The Warden

Chapter 28

A wheezing Masis fell to the ground in front of Kyla. Sweat's salty brine reeked from him. The linen of his shirt fouled and yellowed with it was stiff and wrinkled.

Kyla's breath came in even, steady regularity and her heart hardly protested at the sudden stop. Barefoot and unruffled, she took in the lad's adust skin and besmirched cheeks.

That was hardly three leagues, she thought, and I wasn't even pushing myself.

The Domrae whelp had made some strides towards improvement in the month or so Kyla had had to train him so far. But it was not enough. Not nearly. She did not know if it ever would be.

The woods had thinned, populated mainly with sickly pines whose patchy branches held few needles and whose bark was a sickly gray. Light filtered through in dusty beams, the underbrush thickly encrusted with the motes.

Grabbing two substantial branches off the ground, Kyla threw one onto Masis' exposed chest. His breath caught with surprise.

"Defend yourself."

She spoke those two words before charging the still panting youth. Her stick came crashing down where Masis had been laying, sending dirt flying through the air in a brown explosion.

Better.

Masis had rolled away. Coming to his feet, he barreled at her. Stick held ready. Body trembling with exertion. He slashed at her midsection. Kyla twisted around his attack, aiming her improvised weapon at his head. Masis turned his slash into a defensive sweep, knocking Kyla's thrust off its target with a loud crack.

Good.

"But what happens when you can't see your opponent?" Kyla asked, her form melting away before Masis. She swallowed a hiss as she smothered her lifelight with her mental grasp.

Masis' snatched up a handful of dust. He pitched it over the area Kyla had been standing moments before. The brown cloud settled on Kyla, outlining her form. Masis swung at her. The two weapons again cracked together.

Excellent.

Then Masis abandoned his weapon and tackled the still invisible Kyla, driving her to the ground with his weight. She reappeared on impact. The uneven ground jabbed into her back, the pine needles doing little to cushion her collision. Masis landed on top of her, reddening as her body pressed into his. He hesitated.

Foolish. Kyla shook her head.

Thrusting her hips up, Kyla kicked Masis over her head. Using the motion to roll her the same direction, she ended sitting on his stomach, pinning his arms to his sides with her legs. She pressed a small twig, snagged in the tumble, to his throat.

"Yield." A command not a question.

Breath again ragged, chest heaving, Masis made a single burst of an attempt at escape. Kyla slammed her weight into his stomach making his mouth gape for air.

"I... I yield." His words wheezed out barely with enough air to support them.

Kyla grunted before slamming her weight into his stomach again. Masis doubled up, his breath lost again. Rising, Kyla took only a few steps from him. She tossed the impromptu dagger away, her lips curled as though ready to spit.

"What did you do wrong?" she asked, her words flat. She gave her back to Masis.

"First...." His breath fought him. "I'd say my first mistake was taking you as my master." A breathy chuckle caught in his throat. "Or maybe it was trying to fight you in the first place. Any sensible person, who knew anything about you, would just turn and run."