Rise (24 page)

“When you have it in that position,” he said, “thrust it here.” He snatched the end and shoved it against the top portion of his stomach. I nodded, understanding that there was no reason to kill the guards with magic—they just needed to be rendered unconscious.

“If someone comes up behind you,” he said, moving around to my back, “you have a few options.” Something sharp poked me. “Pretend I have a dagger.”

Instinctively, I twisted to my left, dropping the branch while locking my left arm around his arm. With my right hand, I punched him, slammed my elbow into his face, and then pulled his body down, ramming my knee into him.

“Good job,” Anders squeaked, trying to right himself and catch his breath. “Do you always practice with so much enthusiasm?”

“Usually more.” When I sparred with my father, I struck with much more force.

“Your bo staff is unfortunately on the ground. Someone could grab it, and then where would you be?”

He had a valid point. Anders motioned for me to pick it up and turn around. “This time,” he said from behind me, “use your weapon.”

After I picked it up, his warm hands clutched my arms, just above my elbows, startling me. Since he was so close, I wasn’t sure how to disarm him.

“Pull it in vertically, next to your body,” his gruff voice spoke near my ear, sending chills down my spine. I did as he said. “Good. Now you’ll want to be quick so you have the element of surprise.” His deft hands slid up my arms to my shoulders, and he turned me around so we were face-to-face.

I blinked several times, surprised by the nearness of him.

“Angle it back, and jab me in the face.”

I angled it on the side of my body, and then pretended to ram the end into his chin. We stood there for a minute, staring at each other, neither one of us speaking.

Anders abruptly took a step back. “Excellent job,” he said. “You catch on quick.” He retrieved a longer stick from the ground. “Let’s go over some basic forms.”

We spent the rest of the day working on various ways to hold the bo staff, how to strike an opponent in order to cause the most damage, and thrusting techniques. He also showed me blocks, parrying, deflecting, and sweeping. By the time we’d gone over everything, my muscles ached, and the sky had already turned dark.

Anders told me I had three days to train. Then we were going to free the Krigers.

***

Early the next morning, I woke up before Anders and Vidar. Excited to work with my weapon again, I left the cave and climbed down the mountain to the forest floor. I breathed in the heady smell of the pine trees and listened to the sound of birds singing as the wind rushed through the leaves. I loved it out here and found the forest preferable to the overcrowded capital.

Grabbing the long stick from yesterday, I started going over the moves Anders had taught me. I closed my eyes, imagining it was an extension of my arms, and went through the various forms a couple of times. Comfortable with the movements, I started speeding them up, going faster and faster, the stick whipping through the air.

“Morlet should be scared,” Vidar said. “You look deadly—and that’s only a twig. Imagine what you’ll be like with your actual bo staff.”

I finished the form and held the branch still, not even winded. “Where’s Anders?”

“He’ll be here in a minute.” Vidar twirled a pine needle between his fingers. “If you want, I can teach you to control the weapon’s magic.”

I glanced at the charred tree. “I’m not quite ready for that yet.”

He threw the pine needle on the ground. “Of course you are.” He took my hand and led me over to a boulder where he ordered me to sit. “I’ve worked with all the Krigers,” he bragged, standing before me with my stick. “You should be able to feel you power humming through it. The key is using that power effectively.” He pretended to parry a blow and then pointed the stick at his imaginary attacker. “In this case, you could wound or kill, depending upon the amount of power you release.”

“How do I know how much that is?”

“With practice you’ll get it.” Vidar sat next to me on the boulder, still holding the stick. “You probably noticed the marking at the tip.” I nodded, recalling Grei Heks telling me it meant
choice
. “When you’re with the other Krigers fighting Morlet and your powers connect to one another, somehow that will play a factor.”

“What are the other markings?”

“Unity, direction, leadership, and strength—to name a few
.
”

What choice would I encounter during the fight? Would it be the ability to kill Morlet when the time came?

“Have you given any thought to my proposal?” Vidar fidgeted with the stick.

“No,” I admitted. “All of my time and energy is focused on rescuing the Krigers and defeating Morlet. Everything else can wait.”

