Amazon Companion Read online

  I found mother standing with Beria. Mother hugged me and tried to keep me with her, but I told her Juna had asked me to calm the children. She released me to my task.

  It took some time after I had arrived at the town square, but then there weren't any others to gather, and the villagers of Gallen's Cove found ourselves surrounded by thirty rough-looking women. They were all dressed similarly, their clothing constructed of various animal leathers and fur, and they were all armed. Most of the women carried swords, but a few had long sticks instead. They weren't using them like canes, but I saw a couple of the women using them while herding the villagers, not hitting anyone, but using them almost like a moving fence.

  I'd never seen live swords before. We hadn't needed them. It was hard not to stare.

  One of the women raised her hand. The villagers were milling about, talking amongst each other, and the woman wasn't getting the attention she wanted.

  "Quiet!" she bellowed, and that got her the desired attention.

  From around the square, I saw the elders begin moving slowly in that woman's direction. Everyone else grew still.

  "That's better!" she looked angry. "This village has broken treaty with us. We are owed tithe and we are here to collect."

  Tithe? Treaty? Who did these women think they were?

  "Go home!" I heard someone yell. Someone else called out, "By what right do you disrupt our peace?"

  "Silence!" the woman yelled. Then she paused as if she was considering her response. "You pathetic people, living here in your peaceful village far from danger. Do you think your peace comes without a price?"

  "You haven't been through a winter gale if you think the ocean is peaceful."

  "A winter gale is far better than the demons we keep far from your homes," the woman called out.

  That was when I knew who the women were: Amazons.

  Everyone knew the stories about the demons and the Amazons. The demons came from the volcanic mountains far to the east. They had first appeared centuries ago, ravaging all of Morehama. Mighty warriors had stood against the demons, but no man could stand against them. The demons weaved magic that wrapped around a man's mind, putting him into a waking sleep, ripe for the plucking. Entire armies had fallen.

  But then one woman, tall and lithe, stood against one of the demons. She took up a sword, strode forth, and scythed down one of the demons, and then another. Other women saw what she was doing, and they all collected the weapons at their hands, the fallen weapons from their fathers and husbands, and they drove the demons back to their mountains.

  It appeared the demon magic didn't work on a woman's mind, and the demons didn't know how to fight someone who could fight back.

  That first woman's name had been Amazonia, and the women she led became know as Amazons. And in the centuries following, they had kept all of Morehama safe from the demons. In return, Morehama offered tithe to the women.

  But the demons hadn't been seen in years and years, lifetimes.

  The woman continued to talk.

  "This village has not paid tithe in twenty years. You have owed us ten percent of your crops, ten percent of your fish, ten percent of everything you raise and make, and you have not offered one grain in twenty years. You have ample food and can spare some for the women who keep you safe. We are here to collect!"

  Juna strode forth. "We owe you nothing!"

  "Silence!" The woman said, and I saw Juna's jaw tighten. "Furthermore, you also were to offer us one girl child in five, delivered to us immediately after her fourteenth birthday. We are here to collect."

  "The demons are long gone from our lands," Juna said, her voice raised to carry. "They were slain generations ago."

  "That is not true!" The women said. "You see no demons here because we drive them back into their volcanic homes."

  "That is the lie," Juna said. "Twenty years ago, one of your sisters stayed a time with us, and she told us she had never seen more than the occasional scouting party of demons, and then only three times herself."

  "And so you admit the demons are not dead," the strange woman said. "And you admit we are the ones who keep you safe."

  "Scouting parties of demons are not going to venture so many days ride from their mountains," Juna said. "Collect your tithe from villages closer to the danger."

  "We collect our tithe from all of Morehama!" the woman said. "You owe us twenty years of tithing." Then she smiled. "We are not cruel. We do not expect you to pay us all at once. We will even forgive half your debt. You will pay double tithing for the next ten years."

