“Happily, Caster.” Theryn gently freed herself from her wife’s clinging grip. She clapped her hands. “All right! On your feet, Amazons!”
No one moved, which seemed to surprise no one but Theryn. Brenna couldn’t read Grythe’s expression. The woman’s face rarely betrayed any emotion other than hate. After a moment, Jess glanced down at Camryn. Cam whistled, and the group of warriors grumbled to their feet.
“I’m not foolish enough to let all your warriors in the ring at once, Jesstin.” Theryn braced her gloved hands on her hips. “Pick ten of your best for the war games. Patana and Myrine will have fourteen in their cadre. I’m sure you won’t begrudge us the extra bodies. Your fighters trained longer with Dyan.”
Hakan frowned, brushing the dust of the arena from her broad hands. “What about the rest of the warriors, Amazon?”
“Don’t worry, my violent sister. I’m sure Jesstin won’t pass you up!” Theryn’s face was flushed, either with cold or with relief that this assembly was ending. “The warriors she doesn’t select will go into lockdown in the barracks of their guild until filming is complete.”
“Oh, Brenna?” Caster trilled.
Brenna was examining Elodia’s elbow, badly scraped in their mad dash through the woods. Jess and Camryn both turned when Caster called her.
“I do hope you’ve picked up some dazzling Amazon combat tricks, my former colleague, because I must insist that Jesstin include you among her warriors.” Caster leaned on the railing of the review stand looking at Brenna fondly. “As you might remember, you were rather alluringly displayed in our Clinic films of Jesstin’s study. I watch them nightly, like home movies. And I’ll want our funders to see you and Jesstin battling together, side by side, for Tristaine’s mining rights.”
“Caster, I’m not sure that’s entirely fair.” Theryn measured Brenna with her eyes, while Grythe pierced her with hers. “As you know, this girl is new to our village. And Brenna is a healer, not a warrior. Judging by—”
“Judging by the way she bagged your soldier, Theryn,” Hakan called, “she’s worth any three of your fighters.”
There were a few defiant snorts of agreement among the warriors, and Camryn grinned at Brenna.
“Save your worry, Theryn. Brenna doesn’t need anyone’s permission to watch my back.” Jess’s gaze flickered over the twenty warriors around her. Finally, she pointed several times, then snapped her fingers.
The milling women separated into two groups, shivering as twilight fell over the village. Brenna spied the mercenary named Dana coming back into the stadium. One of the soldiers jogged to her, carrying a clipboard. Dana nodded and began rapping out orders.
“Rodriguez, take that group to the barracks east of the stadium. I’ll settle this lot in here.” Dana raised her voice, which sounded painfully young. “Theryn? We’ve got five guarding the queen’s council, five on watch, and ten each on both Amazon buildings.”
“Thank you, Dana.” Theryn settled Grythe’s thin hand in the crook of her arm. “Lock Jesstin’s warriors down with care, please.”
“Good night, ladies!” Caster called brightly and waved from the review stand. “Perhaps I should interview your queen this evening about the reported joys of all this inverted Sapphic activity! See you bright and early tomorrow.”
Jess gripped Camryn’s arm and kept her walking steadily toward the gate where Dana herded them. “She’s trying to goad us, Cam. Don’t bite.”
Jess turned and whistled a complex series of notes between her fingers at the other group of warriors who were being led out of the stadium. One of them raised a hand in acknowledgment.
“Keep moving!” Dana pushed Brenna’s shoulder as they passed.
Jess’s warriors were being confined in the small stable at the south end of the arena used to shelter Tristaine’s horses during tournaments and drills. Brenna squinted, trying to make out familiar faces in the gloom. She saw Hakan and Vicar and Elodia, eyeing the soldiers standing guard at the railing surrounding the stable. Camryn was already directing four other warriors in clearing an area on the wood-plank floor.
As always when needing reassurance, Brenna sought out Jess. The nightmare progression of this day finally seemed to be winding down toward some kind of quiet, and she craved Jess’s solid presence. She saw her ducking through the door into the stable. Dana was standing behind her.
“You’re Jesstin, right?”
Jess turned back to her. “That’s right.”
Dana grimaced. “Here’s Caster’s souvenir from the City.” She lifted her sidearm and shot Jess in the stomach.
