by R. A. Rock
“I am pretty good,” Finn said, still flipping the blades without seeming to pay any attention to them. It was an act, of course. He was paying close attention, and his concentration was intense.
Tessa narrowed her eyes at him. “I will be, too,” she said, flipping one of her blades carefully. He saw her flinch when she misjudged and hit her wrist again.
“Maybe you should take the sheaths off,” Finn said with a grin, never stopping the blades that flew around his hands. “Maybe you’d learn quicker if every flip might mean all your heart’s blood spilling onto the forest floor.”
“Shadows take you, Finn,” she muttered, her focus visibly increasing as she flipped with greater speed and agility, no longer hitting her own arm.
Finn nodded, impressed. He stopped his blades and stowed them in the Otherworld sheath. Tessa had made more progress in the mere three weeks they had been training than he had in two years when he had first been learning from his grandfather.
They were working with the blades every day and riding some, too, heading slowly back toward Direwood Castle and the Dark Court. The plan was to arrive back in time to meet the queen’s deadline, but along the way, they were taking their time, and Tessa was training in different locations in order to deepen her understanding and skill with the weapon. She was getting good enough with the blades that she needed something to challenge her more.
Finn called an end to the training, and they saddled their horses, heading to the next village to get more supplies. There were a few unsavory types hanging around the tavern, but Finn evaluated them and then dismissed them as only a minor threat. When they had everything they needed, they got back on their horses and rode out of town.
“Did you see the warriors hanging around the tavern?” she asked.
“I saw them,” Finn said with a small, unconcerned shrug. “Not a threat. Not one of them could take either of us in a fight.”
“I agree.”
But she looked back once more at the tavern and the men and women lounging there against the wall. They were trained fighters. Tessa could spot that easily. But they didn’t seem to be looking for trouble.
“Not a threat,” Finn reiterated.
And Tessa nodded. “Of course not. They’re just giving off a bad vibe.”
“Yeah,” Finn said, glancing back. “They are. I definitely wouldn’t want to meet them in the dark. But we’re getting out of here, and we won’t be seeing them again.”
“Right,” Tessa said, giving herself a little shake. “So, where are we going next?”
“You need some new terrain to train in, and I know just where. There’s a place about an hour’s ride from here. We’ll test your skill with the blades while you’re in motion. The training is getting too easy. You need more of a challenge.”
“I agree,” Tessa said with a nod. Then she frowned at him. “What exactly are you planning, Mr. Noble?”
Her gaze searched his face for any sign of mischief. Finn kept his expression innocent, which only made her suspicion deepen.
“You’ll see, Miss Callahan. You’ll see.”
Tessa knew that Finn had something up his sleeve, but she wasn’t sure what. When they arrived at the Canyon in the afternoon, she was a little worried.
“You’re not taking me into the geyser field, are you?” she asked, gazing down into the Canyon. In the middle of the canyon floor was an area covered in small craters.
The geyser field.
One of the most dangerous places in Ahlenerra.
“What?” He glanced at her, taken aback. “Of course not. That’s way too dangerous. We’re just going to fight on the paths descending into the Canyon.”
“Oh, good.”
“The geyser field,” he said, shaking his head. “You think I’m crazy? I mean, I am crazy. But not that crazy. No Fae with any sense would go in there willingly.”
“Exactly.” Tessa was glad they were of the same mind.
“We’ll fight our way down into the Canyon,” Finn explained. “Hand-to-hand fighting to begin with, and then I’ll draw my blades, at which point you’ll also draw yours and the fight will continue.”
“Fine.”
“You must deal with the obstacles as they come. You must also fight me and get to the other side of the canyon safely. A proper warrior needs to be able to accomplish many things at once.”
“I think I know what it takes to be a proper warrior,” Tessa said, feeling sour.
“True.” Finn held up his hands as if in surrender. “Of course you know what it takes to be a warrior, Tess. But you also know that you need a challenge. Now that you’ve got the basics with the blades, we have to make it more difficult.”
She couldn’t argue with that.
“And,” Finn held up his pointer finger, “if you do well, then we will soak in the hot springs after.”
“Hot springs?” Tessa asked, unimpressed.
“The hot springs at the edge of the geyser field,” Finn said and waggled his eyebrows.
Tessa shook her head. “Let’s go.”
They fought their way down into the Canyon and across the canyon floor. Finn got her once, but Tessa felt that she was holding her own quite well, despite the unfamiliar terrain. They were so engrossed in their sparring that they didn’t notice the shadows on the horizon until it was too late.
“Oh no,” Tessa said, suddenly pulling up on a kick. “Finn, look.”
He spun around quickly.
“Shadows take me,” he said. “The warriors from the tavern. There’s too many of them, even for us. We need to get out of here.”
“I thought you said none of them were a threat to either of us,” Tessa said, watching the men approach on foot, their weapons drawn.
“They aren’t,” Finn said. “Individually. But all together? Yeah, I don’t want to mess with them.”
“They must have seen you buying supplies and thought you an easy mark.”
Finn gave her a dirty look. “Let’s go.”
