The Cyber Chronicles VII - Sabre (18 page)

Sabre picked
up an apple and bounced it off ex-cyber tech’s forehead, making him
jump, and Dena giggled. Undeterred, Tarl rose to his feet and
announced, "By special request of Queen Tassin and Queen Dena, Sir
Sabre has agreed to give a demonstration of his acrobatic
skills."

"No I didn't,"
Sabre retorted as the guests applauded.

"Come on,
Sabre," Dena cried, clapping. "I want to see it too!"

Tassin rose
and tried to drag him out of his chair. "You can't say no to Dena,
it's her wedding day."

"Oh, for..."
Sabre stood up when Tarl joined the struggle, and the ex-technician
pushed him towards the stage, where the acrobats had formed a
wobbly pyramid. They retreated, shooting Sabre scornful looks. Tarl
stopped beside the stage and picked up the jugglers' balls.

"I'll throw
you stuff, you juggle it."

"No tables or
chairs."

"Now there's
an idea!"

"I mean it.
Don't think I won't clobber you if you do."

"Fine. No
tables or chairs."

Tarl threw him
the balls in quick succession, and Sabre juggled them with ease.
The nobles applauded, and Dena giggled with delight. Tarl snorted
and went over to the table to collect more ammunition, adding three
apples, two empty wine bottles and three glasses to the mix. Sabre
increased the height of the circle to accommodate the new items
without any problem.

Tarl returned
to the table and collected an empty ale jug, two plates and a
serving bowl, adding them to the ring of flying objects above
Sabre.

"This may even
get interesting," he muttered, glancing around.

Making his way
over to the jugglers' bag of tricks, he found ten torches, two of
which the jugglers had used earlier. Lighting them one by one, he
tossed them to Sabre, who glared at him.

"That's
enough."

"Oh come on,
we're only getting started."

Tarl looked at
the guests, who were spellbound by the number and variety of
objects now flying over Sabre with perfect precision, his hands
moving in a blur at the base of the circle. The jugglers gaped, and
then one handed more stuff to Tarl. Gasps came from the audience
when eight rings, four skittles and seven more balls were added
effortlessly to the circle. Tarl collared a gawping servant and
ordered a dozen raw eggs, and the boy ran off. A gust of wind
forced Sabre to side-step and correct the circle, which widened a
little. Tarl added the eggs to the mix, and more gasps came from
the guests.

"That's
enough, Tarl," Sabre said.

"Just a few
more."

Tarl looked
around and spotted an unopened keg of ale at the end of the table.
He brought it to the edge of the stage.

Sabre eyed
him. "Don't be bloody ridiculous."

"You can do
it, here, catch." He lobbed the keg to Sabre, who caught it and
sent it flying into the air.

Tarl nodded.
"See?"

"No more."

Tarl chuckled
and picked up a haunch of meat, tossing it to Sabre. The cyber
added it to the circle, glaring at Tarl, then threw one of the
balls at him, making him jump aside to avoid it. The rest of the
balls followed it in quick succession, all of them with deadly
accuracy, and Tarl hopped and yelped as they bounced off him. The
rings and skittles followed, the latter making him grunt as they
thudded into his chest, his evasive antics useless.

The guests
laughed while he leapt about, especially when the haunch of meat
hit him in the midriff. Having rid himself of all the unbreakable
objects, Sabre sank to one knee and put down the rest as they fell
into his hands. The eggs he put in the serving platter, the plates
he stacked and the glasses he placed in a row. Finally he was left
with the ten torches, which he tossed to the gawping jugglers. It
took all three of them to field the burning brands and put them
out.

Empty-handed
at last, Sabre stood up as the guests clapped and cheered, rising
to their feet to show their appreciation. The cyber looked away in
embarrassment, then glared at Tarl and strode towards him. Tarl
retreated to Tassin's side, and she stepped into Sabre's path.

"That was
wonderful."

"He's going to
get his arse kicked this time, for sure."

"Not now. Go
and change."

"What? No,
that's enough."

Tassin took
his hand and dragged him towards the castle. "I'll come with
you."

"Tassin,
please."

