Elyons hunters, p.36
Elyon's Hunters,
p.36
The fire on Renly’s trews didn’t have time to take hold before he put it out with his free hand. Once it was out, he wasted no time in resuming his attack because he couldn’t risk giving her time to find her weapon. In a double-handed attack, he raised his blade high and hacked down, coming perilously close to decapitating Elyon’s Arch Priestess.
Out of desperation, Sábria blocked with her arm, and when her forearm hit his sword’s small, curved handguard, she thought she felt her bone give way. Ignoring the pain racing up her arm, she flung it wide, jerked to the left, and finally managed to tangle her legs in his.
Using a technique Isobel had taught her, she straightened her legs and locked one in front of his thighs right above the knees and the other behind his calves. She jerked sideways, twisting up onto one hip and causing him to come crashing down on his side.
Continuing the movement, she rolled completely onto her belly and scrambled for her sword on hands and knees. She grabbed it and rolled in time to miss being hacked in two by Renly, who’d taken the time she’d used to re-arm to regain his feet. He slashed at her midsection, but she managed to parry the blow and bind his sword long enough to stand and back away.
Renly repeated his previous frenzied attack, but this time, Sábria understood the pattern. She got her wits about her and, with her injured arm screaming in pain, forced herself to take a two-handed grip, whipped her sword over her head, and brought it down as though intending to cleave him in two. That wasn’t her intention, though. She only needed to make him stop the attack by having to step back and parry her strike. When he did, she went on the offensive.
Geller growled, “About fowkin’ time.” She blew out a breath, recrossed her arms, and leaned toward Shirin. “Remind me to work on defendin’ that attack, aye?”
Shirin, who’d forgotten to breathe, let out a breath and wordlessly nodded. Getting her wits about her, she looked around, hoping to find the Master Healer somewhere in the crowd.
A calm voice spoke from directly behind her. “I’m right here, Commander, and unless he succeeds the next time he attempts to remove her head from her body, I can put her back together again. I doubt the arm’s broken, though, judging by her last two-handed attack, but it’s definitely burned.”
Returning her attention to the fight, Shirin wordlessly nodded again.
When Renly fell back into his routine and held his sword in his upper right quadrant, Sábria attacked low. Instead of slicing from the right side of her leg, she stepped left, and as soon as Renly parried the attack he assumed was coming, she sliced upwards between his legs and severed his femoral artery. With blood fountaining out of his leg, he looked at her and began laughing until, like Lord Chilton, he fell to his knees and onto his face.
It took a moment, but as soon as he took his last breath, the blue Circle of Revenge disappeared.
Not chancing retribution from any of the noblemen present, Shirin immediately yelled, “Surround and protect.”
From up above, both Lord Dunham and Lady Fiyori marveled at the more than two hundred fifty Blades who immediately formed concentric circles around their Arch Priestess, pushing noblemen and women back until they had to leave through the gate or risk being pinned against the bailey’s walls.
Sábria looked up at Dunham and Fiyori from inside the circle. With a grim set to her mouth, she nodded once. Almost immediately, dizziness overtook her. She bent over to rest the hand of her uninjured arm on her knees. Realizing the lightheaded feeling behind her eyes wasn’t going away, she squatted with her head down, trying to pull in enough air to keep the black spots away.
A hand rested on her back, and she heard Haria’s voice as though it was coming from the end of a long tunnel. A cloth tickled her nose, and Haria said, “Breathe in. It will clear your head long enough that you can walk to the tunnel on your own two feet since I know how stubborn you are about letting people see you being carried away from a fight.”
Loving the way her people knew her so well, Sábria pulled in a long breath.
“Again.”
After repeating the process several times, she finally felt the darkness receding until she was able to raise her head and stand upright.
Shirin stepped in and took her arm, needing to do something to support her, but Sábria pulled away. “Let me get to the tunnel on my own, Shirin. Then you can throw me over your shoulder and carry me to the Healer Hall.” She smiled and then swayed as another bout of dizziness assailed her. “As long as I don’t pass out first.”
Shirin leaned in to offer her body as support, and with Haria walking on her other side, they slowly made their way to the tunnel’s entrance.
CHAPTER 23
A fortnight later, Sábria stood at the back of the healer hall, watching Caitir as she argued with one very stubborn shiv. “I used to be the one teaching you to read, Ailith. This is ridiculous.”
Caitir sat propped against the headboard with Ailith on one side and Ty on the other. Ailith reopened the small, leatherbound book Caitir had just slammed shut and found the page she wanted. “Aye, but ya fell on yer stubborn noggin’ and knocked yer rocks outta yer fowkin’ ear. Th’ healer says ya need to practice what ya used to ken, and since I’m still learnin’ to read, like, and Ty needs to learn th’ fowkin’ poxy Cibían cant, well, here we all are. So stop yer whingin’ and tell me th’ name of this letter.”
