Clockwork Goddess (The Lesbia Chronicles) (3 page)

"Well, if you must do what you must do, then I must also do what I must do." Saying so, Ayla struck Liz firmly upon her buttocks with a swatting spank hard enough to echo around the cottage and make one of the smaller ornaments upon a little shelf tinkle against its neighbor.

"Oh by the goddess that smarts!" Liz's exclamation was surprisingly lucid given the force with which she had been swatted.

Ayla repeated the treatment, her palm meeting the round of Liz's cheek with a loud slap which elicited a squeal of irritation.

"Stop hitting me this instant!"

"If you didn't want to be hit, you shouldn't have broken in where you didn't belong," Ayla said implacably, repeating the treatment until Liz squealed for mercy.

Chapter Three

"By the goddess, you are in trouble now!"

Tall, handsome and broadly muscular, Kira scowled darkly at two soldiers standing in front of her tent.

One blonde was sporting a fresh cut which descended from her hairline and stopped just shy of her eyelid. She had sustained another gash on her cheek, as well as one on the side of her neck. None of the wounds were particularly deep, but they looked unpleasant.

The other, a smaller, darker woman with a very sheepish expression had injuries to her bare upper arm and shoulder. Several long cuts from a short blade had given her an impromptu ribbon effect.

"Perhaps I didn't mention this before," Kira said, her husky voice deep and hard as nails. "But we're all on the same side."

The soldiers said little, avoiding her gaze.

"This isn't the first time you've fought," she continued, gritting the words out between her teeth in a way that made her jaw very square. Her eyes were narrowed with a kind of predatory displeasure which was not lost on her soldiers. "Do either of you have an explanation?"

"We just don't like each other," the blonde said, her eye winking as a result of the discomfort of her injury. A slow trickle of tears coursed down her face for the same reason.

"Oh," Kira said grimly. "Oh you don't like each other? Well then I suppose you are allowed to tear one another limb from limb."

"Aeron's mean," the smaller soldier said, glancing at Kira for one brief moment. "She's a bully."

"And Blaine's unstable," the blonde snapped back. "She's a liability."

"You're both liabilities," Kira replied. "Make no mistake about that." She glared long and hard at the insubordinate little brats who had gone at one another with all the ferocity of pit dogs. "And you're both going to be punished."

There was little response from the soldiers. They had known punishment was in their future. It had not dulled their ferocity in the slightest. They had gone for one another in front of the entire camp, destroyed several weapons racks in their vigorous scuffle which was only broken up after the direct intervention of no fewer than six of their comrades. Even now they were stiff, on the verge of violence.

Kira sighed inwardly. Individually they were both able soldiers. Aeron was brave and bold, athletic beyond compare. She could run an enemy scout down for hours without resting - and she had. Blaine was not so bold, but she had a penchant for hiding in the shadows and seeing without being seen. She could fight most fiercely if cornered, but it was not her usual wont - not unless Aeron was involved.

Tensions between the two had been running high for some weeks. There had been sniping, griping and even a few scuffles. Nothing so bad as this all out attack which saw them both drawing blood.

It could not be tolerated. It would not be tolerated.

"Aeron," she snapped. "Report to the medical officer. Blaine, inside my tent. Now."

Blaine shuffled toward the opening of the awning whilst Aeron spun on her heel and strode toward the medical tent. Her shoulders were thrown back, her head held high. Though she was wounded, she was not at all cowed. Kira watched her go, an expression of concern on her strong features. Aeron would not soon be convinced of the wrongness of her ways. Blaine might be easier to handle.

Kira followed the soldier into her tent. She discovered Blaine in the corner. She had put herself there, well aware of disciplinary protocol.

"Come here," Kira said curtly.

Blaine turned and came out, her eyes somewhat glazed. Panic and fear still ran through her veins, Kira could sense it even at a distance.

"Sit down," she said, pointing to a cushion. "Breathe."

Blaine obeyed the order, her chin length hair falling into her eyes as she lowered her head. She was shut down, anticipating pain, not understanding.

"Relax," Kira said, her tone softening a little. "I am not going to hurt you."

