Trav blinked, began to speak, but started laughing instead. Jang-mi frowned as he got himself under control. When he’d finished laughing, he said, “Couple with me? Lady, you have no idea how little I need that. No, I want more information. You will be free to leave any time you want, and I am fairly sure I can guarantee your safety at our destination. Either way, it beats walking around by yourself or living in a broken house with packs of monsters running around.”
“I do not know if—”
“You need me more than I need you. My group will be leaving as soon as I exit this building. Make your decision.”
Jang-mi searched his eyes for a moment before she shrugged. “You are right. I should be dead right now already. I will take this opportunity.”
“Good. In that case, let’s shake on it.” Trav held out his hand.
The confident woman stared at the proffered hand for a moment before she hesitantly took it with one of her own.
“Master, are you alright? I hear—” Narnaste burst into the house. Her jaw dropped, and she growled. Trav didn’t understand why until he realized he was standing shirtless with Jang-mi’s hand in his own. Really? Oh hell.
***
A few days passed after Jang-mi joined Trav’s little group, and she quickly adjusted. Trav made her a dwelling every night just like he did for the Kin women, and she kept to herself. At first, she’d seemed slightly curious, almost morbidly fascinated by the Valkyries, and openly shocked that they were all sleeping with Trav. She eventually grew accustomed to it and just ignored them all.
Not much seemed to impress Jang-mi in general.
Luckily, she didn’t seem to mind talking if pressed, and he was able to grill her for information about her homeworld, and places she’d been on Asgard. He’d already begun picking up pieces of her language that she shared, too. Trav had never been much of a linguist, but Odin had been, and some of that was bleeding through from the god’s mantle.
In some ways, it was nice to have another human around. Then Trav reminded himself that he wasn’t really human anymore. The thought made him glum.
Trav shot a look at Yaakova in her raven form as she wheeled around up in the sky and signaled at her that they would set up camp soon. The transformed Kin cawed in acknowledgement and began a spiraling scouting pattern. Behind him, the others rode on Narnaste’s back. Jang-mi had adapted quickly to traveling this way. She'd learned how to hang on to the giant wolf’s back by grabbing her fur if she suddenly turned to run, and other necessary tricks.
Every member of the little group was physically superior to an average human, even Jang-mi, and setting up camp was routine now—it went quickly.
But today, after doing what he normally did to establish their little earthen rooms for the night, he realized that the others were all busy, and now he was alone with Jang-mi. At first, he thought it was coincidence, but he quickly realized that she must have wanted to talk. Rather than play coy, he asked, “What is it?”
The mysterious martial artist exhaled. "I have had time to think lately. This has been easy, strangely calm, and I have found perspective." She seemed to struggle to say the next words. “I am out of practice. I would like to work on my martial skills, to drill and perhaps spar, but I have been alone for a long time. Your group is the first I have been part of for a great while, but I cannot properly spar with any of your Kin...women."
Trav was tempted to disagree, but he thought about it first. Ysintrill was closest to a human in biology, and there was no reason she couldn’t spar with Jang-mi, but the human woman was obviously uncomfortable with the idea. There was no point in pushing it. Instead, Trav took the opportunity to fish for more information.
“They are all stronger than a human, but you are not actually human, are you?”
She shook her head. “No, I am human. I can just cultivate energy.”
“Is that why you are still so strong on this world? Well, strong for a human.”
“I believe so. I think that by training in the mysteries, I have altered my body, made it stronger. This is good because without this advantage, I would not be here right now.”
“What do you mean?” Trav asked.
“I do not want to talk about it right now.” She obviously changed the subject and said, “So will you train with me?”
“I don’t see why not. What do you have in mind first?”
She tossed him a stick about the thickness and length of a stave. “I want to see how you fight. No magic, no Kin bitches or tricks, just skill.”
Trav frowned. “Those girls are my companions.”
“So?”
Trav slowly nodded. “To put it bluntly, I trust them. I don’t trust you.”
“But they’re Kin.” Jang-mi crossed her arms.
“So?” Trav threw the word back at her.
The proud woman narrowed her eyes briefly before smoothing her face and nodding curtly. “Fine. But what is your answer?”
“I think I will exercise with you. We will only do this during the evening, though, and only when our chores are done.”
Jang-mi gave a rare smile. “I agree to your terms. Shall we begin?”
Chapter 28
“That was good, but you need to keep an eye on my feet too.” Trav nodded from the ground where he’d just been knocked on his ass. He levered himself up and warily got to his feet. His teacher beckoned, and he obliged by throwing a few experimental punches at about 50% effort, carefully watching how she avoided, blocked, or countered.
Jang-mi had actually proven to be a competent instructor. To be fair, she was more than competent. In addition to fighting techniques that she practiced herself, she’d even been able to teach theory and the basics of other styles she didn’t actively use herself.
Over time, Trav had started to gather that Odin had been a decent warrior, but hadn’t been an expert. Through the incomplete information he got from his borrowed memories, he figured the old god had possessed such overwhelming power, he’d never needed to rely on martial skills. Obviously, Trav had no such luxury, and he vowed that even if he attained all the power in the world, he would never forget how many times a rock or shiv had saved his life. Hex would help, his constant reminder of the mines.
