Page 20 of The Sundered Blade

Leisa lifted her blade to meet him and their weapons came together…

Her sword met his with a strange snapping sound, leaving the Garimoran gaping in shock as he stared at what he held in his hand.

A stick. Where he had once gripped the hilt of a solid steel sword, he now held a two-foot-long piece of wood, about one inch in diameter, with a splintered end where the impact of Leisa’s sword had broken it off.

One by one, the other Garimorans lifted their blades, only to realize that not a single weapon remained. One held a spoon. Another a ladle, and a third gripped the handle of a broom.

Karreya threw a glance to the side, where Senaya was folding up a small silver box and slipping it back into the pocket of her divided skirt.

She had used her magic to intervene in the fight?

Karreya’s disapproval must have shown on her face, because Senaya responded to her unspoken question.

“This is not the Enclave, child.” Her voice was quiet, but cool. “No one here is playing by your rules. There is no honor in single combat, no courtesy in allowing others to fight alone. There is only survival, and your allies will be expecting your aid.”

“Mage,” one of the soldiers spat furiously, turning to stare at Senaya and Karreya with a mixture of rage and revulsion. “Your kind is under sentence of death if you trespass on Garimoran soil.”

It was not the mild-mannered seller of herbs who answered, but the woman born as heir to the whole of the Zulleri Empire.

“My kind?” Senaya returned coldly, her voice gone harsh with command as she rode towards them. “Do not speak of mykindas if I were an animal. I have the power to crush every one of you if I choose. It is only by my mercy that you live, and that I did not turn your sword into a snake instead of a stick. So do not challenge me as if you somehow have power over whether I live or die. Take your lives as my gift and walk away from this place with gratitude.”

There was a lie in there somewhere, but Karreya could not quite determine which part was untrue.

Leisa was staring at the implements in her opponents’ hands, her shoulders tense and her eyes wide. And the family of travelers seemed to have frozen on the spot, unsure of who was most to be feared.

When no one moved, Karreya scanned the faces of the Garimoran soldiers, and noted that, alongside their fear, they carried a strong sense of righteous anger. These men might not simply walk away. They would consider it their duty to return—silently in the night if necessary—and see justice done. Possibly even with the help of friends.

“Perhaps it would be better to kill them,” she noted thoughtfully, and loudly enough for all of them to hear. “It need not be murder. Give them each a dagger and send them into the forest. It may require an hour of my time, but no one will find the bodies afterwards.”

Her cousin threw up her hands. “No! We are trying not to kill anyone unless they force us to. Just…” She turned to the family huddled together near the cart. “I think it might be for the best if you were on your way. We cannot promise there aren’t more like these men lurking out here, so the sooner you cross the border, the better.”

“Thank you.” The woman darted forward, grasped Leisa’s hand and pressed it firmly. “We are in your debt, truly.”

“And you,” Leisa said, turning back towards the soldiers. “You’re hungry. I understand. You’ve been sent here with no training, no food, and no one to tell you when you’ll be recalled. But sooner or later, you’re going to shake down travelers who won’t hesitate to slice your throats. You’ll take a hostage who fights back. Or, you’ll become no better than thieves who take what they want and the laws be hanged. Threatening the lives of children is not far from that kind of depravity. Not far from the kind of actions that, in any other time and place, you would be ashamed to admit to.”

“Hungry or not”—the captain’s face was twisted with anger—“we do not answer to you. And you’d best hope we do not encounter one another when your pet mage isn’t here to save you.”

“It wasyouthat she saved,” Karreya put in flatly. “She ended the fight so there was no need to kill you.”

One of the men spat on the road. “And how would you have managed that?” he sneered. “Two little girls against eight of us?”

Karreya’s fingers flicked, and the man let out a howl that reverberated off the trees and made her ears ring with pain.

“A soldier is only as useful as his feet,” she noted coolly. “And now you only have one.”

It had not been a very good throw. She’d meant to cut off his smallest toe, but her dagger had been slightly off the mark and had probably pierced between the bones of his foot.

It seemed, however, that they had finally gotten the message—these were no easy marks, and it was time to cut their losses.

“We’re leaving,” the captain ordered suddenly, his wide, frightened eyes fixed on Karreya. “This time. But if we find you again, we won’t make the same mistakes twice.”

Truth.

“I am relieved to hear it,” Leisa replied sternly. “So long as you include robbing innocent travelers in your list of mistakes. If you harass them again, we will know, and we will find you.”

“Believe me when I say that we want nothing to do with mages,” the man responded, his lips curled with distaste. “There are others who are better equipped to deal with you—permanently—and we will not hesitate to send word.”

They backed away, eyes darting from Leisa to Senaya to Karreya before they turned and ran west, leaving the road and disappearing between the trees before they reached the next bend.

---