Vincent
The warborn named Anika was lightning-fast in her attack and fleet-footed in her parry. Those two qualities had always been my strengths, but in my fencing competitions, I’d been limited to the width of the two-meter piste. I wasn’t prepared for Anika’s range of movement. Suddenly at my side with a jab at my kidneys. A dizzying turn that ended with her sword at my throat. The point of her blade pressed against my spine. I didn’t land even one blow in our first hour of practice. I was frustrated. And awestruck.
By the end of our second hour, my clothes were drenched in sweat and shredded where Anika had made contact with her blade. Knowing I’d heal, I insisted she land the blows. She was practiced enough to not cut deeper than skin, but every wound was a painful reminder of my inferiority, both in skill and finesse.
Once we determined I was clearlynotat her level, she suggested I take up the space alongside her and mimic her strikes and blocks. She showed me how to grip my hilt using the strength of my fingers so that my wrist could be a little looser in maneuvering the blade, which was much heavier than a foil. And she demonstrated how she balanced on the balls of her feet, knees bent and hips loose so that she could pivot, swivel, and jump while attacking and retreating. Her nimbleness was her strength. We went through a series of feint and parries that felt like a synchronized dance until I could do them with my eyes closed. After several hours, taking only short water breaks, I was utterly exhausted. A few of Anika’s long, brown hairs had come loose from her braid, but other than that, she’d barely broken a sweat.
You’d been circling the perimeter of the open-air training yard where we practiced, but you hadn’t crossed the boundary of the hard-packed clay dirt. When we stopped for a picnic dinner on the hillside, you said you were going for a walk. I appreciated you giving us space. I wanted to know more about warborn custom, and I sensed Anika might not open up to me if you were lurking nearby.
Spooky had also made her way to the training yard, and as soon as we’d finished practicing, she was all over me.
“Such a friendly cat,” Anika said when I had to pry Spooky off my lap so that I didn’t get cat hair in my food.
Anika wasn’t chatty like my friends back home, and her answers were limited to one or two words, said with complete seriousness. From my extensive questions, I learned she was an orphan from a tiny village in India, had been raised and schooled by the warborn from a young age, and prior to being assigned to my mother, was in training to be the personal bodyguard of a high-ranking Nephilim, though she didn’t say who.
“Are you upset that you had to leave?” I wondered if this position had been a demotion for her.
“My masters know better than me where my skills are most needed.”
The warborn must give lessons on diplomacy as well.
We ate our sandwiches while watching the sun set over the terraced vineyard. Sitting so close to her now, when she was still and not moving in a blur, I could see several scars on her face and arms that had healed to a pinkish silver. Some were the width of a vein and others thin as a spider’s web. I wondered if her path, chosen for her from a young age, was the one she still wanted.
“Do you like fighting?” I said in a clumsy attempt to uncover her true feelings. If I’d had my powers, I’d already have her confession, but as it was, I had to fumble my way through an awkward conversation.
“Yes,” she said with a slight nod. “I’m very good at it.”
“You really are, but do youlikeit?”
She gave me an odd look, as though the thing I was suggesting was a privilege and not a right. “That’s not for me to decide. It’s my honor and duty to serve.”
Anika was doing what was expected of her. Like my role in this revolution and yours when you were a Roman soldier, then later, a reaper, and finally, one of Azrael’s demon hunters. What was your duty now? To watch over me? To serve me? Was that really what you wanted?
“Do the warborn treat you well?”
She shifted a little, and I sensed that she didn’t care for these types of questions. She preferred ones about fighting techniques and weapons.
“We earn respect through combat,” Anika said at last
“Are the warborn like your family?”
She dipped her head shyly. “I suppose.” Then she looked to the sky and said, “It’s getting late. Shall we meet again tomorrow?”
“Yes, please. I’m grateful for your instruction.”
I stood and bowed to her as I would to my sensei, and she did too. I watched her stroll back toward Mater’s palazzo, which was ten times the size of Lucian’s manor with an entire building designated for fate demons. I assumed it would soon be filled with paid staff. I’d heard Lucian arguing with Mater about how many bath attendants they might need, and I stayed out of it. So long as they were here of their own free will and paid for their labor, I didn’t want to get into the details of how Mater ran her household. I did wonder if Anika would be sleeping with the other guards or if she might be stationed with our mother, outside her door, or maybe even inside her bedroom? How serious was the threat?
You came over then and I offered you a sandwich. My head was swimming with questions about the warborn tribe, which I lobbed at you while you ate. According to you, they had compounds all over the world and recruited not only humans cast aside by society and family, but also those with special talents and expertise. When I asked if they’d ever waged war against the Imperium, you told me not outright, but the sheer number of their forces meant that Azrael had never attempted to recruit from within their ranks. Theirs was an uneasy truce, which meant that it might take a lot of convincing for the warborn to upset the status quo.
“Is Mater worried they might try to take over?”
You nodded. “If the Imperium falls, the warborn might attempt to enslave us just as Azrael had. They’re the only tribe with enough resources and ambition to conquer the human realm.”
“That must be why she suggested an alliance. She made it sound like some kind of arranged marriage.” I waited for you to correct me, but you didn’t. “Wait, is that what it is?”
“Similar to marriage, alliances between tribes have been employed as long as there have been powerful families wishing to expand their empires. Or alleviate their debt, as the case may be.”
That you could be so casual about it hurt my feelings. “Would you want that for me?”
