“What if she lies to us?” Trey asked. “Then we have given her the new identity and the money for nothing.”
“Not exactly,” Garen said. “She has already earned those things by the agreement we made before she was abducted. By rights, she could ask us for more money for this new information.”
Trey shook his head and sighed. “You are correct, of course. I should have remembered that.”
“The more I think on it, the more I believe Val is right,” Garen said. “It would be safer for Mara, and easier for us. We don’t need to bring her all the way back to Jasan. We only need the information she may have.”
“True,” Trey said, still considering Val’s idea. He liked to look at things from all angles before making a decision, and there were a lot of angles to this matter.
“I agree,” he said at last. “This idea is the most efficient for all concerned. We should send her what we promised, and hopefully, she will give us the information she has on the location of the Brethren and the Narrasti.”
“Do not forget that we will know her new identity,” Garen pointed out. “Nor do I think we should let her walk off without knowing which direction she is headed.”
Trey smiled. “Neither do I.”
“Let’s do this,” Garen said. “I’d like to get her information before she gets her pay-off, and we want someone to keep an eye on where she goes when she leaves Lapu 12.”
“I’m on it,” Trey said, tapping his vox.
Garen turned back to the terminal screen and read Mara’s message again. They had been actively searching for the Narrasti ever since the attack on Lariah. He did not trust Mara Winicke a single bit. But he knew her story, and knew that she had good reason to hate the Brethren. He could only hope that she hated them more than she hated the Jasani.
Garen turned off the terminal and waited for Trey to finish with his call to the council. It didn’t take long.
“Everything’s in motion,” Trey said after a few minutes. “We’ll get an all clear when its time to reply to Mara with our offer.”
Garen nodded and turned to Val. “How’s Lariah doing?” he asked.
Lariah had been so despondent since Ellicia’s passing. Her normally sweet, sunny personality had been hidden beneath a dark cloud for so long now that they were afraid they might never see it again.
“Hope and Berta brought the boys over to visit a little while ago. That usually cheers her up.”
“That’s a lot of extra work and trouble for Hope, bringing the boys over to visit so often,” Garen said. “I want to tell her it is not necessary to do so often, but at the same time, it is so helpful for Lariah that I can’t bring myself to do it.”
“I know,” Trey said. “I did tell her this morning how much we appreciate it. She was gracious, as always, and said that she didn’t mind in the least. She is a good woman. The Bearens are lucky men.”
“Yes, as are we,” Val said. “I wish there were a way for us to bring Lariah out of her grief and make her smile again.”
“She needs more time,” Garen said, hoping his words were true.
“I hope so,” Val said. “I wonder sometimes if she will ever be truly happy again.”
“Only time will tell,” Garen replied softly.
Chapter 14
“We have a surprise for you, Aisling,” Rand said after dinner.
“What sort of surprise?” Aisling asked warily.
She’d spent most of the day trying to decide whether or not she’d made a mistake in telling the Gryphons so much the night before. She’d gone back and forth so many times she’d made herself dizzy. She barely remembered anything that she’d translated that day, and Karma had asked her several times if she was all right. To complicate matters, she was confused by her own indecision, which wasn’t normal for her. But then, the feelings she had for the Gryphons weren’t normal either.
“I thought women enjoyed surprises,” Rudy said.
“Women enjoy good surprises,” Karma said. “Smart women know enough to determine whether the surprise is good or bad before reacting to it.”
“I see,” Rand said. “Allow me to clarify then. We have a surprise for you, Aisling, that we think you will enjoy.”
“Much better,” Karma approved.
Aisling tossed her napkin across the table but Karma caught it just before it landed on her head. “I think I would like to see this surprise before Karma convinces you not to give it to me.”
“As you wish,” Olaf said with a smile. “Follow me.”
They all got up and left the dining room, following Olaf as he led them across the living room, through the foyer, and down another curving hall. To their right were the rooms that overlooked the garden. To their left were rooms that did not have a garden view, such as the kitchen, the laundry room, and more guest rooms. The house was so large that even though the Gryphons had given them a tour when they’d first arrived, they hadn’t seen all of it. Now, Olaf opened an over sized door on the left and stood aside for Aisling to enter first. She stepped into the room, looked around and grinned.
“This is fantastic!” she exclaimed. “You guys didn’t do this just for me, did you?”
“No,” Olaf said. “This has always been a training room. What’s new is the matted area in the back corner for your tiketa, and a target range.”
“Target range?” Karma asked as they crossed the training room to the new target range along one wall. “Ash, why do you need a target range?”
“So that I can practice throwing knives,” Aisling replied matter-of-factly.
“Oh,” Karma said with surprise. “And um, just exactly how much practice do you need?”
“Not much,” Rand said with a grin.
“We had a selection of throwing knives brought in for you to try,” Rudy said gesturing to several sets laid out on a long countertop.
“We were also able to get three sets of sai in different styles and sizes,” Rand added. “That’s what we are most anxious to see used. They are very interesting weapons.”
