Rise of Heroes

Chapter 11 - Calm Before Storm

Jaden crossed his arms as he watched the couple in front of him circle each other, each looking for the perfect moment to attack. A few of the soldiers had abandoned their own practice and joined him for some free entertainment. It was always fun to watch Glen fight — he really wouldn’t stop talking when he was facing another human being — but when his opponent was a woman, his inner i***t came out and gave everyone a few minutes of amusement, allowing them to forget the reason they were all training so much. So far, the spar was more on the verbal side, but Jaden knew Anitra and Glen were just messing around, teasing the other into making a mistake.

“Just admit it, Anitra, you’ll never beat me! Not with those scrawny hands of yours!” Glen chuckled, taking a step forward just for her to take one back, taunting him. Their little dance had been going on for the better part of ten minutes, only twice did they actually try to exchange any kind of blow. “I bet Bel likes them, though. I’m sure it makes him feel really manly with…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence because she attacked, swift as a snake, her sword missing his chest by a hair’s breadth. He jumped back, his booming laughter echoing over the training grounds.

“You know you talk too much, Glen?” she said as she kept attacking, again and again, forcing him almost to the edge of their sparring circle. A few of the spectators whistled, urging Glen to fight back or inviting Anitra to claim the victory.

“You know what, Anitra? I think that marrying Bel was a terrible mistake!” Glen grinned, then twisted around, shoving her with his shoulder. She staggered back, losing her balance just for a second, surprised by the sudden opposition, but then quickly composed herself, raising her sword in a defensive position. “I think you and I would have been perfect together. I can fight and you can stay at home cooking for me and raising our children.”

“Right.” She grinned. “If only you could fight…”

Another wave of laughter erupted from the onlookers, and Jaden found himself smiling along. His eyes followed Glen, who attacked, his movements sharp and heavy as he swayed his weapon toward the woman. Anitra’s teasing smile had given way to a focused expression, and she carefully avoided every blow with a speed that impressed even Jaden. He applauded her for her tactic; she had probably realized she was not equipped to match head-on Glen’s strength, so she simply forced him to move, step after step, position after position, until a river of sweat was running down his forehead and dripping from his chin.

The audience had ceased talking, their attention now focused on the fight, and Jaden found himself breathing as one with the fighters, calculating their movements, trying to anticipate the next one.

“Are you ready to give up, old man?” Anitra asked with a smirk as she stepped away from her opponent, giving him a moment to catch his breath. Glen wiped his face, his other hand tightening around the hilt of his sword.

“Are you ready to stop dancing around and fight, woman?” The edges of his lips twitched tauntingly, and he crouched into position right as she attacked. Their weapons met with a loud clunking noise and she elbowed him in the stomach, stepping away as he tried to retaliate. Her tactic had worked. She had tired him out enough to slow down his movements and use her speed to her full advantage. She forced him to retreat, her footwork so fast that he barely had the time to fend for himself.

“She is going to get you, Glen.” Jaden laughed and his cousin shot him a dirty look, pursing his lips with determination. He had been retreating by that moment, so when he switched to attack, he caught Anitra by surprise. She tried to parry, but he knocked the weapon out of her fingers. She paused only for a moment, as if to calculate her chances, then crouched to the ground and kicked his feet from underneath him. Glen lost his balance, waving his hands desperately before dropping to his back. He tried to get up, but she was faster, pushing his chest back down with her boot.

The audience burst into laughter and applause and Jaden joined them, shaking his head. He suspected that Glen might have held back a little, but his cousin would never seriously admit such a thing and embarrass somebody, especially a woman.

Jaden watched as Anitra stepped back, turning and smiling brightly as the others cheered. Her eyes stopped on Jaden and her smile widened. She bent down and picked up her weapon, pointing it at him.

“Is our future king ready to have his metal tested?” she asked, and the cheering faded away as everybody looked at him with expectation. Jaden allowed himself one quick glance at his soldiers — men and women with eyes flashing with excitement. Most of them had already seen him fight in battle, but that was against those perverse beings that destroyed everything in their path. He rarely sparred with others — usually, he spent his time instructing the new recruits or training by himself. And now he was being challenged by a human, by one of their own. It was only natural for them to be curious to see if their leader, their king, was the strongest among them.

“It would not be fair to beat you now,” he said, his arms still crossed in front of his chest. He knew this would not work, not with a warrior of her rank.

