The Way of the Sword and Gun (19 page)

"Kryssta," Fawbry said. "You really are like the legends."

Owl's keen ears heard light footstep approaching. He pointed at the doorway with his sword and brought a finger to his lips. Fawbry's eyes widened. He crouched behind the desk and waved Owl onward. Owl stepped closer to the doorway, raised his sword, and waited.

The footsteps halted a few feet before the door. Owl flexed his fingers and readjusted his grip. He cleared his mind, ignoring Fawbry, ignoring the pressure of trying to escape, ignoring the worries of what they had to accomplish. His mind thought of nothing but listening for any cue that the time to attack had arrived.

He heard breathing. Lowered his body. Readied to pounce.

The attack came so fast, Owl should have died. Only the fact that he had his sword positioned up saved him. It blocked the curved blade from severing his head. Curved blade?

"Malja?"

Malja slipped through the doorway, pulling Viper away. Her eyes took in the room and her shoulders let loose a little tension. "Good to see you alive. You, too, Fawbry."

The colorful robe waved from beneath the table. His head poked up just to the nose, just enough to look around. Then he stood with a huge grin. "Malja! Thank the brother gods."

"The code?" Owl asked.

"Of course she got the code," Fawbry said. "You really think she'd fail?" To Malja, he added, "You did get it, right?"

Flyer and grounder engines rumbled through the air. Horses whinnied. A deep voice yelled out commands.

"Damn," Malja said and peered out of the room.

"What's happening?" Fawbry said.

"Salia's leaving for the Library."

"But she needs us."

As Owl opened a drawer, removed two bullets, and loaded his gun, he shook his head. "She only needs blood. With us having escaped, she must have decided to use two other poor souls."

"Let's go," Malja said. "If we let her get to the Library, rescuing you two will have been pointless."

Following Malja into the hall, Fawbry said, "We're pointlessly fine, thanks."

Malja led them through several corridors, ducking them into an office while soldiers tramped by in the opposite direction. She led them with such brazen confidence that Owl understood how she had earned her reputation. It was more than just killing. She could be inspiring.

They entered a stairwell drenched in blood, and Owl had to rethink his image of Malja. Two gutted bodies had been draped over the railing, their gore dripped down several floors.

"Krig and Banrog," Malja said.

"Kryssta," Owl said, trying to picture the sheer animal nature in Malja.

As she led them down another hall, she said, "I warn you. It wasn't easy getting in here. The entrance has a lot more blood."

Owl took a few steps down the hall but stopped. His skin prickled. He knew without turning around that Brother X stood in the hall not too far behind.

"Fawbry, Malja," he said, his voice a steady rock. As they turned to face him, as he saw their reaction, he knew his senses had told him the truth. This time, however, he would not be afraid. He looked straight into Malja and said, "You and Fawbry must stop Salia. I will stay here and stop this man."

Malja walked up to him, and to his relief, she did not protest. Instead, she gave him an unusual looking handgun. "I brought you a little present from my trip."

Owl inspected the gun. He didn't understand a lot of what he saw, but he understood enough. "Thank you."

"Just be careful. It's a lot stronger than you think."

"So am I."

Fawbry closed in, keeping his eyes on Brother X. His lips quivered. "You don't have to do this."

"Salia has to be stopped, and you two can't do that with him in the way."

"But after all you've said—"

Owl tapped the side of Fawbry's head. "You were the one convincing me to not let failure destroy me."

"I didn't tell you to go crazy, though."

"You're wasting time. Go after Salia." Owl looked over his shoulder at Brother X who stood with his arms folded and his legs unwavering. "Live or die, I have to do this."

"Listen to me, please."

Malja took Fawbry's arm and spoke fast and quiet in his ear. Owl, though, still heard her. "If you want him to have a chance at living, stop weighing him down with your doubts." In a louder voice, she said, "We have to go."

As Malja and Fawbry rushed down the hall, Owl turned to face Brother X.

"You won't make it through alive this time," Brother X said with a smirk.

Owl bent his knees for balance. He raised his sword in his right hand and aimed his new gun with his left. He stared at Brother X with stoic eyes. He said nothing as he watched Brother X's cocky smirk falter.

Malja

The mass of grounders, flyers, and horses had gone. Not too far though — Malja still heard the rumbling convoy in the distance. The churned up ground made a distinct path that could be followed as did the sharp odor of the magic used to fuel the vehicles.

Two horses, saddled and ready to go, stood by a long hitching post.
Probably belonged to Krig and Banrog,
Malja thought. They wouldn't be returning.

"Looks like we're riding," Malja said as she picked the dappled gray. She unwound the reins and mounted up. Fawbry, however, hadn't moved. "What's wrong?"

Fawbry looked up at her, his face drained. "What am I going to do? I'm no fighter."

"You've been with me for over a year. After all we've done, you think you can't fight?"

"You fight. Tommy fights. I usher people out of the way. I sneak around back and get our enemies when they aren't looking. If I get on that horse and ride out with you, there's no place for what I do. All that'll happen is I'll get killed."

"We don't have time for this. Get on the horse."

"Go without me. I'm a liability."

"Get on the horse."

"Why do you care? You don't need me. Just go."

Malja dodged the idea of telling Fawbry about the things she had discussed with Tommy. Instead, she said, "At the least, you'll be my decoy. Especially in that robe."

"Very funny."

"Maybe this'll help," she said, offering the other gun she had brought back through the portal.

When he took the weapon, its weight surprised him, lurching forward. But when he regained his footing, he looked like a child getting a special reward. His eyes roamed the weapon.

"How does it work?" he asked.