Brown eyes looked up through dark strands of hair. "You're not?"

"No." Kira sat in the only chair in the tent. It was the second most comfortable place to sit other than the broad bed which was very comfortable, covered as it was in furs and pelts. "You shouldn't fight with Aeron," she said. "She naturally outranks you. And she's a more capable fighter."

"I almost had her eye out," Blaine replied, attempting boldness. It did not suit her well. Her voice trembled almost as much as her hands.

"And she almost deprived you of your arm," Kira replied.

"I don't care." Blaine set her round jaw almost as firmly as Kira had. "I won't let her beat me. I'll die before I lose."

"Ordinarily I would applaud that attitude," Kira said dryly. "But it's misdirected in this case. You and Aeron are family. Sword sisters. You know what that means."

"It means I'm surrounded by people with swords," Blaine said, biting her lower lip.

She was so nervous, so perpetually afraid. Kira wished there were some way to instill bravery, some potion she could give, some spell a witch could say. But there was not. True courage, the kind Aeron had in spades, came from within. Blaine would likely never know what it was like to strike forth boldly without concern. She would always be wracked by worries.

"Come here," Kira said, reaching for her salve. "Let me tend your wounds."

Blaine edged forward and extended her arm, keeping her head low and her eyes averted. Even when treated with kindness, she could not release her fear. It was a pity, Kira thought to herself as she began to gently apply healing balm to the light wounds.

Chapter Four

"You have made a grave error," Liz declared, both hands gripping the spanked rounds of her bottom. "You have made the gravest of errors!"

Ayla did not seem concerned by this announcement. She was paying little attention to the irate spy. Instead she was packing a bag with powders and potions and other such ingredients, including a hairy-legged spider which rolled itself up into a ball and turned into a purple flower when she blew upon it.

"Ariadne will see that this wrong is righted. She is the great righter!" Liz kept up her bluster, perhaps more for Vix's sake than her own. Vix had seen all that had passed, she had seen Ayla deliver a rather painful and no doubt embarrassing punishment to Liz, who in turn seemed more bothered by the ignominy of the entire affair than anything else.

"Witch! You will heed me!" Liz stamped her foot. As the sole of her dirty boot hit the cottage floor, a loud booming could be heard which made the walls shudder.

Ayla turned, rare surprise written on her beautiful features. Her blonde brows were arched high, her lips parted as if to speak a word which did not come.

"Ah, you see now," Liz crowed. "You see now how you have awoken the wrath of giants!" She stamped her foot again and several ornaments tumbled off the shelves. It was very strange, for she was not a large woman, but she was undoubtedly shaking the earth with the fury of her foot.

"You are very short for a giant," Ayla said, her lips twisting and her cheek dimpling.

"A giant need not be tall," Liz declared, lifting her chin high with pride. "A giant is giant on the inside. I am dense! Denser than any other!"

Vix snorted, then pretended that she had sneezed, for whatever Liz was it didn't seem like a good idea to cross it.

"If the giant doesn't stop stamping, the giant is going to find her heels kicking as her hide is tanned," Ayla replied, returning to her packing.

With narrowed eyes, Liz watched Ayla put a shiny egg into her bag. "You have made a mistake," she mumbled. "I am very important. I am the most important person you have ever met."

Vix doubted the truth of that statement. Ayla was probably the most important person Ayla had ever met. At every significant junction of history, Ayla had been present. She was a part of history, a figure to be admired and indeed, respected. Liz's apparent disregard for the witch was somewhat upsetting. In Vix's wildest nightmares, she could not have imagined speaking to Ayla the way Liz did.

"I thought spies were supposed to keep quiet," she murmured, letting her voice only just be heard.

"I am discovered," Liz declared, as if it might be news to somebody. "But that will not stop me reporting to Ariadne. I will tell her that you intend to interfere, and she will be greatly displeased."

"You will tell her nothing," Ayla said firmly. "Because you will be staying with us until we reach the camp."

"Ha!" Liz declared defiantly. "Ha!"

