Death's Handmaiden Read online

  ‘I see. Nava Ward?’

  ‘I give my sincere thanks to Mitsuko Trenton,’ Nava said. ‘However, I stand by my words. I will ask that Devin Girard withdraws his challenge and his complaint now, before things go further.’

  ‘Oh?’ Devin said, half laughing the word. ‘And what will you do if I don’t?’

  ‘I’ll accept. Name the time and place.’

  ~~~

  Devin was a little surprised to see Mitsuko standing outside his apartment door, but he did his best not to show it. He sneered. ‘Come to beg me to let your friend off the hook?’ he asked as he grandly gestured for her to enter. His family had seen to it that he got the best accommodation available. His apartment was as well appointed as Mitsuko’s, but not as tidy. There were cleaning robots for the best blocks, but even a device like that could not keep up with someone who was, essentially, a slob.

  ‘I’ve come to suggest that you withdraw your challenge,’ Mitsuko said. Looking around, she decided that she would not ask to sit. There was every possibility that she would discover she was stuck to whatever she sat on when she tried to leave. ‘Unfortunately, Nava Ward is not my friend. I believe that she might be a very interesting person to get to know, but she is not my friend.’

  ‘Then why the Hell are you defending a clanless, support stream coward? A freak! Have you looked at her? She only has one expression. She talks like a damn robot. She’s got no idea about honour. Why are you protecting her?’

  ‘You seem to be under some misapprehension, Devin Girard. I am not protecting Nava Ward.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I am not protecting you either. I am here to try to avoid an embarrassment to our clan.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘If you win, Nava Ward’s words are still on record. You will have proven her false in the eyes of the law, but public opinion is another matter. Your actions will be seen as those of a bully, destroying any weaker opponent you believe you can get away with. If you lose–’

  ‘I won’t lose against a support stream weakling!’

  ‘If you lose, then she will have proven you false.’

  ‘That isn’t going to–’

  ‘It would be far better for you to withdraw your challenge, saying that her charge is beneath your dignity to answer. Beyond that, I think you assume too much about Nava Ward’s combat abilities. You believe her weak and an easy target, but you have not really met her.’

  ‘Careful, princess,’ Devin said, his voice low and angry. ‘Your words flirt with the same claim the orphan made.’

  Mitsuko flicked away the accusation. ‘Challenge me, Devin Girard, and I will dismantle you. Then my family will dismantle yours. You’ll be clanless and penniless and, given your duelling record, dead within a year. Do as your honour demands and put your clan before your petty desires. Withdraw your challenge.’

  ‘I don’t ever back down from a duel.’

  Turning, Mitsuko started back across the plush but somewhat matted carpet to the door. ‘Then on your own head be it.’

  235/1/26.

  The school had three duelling arenas, one of them larger than the others with more room for spectators. Nava was not sure whether to be pleased they were using that one or not. The basic setup of an arena was the same throughout the Clan Worlds, not that Nava had ever entered one before anywhere. There was an open area – a rectangle with rounded corners – in the centre. This was the arena proper. Around it there was seating for spectators, the adjudicator, and the seconds of the combatants. Two lines twenty metres apart marked the starting point for the fighters. Most magical duels ended before anyone had closed the distance, but there was more movement where the duel was to use melee weapons. The spectators were protected from misfired magic, or bullets in some cases, by a barrier spell which surrounded the fighting area. That also theoretically stopped spectators from meddling with the duel. The duel began when the adjudicator said it did and ended when the appropriate conditions were met.

