He turned to her, bowing deeply. “A propitious day to you, warrior.” His voice was deep and smooth.
Aurian, reacting instinctively to his courtesy, inclined her head in reply. “A propitious day to you, sir—and yours will be more propitious than mine, I fear,” she added dryly.
The man smiled. “That remains to be seen, Eliizar am I, Swordmaster of the Arena,” He bowed again,
Aurian got to her feet, rubbing her painfully stiff neck, and responded in kind, “Aurian am I—and a fool, it seems, for
ig to sleep sitting up!” As she spoke, she wondered why the bracelets had not impaired her ability to understand the local language. Could there be a loophole^n the spell?
Eliizar smiled, “You were wrary, indeed—and hungry, too, it seems,” He cocked an eyebrow at the scant debris from her previous night’s supper. “I thought it best to let you sleep. We have masseurs here who can remedy your stiffness, but first, let us break our fast together, I am curious as to your history, and I feel sure you have many questions that you would wish to ask me.”
Breakfast consisted of eggs, hard-boiled and shelled; the ubiquitous flat bread; cheese, honey, and fruit; and a covered pot from which issued the most tantalizing aroma . . . “What’s this?” she asked Eliizar.
His eyebrows went up in surprise. “You do not know liafa? Why, you have never lived! This is the warrior’s boon—it gives strength, alertness, sustenance.” He poured a cup of steaming black liquid and handed it to Aurian, who grimaced.
It looked like mud! Inhaling the heady aroma, she took a sip—and choked. The taste was strong, and very, very bitter. “It—it doesn’t taste the way it smells,” she said sheepishly.
Eliizar smiled, and ladled a spoonful of honey into her cup, stirring vigorously. “Try again,” he prompted.
Aurian picked up the cup as though it were a viper, but not wanting to lose face, she drank again. This time her face lit up with delight. With the honey smoothing out the bitterness, the drink was delicious—and stimulating, too. Aurian, who had such difficulty waking up in the morning, approved. She began to tackle her breakfast with a will.
“How came you here, Aurian?” Eliizar asked, drawing her attention from the food. “How comes a lady to be a warrior? Swordswomen are unknown in this land.”
Aurian repeated the story she had told to the Arbiters. When she mentioned her two missing companions, Eliizar’s good eye narrowed thoughtfully. “Ah,” he said. “Then there-may be some truth in the rumors after all.”
“What rumors?” Aurian pounced on the words. The Swordmaster hesitated. “It may be nothing,” he said at last. “You know how a rumor can grow from nothing—” Aurian clamped her hand round his wrist. “Tell me!” Eliizar looked away. “Very well,” he said reluctantly. “There was talk in thejyiarket some days ago ttet a Corsair ship had found outlanders farther up the coast, and that one was a woman of surpassing fairness. But no outlander has been seen in the city to my knowledge, save yourself.”
“If they had been captured, what would have happened to them? Please tell me.”
“They would have been brought before the Arbiters, as you were. That is our law,” the Swordmaster said brusquely. “But if they had not?” Aurian persisted. “Well, there have long been rumors of an illegal trade in slaves, but then the woman would have been sold to a house of pleasure. You can be sure that she has not. Word of such a wonder would have reached every man in the city by now, without a doubt. Leave it, Aurian. Whatever has happened to them, it cannot affect you.” Eliizar swallowed hard, looking unhappy. “Warrior, you must concentrate on your own survival in this place—for as long as you can. The minute you entered the precincts of the Arena, you came under a sentence of death, be it soon or late.”
Aurian, dismayed, let go of his arm. “But the Arbiter said I would have a chance to win my freedom!”
The Swordmaster shook his head. “It was cruel and wrong on his part to dangle such a hope before you,” he said flatly.
“Then he lied? There is no way—”
“Impossible!” Eliizar rose abruptly. “Here, you are naught but sword fodder for the Khisu’s entertainment. He is a cruel man, as I know to my cost. First I must place your level of skill against the other warriors—I have your sword, to return to you. You will train with them under supervision—we only fight to death within the Arena itself and in the Arena, always. Be
led. When you do fight there, if you overcome your first opponent you will then fight two together, then three. If, by some miracle, you survive all that—we pit you against the Black Demon.”
Aurian’s scalp prickled. “And if I defeat this Demon?”
“Then you win your freedom. But it is impossible. No one has ever defeated the Demon. No one can.”
Aurian stood, straightening her shoulders. “I will defeat him,” she growled. “When do we start?”
Eliizar shook his head sadly, and left without another word. Aurian heard the key turn in the lock. She shrugged and returned to her breakfast, refusing j:o countenance the insidious fear she felt for herself, and for her child. She would need to keep her strength up. After she had eaten she rested for a while, then began to put herself into the deep meditation of Forral’s long-neglected swordsman’s exercises. Whatever was to come, she would be ready. She had to be.
22
The Invisible Unicorn
“Again!” Maya shouted. D’arvan gathered his exhausted limbs and rushed toward her across the forest clearing, swinging his wooden sword wildly. The warrior sidestepped neatly, stuck out a foot and tripped him. The Mage went down like a felled tree, sprawling facedown in the mud and last year’s leaves. “I think that’s enough for today,” Maya said tactfully, the corners of her mouth twitching with suppressed mirth as she went over to help him up.
“You—you vixen!” D’arvan spluttered, wiping the mud from his eyes.
“I’m sorry, pet, but it is a standard move.” Maya offered him her hand. “If you like, I’ll teach it to you tomorrow.”
“Why bother?” D’arvan scrambled up and retrieved his cloak that hung from a nearby bough, wiping his glum face on the end of it before slinging it around his shoulders. “We’ve been at this for about two weeks now, and I still hardly know one end of a sword from the other!”
“It’ll coivt.e, don’t worry. Two weeks is no time at all in sword training—especially when starting from scratch at your age.”
Her words did nothing to soothe his irritation. “So it’s my age, now, is it? It seems I can’t win. When she teaches me magic, Eilin treats me like a child, and now you tell me I’m in my dotage!”
“When you act like this, I can’t help thinking that Eilu has the right of it!” Maya snapped.
Seeing the scowl on her face, D’arvan made an effort to shake off his gloom, afraid of jeopardizing the love that was blossoming between them. He managed a lopsided smile. ’T sorry, Maya—I know I’m out of temper this morning.” He put his arm round her shoulders as they began to wafle *«ck toward the tower. He shivered, and it was not just the cooling of b body in the chill gray winter’s day. “I didn’t sleep well la-night—every time I closed my eyes, I had nightmares.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” The warrior tightened her arm round his waist, her voice full of sympathy. “What were you dreaming about, that was so dreadful?”