That seemed to be all she had to say on the matter, for it was all she said.

Chapter Five

"Aeron."

Having tended to Blaine's wounds, Kira had to deal with the other, more difficult soldier. She found Aeron sitting in her tent, looking into the middle distance as if the blank walls contained some mystery unseeable to any other person.

Aeron did not look up, let alone get up. Any other soldier in the camp would have leaped to attention upon perceiving the great Kira in their presence, but Aeron was not so easily impressed.

Her wounds had been tended, a single stitch applied to her forehead somewhat marring the beauty of her otherwise pleasing features. She was a handsome young woman, bold and strong, the sort of soldier who made Kira's blood rise in approval. She was also the single source of most of the trouble in the camp. Aeron did not care for the approval of her peers, nor did she fear the pain of reproach or the shame of chastisement. Once she had decided her course, she dedicated herself to it without regard for consequences. When she met the enemy, she acquitted herself with the bravery of an immortal. Unfortunately, she was equally dangerous in the bosom of her allies.

"Come with me."

Aeron rose from the bed and followed obediently. Kira lead her to a part of the camp not often occupied by soldiers, a part where iron cages were had been constructed for the holding of prisoners. She held open the door to one such cage and pointed to the interior. "In."

Aeron went in without so much as asking a question or lifting a brow. Kira felt a pang. If only the soldier could be convinced to behave such measures would not be required, but Aeron didn't care about why she was being locked away, or how she might avoid it in the future. She went and sat on the simple bed which had been set up in the corner of the cell.

"Don't you care that you are being locked away?"

"If you want to lock me away, then lock me away," Aeron said, her liquid brown eyes holding nothing but simple obedience. "I am yours to command."

"Except for when you turn on others."

Aeron shrugged. "Blaine is a liability. She should leave."

"Not so much a liability that she cannot defend herself. You weaken our position by fighting with your comrades."

"She is not my comrade."

"I am your commander, and I say she is."

"You are my commander," Aeron repeated. "But she is not my comrade."

The stubborn little wretch was going to cause herself all manner of trouble, but what she did not yet realize was that she was not being caged as a punishment. She was being caged for her own safety, and for the safety of the others. The punishment was yet to come.

"You will not be assigned to any patrols for the next month," Kira informed her.

Aeron's eye's widened and her jaw dropped. Her voice rose in a squeal of complaint. "But I have to ensure the perimeter is secure!"

"Others will do that."

"Others!" Aeron's eyes narrowed in plain disdain for her comrades. "Others are not me."

"No," Kira said simply. "They're not."

"I must go on patrol," Aeron insisted. She was becoming quite agitated, her teeth flashing as her lips drew back.

"You must do nothing," Kira said firmly. "Besides learn to exist with those who fight with you. There are enough enemies in the world. You do not need to turn your friends into foes as well."

Aeron stood and stalked to the bars so she was all but nose to nose with Kira, or rather, nose to chin, for she was not as tall as the warrior. "You invite weakness into our camp," she growled. "And you punish strength."

"There are different kinds of strength in this world," Kira replied, her dark eyes lidded as she looked down at the angry soldier. "You will have to learn that, or you will live your life in cages of one kind or another."

"This cage will not hold me if I decide to escape it," Aeron said, her arrogance boiling over into anger.

"This cage will hold you to the end of your days if you are not careful," Kira replied, her voice cold and harsh. Though she had some tenderness in her heart for the rebellious soldier, she could not allow any of it to be seen. Aeron was testing her very last shred of patience.

"Yes," Aeron said with a short, barking laugh. "This cage will hold me because you have to resort to iron. None can best me, not even the immortal Kira will cross me..."

Aeron had been about to say something else, but it did not emerge from her lips, for Kira had summarily yanked the cell door open and stepped into the little lion's den.

"You want to prove yourself?" Kira cocked a brow. "Show me."

Suddenly uncertain, Aeron took a step back. Her shoulders slumped and she held her head much lower than before, her eyes darting around for an exit that did not exist.

"These cage bars do not protect me from you," Kira said, her voice soft but deadly serious. "They protect you from me."