Cursed: Traitor's Trail

Chapter 11 part 1

Sweat trickled down Aya's forehead, each drop collecting dust and grime and concentrating it into tiny rivulets. It was a most irritating feeling. Not just that, but soon, she suspected, it would end up in her eyes. A concerning problem since she needed her vision just then. The sword she dodged and its wielder would not show mercy for sweat drippings.

“Focus,” Bane demanded harshly, and she tried not to flinch. It would not be encouraging for the other women she coerced into lessons to witness her cowering before the teacher she coerced into lessons. Instead, she doubled her efforts and forced her way beneath his downswing, slipping to the side just as the blade lost its force.

He nodded his approval. “A woman will rarely match a man for strength. Better to use speed and dodging. If you cannot be stronger, you must be faster, and clever. Use your surroundings to your advantage.”

Surroundings huh? The only things surrounding her were dust and rocks. Bane seemed to expect something though, and she was determined not to embarrass herself. When one pushes the vast importance of female fighting ability, one becomes responsible for leading by example; a factor she hadn't taken into account when she insisted on training. Not that she didn't appreciate learning something at last; she just would have preferred to learn alongside the other women instead of being the constant demonstration.

Focus. She reminded herself. Bane moved forward now; his blade poised to strike. She blocked a swing, jarring her elbow, and darted to his side. On his next blow, she threw herself to the ground, utilizing the roll he had forced them to practice a hundred times earlier in the lesson. She landed wrong, and pain shot through her shoulder, but she kept up the momentum and found her feet. Using the tip of the practice sword, she dug beneath a nearby stone and flung it toward him. The rock flew high, but true, toward his head. While he raised his blade to deflect, she dove for his legs, nearly tapping his calf with her sword. Too quick for her clumsy attempt, he blocked before she could touch him.

Of course he anticipated that. What else would she do with a stone? She tried to hide her disappointment, and the haunting thought that she was not quite adequate. If she faced a true enemy, he would have cut her down without building a sweat in battle. Learning the blade was good, but she wasn't learning fast enough.

Bane relaxed his stance and lowered his weapon.

“Good.” He tilted his head toward the stone.

The other women, at least, seemed to take an interest, eyeing the ground for objects to be used in battle. That was what she had intended, after all. What better way to prove her intent than to improve a fatal deficiency in the Magi's defenses? Like the clans they lacked the realization that training women would double their warriors in times of need.

Unfortunately, Kierra payed little attention to things going on outside of the healing tent. A few women visited the healer to tend to minor wounds from practice, but if any of them explained what Aya was doing, she either didn't care, or it didn't impress her.

Aya wiped away the sweat at last, but frowned when she noticed the woman in question striding in their direction, anger rolling forth from her movements like dust pushed forward in the wind. Aya, this time, was not the recipient of the healer's wrath; she turned and headed straight toward Jaob's tent. Something felt wrong. Aya looked to Bane. He had seen the healer, watching with the same impassive expression he often wore, but his bearing changed, tensed slightly.