There was immediate chaos in the stable, but Brenna heard little of it.
The impact knocked Jess off her feet, and she crashed bodily into the three Amazons behind her before falling to the hay-strewn floor, out of Brenna’s sight.
“You crazy cunt.” The soldier named Rodriguez joined the other rattled men at the stable railing. His rifle snapped up to join the line of muzzles targeting the stunned Amazons. “Dana, what the fuck were you thinking?”
“It wasn’t my idea, Rodriguez. Caster’s direct order.”
“You could have given us some fucking warning!” Rodriguez barked.
“Tell the lunatic paying for all this, gonad! She wrote the script, not me!”
“Let me see her,” Brenna said.
Dana looked into the stable, startled by the commanding voice.
The hot blonde who had kept staring at her in the arena had just silenced the entire group of Amazons. Caster’s notes said the dark woman named Jesstin was commander of the warriors, but there was nothing in her report about this girl—Brenna, was it?—being some kind of leader. One by one, the warriors stepped away from the fallen prisoner and cleared a path.
The tall Amazon with the white hair and bitter eyes eased Jesstin into a seated position against a support post. “She’s breathing, Brenna,” she said quietly.
Brenna knelt beside her patient. “Camryn, call them down.”
Dana watched one of the younger warriors, her face the color of ash, climb to her feet, then look at the rifles and the Amazons beginning to turn their new anger on their captors.
“Amazons, stand down!” Camryn’s voice cracked painfully.
To Dana’s astonishment, the brutish warriors heeded the girl. A few still lingered close to the railing, staring silent hatred at the line of soldiers, but most turned back to the circle of women surrounding Jesstin.
Dana frowned, rising up on her toes to try to see the unconscious woman. “It was just a taser,” she called to the anxious throng, “a strong one, but she’s not badly injured.”
Brenna had indeed been able to learn that much, and the wave of relief made black sparks flare behind her eyes. She had Jess’s denim shirt open and saw the plastic projectile clamped to her pale skin a hand span below her breasts. Four distinct, thin lines of blood wended from its corners, trickling down her lean sides.
Jess’s eyes were fluttering. The cold air held the bitter smell of cordite, and Brenna hesitated, her hand hovering over the taser bolt.
“What in bloody hell is that?” Vicar was gripping Jess’s shoulders with white-knuckled hands.
“Pull it out, Brenna,” Camryn told her quietly, her voice having not yet regained its strength. Hakan took her arm and pulled her closer so she could kneel beside Brenna. “It won’t hurt you, but it’s still shocking her, so hurry.”
Brenna steeled herself and gripped the small square of vibrating plastic. She pulled up in one smooth motion and Jess gasped, her back arching as four thin metal prongs slid out of her skin. Vicar stared at the device in revulsion, but Brenna didn’t spare it a glance. She handed it to Camryn and cupped Jess’s face in her cold hands.
“Jesstin?” Brenna demanded. “Do you hear me?”
“She was woozy for a while the last time this happened.” Camryn lifted Jess’s limp hand onto her knee. “She’ll be okay, Brenna, just weak and sore for a few days.”
“They u
se that on prisoners at the Clinic, Camryn?” Hakan asked, shock in her voice.
“There’s nothing like this at the Clinic.” Brenna raised Jess’s eyelid to check her pupil in the dim light. “I’ve never seen this before.”
“They use stunners in the Clinic, not tasers.” Camryn smoothed one thumb over Jess’s wrist. “Tasers are for the Prison.”
“Hey, tasers hurt, but they don’t kill, for god’s sake!” Dana called. “She’ll even be able to fight tomorrow, honestly.” After a moment, Dana whirled and stalked toward the arena door. “Rodriquez, as you were, you idiot!”
The soldiers lowered their rifles, grumbling.
Jess’s awakening was abrupt. “Brenna!”
“I’m right here, Jess,” Brenna said, her voice both warm and stern. “Look at me.”
The long muscles of Jess’s body trembled, but she relaxed against her cousin, and her dazed eyes found Brenna.
“Sheesh!” Jess gasped.
Brenna nodded. “Tell me how you are.”
Jess winced, then looked up at her second. “I’ll be next to useless tomorrow, Cam.”
