Amazon Companion (41 page)

"Stand aside," Malora said to him, "and we will let you live."

"There are ten of us and only two of you," he replied. "Drop the reins of your horses and we'll let you pass unmolested." He seemed to enjoy saying the last word.

I stepped past Malora and walked up straight to the man, leaving my horse with Malora.

"Very wise," he said.

And then I swung the staff, striking him full strength between his spread legs. He gasped, not getting a word out, and then I spun, taking the staff down across the top of his skull. It made a sickening sound, and he dropped.

Malora was silent, but the men were not. She was
moving between the bandits, circling widdershins amongst them, weaving in and out, her sword in her right hand, her knife in her other. She never paused, and everywhere she had been there was a body lying on the ground.

I didn't wait. I screamed in defiance and launched myself at the nearest man on the right, knocking his sword away, then breaking his wrist with my staff. I thrust at him with the other end, knocking him away, and used the motion to spin around, bringing the end of the staff head height at the next man. He tried to parry with his sword, but the swing bashed right through his defense, hitting him square on the forehead. He went straight down.

Two men faced off at me, swinging with their swords. I feinted to the one on the left, and he interposed his sword in the way, tangling the one on the right, and my staff came down, breaking two arms at once. They both howled, but I didn't care. I smacked both of them as hard as I could, one-two, on the sides of their heads, and they dropped. I spun around, looking for more foes.

Malora stood there watching me, smiling.

"Well done, Companion," she said. "Although a little greedy. You took almost half of them. You were supposed to leave more for me. I was barely warmed up."

I counted my bodies. "I got five. Half."

"The two in back joined. The other two ran. I got seven; you got five. I am so proud of you."

I looked at my bodies. I looked at hers. And then my knees buckled, and I knew nothing else for a while.

When next I woke, I was lying on my back. I heard the crackling of a fire, and when I looked over, Malora was smiling at me. "We'll keep your fainting between us," she said. "Very un-Amazon of you."

I offered a tentative smile, and she helped me sit up. I looked around. It was dusk, and I could see the trees of our forest. We were camped next to a small stream. The horses were loose and grazing, and she had a fire going and food cooking.

"Was it a dream?" I asked.

"The horse ride here," she asked, "or the encounter with bandits?"

"Fourteen?"

"That we saw. Twelve are feeding the buzzards."

"Did I kill mine?"

"Three. I finished the other two.
"

"Harsh."

"They were tattooed." They'd attacked Amazons in the past, and gotten caught for it.

"Were all of them?"

"Five total, probably the remnants of a gang that Balorie and Gaylie dealt with a few years ago."

"The leader?"

"He was dead. One of the tattooed corpses."

"I-" I paused. "I kicked ass!"

"You totally kicked ass."

"They were..."

"Not up to Amazon standards," Malora said with a grin. "Bandits rely on intimidation and bluster. Fourteen to two odds seems overwhelming, but they didn't have a clue how to attack more than two at a time, and you saw how readily you handled two. Imagine how many Nori and I could handle."

"I kicked ass."

She grinned. "Yes, you did. And more importantly, you did exactly what I told you to, well, except I told you to leave the rest for me."

"I was just hanging around, getting bored. Are you going to make me wear pink lips again in punishment?"

She laughed. "I should. You were very naughty."

"Seriously? Are you upset? I didn't follow orders."

"In a situation like that, you trust the warriors you are with. The first two would have come after you. I was out of sight, so you were the nearest target. I had thought to get to them before they could reach you, but the two at the back joined in, and one of them actually knew how to use a sword. He delayed me. I was worried for you, but then I saw you had it handled."

"You had me take the leader because it got me furthest from everyone else?"

"Yes. You were perfect. He never saw it coming."

"No reason to warn him."

"No."

"I fainted."

"You did. But you waited until it was over. You would have kept going if I'd needed you to. I caught you."

"Thank you. How did you get me here?"

"On the horse with me."

"Did you fondle my breasts while I was uncon
scious."

"I had to squeeze your ass getting you on the horse, and then your breasts were the most convenient handle."

We smiled at each other.

"I'm glad you can joke."

"It doesn't feel real." I looked at her. "Why aren't you holding me? I think I need you to hold me."

She moved over to sit next to me and I folded into her, laying my head on her shoulder. Her hair was wet.

"You bathed without me!"

"I was a bit of a mess."

"Oh. I suppose a sword is messier than a staff."

"You may not say that if you saw the body parts you left leaking out of some of them."

"Eww. Let's not think about that."

She chuckled.

"You seem pleased, Malora."

"We rid the world of ten problems. I feel for their need, but I do not apologize. Maybe I am bloodthirsty, but I have no tolerance for men who would prey on the weak. Nor for fools who would attack Amazons." She paused. "You know what they would have done to us."

"He said he'd let us go."

"Do you believe him?"

I thought about it. "I suppose that would be naïve. Yes, I know what they would have done. Probably. We didn't give him a chance."

"Well, for what it's worth, the leader wouldn't have been able to, not after your little initial exchange. Every man there reacted. They can't stand seeing another man get hit like that, and it shocked them. I really should credit my first two kills to you, but then I'd have to admit you got more than I did."