He took off running down the Canyon away from the men. Tessa stowed her blades and ran after him. A couple of minutes of running had them skidding to a stop in front of the geyser field. The men were out of sight but no doubt closing in quickly. Tessa calculated they had maybe a minute to catch their breath and decide what to do.
“We have to go in,” Finn said, wrinkling his nose in distaste as he leaned on his knees, breathing heavily.
“What? That’s suicide.”
She sniffed. There was the slightest smell of sulphur.
“This field contains the largest magical geyser in Esper. Yes, it’s extremely dangerous.” Finn sounded like he was babbling a little. “But they probably want to steal everything we have and dismember us, too. So, it’s either possible death or certain death. I mean, we can’t die but—Oh, Stars alight, you get the picture, right?”
Tessa thought hard.
“We have to go in, Tess.”
“Why not fight them?”
Finn shook his head. “I wasn’t entirely honest when I said they weren’t that dangerous.”
“Finn…”
He held up his hands to ward off her anger. “I saw a brand on one of them when I passed him in the village. I honestly thought he was the only one. Not worth mentioning.”
“A brand?” She felt a tightening in her stomach.
He nodded. “It was an X. On his collarbone above the heart.”
“No.”
“Yes. They’re warriors. From the Order of the X. I thought there was only one of them, and we were leaving anyway, so there was no point in telling you.”
“But obviously, there’s more than one, and they’re working together,” she pointed out.
“Well, now it’s obvious.”
“And if they’re a part of the Order of the... ”
Finn shushed her, not wanting her to say it out loud again. It was considered supremely bad luck, even in the Dark Court.
“If they’re a part of that organization, Te
ssa, it would be suicide to stay here.”
He was right. The geyser field was looking quite safe compared to the people approaching them.
“Why don’t we just use the Unity Blades?” Tessa asked, grasping for any idea. Any other choice but the ones that were presenting themselves. “You could make a portal.”
He shook his head. “I will if I have to, but I won’t if there’s any other way. Like I told you before, using the blades exacts a magical toll each time. You shouldn’t use them more than you need to.”
“But you used them. To fight me in the Dark Court.”
“That was the first time I had ever used them in a real fight. Going to Isadore’s was the first time I created a portal, since my grandfather trained me to use the blades.”
He stared up at the sky.
“My grandfather drilled into my head that there is a price, Tessa, every time you use the blades. You of all people should understand about the cost of magic. It doesn’t make sense to use them if there’s another option. Especially since making portals takes even more Starlight than regular use. We save them for life or death emergencies”
“Fine.”
“And frankly, I’m not sure using the blades to fight would give us much of an advantage in this situation. You know the reputation of those who wear the X.”
“Fine,” she said again, convinced. “But for the record, I think this is crazy. There’re geysers all over the whole area. More than half of the magical explosions in all of Esper happen right here.”
“I know.”
“Stars and Shadows, Finn. We’ll get ourselves killed.”
He shrugged. “It’s unlikely.”
“Unlikely means that there is still a possibility.”
“True,” he said with a nod of concession. “But remember, you needed a challenge. And I have great faith in you, Captain of the Guard.”
She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the field. At that instant, a geyser blew and a rush of purple erupted out of the hole and high into the sky—one of the smaller eruptions. It was beautiful—and deadly. The magic in the geysers came from the heart of Esper itself and was extremely powerful. So powerful, in fact, that no one was able to channel any of it because almost all normal Fae would be destroyed by the enormous amount of magic.
So, the geysers remained a beautiful but completely useless source of immense power in the Fae Lands. It was also a source of immense danger because if a Faerie was hit by the magic, it could lift them high up into the air. If they fell off, they would be gravely injured if they weren’t quick enough to change into their winged form.
And Stars forbid, if you happened to absorb any of the powerful magic, it would probably burn you up or destroy all the magical channels in your body or maybe something worse—if all that raw magic didn’t kill you outright.
“We don’t have a choice, Tess.”
“What if we’re hit by one of the geysers?” Tessa asked, glaring at a very pretty blue one that had just erupted into the air not twenty feet from them.
“Change into your tiny form.”
“So we’re really doing this?”
“There they are,” someone shouted behind them.
“We have to. Come on.” Finn grabbed her hand and they ran into the large open field, covered in irregular-sized craters. Though Tessa had lost strength during the week she had spent in bed, she had quickly regained her physical prowess through training and sheer force of will.
Once in the field, they slowed and began to maneuver around the craters. The people from the tavern had arrived at the edge, debating whether to enter or not. Most of them fell back, but three entered the geyser field, coming after Tessa and Finn—two women and one man.
Without warning, the one with a huge scar on his face made a beeline for Tessa and engaged her with a punch/jab combo, which was so obvious it would have been laughable if he didn’t have so much force behind it. Tessa blocked the punch, pushing it to the side with her hand, and then bobbed away to avoid the jab.
With a hissing sound, a geyser let fly no more than two feet away from them, but Tessa didn’t lose her focus on her opponent. She knew how Dark Fae fought. He would use any distraction, any weakness against her so that he could take her down.
