Himiko: Warrior (13 page)

"It's not as if I would have a chance to..." Matt stopped abruptly.
You don't?

No. This isn't your mess; you have no obligation to get us out of it.
There was nothing but conviction in Pietr's mind.

Is this some weird kind of reverse psychology?
Matt narrowed his eyes.

Himika can't do that. I just don't think this is your responsibility; you've been through enough.

Matt felt the air going out of him at the compassion and honesty in Pietr's mind. He sat down next to his mate, taking Pietr's hand.
But what about the people in the demonstration next week? What if the Assessor finds a way to use Sam and Jerry -- or Aki -- to get what he wants?

I don't want to put you through this.

Pietr's honesty meant that Matt got a clear image of what Matt's refusal to help would cost Pietr: His peace of mind at best. His life at worst. And the latter was a very strong possibility.

Matt stared at his mate in shock.
The Assessor's that strong?
He shook his head; he already knew that.
He's that malicious? He'd really do that?

He'd really do that. Back at the clinic, you experienced how easily he violated the most fundamental principle of the Himika -- never to force your way into someone's mind. At the meeting yesterday, he was determined to find a solution that would keep him in power. I think he'd do whatever it takes.

For once, Matt wished he didn't get all these associations when Himika spoke to him using their minds. The images that followed Pietr's thoughts were horrible.

"But it doesn't make sense." Matt tried one last time. "There are still so many more humans than Himika. If he won this one time, he would still be defeated sooner or later."

"I'm not sure. And how many human lives will it take, even if you're right?"

Matt didn't answer. There was a horrible logic to everything his mate said. He stood up and went inside without looking back to see if Pietr was following him.

"Why do you think I can beat him?" Matt had interrupted a quiet conversation, and the four Himika looked up at him. "I know that I can hold my own against you and Jerry," he nodded at Sam, "but that's nothing compared to the Assessor. No offense."

"None taken." Jerry shrugged.

"You can hold your own against me, too." Aki spoke quietly.

"And me." Pietr had come in from the garden and was standing right behind him.

"Yes, but still."

Sam didn't seem to have heard Matt's last words. "He can match you?" The Warrior was looking from Pietr to Aki, shock on his face. They both nodded.

"Yes, but they're just ordinary Himika -- they're not the Assessor."

To Matt's consternation, Sam started laughing, a deep belly laugh. "Oh, no, Matt. They're not ordinary." He made a visible effort to pull himself together. "Your mate and your mentor are probably the two strongest Himika on this planet, except for the Assessor. If you can match them, then we have a real chance of success."

"What if he can do that -- and more, too? Does he have a chance then?" Aki asked.

Matt could feel the thoughts churning in Aki's mind.

"God, you're thinking harder than a fox outside of a chicken yard." Matt just couldn't help teasing him.

"You see?" Aki looked meaningfully at Sam.

Matt just looked from one to the other, confused. Sam seemed to decide to take pity on him.

"You're not supposed to be able to do that, Matt."

"I'm not eavesdropping," Matt protested. He had learned how to be polite.

"No, you're not, and that's why it's extraordinary that you still do it." Sam looked back at Aki.

"What do you mean?" None of this made much sense to Matt.

Sam didn't get a chance to answer before Aki started speaking. "He can do this thing -- like he's uniting Pietr and me with him." Aki reached out an arm for him and pulled Pietr in close, too. Matt instantly felt their connection.

Sam took a step backward. "Jesus, Matt!" He quickly recovered, though. "Can you shield all three of you, too?"

"Sure." This was really easy for Matt by now; he had had so much time to experiment on their business trips that it was a piece of cake to include Aki in it. "I can even make us into three dumb humans -- watch this."

He fiddled with the shield until only a very limited part of their personalities peeked out.

"Fuck!" Jerry looked astounded, but recovered quickly. "Can you use their power, too?"

Matt thought for a moment. "Like this?" He drew on his mate and his mentor and pushed the door to close it. It slammed so hard that it broke off the top hinges and swung back, dangling precariously. It was torn apart down the middle, the edge of the split fringed with splinters of light wood.

"Uh, I guess so?"
I think we need a new door, Pietr.

"This might work." Sam looked at them and then at Jerry. "This might fucking work."

Matt was very tempted to point out that it would have been more reassuring if Sam had thought this from the beginning, but he was soon absorbed in trying to do all the different things that Sam ordered him to. They weren't too difficult, and since he drew on the energy of three people instead of one, he didn't tire at all. Sam finally nodded.

"I think we can do this. We'll need to practice a lot before next week, but we can do it.
You
can do it, Matt."

Matt still hesitated, the enormity of the task warring with his easy mastery of the things Sam had asked him to do.

Then he thought back to what Pietr had refused to tell him before. If he didn't do this, there was a very real chance that his mate would be forced to do unspeakable things; things that would break Pietr, things that Pietr would never recover from. The decision was easy after Matt realized that.

"I'll do it."

8

Sam and Jerry insisted on beginning Matt's training right away. He would have to do the first part of it alone -- or rather, it didn't make any difference if Pietr and Aki were connected to him or not during his first exercises. They gave him power, but it was up to Matt to learn how to use it. So he left Pietr, Aki, and Robbie at the cabin to do more research while he went with the two Warriors down to the oak tree to practice.

The first tasks were easy, very much like what he had been practicing for so long here: pushing cones around, breaking branches, and splitting fallen tree trunks. However, they quickly moved past that.

"Take this." Sam threw a fallen branch at him, and Matt caught it just before it would have hit him in the head. He raised his eyebrows, but Sam just grinned. "You have to be on your toes." The Himiko found another branch and weighed it in his hands. Then he nodded.

