Faith and Moonlight (3 page)

“The spirits of all the Razors before us are out there.
Including my dad.”

Kay shook her head slightly. She had heard Pamalia talk
about energy and spirits, but now it was real. It was as though they were all
there, the legends and heroes of the great stories. They were all out there.
Watching. Waiting.

Waiting for her to be worthy.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a bell tolling in the main
school hall. In the far distance, across the expanse of Crucis, other bells
joining the song. They came from the directions of the other Razor schools.

Erik got to his feet. “School’s out for the day,” he said.
“And it’s time for some fun. Come on, let’s go and get Roan.”

“What is it?” Kay asked, watching the other students moving
around. “Where are we going?”

Erik grinned.

“We’re going to Ascension.”

Erik led Kay and Roan toward the center of the
district. As they neared the area’s heart, the narrow streets filled with
students mobbing every food stall.

There was clamor and rattling as two students on a rooftop
settled a broad wooden board into place, bridging the gap between buildings. On
other rooftops, the same thing was happening. As she watched, an entire level
took shape above their heads. All around, the murmur of students rose to a
greater pitch, fueled by their shared excitement. Uniformed students abandoned
the streets in droves, scrambling into the heights above.

Erik led them up a wooden ladder affixed to a building.

Set against the blazing red of the setting sun, the
students gathered on rooftops. A hum of anticipation colored the air and made
Kay thrum with its energy. Tall poles held unlit lanterns. Students climbed up
with torches, and, one by one, the lanterns came to life.

The towering forms of the five great Razor schools loomed
in the distance. The section closest to each school was packed with the colored
capes of their own school, and everywhere students talked and laughed.

“What took you so long?” a voice asked.

Kay turned to see Lillarn and Sabine approaching across the
rooftop. Both carried wrapped packages of food that smelled incredible, and Kay
realized how famished she was. As they sat beside one of the chimneys, the
rooftop world grew into vibrant life.

The closest rooftops were filled with students wearing the
white cloth mantles of Faith. A small knot of these students had laid claim to
a higher roof off to the right of where Kay sat.

“Who are they?” Kay asked.

“Hmm?” Erik said. “Oh. Those are the Royals.” There was a
slight edge to his voice.

“Royals?” Kay asked. “They’re connected to the king?”

“No, but they all act like they are.” Erik shook his head.
“The name has nothing to do with blood. They call themselves the Royals because
they’re the best.”

Kay tilted her head. “At what?”

“At everything,” Erik replied. “They were the youngest to
pierce the veil. They are consistently the top of the class rankings. And they
all believe that being a Royal means they are destined to be future Grand
Tournament champions.”

A young man wearing a blue mantle and a round shield slung
over his back walked up to the Royals. Everyone stopped talking as the young
man said something to one of them and then pointed across the rooftops. One of
the Royals stood up, smoothed out his white cape, and followed the young man in
blue. The other Royals followed close behind.

Sabine sighed. “The Royals are wasting no time tonight, are
they?”

“It was the one in the blue cloak who approached them
first,” Roan said.

“The Aegis issued the challenge?” Sabine said. “Ha! One of
the Royals must have really been an ass today.”

Kay was wide-eyed, taking everything in. “So the blue capes
are all Aegis?”

Erik gestured to one of the towering schools in the
distance. “Yup, that’s Aegis over there. You can always tell an Aegis even
without the blue mantle, though. They’re the ones carrying shields around all
the time.”

The Aegis who had approached the Royals stepped into the
center of the roof and pulled a round shield off his back. He drew a wooden
sword and held it ready. Other Aegis students backed to the edge of the
rooftop. The Royal the Aegis had challenged stepped into the center space while
drawing his own practice blade and giving it a few test swings.

“They’re going to duel,” Roan said, standing to get a
better view.

“Yup,” Erik said. “First of the night.”

Lillarn opened one eye and yawned. “Who is it for us?”

“Royce Lanquinn,” Sabine said with a sneer.

Lillarn closed his eye once more. “Ugh. I hope blue boy
puts that shield of his to good use and knocks old Royce down to the cobbles.”

“But he’s a member of your own school!” Kay exclaimed.

“Yes, my sweet girl, but he is also what is commonly
referred to as an ass.” Lillarn said. “Sabine used to know most of them when
they were younger.”

“That was a long time ago,” Sabine said, pushing her red
hair out of her face. “They’re all different now.”

“What she really means is that she tossed the Royals aside
when she fell under the spell of my wit and charm,” Lillarn said.

