Herald of the Storm

TWENTY-FOUR

Kaira waited in her room for three days. She had been told someone would contact her, but no one came the first night, or the second. The landlord of the Pony and Fiddle didn’t seem to mind her staying there, he simply provided her with food and asked for nothing in return.

And so she waited.

In the meantime she busied herself by honing her body and mind, using the scant environment offered by the room to test herself physically and mentally. She used the bed and roof beams to sharpen her muscles: fifty pull-ups, a hundred push-ups, two hundred sit-ups. She lifted the wooden table on her back and squatted till her thighs burned. Then she stretched, gripping her ankles and bending till her forehead touched her knees, keeping her legs arrow straight and touching her palms to the floor, then reaching each arm over one shoulder to bring her hands together behind her back.

The need to remain strong and supple was not lost on her. This mission would be a difficult one and Kaira had no idea when her fighting prowess would be needed.

To strengthen her mind she simply sat and prayed. Vorena would only watch over her if she remained resolute of thought and purpose. Nothing must be allowed to sway her, nothing must be allowed to stand in her way. It was not easy to keep focus in a place so alien to all she knew, and without the constant presence of her sisters. The Shieldmaidens were an order used to working as a single unit, and without them by her side, Kaira found it more difficult to find the strength she would need for the task ahead.

But the undertaking had been given. It was her penance for the loss of control she had displayed. Kaira would carry out her mission, perform her duty, and let nothing stop her.

On the third day there was a knock at the door.

She opened it a crack, looking out into the gloom, expecting it to be her contact, but prepared in case it wasn’t. At first all she saw was darkness, but, as her eyes adjusted to the light given off by the single candle in its wall sconce, she saw a figure standing in the gloom.

‘Are you going to invite me in?’ came a voice from the dark. It was a woman’s voice, and young. This might have put another at her ease, but Kaira had trained girls who were young, girls who were small, and knew just how dangerous they could be.

Nevertheless, she took a step back and opened the door to the stranger, her muscles taut and ready for any attack.

The young girl entered. She was slight, a cloak covering her from head to knee, and when she drew back the hood she was smiling.

‘You are well?’ she asked conversationally, as if they were old friends, like this was the most ordinary thing in the world. Like Kaira’s world hadn’t collapsed around her and she hadn’t been disgraced, forced to leave her home and compelled to perform a task for which she was wholly unsuited.

‘Who are you?’ said Kaira in reply, in no mood for pleasantries.

The girl smiled wider. ‘I have lots of names, but you can call me Buttercup.’

Buttercup? What kind of name was that? It was something old, sentimental farmers called their prized heifers. ‘Is that some kind of joke?’

The girl’s smile lost some of its humour. ‘You’ll find I joke only on rare occasions. Now is not one of those occasions. So I’ll ask again — are you well? Are you fit?’

Of course I am fit, I am a Shieldmaiden of Vorena, a defender of the weak, an instrument of righteousness honed and tempered in the flames of battle, ready to strike down the enemies of my gods and my king.

‘Yes.’

‘Excellent. You’ll need to be where we’re going. I’ve set up a meet, so all you need do is turn up and perhaps demonstrate some of your … abilities.’

Kaira was under no illusions as to what that meant. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to kill anyone in the process.

‘How will I know what to do once I’ve proved myself?’

Buttercup inclined her head, as though she were talking to a child. ‘You leave that to me, pet. Try not to do too much thinking. Let’s stick to what we’re good at.’

Kaira clenched her fists, resisting the temptation to teach this pup some respect, but she felt she would have the chance to vent her frustrations soon enough.

‘Shall we?’ said the girl, gesturing to the door.

Kaira donned her cloak and followed in silence.

The journey through the streets seemed a little less grimy than it had done when Kaira first left the Temple of Autumn. The people she passed were a little less threatening, the whores a little less pitiful.

It was with a growing sense of foreboding that she realised she was getting used to the squalor, adapting to it, and that made her more fearful than anything. Within the confines of the Temple she had been shielded from this, somehow kept pure from the rotten taint of the city, but the more she walked its streets, mixed with its lost and forgotten denizens, the greater the chance that she become more like them.

Kaira gritted her teeth against the prospect. She could never allow herself to be tainted. Despite everything, she was still a Shieldmaiden, still a chosen sister of Vorena, a bright flame in the dark, a beacon for the lost. No matter how deep she trod in the mire she could never forget that.

‘We’re here,’ Buttercup said.

