by Anna Kashina
Edging deeper into the Monastery grounds, they finally heard a movement up ahead. Mai signaled with his hand before slipping into the next space, a large rectangular courtyard adjoining the side wall of the Great Shal Addim Temple.
The courtyard was flooded with men. A wall of hooded shapes rushed forward at once to meet them on all sides, as soon as the Majat formation cleared the courtyard gateway. They were wielding orbens – spiked balls hanging on long chains, the ancient weapons Kaddim warriors favored – such an annoyance in a sword fight. Kara whirled her blades, dodging, thrusting, and slashing, protecting her side of the spearhead. She was facing two dozen, a manageable number if no distractions were sent her way.
She sensed the waves of Kaddim mind control power sweeping the space and spotted five hooded figures standing at the edges of the courtyard behind the wall of action, their spread palms facing downward, as if drawing strength from the ground under their feet. She was immune to them, and she briefly swept a glance around their group to make sure everyone was fighting and Kyth was able to handle his part.
She focused on her opponents, noticing in passing how Mai was left facing much larger numbers than the rest of them, as if the majority of the enemy attack was aimed entirely at bringing him down. Her skin prickled as she realized this might indeed be the case. The Shadow Master was bound to know enough about Mai to realize how inspiring he was to his men, how dangerous he was in his new post. If they lost Mai, the Majat attack would lose its edge. She put extra energy into dealing with her share of enemies, hoping that after she was done she would still have enough time to join the fight by his side.
A Ruby beside her fell to the ground, hit by an orben. She side-stepped, slicing at his attacker, sending him to the ground as well. This was not good. The orben wielders moved better than she remembered from when she had faced them last time. They also moved more synchronously, as if someone had been giving them Majat synchrony training. Damn it. They had to find the Shadow Master in this Monastery and take care of him once and for all. Was he one of the five figures standing by the wall?
Her skin prickled as she glanced at the figures again, realising that they were no longer maintaining their poses with downcast palms. They stood at a half-crouch, in attack positions, each holding a dagger. Their eyes were focused on the fight going on at the end of the courtyard.
Mai.
Kara’s heart raced. Only now did she realize how Mai’s numerous attackers did not fan around him like they did with the other Majat, instead engaging him only from the front, leaving his back open…
She gasped, her momentary loss of concentration letting an orben sweep too close to her face. She parried it, only half focused on the action around her.
The five hooded figures raised their hands in terrifying unison, blades flying from their palms, spiraling in the air with a synchrony far beyond any skill; a synchrony, she realized, driven by Kaddim magic which enabled five different men to act as if controlled by a single mind. A form of shadow throw – not with two daggers thrown in unison by one person, but with five, thrown by different people with no less unison and so much more impossibility to deflect them.
There was no way in hell Mai was going to be able to do anything about them. Fully engaged in his fight, he couldn’t even spare enough attention to see them coming.
It was a split second decision that didn’t really take any thought. As she dove into the path of the daggers, she tried to tell herself that she would have done the same for any commander, that it was the right thing to do. Her swords whirled faster than conscious thought, deflecting three of the flying blades. She spun around, kicking another one aside with her foot. She did far better than she expected, but there was nothing she could possibly do about the last one. It hit, burying deep into her chest.
In her battle state, she didn’t even feel any pain. The only strange thing was the way her body suddenly stopped obeying her the way she was used to, her legs folding from underneath her, making her stumble and lose her footing.
Her darkening vision noticed the Kaddim fighters give in under Mai’s attack, retreating into the next courtyard. She realized with sudden clarity that they weren’t fighting to defeat him. They were only distracting him, so that the daggers could reach their target.
Time slowed as she saw Mai spin around and rush to her side.
“Kara!”
His voice had a strange echo, as if coming from a distance. She wanted to look into his eyes, but couldn’t quite force her head to turn. Pain descended, its waves washing through her, making it so difficult to think.
How stupid of me to get hit.
“Bloody hell!” For a moment, Mai’s contorted face made him almost unrecognisable. He sheathed his weapon in an instant and scooped her into his arms.
“Retreat!” he barked.
30
PAIN
Kara floated on waves of pain, only vaguely aware of the action going on around her. Orders, barked at high speed. Men regrouping, retreating back to the wall. Two Rubies were on the ground, but the numbers lost by the enemy were far greater as the Kaddim defenders ran off toward the gate on the other side. It couldn’t be any other way in a fight against a Majat spearhead.
How could she be so stupid as to get herself hit? She should have tried harder with the last dagger. She knew she couldn’t have done anything about it, but thinking that way meant giving up, and if she did, she would be as good as dead.
Probably nothing to be done about that, either.
If she had deflected all the daggers they could have pressed the attack, even though it wasn’t clear if that would have been the best choice. But without her skill, they couldn’t possibly risk it. Besides, she was now dead weight, and she knew Mai was never going to leave her behind.
Mai held her to his chest as he ran, and she was aware that he was doing his best not to cause any more pain, but with the dagger sticking out of the wound it was all but impossible. She did her best to distance herself from it, wishing she wasn’t such a burden as he flung his grappling hook on top of the wall, carrying them both over to the other side with a power that made her feel as if they were flying.
