Admiral's Lady: Eyes of Ice, Heart of Fire Read online

  Leonora nodded, as if she were lecturing a child on letters and numbers. Akantha really hated it when she did that. “And if he were not invincible on the battlefield,” Leonora continued, “do you think he would still be at your mother’s side?”

  Akantha shook her head. “Of course not, Lea,” she sighed and folded her arms across her breastplate, “with his behavior, he would have faced challenges both public and private at every opportunity.”

  Leonora nodded again. “And who decides when those opportunities should be presented?” she asked innocently.

  Akantha snorted and narrowed her eyes. “You know that my mother would be the one to arrange such challenges, Lea.”

  “True, Akantha,” Leonora agreed, “your mother, the Hold Mistress, would arrange for a series of challenges to test his ability to serve as Protector of the Hold. If he failed these challenges, then he would be honorably dismissed from her service and your mother would be free to select a new Protector, according to tradition.”

  Akantha shook her head. “It’s not as simple as that, Lea,” she said dismissively, “there are certain conditions which must be met in order for the Hold Mistress to present challenges to a Protector.”

  Leonora nodded and quickly replied, “I believe Polymnia Zosime has already met and indeed, exceeded those conditions, Akantha. Your mother has born six children by Hypatios Nykator: four daughters and two sons, which more than qualifies as meeting the most… sensitive conditions necessary to challenge an established Protector’s ability to discharge his duty. The conditions for dismissing a less-established Protector are understandably even less onerous.”

  Akantha didn’t like where this was going, but she clenched her fists and tried to remain calm. “Lea, it’s not that simple…” she started, but she didn’t know what else to say.

  “Not that simple?” asked Leonora mockingly. “I would say the matter is most certainly a simple one, which is why your mother has abided by tradition the same way her ancestors conducted themselves, in an effort to keep things simple and preserve the dignity and honor of the realm. She was willing to sacrifice her own dignity and desires in order to do what she knew was best for her people,” Leonora said challengingly.

  Akantha scowled at her handmaiden’s condescension, but before she could respond, Leonora continued, “But we’re not really talking about your mother any more, are we?”

  Akantha felt her blood boil immediately. “Are you suggesting-“ she started coldly, but Leonora cut her off mid-sentence.

  “No, Akantha, I’m not suggesting anything,” Leonora spat, “I’m saying as plainly as that sun is rising into the sky that you think yourself above tradition!”

  Akantha cocked her clenched fist and swung hard at Leonora, but the red-head was too quick and she fluidly swayed away from the blow and rolled gracefully to Akantha’s weak side.

  “You’ve never hit me when I didn’t want you to, my Lady,” Leonora said playfully, but Akantha was furious.

  “Above tradition! How dare you, Lea?! Everything I do is for our traditions!” Akantha raged and lunged at the handmaiden with her arms trying desperately to grab the smaller, nimbler woman.

  But the red-head was too smooth, and she sprung back on the balls of her feet, dancing away in wide, mocking steps. “Oh, get over yourself, my Lady,” hissed Leonora, “you aren’t the first woman who has had to choose between the unpalatable and the unthinkable! Will you never set your pride aside in the interests of your people?”

  Akantha was only hearing every other word as she reached down for a fist-sized stone and hurled it at the smaller woman. She missed as Leonora easily sidestepped the missile, but Akantha had gained the edge she needed. She rushed toward her handmaiden as quickly as she could, making a show of putting everything she had behind an overhand punch designed to knock her opponent out cold. Leonora deftly ducked well below the incoming blow, much to her detriment, as she would soon learn.

  Akantha shifted her weight low and scissored her legs toward her opponent’s as she slid the last meter or so of distance between them, and while it couldn’t be scored as a direct hit due to the other woman’s quick reactions, it achieved the desired effect. They became momentarily entangled which was all Akantha needed in order to grab a handful of Leonora’s hair.