They were north of a bustling meat market, the stench of which almost turned Kaira’s stomach. Buttercup led them down an alley between a pair of tall, stone buildings. Two men waited at the top of a staircase. They nodded at Buttercup as she made her way down into the dark and eyed Kaira with amused suspicion as she passed them. At the bottom of the stairs Buttercup opened a rotting door and moved into a dank cellar.

The smell of damp assailed Kaira’s nose and she paused to allow her eyes time to adjust to the dark. In the gloom she could see a man with his back to her, sitting at a table. A bottle of wine and a goblet rested to one side of him.

Buttercup and Kaira waited as the man gorged himself on a plate of cured meats and hard bread, occasionally dipping one or the other into his goblet.

As she waited, Kaira was aware that there were other figures in the dark, at the edges of the cellar, watching and waiting. Her every nerve was on edge, her every muscle taut and ready to strike at the first sign of danger. Something screamed in her head that this was wrong, that she was putting herself in needless danger, but she managed to quell the compulsion to flee.

She must go through with this if her mission were not to fail.

At last the man finished his meal, quaffing down what remained of his wine and wiping his mouth with a cloth. He sat back, breathing out happily, then turned to face the two women.

‘Ah, Buttercup,’ he breathed. ‘Always a delight, my dear. And who have you brought to see us?’

‘Palien, may I introduce Kaira? Former mercenary, now unfortunately unemployed.’

‘Ah yes.’ Palien stood, looking Kaira up and down with an appraising eye. He was a lean man, despite his obvious appetite, with a thick head of dark hair and a large moustache that curled across his top lip. His eyes were small and dark and Kaira felt uncomfortable under their gaze. ‘We’ve heard much about you. And you certainly look the part.’

He ran finger and thumb through his moustache, weighing her up. Kaira half expected him to come and check the firmness of her haunches as he might do a thoroughbred horse.

‘Do you think you can use her?’ Buttercup said. Kaira hated being spoken for like a child, but she had been advised to be silent. Under the circumstances it was probably for the best.

Palien waggled his head from side to side. ‘Possibly. But there’s only one way to find out for sure.’

Kaira felt a sudden presence at her shoulder. She didn’t have to turn her head to know it was a man … a big one too. He had moved in without her hearing or seeing him — that was good work. He might well be dangerous. As he raised his arm and struck down with his hand axe she realised there was no ‘might’ about it.

She leaned back, bending her spine impossibly far as the axe cut the air an inch from her nose. There was barely enough time to right herself and dodge back before he cut in again — three desperate swipes aimed at her head, shoulder and midriff. She evaded with three lightning-quick steps.

He was, indeed, a big one, his ugly face made uglier by the snarl on his scarred lips. His nose and teeth were smashed in, indicating he had fought plenty of opponents on the streets.

But Kaira was not of the streets.

She was a warrior born, and trained in a temple dedicated to all arts martial.

He didn’t stand a chance.

As he moved forward, raising his arm high to cut down once more, Kaira stepped in and spun on her heel. She pressed in close with her back to him as his arm came down and over her shoulder. Her hands gripped him about the wrist and she wrenched down on the arm that held that wicked-looking axe, snapping it at the elbow. The axe clattered to the cellar floor as he bellowed in pain. She wrenched his broken arm around, hearing his roar grow shrill as she slammed the sole of her foot against his knee and the heel of her palm in his jaw in quick succession. He was silent as he collapsed to the ground, but another assailant was already rushing from the shadows.

This one stabbed out with his blade, aiming at her head, and Kaira backed away just far enough to avoid the keen edge but still close enough to feel it part the air in front of her. As he drew back for another strike her foot came up quick and sharp, hitting him between the legs. He gave out a yelp like a whipped bitch, dropping the blade and gripping his fruits in both hands. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and brought her knee up, smashing his nose in and whipping his head back sharply until it crashed against the ground.

Kaira turned in time to see Palien make two swift motions with his hand, signalling for two more of his men to come forward. One was small and wiry, a billhook in one hand and a crude shank in the other. The second was broader at the shoulders, gripping a dark wooden cudgel in both hands.

These men were more measured, more careful about their approach, circling her, looking for a gap in her defences.

Kaira waited. They would have to make a move eventually; it was only a matter of time. A sharp intake of breath warned of the first attack, as the one with the club rushed in, closely followed by his smaller friend.

She ducked the cudgel, spinning just in time to avoid the billhook but it still tore a slice in her tunic. With her hand flat and solid she managed to strike out, hitting the smaller man in the throat, enough to make him back off, but not quite hard enough to be fatal — Palien might not appreciate her killing his men, but she reckoned maiming might be acceptable.