She couldn’t remember the entire way back, the run along the cobbles that made her, once or twice, pass out from the pain and return to her senses only to be met with new waves of it. It eased as they reached the inn and Mai finally slowed to a walk, shifting her into a more comfortable position in his arms as he strode though the door into the inn’s common room.
She struggled to remain conscious, half aware of the gasps around her, of Mistress Yba scurrying around, of the servants following her hushed commands to sweep everything off a table and cover it with a white sheet. It became too bright as lanterns were lit all around, and Kara saw Magister Egey Bashi rush forward, and Kyth standing in his wake with a frozen face. She ran her clouding eyes along the concerned wall of people, hoping that everyone who came with them was accounted for and that, besides the two Rubies they’d lost at the start of the attack, she was the only casualty.
Mai lowered her onto the table, his movements brisk and efficient as he cut her shirt away from the wound. Mistress Yba rushed forward with clean bandages and bowls of water.
Kara drifted off again as they cleaned the wound, the throbbing becoming worse as she returned to her senses. Part of her wished she hadn’t, but that would mean giving up, and there was no way in hell she was going to let everyone down.
She saw Mai’s face leaning over her.
“I’m going to remove the dagger,” he said.
She tried to focus on his face, but couldn’t. It was just too hard.
He placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her lightly but with a grasp that told her he could apply any force if needed. She felt other hands grasp her arms and head and did her best to stay relaxed. She had known worse pain.
It hurt almost as an afterthought as he pulled the dagger in one quick smooth move. Warmth trickled in its wake, the metallic smell of
blood floating to her nostrils with nauseating clarity. She felt more throbbing as someone pressed cloth to the wound, holding tight to ease the blood flow. For a brief moment she drifted off again and came to, the face leaning over her taking shape to become Magister Egey Bashi.
“We’re going to have to use the elixir on your wound.”
It took her a moment to comprehend his words.
“Do you understand me?” the Keeper said urgently.
What was he asking? Oh, yes. It was going to hurt like hell. She remembered the searing pain when Mai treated her scratch on the eve of the tournament at the Majat Guild. She also remembered how Mai had shivered in her arms when she had used it on his arrow wound. With the wide dagger gash penetrating deep into her chest, this one was going to be so much worse.
“Do it, Magister,” she said. I need to be back on my feet so that I can fight.
For a moment she wasn’t sure if she actually said any of it out loud as she saw his hesitation. Then he nodded, his face receding to the background and she heard more running and more cursing around the table.
“We’re going to have to hold her down.” She wasn’t sure who said this, probably Egey Bashi.
“Maybe knocking her out would be best?” Raishan. He sounded calm, probably the most composed of the group.
“We can’t risk it, Aghat. Her wound is too grave.”
“If she bloody dies from the pain it wouldn’t be much better, would it?” Mai. She could hear the strain in his voice.
“Please. We have very little time, Aghat Mai.”
That bad, eh? It didn’t feel that way, if only the pain would stop. If I die, I won’t feel it anymore. She drifted off with the thought and came back again, reflecting how the pain didn’t feel any better at all.
The conversation floated in again.
“…obviously you’ve never had it used on you, have you, Magister?”
The Keeper’s voice, as it boomed in response, had a different edge from Mai’s, but her strangely heightened senses told her the Keeper was no less agitated.
“I know you won’t want to stand by and watch her die, Aghat Mai. Not when we could have done something about it.”
“Don’t you Keepers have any bloody substance that doesn’t hurt as much?”
A pause. “None that is nearly as potent, Aghat Mai.”
More words rustled in response, but she was having trouble catching them. She sensed movement as looming shapes formed beside the table on each side. She focused. Mai and Raishan, their faces set into calm masks. She tried to turn her head, seeking out Mai’s gaze.
I’ll be all right. She hoped her lips actually formed the words. She couldn’t hear them coming out. She was having trouble hearing anything at all through the throbbing in her chest.
She could feel hands on her: Mai’s and Raishan’s, resting lightly on her arms and shoulders, toned to brace for the impact if needed; Egey Bashi’s, cleaning the skin around the wound. Mistress Yba stepped up behind, reaching over to cover her forehead with a wet towel. Kara wished she hadn’t, but they probably needed to hold her head down too. Besides, after they applied the elixir, she probably wouldn’t care anymore. She flicked her eyes to Egey Bashi, who had cleaned the dagger and was now coating it with the sticky liquid from his bottle. Like hot coals, packed into the wound. Right.
The Keeper leaned over her and she felt Mai’s and Raishan’s hands flex as they closed their grip, steadier than iron shackles. She was grateful for it. She had to keep absolutely still for the cure to work, and she wasn’t sure she could do it on her own.
“Ready?” Egey Bashi said.
She nodded. At least she hoped she did.
His hand holding the dagger hovered over her for one extra moment, his face reflecting deep concentration. Taking aim. The cure worked best if he could push it into the wound in one move, making sure that the substance instantly covered all the damaged flesh inside.