I smiled and kissed the side of her neck. It was what I could reach. "Admittedly, I had a head start."

"That you did, and mine were more spread out."

"I watched you for a second or so. You were amazing, Malora. I'll never be like that."

"You were plenty good enough today though, weren't you?"

"I was. I really was."

"Yep." She hugged me more tightly, and I winced. "Sorry."

I clung to her for a while. "Am I going to have nightmares?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I do sometimes. I'm sorry for that."

"You knew I could handle it. As bad as I am, you trusted me with the leader, who was the biggest and meanest."

"Big bully," she replied. "And did you see that stance? Laughable. He was practically begging for you to do exactly what you did. He couldn't have been more obvious if he had attached a sign saying 'kick me here'."

I laughed. "So that one doesn't count?"

"Oh no, it definitely counts," she said. "I knew you could take him. I didn't know if you could take the others."

"I hate to admit it, but I don't know if I could have without having received Parlomith's lessons."

"As you said, she gets results, but she still interfered with your primary responsibility. You could have handled the leader, and you could have held off a few more while I worked my way to you. That's all you needed to be able to handle. But I think you're right, and maybe I won't kill her. But I don't want her training in Queen's Town, either."

"When you send her a message declining, I wouldn't suppose you could mention I took out five bandits?"

Malora chuckled. "Count on it. But when we get home, we're going to be addressing your form. You used far more energy than required, and if there had been any at your back, you would have left yourself open."

"Ah, sure. Never satisfied." I tightened my hold to let her know I wasn't upset. "Did I damage my staff?"

"I didn't check yet."

"I swept away some sword points."

"A few dings are signs you used it. That's another reason you don't practice with it. Any dings should be gotten honestly." She paused. "Hungry?"

"Starving."

* * * *

We met up with Ralla late the next day, the bandits having delayed us. She admitted she was worried and was going to look for us if we didn't show up by morning.

"I had to get a little training for my companion," Malora explained.

"You stayed an extra day at Northglen?"

"Bandit management training," she explained.

"Oh?" Ralla raised her eyebrow.

"We detoured to Howard's Den
for a little shopping, and they were waiting in one of the ravines for us."

"Oh. I've been meaning to grab Nori or
Balorie and roust them out. I should have told you about them. If I'd known you were going to be this way... Do I need to go finish with them?"

"I don't think the last two have stopped running," Malora said. "The rest are done running."

"Ah." Ralla paused. "How did she do?"

"I did okay," I said. "I passed out."

Ralla patted my hand. "Well, an unconscious woman doesn't attract a lot of attention, so they probably left you alone until Malora could finish them off."

I grinned at her, then turned to Malora. "We didn't discuss a theory."

"What theory is that?"

"Whether the five I killed were blinded by my pink hair, and that's why they were so easy."

Ralla blinked. "Five? So you didn't pass out?"

"Oh she passed out," Malora said. "After it was all over and she realized what she'd done."

"She got five? Way to go, Maya! I bet that left Malora disappointed. You're never going to catch up to my count if you keep taking the best warriors with you, Malora. Maybe next time you should knock her out so she doesn't steal your kills from you."

"What's your count,
Ralla?"

"Seventeen. Nori was so angry because she got the two best swordsmen in that encounter, and by the time she finished with them, the rest of the band was dead or dying."

"Only one got a chance to demonstrate any proficiency with a sword," Malora explained. "Maya did a great job demonstrating why we teach staff."

"We're going to need a big party when we get back,"
Ralla said. "So, what's this about Parlomith?"

"That bitch is lucky she's alive!" Malora said.

Ralla held up her hands. "What did she do?"

Malora explained, and then
Ralla said, "I never did like her, but she gets results. In all fairness, Northglen gets some of the worst troubles to deal with."

"Well, she's not getting near Queen's Town," Malora said.

"You promised I could take her swimming though!" I said with a grin.

Ralla
laughed. "Wouldn't that surprise her? I'd pay to see that."

"It would be petty," Malora said. "But fitting."

"She'd find a way to pay me back," I said. "I don't want to think about her. Can we talk about a big bandit leader begging for a little attention between his legs instead?"

They laughed.

* * * *

That night in our tent, I curled into Malora, wrapping my arms around her. In the dim light, we stared into each other's eyes.

"Roll over," I ordered. "I want to hold you for a while."

"I prefer to do the holding."

"Please."

She rolled over, offering her back, and I snuggled closer to her. I didn't understand my emotions, but right then, I really wanted to hold her. I buried my face in the back of her neck and inhaled deeply.

She caressed my arms. "Are you all right, Maya?"

"I don't know," I admitted.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm a poor Amazon."

"No, you are not," she replied. She tried to roll back to face me, but I tightened my arms around her. "Maya-"

"I want to hold you. Just for a few minutes."

She settled, but she felt stiff.

"Is this so hard for you, Malora?" I asked her. "Do you hate my arms around you?"

"I very much enjoy your arms around me, but I think you need mine around you."

"I do, soon." I snuggled closer, my entire body pressed against her.

I didn't know what I wanted to say to her, and I didn't understand what I was feeling, but it felt good to hold her, and I slowly grew more settled.