"Don't know for sure. But like all guns, you pull the trigger and something goes boom. Just make sure the end with the hole is facing your enemy."

Ducking his head under the strap, Fawbry said, "Thanks."

Malja didn't respond. That she might have done this as some gesture more than needing another fighting body disturbed her. Besides, there were more important things to deal with at the moment. "Get on a horse and let's go."

"Right behind you," Fawbry said, and to her surprise, Malja found his words energizing.

Together, they galloped off toward the convoy.

Owl

Owl and Brother X stood still, their weapons poised and ready, their eyes locked on each other. Facing off in a corridor had its problems. The narrowness of the space meant Owl and Brother X couldn't circle each other. Nor could they come in straight and significantly alter direction at the last instant for a surprise flanking attack. Broad sweeping strikes were useless, too.

Owl had his feet set in a classic 'L' stance taught to him by Master Kee long ago — his feet balanced so that he could launch into an attack as easily as leap out of the way. He saw that Brother X chose a more aggressive posture — one that afforded him greater power when attacking but lacked the ability for a fast defense.

He pictured the fight. Brother X would leap forward, but Owl would jump to the side — and hit the wall and have a blade slice through his back. Owl shifted his feet and lowered his body. This position slowed his offense (he'd have to raise his body a bit before he could move forward effectively) but it meant he could withstand Brother X's frontal assault without evasion or falling to the ground.

In reaction, Brother X changed his stance. He took on a straighter pose, almost standing, designed for a fast overhead strike. Owl altered slightly to accommodate.

In this way, the two battled without striking. Each shifted to a new stance only to be countered by the other. As they stared at each other, as they planned out the battle before it occurred, any one mistake would leave a deadly opening.

Owl controlled his breathing. He had to stay calm. Once, he had the privilege of watching two Masters spar like this. It lasted two hours — only one strike. The losing Master fell to the ground and was rushed to the infirmary.

As Owl mentally prepared for a long fight, both he and Brother X stepped into the same beginner's stance. They both recognized it at the same time. Both dashed ahead.

The clash of blades rang throughout the corridor as they passed each other. Two distinct hits — one high, one low — both blocked. They whirled around. Owl set in a defensive posture in case Brother X hurried into another attack. Brother X, however, would not be so foolish. He took on a simple fighting stance, and their face off began again.

This time was different. Owl's arms shook from the jolt of Brother X's attack. Twice before Owl had faced this man, but this time, the strikes came in faster and harder. Brother X had been toying with him earlier.

As they shifted into new positions, Owl watched his enemy's gun hand. In the Way, a fighter fired his weapon only 
either when facing multiple enemies or when the sword failed. With only two shots, each bullet had to be considered precious. Owl glanced at the gun Malja had provided. How many bullets did it hold?

His eyes had only checked his gun for less than a second, but that was too long. When he looked up, Brother X was upon him. Owl raised his sword, deflecting the incoming blade but not with any control. Brother X's blade slid across Owl's, jumped the hilt, and took off Owl's index finger. Brother X leaped by and rolled forward. As Owl turned around, Brother X finished his roll, spun back, and aimed with his gun.

Owl's finger screamed, but he made no sound. He regained his focus. He saw Brother X's trigger finger move. As the bullet ripped into the air, Owl let his body drop backward, and he watched the bullet sail above him — where his head had just been.

Popping back to his feet, Owl whipped his new handgun forward and shot. The enormous bang deafened him. The sheer force of the weapon shoved Owl's arm to the side, destroying any aiming he had attempted.

On the wall, a hole the size of a fist opened next to Brother X's shoulder. Brother X looked at the smoking hole and then at the weapon. For the first time, Owl thought he saw a flash of uncertainty. He shot again.

This time, Owl was prepared for the powerful recoil. His aim, for Brother X's chest, did not waver. Brother X raised his sword to take the bullet — something a common swordsman could never accomplish — but a true Master of the Way was no common swordsman. The bullet struck the sword, sending sparks off to the sides, and pushing Brother X back.

"That's two," Brother X said.

Owl pulled the trigger again. A third bullet shot out and Brother X's shocked eyes gave Owl great satisfaction. Brother X deflected this bullet too, but he fell to one knee in order to absorb the powerful shock.

A fourth bullet blasted out. Owl's arm shook to the bone and his wounded side burned, but he held firm despite the pain. Brother X blocked again, the shower of sparks flickering against the sweat damping his face.

Owl shot a fifth bullet. Brother X missed a clean block. He changed the bullet's trajectory away from his heart, but it still cut through his gun arm, spraying the corridor with blood.

Owl raised the gun to aim at Brother X's forehead. He focused all his energy on holding that gun still. "This is for Chief Master," he said and pulled the trigger.

Beeeeeeeeeep

The long tone coming from the gun was matched with a red light. Both Owl and Brother X stared at the gun, unsure of what the sound meant. Before Owl could realize that it didn't matter, what mattered was that the gun no longer fired, Brother X lunged from his crouched position, his sword leading the way.

Owl batted the blade away. Brother X's face was as red as his clothes. Sweat and spit flew off him as he barraged Owl with one sword strike after another. He grunted and shouted. Owl stepped back with each attack, doing his best to defend, never getting a chance to counter the attacks.

"You're pathetic," Brother X said and sent his blade after Owl's neck. Even as Owl blocked it, Brother X tried to redirect his attack lower to the shoulder. "You can't even kill me with five bullets."

Their swords clashed and the sheer force behind Brother X's blows pressed Owl against the wall. Brother X spun his gun sideways and held it by the back end. He thrust the weapon at Owl's neck, the move intended to damage Owl's throat while pinning him against the wall.