Amazonia

HE WIPED A smear of blood
across her face—her blood.

As she struggled to remain
conscious, Theron’s rough, calloused hand squeezed her jaw tightly, and
the pain roused her. An instant later, he removed it and took a few steps
back, away from her bound form, causing her to stiffen in anticipation.
His torture was relentless, and she wondered how much longer she could
last.

The tensing of her muscles
was an unconscious reflex and she was alarmed at the amount of pain that
coursed through her body at that simple action. She’d been badly beaten
and doubted she could escape even if the opportunity presented itself. She
wouldn’t accept defeat though, and would give everything she had.

Theron cracked his whip
solidly against her back. To her dismay, on the second strike, she cried
out.

Theron laughed cruelly. “See.
The fiercest warriors fall before me. Even the mighty Amazons.”

Six Weeks Earlier

THE SOFT MEADOW grass
tickled Shale’s legs as she ambled slowly through it. A circling hawk let
out a shrill cry overhead, and she tipped her head back, lifting a hand
to shade her eyes from the glare of the sun. It was midday, and her
favorite time of year— spring.

Shale watched the bird of
prey for several moments until it finally disappeared, flying beyond the
high fir trees and out of sight.

As always, she never heard
her blood sister approach. Kale, like herself, was too good a hunter for
that. She knew that Kale was nearby though, she could sense her. Going
with her gut instinct, Shale looked to her right, and sure enough, Kale
stepped out of the forest and into the meadow, giving her a swift nod in
greeting.

It was like looking at her
own reflection, and Shale understood why people mistook them for each
other. They were identical— sharp chiselled features, pale blue eyes,
long dark hair, tall. But close up, she and her twin sister did have
slight differences. Kale had a small scar above her right eye, while
Shale had a larger, diagonal scar across the base of her throat. They
wore similar clothes too—a dark brown mid-thigh length skirt, a matching
short lace-up top, and calf-length boots. A sword strapped to each back
was the only weapon that either carried.

“Did you find it?” Shale
called. They were searching for a rare herb that their healer needed. It
only grew in this part of the valley, and it had taken them since dawn to
get here.

Kale tapped the pouch on
her hip in confirmation. She held up a couple of rabbits as she
approached. “Found dinner, too.”

Shale smiled, pointing to
where her own rabbits lay. They thought alike.

“How many did you get?”

“Two,” Shale said. They
always competed with one another, though only in good fun, and they
nearly always came out the same.

As identical twins, they
knew each other inside out, and were as close as two people could be.
That in itself caused a lot of problems. They did everything together, so
all of the women either of them had dated soon grew tired of sharing
their time, and were often jealous of the strong connection between them.

Shale often thanked the
gods for the rare and unique bond she shared with Kale, but was beginning
to suspect that it meant she would never have a serious romantic
relationship. At thirty-four, she had all but given up hope.

Neither twin was short of
offers, but despite several attempts on both their parts, they hadn’t yet
managed to find a middle ground where everyone was kept happy. Three was
an awkward number in any relationship.

Shale knew they were
expecting a lot from a partner, not only did she have to see them as
individuals, she had to accept that she wouldn’t always come first, and
that sharing a bed with one of them, ultimately meant she would be
sharing a life with the other as well. This was an unusual and difficult
task, and so far no woman had even come close to fulfilling it. When they
were younger and more naïve, Kale assured her it was just because they
hadn’t met the right woman, and said if either of them wanted someone
enough, they could all find a way to make it work. Of course, that was
before Aeron. Shale, though sceptical, had to admit that Kale was
probably right. Shale hadn’t truly loved any of her previous partners,
though she had cared for them.

Kale, however, had fallen
head over heels for a woman named Aeron. She was the longest relationship
either of them ever had. They were together for six seasons before Aeron
demanded that Kale choose between her and Shale. Shale still felt guilty
knowing it was her presence that caused their break up. She’d offered to
leave, though, to give them some space, but Kale wouldn’t hear a word of
it. The fact that Aeron asked Kale to choose had proven that she wasn’t
the woman Kale thought she was, and Kale ended things there and then.
That happened several years ago, and Kale hadn’t even looked at another
woman since.

Kale dropped the lifeless
rabbits onto the ground, her eyes twinkling in mischief.