The man with the scar punched again at her head, but she realized as she blocked that it had only been a cover for the kick that he aimed at her ribs. She brought her arm down, but she was too late, and the kick landed. Tessa felt her breath rush out, and she stumbled back, the wind completely knocked out of her. She drew in a deep breath and lifted her hands again, her eyes darting everywhere, taking in the locations of the geysers and mapping a way through the field to the other side.
If she wanted to get out of this alive, she would need to get to the other side of this field. Sooner rather than later.
The man with the scar pulled a short sword and came at her again, pushing her back. She retreated carefully, making sure she didn’t accidentally step on a geyser. She paused for only a second to draw her sword from the sheath, pressing the rune that activated the fire. Sometimes the fire was enough to deter weak opponents. Not this man, though. She blocked all of his attacks, but she needed to get on the offensive. This was no way to win a fight.
Tessa kept her eyes on the field and her opponent, watching for an opportunity. The man with the scar struck again, a smug smile on his face. Tess parried and the fire singed his sleeve. He looked angry at that and slashed at her.
She blocked and with a twisting motion, disarmed him. She then dropped her own sword and grabbed his arm, turned herself into his body unexpectedly, jutted out her hips, and flipped him over her shoulder. He landed flat on his back with an oof, and Tessa grinned down at him before sheathing her sword and taking off for the other side of the field.
The man yelled and jumped to his feet while Tessa dashed across the uneven ground, searching for an advantage. He was running hard when she glanced back, and she had an idea that he wouldn’t be able to stop his forward momentum very easily. She heard a hissing ahead and aimed right for it. The man with the scar was running hard, and she ran harder, drawing ahead.
He redoubled his efforts, and she smiled.
Tessa darted to the side, basically throwing herself to the ground to avoid hitting the geyser. The man chasing her stopped abruptly, but he had too much forward momentum, and he fell onto the geyser just as it burst forth. He was pushed high into the sky.
Tessa took an instant to look up at him, arms and legs flailing before he screamed and exploded in a shower of magic, like fireworks. Shock froze her. She had known this field was dangerous, but now she had actual proof. The man must have made the mistake of opening himself—surely accidentally—to the magic. And he clearly hadn’t been able to handle it.
Tessa jumped to her feet and tore across the field, looking for Finn and the other assailants. They weren’t anywhere that she could see. She felt a shot of fear and ran faster. She reminded herself that he could take care of himself. She didn’t need to worry about him.
As she dashed across the field, there was a buzzing in her ear, and she flicked at it, shooing the bug away. But it came back a moment later behind her head, tickling her neck.
What in the name of Severance?
She looked over her shoulder and saw that it was one of the other warriors. She was in her winged form. And she was landing.
Uh oh. Stars above, I am in trouble.
She attempted to dodge away from her, but she was too small and agile. Suddenly, there was the entire weight of a grown woman on her back as she changed back into her regular form. They dropped to the ground, and she used the momentum to roll them over and over.
Tessa paused for a moment, on top, and straddled her, hitting the woman with a hard right hook that left her shaking her head. But the warrior quickly flipped her over so that she was on top, and Tessa could barely breathe, she was so well-muscled. She pinned Tessa’s arms, and she struggled to regain the upper hand.
>
Tessa saw the exact moment when the other woman heard the hissing and made the decision.
“Stars alight,” she muttered as they rolled over, and the warrior left her lying on a geyser that was about to blow.
“Finn,” she yelled, but her voice was lost as the geyser blew and lifted her high into the air.
But not high enough.
The magic turned and twisted her until she was falling face first. Now, it was safe to change into her winged form, but the Earth was approaching too rapidly. She knew she wouldn’t have the time she needed to shift. And when she hit the ground, her bones would shatter into a million tiny pieces. It would take months if not years, to heal.
She wouldn’t die.
But she sure would wish she had.
Chapter 17
Finn was kicking himself for underestimating those who wore the X, for bringing Tessa to the Canyon to train, for suggesting they go into the geyser field, and for generally getting them into this mess in the first place.
Finn had fought off one of the women and had left her unconscious on the ground. He got to his feet, rubbing his jaw where she had punched him, and looked around for Tessa. The afternoon sunlight made it hard to see, and he put his hand over his eyes.
Spotting her tearing across the field, he smiled and took off, too. Good. She must have dealt with her attacker, and they were free and clear. Then unexpectedly, she had a full-sized woman on her back, and they fell to the ground with a thump, grappling.
Finn cursed and quickly changed course. But before he could get to them, the woman had rolled Tessa over a geyser, and she was shooting straight up into the air.
As Finn reached their location, he jumped on the warrior Tessa had been fighting, dealing vicious blows to her head and body. The woman was caught unawares, since she had been watching Tessa go up, and all she could do was try to protect her head as all of Finn’s anger rained down upon her.
With one last hard shot, the woman went unconscious, and Finn looked up to where Tessa’s stream of magic had run out.
She began to fall, and Finn watched in horror as he realized that Tessa wasn’t going to be able to change into her winged form. He could see that she was trying to focus, but it was extremely difficult for any Faerie to change form when under stress. Finn saw when she knew that she wasn’t going to have time.