  Then she smiled. "And we would not impoverish the village of your young girls. Today we take three. In the future, you will send us one of every five girls."

  "We will do no such thing!" Juna said, slamming her cane to the ground.

  The strange woman stepped forward, partially drawing her sword. She towered over Juna, but Juna stood her ground, and then the other elders stepped up next to her.

  There was a staring match between Juna and the woman. Then the two spoke, too quietly for me to hear. I moved closer, trying to hear, coming to a stop in the gap between the rest of the villages and the line of elders. I stood immediately behind Juna, but still I couldn't hear.

  Finally the woman took two steps back, and I thought Juna had won. I was ready to cheer, but the stranger raised her voice.

  "Miari, Riva, Narana, choose your new companions from anyone assembled here, twelve years or older."

  I stared in shock, growing even more shocked when three of the strange women, looking triumphant, strode forth. They stopped in front of Juna, and then I nearly cried out as Juna stepped from their path, and all the elders made a gap in their line. Juna ended up standing immediately next to me.

  "You can't let them," I said.

  "We have no choice," Juna said quietly to me.

  The three strangers stepped past us and began to walk among the villagers, stopping here and there to examine this girl or that. I couldn't believe the council was allowing these women to kidnap three of our children.

  Some of the parents tried to hide their children. Other children cried as soon as they fell under the gaze of one of the three women or another. Mother tried to shield Beria, but one of the women pulled her forth and stared at my sister. Beria stood strong and silent, but the woman moved on, selecting instead a quietly crying Morana. Morana was small and very sweet, and I couldn't believe Juna was letting the woman take her.

  "Juna-"

  "Silence."

  "But-"

  "Our choice was three or to pay our debt all at once."

  The woman led Morana firmly by the arm, pulling her through the assembled townspeople. Rania, Morana's mother, cried quietly while clutching at Beacon, her firstborn, who would turn fourteen in another three weeks.

  A second woman made her choice, selecting Olive. Olive was a quiet girl, but always very brave. She looked back at her mother but didn't resist when the strange woman dragged her away.

  "This is barbaric, Juna," I said. "Do something."

  "What would you have me do?"

  "Reason with them."

  "I did. They won't hurt them. They become companions."

  "What does that mean?"

  "Servants. Perhaps more."

  "More?"

  "Don't be naive. You're not a child anymore."

  "Morana is only thirteen and Olive just turned fourteen!"

  "I know."

  The last woman didn't seem to find anyone she wanted. Maybe she would leave unsatisfied. She moved all the way through the crowd, finally working her way back to me. She stared into my face from two feet away, and I realized she was considering taking me.

  We studied each other. She was younger than I was, perhaps eighteen or nineteen. Her features were weathered, her body firm.

  None of the three women had spoken during her search except for the polite, and perhaps surprising, request for someone to step aside as they each worked their way through the assembled village
folk. But this one asked me, "What is your name?"

  "Maya Softpeace," I said.

  She eyed me up and down. "I like your looks."

  I put a hand on my hip and stared at her. If she touched me, I'd bite her hand off.

  The Amazon leader stepped forward, standing next to the woman. I wasn't sure if this was Miari, Riva or Narana. And I didn't know the leader's name.

  "We normally select younger companions," the leader said. She was speaking to me, and she eyed me. I glared at her.

  "Riva," said the woman. "This one would fight you. Five years from now, maybe you could handle her fire."

  "There was one other," Riva said. She stepped away from me, and part of me felt relief, and then part of me felt guilty another girl would be taken instead of me.

  I watched Riva, and she took a direct line to my mother.

  "No," I said.

  Riva stepped past my mother and clasped Beria by the arm.

  "Juna, do something!" I said.

  "I'm sorry, Maya," Juna said.

  I stared as the woman tugged Beria by the arm, leading her on a path that would take her right past me.

