Blades of the Old Empire

by Anna Kashina

  Ellah dismounted and ran up to Kyth, panting. “What happened? Why did Kara–”

  “I thought you knew! They came with you, didn’t they?” Kyth met her bewildered eyes. Then the clash of battle drew him and he forgot all else.

  Mai and Kara moved so fast it was difficult to follow. Kara’s blades blended into two fans of air. Mai’s staff was a blur between them, going for every gap and met with a matching blow. He jumped sideways, forcing her to follow. She resisted, trying to draw him back to the original position. It was hard to understand the purpose of the maneuver, until Mai completed the switch and attacked her from the side. As she faced him, her unprotected back came into the full view of the archer. He used the moment to shoot a string of arrows that fountained off his bow as he drew them from his quiver with dizzying speed.

  Kyth’s heart raced. They won’t do anything to harm me, Kara had told him before. Don’t try to interfere, however bad it looks.

  This looked really bad.

  As the arrows approached, Kara dropped to a crouch, leaving Mai in the line of fire. He leaned away to let the arrows pass. She used the delay to thrust upward at his chest. One of her blades ripped through his shirt. For a moment it seemed as if the blade had hit flesh. But Mai recovered, stepped aside and parried, showering blows onto her from above. She cushioned the attack by falling back, and bounced off the ground, rebounding to meet his blow midway. The force of his staff made her stumble.

  Mai pressed on, landing several more blows she was forced to parry head-on. She edged back to absorb the impact. She was panting, sweat caking her hair, but Mai looked no better. The deadly dance was costing both of them a lot of strength.

  I can handle them, she had said. But it didn’t seem true anymore.

  As Kara and Mai separated after another exchange, the Majat with a bow fired a new string of arrows. Kara turned to deflect them, but as soon as she did, Mai attacked her from the other side. She used her blades to fend off both attacks, but this time she wasn’t fast enough. One of the arrows came through and hit her in the forearm.

  As soon as it happened, the archer lowered his bow with the air of a man who had done his job.

  Kara struggled to regain balance against a renewed attack Mai launched from the side of her injured arm. There was a screech and one of her swords slid out of her hand. Mai pressed on. She backed away, her remaining blade moving with the speed and precision that matched his weapon precisely. Yet it was clear that with her wound and having lost one sword, she wouldn’t be able to hold off much longer.

  However bad it looks.

  Kyth shook off his stupor. Despite what Kara told him back on the boat, he wasn’t going to just stand here and watch. He drew his sword, vaguely aware of Ellah shouting in his ears, of hands grasping him. He relaxed against the grip and let go, taking in the entire force of the wind roaming through the Grasslands. A powerful surge flowed into his body, filling him with strength far greater than any of them could possibly imagine. An entire Cha’ori hort couldn’t stop him now. He easily shook off their hold and rushed off in the direction of the fighting Diamonds.

  When he was almost upon them, Mai’s body unfolded like a whip, knocking Kara’s blade aside with a blow of such vicious force that her entire body shook from the impact. As she fought for balance, the tip of his staff came from the top, aiming straight at the unprotected spot at the base of her neck, where the two collarbones met. His hands slid along the staff. Too late, Kyth recognized the move that set in motion the secret blades, making them spring out of the tips of the deadly weapon.

  A click of the released spring rang terrifyingly loud to Kyth’s sharpened senses. The blade hit, thrusting deep into the flesh. It tore through with a ripping sound and withdrew, as Mai flicked his hands again to retract the blades back into the wood.

  In the stillness that had descended onto the grass plain, Kara’s body folded backwards, arms out, sword sliding out of her unresisting hand. She fell flat on her back. Blood gushed out of the wound in a few strong pulses and subsided.

  With a scream, Kyth raised his sword and leapt, covering the last few paces that separated him from Mai. He let the entire force of the Grassland wind focus into the tip of the blade, aiming it to hit, to kill this man who had just shattered his world. He held nothing back.

  Mai knocked Kyth’s blade aside with a careless gesture, as if waving away a fly trying to get to his food. But Kyth’s hand didn’t waver. His blade slid forward along the staff in a sneaky attack that came straight through Mai’s defenses.

