“I have learned more from traveling than I have from academic studies. I know that given my current responsibilities, that may sound ironic. Hear me, a first-hand account is always more insightful than anything you will find in book, scroll or tablet.”

~Unknown

Contrary to my earliest expectations, horses weren’t prevalent in our little agricultural community. There was reduced incentive to foot their food bill when a Skilled farmer could match them in performance. Know that I shed no tears for their absence. I wasn’t a ‘horse guy’, never had been. Horses always look like they’re privy to some insidious secret and refuse to share it. They are innately and irrefutably suspicious. Any arguments stating otherwise should be summarily dismissed as nonsense, bullshit, or poppycock depending on your linguistic preferences.

Sensible distrust of horses aside, I generally organized the animal into one of three categories: ‘Little-Shaggies’, ‘Hollywoods’, and ‘Big-Fuck-Off-Giant-Lads’. Academically, I was aware that my system was a gross simplification for a rich and varied species, but it’s what worked for me.

There were two Hollywoods and a Big-Fuck-Off-Giant-Lad casually walking towards the house, each bearing a single rider.

“Love, we have company!” Tina called, her voice tense. We circled around to the front garden to meet up with Tulos. Vigil had reluctantly remained by the kennel to maintain order, but Fudge dutifully trotted along behind us with his hackles raised. On a hunch, I tried to conjure thoughts of calm and push them down the Tamer Bond. Mana stirred in response to my desire, but I felt it fizzle part-way down the connection.

Okay, that has potential, I thought and filed the idea away for later. Creative applications of magical bonds were prevalent in all manner of fantasy literature, which gave me a well of inspiration to draw from in applying the Skill.

“I see them,” Tulos replied evenly. He was idly wiping his hands on a pocket rag that had long since grown crusty with tree sap. The crazy part? There was a woman in Elbura who had the Laundering Skill. I was convinced Tulos was preparing that monstrosity as a challenge worthy of breaking through her next bottleneck.

“Should we be worried?” I asked. Tulos was watching the incoming riders through squinted eyes. There was a tightness to his posture, like someone just pressed an ice cube onto his tailbone. Tina echoed my question when Tulos didn’t immediately answer.

“No, we were expecting this visit,” Tulos exhaled deeply after speaking, apparently having seen what he wanted to see. “An old friend of mine has taken the opportunity to come and visit,” he added as an explanation. My father was tough to get a read on, but years of familiarity helped. There was something he wasn’t telling us - or me. I looked back at Tina and saw she’d quirked her lips into a half-frown.

Us, then, I concluded. She’s suspicious, too.

“Hail the house!” A feminine voice called out, coming from the leftmost rider. They were close enough to get a better look at. There was a uniformity to their clothing, dominated by rugged designs and simple browns, though I spotted a few glaring efforts at individuality. They weren’t visibly armored, but at least one of them - the woman who spoke - was overtly armed. A short spear was slung over their saddle, the design again emphasizing practicality over any type of flourish.

“Hail the riders!” Tulos called back before turning to me. “It is polite to announce yourself,” he added for my benefit, speaking at his normal volume.

Noted. I nodded back my understanding while the horses crossed the final piece of distance between us. I suppressed a shudder when I felt one of the mounts stare at me and did my best to ignore its scrutiny.

“Is this the home of Tina Duscall?” The spearwoman asked sternly. Up close, she, like the other riders, fell into the nebulous age range that could have placed them anywhere between twenty and forty. “We have-”

“It is, and I suspect she already figured out what we are here for,” the man riding the second Hollywood horse chimed in, earning himself a glare from the spearwoman. Seemingly unbothered, he hopped off his mount and pulled Tulos into a hug. “It is good to see you again, my friend.”

Tulos rumbled a chuckle and returned the embrace. He had to partially crouch since he had well over a head of height on the man.

“It is good to see you too, Lionel,” Tulos returned the greeting. Where Tulos had dark hair, Lionel’s was the kind of blonde that tried to convince you it was yellow. His goatee boasted the same color, and coupled with a fair complexion - the fairest I’d seen since my rebirth - Lionel and Tulos clashed. It was great. The mirth at their reunion was contagious to all but the already-irritated spearwoman.

“Lionel, she will poke a hole in you,” the final rider spoke up but couldn’t quite hide the amusement in her voice. From her perch upon the Big-Fuck-Off-Giant-Lad, she towered over everyone present. Had I the opportunity to gamble, I would have bet on her having the Strength [Body] Skill, like Tulos. I genuinely thought that if she flexed a bicep the resulting bulge would eclipse my child-sized head. Her shirt was sleeveless, probably to free up the cannons she used instead of arms. Draped over her shoulder was what appeared to be a bandolier, though I couldn’t see what it contained.

“Now that would be a scandal, would it not?” Lionel jested as he pulled away from Tulos and addressed his-

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Companions? Honestly, I was still trying to get a read on the situation. I stood next to Tina and played the part of a wide-eyed child. I now knew that my performance wouldn’t stand up to long term scrutiny, but for a single interaction I suspected it would be sufficient. Hopefully.

“Still getting under people’s skin, I see,” Tina playfully scolded, but her eyes were glued to Tulos. Lionel just laughed and they shared a quick embrace.

