Part 3 (1/2)

Her mother threw a look of distaste at the sword when Mierna unbuckled the scabbard and laid in down on the small table that was, with her bed and chest of clothes, the only furniture in the room. She couldn't delay taking of her cloak any longer, and braced herself for the questions she knew would come when she did.

”Still,” her mother said, concerned, ”you shouldn't...”

Her sharp eyes noticed the clothes Mierna wore at once and her eyebrows rose up in surprise.

”I found these in that house in the woods,” Mierna said before her mother could ask. ”I was wet from the snow, and-”

”You will return them.”

”No one lives there who needs these clothes, Mother. I promise.”

Fists on her hips, her mother shook her head. ”Regardless. It is bad enough that my daughter dresses in breeches and plays at being a Fighter. I will not have anyone wonder if you stole these.”

Mierna tried very hard not to sigh. ”Yes, Mother.” Her mother nodded, not doubting for one second that Mierna might be anything less than truthful.

”Change into something more respectable and come help me in the kitchen. Carrel is bringing his friend Gorden for dinner. They will be here soon.”

She closed the door when she left. Mierna knelt by her clothes chest and pulled out skirts and a tunic.

For a moment, she glared at the items of clothing, angry at what they represented. She was tired of lying, tired of pretending she was someone else. Only with Elden could she be who she wanted, say what she pleased. The hours would be long until the time came to go meet him in the barn.

Chapter 4.

”Again. Higher, this time. Most demons are taller than I am.”

Mierna complied, and this time her sword struck higher, meeting Elden's with a loud clash. He pushed her back and she let him, the same way he had admonished her, time and again, not to do. But rather than retreating as she usually did, she slashed her sword toward him again. The blade missed him only by an inch, just as she Mierna had aimed to do. Elden had not moved at all, caught off guard for the first time. She held her breath, both thrilled by her success and afraid that she had come too close to hurting him. His face breaking into a rare, wide smile rea.s.sured her.

”Yes! Just like that! I knew you'd-”

He stopped mid-sentence for no reason she could see and turned his face toward the large door they had closed to keep the warmth of their small fire inside the barn. Seconds later, the door was thrown open and five men strode in. Mierna's eyes stopped on the one who walked in the front, a short spear in hand. She had seen that look on her brother's face before.

”Mierna!”

She turned her entire body toward Carrel as he approached. The idea that he might attack her would never have entered her mind, and yet she could feel herself tensing and getting ready for a fight.

”Have you lost all sense of decency?” he snapped at her. ”What are you doing here, alone with a man?”

He came to stand just a foot in front of her, his companions remaining at a short distance behind him.

Mierna stood her ground, chin held high and eyes battling Carrel's. The time was long past since he had been able to loom over her and intimidate her.

”I am training,” she replied, her words slow and deliberate. She broke eye contact to glance at the men standing behind him. She knew them, of course; they were Fighters, and all of them were her brother's age or a little older so that she had often seen them together as they were growing up. She had asked three of them to teach her how to use her sword after Elden had given it to her. ”I am training,” she repeated, ”with the only person who agreed to teach me.”

On Carrel's right, she noticed Gorden s.h.i.+fting and taking a half step forward as though he wanted to intrude on the conversation. She hadn't asked him to teach her. For a long time while growing up, she had had a little girl's crush on him, and she still felt like she was ten years old again when she had to talk to him. The fact that he was now courting her did not help matters in the slightest.

”It doesn't change the fact that you're alone with a stranger,” Carrel insisted. He turned his attentiontoward Elden. ”Our people do not tolerate strange men corrupting-”

Without warning, the point of Elden's sword came to stand at the hollow of Carrel's throat. None of the five Fighters had had a chance to move.

”I don't-” he started just as Mierna looked at him and raised a hand.

”Elden, this is my brother,” she said hurriedly. ”He did not mean to insult you.”

Mierna had held Elden's sword before, she knew the weight of it and how difficult it could be to hold a weapon extended in this way. Yet the sword and his arm remained perfectly still.

”But he did insult me. And you as well. I think an apology wouldn't be too much to ask.”

Behind Carrel, one of the Fighters, Cayce, blurted out, almost awed: ”You called him Elden?”

”See?” Elden said smugly. ”I'm not a stranger. Your friend knows-”

But before Elden could even finish, Cayce dropped the sword he was holding and ran out of the barn.

Elden must have felt as taken aback as Mierna did, because he lowered his sword and frowned.

”My friend knows what?” Carrel asked, finding his voice again now that he didn't have a blade at his throat anymore.

A loud sound came in from outside the barn, and all five humans froze when they heard it. It was the deep horn note that called Fighters to arms when demons were spotted near the village. It would repeat every few seconds to guide men to the place of the battle.

”What is Cayce doing?” Gorden grumbled as he looked around the barn. ”There aren't demons here.”

It was Cayce's younger brother, Roan who answered. His face had lost all color and his freckles and hair seemed even redder than usual.

”No demon, no, but a vam ... a vampire.”

”A vampire?” Carrel repeated, his eyebrows rising high on his forehead.

Mierna felt like rolling her eyes at him-at all of them. ”You know I was sent to the lair-”

”None of us believed you'd actually go there!” Gorden interrupted.

”Where did you think I got this, then?” She raised the sword she held, and it gleamed as it reflected light from the fire.

The only answer to her question was yet another deep call from Cayce's horn.

”Did you believe I'd just give up on wanting to be a Fighter after I got the sword if no one helped me?

And why did you think I've been getting up so early for weeks to finish my ch.o.r.es?” She threw the question at Carrel, but he seemed too stunned to reply. ”This was not a child's flight of fancy. I wanted to learn to fight, and I did.” Gorden shook his head and gave her a gentle smile. ”Mierna, you're smarter than that. You can't really believe you'll ever best one of us, and you won't be a Fighter unless you do.”

”She'll best you, here and now.”

Elden's calm declaration knocked the breath out of Mierna. ”What?” she gasped, even as Gorden and Carrel let out their incredulity with twin protests. Elden ignored them, and instead focused a heavy gaze on her.

”You've probably trained harder in these past few weeks than he has in all his life. He doesn't even know how to hold his weapon properly. If you remember what I taught you, you can be a Fighter tonight.”