Sabine gave Lillarn a playful slap on the shoulder, but Kay
could see in her eyes how much she cared for the tall boy. It dawned on Kay
that the two were a couple. Her blush of embarrassed ignorance soon gave way to
a wide smile.

On the other rooftop, the first exchange of blows signaled
the fight was under way. As the two combatants engaged, Kay felt a tingle of
electricity, like a coming thunderstorm. The sensation thrilled her.

The Aegis turned aside the Royal’s first strike, then
lunged in with a thrust. It caught the Royal along the ribs, making the white
cape flutter. There was a surge of energy, and the Royal swung his sword above
the shield’s rim and caught the Aegis on the shoulder. The blow sent the young
man sprawling. Royals cheered and howled.

The Aegis slowly regained his feet, favoring his injured
shoulder, then removed his blue cloak and handed it to the victorious Royal.
Royce tossed the cape back to his friends as he rejoined them, and they clapped
and cheered.

Roan frowned. “If you’re defeated, you lose your cape?”

Sabine nodded. “Your school mantle is the stakes you put up
in a duel. You lose, the winner gets it till twelve bells. Then you gotta go
get it back.”

“And they’ll just give it back to you?” Kay asked.

“Not exactly,” Erik said. “You’ll have to endure some talk
first, but then, yes, they’ll hand it over.”

As Erik spoke, more electric feeling built around Kay. Now
that the sun had set, duels broke out across the rooftops. A girl in a red
mantle swung two practice blades savagely against a green-caped young man,
driving him to his knees. Three roofs over, a boy in a dark purple mantle
scrambled and flipped around a rooftop, swinging a circular blade in dizzying
motions while a tall young man in red tried to close in.

The rooftops had become a second world, separate and
distinct from the streets below. Here, the night belonged to students. There
was a beauty and a majesty to everything that captivated Kay’s attention and
took her breath away.

A swirl of bright white caught the corner of Kay’s eye and
she turned. Erik held his faded and frayed cloak loosely around his practice
sword.

Erik grinned. “It’s tradition. First night at Ascension for
any new student, it’s considered good luck if you fight.” He turned the cape in
his hand, so the hilt of the covered sword extended toward Kay.

“Me?” Kay said, staring at the offered blade.

“Well, you first. Then Roan,” Erik said. He gestured with
the sword and cape once more. “It’s good luck,” he repeated with a broader
smile while waving the hilt in front of her eyes.

Kay wiped her hands clean before accepting the cloak and
sword. She assumed just how important the faded cape was. “I’ll take good care
of it, Erik,” she said, getting to her feet.

Erik’s grin widened and Sabine cheered, moving to Kay’s
side.

Lillarn laughed and walked to the rooftop’s edge. “Fresh
meat for the grinder, boys and girls!” he yelled into the night. “Faith has a
first-nighter who needs to taste a Razor’s edge!”

From the rooftops nearer the other schools, other voices
called in response. “Send ‘em this way!” yelled a voice from the direction of
the red-draped students. “We’ll make it fast and clean!” came a response from
Aegis, the students with the blue mantles. More calls came amidst cheers and
laughter.

Kay blanched at the invites, but Erik gave her a reassuring
smile. “It’s a real enough fight, just like any other here at Ascension, but
don’t worry. No one expects you to win, or even do well.”

“That’s encouraging,” Kay said as Sabine helped drape
Erik’s mantle over her shoulders.

Erik hid his wry grin behind his hand. “Looks like Lillarn
has found you a suitable opponent.”

Lillarn was talking to a young man in a green cape. Sabine
and Erik led Kay across a series of wooden planks to them. She felt her heart
hammering in her chest as she stepped onto the selected flat roof.

“My dear Kay,” Lillarn said theatrically. “Normally, you
would issue challenge, but in this case, I have done so on your behalf. For
your first fight, I have found you a most valiant and esteemed opponent here in
Deram. He’s a Torrent, but don’t hold it against him.” The boy with the green
mantle smiled and gave a deep, dramatic bow. “And not to worry,” Lillarn
continued, “for though he is a Torrent, I can assure you, he is the slowest of
them all.”

At that, a chorus of
ooohs
rang out while assembled
Torrents laughed and shouted at their friend.

Deram smiled. “You know, Lillarn’s just bitter because he
tried to join Torrent, but we turned him down, so he had to settle for Faith.”
More laughter rolled over the growing audience. “Not too late for you, though,
if you’re looking to change schools.”