  The Majat parried just before the blade reached his skin. His eyes widened in surprise. He leapt backward and gripped his staff into a battle hold.

  Kyth clenched his teeth and attacked with all his might, showering blows onto his opponent. Mai’s eyes became empty, a ruthless glow in their depths showing Kyth that if he was defeated there would be no mercy. But Kyth didn’t care. All he wanted was to hurt, to kill this man who had just won what had to be the most unfair fight in the world.

  They circled around each other and clashed in a face-on attack. It was hard to imagine how someone of Mai’s slight build was capable of such force, but there was no time to wonder. The Diamond advanced, his movements becoming so fast that his entire shape blurred. Kyth could no longer focus on his face. He concentrated on the staff, trying to match its dizzying movements.

  The rage building up inside him was overwhelming. He wavered under its strength, the wind filling him with a force too great for him to control. He kept up the melee, but his attack and defense were no longer balanced. Mai’s staff came through, hitting his shoulder. Kyth stumbled under the impact, but recovered to meet the next blow. The staff swept low, aiming to knock him off his feet. He jumped over, looking for a gap to attack. But just as he landed, Mai’s hand unexpectedly swept back.

  It came so fast it was hard to see. The blow, aimed higher than before, caught Kyth right below the knees, knocking his legs from underneath him. As he fell, Kyth kept his sword in front, ready to spring back. But the moment he touched the ground, Mai’s staff was already there, thrusting forward in a rotating movement. Kyth’s sword flew out of his hand and landed way out of reach. He pushed off, trying to jump back up to his feet and rush for his weapon, but a blow to his chest sent him back to the ground.

  It seemed to Kyth that his heart exploded. As he struggled to recover his breath, he felt the wood at his throat, the end of Mai’s staff pressing hard against his windpipe. Kyth gasped.

  Mai’s face appeared over him. It was calm, but his eyes gleamed with anger.

  “If you move,” the Majat said distinctly, “you die.”

  “Fine.” Kyth clenched his teeth. His eyes darted sideways to where his sword lay, just a few yards away. He focused his strength, trying to twist from underneath the staff point pressing on his throat. If he could just reach his sword…

  Mai’s eyes flashed. He changed the grip on his weapon and Kyth recognized the movement that switched on the mechanism to control the retractable blades. In a moment, a sharp steel point would spring out of the end of the staff pressing against his throat. The blow would probably be strong enough to sever his head.

  He was out of time.

  He didn’t care.

  “Do it!” he rasped. “Kill me! Murderer!”

  Mai’s hand wavered. His eyes fixing on Kyth slowly acquired a shade of reason. He hesitated and withdrew his weapon.

  Kyth grasped his throat with both hands, fighting for breath. His left arm was numb from the earlier blow to his shoulder. His chest hurt where Mai’s staff hit him square in the center, and his lungs burned with lack of air. He wondered if his windpipe was actually broken.

  Mai’s face appeared right above him, and Kyth felt a hand at his throat. He tried to fight back, but he had no breath left.

  “Lie still,” Mai said through clenched teeth.

  Before Kyth could react, the Majat’s fingers hit his neck in a precise blow. Pain shot through Kyth’s body. He ga
sped and coughed as the flow of air poured into his lungs, sweet like nothing he had ever tasted before.

  Mai put a hand behind his back and helped him sit up. Kyth had no strength left to fight. He leaned heavily on Mai’s arm, struggling to stay upright.

  “Now,” Mai said. “For your own good, stay out of this.”

  Kyth clenched his teeth. He didn’t care about himself anymore, and he certainly wasn’t going to listen to whatever this man told him. But he was too weak to move. Fighting the feeling of helplessness, he watched Mai get to his feet and walk over to where Kara’s body lay sprawled on the grass a few paces away. The other Majat – the archer – was already kneeling over her.

  Phrases of their conversation floated in through the mist in Kyth’s ears.

  “Is she dead?” Mai asked.