  Nava was on her line five minutes before the designated time of the duel. At sixteen thirty, they would begin and, if this duel went as most blood duels did, it would be over in the first couple of seconds. Devin would want to drag it out a little, hitting her again and again until her internal organs were soup, but she had no intention of allowing that to happen.

  The rules were simple enough. In a magical duel, no magical devices or other weapons were allowed into the arena. The duellists relied upon their own power and nothing else. It was illegal to cast spells prior to the start of the duel; if a duellist wished to protect themselves, they had to raise a barrier as soon as the duel began. Most went straight to offence in the hope of drawing blood with the first strike and obviating the need for defence. Nava would go straight to the attack because she was sure that Devin would and because she was sure she was faster.

  Devin walked out onto the arena floor a minute before the appointed time. He was smiling, all confidence. He paid no attention to Nava, but he did spare a glance to the seats where the seconds and the adjudicator were sitting. His second had just arrived. Courtney was sitting in the adjudicator’s seat having decided that she needed to oversee this personally. Melissa had agreed to be Nava’s second and was sitting beside Courtney, looking really nervous. Devin probably noticed Melissa’s state of mind, because his smile broadened. He took his place on the line and his attention turned to Nava. He said nothing, because smack-talk was not allowed, but his expression spoke volumes.

  ‘Magicians,’ Courtney said, rising to her feet, ‘you are here to settle a matter of honour through a duel to first blood. Fight honourably.’ She paused, probably because she wanted the last two words to sink in. ‘Raise the barrier.’

  There was a flickering of space around the outside of the fighting area as the magical barrier went up. Courtney waited for a second to be sure it was active. ‘Duellists, indicate that you are ready.’

  ‘I, Devin Girard Sonkei, stand ready to defend my honour.’ Devin’s body tensed as he prepared himself for what was to come.

  Nava did not move a muscle. ‘I, Nava Ward, am ready.’ She had no honour to defend and was not going to say that she was there to do that.

  ‘On my word, begin,’ Courtney said. ‘Go!’

  Devin began to move, but Nava was half a second ahead of him. Her right hand flew out in a slashing motion and a disc of white light shot from her fingers, crossing the distance between the combatants in an instant. It slashed through the arm of Devin’s uniform tunic and the flesh beneath. Blood flew and Devin clutched at his arm. The fight was over; Nava had drawn first blood.

  Except that Devin did not consider it to be done with. ‘Bitch! You’ll pay for that!’ He raised his right hand once again, aiming his palm toward Nava.

  Rising to her feet again to declare Nava the victor, Courtney changed what she was about to say. ‘Devin Girard, stand down! You–’

  ‘Die!’ Devin shrieked and something left his hand. It was nothing which could be seen, but it distorted the light as it passed from Devin’s hand to where Nava had been until she sprang sideways and rolled to her feet in a single, smooth motion. The bolt of concussive force Devin had launched struck the barrier behind Nava and impact energy rippled violently across the invisible wall.

  Nava raised her own hand before Devin could try again. A pulse of white light left her hand and shot across the gap to hit Devin in the forehead. And then a ball of white light exploded out in a perfect sphere, enveloping Devin’s body and continuing out to hit the barrier which flared brightly under the impact of the released energy. Then the light bubble popped, and everyone could see what was left of Devin Girard. His head, shoulders, and arms were entirely gone. The rest of him looked as though it had been tossed into a blender filled with acid. Skin and other tissues were left in ragged streamers. Huge rents in his uniform showed huge rents in the skin beneath all the way down his legs. If there was anything left of his internal organs, that would have been a surprise. Devin Girard was very defi
nitely dead and no technology or magic was going to bring him back.

  Without a word, Nava turned and started for the exit.