Being taught by Jang-mi was a blessing. She would have been a great teacher even back on Earth, but Trav was also different now, a better student. These days, he felt like a sponge that absorbed information at a frightening rate. After only a few short days of training, he’d learned many new fighting techniques, and had refined what he’d known before—stuff that his cousin Ash had taught him.
Trav grunted and held his ribs where he’d just been kicked. During sparring, they both pulled strikes, but it still hurt to get hit. He made a face. “Let’s take a break.”
“Fine. Do you mind making some places to sit? I do not want snow to get my butt wet.”
Trav grinned. “Sure. That makes sense.” He pointed Hex at the ground and within minutes, had crafted a break spot in the middle of the forest.
While he was training with Jang-mi, the Valkyries stayed busy as well, often doing training of their own. Every once in a while, he heard the distant thrum of a bow, or noticed Yaakova glide through the sky overhead, keeping watch. Trav was a bit envious. The harpy loved to fly, so had fun while she practiced gliding, all while maintaining security for the group.
Jang-mi sat and took a sip of purified water out of an earthenware jug that Trav had made for her. “You know, I don’t understand you.”
“What do you mean?” Trav sat and gave her a level look. They hadn’t known each other long, but he’d taken a liking to the prickly woman. In some ways, she reminded him of his mother. She’d always been blunt and no-nonsense as well.
The martial artist gestured vaguely. “There is no reason for you to be learning how to fight like this. You have power greater than I had before coming to this place. Three Kin willingly follow you—for reasons that I cannot figure out at all. You seem to lead effortless
ly, in a way that most people would envy. While you have not said so to me, it is obvious that there is more to you than meets the eye, or at least your Kin believe so. You manage to be harsh and blunt while still being likeable.
“So despite all of this, having only been free for a short while, you’ve been traveling to a distant town that you barely know anything about—why? You could easily build yourself a home, no, a mansion. With magic, you are able to build us basic rooms in only minutes. In a couple weeks, I assume that you could create a castle or an underground palace. With your pet Kin to serve you, neither food nor protection would be a problem. But yet here you are. Traveling. I have a hard time understanding your motivations.”
Trav slowly nodded. “That’s fair. It’s not like I haven’t thought about some of this before.” He sighed. “My original goal was revenge. My wife was murdered in the mines.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Jang-mi dipped her head.
“Yeah, well, thank you. The rage is still there, but it’s like it can’t get any momentum anymore with everything else going on. I’m still not at peace, I’m still mad as hell, and I still want revenge, but just charging around by myself doesn’t make a lot of sense—even with my allies now. The Kin monster who killed my wife never goes anywhere alone, and while I can hold my own now, I’m not arrogant or stupid enough to think I can measure up to any of the stronger Kin, much less take on a whole city.
“As for disappearing into the wilderness...for what? There is a difference between living and surviving. Plus, what if my enemies come looking for me?”
“Enemies?” asked Jang-mi.
“Yes, enemies. I have made a few, and I’ve inherited some. When I was escaping the mines,” he paused, trying to explain Odin and said, “someone—helped me and entrusted me with their work. This means I have some of their old baggage, too.” Trav deliberately only used vague terms. He knew she must have noticed the way some of his Valkyries addressed him, but he didn’t feel like explaining the Restless to her.
“I see.”
Trav took a sip of water. “See, here’s the deal, I’ve decided to keep heading to this town for three reasons. First, while Narnaste and I didn’t meet as friends, she’s never lied to me. Our relationship is based on a lot of trust, not least of which because I literally can’t lie to her.
“Then there’s the fact that I think continuing on this path is the right decision. About the same time I got my...power, and the baggage that goes with it, I’ve gotten weird feelings, too. I’ve only recently realized they were more than just hunches.
“Last, I have needed a goal, something to work toward. My time on Asgard has...not been good, but the last few weeks have been the most difficult of my life—I’ve had to adapt faster than ever before, except maybe getting used to the mines and slavery.”
Jang-mi cocked her head. “A goal? What do you mean?”
Trav ran his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out how to explain his feelings in words. One advantage of having his Valkyries around was how they seemed to automatically understand his direction. This was the first time he’d had to communicate what was on his mind, and it was turning out to be surprisingly difficult.
He said, “I didn’t have much power in the mines, at least no more than any other man. I did what I could to help people, devoted my life to it, actually. The only exception was my wife, but then she was taken from me. I had nothing, but then suddenly, I had everything, at least potentially.
“I was basically handed power, but it was at the whim of someone else, and it could only happen because I had already lost everything. You chose to come to Asgard and got lost, or captured, right? Well, I was just suddenly here. My family was gone, everything I ever knew was gone, and I found out what it was truly like for my life to have no worth. I’ve had to struggle to survive, to fucking kill people just to eat.