“Thank you, but I think I’ll take my chances with Faith,”
Kay said.

Deram sighed. “Suit yourself,” he said and pulled out two
short practice blades. He held the blades easily, swinging them through the air
to loosen up.

Erik winked at Kay and intoned, “Challenge issued by a
blade of Faith. Accepted by a blade of Torrent. This is a duel of glory. The
eyes of history are upon you. Prove your worth.” As he spoke, Erik raised an outstretched
arm between the combatants. All those assembled, Faith and Torrent, fell
silent.

Erik dropped his arm and the duel began.

Kay felt a wave of force flow from Deram. Then, almost as
soon as she felt the sensation, he moved. Before she could raise her blade to
block, he made contact. The countless strikes landed across arms, shoulders,
legs, abdomen, and the top of her head.

Deram was a blur of black jacket and shining metal. Kay’s
legs gave way and she fell back, the grit of the rooftop pressing into her. The
fight had barely lasted a moment and she had not even swung her sword.

Kay looked to Deram in front of her. He had sheathed his
practice blades and was offering an outstretched hand. As she grasped his hand,
he pulled her up and the surrounding students erupted into cheers.

Deram raised Kay’s arm in the air and yelled into the
night, “An aspirant has been blooded!”

The group cheered louder. This time, cheers sounded from
all around Ascension, drifting through the night. Cheers for her.

Kay smiled widely as Sabine and Lillard came over.

Sabine gave her a big hug. “You did great!” Sabine said.
Even Roan smiled.

Lillarn handed Kay a bottle of water. She unplugged the
stopper and drank thirstily. Her body was sore, but she knew he had gone easy
on her, and she was glad of it.

Kay fingered the bruises on her arms with a wince and then
caught Roan’s eye and smiled. “Your turn,” she said.

“That’s right. You’re next, Roan,” Sabine said.

Roan held up a hand. “No. That’s alright.”

Sabine looked surprised, and obvious disappointment painted
Lillarn’s face. “Oh come on. Tradition and all that,” he said.

“Tradition?” Erik cut in. “You sure you don’t want him to
fight so you can place a bet?”

“So I can win a bet,” Lillarn corrected. “I think against
the right opponent, he could last a full twenty or so seconds.”

Roan shot him a look.

Lillarn pointed at Roan’s face. “Ooh! Or even thirty. Come
on!” he implored. Erik and Sabine laughed, and Roan’s face softened at
Lillarn’s antics.

Kay moved closer to Roan. “Your turn,” she repeated with a
challenging grin. He wouldn’t be able to refuse for long. She knew him too
well; knew he’d take the bait. And really, it hadn’t been so bad, being bested
so quickly.

Roan looked at her for a long moment and sighed. “Okay,” he
said.

Lillarn cheered and removed his white cape. “You got a
preference for your poison, Roan?” he asked.

When Roan shook his head, Lillarn handed him the cape and
his own practice sword and then took off across the rooftops, shouting, “Faith
has a second offering to Ascension tonight!”

Kay walked by Roan’s side, following Erik and Sabine.

Sabine pointed to a nearby rooftop where Lillarn was
talking to a group of students wearing dark purple mantles. “Looks like he
found you something fun, Roan. Those are Vertigos,” Sabine said.

Erik chuckled and shook his head. “Leave it to Lillarn.”

“What do you mean?” Kay asked. “How are Vertigos
different?”

“Where Torrents are known for their speed, Vertigos are
known for being unconventional when they fight.”

“Let me put it this way,” Sabine said, “the last time I
fought a Vertigo, he was a big brute swinging a long-bladed axe.” She tilted
her head. “And in the fight, he never swung that axe once. But I was kicked in
the head more times than I can even begin to count.”

“That makes no sense,” Kay said. “Why would he kick you if
he had the axe?”

Both Erik and Sabine laughed. “Because he’s a Vertigo,”
Sabine said.

As if on cue, Lillarn gestured for them to come closer.

“Good luck,” Kay said with a grin.

As Roan and the Vertigo moved to their respective sides of
the rooftop, a murmur drew Kay’s attention. The Royals, white capes reflecting
the light of lanterns, were approaching. At their head was a tall young man
with blonde hair and hard eyes. His attention never left Roan.

“What is Gideon playing at?” Erik asked. “This is just
blooding an aspirant. Well below him.”

“Who’s Gideon?” Kay asked in a hushed tone.

“The top fighter in our class,” Lillarn said, his earlier
excitement gone. “And he makes damn sure people know it.”