and children for slave labor. Then they slipped back out across the Egerian border before any serious engagements with the Abelaweth military. Their king was a coward and never followed them past the border.
But this time it was different, his king had died. The successor to the throne had ordered a full invasion, he wanted to expand, gain more power. There were also rumors the king had made a deal with a new god, trying to usurp the world from Cytherea. Arnath really didn’t care about that, as long as he got his fill of conquest and fresh women to train, he would be satisfied. Still, letting a woman escape, no matter her power, was inexcusable. Not when they had planned so meticulously.
“Remove the corpse, and get ready to march. Send orders for the rest of the troops to catch up when they can.”
He was still furious, he had lost the element of surprise. They would still win of course, but he had been looking forward to having a new slave girl for a few weeks before the actual battles happened, not to mention choosing where and having his men fortify the location to engage the Abelaweth troops. Now everything would be rushed. He had a week if that now to get everything set up.
He looked down at the young woman kneeling before him. She was beautiful, and very talented, but boring to him now. She had no fight left and followed his every order just as a female should. He was not unaware of the irony of this. He gestured for her to take care of his n
eeds, he needed a distraction from his anger, and she would do… for now…
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Cytherea sighed. She knew she had been pushing the boundaries when she woke the young woman. It was surely a gray area, did waking someone usurp their free will?
It wasn’t always like this, just a couple of thousand years ago the gods had interfered at will, which she admitted to herself, had led to chaos. She had been angry, as had all the other gods when the creator stepped in and banished them all from Earth. Since that time, she had changed greatly. At first, when her father had given her this world to watch over she ignored it and stewed in her anger.
Eventually however, she had fallen in love with it, and now that she was in danger of losing it she was terrified. She was more worried about the humans if this dark god succeeded here than losing her place. Her best hope were the humans she had chosen. She had ensured they were in the right place and had a chance to make a difference, but ultimately, it was their choice…
Chapter 4
Justin woke slowly and smiled. His right arm was completely numb, but when he looked down and saw her lustrous light brown hair fanned out on his chest he decided it was worth the slight discomfort. He felt her stir at his movement and she looked up at him and smiled.
“Good morning,” she made a face, “Guess it’s time to get up? I have to hunt.”
She leaned forward, her body sliding along his, and then she kissed him. That’s when he noticed several strange things. Her breath was fresh, and his mouth felt fresh too, as if he had brushed. The sheets also felt fresh, when he knew they shouldn’t, not after last night. Not only that but his body should be sticky from the sweat, and other bodily juices from last night, yet… it wasn’t. She stood to get dressed and he noticed his clothes also looked washed. What the hell?
“Umm, how?” he asked, confusion clear in his voice.
She grinned, understanding when he pointed at his clothes, “Well, I think the goddess must hate dirty things. One of the most common lesser magical talents is to make things fresh, clean. Your clean sheets, clothes and body are courtesy of Cynthia.”
He understood then, how the town was so clean. He thought it odd at the time, but now it made sense. When he blushed she added, “Don’t worry, her range is quite good, I’m sure she did it all from the hallway…”
“The goddess hates dirt?” he asked, not getting the connection.
She nodded grinning, “Where do you think the magical gifts come from?”
He nodded, relieved and said, “I’d join you, but I’m sure you’d rather your hunt be a success. Anything I can do while you’re gone?”
She shook her head, “You can rest now, or cut wood early for the day, then take the afternoon off before dinner.”
He followed her downstairs, curious. When she looked at him questioningly he said, “I’m curious, I’d like to see…” he waved his hands in a broad motion.
They first sat down in the kitchen and ate a quick breakfast, which turned out to be the leftovers from last night’s dinner. For some reason the stew tasted even better this morning after simmering all night. It was thicker and the flavors were melded more.
He followed her outside and into the woods, after they were a hundred yards in or so she turned to him…
“Normally I don’t like sharing this with anyone, remember what I said last night about asking people about their talents. I think you might understand better if or when you discover yours, but for now just take my word for it,” she kissed him lightly on the cheek, “But for you I’ll satisfy your curiosity.”
He watched in amazement as her body blurred and a brightly glowing light surrounded her. He had read books and seen movies of shape shifters, or werewolves. He had been expecting cracking bones and the reshaping of flesh. Instead the light grew brighter and brighter until it was hard to see.
Then she became the light, and the light itself changed shape, flowing from the beautiful woman to the shape of a huge tiger, then as the light started to dim he saw the body of tiger. She was as beautiful, and deadly looking, as he remembered. He was right about the size difference as well, her head coming up to his shoulders while still on all fours. He couldn’t help the smile that broke out on his face.
He whispered softly, “You’re beautiful, amazing.”