Aisling stepped up to the counter and smiled at the display of weapons. The sai were beautiful with their combination of straight and curved lines and bright, silver finishes. She selected the most traditional set with the curved cross bar and picked them up, one in each hand. They were a little heavier than she was used to, but it felt good to have them in her hands. She rocked them back and forth across her fingers, testing their weight and balance, then began spinning them around, slowly at first, then more quickly as she became accustomed to their weight. Within moments they were spinning so quickly they were a blur of silver. In one smooth motion, she flipped them into the air, caught them, turned toward the target at the opposite end of the room and threw them without pausing to aim. Both sai flew toward the target at equal speed, flipping end over end in tandem before hitting the center of the target side by side with a single thunk .
“They’ll do,” she said.
“Apparently,” Olaf said, impressed with her dexterity and aim. If she was able to handle an unfamiliar weapon with such ease after months without practice, he could only imagine her skill with one designed specifically for her small hands.
“You’ve been holding out on me,” Karma said softly.
Aisling turned to Karma. “I’m sorry Karma,” she said. “I meant to tell you first. These guys caught me throwing steak knives in the garden last night.”
“Is that why you were so tense all day?” Karma asked.
Aisling nodded. She liked Karma, and thought of her as a friend. But if Karma didn’t accept her apology, there really wasn’t much she could do about it.
“You still plan to share with me?” Karma asked.
“Of course,” Aisling replied. “Now that I don’t have to worry about being overheard, I’ll tell you everything tonight.”
“In that case you are completely forgiven,” Karma said with a smile.
Aisling returned Karma’s smile and gave her a quick hug. Then she turned
back to Olaf.
“What was it that you wanted to see?” she asked.
“We would like to see how you use the sai,” Olaf said. “We have never seen it before and are curious.”
Aisling crossed the room to the target to retrieve the sai as she considered Olaf’s request. “Mostly I use the weapon in combination with tiketa,” she said as she pulled the sai from the target and walked back. “I also use them as throwing weapons. They can be quite versatile once you become accustomed to them. Do you have practice covers for these?”
“Sorry, no,” Rand replied.
“Well, guess you’re going to have to take your chances then,” Aisling said, arching one brow at him.
Rudy laughed as Rand selected one of the two remaining sets of sai from the counter and followed Aisling to the matted area they’d had installed for her.
After bowing to each other, Aisling took up an offensive stance with her knees bent, body turned sideways to present the smallest target to her opponent, the sai held loosely in her hands. Rand copied her, then waited for her to begin. Aisling moved slowly, stepping forward and turning on the ball of one foot as she brought her sai up at an angle toward Rand. Rand met the strike, moving as slowly as Aisling, the sai clashing together with a metallic ring as he struck with the other hand. Aisling blocked him with another clash of metal, striking with the other sai at the same time. They began to move faster and faster, blocking and striking, as they moved around the matted area, the ringing of the sai filled the room. Suddenly, they both stopped at once and the room fell silent.
“That was interesting,” Olaf said.
Aisling shrugged. “That was a warm up,” she replied.
“You didn’t do any tiketa though,” Rudy pointed out.
“No, that was hand to hand,” Aisling agreed. “Your turn?”
Rudy stepped onto the mat and accepted the sai from Rand. “Good luck,” he said. “I think you’re going to need it.”
Twenty minutes later the Gryphons had all taken a turn on the mat with Aisling, but none of them had managed to stay on their feet for long. Olaf had lasted the longest, and that only because he’d watched her with Rand and Rudy first. They were all much larger than she was, and much stronger. They were all fast enough to match her in a hand to hand contest with the sai. But they could not hope to match her when she used both the sai, and tiketa without using their magic or calling on their gryphon speed.
Aisling was a small woman, and no match for the strength of most men, and she knew it. Therefore, she had become an expert at putting her opponents on their backs as quickly as possible.
“That was really amazing to watch,” Karma said. “I wish I could do something like that.”
“You can, if you want,” Aisling replied as she returned the sai to the counter. “All it takes is practice.”
“I imagine it takes a bit more than practice. I bet you need a good deal of skill, as well.”
“With practice, comes skill,” Aisling said.
Karma reached out and ran her fingers lightly over the handles of the knives lying on the counter. “I would like to learn to defend myself, but flipping and kicking and throwing the way you do is not something I can see myself doing. I’m not flexible in that way.”
“You don’t have to do what I do,” Aisling said. “There are many different methods of self-defense, and a very wide range of weapons. You just need to find what works for you.”
“What is there aside from knives, swords and guns?” Karma asked.
Olaf turned and waved toward the opposite wall where a long line of weapons were organized on racks and stands. Karma crossed the room, her eyes roaming over the bright, shiny weapons, seeing nothing that interested her. She really didn’t think that there was a weapon she would feel safe carrying around. She wasn’t clumsy, but she did tend to cut herself more often than not whenever she had to use a knife in the kitchen. She didn’t even want to think about what she’d do to herself with a sword.
