Valkyrie Black

Chapter 24: School Yard Squabbles

(Age 16)

Blades clacked in rhythmic cadence as Val met every blow of her opponent. Asura was several inches taller than her and had filled out with a strong soldiers build.

It made sense, with his father being captain of the guard to the High Counsel of Suria. He slammed his sword down again and again, attempting to pummel Valkyrie into submission.

Val belatedly thought to herself that she might have overestimated her own ability or underestimated Asure. He had a powerful attack and if he inherited his father’s warrior Spark, he would make an amazing spark vessel. That is, if he ever grew out of his arrogant personality.

Val caught another blow, doing her best to sheer the force to the side with her blade.

Damn, he is strong.

Every muscle fiber strained and she could feel the fibers of her spark working to reinforce her as Asure reversed his momentum and swept at her legs. His blade was longer than her twin long daggers, so it was nearly impossible to close with him.

Fighting was strictly forbidden among initiates, however, the guards were happy to place bets on a formal challenge. So long as no one died, most injuries could be healed by the fort healers.

Val tried to anticipate Asure’s next move, wondering to herself, why she had challenged him to blades, forgetting the fundamental rule of being specific. While she was great with daggers, his choice of a long sword was not something she had not anticipated.

As she slowly took defensive steps back, she realized she would soon be against the wall and out of room to maneuver if he kept pushing her back. As Asura completed his missed stroke, he pivoted and lifted his sword for a powerful overhead chop.

Val capitalized on the exaggerated move and dove into a role, tumbling past him as his blade cleaved the air where she had been a split second before.

As she came out of the roll, she flung her left arm wide, her blade dragging along his calf, scoring a deep line of red. Asura screamed, reflexively throwing out his fist. Unfortunately, that solid fist connected with the back of Valkyrie’s skull, sending her crashing to the dirt.

“You little bitch. You will pay for that.”

Val’s vision was blurry as she rolled to her back just in time to see Asura standing over her, sword descending for what would surely be a kill strike. Val saw the rage in his eyes and realized he had no intention of abiding by the rules of a duel. These were not to the death, but to submission. Yet here he was about to kill her.

[Danger, Threat imminent.]

[Initiating evasive power]

Val could feel the energy as two of her scath crystals drained and a fresh surge of adrenaline flowed through her veins. She was pilled that this brute had stood up for Kane and his actions, now costing her two scath units for defending the young maid.

Time seemed to slow as she calculated the motion needed to both avoid the blow coming for her heart and deal a decisive blow to his wrist.

 If she pulled the strike just enough it would cut the tendons but leave the hand attached. The healers would have fun with that one. She rolled, his blade missing her by a hair’s breadth. His scream of pain as her dagger bit into the bone along his wrist sent shivers down her spine.

Val pushed off the ground, staggering as she tried to regain her balance. She held her dagger to Asura’s neck as he knelt, sword buried several inches into the hard-packed dirt. The amount of force required to push into this compact clay made it obvious to all watching that he had intended a killing blow.

“Yield. You are bested.” Val declared. She had only wanted to teach him and Kane a lesson about messing with women, and the consequences of underestimating. The challenge for battle was a bit more public than she had intended.

All she got in reply was Asura spitting a thick wad of flem at her feet. She smirked, turning to leave before she lost her stomach all over the practice field. If she did that, the embarrassment would erase any bit of victory she had achieved today.

“Pay up,” she said to Cade, holding out her hand and leaning against his shoulder. She tried to play it off like she was leaning up against an old friend, but in truth, she was ready to collapse. That last blow to the back of the head had her wobbling like a new born.

“Lookout!” called Alexa from the other side of Cade. Val felt Cade shove her away from his body in the same motion he drew his own sword.

[Defensive Action Initiated]

A second rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins and she spun, dagger still in hand and swiped with her left, knocking the descending blade wide. Her other dagger was back in her right hand before she even realized she had drawn it and she followed the arcing hand as it was knocked away from her.

In a single powerful strike she brought her right dagger down on Asura’s right hand, cutting it clean off.

Asura’s eyes locked with hers, pure unfettered hate blazing out at her before they went black, and he collapsed into the dirt, unmoving.