Shale grinned, recognising
the shift. Kale ran at her, long legs powerfully closing the remaining
distance. She let out a loud battle cry, but Shale stood her ground. Kale
connected solidly with Shale, tackling her to the ground. The expulsion
of breath was all that was heard as they grappled together.

Shale managed to get free,
and flipped herself from her back onto her feet. Kale immediately lashed
out with her foot, trying to sweep Shale’s legs out from under her. Shale
jumped clear, and got into a fighting stance.

As Kale stood, she
deflected a combination of punches, then delivered some of her own.
Shale’s kick caught her squarely in the stomach, but paid for it when
Kale’s right hook connected with her jaw. They both backed off slightly,
warily circling the other.

Shale shook her head,
trying to clear her vision from the stars she was seeing. Kale had a
solid punch. She could tell her kick had winded Kale, for Kale was
greedily pulling air into her lungs.

Both were excellent
fighters in their own right, but together they were unstoppable. Each
knew the other’s strengths and weaknesses, and as such either compensated
for, or deferred to, the other when needed.

They had excelled at
fighting at a young age, so had been chosen to become warriors to help
protect their tribe. As they grew, their skills and techniques advanced,
and their senses were honed. Now, they didn’t just fight alongside the
other Amazon warriors in their clan, they led them.

Having two people in charge
certainly wouldn’t have worked in most circumstances, but the twins were
unique, and could read each other well.

“How’s the jaw?” Kale
taunted.

Chuckling, Shale tossed the
verbal volley back. “How are your ribs?”

“Better than your jaw.”

“Is that so?” Shale
listened to her opponent’s breathing, and grinned. “You’re panting like a
wolf.”

Kale’s eyes narrowed.
“Lucky strike. Won’t happen again.”

“I think I’ll be the one to
decide that.”

A short bark of laughter
escaped Kale, despite the obvious attempt to try and keep a scowl on her
face. “Your head’s starting to swell.”

Shale ignored the dig.
“Yeah? You must’ve hit me harder than I thought, I barely felt it. You
punch like a sacrificial virgin.” She snickered, just managing to get her
hands up to protect herself as Kale launched another attack.

They became serious,
fighting savagely, and enjoying every moment of it. After a while, sweat
began to pour off them, but still they didn’t stop. Faster and faster
they moved, hands and feet becoming blurred as they traded deadly blows
and kicks. Complete focus was needed, a distraction at the wrong moment
could prove quite dangerous.

Since their alert senses
were so in sync, they both smelled the smoke at the same time. Shale
turned away and Kale followed her gaze to the dark pillar of smoke
winding its way upward on the horizon.

They both broke into a
sprint. That was where their village lay.

SILENT TEARS SLID down
Shale’s cheeks, and she didn’t need to look at Kale to know she was crying
also. Although they ran nonstop, and at full pelt, they were too late.
Much too late. The fire had all but burned itself out, and all that was
left of their village was smoking timbers.

The bodies of their fallen
sisters lay everywhere, littering the ground like leaves on an autumn
day. Shale turned full circle, searching desperately for the slightest
movement. There was none. She had seen many awful things, but this was by
far the worst. The stench of death tainted the air all around them, mixed
with the acrid smell of smoke and charred flesh. It was nauseating, but
both kept their stomachs in check.

Whoever had done this was
clever, cleaning up any clue as to who they were. Several of the Amazons’
blades were coated in blood, and crimson stains dotted the ground where
the enemy had been killed, but no bodies remained. They had to have been
skilled and seasoned fighters, their sisters wouldn’t have fallen easily.
They had even taken the horses.

Kale spotted a close friend
and crossed swiftly to her, dropping down beside the prone figure.
“Senna?”

Senna lay facedown, so Kale
rolled her onto her back. Even from several paces away, Shale closed her
eyes. Senna, like many others, had been butchered.

A yell of pure fury emerged
from Kale’s throat, the sound more animal than human.

Shale sank to her knees in
the blood drenched soil, quietly grieving the loss of her friends, her
sisters, everyone she had ever known.

Their entire tribe was
dead.

SHALE WAS CROUCHED behind a
large fir tree, concealed from any watching eyes. “Kale, stop. Wait.”

“We’ve got to cross the
river,” Kale said.

Shale examined the river
before them. It was wide and deep, but they were both strong swimmers,
and could easily make it to the other side. “We can’t, Kale, you know
that,” she said quietly, not wanting to give away their position.

