Sorceress' Blood (12 page)

“You are a lot stronger than you look,” Jin said. “But
that is all you are right now. Learn to block, learn to move and then
learn to strike.” Rebecca kept panting and spat fragments of
words that even she couldn't decipher. “What?”

“That...” she paused to breathe again. “…
hurt.”

“If I was your enemy, it would kill you.” Rebecca
wondered if she was supposed to be grateful that she was still alive.
She didn't feel very grateful, if that was his intention.

When she had recovered Rebecca practised dodging again and restrained
herself from trying to go further than Jin had showed her. Then she
learned how to step while keeping her full balance and how to block
Jin's attacks. By lunch time she was starting to feel confident in
her skills.

“One more thing and then I will go and get us some food. This
time I will attack you with a horizontal attack.” Jin switched
the knife to a forward grip and walked Rebecca through the technique.
“Are you ready?”

“Yeah. Let's do it.” Rebecca pictured it in her mind and
focused on Jin. Inside herself she could feel fear turning her
stomach in circles. She took deep breaths and tried to ignore it. Jin
attacked. The knife came at her throat. Rebecca immediately stepped
forward into the attack. She jammed his attack with one arm at his
wrist. The movements began to flow effortlessly as Rebecca grasped
Jin's wrist. She turned parallel to him. Her other hand came up, open
palmed. It struck Jin's biceps and then gripped it. Jin's whole arm
became twisted over and when Rebecca pushed, his hand was forced
open. The knife fell to the ground. Rebecca shoved Jin forward. He
stumbled forward. When he was stable and spun around, Rebecca already
had the knife in hand.

“Good.” Jin said. “Now we eat.”

After lunch they returned to their practice. By then word had spread
that Jin was teaching the foreign woman; a few knights stopped by to
watch her. Rebecca quickly felt her confidence failing when she
realised that she was being watched. Jin must have noticed because he
stopped in the middle of attack and whispered to her.

“Ignore them. Ignore everything.”

“What?”

“Pretend none of them are watching. Keep focused on what you
are doing. Don't let the rest of the world in. Focus on your practise
and what I taught you. There is nothing else in the world. There is
just the fight and nothing else.” Rebecca nodded and took a
deep breath. She wasn't sure why but it felt like the right thing to
do. Her eyes narrowed into a focused stare at Jin. She steadied her
feet and flexed her fingers a few times. She couldn't even remember
why she'd lost focus or confidence any more and she continued her
practise with the same determination that she'd had before the
onlookers joined them. Rebecca never noticed that after that the
group grew and they muttered amongst themselves, impressed by
Rebecca's strength and movements. Even though she didn't look
especially impressive, it became obvious her baggy clothes were
hiding a strong body.

When the sky had become too dark to continue the instruction they
went inside and headed for the dining hall where Rebecca had eaten
breakfast. She ate her dinner with the knights and found Jin to be
more talkative, even if no one else tried to talk to her. All of them
looked at her though with the same interest that one has when
watching the strange behaviour of exotic creatures in a zoo
enclosure. Rebecca was too tired to notice their gawking. When she
left the dining hall and arrived at her room she found another thin
box sitting on her bed, waiting for her. A card on the top read:

Rebecca

Thought you may be in need of some more clothing. Consider this an
apology for being unable to entertain you today. I hope you enjoyed
whatever it is you did to pass the time.

Lord Edward Halford

The box contained pink silk pyjamas. The colour was not her favourite
but they were comfortable to wear and she found them infinitely more
comfortable to sleep in. Rebecca was asleep almost as soon as she was
lying beneath her blankets.

Rebecca awoke the next morning at sunrise.. She hadn't known why
she'd woken up until she heard someone knocking on her door.

“Who is it?”

“Jin.”

Rebecca opened the door for him. “What's going on?”

“We go running.”

“What?”

“We go running. Through the fields, up to the foot of the
mountain, then around and then back.”

“What time is it?”

“Five thirty.”

“You're crazy.”

“No I am not. Come on.”