She nudged her head against his chest, and he heard a loud rumble come from her chest. It took a few seconds to recognize it as a purr, sounding so different in a large cat. She sneezed at him, whipped her tail and loped away into the forest. He snorted, his life was so weird now…
He had accepted that he was truly on another world, though, how and why escaped him. There was also a part of his mind that had trouble with this, even though he knew it was true, but he was trying to ignore it. Human nature was such that it resisted change, and being on a new world was a very large one. He turned back and headed for the tavern. Maybe if he chopped wood while she hunted, they could spend some time together this afternoon?
Last night felt a little unreal to him now that he was alone. What had he ever done to deserve an amazing woman like that? He also reminded himself she had made it clear there was no commitment in what they had shared. So… what did that mean?
He shrugged, he would just treat her like she was a new girlfriend until he knew better or she told him to stop. Besides, wasn’t that what she was despite the sex? Or, he thought in the case of this society, because of it? He took the fact that they seemed comfortable with each other this morning as a good sign. There hadn’t been any awkwardness or signs of regret.
He sighed, the idea of how to treat her occurring to him, besides his attitude toward her. He couldn’t exactly take her out to dinner and a movie, so what did couples do together here? Besides talking and screwing that is. He hated not knowing the simple day to day things, it made him feel out of control.
He was still splitting wood an hour later, when Ben came out and started a fire in the pit. Ben nodded politely to him and started to head inside when he heard the first scream, followed shortly by the sounds of weapon strikes. Ben cursed and turned to him.
“Raiders, damn Egeria,” then Ben ran for the inn.
He froze for a moment, remembering another scream, a young woman’s voice crying out from an alley. He had answered that scream, and gotten shot for his trouble. He shook it off angrily, ashamed of his fearful reaction. Looking down at the axe in his hand he shook his head. It worked for splitting wood, but was too unwieldy to control in battle.
He turned and ran for the shed, putting the axe down he grabbed two hatchets off the wall. They were light, and with his stronger body, more than they would otherwise have been. They felt like an extension of his arms and he would be able to wield them with the control of his martial arts background.
He stalked around the edge of the inn toward the street, his mind rejecting the reality of raiders with magical powers and swords. It was too unreal. Impossible. Yet, he knew it was true and had to act accordingly. This was no sparring session, he could die here.
He hid behind a barrel as well as he could and took in the situation. There were soldiers going door to door. He noticed some people being pulled out in chains, they were all younger. He frowned grimly and dashed to a house, following the soldiers that had just entered a few seconds ago. They were working in teams of six, that would be a lot to take on at once, but he couldn’t stand by and do nothing.
He slipped in, stepping on the balls of his feet trying to remain quiet. The guard at the door grinned at the scream further into the house and wasn’t paying any attention behind him. His mistake. After a moment of thought, he reversed the axe and struck the soldier in the head with the blunt end and the man went down hard.
He felt a little sick to his stomach as he saw blood drip out of one of the soldier’s ears. This was real violence, not sparring practice or a kickboxing bout. He felt his stomach rebel, but pushed it down. He continued to step carefully, the hall opened up into a large room where the soldie
rs had a young man and a small girl in chains. The parents were still alive, knocked out.
He had expected to find them dead but understanding came to him. These horrible people… they were like hunters. Hunters only cull the herd, if they kill everyone there won’t be anyone around next time to steel from, or to take children from. His rage grew at the thought and he charged into the room taking them by surprise.
The first soldier went down without resistance, he smashed his hatchet into the soldier’s neck and there was a sickening sound of cracking cartilage and bones, then the soldier collapsed. He spun into the midst of them, close quarters making it harder for them to use their swords. Using one hatchet to block or move a blocking sword out of his way and then taking out the soldier with a hard strike to the neck or head with the other.
There were two left when he was thrown across the room without being touched and held up against the wall. Damn his luck he would run into someone with telekinesis on his first encounter. He raised his hands and threw both hatchets. One stopped halfway to the soldier, the other was buried in the chest of his comrade.
The soldier growled and spat, “You’re going to pay for that,” and started forward brandishing his sword.
His mind screamed at the situation, he was screwed. He could no longer move at all.
The soldier smiled slowly, “I’m gonna bleed you sl,” his voice cut off abruptly at the loud roar.
His eyes widened as he saw Kat, still in tiger form, dart at the soldier from nowhere. She moved so fast her form was a blur of motion and she took the invader’s head off in one swipe of her giant paw.
He dropped off the wall to his feet, “God, it’s good to see you, thought I was done there…”
She whipped her tail in annoyance and growled…
He sighed, “I know it was stupid, especially without a talent. I just couldn’t hide though, I had to do something.”