“But Grei Heks said that all will be lost if we don’t produce an offspring.”

“Can we at least rescue the Krigers first? Once that’s done, I’ll consider it.”

He drummed the stick against the side of the rock. “Very few are lucky enough to marry for love. Marriages are political alliances, insurance policies, or money driven.” He threw the stick on the ground. “I want to end the curse and free Nelebek. I won’t take any chances of something going wrong.”

“I get that. But you must understand that I’ve only thought of you as a friend and not in any other capacity.”

A small smile spread across his face. “Is the thought of marrying me really so unappealing to you?”

“That’s not it. If Grei Heks says it will happen, then won’t it happen naturally?” Although, I couldn’t see our friendship developing into something more.

Vidar laughed, the sound bitter. “Kaia, there is nothing natural about the life I’ve lived for the past hundred years. No one is going to alter the course of my life again. I’m going to make sure things happen the way they’re supposed to from here on out. If that means we have to marry and have a child, so be it.” He stood and stormed away.

When I first discovered I was a Kriger, deep inside of me it felt right, as if a missing piece of my life was finally in place. The idea of marrying Vidar seemed as if I was falling over a cliff to a jagged, rocky valley below.

***

The rest of the morning, Anders and I practiced various moves. After a midday meal, we sparred with one another until I was comfortable using the bo staff in a fight. By changing my grip, I could tailor it for use in either close quarter or long-range combat. Before long, it felt like an extension of my limbs.

“You’re ready,” Anders said. “Tomorrow you’ll focus on connecting your power to the bo staff’s magic.”

With any luck, the task would come to me as easily as using the weapon had. I didn’t want to burn down half the forest in the process. Or worse, hurt someone.

“You need a break,” Anders said. “Are you up for a little adventure? Or would you rather head back to the cave?”

“I could use a little fun.” The idea of returning to the cave and facing Vidar wasn’t very appealing right now.

“Follow me.” We headed deeper into the forest, the trees becoming denser, blocking out the sunlight. The sound of pine needles swaying in the wind sounded all around us. After walking about half a mile, the trees abruptly ended, revealing a small lake. A fifteen-foot waterfall fed into it. The water flowed quickly, splashing through a narrow channel at the other end, dumping into a lake below.

Anders stripped off his leather vest, shoes, and socks while I did the same.

“Um,” he awkwardly said, running a hand through his hair. “Would you mind if I removed my undershirt? I don’t want to get it wet.”

Oh. The water was clear, and he wouldn’t be concealed. My body felt like it was suddenly next to a fire as heat coursed through me and my face turned red. The prospect of seeing him half-naked made me uneasy. If this were Vidar, would I feel the same way?

“Kaia?” he asked, waiting for my answer.

“No, I don’t mind.” I shouldn’t mind, couldn’t mind. This was Anders, an assassin, and Vidar’s best friend.

In one swift motion, he pulled his shirt above his head, tossing it to the ground near his boots. He went to the edge of the water, and the sun glistened off his back, exposing crisscrossed lines that permanently scarred his body. A sick feeling emerged in the pit of my stomach.

He dove into the water, surfacing a minute later. “It’s rather cold,” he said. “Definitely not fed by a warm spring.”

The image of his scars was seared into my mind. Did he get them from his years as a slave? Or when he trained to be an assassin? Or was it something else? I knew very little about him.

“Are you coming in? Or are you just going to stand there?” he asked.

I fidgeted with the end of my sleeve, shifting my body weight from foot to foot. “Turn around,” I demanded. Anders raised his eyebrows and complied. I removed my pants and jumped in the chilly water.

“Can I look now?”

“Yes.”

“What did you do?” he asked as he examined me. His eyes widened. “You don’t have pants on.”

“No.” I went under the water again. It was utterly clear and several fish swam by. I resurfaced and said, “Pants are hard to swim in.”

He shook his head, and then started swimming toward the shore.

“Where are you going?”