A dagger into the wound. Dear Shal Addim, even without the elixir it was going to hurt like hell.
She braced for it, but anything she imagined couldn’t possibly compare to how it felt – like a white-hot iron inserted into her throbbing chest in a slow, drawn movement that never seemed to end. She wasn’t going to scream, but the pain was past anything she could possibly control. She heard her own voice as if coming from afar – or perhaps she was only dreaming it?
She knew some lucky people passed out from the pain and woke up only when the worst was over. She wished it could happen to her, but it didn’t. She could feel Egey Bashi’s hands slowly working their way around the wound, pulling the edges together, every touch sending new waves of searing pain through her every nerve. Mistress Yba was pressing the towel over her head, and on top of everything else it was simply too much to take. Kara tossed her head in a powerful move, throwing the woman’s hands off.
She could see the fear in Yba’s eyes as she stumbled backward away from the table. Mai’s and Raishan’s fingers dug into her skin, their muscles tensing in an unwavering hold. She could feel their strain as they held on with what seemed like an effort far greater than it should be for two men of their strength. Dear Shal Addim, am I going berserk?
Egey Bashi was shouting, and she couldn’t understand his words. She concentrated.
“Relax!” The Keeper’s voice seemed distant, even though she could see he was right next to her. “Stop fighting us, damn it!”
She tried. Every nerve in her body was shooting, making it impossible not to respond. She forced her thoughts back to her training. The pain they were taught to endure without a flinch was nothing like this one, and she had never had to take it on top of a serious wound. Still, she felt angry with herself for slipping so far out of control. She should know better, damn it.
She called up calmness in her mind like she had during her training, willing her twitching muscles to still, embracing the pain that threatened to consume her. She gave in to it, waves of it washing through, clouding her mind, penetrating every inch of her body. This must be what it feels like to be burned alive. Except that when you burned you were allowed to scream and fight, instead of forcing your searing muscles into deadly stillness. When you burned, you eventually died, and then the pain stopped and never came back. It seemed that in her case she would receive no relief at all as the pain went on and on, robbing her of reason, and eventually of any conscious thought. She drifted into a semi-trance, wishing that she could at least pass out, so that she’d have a short break from the pain.
She didn’t remember how it ended. Gradually, she realized Mai and Raishan were no longer holding her down, the absence of pressure on her shoulders and arms making her feel light, as if she were flying. She started hearing sounds again, the argument going on seemingly very close to her head. In her exhaustion, she winced at the force of the sound.
“...what else do you think I should have done?”
“Maybe go back to your White Citadel and work on a better damn cure?”
“We are working on it, Aghat Mai. And, you are welcome, by the way.”
She turned her head, aware of how the argument had stopped when they saw her watching.
Mai’s eyes fixed on her, as if they were alone in the room. He stepped forward to her side, slowly, like a sleepwalker. His drawn face made him look feverish, sick.
Her shoulders ached, and she followed his gaze to the finger-shaped bruises blackening on her upper arms. Dear Shal Addim, did I get so far out of control?
“Sorry.” She hoped the word actually sounded outside her head.
Mai slowly relaxed, as if recovering after a very strenuous fight.
“You took a dagger for me,” he said. “What the hell were you thinking?”
She felt a lump in her throat from the way he looked at her, his relief so overwhelming that it caught her too. She understood exactly how he felt. If he were here, lying in her place, she would feel the same. She probably would have said the same thing.
“I thought I could defl
ect them all,” she said.
His eyes showed that her attempt at deception hadn’t fooled him at all.
“When I asked you to fight by my side,” he said, “this was not what I had in mind. In the future you should bloody well remember that. And… thank you for saving my life.”
She nodded, feeling her face, despite everything, relax into a smile. It was so good to see him alive and well, and not struck down by the devilish five-dagger blow sent from different directions by five different men. It was also good to know that she would likely recover and be able to fight by his side again, even though at the moment even the idea of changing position seemed completely out of the question.
“We should move her to a room upstairs,” Egey Bashi said. “She needs rest.”
Mai turned to him.
“Sorry, Magister. I shouldn’t have said all those things.”
The Keeper nodded. “I think we all felt a bit stressed, Aghat Mai. This was by far the most serious wound I’ve ever had to treat on the spot. Given a choice, I would never have risked it.” He turned to Kara. “Well done, Aghat.”
Her eyes flicked to her bruised shoulder again, noticing in passing how the wound had closed completely, leaving no trace.
“I could have done better,” she said.
“I don’t think so. Not with that wound. For certain, you could have done a lot worse.”
Worse. She could have, if she had allowed her berserk state to take hold. They would have had to call Lance to hold her down too, as if two Diamonds weren’t enough. Given the damage, she could have strained herself and died, before the cure ever had a chance to work. What the hell was she thinking, fighting like that? The fear in Mistress Yba’s eyes as she stumbled away from the table haunted her. Through all her training, she had never imagined something as simple as pain could send her so far over the edge.
She relaxed her muscles, glad that for the moment she didn’t have to do anything at all. They were going to move her to a room, but she hoped they would just leave her alone for a while, so that she could rest.