Shirin walked up behind Sábria with a list in her hand. “We’re almost ready to head out, but honestly? I get the feeling that a lot of the Hunters would be just as happy to stay here.”
Sábria walked into the main hall. “I know, and as I told them before, if they’d like to leave the Hunters and return to the life of a Temple Blade, that’s perfectly fine with me.”
The burns on her arm were healing well, helped by some of Haria’s wonderful ointment, which not only healed but also took away the nearly debilitating pain she’d had right after the fight. As Haria had guessed, the forearm hadn’t been broken—cracked, maybe, judging by the amount of pain it produced when Sábria had accidentally knocked it against a piece of furniture a few days earlier.
The injury to her arm had given her and Shirin the time they needed to organize a protracted hunt through Cibía for the Blades and civilians who’d abused the Hunters. Haria had insisted on them staying at least a fortnight to allow the burns to heal without infection, and they finally had her blessing to leave.
Shirin, Calit, and Rahel had taken the time to pack several wagons with supplies, make the exact selections of personnel, with Sábria’s input, of course, and give Rúsola time to get used to her new position as Subcommander in charge of operations. She’d grumped about the promotion and made Sábria promise it was only temporary because “It’s th’ Primes what make a Temple run right. I’m a Prime, and I’ll die a Prime, even if I have to take these fowkin’ two or three moons and be a fowkin’ Subcommander while yer huntin’ th’ rats what caused this mess in th’ first place.”
Sábria called over her shoulder, “Ailith. Ty. Time to go.”
Quick goodbyes came from the other room before the two women hurried into the hall. Ailith grinned as they walked toward them. “I gave her me book to work on whilst we’re gone.”
Sábria crossed her arms, careful not to hurt her still-bandaged forearm. “And just how are you going to practice without it?”
With a flourish, Ailith reached behind her back and pulled out a different book she’d stuffed into her pants. “With this! Master Lowenbrow sold it to me. Well, I had to do some dustin’ again, ya ken, but it’s me second book. All me own, so I lent Caitir th’ other.” Her grin stretched from ear to ear. “Me! Having a extra book to lend.” She was practically bursting with pride as she held the book out for the two of them to see.
Sábria took it, running a hand over the leather dust jacket similar to its predecessor, most probably covering up more frolicking sheep and cows. She opened it to the first page and silently read, A Child’s Second Turn Primer. After leafing through the pages, she glanced at her shiv. “This is a lot harder than your first book. Do you think you’re up to it?” She saw a look of worry flit through Ailith’s eyes, so she added. “I’ll tell you what. While we’re on the road, if I’m not busy, you bring it to me every night, and we’ll work through it together, yes?”
A serious, determined glint came into Ailith’s eyes. “Aye, Milady. Jenx and Prime Geller said th’ same. I’ll learn it, though. Ya watch.” Her brows descended again. “Milady?” She pointed to a word etched into the lower left corner of the leather covering. The head of a bear was prominently stamped next to the word. The letters were depressed and dyed a bright red, while the bear’s head was a deep purple. “Nobody’ll tell me what this says, and I can’t make it out.”
Sábria, who’d had Lowenbrow find the perfect second primer for Ailith, had taken the measurements he’d given her and ordered the cover made explicitly for her shiv. “It’s your name, Ailith.” To her delight, Ailith’s face reddened, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
Ailith looked away, knowing exactly what the bear represented to the Blades. Not trusting herself to keep her tears in check, mostly because a few had already spilled down onto her cheeks, she opted to take the book and hurry out of the building.
As they watched their shiv tuck the book down the back of her trews, Sábria glanced sideways at Shirin with raised brows.
Shirin returned the gesture. “I think you might have broken our shiv.”
“Do you think the bear head was too much?”
“I think it was perfect.”
Sábria slipped her good arm around Ty’s shoulders, and the three stepped into the courtyard, which was a hive of last-minute activity. She was taking fifty Senior Blades, Primes Geller and Osstendler, several shivs and their handlers, Kara with her healer’s wagon, other specialists, and Ty.
All of the Hunters except Cladine were coming along as well. Not only did they need to identify those they knew had been involved, but it was also imperative that they see for themselves just how serious Sábria was about punishing those responsible. Fortunately, the Right of Revenge had gone a long way toward doing just that.
Xyda and her wife stood beside their horses, waiting to mount. Sábria hadn’t seen much of Quariss, and she strode over and smiled. “I’m glad you and some of your people decided to join us, Quariss.”
