Warrior (2 page)

princess—to be rolling in the muck

with squires, but Wilhelm easily cast

the argument aside. He was only too

happy to indulge his daughter, who

liked swords, daggers, and jousting

battles.

Before

long

the

stable

hand

reappeared with the mounting block

and a few steps later, Jaisyn sat atop a

rearing Ajax.

She wasted no time in bringing the

animal under control and with a quick

nod to the boy, headed through the

throng

of

bodies

packing

the

courtyard, spurring her horse in the

direction of the Old Lands. It was also

the field made host to the current

battle.

The patter of the rain and the

pounding of Ajax’s hooves as he

raced forward made it difficult for

Jaisyn to pick up other sounds. When

her ears finally locked in on the sound

of approaching hooves, the rider was

almost upon her.

Jaisyn spun Ajax and drew her

sword, tilting her body forward and

tensing her legs about the horse’s

girth. Through the rain, she saw what

appeared to be a gray horse coming

toward her, its rider covered, like her,

in armor. Her grip tightened around

the sword, just as her father had

taught her, and as she prepared to dig

her heel into Ajax and urge him

forward, the rider removed his helmet

and called her name angrily. Wet

golden hair, without its usual bounce,

stuck to his forehead and the sides of

his face.

Stephen!

Her younger brother brought his

horse to a stop and glared at her.

“You cannot fight, Jaisyn. Father

said so. You will return to the castle at

once,”

he

commanded

with

a

pompousness that bespoke his place

as the heir.

“Go back, Stephen!”

It was one thing for her to be riding

out to the battle, but Stephen, who

was barely fourteen and not as skilled

with weapons, was going nowhere

near a battlefield if so long as she

drew breath. And especially not on

Lulu, Jaisyn’s mare, who wasn’t

battle-tested.

“No!” Stephen’s voice shook slightly

but he lifted his head and glared down

his nose at her. “You have to listen to

me, Jaisyn. Father left me in charge,

and you must do as I say!”

Jaisyn would have scoffed if the

situation weren’t so serious. They

were only a few miles from the Old

Lands, and if the battle had already

started, it could very well be moving in

their direction.

“Listen to me, Stephen. Return to

the castle. I will be fine. I’m going to

help father defend our kingdom.”

When Stephen only pursed his lips

further and narrowed his eyes, she

tried another tactic. “Isolde and Matty

must be frightened without you

there.”

Although he was easily the greatest

pain in places ladies supposedly never

mentioned, Stephen took his role as

the future head of the family seriously.

He’d always been protective, but that

had

only

increased

after

their

mother’s death. After the queen’s

funeral, Wilhelm had taken him aside.

To this day, Jaisyn didn’t know what

was said but whatever it was had

created the Stephen before her now.

Golden eyes flashed as her brother

glared at her for the space of long

heartbeats before returning the helmet

to his head.

Jaisyn sighed with relief and waited

for him to turn Lulu around, but he

did no such thing. Instead, he urged

her forward at a trot. Horrified, Jaisyn

turned Ajax, and chased after him.

The faster animal caught up quickly.

“Stephen! Stephen, what are you

doing?” she demanded, riding abreast

and trying to grab for his reins.

“Stop it, Jassy,” Stephen threw at

her, gripping the reins tightly. “If

you’re going to fight, then I will fight

as well. It’s my duty to protect you.”

If not for the fact that he was sitting

on a horse, Jaisyn would have

thrashed him. It had been months

since she’d given in to the urge but

she did not doubt she still could. In a

few months time, Stephen might be

taller than she, but he required skill.

Like their father, Stephen was more

intellectual than warrior. Although

he’d had the same training, her

brother had little interest in the sword,

or any other weapon. What he lacked

there, he more than made up for in his

studies. Jaisyn could no more list the

politics of all the Eastern kingdoms

than Stephen could skewer her with

sword.

“Fine! Fine!” Jaisyn bit out, noticing

they were nearing the line of

blackened earth which marked the

entrance to the ruins of the Old Lands.

The tall trees around them would soon

fall away, giving way to the barren

ground upon which the battle raged.

“We’ll go back. Are you listening to

me, Stephen?”

Stephen allowed his horse to

continue a few more paces before he

reined her in and turned to face

Jaisyn. She knew that under the

helmet, he was beaming. She was

going to take pleasure in thrashing him

when they returned.

Jaisyn turned Ajax and heeled him

into a slow canter, waiting for Stephen

to bring Lulu alongside the stallion.

“Give Lulu her head.” Her voice

was low, but firm, her eyes narrowing

when her brother paused a second too

long to comply. Just when it seemed

like Stephen would comply, a loud

battle cry rose around them and the

sound of steel hitting steel rushed their

ears.

Stephen, instead of doing as she

asked, turned to the sound. Feeling

the cold clasp of fear for the very first

time in her young life, Jaisyn briefly

looked back as she yelled, “Now,

Stephen! Go!”