“Everything that happened recently has been overwhelming. I still don’t know anyone on this world, and I definitely don’t have many allies. To a normal human, I’m powerful, I’ll admit it, but in the grand scheme of things, this is a world of Kin—half of them can bend steel without trying very hard, or they can use magic. On my planet, we have weapons called guns. They’re powerful, but I saw a Kin guard throw a spear into the sky which killed a giant bird that was so high up I’d barely been able to see it.
“I need to get stronger. Camping out in the middle of nowhere is not an option. Stumbling onto civilization right now is not really something I can do, either. Recent events proved that even human groups can be murderous sons of bitches.”
Trav met Jang-mi’s eyes and sat forward. “I want to get revenge for my wife, but I hate to admit this—it won’t be good enough. There are bastards, sick humans on this planet, but most people are still decent, innocent, and they don’t have a chance right now. I want to help all those poor souls in the mines. This world is sick, but I have seen proof recently that it can get even worse.
“So for myself, for everything I want to do, I need to get stronger, and the only solid lead I have is what Narnaste has told me. Without some sort of direction, I’d be lost. Finding Narnaste’s village is a starting point, the place where I can figure out what I’m going to do, and how I’m going to live...to do more than just survive. Beth, my late wife, made me promise that I would never give up.
“With all this new power I’ve found, taking an easy road would be giving up. I’m not a good person, not at all. But the only thing that this world hasn’t been able to take from me is my pride, and I damn sure am not going to piss it away by just running, being a coward. When people hit you, you fucking hit them back.”
Trav breathed heavily and realized he’d begun raising his voice. He made an effort to speak evenly. “It’s a lot, I know. I just have to believe I can do something, have some sort of impact on this world, even if it’s just putting the piece of shit that hurt Beth in the ground.” He slowly shook his head. “Nothing is ever easy.”
Jang-mi was silent for a few seconds. She said, “You are so strong. So very, very strong. I am shamed.”
Trav blinked. “I don’t know—”
“You are strong. You are full of energy, overflowing with yang. I see you, how your convictions fill you with fire. You very well may be destined for greatness. Meanwhile, I am average, just a mortal refiner who lost my power.”
Trav slowly sat back. He hadn’t expected Jang-mi to respond like this, and he’d been trying to pull her story out of her for days. She had his undivided attention.
The martial artist turned and began speaking while her eyes were averted. “I came to Asgard when I was young. I look older than my age now, I know. My power wasn’t great back then, just mid-level first realm. I am a scion of the Ning family, in no interesting birth order. My destiny was not to be blessed by the heavens; I had no great talent. But I was still learning, growing.
“Then I came to this world on a raid, got lost, and just...gave up. I had no way to get back. If I’d tried harder, I probably could have avoided being captured. At least I can still be thankful that they hadn’t known I was a cultivator.
“It took me an embarrassingly long time to escape. I just...I’ve never had any direction except for a general fear of disappointing everyone who knows me. When I got lost, I just stayed still. My whole life, I have been trying to move forward without knowing which way I was even supposed to travel. I think I envy you.”
Trav raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you have your direction. You made a decision, and you are seeing it through, even though you don’t know where else that first step may take you.” She shook her head. “But that is not all; you also have power. It is true that I am fortunate to be stronger than an average human in this place, but I used to be so much more.”
“How did it work?” Trav asked, cocking his head. “Your old power.”
“I received energy from the world, refining it, shaping it through my dantian, letting it fill my body,
and manipulating it to craft techniques and to affect the world. Every family and school teaches a little differently, but that is the best way I can explain it.”
Trav crossed his arms. He didn’t understand all of the terms she was using, but could follow what she was saying. “So what is the problem now?”
“My dantian is empty, bone dry. It is like...I can sense energy, but it just passes right through me. Trying to touch it is like grabbing at smoke.”
Trav opened his emberstone eye wide in a way he didn't usually do because the input could be too confusing. But now, he focused on the eddies of power around her, how it seemed to be repelled by her. He hummed as he watched, tracing the mystical lines through her body, now barren.
“That is...actually really interesting.” When the woman frowned, Trav quickly held up his hands in a surrender pose. “I am sorry for your situation and your loss, obviously...but—”
“But what?”
“I wonder if I can fix your condition, at least temporarily, or let you regain what you had when you first got to Asgard.” Trav rubbed his chin, running through the magic formulas in his head. Some of what Odin had known was incredibly complex. Trav hadn’t had a chance yet to update everything stored in his skull with the new information he’d gotten from Ysintrill.
Jang-mi’s jaw dropped. “You can do what?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure, and right now it’s just—”
Trav suddenly stood as he heard familiar flapping. A black shape fluttered down from the sky, transforming in mid-air to become Yaakova. The harpy landed in an easy, predatory crouch. “I hope I am not interrupting anything?” she asked. None of the Kin particularly liked Jang-mi, but Yaakova, in particular, seemed to despise the human woman.
Jang-mi shut her mouth, her posture changing like she was about to angrily retort, but Trav spoke first. “Do you have a report, Kova?” He kept a cautious eye on both women. Jang-mi was brave, and undoubtedly a great martial artist, but Yaakova could tear her apart, literally.
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