D. MacHale - The Rivers of Zadaa

Loor didn’t have to be told twice. She rolled across the floor toward the back window and crouched up on her feet, ready to go. “Stay with him, Pendragon,” she said. A moment later she sprang up and launched herself out the window.

I had to make a quick decision. Was I going to stay here with Alder and hope Loor could protect us? Or was now the time to step up to the plate and use my new skills? I looked at Alder. I think the look in my eyes told him what my decision was.

“You are ready,” was all he said, as if to assure me. “Be careful.”

“Stay with him, Saangi,” I ordered, and rolled for the back window as I had seen Loor do.

“Loor told you to stay here!” Saangi protested.

“And nowI’mtellingyouto stay here,” I shot back. As I stood under that window, I realized that my earlier fight with Loor wasn’t my final exam after all. That was only a pop quiz. My true final exam was about to be given now, and this time it wasn’t against a friend. Was I ready? It didn’t matter. Failing this test would mean death.

I leaped up and hoisted myself out the window. I’d forgotten that Osa’s stave was still in the sling on my back. As I went through the opening, I caught one end of the weapon on the window frame. It threw me off balance, and I ended up tumbling down and hitting the ground, back first. This time being clumsy with the weapon wasn’t so funny. I didn’t have time to feel dumb, though. I quickly jumped up and threw myself against the wall, bracing myself to get hit with one of those steel arrows. A quick look around told me I was alone. I quickly yanked the stave out of the sling and ran to the edge of the building to find Loor.

I got to the corner and cautiously looked around to witness a curious scene. Loor was standing in the middle of the dusty training ground. Facing her were six Tiggen guards, with their goggles on and their heads wrapped. This didn’t look like a warm reunion, like when we met those guys on the farm. Everyone here looked tense, with their legs set wide and their weapons ready. Four of them held steel batons. The fifth had a weapon that looked like a medieval crossbow. Only this thing was loaded with a row of steel arrows. Two of them had already been fired. One was sticking out of Alder’s shoulder. Stranger still, he had the weapon trained on the back of the last Tiggen guard! It was the only guard I recognized, because he had removed his goggles. It was Bokka, Loor’s friend. He stood between Loor and the five others, with a loaded crossbow aimed at his back. I had no idea what was going on, though one thing I was pretty sure of. This was no social call. There was going to be more trouble.

No sooner did I survey the scene, then all hell broke loose. It started with a dark streak flying toward the group. At first I thought it was a bird swooping in, but a quick look showed me that it was Saangi’s wooden stave. She had hurled it at the Tiggen guards like a spear. A second later I saw her sprinting toward the group. She hadn’t followed my instructions and stayed with Alder. No surprise. Saangi wasn’t big on following orders. Then again, I didn’t follow Loor’s orders either, so I shouldn’t criticize. The stave hit the Tiggen with the crossbow, knocking it out of his hands. Instantly Loor attacked. The battle was on. Without taking a second to try and figure out what was happening, I bolted for the group. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I was about to do it.

A quick look told me that Loor was fighting two of the guards. Saangi went after a third. Bokka had turned and tackled the last one, wrestling him for control of his steel baton-weapon. I didn’t understand. What had happened that the Tiggens were now against Bokka? There wasn’t time to analyze. I went after the leader, who was scrambling to pick up his crossbow. He saw me at the last second, flying in with the stave held high. He didn’t have time to pick up the weapon and aim. Instead he grabbed it and threw it at me. I deflected it with no problem, but it gave him time to pull his own steel baton from his belt. I still hadn’t seen how the Tiggen guards used this short weapon. It looked pretty solid and would probably hurt if it made contact. I figured that with my longer stave I could keep him far enough away so I wouldn’t get hit. I’d only be in trouble if I let him inside. Or so I thought.

I can’t say that I flashed back on all the lessons that I had been through over the past few weeks. I didn’t. Except for one. Loor taught me to think like a warrior, and act without thinking. She had trained me well. Every move I made from that point on, I did by instinct. If I had taken the time to think, I’d be dead.

I quickly realized that my opponent wasn’t all that skilled. He was clumsy, and swung his baton wildly, like a guy with a tennis racket trying to swat a bee. I guess that’s why he had the crossbow. He was a better marksman than a fighter. He’d swing at me, I’d knock his shot away, and the following shot, then counter with a blow to the chest, or the head. I kept getting the third shot in. I was winning. It was easy. Fighting Loor and Alder was a lot more difficult than dueling this loser. Of course, I didn’t think about that at the time. I just let it fly.

There was only one problem. This was the first real fight I had been in. I was used to sparring against friends with a lightweight bamboo pole. Osa’s stave was heavy! I could handle it okay, but I was slower. And I didn’t know how much force to put behind it. I think the whole time I was fighting in the training camp, I subconsciously held back, knowing that I was fighting friends. It was more about technique than intent. Here I needed to clobber this guy. But as often as I’d hit him, and it was pretty often, he didn’t seem to be affected by it. Now that I think back on this fight, I realize that there is a big difference between sparring, and full-speed fighting. I still didn’t quite know how to do it, and it nearly cost me my life.

Loor had already knocked one guy out, and was battling the second. Saangi was holding her own. I figured she only had to last long enough for Loor to dispatch her second opponent before Loor would help her out. One thing was pretty clear: the Ghee were better fighters than the Tiggen guards. It was good to be a Ghee. I also saw that Bokka was wrestling with the last guard and seemed to be in control. It looked as if this fight would be over quickly, and we’d get some answers as to what was going on.

It turned out not to be that easy. Up until that moment, I had easily knocked away every attack my opponent made. It was so effortless, I got cocky. I knew I could beat this guy, so I turned my thoughts to what was going to happen after the fight. It was a near fatal mental lapse. I should have finished him. I didn’t. In that quick moment the guy thrust his baton at me. There wasn’t much force behind it, but that didn’t matter. In that one second I learned what the steel baton weapons were all about. The steel grazed my shoulder, and my arm went numb. I was hit with a jolt of electricity! These steel weapons were stun guns! Suddenly I couldn’t use my arm. Osa’s stave fell out of my limp hand. I had to quickly react and shift the balance with my other hand, or the Tiggen would have knocked it out of my grasp entirely and I’d have been defenseless.

I could barely control the stave with my one good hand, and there was no way I could counter with an attack. I had all I could do just to keep this guy from jabbing me with that cattle prod again. The guy lunged at me. I backed off, but rather than attack, the guy dove to the ground, away from me. This was a new tactic. What was he doing? He hit the ground, rolled, and scooped up his crossbow. Uh-oh. He rolled into a kneeling position, ready to fire. I was the target. I was dead.