The cudgel came down once more, and Kaira braced her legs, catching the wooden weapon in her hands and stopping it mid strike. Her attacker had just enough time to furrow his brow in confusion before she wrenched it from his grasp and rapped it across his head, dropping him like a sack of old spuds.

She got the cudgel up in time to stop the billhook as it cut in once more, its wielder now recovered. It struck her weapon, sending shards of splinters flying, and its sharp point lodged in the wood. The man tugged on it, trying to wrench it free, but it was stuck fast, and Kaira was not about to let go of the cudgel. With a growl of frustration he released it, relying on his crude shank, stabbing out in three swift strikes which Kaira easily avoided.

With a quick swipe she batted the shank from his hand. He opened his mouth to curse her, but she was quicker than his profanity, bringing the cudgel up, the billhook still stuck in it, and smashing him under the jaw. His mouth clamped shut, biting down hard on his tongue and sending a spray of blood from his mouth as he fell backwards and landed in a heap.

Kaira looked around for the next attacker but none came. All she received was a slow clap of the hands from Palien, who looked strangely amused at the easy besting of his men.

‘An impressive display,’ he said admiringly. ‘You weren’t lying, were you, Buttercup?’

‘I never lie, Palien,’ she replied, though Kaira doubted the truth of that.

‘But what to do with you? You’re far too pretty to act as a strongarm, though I’m sure if you turned up ready to collect a stipend from the traders we protect they would be falling over themselves to pay up. What to do, what to do?’

‘I have a suggestion,’ said Buttercup, moving in and almost touching Palien. He didn’t seem to mind her getting so close. ‘Perhaps she would be best suited to keeping Ryder in check. She could keep him alive while he finalises the deal with Bolo, and if he’s failing in his duties, pissing too much of our money down the drain, she could apply some gentle persuasion to keep him on track. Ryder would be much more inclined to listen to a woman, especially one with such obvious skills.’

Palien raised an eyebrow as he thought on it. Then he nodded. ‘An inspired idea. For a beauty like this Ryder will roll over and let his tummy be tickled. I remember now why I keep you around, my dear.’ Buttercup smiled. ‘All right, I think I can trust you to make the arrangements. And try to find something better for her to wear. She looks as if she came in with the last load of refugees.’

Kaira took all this in silence. Her blood was still pumping from the thrill of real combat, but she managed to suppress her urge to carry on, to smash Palien for his insolence, to slap Buttercup until she begged for mercy.

For now, she must bide her time.

After bidding Palien farewell, Buttercup led Kaira from the cellar, a grin on her face.

‘You look pleased with yourself,’ Kaira said, when they had put the building far behind them.

‘Of course I’m pleased with myself. That went far better than I could have possibly planned. Well done, by the way. Your display was exemplary.’

Exemplary? Kaira took no special pleasure in such an achievement. She was a defender of the weak and helpless — despite the thrill of combat, it gave her no pleasure to inflict pain on others, but she was all too aware of what they expected of her. ‘That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? To act the mercenary, until I must act the assassin.’

Buttercup stopped abruptly, and pulled her to one side of the street, her features darkening.

‘You are here to help me find the power behind the Guild so that we might destroy it. The Guild seeks ever more wealth and power: they would enslave every innocent in the Free States if it meant achieving that goal. You are a weapon, Kaira Stormfall, a weapon that will strike down the evil that infects this city. It is what you were born for.’

‘But how can this fulfil that aim? I am to act as nursemaid to a servant of this Palien. How will watching over a lowly criminal help me achieve my mission?’

Buttercup smiled once more. ‘Lowly criminal? Oh, Merrick Ryder is much more than that. He has a long and intimate history with the Guild. He also has the ear of its leaders. For months I have worked with Palien, trying to get an audience with them, but to no end. Ryder was given his current task by the leaders of the Guild themselves. Should he succeed it is highly likely they will wish to congratulate him in person. And if he fails they will want to see him killed with their own eyes. If you aid him as we are planning, you will be at his shoulder when he meets them, for whatever reward they choose to give him. Then you will have your chance to strike.’

‘If this Ryder is so important why does he require me? If he’s so valued by the Guild’s masters, he must be able to take care of himself.’

‘He doesn’t know he requires your aid yet, but he will. Once you have his trust you must stay by his side until the time is right.’

‘And how will I gain his trust?’

Buttercup grinned, putting her arm into Kaira’s like an old friend and guiding her on through the streets.

‘You just leave that to me.’