  "No!" I yelled. "You can't have her!" Juna's cane was right there, and she wasn't even leaning on it. I snatched it from her and, raising it above my head menacingly, ran at the girl attempting to steal my sister. "Leave my sister alone!"

  I attacked, catching the girl largely by surprise. I lowered the cane firmly on her arm, forcing her to release Beria, then I shoved her from my sister, interposing myself between my sister and her would-be kidnapper.

  "You can't have her!" I yelled again.

  Everyone stepped away from us, not a single person stepping in to help. The women carried steel, but we greatly outnumbered them. How could we stand by and let them take our sisters and daughters? Well, they weren't taking Beria!

  The woman -- Riva -- straightened, studying me. "You would fight for her?" she asked me.

  "Yes! Wouldn't you fight for your sister?"

  She smiled. "Yes, I imagine I would. Very well." She reached to her belt and withdrew her sword.

  I gulped. I had come to a sword fight with nothing but an old woman's cane.

  "Hold!"

  It was the Amazon leader's voice, speaking firmly. She closed the short distance to us, taking a position as the third point of a triangle. I saw her out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't take my eyes off the woman with the sword.

  I was going to die, but I would do what I could to protect my sister.

  "We did not come here to kill anyone, Riva," the leader said.

  "She offers a fight," Riva replied. "I did not ask for this fight."

  "Do you really want as companion the sister of someone you killed in an uneven fight of sword against cane?" the leader asked. She paused. "She looks fierce. What if she beats you? Those seem to be your two choices. Do you wish to lose a duel of steel against cane?"

  "I have a right to my companion," Riva said. "What do you recommend, Nori?"

  "I recommend you leave without a companion," I said hotly. "Beria isn't going with you."

  "Maya," Beria said from behind me. "She'll kill you. Please, I'll go." She moved to step past me.

  "No!" I said. "She can't have you!" I glanced at their leader. "She's only twelve. I know what you do with your companions. She's only twelve!"

  "We do not consider a girl a woman until she is sixteen," their leader said. "We do not abuse children."

  "You don't? You take them from their homes."

  "We do not abuse them."

  "You can't have Beria!" I said hotly.

  "So you will fight for her?" the leader asked.

  "Yes." I eyed Riva with her sword.

  "Well then," the woman said. "So be it, but let none say it was not a fair fight." And then she stepped forward towards me, holding her sword towards me, offering me the hilt.

  I glanced at it. "I wouldn't even know how to hold it," I said. "She'll run me through, and then she'll take my sister. You're going to let my murderer have my sister?"

  The leader stepped back. "Yes, that was my point. Well, there is another solution." She raised her voice. "Glarine, I need two staffs!"

  "Coming, Nori," said another voice, and a moment later a woman strode forth from behind Nori carrying two of the big sticks some of the strange woman carried. She handed them to Nori, who had sheathed her own sword.

  "Give one of these to Riva and take her steel," Nori said. Glarine took one of the staffs back then took Riva's sword and knife. Riva frowned but hefted the shaft. She had appeared more confident with the sword than the big stick.

  "A cane is still outmatched by a staff," Nori said. "Would you trade with me now? I believe your village elder would like her cane back." I glanced at the woman, and she was holding the staff out. I edged towards her, watching Riva carefully, keeping Beria behind me.

  She handed me the staff and I thrust the cane at her. She held the cane out behind her, and after that I lost track of it. I assumed it would make its way back to Juna.

  I held the heavy staff in two hands, crossed at an angle in front of me. While Riva didn't look confident with hers, I didn't have a clue what to do with it.

  "You can still kill with a staff," the Amazon leader said. "It would be better if that did not happen." She turned to Beria. "Girl. Retreat to your mother until this is settled."

  "Maya," Beria said again. "Please, I'll go with her."

  "You will not!" I said. "You're only twelve. Go to mother."

  Beria was long accustomed to obeying when I told her to do something, especially when I used my teacher's authoritative voice. She retreated away from me, and glancing backwards, I saw mother wrap her arms around Beria.