“Alright.” Rebecca was too tired to argue and she didn't
imagine she could persuade him otherwise anyway. “Hold on.”
Rebecca closed the door and changed her clothes. They were clean and
still warm as if they'd only just come out of a clothes dryer. She
joined Jin outside her room again.

“Now put these on.” Jin handed her a set of weights. A
boyfriend she'd had for most of high school was always wearing
similar things. They strapped onto your ankles and wrists but
otherwise functioned just like lifting weights.

“Are you joking?”

“No.”

“How long is this run?”

“Don't know. I never measured it.”

“You want me to run to the mountains and back at five thirty
while wearing weights?”

“Yes. Well, we can jog if you like.”

“Oh that's so thoughtful of you. Well what are we waiting for?
Let's go!” Jin either didn't understand the sarcasm or just
ignored it.

When they began their jogging the sun had not fully risen. As
they rounded the castle and headed along the winding, dusty path
towards the mountain Rebecca looked for any farmers working the
fields. Not even they were awake yet. Behind her, towards the Tower,
she could see that the knights had woken up already and were hard at
work training. They were doing push-ups with a surprising and
impressive synchronisation. Rebecca turned to look in front of her
again and, when she noticed the mountain wasn't getting closer in any
hurry, her spirits sank. She looked down at her feet and silently
apologised to them. Down was the safest direction to look. There were
no mountains trying to outrun her in that direction. Jin had no such
trouble and started to run ahead of Rebecca.

“Hey, wait up!” Rebecca called after him. Jin slowed down
and gave Rebecca a big, toothy grin.

“Sorry. I am used to running as fast as I can. That is more
fun.”

“How can you even go that fast carrying the extra weights?”

“You get used to it. After a while it feels more natural than
without them.”

“Good to know.” Rebecca sighed. Eventually the mountain
did start to get closer and larger. There were fields on both sides
of Rebecca with unrecognisable green vegetables growing. By that time
they were both breathing heavily but Rebecca could go on no further.
She slowed to a stop and, unable to keep on her legs, sat down.

“This is too much. You do this every morning?”

“No. Squires have to perform this run without stopping before
they are accepted as knights, so they run it every day for training –
but the knights do it less. We spend more time on actual combat
training than on conditioning.”

“Do you ever get to use it?”

“Use what?”

“All that fighting you learn. Do you ever get to really use
it?”

“Some of us do. The lucky ones retire without ever needing to
use it. The unlucky ones use it a lot and the very unfortunate use it
once and we never see them again.”

“You don't
want
to put any of it to use?”

“Of course not. We spend our time preparing to fight a battle
that will decide the fate of the whole world. Every time we have to
fight, it means our enemies have come closer to their goals. Every
time you fight there is a chance you will lose. None of us want to
take that chance and so we hope that the battle never comes.”

“Makes sense. If you ever actually have to fight that battle it
means the world is on the edge of destruction, right?”

“That's right.” The silence that followed was sombre and
it bore the uneasy truth of the danger that was always growing
closer. Hoping to lighten the mood some, Jin spoke:

“Lord Edward's great-grandfather came to China to build the
order. He sailed here alone and in secret. When he arrived he found
that the Thralls were already here and were spreading their influence
across the country. Within a month they had discovered who he was and
came to kill him as he slept in a poor village. They destroyed the
whole village and killed every man, woman and every child. The people
who helped him escape that night were found and executed in public as
a message to anyone who might see Lord Edward's grandfather. The
Thralls tracked him across the country but eventually lost him in
these mountains. He spent unknown days wandering lost on the
mountains, lost and alone. We're told that, when he reached the peak
of the mountain, he had a vision. His ancestors – the brothers
who defeated the sorceress – showed him the way beyond the
mountains to where he would build his castle. That is how he came to
this place and to the farmers who were living here. When he arrived
he began to build the castle himself. When he needed help he went to
the village and in exchange for their aid he made the land more
fertile and helped them prosper. When it was finally done he took the
healthiest, strongest boys of the village and trained the first
knights. That is how we came to be here.”

“Is that true?”