"You ever played pirates when you were a kid? With swords and stuff?" Sam asked as he looked inquiringly at Matt.

Matt nodded. "Sure."

"Good. Pretend the branches are swords." Without any further warning, Sam used the branch to try to hit Matt in the head. It was only because Matt ducked that he didn't get his face smashed in.

"No, use the branch to defend yourself." Sam didn't seem even a little sorry that he had almost sent Matt to the hospital. On the contrary; before Matt could answer, he struck again.

This time, Matt managed to get his branch up, and the strike jarred his hands and shoulder, reminding him that he had several recently healed fractures.

"Jesus! Will you relax?" The anger was building in him.

Sam didn't apologize, just struck at him again. Matt tried to keep up, but Sam was a lot bigger and stronger than he was, and he was forced to retreat until he had his back against a tree. He desperately tried to avoid the blows, but in the end, he stumbled and half-fell on the ground, putting his hands up in surrender.

"Stop! Please." He fought to breathe.

"So, how do you like being on your knees?" Sam was grinning.

"Fuck you!" Matt jumped back up and grabbed his make-believe sword, taking a swing at Sam.

Sam easily avoided it and made a riposte that Matt only barely managed to block. Then another, and another, and Matt was driven backward once again, until Sam swung his branch in a low stroke that swiped the legs out from under Matt.

He hit the ground hard enough to be completely winded, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. Then Jerry was there, lifting his waist, and that forced the air back into his lungs. He gasped, so grateful to be able to breathe again, and Jerry carefully lowered him to the ground. He rolled to his stomach, trying to collect himself enough to get up.

"You don't like that much, do you?"

With a roar, he got up and went for Sam's throat. Sam did a quick move, and then he was on the ground again, only this time with Sam's knee in his back and his right arm wrenched at an angle it wasn't supposed to be in.

"That's one way of doing it. How do you think it's working for you?"

Matt tried to twist out of Sam's grip, but that only made it feel like his arm was about to come off. In the end, he was forced to answer.

"It doesn't, okay? Fuck you!"

Sam slowly moved and let go of his arm, rubbing his sore shoulder. Matt scrambled to sit up, scowling at Sam.

"Good. Then make a fucking effort. You can either keep losing, or I can teach you something that'll improve your chances of winning. What will it be?"

Matt sent Sam a glare. He had been making an effort.

"I asked you a question."

"Teach me, you asshole!"

Sam nodded, seeming completely unperturbed. And not nearly as out of breath as Matt, which wasn't good for Matt's confidence.

"All right, get up."

Matt grudgingly complied, catching the stick when Sam threw it at him.

"Now I want you to imagine that the stick is an extension of your power, like energy flowing out of your body and into it."

"What is this, fucking
Star Wars
?"

"What?"

"
Star Wars
. Lightsabers, you know?"

Sam looked uncomprehendingly at him.

"The movie!"

Sam shrugged. "Sorry, don't know it."

Jerry rumbled in the background. "I do, and I can't believe why humans picked up all of the most violent things from us."

Matt turned to him, incredulous. "And you're saying that while you're teaching me how to fight that psychotic leader of yours?"

"Huh. You got a point." Jerry sat down again, resting against a tree and looking as if this lesson was great entertainment.

"Well, white sabers or not..."

"Lightsabers."

Sam rolled his eyes. "I don't care about the fucking sabers. I just want you to use the stick as an extension of your power. Like this." He stood next to Matt -- which went a long way toward reducing Matt's fear of being whacked over the head any minute -- and reached out with the stick. It began sort of vibrating, and he swung it even faster than he had been able to before.

Imitating him seemed like the only way to survive psychopath Sam, so Matt followed the Himiko's orders. In the beginning, nothing happened.

"Stretch out your mind, all the way to the tip of your stick," Sam instructed him after a few fruitless tries. "I can show you if you want."

Matt had absolutely no wish to have Sam inside his mind, so he stared at the stick and tried harder. It still didn't work, and he huffed and cursed the damn thing. It moved slightly.

"Yes, like that. Do it again."

Matt had no idea what he had actually done, but he tried pushing at the stick again. It swerved through the air, and he almost managed to knock himself over with it.

"And now less suicidally, please."

Matt ground his teeth and told himself not to kill Sam. The instruction worked, though, or maybe it was his anger energizing him. Whatever the reason, within a few minutes, he could move the stick around. It felt strange transferring his mental energy that way in the beginning, like having some of his intestines on the outside of his body. Jerry made a disgusted noise when Matt informed the Himiko of that observation.

"Okay, now try a basic defense. I won't move too fast." For once, Sam was considerate enough to move his own stick down in a slow attack. Matt blocked it effortlessly.

"Good! Now, let's try a bit more." They moved back and forward, the slow dance gradually turning into something resembling their earlier fight. Only this time, Matt had a real chance of keeping up. Sam might be bigger and stronger, but mentally, Matt could hold his own against him. It was almost fun, enough that he got careless and dropped his stick when he poured too much energy into it.

"You can't control it unless you touch it..." Sam stared as Matt reached out his hand for the stick, picking it up without touching it.

"Guys, time for a break." Jerry interrupted them, handing out sodas and power bars.

Matt hadn't noticed how tough the workout was before now, but he gratefully took the snacks from Jerry and sat down. He was still scowling at Sam, but his teacher seemed completely oblivious to it, and reluctantly, Matt had to admit that he was learning a lot. And learning fast; apparently, learning by doing worked better for him than long explanations. Even though it would have been nice if "doing" didn't equal "defend yourself against a raving madman."