“Jesstin. Answer me.” Brenna’s firmness had won out over her warmth, but Jess just shuddered and rested her head back on Vicar’s shoulder.
“It’ll hurt for a while.” Cam nodded thanks to Elodia, who brought a clean dipper filled with water for Jess. “I think we have to just let her rest. There’s not a lot we can do. Except make her keep still. Ha ha.”
Brenna gauged Jess’s breathing. The frightening rapid-fire of her pulse was calming slightly. The voltage of the taser was powerful enough to contract muscle in strong spasms, and the effect was obviously painful. Sweat still beaded her forehead.
Jess filled her lungs with a deep breath. She frowned up at Vicar, still supporting her against the post. “What, Bigfoot, you waiting for a kiss?”
“Hardly, Stumpy,” Vicar snorted. “Not unless your healer here packed some fierce antibiotics.” Her hands were gentle as she helped Jess sit up against the post.
“Freya, Elodia, Jaye, Shasa.” Jess swallowed, and Brenna helped her sip from the dipper of water. Find some bedding, adanin. We’ll hold council in the morning.”
“So you’re all right, Jesstin?” Elodia’s arms were folded, but concern softened her voice.
“I’ll live.” Jess smiled at Elodia grimly. “Have Brenna check that scraped arm again before you turn in, youngster.”
Jess’s listless wave signaled a general dismissal, and the warriors turned to setting up something resembling bedding. A sullen soldier offered them a medical kit, which they accepted. They were also offered armloads of scratchy Army blankets, which they declined. The stable held enough hay to warm them through an early winter night.
As twilight gave way to full dark and Selene’s moon began her slow climb over the mountain valley, the Amazons were served shrink-wrapped bags of rations, which Brenna informed them were tasteless but harmless.
The captives formed a tight circle in the center of the wood floor. Vicar and Camryn stacked enough hay to provide Jess relative comfort.
The Amazons rotated guard throughout the night, keeping watch while their sisters slept. Hakan finished her stint just as the small generator the soldiers carried clicked on, providing a solitary light. It cast macabre shadows over the cramped space, adding to the stable’s aura of bleakness.
Hakan sat beside Jess and studied her pale features, pursing her full lips in thought. She balanced one elbow on her meaty thigh and flexed her fingers, inviting an arm-wrestling match. Jess smiled at her friend and, with effort, raised an extended middle finger and waved it at her. Vicar and Camryn laughed, but the sound was quickly subdued.
Hakan’s deep voice was pitched low. “There’s no lasting paralysis then, Brenna?”
“No, just a lot of residual stiffness.” Brenna’s tension tightened her own shoulders. “Your pulse is steady, Jess, and I don’t see any sign of shock.”
“There’s no real damage, lass. I’ll be peachy in three days.” Jess frowned and shifted against the hay bale. “But in the morning, I’ll fight like a bloody crone.”
“You mean an older one?” Vicar’s rejoinder was automatic, but her expressive features were grave.
“Yeah, we’ll need to protect you, Jess.” Camryn looked worried as well. “We don’t even know what kind of fight we’re facing tomorrow. We’re supposed to ‘sham’ fight for some stupid documentary?”
“Shann was right, Cam,” Jess said, “This is all about Caster’s redemption. I think Theryn’s warriors are supposed to beat us in this film and then pretend to surrender to Caster.”
“Is that what this was about? Caster’s souvenir?” Brenna laid her hand lightly on Jess’s bandaged side. “Do you think that taser bolt was just stupid revenge, or do she and Theryn want you physically rocky for some reason?”
“Good question, Bren. Hey,” Jess’s brows rose, “we have company.”
Brenna heard it too, a muffled cursing in the arena coming closer.
“…and Caster can take you with her, fuck you very much, you pinche excuse for a City warrior, get your sorry hand off me, I’ve been walking upright for…”
Jess groaned, but she was grinning. Camryn’s face lit up, and incredible as it seemed after this day, Brenna found she could smile too.
Kyla ragged the hapless Dana, loudly and obscenely, through the door, down the short hallway, through another door, down six stairs, and up to the penned stable, but then Kyla saw Camryn and her sisters, and she stopped short.
“What’s she doing here?” Rodriguez asked, still morose. “Caster’s orders again?”