He grinned. “Wait and see.” After climbing out of the water, he headed into the cover of the trees. A few minutes later, he appeared at the top of the waterfall. I waved to him, and he jumped, plunging under the water. A moment later, he came up with a huge smile plastered across his face. “You should try it.”

It looked fun, but I didn’t want to climb up there with my bare legs exposed.

Sensing my hesitation, Anders taunted me, “What? Kaia—the mighty Kriger—afraid of heights?”

“Oh, please. It’s not that high.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

I bit my lip and glanced at my clothing sitting near the shore.

“You’re worried because you don’t have pants on?” I nodded. “Don’t forget, we’ve already bedded and swum naked together.” He winked.

Shock rolled through me—did Anders, the straight-laced assassin, just make a joke?

He laughed and swiped his arm on top of the water, splashing me in the face.

The episode at the brothel when he swatted my bottom, saying we’d just bedded, seemed like a lifetime ago. Same with the warm spring pool when we both swam utterly naked. I bit my bottom lip. Why was I so self-conscious now? Was it because back then we didn’t know each other?

“Kaia,” Anders gently said, swimming closer to me. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. We’re friends.” He placed his hand on my shoulder, sending a jolt of warmth through me.

Friends
. I mulled over that word, not quite sure how I felt about it. Well, since he only considered me a friend, then there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Taking a big breath, I swam to the bank and pulled myself out of the water.

After making sure my shirt covered my undergarments, I headed up the rise to the lake above and climbed in. The bottom was coated with slippery moss-covered rocks, so walking across them was slow going. At the top of the waterfall, there were several large boulders. I climbed on the one with the flattest surface.

Standing tall, the sun warmed my face, and the gentle wind caressed my skin. Freedom, peace, and contentment filled me.

“Jump!” Anders yelled.

I counted to three and jumped, my body falling through air and plummeting under the water. I swam to the surface. Anders’s warm, brown eyes were staring expectantly at me.

“You were right,” I said. “That was fun.” When was the last time I’d done something simply for the sake of enjoyment?

“Let’s do it together.”

“We should probably get back to the cave soon.” I didn’t want to have to climb up the mountain at night.

He got out of the water and stood, waiting for me. “This is the last jump, and then we’ll head back so you can rest. Tomorrow you’ll be harnessing your power, and that will take a lot of energy.”

Trying not to stare at his bare torso, I climbed out of the water. Anders led the way up the rise. I pulled my undershirt down and held my arms in front of me to ensure nothing could be seen through the thin, white fabric. We climbed into the smaller lake and made our way to the top of the waterfall.

We stood on the same boulder, side-by-side; our shoulders brushed. Anders was staring at me, his expression unreadable. The tips of his fingers touched the back of my hand, making me shiver. The setting sun shone behind him. His head leaned down ever so slightly.

And then he abruptly jerked back, blinking, as if suddenly realizing he’d been about to kiss me.

“Ready?” he asked, his voice gruff. I nodded, unable to speak. “On the count of three. One … two … three!” We jumped at the same time, diving into the water below.

When I surfaced, Anders was already afloat smiling at me. “Beat you.” He splashed water at me, diffusing the tension between us.

“Only because you weigh more.” I splashed water back at him, laughing.

“What are you two doing?” Vidar asked. He stood at the edge of the lake with his arms crossed, intently watching us. How long had he been there?

“We’re taking a break,” Anders answered. “Why don’t you join us?”

Vidar turned his attention to me. “I came to see how you were faring. Only, I couldn’t find you and feared you’d been kidnapped. Clearly, you’re doing just fine.” He turned to go.

I started swimming to the edge of the lake in order to run after Vidar so I could speak with him. However, Anders stopped me. “Let me talk to him.”

“Are you certain?”

“We’re best friends.” He climbed out of the water, grabbed his clothes, and chased after Vidar.

I ducked under the water, trying to clear the memory of my almost kiss with Anders. A few minutes later, my body shook from the frigid water, so I got out and put my clothes on, slowly making my way up the mountain. At the flat area outside the cave’s entrance, I paused and listened. Inside, Vidar and Anders were engaged in a heated discussion.

“You know I’ve proposed to her,” Vidar said.