The Threshold Child (29 page)

The sound of clashing metal broke through the harmony of the
forest. Several feet ahead of the brother and sister was a small clearing where
two crimson clad figures practiced their swordsmanship.

It was K’eb and Sa’jan. They were both in defensive stances when
E’nes and Adesina entered the clearing. Sa’jan spotted them and straightened,
dropping his guard. Instead of taking advantage of his opponent’s distraction,
K’eb turned to look at them as well.

Sa’jan measured the expression on Adesina’s face and grinned. “You
detect flaws.”

It was halfway between a question and a statement. When the young
woman didn’t respond, Sa’jan took a step back and gestured to his spot. “What
would you do differently?”

For a moment Adesina was torn. She wanted to step into the place
offered to her, but she didn’t know if it was proper as a Shimat. She should
not be offering assistance to the enemy, even if it was simply a matter of
casual curiosity. On the other hand, it had been so long since she had had the
pleasure of placing herself against a real opponent in a test of skills.

Her steps were slow as she walked over to face K’eb. The L’avan
soldier looked at Adesina, slender and unarmed, uncertain what to do. He
finally passed E’nes his sword and stood ready for hand-to-hand combat.

A small smile played at the corners of Adesina’s mouth as she
began to circle him. K’eb circled with her, trying not to look as apprehensive
as he felt.

She continued to circle slowly with a faint sneer on her face.
Intimidation was a big part of the game, and Adesina was very good at it. When
she felt that he was nervous enough to lose his clarity of thought, she moved
on to the next part of her strategy. She pretended to drop her guard in the
slightest degree, inviting him to make an attack. K’eb saw it as his only
chance to gain an advantage, and he moved forward as quickly as he could.

She was behind him before he could blink. She grabbed him around
the shoulders and brought his feet out from under him, slamming him hard on the
ground. K’eb’s breath was knocked out of his body, and it took him several
moments to recover. By that time, Adesina was pressing her knee against his
throat.

“Your problem,” she told him quietly, “is that you assume everyone
is as honorable as you.”

The Shimat got to her feet and took a couple of steps away from
K’eb. As she looked up, she saw a small crowd had gathered. E’nes and Sa’jan
stood together, watching the contest with critical eyes. L’iam, A’asil and
Ri’sel stood a little farther off. They appeared to have been walking somewhere
else when they stopped to watch the match.

L’iam’s expression was unreadable, which made Adesina rather
uncomfortable. After a few moments of thought, he gestured to his companion.
“A’asil, how would you like the chance to regain some of the pride this young
woman took from you?”

Sa’jan and E’nes turned around in surprise. They had not been
aware of the others’ presence.

A’asil was eager for the opportunity. “I would be pleased for such
a chance.”

L’iam looked at Adesina. “Would you be willing to humor us? I
would like to see how the L’avan measure up to a Shimat.”

She considered for a moment and then nodded. What harm could it
do?

E’nes wasn’t of the same mindset, and looked a bit worried. “What
kind of challenge did you have in mind, L’iam?”

He shrugged casually. “A’asil is rather well known for his talent
at throwing knives.”

A wide grin flashed across A’asil’s face, and Adesina also felt a
wave of satisfaction. She cocked her head to one side, giving her opponent a
superior smile. “I accept your challenge, and propose we do it in Shimat
style.”

A’asil became wary. “What does that entail?”

She made her voice as offhanded as she could. “It is nothing too
complicated. Both competitors stand facing away from the target, then turn and
throw their knives without pausing, one right after another.”

He appeared to be at ease with this idea, and Adesina had to
suppress a smile. She knew from experience that it was harder than it sounded.

L’iam led them to a spot behind the fort where targets were set
up. A’asil was handed five throwing knives and gestured to go first. Adesina
measured the appropriate distance from the target and pointed to where her
opponent should stand.

He turned his back to the target, taking a moment to breathe and
steady himself. He spun and threw all five knives one after another. Adesina
watched carefully and thought that he did surprisingly well.

The first knife flew left of the target, the next one hit the
outer ring, the following one hit the inner ring, and the last two hit the
center.

There was a murmur of approval from the watching L’avan. In spite
of that, A’asil was trying not to look disappointed. He walked up and retrieved
the knives from the target, turning them in his hand as he walked back to the
measured distance. Adesina took them from him and positioned herself with her
back to the target.

She closed her eyes, shutting out all distractions and focusing on
her goal. It was almost as if she could feel where the target stood and how she
would need to throw her knives to strike its center.

In the split second between when she opened her eyes and when she
turned, her eyes met L’iam’s. Her eyes were a glowing swirl of purple, gold and
dark green. L’iam looked stunned by what he saw.

Adesina whipped around and sent all five knives flying into the
heart of the target.

She was met with a stunned silence.

The young Shimat had a hard time not looking smug. She glanced
around the group of spectators, but all of her feelings of self-satisfaction
were swept away when she saw L’iam and E’nes. They were both staring at her
with strange expressions on their faces.

A’asil walked up to her and offered his hand. “That was
extraordinary!”

Adesina took his hand and tried to force a smile past her concern.
Why were they looking at her that way?

“Yes,” she said distractedly.

K’eb and Sa’jan also walked up to her, commenting on her show of
skill. Adesina’s focus remained on E’nes and L’iam, who were speaking to each
other in low voices. Sa’jan was in the middle of observing to the others the
more minute differences of throwing styles when L’iam’s strong voice commanded her
attention.

“Adesina, would you be willing to try something harder?”

