Old Wounds

Katnir was sitting on the ground, taking a moment of rest, leaning against one of the massive limestone outliers littering this part of the forest. He let the mare he got from the Sisters loose for a moment so she could have some fresh grass.

It was a nice, sunny day, making his search for Einhart a bit easier. Even though he had Reiny’s help, he had been unable to find even the slightest trace of either the seal or the sorcerer himself.

He heard a flutter of wings and a large raven landed on a nearby rock.

“Anything?”

The raven turned into Reiny and sat beside him.

“Not even a shred of a trace. He’s a ghost.”

“But you picked him up last time.”

“I picked you up last time. Now he’s travelling alone.”

“I guess twenty years of guerilla warfare does make you good at hiding tracks.”

“So do we keep trying?”

“We have to. He has the seal.”

“Didn’t he tell you you’ll see each other again?”

“He did, but that’s not exactly reassuring.”

“Hmm… Did you find any tracks in the catacombs? Maybe he passed through there?”

Katnir focused and thought for a few seconds.

“No… But now that I think about it… Did you tell the Sisters about the seal?”

“I didn’t. Why?”

“Because Sonia asked me if I still had it. But I didn’t tell any of them about it, and since neither did you… how did she know about the seal?”

“Are you sure you didn’t mention it even once? You did talk with her in the inn.”

“I did, but I would never let such a thing slip.”

“When you were in the tunnels, did you sense anything unusual about her?”

“Hard to say. The interference from the background aura was too strong, there were no anomalies…”

The wizard pondered for a while and suddenly jumped on his feet.

“By the gods! There were no anomalies! She wears a catharite amulet, but she didn’t have it in the tunnels!”

“Is there a chance she had left it?”

“You tell me. Did she have it on her when you last saw her?”

“In fact… she did. All of them had some catharite on them.”

“Reiny… I don’t think it was Sonia whom I saw in the catacombs.”

“So what do we do now? Leave Einhart for now and go check in with the Sisterhood?”

What to do, indeed… - Katnir thought. – On one hand, a hunch that there is something strange going on in the Sisterhood, on the other hand, the goal of my years-long search slipping between my fingers. More importantly, the woman I saw in the catacombs knew about the seal, and that was something only me and Reiny were supposed to know about… Einhart and his men knew too, but they would’ve already known it was with him. It makes no sense.

What is certain is that Einhart has the seal and can open the tomb… I have nothing left but to gamble. Gamble that Einhart doesn’t find the tomb before we find him, or gamble that the woman from the tunnels is not a threat…

Finally, he made a decision.

“As crazy as this sounds, I’m more willing to bet on Einhart’s honesty than on that woman not being a big deal.”

“To Gath, then.”

***

“Taevine, what is the meaning of this?” – Satine asked, seeing her sister in cahoots with the Brotherhood.

“And what does it look like? You’re under arrest for conspiring with a rogue sorcerer and breaking him out of the Faith’s custody.”

“Why? Why did you break your oath and betray us?”

“I betrayed you? You betrayed the Faith by siding with a spellcaster. You have brought that onto yourself. I’m only taking my rightful place as the decurioness.”

“You wanted it from the beginning…”

“Yes, I did. And you know full well I am a better suit than you.”

“Are you? You betrayed us for your own gain. I would’ve laid my life for the order.”

Taevine didn’t respond.

“Do the others know?”

“No, they don’t know you’re being apprehended. Katria’s an idiot who barely knows what’s going on around her, and Liesë escaped.”

“Escaped?”

“Yes, but the search party is already after her. She will be judged for her crime too.”

“So you’re commanding a squad of two, one of them being an idiot, and the other being Katria. Was it worth it, Taevine?”

She gritted her teeth with rage.

“Enough talking! Drop your weapons and surrender!”

Satine looked around. There were ten of them, not counting Taevine herself. The odds didn’t look good, but her scorn for the betrayal made them irrelevant. If she was to go down, she wanted to go down in combat.

“Draw, sister” – she said, emphasizing the word “sister” with contempt.

“As you wish” – Taevine replied and turned to her men. – “She’s mine. Don’t interfere.”

Taevine pulled out her longsword, and Satine reached for her twin shortswords, staring her fearlessly in the eye. They stood a few paces apart, focused and silent. Satine recollected all sparring sessions they held together, searching for any weaknesses she could exploit. Suddenly, there came a realization.

I can’t kill her… But what if she really wants to kill me? Maybe I can just injure her and make a run for it… It’s worth a try.

