Elurra wasn’t the only one learning to use a Guardian sword. All of Lira’s advisers knew the truth behind King Nor’s death, Magic, and the nature of Terrin’s birth. Lira entrusted Olfe and Bajor with teaching Terrin about technology and swordplay, among his other lectures.
“What are the five biggest towns in Tipet, not including Zurgth?” Bajor demanded as his sword arched toward Terrin.
“Dodge! Feint, then twist upward,” Elurra whispered in his head. He obeyed her words instinctively.
“Horlif, Gor Reket, Quink, Bilt, and Vór,” Terrin listed between controlled breaths as his sword collided with Bajor’s.
“Clant is bigger than Horlif,” he corrected as he attempted to infiltrate Terrin’s defenses.
“Block, you daft prince!” Terrin smiled and successfully stopped the adviser’s attack, then counterattacked. For a moment, they were too absorbed with their clashing blades to recite trivia.
“What is the proper way to address a town leader?”
Terrin leaned to the side as Bajor’s sword swept past him.
“A nod to give them permission to speak. After they bow and give the formal introduction, I may speak to them as any visitor at court.” He didn’t let Bajor break his concentration.
Bajor gave an affirmative grunt as he launched yet another attack. Terrin knew Bajor’s sword was swinging toward him. He could sense it. Abruptly, he ducked and forcefully knocked his opponent’s weapon with his own blade and stepped in. Bajor recovered and swung to intercept Terrin, but Terrin grappled with his arm with his free hand and pressed his sword against Bajor’s neck.
“What are you waiting for? Finish him off!” Elurra’s voice shouted excitedly in his mind. For a second, he could picture her radiant smile egging him on, but he resisted the urge and stepped back.
Sorry, Snow. Not today, he thought as his mentor gave him an impressed look.
“It is hard to remember you had no training before last week. That sword of yours sure is a wonder,” Bajor marveled.
“Or maybe he is fighting an old geezer. I doubt he would so easily defeat me,” Olfe said as he approached.
Bajor’s expression soured when he turned to the young adviser.
“I would enjoy watching that fight. He might lose control of the connection and cut off your head. That would be an answer to all my prayers.”
Olfe was about to throw back an equally cutting comment, but Terrin stepped in.
“What’s the news, Olfe?” Both advisers turned to look at him simultaneously, and he realized his mistake. “I meant, what is the news?” he corrected.
“We are only a few hours away from Bezeldor. We want to distribute food and medical aid as soon as we arrive. I have heard the conditions are grim.”
Bajor huffed in agreement and started to pack up their gear. Olfe turned and started walking back toward the carriage, but Terrin called out and hurried to catch up.
“Olfe, may I speak with you in confidence?” he asked when he was closer.
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
“I was wondering if I could avoid handing out the supplies this time.”
“Why?” Olfe looked genuinely puzzled.
“Well, I do not appreciate the…attention, if you know what I mean.”
“Your Highness, the attention is the entire point of this journey. We want people to see you and get to know you.”
“I am aware of that, Olfe, but that isn’t, I mean is not, the kind of attention I was referring to,” Terrin stumbled out hastily, realizing his cheeks were turning red.
Olfe caught on, and a smile crossed his face.
“Are you referring to the attention from young ladies, Your Highness?”
“Yes. That attention,” Terrin mumbled.
In the last two villages they visited, Terrin felt overwhelmed by the flocks of females. They batted their eyes at him and giggled when he walked by. He couldn’t get rid of them. They asked countless questions and demanded he dance and chit-chat. He found their flirtations overwhelming, and he had no idea how to cope. Olfe’s smile grew.
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“Your Highness, do you not like the presence of a beautiful woman?”
“I guess I do, well, I mean I…I can’t…Oops, I mean cannot, say I don’t…I mean do not, like them,” Terrin stuttered, completely losing his composure and fumbling over proper noble grammar.
Olfe laughed at Terrin’s obvious discomfort and put his arm around his shoulders.
“Your Highness, you need to realize who you are now. You are the Prince of Tipet! You are the future ruler of this kingdom, and all these beautiful flowers are your subjects. You have power and wealth. You are handsome and mysterious. The ladies love it. You are the most important man in any room you enter, and these women can see that. Take advantage of it!”
Terrin nodded slowly. “Yeah. I guess you are right.”
“You have every woman in Tipet in your grasp. At the party this evening, pick one who catches your eye. I bet you if she is single, she will be all over you by the end of the night. All you have to do is show her some attention,” Olfe told him in a lowered tone. The idea was slowly growing on Terrin, and he rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully.
Maybe if I develop a bit more self-confidence, I will be able to get Snow to look at me as something more than just her friend, he dared to hope.
“Any girl?” he asked, a bashful grin spreading across his face as color tinted his cheeks.