  “Yes, Aghat. That blow… it was brilliant. You–”

  Mai’s glance stopped him. “Go find her armband, Gahang. You must return to the Guild as soon as possible to deliver the news.”

  The Jade sprung to his feet with dog-like obedience, but as he turned to go, he hesitated.

  “What about her weapons, Aghat?”

  “I’ll take care of them. Go!”

  The Jade turned and ran off in the direction of the camp.

  When he was away, Mai leaned over Kara and quickly pressed several points at the base of her neck and in the center of her chest. Her head rolled sideways, and for the first time since the encounter Kyth saw her face. It was pale, her dark skin a lifeless gray. Her eyes were closed, her features hollow, devoid of the vivid glow that always made her so fascinating to watch. Kyth’s eyes veiled with tears. He angrily blinked them away.

  Mai got up to his feet and headed back to the Cha’ori camp. As he walked past Kyth, the Diamond turned and met his eyes.

  “Stay with her,” he said, without breaking stride.

  Kyth found his strength, scrambled to his feet and slowly approached Kara. He wasn’t sure why Mai said this to him, and he didn’t care. The man was a killer who fought without rules. Whatever he said couldn’t possibly be important. And yet…

  Kyth lowered himself on the ground next to Kara. She was still, eyes closed, face ghostly gray, almost transparent. He carefully reached over and touched her hand. It was cold.

  Stay with her.

  He carefully put his arms around her and lifted her up, resting her weight against him so that her head lay on his shoulder and she was curled in his lap like a sleeping child. From this angle it really seemed as if she was asleep, her long eyelashes a shadow against the cheeks, her full mouth set into a quiet expression that looked almost like a smile. It was so easy to imagine she was alive, curled in his arms just like the time they were together back on the boat. Except that now her body, relaxed against him, didn’t emanate any warmth.

  Carefully supporting her, Kyth used his other hand to spread his cloak around both of them, so that her body would be protected from the wind. Then, he put both arms around her, holding her like a mother cradles a child, gently rocking it to sleep.

  Sleep, he thought. She’s asleep. And when she wakes up, everything will be fine.

  Around them the gusts of the Grassland wind ripped through the terrain. But Kyth didn’t feel it. Inside his cloak, it was warm. It had to be. He had to keep Kara warm, so that she could finally have her rest.

  He hid his face in her hair and closed his eyes.

  32

  MENACE

  Ellah felt numb as she stood next to Dagmara. She couldn’t take her eyes off Kyth’s still shape, so small in the giant grass plain as he sat crouched on the ground, cradling Kara in his arms.

  It didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be happening. Why would Mai and Sharrim do such a terrible thing to one of their own?

  She woke from her trance as she realized that someone was standing in front of her. She raised her gaze and saw Sharrim. His freckled face folded into a smug expression. It didn’t go well with his usual look of childlike wonder, but he probably didn’t think it necessary to pretend when no one of importance to him was around.

  “Now I know why Aghat Mai brought you along,” the Jade said. “If it wasn’t for you, we would never have gotten so close without raising an alarm. He’s just so brilliant, isn’t he?” He glanced at Mai walking toward them.

  Ellah’s hands balled into fists. Her eyes filled with tears and she angrily shook them away.

  How could she have been such a fool? How could she have thought that Mai really liked her, that he had asked her along on the trip so that they could be together? He had been using her all along, and she had followed him, like a blind, trusting dog!

  “Get lost!” she snapped.

  The Jade chuckled. “It’s all right. You’re not the first one to be deceived by his looks.”

  Ellah’s hand twitched, but before she could slap him Dagmara caught her by the wrist. Her expression made the Jade step back.

  “You heard Ellah,” the foreteller said. “Go.”

  Sharrim’s eyes narrowed. He eyed Dagmara for a long moment. Then he turned and strode away in the direction of the Cha’ori camp. Ellah watched his retreating back, hatred boiling in her chest. Why would Mai and Sharrim turn against Kara? How could Mai, who had always avoided killing, go and do such a horrible thing?

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Dagmara said quietly. “They would have done it anyway, with or without you.”