She took an offensive stance, betting on landing the first strike to throw Taevine off her rhythm. She was just about to go for it, when she heard a shout behind her.

“Leave my daughter alone!”

Both her and Taevine looked behind her. It was mother Mina, in full battle gown, holding her old sword, with the wax seal still on the slit between the hilt and the sheath. She stood proud, with her hair tied and a daring glint in her eyes. She looked years younger, just as the battlesisters imagined her in her old days.

“I shall be your opponent, young one.”

Taevine was so frightened, she shrunk a few inches.

“But mother… I thought you had sworn never to raise your steel again…”

“It’s an oath-breaking day, anyway…”

The seal cracked and fell from the hilt as she drew her sword. Despite the years, the blade shone freshly in the bright sun, as if it was forged yesterday. Mother Mina stepped forth, holding her sword menacingly in the wrath guard, one hand free.

“Run, Satine.”

“But…” – Satine wanted to stay and fight as well.

“I said run!”

Begrudgingly, Satine nodded and dashed to the side, trying to escape through the rubble. One of the men-at-arms took off after her, but Mina’s swift slash caught his knee tendons between the armor plates and he fell on the ground, howling with pain. She silenced him with a quick kick in the helmet. Then all hell broke loose as the soldiers threw themselves at Mina.

That was the last Satine could see, as the scene disappeared behind a half-collapsed wall. Before her there was only forest and the bitter-sweet scent of freedom. Distant clashing of steel chased her long into the woods.

***

The tenth one almost gave Mina a proper challenge, but after a short exchange, he overextended his thrust and paid for it with a dislocated elbow. Mina killed none in that fight, but for some of them, lying on the ground and groaning with pain, the bitter defeat must have felt worse than death. Now it was only her and Taevine.

She probably waited until I'm tired, so she can fight me at my weakest. Pathetic.

Mina shook off a few drops of blood from her sword and rubbed the sweat from her forehead. Taevine stood on the other side of the square, ready to fight.

“You're getting tired, old hag.”

“Taunts won't work on me, only steel.”

“Of that, I have plenty to give.”

She charged at Mina, her sword ready to strike from overhead.

Too predictable - Mina thought and feigned a parry against a downward chop, but in fact she knew Taevine would change direction at the last second. Indeed, a mere step away she switched to a diagonal slash.

Just as I taught her.

She intercepted the strike and redirected it, almost knocking Taevine off balance. The young battlesister tried to follow up with an upward cut, but Mina deflected it effortlessly.

She knew there was some truth in Taevine's words. Despite her unwavering spirit, she knew her body wouldn't keep up forever. She had to be wary not to lose her wind. Her best chance was to finish the fight early.

“You knew I would be a better decurioness than her!” – Taevine screamed, flailing her sword at Mina. – “Yet you gave the honor to her. Why? Why did you make me betray my sisters?!”

“I made you betray them?” – Mina replied, deflecting her blows. – “It was your choice. You chose to sell us out to the Brotherhood!”

“No!” - Taevine thrusted at Mina with all her might. She tried to evade, but the sword pierced her battle gown and into her side.

Mina grappled her sword with one hand, keeping it in place and smacked Taevine in the face with the hilt. Staggered, the battlesister let go of her weapon. Before she could recover, Mina struck her in the occiput with the pommel. Taevine let out a silent groan and collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

Breathing heavily, Mina pulled Taevine's sword out and dropped it on the ground with a cling. Fortunately for her, it was only a flesh wound.

I need to chase after Satine.

As she patched herself up, she heard someone clapping.

“A splendid display, indeed!”

A lone hooded figure stood atop a pile of rubble. Despite the years, she recognized the dark cloak and even more worn-out chainmail.

“It's been a while, Mina. A long while.”

“Kragavald… You're a Brotherhood's errand boy now?”

“On the contrary. I'm on a hunt of my own choosing.”

Mina’s heart skipped a beat.

Is he after Satine?

“I've kept my promise.”

“Yet here you are, brandishing a sword like that day when we fought the throng of vampire thralls in the Nilhand manor” – he looked at her weapon and the broken seal lying in the rubble. – “And you would even go as far as to revoke your propitiation. That hardly fits ‘never to bear arms again’, wouldn't you say?”

“I had to protect my daughter.”

Kragavald's face darkened.

“So protect her against the consequences of breaking our deal” – he said, slowly drawing his sword.