"That's enough I suppose," Teveres said charitably. He removed his shirt and used it to wipe the perspiration from his face. Though he'd lost some of his endurance since his days in clergy, he was still a fair twice as fit as his politically-oriented friend. "Go rest. We'll work again tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Les groaned, "You're going to kill me. I can't feel my face."
Teveres laughed, slapping Les on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, Baron. No one ever dies in training."
"Yet," Les corrected, "Nobody has died yet. I swear to the twelve corners that I will be the one..." he gasped from the long sentence, "...to prove you wrong."
Les handed Teveres the makeshift prop dagger of tree branches and string and made his way through the trapdoor back down to the basement. With a satisfied smile on his face, Teveres knelt down to place his and Les's wooden daggers in his backpack. He jumped when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Aia stood next to him with her hands on her hips. Her cloak lay abandoned on the bench. She was wearing dark blue healer's garb, the likes of which were traditionally worn by the University healers.
"Are you still up for some more?" she asked him.
Teveres raised his eyebrows. When he stood up he was suddenly aware of how much shorter she was. He looked down at her with a wooden dagger in each hand. "You want to learn?"
"Shouldn't I?" her face contorted into a quizzical stare. "I might not be much, but I think I should be able to defend myself. If I had to."
"First you would have to be willing to hurt someone."
"I've hurt people before, you know. A healer isn't the only thing I am." Her narrowed lavender eyes reminded him, unfortunately, of a perturbed kitten. He struggled to take her seriously.
Head cocked to the side, Teveres studied her. Slowly he stepped away, tossing the daggers outside of the circle. "I've seen you hold a knife. It's obvious you're not comfortable with it."
"That's no reason to-!"
"Sh," He held up a finger. "That's fine. Everyone starts someplace. Do you dance?"
"Why in the bloody skies does that matter?"
"Humor me." He gave her his best earnest look, "Please?"
She let out a goose-like exasperated sigh. "I do like to dance. Sometimes. With... the right person."
"Fair." Teveres held out both of his hands palms-up, gently curved as if holding a ball. "As clergy we are trained to work the energy around us. When we begin our training, we first work with balls of energy in our hands."
"Balls of energy?" she echoed incredulously.
Teveres shrugged. "The clergy have a very simple way of looking at the world. To us, everything vibrates. Personally, when I am using my - divinity - I can feel my opponent's energy. It hums. The clergy dislike admitting that even the ungifted are able to feel the energy of others. The vibration of life is a part of our nature. Now, do this, and focus on your palms. Imagine the energy in your own body reaching the tips of your fingers, collecting in your hands."
>Shaking out her agitation, Aia closed her eyes and visibly relaxed. She held out her hands towards his, cupped palms to the sky, and concentrated. Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried.
"A little less concentration. Let it flow naturally," Teveres talked to her through the meditation. "Now open your eyes and look up at me."
Teveres felt his insides twist looking at her inviting, innocent features. He could hear the beat of his heart in his ears; the wave of shame he felt at his attraction was overcome by excited curiosity. He vainly hoped that she might feel it, too.
He licked his lips before he spoke. "Alright, now like this -" he demonstrated, holding his cupped hands out to either side of his body, angled towards her, "And without touching, you should follow my lead."
"Dancing," she replied with understanding.
He nodded. His muscles taught, Teveres stepped forward with a hand extended, causing her to step back. As he retracted back, she followed him, just far enough away that they did not touch. When she began to look at their feet he clucked his tongue.
"You don't have to look where I'm stepping to follow me. When you're in combat you don't have that luxury-" he lunged forward quickly, his fingertips brushing hers when she did not step rapidly enough. "-of looking down. It's of utmost importance that you link rhythm with your opponent so you can anticipate where they will go."
Gamely, Aia pushed towards him off-step. With practiced ease he yielded to her, stepping back to maintain his distance. He smiled approvingly, "Better."
