Battlefields: Veil Walkers Book Three

Chapter Six

Denmark, 1387 CE - Nobility Camp - Sumiko

Sumiko taunted her two opponents, Left and Right, with a gesture from her fans.

They obliged, striking from the outside in, and she twirled out of the way. Her fan caught Right in the chest, but it was only a glancing blow. His clothing ripped along with the skin beneath it, but he didn't react.

Okay, they weren't borrowing human bodies, only their clothes. That made her job easier. She twirled and kicked, bringing her leg upward to reveal her white drawstring pants. Her foot caught Left in the face and knocked him backward. She counterbalanced herself with outstretched arms and completed the spin, facing her fallen opponent.

She dismissed the fan in her right hand and pulled one of Keegan's sutras from her pocket while she moved. A twist lowered her to avoid a swing from Right as her toes carried her in Left's direction.

Left was already rising, but not quickly enough. She cartwheeled over Left to get away from Right, her sutra-bearing hand slapping the paper on his arm as she moved.

Left howled in pain and puffed into a cloud of aether and miasma. She pirouetted, lowering herself to her knees as she scrambled to grab her dagger. If she could get the blade into the aether before it coalesced, it wouldn't rejoin the fight. The puff avoided her stab, flowed through her fingers, and rose like smoke to be inhaled by Right.

Sumiko smiled as Right brought his sword around and the glow that had been Left settled into his body. She counted to three and rose, leaping over a clumsy swing and performing a back handspring out of the way as Right realized his mistake.

The sutra had dissipated with Left, which meant it was still attached when he became part of Right again.

She laughed as her opponent flailed after an object it could no longer interact with outwardly; a bright, cheerful noise that she couldn't believe came from her lips. She righted herself from the maneuver and brought one fan into existence. With her dagger in her other hand, she lunged while Right still dealt with the pain, certain of a clean blow.

Right leered up at the last second, grabbed the physical switch he had been using against the boys, and caught her diagonally across the face mid-advance.

The lash did more than sting. Sumiko faltered from the pain. She hit the ground and rolled forward, coming about to glare up at Right. Her dagger skidded away across the grass. Blood dripped into her eye. It burned. She needed to end this before it could blind her. She ripped a length of cloth from her dress sleeve and tied it like an eyepatch to absorb the blood while the fight continued. It interfered with her vision, but at least the blood didn't sting her eye as much.

It had been a long time since she played this game, dancing while blindfolded. Usually it didn't have such high potential consequences, but she had nothing to lose. Either she aced this performance or joined Nathalie on the wall. At least she had one eye she could rely on.

Sumiko rose and summoned her fans, hoping to illuminate the fallen obsidian blade in the dim light. The orchid glow reflected from the glass-like black stone and she ducked toward it and under Right's sword again. A rush and cartwheel forward took her beyond Right's reach, and her hand landed on the dagger blade as she moved. It sliced her hand, but at least she had the weapon back.

Her spin would have enticed the onlooking men, had any been in a mind to enjoy it. With a fan in one hand and the dagger in the other, she swung about and advanced. Her fan connected, but her blade missed.

Her opponent's did not. Right grinned sadistically at her. A very real dagger stuck out of her hip.

She forced herself to stay upright and pull another of Keegan's sutras from her pocket. She grappled Right, trying to force her way to him for a clean sutra position, but couldn't get through. The pain in her hip was as blinding as the cloth around her eye. An obscenity slid from her lips as she slapped the sutra against the creature's arm and whispered her favorite phrase. "Time to pay."