Amazon Companion (38 page)

I nodded understanding and realized while I didn't care for her methods, and I didn't want to be here, she was trying to teach us.

She stepped out of the way, gave me a moment to prepare, then called, "Fight!"

I didn't wait for Suza. I stepped forward, swinging my staff. The girl blocked it, but this time, I pursued her.

"Better, Maya,"
Parlomith said, and I glanced at her.

Suza took my distraction and whacked my arm.

"Hold!" Yelled Parlomith.

"Don't say it," I said. "Concentrate on the fight, not the distractions." I rubbed my arm. "Got it."

"If you got it after one strike, you're doing better than most of my students." She didn't yell. I prepared, and she said, "Fight."

Suza came after me, and I defended myself, counterattacking when I could. Her swings were growing harder and harder as she tried to finish the bout, the blows stinging my hands as I deflected them. Finally she swung high, a blow that would have hit my head if it had landed, but I deflected it over my head, ducking, instead of blocking it, and the girl spun halfway around before she controlled her spin.

I reached with the other end of my staff and tapped her back lightly. There was no reason to leave a bruise.

"Hold!"
Parlomith advanced on me. "What was that?"

I blinked at her, trying to blink the sweat from my eyes. "I don't understand the question."

"That was not a proper blow."

"There was no reason to leave a bruise, but if you don't want to count the blow, then don't count it. I don't really care."

"She hit you when you were distracted, and you learned something from it. Do you think she learned something from your little tap on her back?"

"You know,
Parlomith, I don't know, but I'm sure she'll learn something from you berating me for offering an Amazon a moment of kindness."

I looked down, tired.
"Parlomith, this is the first day I have stood with my staff facing anyone except my warrior or Nori."

"So now you brag? You are so great with your staff that only the queen or the queen's right hand are good enough to train with you?"

That hadn't been what I meant. I meant to explain my inexperience. I'd never had an opportunity to capitalize on such a large mistake, or any mistake at all.

"If you are so good, then I guess you require a real opponent." She took the staff from Suza, faced me, and said, "Fight!"

I stared at her. She gave me about two seconds, then she came after me.

She could probably have disarmed me in seconds. Instead, she swung at me with no more force than the other girls had, allowing me to block her swings, and pausing between swings so I had a chance to counterstrike if I wanted to. I did when I could, but of course, my swings didn't land.

But then I made a real mistake, and she swept my staff to the side. The other end of her staff came up and smacked me solidly in the side. I cried out and backed away quickly.

She paused, watching me, raising her staff. I lifted mine, and she said, "Fight."

She let me come to her, and we exchanged blows, but then I made another mistake, and her staff punched into my chest in the same fashion Suza's already had. I fell on my ass, clutching my chest.

"I didn't hit you hard enough to crack your ribs," she said. "Get up."

I climbed slowly to my feet, and she said, "Fight."

It went on, and on, and on. I collected two or three solid bruises on each arm, several more on my legs, and a variety on my sides and back. Finally, she hit me again and I collapsed to the ground, lying on my hands and knees, panting.

"We're done," she said. "Put your staffs away and run ten laps. Do not embarrass your warriors." She walked away.

I turned my head to watch her, and Malora was shaking her head.

I hung mine in shame.

I ran my laps, then, panting, stepped up to my warrior. "I am told the Amazons here do not swim in the river due to the speed of the current. Will you trust my judgment?"

"Of course. Is it too swift for me?"

"Yes."

"Go ahead, then find me when you're ready."

"Thank you."

I was tired when I climbed into the water, and I clung to the rock for several minutes, letting the cool, refreshing water invigorate me, but then I released hold of the rock and moved into the eddy I had chosen. I swam hard for several minutes, holding my position in the river, and it felt good to swim hard, working my abused muscles in far more familiar motions than working with the staff or sword.

But then I looked ahead and saw a large tree branch come barreling down the river. I had a moment to decide, and I cut to the right, out from the protecting eddy, but also out of the path of the oncoming missile. I knew what would happen, of course. I was a strong swimmer, but I was not strong enough to fight the full onslaught of the current.

I was swept downstream towards the rocks, but also away from the dangerous tree branch.

I kicked off a large boulder, my eyes sear
ching for the tree branch one moment, watching for more boulders the next, and all the time looking for an opportunity to escape the current. I knew there was another eddy in a hundred yards, and I decided that would be my best opportunity, but I would need to time it well, and it would be a difficult swim making it into the eddy so I could climb from the water.

I slipped between most of the boulders and kicked off two buried under the water that I didn't see so much as sensed by the back pressure they caused in the water. And then I swept past the large boulder that caused the eddy I needed, and I swam hard, very hard, slowly pulling into the gentler water. I finally reached the safety of a large boulder forming the shoreward border of the mini-pool of safety. I clutched a grasp on the rock and panted, building the strength to pull myself out of the water.

"I told you not to swim here!" I looked up and blinked at Parlomith, then she reached down and said, "Give me your hand."

"I've got it," I said, but she reached for my hand clasping the boulder. She clasped my hand and pulled, releasing my clasp on the
boulder, and I began being pulled downstream, my wet wrist difficult for her to hold. I banged against the boulder, then flailed with my other hand, wrapping it around her wrist, and she pulled me from the water.