  Ellah clenched her teeth, but a treacherous tear escaped from the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek.

  “I made it bloody easy for them, didn’t I?”

  Dagmara shook her head. “There are things at play here bigger than you or me. Or them, for that matter. At times, we become no more than toys in the hands of destiny, and there’s nothing we can do about that.”

  Ellah fell silent as Mai approached and stopped in front of her. He looked bad. His shirt, ripped from the collar down, exposed an oozing streak of red across his chest. Sweat and dirt caked his face, his hair matted with grass. Ellah had never seen him look so disheveled. Not that she cared anymore what he looked like.

  “Stay away from me!” Her lips trembled. “Don’t you dare.” A lump rose in her throat and the tears she couldn’t hold back any longer rolled down her cheeks. She wanted to run away, but Dagmara’s hand held her in place. She struggled for a moment and gave up, looking at Mai through the veil of tears.

  She hated him. And yet, she couldn’t draw away from the look in his eyes, so bold and intense as if he was able to see through her. Against reason, she felt warmth inside her as she held his gaze, anger in her chest slowly subsiding to give way to new floods of tears. She stood in front of him and sobbed, like a little girl.

  “How could you?” she whispered. “How could you do such a horrible thing?”

  A shadow ran over his face.

  “I had no choice,” he said.

  She clenched her teeth, fighting back the tears. “And what do you want from me now?”

  His eyes flicked to a pouch at her belt. “Odara Sul gave you her elixir, didn’t she?”

  “What?” She stared. This was the last thing she expected him to say.

  His gaze showed urgency. “Do you have it?”

  “Yes,” Ellah said slowly.

  “Go and use it on Kara’s wound. Now.”

  “What?” Ellah still couldn’t believe her ears. “Why?”

  He drew closer, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. “Because you wish you could make it all go away, don’t you?”

  Ellah continued to stare, but he had already turned to Dagmara.

  “Gahang Sharrim needs to find something in Kara’s things and take it back to the Majat Guild as soon as possible,” he said. “It’s very important that he leaves right away.”

  The foreteller nodded. “Go, help him,” she said to the Cha’ori warriors lingering nearby.

  Two young men peeled off from the group and followed Mai to the tents.

  Dagmara turned to Ellah. “I think
you’d better go and do what he said.”

  Ellah stared. She felt like she was having serious trouble catching on. “But Kara’s dead. What good could it possibly do to treat her wound?”

  “If she’s dead, it certainly wouldn’t do any harm, would it?”

  Ellah threw a hesitant glance at Kyth’s distant shape. It didn’t seem that he was aware of his surroundings. He was so still among the wavering grass that he looked inanimate. It was painful to watch.

  “I’ll come with you,” Dagmara said quietly.

  Ellah nodded.

  When they approached, Kyth showed no awareness of their presence. He sat still, his face buried in Kara’s hair. They stopped a few paces away, waiting.

  After a long moment, he raised his eyes. They were dry, their expression so empty that Ellah’s heart wavered. In all the years she had known Kyth she had never seen him like that.

  She swallowed a lump and threw a brief glance at Dagmara.

  “Kyth…” she began.

  His eyes narrowed, as if he had just recognized her. His lips twitched but he didn’t speak.

  “I have an elixir that comes from the Keepers,” Ellah said. “For treating wounds. Very serious wounds. I… I want to use it on Kara.”

  “Why?” His voice was hollow, his face still like a mask. A frightening emptiness in his gaze.

  Ellah hesitated. “I think it could help.”

  His lips twitched again. As he tried to control them, his whole face contorted into a grimace. “You already helped. You brought them here, didn’t you?”

  It took a moment for his words to sink in. It felt as if he had hit her in the stomach. Her eyes welled with tears. She clasped a hand over her mouth, fighting back a sob.

  Dagmara stepped forward and kneeled in the grass by Kyth’s side.

  “Neither you nor Ellah could have changed what happened,” she said. “It’s useless to think of the past. And even more useless to blame those who bring help.” She reached out to Kara’s body, but he drew back, closing in his protective embrace.