like she’s about to run us over.”
Karat glanced over her shoulder. “Faron’s piss.”
“Is she here for you or me?”
“You.” Karat stepped into the vampire’s path. “Lady Konstana. You’re interrupting.”
“Lady Maud!” Konstana pointed her sword at Maud. “Your mongrel child broke my son’s arm.”
Oh. That.
“I wonder if you would be so kind as to demonstrate to me how she did it.” Konstana bared her fangs.
Around them other people stopped sparring and moved aside, clearing the space. They had an audience now.
“Konstana,” Karat growled under her breath. “She is human and a guest.”
“As you wish,” Maud said.
“Step aside, Karat,” Konstana ground out.
A muscle jerked in Karat’s face. “Do not presume to order me.”
“Alvina,” a female voice said.
Karat froze.
To the right of them, behind Karat, under a copse of trees, four older vampire women stood. The one who spoke was tall, with broad shoulders and a mane of blond hair cascading all the way past her waist. Her plain practice armor hugged her figure. Her gray eyes were cold. Maud looked into them and saw ice.
“Let our guest partake of the Communal,” Lady Ilemina said.
Karat moved out of the way.
Maud walked a few steps farther to the right, giving herself room.
“After I break your arms, you will apologize to me,” Konstana said. “For taking up my valuable time.”
She was about two inches taller, probably thirty-five pounds or so heavier than Maud, and the way she held her sword indicated the South technique, which meant she would favor slash attacks. Right or left, that was the question. Strike from the left would be better. It was a more powerful attack.
Maud tipped her sword up and checked the point. “Is it a habit of House Krahr to waste time with empty threats?”
Konstana charged, slashing from left to right, aiming for a cut across the chest. It was a good slash, fast and deadly. Maud parried, letting the force of the attack slide off her blade, caught the woman’s wrist for a second, yanking her arm into the perfect position, let go, thrust her own sword under Konstana’s forearm, and rolled her sword arm up and over Konstana’s, trapping the vampire’s sword in her armpit. It happened so fast, Konstana had no chance to react. The redirected momentum of her own strike twisted her, and she went down to one knee, Maud’s right hand on Konstana’s wrist, her left flat against the elbow, locking it.
“You asked me how my daughter did it,” Maud said. “She did it just like this.”
She hit the elbow. The elbow capsule popped with a loud crack as the sheath around the joint tore. Konstana cried out. The women around them winced and made sucking noises.
“Exactly like I taught her.” Maud let go and stepped away.
The vampire woman struggled to her feet, her arm hanging useless, and swiped the sword from the ground with her left hand.
“Well fought, Lady Konstana,” Maud said.
The vampire woman unhinged her jaws. “Well fought, Lady Maud.”
“Well,” Lady Ilemina said. “That was quite stirring. I feel myself in need of some exercise. Lady Maud, perhaps you would indulge me?”
Crap, crap, crap. Maud bowed. “I’m deeply honored.”
“Of course you are.” Lady Ilemina walked forward.
Six feet six at least. Close to two hundred pounds. Like watching a tank approach.
Thoughts skittered through Maud, running too fast. There was no way to back down from the fight. Throwing the fight wasn’t an option either. They had too many eyes on them, and Ilemina would definitely view it as an insult. Winning the fight wasn’t an option, even if it was possible, which it wasn’t. She couldn’t humiliate Arland’s mother. She couldn’t let herself be humiliated. It would kill any chances she had for being accepted, and after last night she wanted Arland more than ever.
What to do? How do I handle it?
Arland’s mother was the Preceptor of House Krahr and she got there because she was the best leader. Vampires led from the front. That and the two-page list of titles behind her name meant she would be a superior fighter. Her strength would be overwhelming.
Maud tested the sword one more time, warming up. She was well trained, but in a contest of pure strength, especially against a vampire knight with decades of experience, she would lose. She relied on surprise and dirty tactics, but thanks to Konstana, the cat was out of the bag and the open grassy lawn presented no opportunity for ambush, which meant she had only two things left in her corner: speed and endurance.
I have to outlast