  ~~~

  Of course, that was not the end of it. Nava was back in SSF HQ and they were not pleased. ‘That was meant to be a blood duel,’ Courtney said. ‘You killed him!’

  ‘He tried to kill me,’ Nava replied evenly.

  ‘You can’t know that. If a participant in a duel refuses to acknowledge that they’ve lost, you allow the adjudicator to–’

  ‘I’m supposed to stand there and let him hit me with Concussive Force spells until my insides liquify? In the time it takes for the barrier to drop, he could have fired off at least five of them. Besides, the duelling regulations do not forbid returning fire in self-defence.’

  Courtney scowled, but Nava was right about the legislation and she was faced by Nava’s cool gaze which she seemed unable to dent. Nothing seemed capable of getting under the freshman’s skin. She reacted to someone trying to kill her and the death of that person at her own hands in the same way as one might react to discovering a tiny stain on their dress. Such an annoyance. Actually, she reacted less than that.

  Try a different tack. ‘You couldn’t know he was using a lethal spell until after he’d used it. You didn’t even look at what it did to the barrier before attacking.’

  ‘I knew he was using a lethal spell because he was going to use the same spell even before I cut him. You only need to look at his duelling record to know the way he worked. He called out people he was sure he could beat, and he used Concussive Force to attack them because his first hit was unlikely to draw blood. His opponent would be knocked down, if not killed. If they were still alive, he would be justified in continuing until they were badly injured or dead. He was a bully and a murderer. When I landed the first strike, I was quite aware that he would respond violently.’

  ‘So, you admit that you went into that duel knowing you would kill Devin Girard?’

  ‘I expected to have to, yes.’

  ‘You could’ve used… a less extreme weapon and at least tried to keep him alive.’

  Nava shook her head. ‘I was casting Slice as a cantrip. I only have one ranged combat spell available at reasonable levels and I used it. I used it in a manner that I was sure would render my opponent incapable of further attacks.’

  Then, to Courtney’s surprise, Nava’s eyes tightened. It was just a little, but it was there, and it was the most expression the SSF captain had ever seen in the taciturn freshman.

  ‘I’ll be candid,’ Nava said. ‘I find the practice of duelling to be abhorrent. You have turned combat into a game you use to enforce your will on those without the skill to defy you and you don’t expect there to be consequences which can’t be fixed by first aid. You duel to “preserve your honour” when all it does is prove your strength. Going forward, if I am challenged and I am at fault, I will apologise. I have no honour to worry about. If, however, I am not at fault, I will agree to the challenge and my opponent had better be ready to duel to the death.’

  ‘Death duels are forbidden.’

  ‘Without permission. If someone is not prepared to risk their life to prove their honour, their honour is not worth defending.’

  Courtney’s scowl just got worse. ‘I can’t see the Sonkei clan leaving this alone. I’m not sure we’ll be able to–’

  ‘The Sonkei clan will not intervene in this matter,’ Mitsuko said.

  ‘But–’

  ‘I don’t see that Nava Ward did anything wrong. She conducted a legal duel and defended herself when dishonourably attacked with lethal force.’

  ‘She deliberately went into a blood duel knowing that she would kill her opponent,’ Courtney said. She was not sounding entirely confident. ‘She killed a man from your clan.’

  ‘I strongly believe that Nava Ward has restored the honour of my clan today. We should not have allowed Devin Girard to continue as he was. He dishonoured the Sonkei name every time he entered an arena. It may take some time for us to regain our lost face, but we will do so more easily without Devin Girard.’

  Courtney sighed and said something she probably should not have. ‘She has made my life easier. Very well. No censure will be recorded. Nava Ward, the committee would prefer it if you do not reject duels without good reason and abide by the rules regarding their conduct, but I suspect you will not be getting many frivolous challenges in the future.’

  ‘So long as I can continue my education in peace,’ Nava said, ‘I will be quite happy.’

  ‘And I will be quite happy if I never see you in this room again. Unfortunately, I rather doubt that that will be the case.’

  Part Two: Student Body Politics

  Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, Shinden, Clan Worlds Alliance, 235/2/1.

  The weather was good, that was a definite plus. The skies were clear, if a little cool, so it was easy to see the members of the Flight Club as they demonstrated their aerobatics over one of the school’s four playing fields. Nava watched for a few minutes before heading for the tent where the club was handling any prospective new members they might catch this weekend.