They fell into sync soon enough, turning circles in the small clearing. The link between them, physical and mental, strengthened the longer they danced. Though they did not physically touch, Teveres could feel her energy around him, a song that penetrated into his own vibration. She was beginning to get winded when he abruptly stopped the motion, dizzy from the sudden loss of connection. The disappointment on her face pleased him.
"Now," he bent down to pick up the mock daggers, lobbing one to her. "Like the energy in your hands, the dagger is an extension of yourself. It channels your will to your adversary."
Aia turned the stick over in her hand, taking it by the makeshift hilt. Even though it was not a real blade, she still held it awkwardly. Tucking his prop into his belt, Teveres seized the hand she held around the dagger. He interlaced his fingers around hers and squeezed tightly.
"This is why I always use the same blade," he muttered.
"What?"
"When you use a weapon for a long time it becomes a part of you. You always have a connection to it. I would know mine anywhere... in a way we grew up together."
"Good memories?"
"Some of them. The next step is to do the same thing, but this time the blades touchHe blades ." He held his arms wide and nodded at her to begin.
They easily dropped back into comfortable steps. At first she held the stick angled in a way that showcased her lack of experience, but within minutes her grip shifted. The stick became a part of her, and a part of him as well when their faux-blades met. When he was satisfied with her progress, he spun his dagger away from hers with the flick of a wrist.
"Not bad," he bowed his head. "You learn quickly."
Aia grinned slyly, her face flushed a glowing red from the activity. "So you really trained as clergy."
Playfully, Teveres peered over the shoulder which bore his tattoo and turned in a circle, chasing after the symbol. Her laugh warmed him.
"Yeah," he smirked. "I really did. Ten years in training."
"So you can do what they do?" she asked with forced politeness. "I've always heard that they can fight better than the Justices."
"Differently, maybe. The Justices rely a great deal on swords and weaponized kelspar. The clergy are trained to use daggers and manipulate energy."
"Something about circles?"
"Yes, something about that."
"Can you show me?"
"I..." her chaste curiosity intrigued him. The juvenile machismo within him dared him to impress her. "Okay, sure."
"What should I do?"
"Come at me like you're going to hit me." He chuckled at the bewildered look in her eyes. "Just do it. I won't hurt you. Trust me, and don't tense up."
Aia gathered her strength and went for an over-arching punch towards his face. He anticipated the move the moment her weight shifted, dodged to the side and grabbed her active wrist. He used minimal force to continue her natural spiral down towards the ground - she landed on her back with an oomph. He crouched beside her, his face inches from hers.
With her hair sprawled out in shining wavelets around her face and a bemused expression on her delicate lips, the scene stirred impulsive desire within him, the likes of which he had not felt in months. He wanted her - not just for her body, but for the soul he touched when they danced. He was an unsteady tremor away from kissing her.
She quieted, sensing the change in the air. She was the first to look away, the responsible one. She pushed him away and rose, inelegantly brushing her cu
rves as she dusted herself off.
Rolling up to a seated position, Teveres took a deep breath to steady himself. Stupid ideas indeed.
"That was fun," said Aia, betraying nothing with her words or tone. "Thank you...for teaching me."
Teveres grabbed his gear, humbled by her tactful but firm rejection. "Any time."
Before she left to return to the basement he caught her gaze, and in it he could see that she knew everything that was on his mind. Her restrained smile held back so many answers. Only once she was safely down the stairs did he allow himself a protracted groan of frustration. If he lived in another time and place, one where he was not fighting for the life of his pregnant ex-fiancé, things would have gone much differently.
* * *
After three days in the basement lodge, Aia found herself disturbed by the taste of the air. At home there were always places to go, patients who needed visiting in Nivenea or hidden in the God's Hills. In the lodge she was stuck in a transition time, unable to leave the confines of the basement to breathe new air. Even with daily trips up above to the garden with Les, the scent of old wood and failed romance was so familiar that breathing it in was driving her mad.
