Chapter Thirteen
Vi saton a bench at one end of a large, rectangular training hall.
The floor was wooden, mats lined up on the back wall to her left, mostly forgotten. Archery targets hung on the far wall to the right; weapons of all shapes and sizes lined the wall across from where she stood.
But none of them consumed her attention quite like the weapon in her hands.
Every time Vi shifted her fingers across its surface, magic sparked and crackled within. Power seemed to flow from her to the weapon and back, growing more powerful with every turn. Her breath quickened.
“So, what are you going to do with it?” The question jostled her from her fascination with the magic within the scythe. Vi hadn’t even heard the steadythunkof arrows sinking into the archery targets come to a stop.
“I… don’t know yet.”
“You don’t know?” The woman huffed, as if disappointed, passing her bow from hand to hand. “Aren’t you the Champion?”
“This whole Champion thing doesn’t exactly come with a guide book,” Vi muttered. There might be someone who could help her… but getting to Taavin wasn’t an easy affair at the moment. Vi stood, holding out the weapon with one end on the ground. “Could you teach me how to use it, perhaps?”
Arwin tilted her head to the side, looking Vi and the weapon up and down. “It’s a scythe—afarmer’sscythe, not a war scythe. The blade’s all wrong for proper combat. You really want it to be more vertical to get better access to the sharp edge.”
“Well, it’s all I have, so I’d better learn how to use it,” Vi countered.
“Can’t you reshape it somehow?”
“Reshape it?You think I can reshape something a goddess made?”
“Fair point,” Arwin mumbled and crossed the room to a rack of weapons. She tossed her bow from one hand to the next; there was a pulse of magic mid-air, and when Arwin grabbed it again, she wielded a long pole off the wall with an axe on one side. “Even if I’m confident with pole arms… I still have no idea how I’m going to teach you how to use that effectively at all.”
“I’d appreciate the effort,” Vi said sincerely, meeting Arwin in the center of one of the painted rings on the floor.
“Do you even know the basics of combat?” Arwin asked, slowly twirling the halberd in her hands.
“I’ve had a bit of training,” Vi answered somewhat coyly.
“The fate of the world rests on the shoulders of someone who’s had ‘a bit of training’?” Vi could feel the vibrations through the floor as Arwin slammed down the butt of her weapon. “We’re all doomed.”
She should be offended, but Vi couldn’t stop laughing. Finally, she managed, “Maybe we are.”
“You’re really reassuring me now.” Arwin’s posture went slack, slightly relaxed.
“Let’s be honest, you thought we were doomed from the moment you first learned I was Yargen’s Champion.”
“Can’t say I believe all that. Maybe you’re an opportunist with a good grasp of history. Maybe you noticed a convenient opportunity to claim you’re something you’re not, with few to argue against your claims.”
“If I’m lying about being Yargen’s Champion, I sure went to great lengths for that lie.” Vi tried to mimic Arwin’s stance, gripping the small handles that extended from the main shaft of her weapon. She barely had time to shift her feet into a wider, sturdier base before Arwin lunged without warning. Vi stepped back, adjusting the distance. She lifted the scythe on instinct, pushing Arwin’s blade up and away from striking at her center.
The curve of the axe at the end of the halberd hooked on the main body of Vi’s scythe. Arwin gave a firm yank, ripping the weapon from her fingertips. Vi was pulled forward and off balance.
Arwin shifted the halberd back in her hands, allowing the scythe to fall to the floor. She stepped forward, driving her fist into Vi’s stomach. Vi doubled over, her muscles contracting around Arwin’s hand.
The woman had a fist like a rock.
Wheezing, Vi grabbed her stomach and fell to her knees. When she lifted her head, it was to find the tip of Arwin’s halberd at the tip of her nose. Arwin regarded her coolly down the pole arm.
“Was the punch really necessary?” Her stomach was still spasming.Great Mother above it hurt,and it reminded Vi that her midsection was still mostly fresh flesh. But she tried desperately to keep her face calm and hide as much of the pain as possible.
“Your enemies won’t show you mercy. Especially not with a pathetic showing like that.”
A chuckle escaped Vi’s lips. “Don’t I know it.”