  Lessons had finished at lunchtime and, while there were normally lessons on Saturday morning, this week everyone was free. In fact, the school allowed for three and a half days of this in what they called the Extracurricular Activities Fair; lessons would not start again until Tuesday. This was also the start of the campaigning for student president; there had been an announcement concerning that matter in homeroom that morning.

  Melissa did not shout or wave when she spotted Nava entering the tent, but she did smile very broadly and the look in her eyes was meant to bring Nava over to the desk Melissa was manning. ‘Can I interest you in membership of the Flight Club?’ Melissa asked, all proper aside from the big grin. Melissa had already joined up and had spent one Sunday afternoon in the air. ‘The Flight Club is an excellent way for aspiring flyers to earn their permit, should you not already have one.’ Like various spells, Flight required a permit to use, essentially confirming that you knew how to use it safely. As it happened, Nava did have a permit for Flight along with a number of other spells she knew.

  Nava was just glad that Melissa was smiling. The shy redhead had not taken Nava’s win in the duel with Devin especially well. It had taken her a couple of days to get over seeing her new friend remove a man’s head with magic; it was just not what Melissa had expected of a fellow support stream student. She had got over it, however. The only thing Rochester had wanted to know was what kind of magic Nava had used; he had never seen anything like it before.

  ‘I’m interested,’ Nava said, ‘but I need to see a couple of other clubs and decide on my priorities. I came here first. The exhibition outside is pretty good.’

  ‘We’ve got our best flyers out there. They’re the ones who go into the competitions in summer.’ Melissa’s tone became rather proud and a little crowing. ‘The Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery’s Flight Club has placed highly in planetary aerobatics competitions every year for the last twenty years. We’ve had the planetary champion for seven of the last ten years.’

  ‘My aerobatics isn’t that good.’

  Melissa deflated a little. ‘Neither is mine, but that’s one reason I’m in the club. We meet every Sunday for four hours. The senior students provide tuition to the younger ones in order to nurture the next generation of school champions.’

  ‘You sound like a recruitment vid. And you already told me all this.’

  ‘I memorised the recruitment vid, actually. I know you know, but I’m supposed to be earning my salary here.’

  ‘They aren’t paying you.’

  ‘And that is where the theory breaks down. What else are you going to see? You mentioned judo and karate, right?’

  ‘I want to take a look at those clubs. I’m not sure they’re right for me, to be honest, but we’ll see. I said I’d drop in at the Metaphysics Club stand.’

  ‘Oh yes, Chess is on th
at one. No real surprise there.’

  ‘And no matter how much he tries, he won’t get me to join up. I want to learn more about the theories behind magic, sure, but I don’t plan on making a career out of it. Similarly, I don’t think I’ll be joining any of the technical clubs, but I might look favourably on the MagiTag Club.’

  Melissa deflated a bit more. ‘I really suck at MagiTag.’

  ‘That could be an issue. It’s one of the main tools used in magical combat training. That’s what it was invented for, even if it’s best known as a game now.’

  ‘I bet you’re really good at it.’

  ‘Actually, yes, I am.’

  Melissa shook her head, grinning. There was not even a hint of bragging about Nava’s statement. It was a fact and that was all there was to it. Knowing Nava had been an up-and-down experience, but the one thing Melissa had decided she really liked about the strange, white-haired girl was that Nava told it like it was. She figured Nava was quite capable of lying – and figuring out when she was lying would be next to impossible – but generally she told the truth, no matter how painful it was. ‘Go see your fight clubs. The Flight Club will be waiting for you when you discover all the others are boring.’

  ~~~

  The Judo Club was not exactly boring, but it was not what Nava wanted. They were holding exhibition matches in one of the school’s three dojos; unarmed combat was not a major part of the curriculum since it was assumed that graduates would be using magic to fight, but there was space for it to be taught where required. Nava watched a progression of fights between members of the club and rapidly got the impression that she was watching a sport. She had been expecting that, but it still came as something of a disappointment. She had been hoping for more.