Jin responded by shrugging. “It is a story and it is the only
one we know. Whether or not it is all true does not matter, because
it gives us meaning. Not even the noble Halford family can stand
alone in this world and so all of us – the knights, the
sorcerers, the farmers – must work together. It is also why
this mountain is important to us and why we use it for our training.”

“I understand.” Rebecca stood up. “I'm ready to
keep going.”

They began jogging again. Rebecca tried to make conversation with Jin
as they went but he told her not to talk. He said it would use up her
energy and she should just breathe and focus on jogging. Rebecca did
as she was told but she didn't like the silence. She had always lived
in the city and, even when it was quiet in the city, it was never
silent. The castle was never silent either and she liked being
reminded that there were people around her, moving busily and living
their lives. The only person she knew of near her was Jin and the
only sound was the soft, irregular patting of their feet on the dirt
and grass.

She managed to push herself to go the rest of the distance without
breaking. Jin told her he was impressed by her stamina.

“Most squires cannot make it with only one break when they
start.”

“Really? Well, I was always pretty good at sports.”
Rebecca sat down and panted heavily. Jin happily took the chance to
rest this time. He looked just as tired as Rebecca. There was a
spring of cool fresh water at the foot of the mountain not far from
their path. They drank from it and rested a while longer. Then they
stood up and began the journey back to the castle.

“When we get back I'm going to see Edward. After I've showered
I'm going to get him to let me see Ashley.”

“Is that the little girl?”

“Yeah. I haven't been able to see her since we got here. Lord
Edward seems very serious about letting her study in the Tower.”

Rebecca showered. The early morning trip to the mountain and back had
left her sweaty and she felt unbearably gross. She also felt as if
she was about to do something grand and worthy of pristine
cleanliness. She was looking forward to seeing Ashley again and even
though it hadn't been more than a few days it felt as if they'd been
a world apart for weeks. That was why she dressed herself and checked
herself thoroughly in the mirror. When she finally felt as if she
looked respectable in her dress, she left her room and went to see
Lord Edward. He was waiting in his office with nothing needing his
attention but a deck of cards which arranged themselves in a pyramid
in front of him.

“Simple tricks are wonderful practice for keeping focused. You
stop paying attention and suddenly all the magic fades.” Lord
Edward looked away from his house of cards and they immediately fell.
“I saw you out early today. Where were you going?”

“Jin took me out to the mountain. I asked him to teach me the
things your knights learn.”

“Is that right? I don't think we've ever had a woman training
with the knights. In fact, I think tradition forbids a woman from
becoming a knight.”

“Look, I'm not trying to interfere with your order or
anything.” Rebecca had considered pointing out the obvious
sexism but decided against it. She really didn't want to get involved
in anything political and she didn't want to be a knight, anyway.

“Relax.” Edward smiled. “I'm not accusing you of
anything. Now, what can I do for you?”

“Ashley.”

“Of course. I promised that you'd be able to see her and I am a
man of my word.”

“Good. Then I'd like to see her.”

“And you will. In fact I'll arrange for her to have dinner here
in the castle tonight. Everything will be taken care of and you'll
see that everything is alright.” That was an odd choice of
words. Rebecca hadn't been worried things weren't alright. She just
wanted to see Ashley.

“Why can't I see her now?”

“She'll be busy right now. You go and entertain yourself for
the rest of the afternoon. Tell my secretary to call Jin if you like.
I'll go over to the Tower, myself, and make sure Ashley is sent up
here to my office just before dinner. Okay?” Rebecca waited for
more. Lord Edward went back to his house of cards and said nothing.

“Alright.” Rebecca didn't say any more and left.
Something was different about Lord Edward that afternoon but she
couldn't quite place it. He talked the same, acted the same, smiled
the same and was just as politely casual as he always was. But there
was something subtle, maybe in the way he sat or the way he looked at
her. Whatever reasons Lord Edward had for getting rid of her, Rebecca
wasn't sad to be away from him. She did as he'd suggested and asked
his secretary to call Jin. She got on the phone and summoned him to
Lord Edward's office and he arrived quickly. Then, before he could
say anything, Rebecca left Lord Edward's personal floor of the
castle.