It was near midnight, marking the end of day three. The last patrons were beginning to file out for the evening. Les, Aia, Teveres and Alex sat around one of the larger round tables in the common area, cards in hand. They were playing Calas, an old strategy game which the group had been teaching Aia over the last two days. Cards and strategy were not her strong suit; she had the tendency to make wildly risky moves for either great payout or merciless defeat. The way things were going in this game, Aia expected the latter. Les had the upper hand by far.
Garren, who had spent very little time with them over the last few days, approached the table. Examining the game carefully, he gave Aia the familiar what-the-hell-were-you-thinking look. Uninvited, he took a seat next to Alex.
"I expect our contact to come in tonight," he addressed the group softly. "We may need to move when this happens."
Aia played her next card judiciously, which was quickly defeated by Teveres's countermove. She glared at him playfully. "We've had our bags ready to go for days," she said to Garren. "I wish they would move faster."
"You may not wish it once they show up."
"Who exactly is this contact?" asked Les.
"I was not told who it would be. I expect it will be a lower officer, but it could be anyone," Garren replied. It was, of course, typical of the Kaldari. Garren knew only what he needed to know, and no more.
Alex sipped her tea before she tossed down her hand in defeat. "I can make you something for the road."
"That would be helpful, thank you," Garren's approval was rare and usually reserved only for Alex. She slapped him on the shoulder and waved at the other players, taking her cue to head for the kitchen.
Teveres folded his own cards as well. His eyes went hard looking at Garren. Over the past few days Aia had made somewhat of a friend out of Garren, while Teveres iced over every time Garren came near. Garren, for his part, tolerated the reaction, avoiding Teveres's gaze.
With impeccable timing, there was a lyrical knock from the trapdoor above. Garren perked with recognition. Several of the working men and women seemed to know, too, as they retreated to quarters almost immediately. Alex peered out from the kitchen doorway.
There was only one person above the door, as far as Aia could tell. It was a Kaldari male. Nervous with anticipation, she inched closer to Teveres's side, taking careful note of the dagger already in his hand. Les tensed as well, even as he tried to look casual, shuffling the cards over the table.
Can you hear me? Aia tested, projecting her thoughts towards Teveres. She felt a reciprocal change in the tide of his barriers, allowing her just a little closer to his inner workings so she could hear him.
Whatever you do, don't get in the way.
She glanced at him, but he had a hunter's focus on the trapdoor, which Garren was reaching up to open. There were words exchanged in the Kaldari's fast-paced language. Garren's face twisted with anger. He spat words back at the man above the door, their voices louder than socially acceptable. It was clear that he was on the losing end of the argument, whatever that argument was.
Finally Garren nodded, grunting a defeated response. Aia saw the flash of a bar of weaponized kelspar passed down to Garren. He motioned briskly for the Deldri to join him.
Teveres approached with Aia and Les at his back. Aia mentally nudged Teveres for a response, but he had already gone numb. The anger in his eyes when he looked at Garren could shatter glass.
"They want you to restrain me." Teveres’s words were bleached of emotion.
The bar of kelspar was tight in Garren's gloved hands. Teveres had to sense the depth of Garren's sorrow just as well as she could, for it blanketed the entire room.
"Yes," Garren replied, "If you wish to see Veni, you must submit to the capping. It is not negotiable."
"I'm sure it isn't," Teveres said bitterly. As if to sink the metaphorical dagger further into Garren's chest, Teveres lowered himself to his knees. "Go on. Do it."
Aia closed her eyes when Garren pulled his hand back to whip the kelspar across Teveres's chest, the most effective point of contact for weaponized kelspar. Les grabbed her hand in support just as the metaphysical wave hit her. Teveres wavered, but did not fall, coughing at the impact. Aia squeezed Les's hand so she wouldn't dive after him.
Impatient words in Kaldari sounded from above the trap door. Garren ignored them. He tried to lend Teveres a hand, but Teveres refused. Catching his breath, he staggered to standing with the posture of an old man. Garren climbed the ladder out of the basement, Teveres just behind him with Les's help.
