Tiva Boon: Heir of Abennelp (Tiva Boon Series Book 2) (4 page)

“Something amusing, Tiva?”

“I was remembering the first time our AI Gigs called me Boony. I did not like it, but now I miss it.”

“Yeah, I heard about that, shame. Those AI’s are nifty.” He quickened his pace, and turned to her. “Would you like to take a walk around the arboretum?”

“Yes, actually.” She paused, regretting the invitation almost immediately.

He grinned. “Sounds great.”

She led the way toward her most treasured spot on the ship. He kept pace with ease, a smirk riding his face as he glimpsed over every so often. “Frankly, I don’t think the plants here hold a candle to the real outdoors.”

“Quite true, but I am grateful for the little this ship has. You were born with wings?” she asked as the thought crossed her mind.

“As far as I know.” He guffawed. “One can never be sure about these things. But my little brothers were born with wings, so I’m assuming I was.”

“You do not remember being young?”

“Young? Don’t remember anything before adolescence.”

“Oh, I am sorry to hear that.” She tapped on the door controls and walked onto the main path.

He hopped over to the nearest transplanted tree, leapt up grabbing hold of a branch, and hung there as he spoke. “Eh, don’t worry. I forget lotsa things. Too many memories to remember. Learning new stuff is more fun. Like, hmm, how about your planet?”

“Yes, you asked before. What did you wish to know about Abennelp?”

“Tell me what it is like there? I didn’t know any planets still gave their elite guards bladed weapons.”

“Abennelp was ruled by a king, he had a fair, cooperative structure for all the provinces, and it was peaceful for many years. The king’s army and Royal Guardians protected the land and people. From my research, our planet was much like medieval Earth until an alien ship crashed on our world long ago. We integrated some of their technology into our daily living, and advanced our society. The rest, I am sure you know already as you have been with the Union a while.”

He swung back and forth slightly, “Yep, I’ve read all the crew records, I’m sorry to hear about the war…But I find it interesting you never replaced blades with lasers and whatnot.”

“In the end we tried, but it mattered not...” She trailed off as she headed around a bend of flowers.

Adam swung himself off the branch and spread his wings, gliding a bit before landing near her. She did her best not to stare at his wings, but she found them fascinating.

“Personally, I think bladed weapons are more fun anyway.”

“I did feel the same, once, many moons ago. I do miss training with a sword. It is not the same with my claw.”

“I have a collection in my apartment, if you ever want to borrow one.”

“Thank you. I may take you up on that offer one day.” She turned and looked over her shoulder. He used strange words, but it was something else that struck her. It felt like another presence was in the room. She searched the area and then turned back; it was strongest near him. He glanced up to the ceiling and jumped, flapping slowly as he hovered about a meter off the ground.

“Something wrong, Dame Boon?”

“No, it is just…I feel a duality around you for some reason.”

“That’s probably because there are two of us.”

“Us?”

“Well, three people are in this room and one of them is you.”

Her head whipped around as she gripped her Timbur. She was right someone else was near. “You sense the third as well?”

“Sense? Why bother. I know where she is.”

“She? Explain.”

“Cala,” he said, tapping the sheath at his side. “She’s here too.”

“Cala is your blade,” she stated. Her brow arched and she glanced at the weapon. “I do not understand…your sword is sentient?”

“Of course,” he replied, dropping down to the ground.

“How is that possible?”

“Magic.”

“Magic?” Now, she was confused, once again. “What is magic?”

“Hmm, good question. Magic is...Well, it’s kinda like Chi, divine power, and supernatural energy...All in all, it amounts to stuff happening that defies the laws of physics.”

She nodded, having seen some odd things since being on this ship, she knew what power there was in the universe. “And your sword was brought to life by this magic?”

“No. She was alive first, a spirit, and then became a sword.”

What could she say? She didn’t understand how it was true, but she felt its presence. Sometimes she thought she felt Shial when praying at her statue in Degort. She believed that when someone entered the Eternal Lands their spirit lived on; perhaps the same was true for all beings of the universe. She moved around another bed of flowers the sweet aroma surrounding her.

Curious still, she asked, “How long ago did it happen?”

“What year is it now?”

“Twenty three hundred eighty five standard years, from what I was told.”

“Almost a millennium and a half, then.”

“You are long lived?” she asked.

“No. An elf is long lived. I’m immortal.”

“You cannot die…” she said sensitively, letting it seep through her mind. It was intriguing on so many levels. “How long have you lived?”

“About forty two hundred years...but that’s just a guess. I’m not really sure, honestly.”

“Amazing.” He was a being who would never rest. He’d have no afterlife reunion with a family and loved ones.
What power in the universe would be so cruel
, she wondered. “That is quite some time. My society has not even existed that long...our history spans only a small fraction of your life.”

She caressed the petals of the nearest flower and noticed Cooper swinging from a branch; she almost chuckled and surprised herself at the reaction.

“Come on up. The water’s fine.” He moved over, tapping the branch, smiling down at her…those eyes. Despite his tricky words, she understood. She felt her markings lighten for a moment, jumped over the hedges, and expertly climbed the tree.