The brown eyes lit with amusement. “Still with the Quariss. Why couldn’t you have called me Kavrid, after the mythical warrior dragon queen, or Teython, the champion of the mythical aisles? Quariss just seems so…I mean…” She held out her arms. “Do I look like anyone’s ‘Little One’ to you?”
The affectionate look Sábria turned on her wasn’t lost on Xyda, who snorted. “I think you’re destined to be her Little One, even after you tell her your name.”
Quariss rolled her eyes. “Goddess, I hope not.”
Sábria chuckled as she walked to where Kemi stood holding Shadowfoot. “Do you have all the hostlers you need for the trip?”
“Oh, aye, Milady. Yer Ty’s worth five hostlers, all on her own. We’ll be fine.”
Taking the reins, Sábria mounted. There was a lightness to her heart she hadn’t felt in a long time. She’d missed traveling the Empire and visiting her Temples, and while the reason they were going wasn’t a pleasant one, she was looking forward to it with anticipation.
Subcommander Calit walked over and put a hand on Shadowfoot’s shoulder. “We’ll hold down the fort, My Lady. I’ll send Cladine out to find you if we need you.”
“And remember, in an emergency, get word to Lord Dunham, but—”
“But don’t let Emperor Aloric know. I know, My Lady. Hopefully, we won’t need him, and when you ride back through the gates this time, I won’t have to meet you with bad news.”
Sábria looked down on her Subcommander. “You’ve been baptized by fire, Calit. You’re not the woman you were when you were first promoted. I trust you to do what’s right. Make sure you talk things out with Rahel when you need to. And listen to Rúsola. She’s wise beyond her turns.”
“So you’ve said many times, My Lady. We’ll be fine.”
Sábria hung her head in mock shame. “I’m like an old mother bear, aren’t I?” With a wink, she added, “I know you’ll do just fine.” With those parting words, Sábria, the Arch Priestess of the Daughters of Elyon, and her entourage rode through the portcullis on their way to visit the furthest ends of her Empire.
ALSO BY ALISON NAOMI HOLT
Sapphic Romance
The Inheritance
Whiskey-Colored Eyes
Mystery
Credo’s Hope - Alex Wolfe Mysteries Book 1
Credo’s Legacy – Alex Wolfe Mysteries Book 2
Credo’s Fire – Alex Wolfe Mysteries Book 3
Credo’s Bones - Alex Wolfe Mysteries Book 4
Credo’s Betrayal - Alex Wolfe Mysteries Book 5
Credo’s Honor - Alex Wolfe Mysteries Book 6
Credo’s Bandidos - Alex Wolfe Mysteries Book 7
Credo’s Run - Alex Wolfe Mysteries Book 8
Fantasy Fiction
The Seven Realms of Ar’rothi
The Spirit Child–The Seven Realms of Ar’rothi 1
Duchess Rising–The Seven Realms of Ar’rothi 2
Duchess Rampant-The Seven Realms of Ar’rothi 3
Spyder’s Web-The Seven Realms of Ar’rothi 4
Spyder’s Kiss-The Seven Realms of Ar’rothi 5
Aidrafiri: Aevala’s Own - The 7 Realms of Ar’rothi 6
Bardic Tales From Ar’rothi - A collection of short stories set in Anacafria
Daughters of Elyon
Elyon’s Blades - Book 1
Elyon’s Ghost - Book 2
Elyon’s Vengeance - Book 3
Elyon’s Regret Book 4
Elyon’s Hunters Book 5
Mage of Merigor
Mage of Merigor
Psychological Thriller
The Door at the Top of the Stairs
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“They whispered to her, you can’t withstand the storm. She whispered back, I am the storm. “ ~ unknown
I grew up listening to my parents reading me the most wonderful books full of adventure, heroes, ducks, and curly-tailed pigs. I promote reading wherever I go and believe literacy is the key to changing the world for the better.
Along those lines—the changing the world for the better part—I have always believed that there is a strong, capable warrior inside each and every woman. I try to use my platform as an author to empower all women by creating strong women warriors whose lives aren’t perfect but who stand up for themselves and for their sisters, no matter what difficult challenges life throws their way.
Together, women can change the world for the better. Whether the world we change is no bigger than the block we live on or the children we raise or whether we change entire communities, women can and do make a difference. Believe in yourself. I do.
If you want to know a little about me personally, my previous life as a cop gave me a bizarre sense of humor, a realistic outlook on life, and an insatiable desire to live life to the fullest. I love all horses and hounds and some humans…
For more information:
https://alisonholtbooks.com
Alison Naomi Holt, Elyon's Hunters