  They fought and struggled, but it was clear that Akantha would win the contest now. She was significantly larger and stronger than Leonora, and the red-headed woman’s speed was completely neutralized. Akantha managed to pin Leonora’s leg between her own and pressed her to the ground. Defiantly, Leonora thrust upward with her hips, knocking Akantha momentarily off-balance, and Leonora used the brief space to initiate a roll.

  They rolled on the ground down a rocky ledge and onto a small dirt landing a few meters below their starting position. After they had come to a stop, Akantha once again achieved the top position and pulled Leonora’s head back sharply with her handful of hair. As she opened her mouth to scream something about questionable ancestry at her rebellious handmaiden, the air was filled with the loudest roar she had ever heard, but it had not issued from her own throat.

  Akantha’s head snapped toward the sound’s source, as did Leonora’s. Standing no more than thirty meters away was the largest Stone Rhino either of them had ever seen or heard of, and all thoughts of petty bickering and youthful squabbles were instantly erased from their minds.

  They rolled apart, returning to their feet as quickly as possible but no sooner had they re-gained their footing than the beast roared again and charged them. Akantha glanced quickly to either side, but she could not see Persus or the Black Arrows anywhere.

  She noticed Leonora rushing back to where the vials had been, and the red-head was visibly panicked. Leonora did not appear able to find the wax-covered vial with the paralyzing poison.

  Akantha cursed under her breath as she reached for her axe. She stood well away from Leonora, hoping to at least divide the creature’s attentions momentarily by presenting a pair of targets, rather than one.

  The monster came on in massive, loping strides which seemed to come from impossible mechanics. The Stone Rhino’s skin, normally a uniform grey color, was now covered in razor sharp, hair-like fibers which concealed the small bluish blisters covering its hide. Those blisters would eventually shrink and harden into the familiar pebble shaped structures which made Stone Rhino armor unparalleled.

  The four rear legs were each as thick as a tree trunk, with hard soles capable of crushing any man caught beneath them, but the two front legs were what made the Stone Rhino so terribly dangerous. Longer than the rear legs, they ended in massive, vicious tri-claws which were sharp enough to cut through stone, which was exactly what the Rhinos used them for. Those claws had also been known to bring down walls and battlements, which was the reason Argos’ fortifications had been built so tall.

  This particular specimen was at least twice as tall as a grown man, likely weighed multiple tons, and it was more than a little enraged. The three foot long, jagged, pointed horn rising from its snout was not round, but shaped like a curved blade with a serrated lead edge. Its bony, toothless mouth was also lined with three rows of external tusks which swept back along the jaw line, making the entire surface of the creature’s huge muzzle a mess of razor sharp edges.

  Akantha didn’t have time to come up with a plan, so she raised her axe high and prepared to cross in front of the creature at the last instant of its charge, hoping to strike its front leg and hobble it so they could more easily outmaneuver it.

  Seemingly out of nowhere, Persus lunged and grabbed her by the waist just before she was set to execute her maneuver, letting his momentum carry them both safely out of the beast’s path. The Rhino roared in rage as it swiped the air where she had been standing, but having built up too much speed to turn or stop, it slowed itself before turning to face them.

  Just before it had stopped its forward motion, Akantha heard the twang of bowstrings from the other side of the creature’s body.
The Rhino seemed not to notice, and it charged toward her as soon as she came back into its field of view.

  Persus clenched Akantha’s shoulder and pointed to the top of the rock she and Leonora had been sitting at a few minutes before. Akantha shook her head, but Persus’ face grew hard and he gave her a stiff shove in that direction before placing both hands on his greatsword and moving himself between the charging Rhino and Akantha.

  The Rhino was apparently satisfied with going after the larger of the two targets anyway, and it lunged toward Persus at the end of its charge. Persus brought his blade up and fell sideways, bringing his sword down as he rolled out of the way. His maneuver was clearly designed to bring down a Stone Rhino by first denying it the use of one of its claws, but the Rhino’s hide was too tough. Persus’ perfectly executed blow barely left a mark on the thing’s massive, shaggy leg.