“I think you’re just scared, Jaden!” Anitra laughed, effortlessly swinging her sword around her body. “There is no shame in trying and failing. What is worse is not trying at all.” She shrugged. Her eyes darted to the soldiers around them and Jaden realized she had put him in the corner. He sighed, then untied his cloak, letting it fall to the ground. He pulled off his shirt and unsheathed his sword, brandishing it in his hand. Excited chatter spread around as he stepped into the circle, ready to face her.

“I’m happily married, Jaden,” she said with a grin, her eyes darting toward his naked chest for a second, “so this will not work on me. Nice try though!”

She attacked, swift and deadly as before. Her sword flew toward his abdomen, but he parried it, so she proceeded with a high attack, which he anticipated by the way her weight shifted to her supporting foot. He let her go at him, carefully measuring her movements in search of an opening. He didn’t need long to find it, and he smiled.

“What’s so funny?” she said with a growl since he had ignored all of her teasings so far. She had tried provoking him, as she had done with Glen, but he didn’t even bother answering her.

“How did you phrase it?” he replied this time, parrying yet another attack. “There is no shame in trying and failing.”

She frowned at his mockery, pursing her lips and moving in for another attack. Just what Jaden had waited for — her balance was slightly off when she did, probably due to a minor injury from her sparring with Glen. Jaden parried the blow and turned to offense, briskly pushing her back. She swayed as she stepped on her injured foot and tried to jump back as his next blow aimed for her knees. She landed unsteadily and tried to raise her sword but Jaden had already proceeded toward the last part of his plan.

He met her weapon directly, both swords crossed between them and he pushed, the blades edging toward her face. A flicker of panic flashed in her eyes and she tried to use both hands to push him back, exposing her flank. As her attention was focused on the blades, Jaden raised his knee and kicked her in her side, pushing her completely off balance. She tried to move in a defensive position and buy some time to restore her balance, but before she could do anything, the tip of Jaden’s sword stopped at her throat.

There was a moment of utter silence before everybody around them started shouting and whistling. Jaden watched as Anitra fought not to show her disappointment while he sheathed his sword and offered her a hand.

“What was the other thing you said?” Jaden mocked her again, although he feared she may punch him this time. “Nice try.”

“Oh, shut your mouth!” she snapped, dusting herself off. It had been so long since he had laughed like that, since he enjoyed himself, that it felt alien, almost inappropriate.

“Sire!” A voice rose over the cacophony of cheers and Jaden turned, staring at Ryan, General Mayern’s youngest son and now messenger, as the boy pushed his way toward him. Jaden’s smile faltered by the time the boy reached him. He didn’t even have to speak to the boy to know he was carrying bad news. The news was already draped on him — clothes dusty and tattered, cloak torn and stained with something dark, face pale and scared, with that look of fear in his eyes that had become a special trait of someone who had just faced a demon and survived.

If that wasn’t enough of a giveaway, seeing a messenger running toward you was never a good sign.

“What is it?” Jaden asked as the boy fought to catch his breath. The prince watched him impatiently, nodding thankfully at Glen, who had tossed him his shirt.

“There was a demon sighting, sire!” The boy finally spoke. “We were on our way back to the capital when three demons attacked us. We only saw the three, but there were so many shrieks and growls coming from everywhere, it’s possible there were more of them. The others told me to ride ahead and that they would buy me time. I managed to escape and rode all the way here to make sure you get the news.”

Jaden frowned, turning to Anitra and Glen, who listened with the same grim expressions on their faces.

“Get a group ready and meet me at the stables,” he told them and they left without a word, rushing to execute his order. The crowd around them had receded as well, but he could feel their eyes on his back, hear their concerned whispers filled with tension. Jaden turned back to the boy, who seemed so pale that Jaden was afraid he may faint. “Where did you see them?”

“Close to Naysa, sire,” the boy replied with his voice trembling. “We were on our way back from Renna, me and four others when they jumped on us. We tried fighting the first off, but when the other two appeared, we decided we didn't stand a chance. So we ran for our lives. I don’t know what happened to the others. Forgive me, sir.”

“You’ve done well, Ryan,” Jaden assured him, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “If you had not carried out this message, others might have fallen prey to those demons.”

Ryan nodded absently, his eyes still locked on the ground.

“Do you know if the demons had reached the village before they attacked you? Or if they were headed that way?” Jaden asked, his mind going to all the innocent villagers and the troops he had left there no more than a week ago.

“I do not know, sire,” Ryan replied, raising his head to meet Jaden’s eyes. “But when I looked back, I saw black smoke rising in the sky.”