“Lionel, the deal was that you do not interfere with our work here,” the spearwoman spoke softly, but the warning in her voice was clear. Lionel winked at us and made a show of appearing suitably chastened before turning around to face her.

“You are right, Pix, I have misstepped,” he admitted, though the unnecessary theatrics voided all sense of sincerity. “Just keep in mind there is a child present so any spearing will have to wait, lest you stain their eyes with violence.” Lionel looked back at Tulos. “Belated congratulations, by the way. He looks like you, only less dull.”

Oh, so they’re like best friends, I realized. Banter of that caliber came from shared history. Given what I knew of Tulos’ past, it left few options for the origin of their relationship. I caught Tulos’ smirk at the verbal jab, which was his version of a guffaw outside of private settings.

“Enough!” The spearwoman - Pix - snapped. She wore her auburn hair short, reminding me of a pixie cut. I found myself delighted by the serendipity, even if the connection was only a phonetic one due to the language at play.

“Tina Duscal, your involvement in the recent Beast incident has been reported to us,” Pix continued, not giving Lionel another opportunity to derail the conversation. “Please escort my partner and I to the site of the incident so that we may investigate.”

“Of course, Slayer,” Tina responded without hesitation. She didn’t sound surprised by the request. I tugged on the hem of her shirt.

“Is that safe?” Realistically, I knew Tina could handle herself, but I still felt compelled to ask.

“Of course, my Will,” Tina said gently. “These people are Slayers, they protect us from Beasts.” I’d already deduced something along those lines from context clues, but the confirmation was appreciated.

“Your mom is right, young Will,” Lionel chimed in and dramatically puffed his chest out. “No harm will come to her while Pix and Mira are around.”

“You are not going with them?” I asked.

“No, I will be staying here with your dad and you.” He gestured back at the other Slayers with his thumb. “Officially, I am not here. I just took the opportunity to tag along with these two.” Pix frowned at the reminder while Mira suppressed a giggle-snort.

“If the child is worried, perhaps I can make him feel at ease with a demonstration.” Mira said after she regained her composure. Making it look effortless, she swung off her mount and landed with a solid thunk. “Kids learn best by seeing something for themselves, right?” She stretched out her back and an audible popping sound filled the brief pause in conversation. “System, I needed that,” she groaned.

Pix frowned. “I do not think-”

“That is an excellent idea,” Lionel immediately added, earning him yet another foul look. I was losing count at that point. “Tina? Tulos?” He turned towards the resident parental figures for the final nod of approval.

“I have no objections,” Tina said, and Tulos added his agreement before she continued. “It will be educational. Would you like that, Will?” She reached down and grabbed my hand in hers, giving it an encouraging, little squeeze.

“Definitely!” I said, perhaps a smidge too enthusiastically. The deference Tina was showing the Slayers had seized my curiosity. Would they really be all that impressive?

“See, this is why kids are great,” Mira said approvingly. “They get excited so easily. A-dor-a-ble.” She marched away from the group which gave me a view of the unusual way she wore her hair. It was dark and styled into a single, thick braid. That’s not why it grabbed my attention though. The end of the braid was broader than it should have been, like something round and fist-sized had been cocooned in the strands and left to hang there. It reminded me of an ankylosaur’s tail-club.

“Really, Mira, this seems a bit excessive,” Pix grumbled.

“I respectfully disagree,” Mira replied happily without looking back. “Besides, it will remind our resident parasite of what I am capable of when suitably annoyed.” She started digging around the dirt with the tip of her boot.

“Reminders are always helpful,” Lionel stage-whispered to Tulos and grinned. I found myself both envying the man’s self-confidence while simultaneously being baffled by his apparent lack of self-preservation instincts.

“This ought to work for teaching purposes.” Mira bent down to grab a large stone that had been partially buried in the earth. It fit comfortably in the palm of her hand. “Just to clarify, you do not mind if I damage the treeline a bit?”

“I can work with damaged trees,” Tulos reassured her. Honestly, even if he couldn’t, trees were the one thing we had a surplus of. He wandered over and offered to let me ride on his shoulders for a better view. Naturally, I accepted.

“Perfect,” she chirped and slightly craned her neck to address me directly. “Your name is Will, right?” I nodded. “Okay, Will, so since this is to help you learn, make sure to watch closely, okay?”

“Yes, Ms. Mira,” I said sweetly.

There’s no freaking way she’s about to do what I think she’s about to do.

“Oh, that is just too cute,” she preened. “Ms. Mira. I love it.” Without wasting any more time, she tightened her grip on the stone and drew her arm back. I felt something tickle the edge of my perception, but it was too vague to make sense of. Before I could dwell on the feeling, I saw the muscles on Mira’s arm bulge as she stepped forward into a throw.

I didn’t see the projectile. It moved too fast. I heard it though, since it broke the fucking sound barrier. That whip crack of a sound was unmistakable. Wood splintered and exploded as the projectile hit one of the trees across the field, demolishing a chunk of it and damaging several others with a shower of fast-moving debris. Before the tree had time to realize it was about to topple, Mira had already straightened back out of her stance and smiled brightly at me.

“See, your mom will be safe as safe can be with us.” I just nodded dumbly at her, thoughts of collecting my jaw from the ground a distant worry. None of the other spectators seemed surprised by the display.

Well… fuck.