"You put the
jugglers to shame, but the acrobats still look scornful."

"I don't
care."

She stopped
and turned to him, out of sight of the guests. "I'll give you a
kiss."

"You're not
really angry, then?"

She cupped his
cheek, smiling. "We were teasing you, you great lummox."

"Teasing."

"Yes." She
stood on tiptoe and wound her arms around his neck. "I could never
be angry with you."

"That's not
fair."

"You want me
to be angry with you?"

"No, I
meant..."

She giggled.
"I know."

Sabre growled
and swept her up, tossing her over his shoulder. She shrieked as he
loped into the castle, pounded on his back and laughed. In his
room, Sabre tossed her on the bed and straddled her, pinning her
wrists.

"That was
wicked of you, picking on a defenceless cyber like that. You had me
going there for a while."

"I know." She
grinned. "That's why it so much fun."

"Evil
woman."

"Are you going
to punish me?" Her eyes widened.

Sabre studied
her. "You're teasing again, right?"

"That
depends."

"On what?"

"On the
punishment."

He cocked his
head. "What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know,
you're in charge. There's not much I can do about it."

He glanced at
her wrists. "True. But you don't seem to be struggling very
much."

"Not in the
least. I have you exactly where I want you."

"Really."
Sabre considered. "I thought I was in charge?"

"Men always
think they are, but it's seldom the case."

"And how many
men have you had in this position?"

"Only
one."

Sabre released
her and sat back. Tassin sat up and began to unbutton his
tunic.

"What are you
doing?" he enquired.

"Helping you
undress, of course."

"Why?"

"So you can
change."

"I can manage
it."

"But I want to
help."

In a few
moments, she pulled his tunic off and tossed it aside, and his
shirt followed the tunic even faster. Sabre sat on the bed to pull
off his boots before she could start on his trousers. Tassin
brought his cyber clothes, and he eyed her.

"You're going
to watch?"

"No, I'm going
to help."

He shook his
head. "I don't think so."

"Why not? It's
not as if you'll be naked, and even if you were, we're going to be
husband and wife one day."

"But we're not
yet."

She shrugged.
"It's not as if I haven't seen you in your underwear before."

"How would you
like it if I watched you undress?"

"I wouldn't
mind in the least."

Sabre sighed,
shaking his head. "Fine, stay if you want."

Chapter Thirteen

Tassin watched
him strip down to his shorts and don his cyber issue clothes, her
overtly admiring gaze making him a little uncomfortable and
embarrassed. When she walked back to the feast with him, an air of
expectation had fallen over the guests. Tarl had enlisted the aid
of several servants to rig a wooden bar some four metres above the
ground, supported by rickety scaffolding and ropes attached to
pegs.

Sabre eyed it,
then Tarl. "You're kidding, right?"

"No.
Acrobatics on the ground is too easy for you. This will be a little
bit of a challenge."

"That's not
going to be strong enough."

"It's pretty
sturdy, and these fine lads are going to brace it as well." Tarl
indicated the servants.

"You're going
to pay for this."

"It'll be
worth it. I've always wanted to see a cyber show off."

"Didn't you
see enough of them being put through their paces on Myon Two?"
Sabre asked.

"That was
different."

"How?"

Tarl shrugged.
"It was a set exercise, and they didn’t enjoy it."

“
Who says I’m going to enjoy this?”

“
Oh, I think you will, even if just a little, and you
should.”

Sabre glanced
around at the guests, who appeared spellbound. Tassin looked a bit
doubtful, but took her seat beside Dena. Tarl stepped back and
gestured to the bar, and the servants braced themselves. Sabre
sighed and looked up at it, gauging its width, which was no more
than six centimetres. He leapt up and grabbed it, swung himself
atop it and stood up. A soft 'ooh' came from the audience. Sabre
walked to the end of the bar, his arms at his sides, then flung
himself into a series of backflips, his hands and feet finding the
bar with unerring accuracy.