Dana just looked glad to be rid of Kyla. “This one’s not on Tristaine’s governing board, so I want her here where we can watch her.”
She lifted a section of the wooden railing to let Kyla duck into the stable, then trudged wearily to a hay bale in the corner and sat down. “Go back to sleep, Rodriguez.”
Kyla’s bandaged thigh gave her a pronounced limp, but there was nothing wrong with her sharp eyes. Her gaze zeroed in on Camryn, who rose to meet her. The two adonai met with a passionate embrace.
“Sheesh,” Jess sighed. She nudged Brenna. “Remember the good old days when Camryn avoided public displays of lewdness?”
“Oh, hush,” Brenna chided Jess gently. She enjoyed watching the kiss that melded the two young Amazons together from nose to pelvis. A few of the warriors hooted softly in encouragement.
“You’re okay, good!” Kyla finally broke the embrace. “And Brenna, you’re okay.” She limped over to Jess and plunked down hard on the hay-strewn floor beside her. “Well?” she snapped. “What happened to you?”
Camryn lowered herself beside her young wife. “Taser, Ky.”
Kyla blanched, and some of the starch drained out of her. She lifted Jess’s hand to her knee. “Oh, Jesstin. I’m sorry. Are you hurting a lot?”
“It’s not as bad as the first time, adanin.” Jess used a gentle tone she seemed to reserve only for Dyan’s blood sister.
“Uh, hello, it better not be as bad as the first time.” Kyla looked at Brenna. “Jess got tasered when she was in the City Prison. The night Cam and I tried to break her out.”
“We were almost over the wall.” Camryn looked at Vicar remorsefully. “We came really close, Vic. Jess hadn’t had any decent food in weeks, so she was kind of weak, but she would have made it over. The one lousy guard we couldn’t find to bribe had to play hero, and he tasered her. The bolt got her in the butt that time, though,” she added, “on the left.”
“Your plan butt-fired,” Vicar said sadly, and Brenna smiled again.
The warmth of women sitting in close formation comforted Brenna, and she consciously relaxed her tense back. Jess’s hand moved in hers, and she looked down and lost herself, as she often did, in her lover’s fond gaze.
“How do you feel?” Brenna whispered.
The corner of Jess’s mouth lifted, and she shrugged carefully.
“They’re a pretty motley lot.” Vicar helped Cam cover Kyla with enough clean straw to keep her warm. “I’ll sleep no easier picturing these oafs pawing at that dynamite tomorrow.”
Brenna’s back cramped again. She’d forgotten about the dam and the huge lake it held at bay. She imagined the implacable black surface of the water, glinting beneath an impassive moon, less than a mile from where they lay.
These mercenaries might be oafs, Brenna thought, but surely they could handle removing a few sticks of dynamite safely. Which would also remove the risk of a flood. Which could reach us in ten minutes, if even one of the soldiers fouls up.
J’heika, rise.
“Shann still has the detonator.” Jess kept her voice low. “Or she knows where it is.”
“She does?” Vicar glanced over her shoulder at their guards and lowered her voice. “When Shann said ‘Terme and Cay and Ziwa’ were safe with our high council, is that what she meant? That we can still blow the dam ourselves if we have to?”
“I think so.” Jess nodded at her second. “Make sense to you?”
“Oh, yeah. Wait.” Camryn’s smile faded. “Won’t Caster suspect that Shann has it, the detonator?”
“Not if she doesn’t know about the dynamite.” Brenna watched dust motes coast down a slow waterfall through a weak beam of light. She felt Jess’s hand on her wrist and realized the circle of Amazons was staring at her. “What?”
“Hey, are you doing it again, Brenna?” Kyla craned forward to see Brenna’s face. “That spooky oracle thing Cam said you pulled up on the dam?”
Vicar frowned as she spoke. “Why wouldn’t Caster know the dam’s rigged? Theryn filled her in, the traitorous shrike.”
“Not on this.” Brenna blinked and looked at Jess. “Don’t ask me how I know that, but I’m sure. Theryn didn’t tell Caster about the dynamite.”
“But the mercs will find it come sunrise.” Hakan seemed to accept Brenna’s statement as fact. “Those tarped bundles are hardly hidden. They’ll see them the first time they scout the area.”
Battle for Tristaine Page 14