“You seem to have experience in the fine art of tree climbing.” He smirked.

“I had a tree back home. It was one of my favorite places to be.”

“Only one? When I was younger, I claimed a whole forest as my territory.”

“Well, I had a field and forest with a pond, but Te was my favored spot for relaxing.”

“Te?”

She nodded a reminiscent smile on her face. “Te, my tree.”

“Tell me of him.”

“Why are you so inquisitive?”

He shrugged. “I like stories.”

This Cooper was asking too many questions about her and her home, was he merely interested as he said? It was impossible to read him. Aliri would advise her to trust him. He was, after all, part of the crew and he had shared parts of his history already. “He is twice as tall as this stump and has a long silver trunk. Te’s leaves are like soft fingers or feathers. They are long and gold, and a plush carpet of grass surrounds him. I would climb him when I could not sleep. It happened often.”

“Did he talk?” His pitch, mocking.

She ignored it, but answered the question. “Not exactly, but we communicated on another level. I have something called the Nature Sense, I can feel nature as I feel others.” She paused. That was too much information. She tugged on one of her braids and jumped off the branch, landing firmly on the ground.

“Feel others? Oh... you’re empathic?”

She nodded, but had revealed enough.
Spirits only know who he is
, she thought. “I must head back now.”

“So soon? And I was hoping to see your skills as a warrior.”

She narrowed her gaze on him. Without being able to gather a sense of him, she could not determine his motives. She nodded, taking the challenge just so see what transpired.

“Do you use practice weapons, because I do not own such items...”

“Who said anything about weapons?”

“What do you wish to use then?”

Dropping from his perch, he landed, and raised his fists. She glanced to her side, but left her Timbur in place. She lifted her hands and took a defensive stance.

“Have at me.”

“I do not strike first,
Sir Cooper
.”

“As you wish, Dame Boon.” He kicked off the ground, rushing at her swiftly, his fists ready for a first strike. Watching him maneuver across the ground like lightning, she focused on his right arm as it neared. She arched backward, and balled both hands into a large fist raising it high above her head. He lunged and missed. She struck down as he passed, her attack aiming for the spine. A wing rose to catch the blow, smacking her hands off to the side. Though it didn’t stop her, it threw her off balance, allowing the winged one to duck and roll to the side in order to avoid the blow.

“You almost had me there...”

She chided herself and she stumbled forward a step before catching herself. “The night is young.”

She jumped off a small nearby rock and soared into the air. As she flipped over once to gain some height, she converged on his location and kicked out her leg, aiming straight for his head with her foot. Adam regained his position just as she plummeted toward him. He raised his arms in front of his face. Her foot connected with his forearms with enough impact to push him backward, but before he fell, he grabbed her ankle, pulled her down, and slammed her into the ground with him.

His grip was tight; there was no way to break free. Catching her breath, she twisted her body trying to break loose. Tiva lifted her free leg into the air and forced it down toward his stomach. The strike was forceful, he let out a small gasp, and his hands opened releasing her. He seized her other foot, twisted her over. She cringed and got to her knees. Adam kicked her in the back, sending her across the room. She hid a grin at the force of his attack. No one had fought this hard against her during a spar. No one had challenged her in this manner before for various reasons. Cooper had certainly gained her interest.

After rising to her feet, she looked across the room and waited for him to move. Instead, he stood up, spread his wings, and took to the air. For a moment, he lingered in the air above her, dusting himself off.

“Hmm, I seem to be getting dirty...” he said, laughing. “You’re a lot better than the riff-raff I usually school.”

She followed his ascent and skewed her head. “You have trained before?”

“No. Well, yes, but it’s an expression. It means horribly, horribly defeat.”

“Oh, I see. I trained in a more stringent environment than this. Many here have learned late in life. This is all I have ever known...”

In a fluid motion, he turned in the air, bringing his foot around in a wide arc, level with her shoulder. Though she was talking, she neither missed the attack nor lowered her guard. Knowing that grabbing hold of him would not serve her, she ducked as the kick landed on her shoulder. She growled and rolled forward springing up behind him. She spun around raising her leg high in the air targeting his shins.

The strength of her attack pushed him back, though he adjusted his wings using the momentum to spin. His foot tilted toward her head. She felt the breeze as his position changed, and barely dodged the assault. She tucked her head down at the last second only to feel the heel of his boot slam into the base of her neck. Crumpling to the ground, she grunted before jumping to her feet and turning around. He was an impressive fighter, and did not seem to hold anything back. Adam took the brunt of her attacks with ease. Next time, she would be more aggressive.

“You have a superior advantage due to your wings.”

“I suppose I do.” He grinned, his wings flapped, bridging the distance between them.

“I do not know how to counter your measures. I have never fought someone who could fly.”

“Then you must practice. That is how one gets better. But you’re a damn good fighter, Tiva.”

Her markings lightened. “Thank you, though I doubt I will come across many like you in combat.”