Kale gave her an odd look.
“Why not? The tracks stop here. It’s clear they crossed the river.”

“I’m not doubting that. But
that’s Kedross’s land. We’d be breaking our treaty.”

“Our tribe is dead!” Though
Kale’s anger was clear, she kept her voice low.

Shale sighed. As if
she could ever forget. Gathering the bodies together for the funeral pyre had
been a horrific task that would stay forever etched in her memory. They hadn’t
even had time to mourn, for they didn’t want
the trail to grow cold.

“We have no treaty! Kedross
needs to be punished.”

“You don’t know it was
him.”

“Which is why we need to
find out for sure. We can pick up the trail on the other side.” Kale
started to crawl forward, using the foliage and the falling night sky as
cover.

Shale grabbed her top and
pulled her back behind the tree. “Wait. We can’t, Kale.” She kept hold of
her.

“Someone has to pay for
this!”

“You don’t think I want to
find out who did this?” Shale snapped back. “That I don’t want to kill
every single one of the bastards who murdered our sisters?” She took a
breath to try and calm herself. “But you need to think.” Kale never
thought things through, she led with her heart. Shale, however, led with
her head. “There’s another tribe farther north. If we enter Kedross’s
land we’ll be endangering them also. They share our treaty.” She paused
to let that sink in. After a moment, Kale nodded, so Shale released her
grip.

“Their queen could provide
us with reinforcements,” Kale said.

“We should warn them. They
could be the next target.”

BLAKE STROLLED OVER to her
mother, Zayla, who was surrounded by four Amazons, all clamouring for her
attention. As queen, Zayla was always in demand. Blake watched as Zayla
listened patiently to each in turn, waiting until they finished before
expressing her own opinions.

Zayla tilted her head
thoughtfully, the gray strands all but invisible in her fair hair.
Despite her many years, she was a distinguished looking woman, her aura
exuding a quiet confidence that Blake herself had inherited.

Blake’s calf-length boots
stirred the dusty dry soil as she moved, and she wondered how long it
would be until it rained.

Zayla was tying up the conversation
as she greeted her. “Blakaea.”

“Princess,” the four women
said respectfully before departing.

Blake nodded and smiled to
them in response. A sturdy woman named Alke passed by, and Blake watched
enviously as she joined the rest of the hunters. She focussed on her
mother hopefully. “I could do with a walk myself,” she said, pointing
across the unlit fire pit in the center of the village to where the
hunters were now departing.

Zayla laughed. “I take it
you’ve forgotten about the counsel meeting this morning?”

Blake hadn’t forgotten.
“I’m not needed there. Surely we don’t both need to be present?” She
looked up at the clear blue sky. “And it’s such a nice day to be stuck
indoors.”

Zayla nodded. “You’re
right. The two of us aren’t needed there.”

Blake grinned. “Great, I’ll
go and catch up with the hunters.” She kissed Zayla’s cheek. “I’ll put in
a request for deer.” That was Zayla’s favorite. As Blake started to
leave, she was stopped with a touch to her arm.

“You can lead the meeting,”
Zayla said. She smiled at Blake’s crestfallen expression. “I intend to
make the most of this lovely weather.”

Blake frowned. “I walked
right into that, didn’t I?”

“It’s for the best. You
need to be ready for the role of queen.”

Her frown deepened. “I wish
you wouldn’t talk like that, Mother, you’re still young.”

“Many have passed who were
younger than I. It would be unwise if we didn’t prepare. I shall be
giving you more responsibilities, Blakaea. I feel you’re ready for them.
You’re a great Amazon princess, but you’ll be an even greater queen.”

Blake heard the pride in
her mother’s voice and her heart swelled. “I had an excellent teacher.”

Zayla’s eyes twinkled. “Did
your teacher also train you to be punctual?”

“Of course.” Blake glanced
to the rising sun and her mouth quirked. The counsel would have already
assembled. “I’ll make my way there now.”

SHALE AND KALE travelled
for three long, hard days, each pushing herself relentlessly. Both were
physically and emotionally exhausted. They ate and drank on route, only
stopping to sleep. And they got little of that, reliving the death of
their tribe over and over in their minds.

Once they left the safety
of their own territory, the journey became more difficult, having to
either barter their way through other people’s land, or in some cases
skirt around it entirely.