Reaching the
end, he repeated the manoeuvre in forward somersaults, the bar
bouncing under his weight. A louder 'aaah' of amazement came from
the guests, but he was just warming up. Back flipping to the
middle, he did a handstand, then swung himself around the bar three
times, performing a handstand at the top of each swing for several
seconds. Tiring of that, he stood up again and leap into a triple
twisting backflip, wobbling just a little when he landed as the bar
creaked and bent under his weight. The guests gasped.

Sabre did a
forward triple twisting somersault, then jumped off the bar, caught
it and swung around it. Releasing it at the top of the swing, he
did a quadruple twist and grabbed the bar as he fell. Swinging
around it again, he released it at the top and did two back spins
before catching it once more. Letting it go as he swung upwards, he
landed on his feet and stood up, then ran to the end and jumped
off, performed four somersaults and landed easily. The guests sat
in stunned silence for several seconds, then burst into
enthusiastic applause, shouting their accolades. Sabre returned to
his seat, frowning at Tarl when he grinned.

Tassin smiled
at him, her eyes sparkling. "That was incredible."

Sabre
shrugged, pouring a glass of water. "Standard cyber
capabilities."

"Don't do
that. Those skills are yours. You should be proud of them."

He sipped the
water, watching the servants dismantle the scaffolding. "Well, I
guess I could always become an entertainer."

Tassin took
his hand. "You can be whatever you want. I just want you to be
happy."

"Anything will
be a vast improvement on being a cyber host."

"Don't settle
for anything less than what you want."

He nodded,
lifted her hand and kissed it. "I won't."

Later that
evening, Sabre caught Tarl unawares and emptied a flagon of ale
over his head, much to the amusement of all but Tarl, who had the
grace to take it in good humour. Tassin insisted that Sabre change
back into the velvet suit for the dancing and take to the floor
with her several times. Finally the newlyweds retired, the guests
left, and Sabre escorted Tassin to her room before going to
bed.

****

The following
morning, Dena joined Tassin and Sabre in the sunroom for breakfast,
and Tassin smiled at her when she flopped down opposite them.

"How are you
this morning?"

"Wonderful."

"Good. That's
how you're supposed to feel after your wedding night."

Sharmian came
in, and Dena jumped up to kiss him. The young King looked a trifle
embarrassed by her effusion, but took it well.

"All is
prepared, Tassin," he announced. "Four thousand men are ready to
march on Pradish tomorrow. Another thousand are in training, and
more are still enlisting."

"A force to be
reckoned with. As soon as you attack Lord Morrel, Torrian will come
to his aid, and we leave for Arlin. Your wedding guests will spread
the word of my return, and Torrian will come himself. He will think
I will be with you."

"He is no
fool. He may set a trap for you at your castle in case you go
there."

She nodded. "I
am expecting a trap at the castle. If Torrian does not set one,
Dellon will."

"Then you must
take some men with you, to counter it."

"We intend to
travel there in secret. We can hardly do that with a troop of men,
and if Torrian or Dellon learn of our location, a troop will not
keep us safe. As long as there are only a few of us, and we stay in
the wild lands, they will not know for certain where we are,
although they will probably suspect that I might to go to the
castle to confront Dellon. Keeping them guessing will be the best
strategy, then they have no way to prepare well for either
situation."

"But how will
you counter the trap at your castle? Surely you will not rely
solely upon Sir Sabre's skills, impressive though they are. He is
only one man."

Tassin glanced
at the cyber. "I hope some of my men who remain at the castle can
be persuaded to join us when they see me. If not, then yes, I shall
be relying solely on Sabre."

"You have a
great deal of faith in him."

"I have seen
what he can do."

Sharmian
nodded, sipping the cup of tea Dena had poured for him. "I am
tempted to make a stand with the men I have. I believe they could
do serious damage to Torrian's army."

"Then you
would be a fool. Torrian will bring a large force, possibly six
thousand men, and you will be crushed. You must retreat as soon as
he draws close, and keep him at a safe distance. He will be loath
to give up the chase after travelling so far to confront you, and
that will give me time to establish my rule in Arlin. If enough of
my men turn against him when they learn of my return, they will
join you, and I ask that you heed my generals, who are skilled at
warfare. Torrian may attack them when they leave, in which case
they will keep him busy."