Aware now of the seriousness of

their situation, Stephen leaned further

over Lulu and the mare began to run.

Jaisyn did the same, and Ajax sped

along beside Lulu.

They’d passed the first stone

archway marking the path to St. Ives

Castle when Jaisyn heard the raucous

sound of male voices behind them.

Her heart stilled for the fraction of a

second, before it began a hard

thundering. There were still two more

archways to pass, which meant they

were nowhere near the castle. Even

the outriders would be unable to see

them. A peek over her shoulder

revealed the soldiers were gaining on

them. She made a decision.

“Oh sweet Goddess,” she intoned in

fear. “Faster, Stephen!”

Lulu wasn’t as fast as Ajax but the

mare sped up as if knowing the

direness of the situation.

“Keep going, Stephen!”

Jaisyn brought Ajax to a halt and

turned him, prepared to meet whoever

was coming after them. Her sword

screeched as she removed it from her

scabbard and held it above her head.

“Jaisyn!” She heard Stephen scream

but the adrenaline was rushing

through her body. She waited until she

could make out a body, a massive

giant with an equally large sword held

high. He reminded her of a demon

from Pantalus, the mythical realm for

all evil. As he continued to charge her,

Jaisyn steeled herself, screamed her

battle cry, and urged Ajax forward.

They met midway and the ringing

sound of steel on steel could be heard

for miles. It was a dance of death, as

the horses circled each other and their

masters attacked and retreated, each

searching out the weakness of the

other. Jaisyn ducked a thrust that

would have taken her head and

returned an attack that pierced

through the shoulder slit in the

soldier’s armor. He screamed in pain

and lashed out with the flat of his

sword.

She didn’t react quickly enough and

with a groan of pain, toppled from

Ajax. The soldier immediately came

forward.

“Yer gonna pay for that one,” he

snarled, following her down. Jaisyn

scampered back, looking wildly in the

mud for her sword. She found it and

stood, ready to fight to the death.

He lunged at her with his massive

size and Jaisyn dodged to the side.

Although small, she was fast, and

knew to use it to her advantage. With

a snarl, he lunged again and she

eluded him. Thrown off balance by

her fast movements, the man spun on

unsteady feet to confront her. She was

ready. Her sword found its mark at

his neck, screeching against the

protective helmet as it pierced his skin

clean. Tugging her sword back, Jaisyn

stared transfixed as the dark blood

sputtered from his throat. She’d never

seen so much blood before...

“Jaisyn!”

Stephen’s

scream

brought

her

around just in time. Another soldier

was riding for her. On horseback, he

had the advantage. She looked to her

mount, realized it was too far, and

stood her ground. As he advanced,

she dodged away, bolting in the

direction of Ajax.

Knowing she would never be able to

vault onto him with the heavy armor,

Jaisyn patted his flank twice, hoping

he remembered the command and

didn’t ignore her as he sometimes did.

Slowly, Ajax lowered himself and as

quickly as she could, she lay on his

back, grateful when he popped up

moments later.

The soldier was heading for her at

breakneck speed. She found the

stirrups and urged Ajax forward.

Jaisyn met her new attacker in a clash

of swords, a dance of death. He was

better than the last; quick, like her.

Several times, he came close to killing

her. In the end, he overreached, and

her blade found its mark in between

his shoulder plate and breast armor,

coming away bloodied. As he fell

from his horse with a moan, Jaisyn

turned to Stephen. With his sword

arm incapacitated, she saw no need to

kill the man.

“Get on Lulu!”

Her brother stared at her, transfixed.

At some point, he must have jumped

from the horse and drawn his own

weapon. Lifting her bloodied sword,

she pointed in the direction of the

mare and yelled, “Now, Stephen!”

That spurred him into action. In the

next moment, he was running for the

horse, using a boulder to secure his

perch on the animal. As the sound of

battle grew closer—the clashing of

swords, the screams of the fallen

soldiers—Jaisyn used her sword to

point to the clearing.

“Go back to the castle, Stephen!”

“Jaisyn—”

“Leave now or die!”

He stilled before giving her a quick

nod. As he kicked Lulu into a gallop,

Stephen yelled, “I’ll bring more

warriors, Jaisyn! I swear it!”

She waited a few minutes, enough

to give Lulu time to gain a good

distance, before nudging Ajax into a

gallop behind her brother.

The thundering of the ground

beneath her told her she had

company. A quick glance over her

shoulder confirmed it. A soldier on

horseback urged his steed after her,

and a few on foot yelled with

bloodlust as they too gave chase.

When she was far enough to escape

the two on foot, Jaisyn pulled Ajax to

a halt and turned him.

He snorted and pranced, shaking his

dark mane, perhaps in anticipation. As

if feeling his mistress’s unrest, Ajax

pawed the muddy ground and snorted.

When he reared, Jaisyn held on,

digging her heel into his side.

The Morden soldier came into view

as Jaisyn released a loud battle cry

and her mount surged forward. They

clashed brutally and with his bulky