“Any girl,” Olfe confirmed with a nod.
The carriage came into view, but Terrin was no longer nervous about continuing their trip. “I accept your bet.”
°◌°○●○°♣°○●○°◌°
Thankfully, Garen wasn’t seriously injured. The incision on his leg was merely a flesh wound. Lira assured Elurra at breakfast the next morning that, because of the nanites in his system, she doubted it would get infected, and he would be fine after a day or two of rest.
“You need not worry about it. The sword is hard to resist. I know what it is like in the heat of battle. That is why I wanted you to practice. The first few times I used the interface, I got so carried away I almost killed Zavier. It takes practice to master when to listen to the sword and when to stop.”
Elurra dropped the roll she was about to bite into.
“Are you saying there is a good chance I could have killed him?”
“I had faith you would refrain.”
“You had faith? What if I had accidentally cut his leg off before stopping?” Elurra asked, her voice rising an octave.
Lira paused for a moment and wrinkled her nose.
“That would have been most unpleasant, but we could have fixed it. That’s why I wanted you to practice on Garen. The nanites in his blood make him much easier to repair. Thankfully, nothing of the sort occurred. To be frank, I expected him to win. Even with the sword, there is a certain connection you must gain to be truly effective, and Garen is an accomplished swordsman. I should have foreseen the connection would be more natural with you since you were born with Guardian’s blood. It took some practice for me to properly merge with it.” Lira took a sip of her tea, apparently done with the matter.
Elurra thought of a question but couldn’t work up the courage to ask it for several minutes.
“Does the voice in your head when you connect with the sword remind you of someone?” she finally asked.
For a moment, Lira continued eating as if she hadn’t heard the question. Elurra was about to repeat herself when the queen finally spoke.
“Yes. The connection takes the voice of the person dearest to you so you will trust it, as many Guardian interfaces do. A programmed voice would scare you, but a person you are close to soothes you.” The awkward pause before her answer told Elurra exactly who spoke to Lira when she used her sword. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason. I was simply curious,” Elurra said with a faint smile. Her heart ached. The food before her made her stomach twist with revolt. She wanted nothing more than to see Terrin. Thankfully, Lira spoke again.
“While we are on the topic of the sword, it is time you learned a little more about the challenge you are facing. Nitiri is a menace, but the Demons are your true enemy. In the end, you and Nitiri are evenly matched, considering she has more experience, but you have recent Guardian heritage. However, the Demons are a different kind of foe. If you do not understand a Demon, then you will not be successful when you engage one in battle. You may get lucky and kill one because it is not prepared, but your advantage due to the element of surprise will end there.”
Elurra was confused.
“Terrin killed one, though.”
“Terrin was lucky. He faced a lowly foot soldier whose superiors had taught him all Incarians were harmless and weak. He had no idea we could kill them, and that was his undoing. Not all Demons are so naive. Once they see you have a Guardian weapon, they will be on their guard. You cannot underestimate Demons. They have ways of deflecting objects, making themselves solid, and dodging frontal attacks. They may look like pure smoke, but their core, the center of darkness amid every smoky cloud that makes up a Demon, is the only thing that matters. They are made of two layers. The outer layer can change. Some light can still penetrate it, it can grow or shrink, it can morph into objects, and it is poisonous. A Demon’s poison can make you delirious and manipulate your nerves and senses to inflict pain. You have already seen what it can do if it cuts someone in its solid form.”
Elurra cringed when she remembered watching Lira fight the poison in her vision.
“The outer layer is protection,” the queen continued. “If you can get to the core of the Demon, then you have reached its vulnerable point. It is characterized by impenetrable darkness and freezing temperatures. Once inside, the best way to kill it is a blinding flash of light. A simple fire is not enough. The Guardian weapons are programmed to do this.”
Elurra frowned.
“When we ran through Tiberius, he seemed to have multiple levels.”
“Tiberius is different. Another characteristic of the Demons is their outer layer becomes thicker depending on how much they eat. In some cases, like Tiberius, they can even develop multiple outer layers. I guarantee none of you saw his core. Demons can shift their cores inside themselves. With Demons who have not eaten in a long time, their outer layer is very thin, and it is easy to see their core. But those who have recently eaten are much more challenging. Most of the time, to locate their core, you must get them to eat you. That is almost impossible to do when you are holding a Guardian weapon.”
“In other words, I can flounder inside a Demon and swing my sword around for ages without doing any damage?” Elurra said.
“Exactly. Eventually you would end up getting cut or breathing in some of the outer layer, and that would kill you. That is what makes them so deadly when they are prepared for combat. Getting close to them is literally toxic, but finding their core is the only way to kill them.”
“Then the only way to kill them is to surprise them,” Elurra concluded.
“But, in a group, you can only catch one unaware. After that, you are out of luck.”