  "The fight ends when one of you yields or I declare a winner. Either of you fighting after I call a halt will face my wrath. Village girl, what is your name?"

  "Maya," I said. "I am the town teacher."

  "I see. Maya, you do not want me angry with you. When I say stop, you will stop, win or lose. Agree now or I will run you through myself."

  "Agreed," I said.

  "Riva, I don't need to warn you."

  "No, Nori."

  "Ready. Fight."

  The woman came after me without a pause. I found myself backing away from her, barely deflecting her blows with my staff, each blow making my arms shake. She struck, struck, struck. I made a few half-hearted attempts to swing back at her, which she easily deflected.

  She smiled and paused. "Yield now and I promise to treat your sister well. She will be very accustomed to obeying me by the time she turns sixteen."

  That was a mistake. She made me angry.

  "You aren't taking my sister!" I screamed, and I launched my own attacks.

  I learned in subsequent years that fighting from anger is a poor choice, second only to fighting from fear.

  But it was all I had.

  It was Riva's turn to give ground as I swung and swung at her. She thrust at me with her staff, catching me firmly in the chest and knocking me back a foot. It hurt, it hurt quite a lot, but I shoved her staff aside and swung again. She deflected, and I put renewed energy into each swing.

  Twice more she managed to hit me with her staff, each of them hurting, one of them turning my arm numb for a moment, but I gritted my teeth and swung with everything I had. She blocked with her staff, but I had swung so hard, I still managed to hit her firmly against the shoulder.

  She drew backwards, frowning. I paused, catching my breath and shaking my arm out.

  The square remained quiet except for the sounds of two women, now both panting from their exertions, and a few younger children crying.

  Then Riva came after me again, swinging heavily with her staff. She would have beaned me good, ending the fight for sure, but I barely ducked under it, planting my own staff in the ground and catching her in the chest with the other end. It was entirely accidental, but she bounced off of it, landing on her ass.

  I'm not sure whi
ch of us was more surprised.

  From her position on the ground, she swung at my feet. I jumped over the swing then decided it must be fair to fight like that, so I swung back, a glancing blow against her skull. She fell backwards, rolling away from me. I would have pursued, but I was so surprised I'd hit her I stopped and stared. She climbed to her feet, one hand rubbing her head.

  "Yield, Riva?" their leader asked.

  "No!"

  I went after her. "You can't have my sister!" I screamed.

  My lucky blow had taken a lot out of her, and I was angry. These women came to our village to steal our food and our children. They were too lazy to raise their own grain and thought we owed them tribute for keeping us safe from non-existent demons, and I wasn't having it.

  I swung and swung, and then I caught Riva across the arm again. She cried out, but she swung back at me, and I barely deflected her attack, retreating from her. She held her ground, but was now holding her staff one handed, the other hanging limply.

  I stared. Had I broken it?

  "Yield, Riva?" the leader asked.

  "No! I will not be bested by a teacher of children!"

  Holding the staff one handed, she swung it at me. I deflected it easily then thrust the end of my staff towards Riva's stomach. She turned it away, but it had been a feint, and I swung the staff, cracking across her injured arm again. She fell back, but I pursued, swinging, swinging, swinging. Every several swings I caught her a glancing blow, none of them individually seeming to do much damage, but she was growing slower. I feinted towards her face, and when she blocked it upwards, I swung the other end of the staff, catching a glancing blow to Riva's legs.

  She went down, and I raised my staff to finish the fight.

  "Hold!" came a firm voice. "Stop!"

  I wavered.

  "Maya! Back away. You won!"

  I froze, staring down at the girl.

  I felt sick. I backed away, and the Amazon leader stepped forward, her sword out, interposing herself between Riva and me. Two more of the Amazons stepped forward to deal with the injured woman, and Nori turned to face me directly.

  "She held back, not wanting to injure you terribly."

  "You said I won."

  "You did."