Karma walked the entire display from one end to the other, and sighed. She liked the idea of being able to defend herself, but she didn’t see a weapon that appealed to her. She turned to walk away and caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. She turned back and frowned at what looked like nothing more than a wooden pole. She stepped closer and saw that her first impression had been correct. It was a wooden pole. She reached out and picked it up, instantly liking the way it felt in her hand. It was neither too narrow, nor too thick. It seemed made for a hand exactly the size of her own.
“What’s this?” she asked Olaf.
“That is called a staff,” he replied.
“Is there a sword hidden inside of it or something?” she asked.
“No, it’s entirely made of a special type of wood that is lightweight, hard, and resilient,” Olaf said.
“Oh, I thought it was a weapon of some sort,” Karma said, feeling unaccountably disappointed.
“It is a weapon,” Olaf said. “A very old, and dangerous one when handled with skill.”
“Really?” Karma asked, feeling a twinge of excitement. “Can you show me?”
“I have no skill with the staff,” Olaf said. “It is here only because we requested a thorough range of weapons be included when the room was created.”
Karma looked hopefully at Rand and Rudy. “I know a little about it,” Rudy said as he reached for a staff that matched the one Karma held. “Enough to demonstrate the basics.”
“Thanks,” Karma said as she tested the weight and balance of the staff in her hands. There was something about it that felt natural to her.
“I know the use of a similar weapon called a bo,” Aisling said. “A bo is lighter, thinner and longer than the staff, but the usage is much the same. I can demonstrate with Rudy, if you like.” Karma nodded and handed the staff to Aisling, who took a moment to test the feel of it in her hands. Then she and Rudy moved to the center of the room.
“There are many different names, styles and sizes for this type of weapon,” Aisling said, facing Rudy with the staff held lightly in both hands before her. “Many cultures have this weapon in some form or other.”
“But is it an effective weapon?” Karma asked.
“Absolutely,” Aisling replied. “In skilled hands, it’s a weapon to be wary of. Even in the hands of one unskilled it can be quite dangerous. Imagine just swinging this thing at someone. It’s solid enough to break a bone, or even kill if you hit someone over the head in the right place with enough force.”
Aisling and Rudy bowed to each other, then each took up a stance, holding their staffs before themselves at an angle. Aisling made the first move, striking out with the lower end of the staff toward Rudy. She moved slowly, not attempting to actually hit him.
Rudy used his staff to block her strike, while at the same time using the other end of his staff to attempt a strike of his own.
They continued to strike, parry and block for a few minutes, moving slowly, attempting to demonstrate the weapon, not hit each other. As Aisling had said, even a light strike with a staff could be very painful. After a few minutes Rudy and Aisling stepped away from each other and bowed once again.
Aisling returned the staff to Karma, who accepted it with a sense of awe. She had seen enough to know that the staff really could be a good defensive weapon for her. Aside from that, she felt as though she was meant to use this weapon. It was a strange feeling, unlike anything she’d ever felt before, but she liked it.
“Do you think you could teach me how to use this?” Karma asked.
Aisling tilted her head as she considered her friend for a long moment. “Yes, I could teach you,” she said. “The bo is different than the staff, but I could teach you enough to use it effectively.”
Karma frowned. “I suppose rather than asking if you could, I should have asked if you would,” she said.
Aisling smiled, but Karma wasn’t fooled. “I think it’s time for us to have that talk now,” Aisling said. “What do yo
u think?”
“Yeah, I suppose so,” Karma replied. She put the staff back in the rack where she’d found it and waited while Aisling thanked the Gryphons once more and said goodnight. She said her own goodnights absently as she tried to figure out what Aisling was up to.
They left the training room and walked silently through the house to the living room. Instead of going down the hall to their rooms as Karma expected, Aisling crossed the living room to the garden doors and led the way through the garden to the pavilion in the center. She turned in a slow circle, her eyes and ears searching the garden carefully. When she was satisfied that they were alone she faced Karma.
“I will make a deal with you,” she said, keeping her voice low.
“What kind of deal?” Karma asked.
“Skill for skill,” Aisling replied.
Karma frowned. “I have no skills to trade, Aisling.”
“I think that you do,” Aisling said. “Sometimes, when you are preoccupied or relaxed, you move differently than you usually do.”
Karma’s expression went from curious to guarded in an instant. “What do you mean?”
Aisling noted Karma’s reaction and smiled to herself at this confirmation of her suspicions. “Most of the time you move kind of...stiffly. Not as though you’re trying to hide, exactly, but like you don’t want anyone to look at you. But every once in a while, when you’re very relaxed or don’t think anyone is watching, you move like the most sensuous female I’ve ever seen.”
“Most of the time you walk and move like you’re afraid of your own shadow,” Karma retorted. “Every once in a while though, when you’re relaxed or don’t think anyone is watching, you move like a stalking lioness.”
Aisling smiled tightly, liking the way Karma turned her own words back on her. She was so clever. And almost as secretive as Aisling herself.
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