  For his failure, Persus was rewarded with a swipe of the monster’s body as it went by, which sent Akantha’s heart sinking. She had been told that once a warrior was entangled in that mess of sharp hair, it was impossible to get him out.

  She heard the twang of bows once again, and quickly looked in the direction of their sound. The three Ice Raiders were perched almost exactly where she had first seen them, which was confusing since she hadn’t been able to find them a few moments earlier. She snapped her attention back to the Rhino, but did not see any arrows sunk into its hide.

  As the Rhino charged on, Akantha could see that Persus had indeed become caught in its hair, and was being drug alongside the monster. She screamed furiously and charged down the rock toward the monster with her axe in hand.

  But, as usual, Leonora was quicker and Akantha saw out of the corner of her eye that her handmaiden was sprinting along the high ledge off which they had tumbled earlier, and she was headed straight toward the Stone Rhino, which was slowing itself to apparently turn and make another charge toward Akantha.

  Akantha heard the twang of bows yet again, but she knew there was no way those arrows would penetrate the hide of this enraged beast. If only she had some of the paralyzing poison they were using on the arrows, then she might be able to use her axe to get it under the Rhino’s skin!

  Her only hope was that she could wound its legs badly enough to bring it down and somehow free Persus. She knew it was unlikely that she would succeed, but it was her duty to try.

  She braced herself for the exchange as the monster began what would be its final charge at her, one way or the other. She felt her blood turn cold, and for a moment time seemed to slow.

  Then she saw Leonora, grasping some kind of crude spear in both hands, leap from the rock ledge she had been racing up and plummet through the air toward the Stone Rhino. Her timing was perfect, and using every last bit of speed and power she had, she plunged the spear into the Rhino’s back where it buried to the shaft and stuck upright like a banner pole. Leonora’s leap left her no choice but to let her inertia to carry her over the monster’s shaggy hide and into the branches of a twisted, dead tree. To survive such a fall would require incredible skill and luck, but to face the razor-sharp hairs of the Rhino without armor would also be a death sentence.

  Akantha screamed furiously and raised her axe, yelling a battle cry which promised vengeance as she raced toward the oncoming Stone Rhino. Her mother had taught her the first rule of battling a predator: never run away, only run toward your would-be killer.

  The distance closed quickly enough, and just as she began to bring the axe around for what might have been the final swing of her life, the Rhino’s front legs spasmed and almost immediately crumpled. It fell awkwardly to the side, crashing into nearby boulders before coming to a stop a few feet from Akantha’s position. Thankfully, it fell onto the side opposite where Persus was stuck, sparing him a crushing death.

  After the dust had settled and Akantha realized she was no longer in danger of being trampled, gored, disemboweled or otherwise painfully ejected from the world, she moved to help Persus extricate himself from the tangled mess of razor sharp Rhino hair.

  The Ice Raiders came out of their perch to assist as well, and within a few minutes of delicate cutting, they were able to free Persus. The damaged area appeared significant, but it was mostly superficial, at least to his head. The sharp hairs had turned his face into a bloody criss-cross of small lines, a pattern Akantha did not remember ever seeing before. It would seem that surviving such an encounter with a Stone Rhino was a rare thing.

  After Persus was standing, he began removing his armor in order to completely eliminate all of the fibers from the Rhino’s coat. “They’ll just keep working deeper and deeper if I don’t get them out now,” he explained hoarsely, having apparently suffered some damage to his neck, as well as his face.

  A few moments later Akantha heard a sound coming from the dead tree where Leonora had landed. She cursed herself for not remembering her friend and ran to the tree as quickly as she could.

  When she arrived, she spotted Leonora’s form leaned up against the trunk of the tree. Akantha’s heart leapt momentarily, but as quickly as her elation had arrived, it was dashed. Leonora was clutching her side, beside which was a small pool of blood. Akantha dropped her axe and rushed to the side of her friend.

  “Leonora,” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, “Leonora, what can I do?” Akantha grabbed her friend’s free hand with both of hers as she looked up and down her body.