The Kaldari who was sent to get them was unremarkable, light-skinned with travel-worn clothes which seemed to be barely holding together. He was not nearly as physically intimidating as Garren. He led them across the conspicuously vacant upper floor of the lodge, through the main kitchen to a winding staircase.
Teveres's barriers were almost completely destroyed. Without them, Aia could feel the ache in his bones with every step. Though it brought tears to her eyes, he seemed to thrive on the pain. It focused his unchained rage.
At the top of the stairs was a small apartment. The candle on the dining table cast shadows over furniture befitting a living room. Though she could see only a handful of Kaldari in similarly worn clothing to the Kaldari who fetched them, she could tell there were at least a dozen Kaldari on the floor. In her search of the minds, she found an unconscious daughter of Elseth, who she was certain had to be Veni. Alive.
Aia's attention was immediately drawn to a woman in the center of the soldiers. Nearly a head shorter than Aia, the woman had tanned skin, long braided dark hair and dark eyes. Tiny black stone shards glittered in the candlelight over one cheek and collarbone, tattoo-like in appearance. She was all muscle underneath her form-fitting dark clothes. There was a sword slung through her belt on one hip, adorned with blood red stones and black leather. It looked comically large next to her small frame.
I think she's alive, Aia projected at Teveres. Unconscious, but alive.
Teveres made the intelligent decision not to look at her, but he did relax slightly. He was doing his best to stand straight in front of the woman with the commanding presence. She was in a heated discussion with one of the other Kaldari, visibly referring to a roll of paper. When Garren cleared his throat the woman stopped mid-sentence to look up at him.
"Garren," the woman in black said. "You are healthy. I am glad." Unlike Garren, who could almost pass as a native speaker to someone who was not looking for an accent, the woman's Leyvada was entirely lacking in fluidity.
Garren bowed his head and bent down on one knee, bringing him to the woman's eyelevel. "Commander Drei, I present Deldri Teveres, Aiasjia, and Les."
Drei's fingers lit delicately under his chin to pull his gaze towards hers. Her nightsky eyes were approving. "Y
ou have done well for us." She snapped to regard Teveres, who did not move even when she came dangerously close to him. "You are the killer, Teveres."
"I am," Teveres said mildly.
Drei's smile expanded, more in a show of aggression than one of social respect. "I would know a killer anywhere. It is in your face." She waved a hand at Aia, >
"It hasn't been a pleasure, I assure you," Les quipped.
"Yes," Drei seemed satisfied by Les's show of disrespect. "Pleasure is not of value here. Pleasure takes time, and we must be quick." She paced the room with predatory grace. Deep in thought, her fingers delicately traced the outline of the largest stone on her sword. "I am the commander of the Kaldari Coalition of Tribes, a warrior of Shald. The Coalition fights for the will of our god, for peace in the land of Elseth. Until our children have a safe home and food to eat, there cannot be peace. The Kaldari men and women answer to me. Now you answer to me, too."
"I answer to myself," Teveres said, his words carefully measured, "You are foolish to think otherwise."
"You are my guest, Teveres of Ilvan," Drei replied. "You will learn your place."
"What is it you're trying to do here?" Aia spoke up, thankful that her voice did not waver. "What do you want?"
Garren shot Aia a cautionary glare. Drei surveyed Aia up and down. "The leaders of Nivenea have been taken. This is time for the Kaldari to strike. First we take Torvid's Rest."
Torvid's Rest, while isolated from most of Elseth's Land, was protected by a large cohort of clergy. The only way to take the settlement would be to infiltrate the temple. The small unit of Kaldari soldiers that Drei brought with her was easy to conceal, but hardly the size necessary to take on so many clergy. Aia swallowed nervously, holding her gaze steady. Looking away was a sign of weakness that she couldn't afford to show.
She can't be serious, Aia thought at Teveres. Silence in his mind, a cold fog. She could not read him.
"Just tell me what I have to do," Teveres seethed, his good posture faltering despite his efforts, "I'll do whatever it takes. Just let Veni go and nobody else has to get hurt."
Tragedy (Forsaken Lands) Page 11