This brought everyone around to look back and forth between
Adesina and L’iam. Everyone seemed to anticipate the young woman’s next show of
talent.

She gave a curt nod. Her months in the High City made her hungry
for any kind of challenge thrown her way.

L’iam approached her and handed her two more throwing knives.
“Directly behind you are two tilia trees. Without looking at your target first,
I want you to turn and throw those knives at the lowest branch on each tree.
And I want you to throw them simultaneously.”

Quiet mutterings of disbelief sounded on every onlooker’s breath.
Adesina studied the face of the issuer of the challenge. There was no mocking
gleam in his eye, no doubtful tone in his voice. It was merely a request, just
to see if she could do it.

She closed her eyes again, focusing on the landscape behind her. A
slight breeze stirred the air, giving her all the information she needed. She
could hear where the wind met the resistance of the trunk and fluttered through
the branches and leaves. It painted a picture in her mind of what she couldn’t
see with her eyes. A moment more passed before her mind locked on her target
and she began shifting her body accordingly.

She opened her eyes, once again meeting L’iam’s for a fraction of
a second, and whirled around to release both knives. There was a single and
distinct thud as both blades hit their mark at the exact same time.

This time the silence was mingled with something else: fear.

Adesina looked around the group again, taking in their
expressions. She was aware that she
should feel proud for
representing the Shimat so well—in a way that struck fear into the hearts of
its enemies.

But she did not.

Adesina knew that she was not like the other Shimat. She had
skills that Shimat like Basha or Kendan could only dream of having.

Whether the L’avan were conscious of it or not, the fear that
Adesina saw in their eyes was not of the Shimat. It was of her.

They were afraid of her.

L’iam approached Adesina. There was no fear in his eyes, which was
strangely comforting to her. Instead, he looked thoughtful.

He gestured to a direction away from the fort. “Would you walk
with me?”

She glanced at her brother. E’nes’s eyes weren’t frightened
either, and he gave her an encouraging smile.

Feeling guarded, but also curious, she agreed and followed L’iam
away from the group of L’avan. They walked at an easy pace, not speaking for
the first few minutes. He studied the ground in front of him, his hands clasped
behind his back as he walked. Adesina fixed her gaze straight ahead, looking
but not really seeing.

“You are very talented.”

She responded to this compliment the same way she had to A’asil’s.
“Yes.”

Amusement twitched at the edges of L’iam’s mouth. “Would you mind
telling me how you did it?”

She had been asked the same thing by her classmates when she had
first discovered the skill, but no one had ever understood enough to be able to
do it themselves. “If I focus hard enough, my mind creates a picture of the
world around me. From there it is simply a matter of aim.”

He gave a slow nod. “Have you any other skills that set you apart
from your fellow Shimat?”

Adesina looked at him warily. She had not said that other Shimat
did not possess the same skills as the ones she had shown the L’avan. Still,
she could not help commenting, “I am the best.”

Once again, L’iam looked entertained. “Really? The best of the
Shimat at seventeen years of age?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Perhaps not the most experienced, but
certainly the most skilled.”

He became serious. “I do not doubt that.”

L’iam came to a stop and faced Adesina, a crease forming on his
forehead. “I am certain that you have heard rumors of the L’avan. In
particular, our ability to use what is commonly called
magic
.”

The young woman nodded, intrigued.

“This is true, in a way. We have what is called
vyala
. It
means ‘soul light’ in our language. It has many different forms, and it is what
sets us apart from the rest of the human race.” He gave her a searching look.
“I believe that you have been using your
vyala
unintentionally. This is what makes you the best among your peers.”

Adesina was skeptical. “You think I have been performing magic
without knowing it?”

He assented. “Your ability to sense the world around you is one of
the abilities given to certain L’avan.”

She just couldn’t bring herself to believe that her talents had
not come from years and years of hard work. “How do you know I am even capable
of performing magic?”

L’iam had to work to keep his expression smooth. “Because you are
L’avan. Even if I did not know your parents, I would know of your ability, for
the eyes do not lie.
Vyala
runs
through your veins.”

“The eyes?” she asked.

“That is why every L’avan you will meet has unusual eyes. They are
touched by
vyala
.”

Silence followed for a few minutes as Adesina processed all of
this new information. She felt a strange craving to learn all that she could
about these people. Perhaps it was an attempt to learn more about herself.

As she considered everything L’iam had told her, pieces of the
puzzle of her life began falling into place.

Yes, she had worked hard her entire life. She had struggled and
sacrificed and forced herself to continue when she felt she had nothing left.
No one could say that it had been easy for her, even with all of her talent.
Although, looking back, Adesina could see all the things that had set her apart
from her fellow Shi. She knew it wasn’t just her strange appearances. She knew
it wasn’t her driving ambition to be the best, because every Shi shared that
goal. She knew it wasn’t because she had been given a head start in her
training.

L’iam saw the emotions playing across her face, and he could see
when she had accepted his words. “I could teach you how to access your
vyala
consciously. I could show you how
to use it to make you an even better warrior.”

Adesina was instantly suspicious. “Why would you want to teach me
to be more dangerous than I already am?”

He thought about his answer before giving it. “Because we were not
born enemies, even if our different lives have made us such. Because I believe
that every being deserves to know their full potential. And because as L’avan,
I have no right to deny you the knowledge you were born to have.” After a
pause, he added softly, “Magic changes us in ways we cannot imagine. Perhaps
when you discover your potential, I will have no reason to fear your
intentions.”