  When the red-haired handmaiden looked up, Akantha could see that her skin was already pale. “Akantha,” she replied, smiling broadly, “now I can tell my ancestors that the greatest warrior maiden our people ever saw never hit me when I didn’t want her to.” Her tone was defiant, but her voice lacked its usual vigor.

  Akantha’s eyes were filling with tears, but she refused to let them overcome her. She forced a short laugh and nodded her head. “You battled with Bernice the Undefeated and didn’t tell me?” she asked facetiously, which evoked a laugh from Leonora followed by a wince as she clutched the side of her torso where the bleeding was heaviest.

  One of the Ice Raiders whistled behind her, which Akantha took as a signal for the others to help. She didn’t care; right now the only thing that mattered was her friend.

  “No, my Lady,” Leonora replied, “I would have told you about that.”

  Persus arrived and moved to the side of the still-bleeding wound, tearing at Leonora’s clothing to expose the damage, revealing a deep gash which covered far too much of her upper abdomen. When his eyes finally met Akantha’s, he shook his head solemnly.

  “How long,” Akantha asked after what seemed like an eternity. “How long does she have?”

  Persus shook his head stoically. “Minutes, or perhaps an hour. She is as strong of mind and body as any man I’ve fought beside, but the wound is simply too grievous.”

  Leonora clenched her teeth in pain, and Akantha couldn’t stop the tears now. Her best friend was going to die because of her. She couldn’t help but think that if she had been able to come up with a better plan, or if she had been less eager to run away from the Great Hall and all its problems, her friend would not have been forced to sacrifice herself.

  “Akantha,” Leonora whispered, and motioned for her to come closer.

  Akantha did as she was bidden, leaning close to her friend to hear what she had to say.

  Leonora slapped her face hard, and the sting of it snapped Akantha out of her silent self-punishment. Leonora then grabbed Akantha’s collar and pulled her close, locking eyes with her before speaking. “If you even think about feeling pity for me or yourself, Sky Demons will be the least of your problems, my Lady,” she said with as much conviction as a dying person could muster.

  Akantha was shocked, but she bit her tongue for the first time she could remember, at least during a fight with Leonora. She simply nodded and lowered her eyes mournfully.

  After a moment’s pause, Leonora said, “I think I like this hill. Could you carry me to the top so I can see what we’re fighting fo
r?” she asked through gritted teeth.

  They did as she asked and carried her to the highest point, which was the rock she had shared with Akantha prior to their sudden fight. The view was magnificent, as both the mountain and the base of the rising hills which held the Citadel were clearly visible in the morning sun. Rows of farmland, winding streams and rivers, even small wooden fences were visible on the plains stretching between the hill and the mountain.

  Leonora sighed after taking it in for a few minutes. “Yes,” she said peacefully, “I like this hill. Akantha,” she began in a tone which suggested a request was coming.

  Akantha wiped some fresh tears from her face and clutched her friend’s hand in her own. “What is it, Lea?”

  Leonora smiled weakly. “Do you remember the old stone cottage just outside the walls of the Citadel where we used to play hoplites and maidens,” she asked.

  Akantha laughed. “You mean the one with no roof and only two walls? The one where you kissed that boy for the first time… what was his name?”

  Leonora smiled and tried to laugh, but it was easy to see that her strength was leaving her fast. “Thol. His name was Thol, and you know it,” she said quietly.

  “Yes, that’s it: Thol,” Akantha said as if remembering for the first time. “Your first kiss was from a boy who only had half a name.” She was trying hard to smile, but all she could do was fight to keep her lip from quivering uncontrollably.

  “Half a name, but he more than made up for that particular shortcoming in other ways…” Leonora retorted weakly.

  Akantha nodded. “As you have reminded me for years,” she agreed.

  They sat there together silently until Leonora broke the silence. “I would like to stay here, and I would like you to build me that cottage right over there,” she said, and pointed to the tree where she had been wounded.

  Akantha didn’t know what to say. “Lea,” she began, “you should be in the crypt of the Great Hall. You spent your life in service to Argos, and you have more than earned your place there.”