“You killed him!” shouted Kane. Kane tried to attack but Cade and Alexa stepped into his path. Between Valkyrie and Alexa’s daggers and  Cade with his sword, Kane would be an idiot to proceed.

“You will pay for that, Valkyrie Black.” Kane spat her name like a curse. “My family has connections in every city of the realm, in Suria and beyond. One day, they will come for you and repay this treachery.”

Val felt Cade pulling her behind him as he slowly backed away from the scene, his eyes never leaving Kane.

“Come, Val. Time to be elsewhere.” Alexa said as she led her away.

Behind her, Val heard Cade shout, “You, Amara. Asura is still alive. Run and get the healers. Crassus and Bernard, you two get to carrying him towards the medics.”

“ No point in him bleeding out here. If you hurry they might be able to do something about that mess.”

While she would love to put Kane in his place as she had Asura, she knew that was a dumb fight in her current state. She allowed Cade and Alexa to lead her back to her room, where Alexa insisted on helping her clean up.

Once she had the mud and blood cleaned off, they found Cade waiting in the main room.

“He was out of line. Asura should be removed from the guard initiate program for behavior like that. Then there is Kane. He may not be of the same stock, but he was right about one thing,” Cade said, pacing the room. “He does have family in every city. I heard Lauren talking about some of his family. They are connected to the thieves' guilds and do a lot of the trade for Suria. They would be bad ones to piss off.”

“Then they shouldn’t pick fights with those that can beat them,” Alexa said. “Being a sore loser isn’t a good look on anyone.”

“They were both out of line, but I am sure they lost a decent bit of money betting against Val.” Cade said with a grin.

“How much did you win?” Val asked.

“So long as I can collect, the pot was over 2000 dret. You were a 30 to 1 favorite to lose,” Cade said. “But seriously Val, the healers are going to have questions after you took his hand off.”

 “They might be able to stitch it back on but even if they can, that bone will take months to heal. He was a favorite for the Counsel’s Praetorian Guard. With an injury like that, it could put him out of the running. He could still be a guard or soldier but it likely ruined his career chances.”

“Serves him right. He tried to kill me there at the end! The match was over. He lost. If he wants to be a sore loser, he can wipe his ass with a stump from now on.” Val retorted, collapsing on the bed.

“Either way, you should lie low for a while. Focus on your private lessons for a bit until the Prior and masters sort things out,” Cade said. “I don’t want to find you with your throat slashed in some dark hallway.”

“I would prefer to keep my blood inside me as well.” Val said with a sigh, “And I was just getting on the master's good sides. Now they will think I am some crazy chick who cuts up guys for fun.”

Alexa quipped, “Well it was fun to watch. Let's just hope his so-called family don’t cause trouble on our next mission with Morgessa. If we have to kill them, we are likely to start a blood feud.”

“Great, just what I need. more people who want me dead.” Val said with a huff, closing her eyes as she tried to calm her still-racing heart. this little tiff had cost her far more scath than she had planned on.

“Are we going hunting any time soon? I need to replenish my supplies.”

“After this, I think Morgessa will suspend trips for a few months, let things cool off some. You might have to go back to the scorpion meadow and just trade with Lorenzo if you need more,” Alexa offered.

“Lorenzo will if he must but he already got only me about buying more than I bring him.” Val said with a heavy sigh. It would be a long spring if there were no hunts.

After Cade left, Alexa sat on the bed next to her. “Thank you, Val, for being there for me.”

Val kept her eyes shut but her hand found Alexa’s and she gave it a squeeze. “It should have been Cade facing him after what that monster said to you.”

“Yea well, with Varian being who he is and Asura being the son of the captain of the Praetorian Guards, he couldn’t risk it. Cade may come from hunters, but that just means they tend to do better as trackers. There are a good number of hunters among the guard.”

“ If he had challenged one of them and won, as you did, there is a good chance they would have spoken to their families and made sure he never fulfilled his dream of joining the guard. It’s a shame really, 'cause that might still happen, and with his training with Morgessa, he would make an excellent Singulare to one of the council.”

Val contemplated seeing the stoic Cade as a Singulare. Perhaps in spite of anything that gang of idiots might tell their families, someone would hire him for his skills and dedication. Only time would tell.