I lay on the boulder for a moment then I stood up. "What the hell was that? Were you trying to kill me?"

"I was trying to save you, you fool!"

"I told you I had it. Did you see my swim?"

"Yes."

"Could you have duplicated it?"

She looked at the water, mentally tracking the path I had taken. "No."

"Other than the tree branch I was avoiding, you were the most dangerous part of that swim. To be honest, it was fun, and if I weren't so tired out, I'd do it again. If I knew you wouldn't rip my hand from a solid hand hold at the end of it."

She looked at the water. "You aren't serious."

"No, actually." She turned back to me.

She paused. "What should I have done instead?"

"You didn't need to do anything, not for me, not after I said I had it, but if I had needed help..." I knelt down, wet my wrist, then held out my arm. "Grab my wrist, not my hand."

She did, and I adjusted her hand. "Not so tight yet." I rotated my wrists in her grip, grabbing her wrist as well. "Now, no matter what happens, don't let go. Got it?" I tried tugging my wrist from her hand, but try as I could, she had a solid grip.

"Got it," she said.

"Wet hands are slippery."

She looked back at the river. "You could have been killed. I told you not to swim here."

"I could have been killed if I hadn't deflected Suza's blow, and I was a whole lot closer to death under your careful watch than I was in the water."

"Companions should not talk back to a warrior, not even the queen's companion."

"I talk back to the queen; what makes you more special than her? And warriors should know their limits before telling someone else who clearly knows a lot more than she does what to do." I pointed at the water. "This water is near my limits, but not past them. I would not swim here after a large rain or during the spring melt. But I do not swim in the ocean during a storm, and I do not swim near the mouth of the cove when the tide is running fast. I know my limits with the water. Do you?"

"Swimming near your limits leaves you one unforeseen tree branch from disaster."

"The unforeseen tree branch is why the river is near my limits. If I had someone watching for tree branches, this water isn't that bad. I'd have been out of the water sooner but I had to watch for the branch, and then I had to wait for it to pass me."

"You did that while tumbling downstream?"

I smiled and then stepped past her, walking along the tumbled rocks towards my clothing upstream.

"There are sharp rocks,"
Parlomith said from behind me. "If you wait here, I will retrieve your clothing for you."

I turned to her. "Thank you. And thank you for not wanting me swept to my death."

She nodded once then began striding upstream, returning a few minutes later with my armful of clothing. I pulled everything on, and then together we walked back to the village. I would have preferred to avoid her company, but I didn't have time to sit out on the rocks, and I knew Malora would be expecting me.

* * * *

That night in bed, Malora tried to pull me into her arms. I was black and blue everywhere she touched, and I pushed her away.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said.

"Why won't you let me hold you? Are you angry with me?"

"Of course not," I said. "I have a few bruises from training."

"Oh. You did well. Thank you. This was important. I needed to see how they train here. I know it wasn't easy for you. Now I have to decide what I'm going to do. For that, I need to talk to Nori."

"Did you receive any reports about me?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

"
Parlomith talked to me."

"Oh." I couldn't imagine it was good.

"She suggested I leave you here for a couple of weeks. She offered to knock you into shape."

I froze. "What did you decide?"

"I told her I couldn't be parted from you that long but thanked her for the offer."

I relaxed, slowly, dreading she was about to suggest we would stay here for a while. "What time do we leave in the morning?"

"Early. We have a long way to go, and I want to make it as far tomorrow as we can. We'll have to ride our own horses and move quickly. I wish you were more experienced on a horse, but you'll be fine."

I finished relaxing, relieved. "I'll have everything ready to go by first light."

We lay for a while, me on my side facing away from her, distance between us.

"Maya?"

"I'm awake."

"I really need to touch you."

I rolled back to face her, then reached and found a hand. I put it on my cheek.

"Thank you," she said.
"The voices are bad tonight."

"Do you know why?"

"Stress. They're stronger when there's stress."

Perhaps stronger with the embarrassment of having a worthless, embarrassing companion. Still, as embarrassing as I was, I was sure I could help her calm the voices.

"Does it help if I touch you?"

"Yes."

"What touches are best?"

"Any. Gentle but not too soft. As intimate as you can stand."

I pushed her onto her back, moving closer. "Allow me to do this, Malora." I lowered the length of my body against her and I felt her sigh right away. I lay my head on her chest, then I told her, "Your lower hand can caress the back of my neck and my upper shoulders, if soft touches help."

Instead, she clasped my skull, sliding her fingers under my braid, and that was okay, too.

My left arm was pinned underneath me, but my right was free, and I touched her, caressing her face and stroking her shoulder and arm.

"Is this good?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Are you just trying to get my naked body against yours?"

She laughed nervously. "I'm afraid that's what you think."

I brushed my fingers across her lips. "I was teasing."

"I know. I wasn't."

"Tell me and I'll believe you."

"I need the touch for the voices, Maya. I'm not asking for more than you want to give."

She sighed several times.

"Am I helping?"

"Yes. Can you sleep like this?"

"Can you?"

"Yes."

"Then sleep, my queen," I said.

She caressed my face.

"Hey!"

"I'm sorry, but... You haven't called me that before."