The Sword and The Mountain (Kathardra book 1)
Even the Scales

Storm ran across the lawn of the academy, her claws throwing dirt clumps up behind her in the air, looking for the world like a giant cat.

Lessa stood barefoot directly before her, a massive grin spread across her face. Just before Storm collided with her Lessa lifted Storm with magic and threw the dragon overhead. Storm’s back claws cleared Lessa’s head by inches. Storm rolled along the grass, leaving deep muddy ruts and she struggled to right herself.

Finally able to find her feet again Storm opened her maw and came toward Lessa, billowing fire blasted from deep in Storm’s throat. Lessa enveloped herself in a shield, then took control of the fire and sent it up and around, tunneling it back over Storm’s back harmlessly.

Storm shook her body like a dog, liquid fire scattered all around her, scorching the grass and leaving puddles of fire in a wide radius. Faster than Lessa could comprehend the dragon spun in a circle, and her great fanned tail came around, before Lessa could dodge the tail hit her fully in the ribs and Lessa flew backward. She rolled to a stop and jumped back up to her feet. Storm was already on her.

A massive clawed hand was coming straight for Lessa. She threw up a shield, guarding her entire side. The claws stopped in contact with the magic. Storm’s jaw opened wide and surrounded Lessa. As fast as lightning Lessa wrapped herself in a shield, getting a closer look at the opening to Storm’s trachea than she would have liked.

The hand-long teeth stopped short, clamping into the magic. A thrill of panic shot through Lessa and she poured more magic into her shield. The muscles in Storm’s jaw strained as she tried to break Lessa it.

“Yield,” Storm growled.

“No, you!” Lessa shot back.

“Lessa. You are in my mouth.”

“You can’t break my shield.”

“You are in. My. Mouth.”

Storm bit down harder, and Lessa funneled more magic into the shield.

“Uh. Lessa?”

She could barely hear Zar.

Storm opened her jaw and carefully withdrew her teeth.

“Tie?” Lessa asked the dragon.

Storm ignored her.

“Cutting it close this time, don’t you think?” Zar asked as they watched Storm salk away, back through the fire and destruction the sparring had left in their wake.

Lessa shrugged, “She wouldn’t actually bite me…. That hard… What's up?”

“We’re leaving tomorrow.”

All Lessa could do for a moment was stare. They had been here for months. Summer had left and they were well into fall. It shouldn’t be a surprise. Obviously, they couldn’t stay here forever. But it had become… comfortable.

“But… My training. Cind-”

“When was the last time you fought Cinder himself? He has you training with a dragon.”

Lessa nodded quietly, staring at the grass. “How long….”

“It's a couple weeks to Geldur. We’ll be going through the mountains. It’ll be easier to hide Storm that way.”

The emotions that struck Lessa were not what she thought they would be. She felt sad. A couple of weeks, this would all be over. And then she could go… home.

Worran picked at his ear with a blank expression on his face. Zar leaned on one elbow on the pommel of his saddle staring at the manor. They had been ready and waiting for close to an hour now.

Lessa was just starting to wonder if she should go back inside, knock Cinder unconscious, and drag him outside when he emerged from the front door.

“Ugh, finally,” Worran said reining his horse in the direction of the forest. “Let us be off.”

Cinder mounted his own white, dainty horse and Lessa breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her horse around toward the forest, bitter sweet emotions danced through her now that they were leaving the academy.

But she quickly realized she had no clue in what direction they were headed. Surrounded by forest it made no difference to Lessa what direction she faced.

“What way will it be headed?” Zar asked Cinder, seeming to think along the same lines as Lessa.

“There is a road,” Cinder said with a smirk. He led his horse to the edge of the forest. He held up his hands and breathed out in concentration. The now familiar sensation of magic being worked pricked up the hairs on the back of Lessa’s neck. The buzz she could feel was so strong she wondered how she had never felt it before. It nearly felt like static electricity, but somehow softer and warmer.

The trees in front of Cinder faded until they were no longer visible and revealed the existence of a road under them. It seemed that it continued in a straight line through the forest, parting the trees as it went.

“And so continues my journey to assassinate a king…”

Storm didn’t respond, she was already high overhead circling out of sight and scouting the path they would take through the mountains.

The day was uneventful, but it felt so good to be traveling again, despite knowing where their road would take them.

Just after they set up camp, it was time for training. But this time Lessa faced off against Cinder. The space was too small for Storm to fight effectively.

The old man held perfectly still, he had learned weeks ago that Lessa could read the slightest movements. Oftentimes, Lessa could see it in his eyes just before he chose to attack. Her hard-earned battle scenes worked in her favor, even against a mage.

Storm was the only safe place, so Zar and Worran had positioned themselves next to her. Zar was just ahead of Worran in case he needed to shield him.

Something in Cinder’s eyes shifted, Lessa jumped to the side as he raised his arms and the ground threatened to swallow Lessa up. As she dodged Lessa threw her left hand forward. The campfire before her roared up and tried to consume Cinder like a dragon wrapping its jaws around the neck of its prey. Cinder blocked the oncoming inferno by lifting the dirt in front of him to intercept the attack.

Lessa used Cinder’s distraction with the fire to move around closer to him, forming magic between her hands that would serve as a cage for him. But she needed to contact him to transfer the trap. She lunged. He knocked her hands out of the way at the last second and Lessa’s half-formed magic cage wrapped itself around a nearby tree like a spider web.

Using her momentum Lessa let herself dive to the ground but kicked at Cinder in a cartwheel. Her boot caught him under the chin and the man was knocked backwards cursing. Lessa laughed as she landed drawing her sword to end the match. Holding it to Cinder’s throat she said “Dead.” she panted heavily with a smile on her face.

“You are too fast,” Cinder complained as he heaved himself off the ground.

“You always say that,” Lessa said triumphantly, thrusting her sword into her sheath.

He complained that her speed was unfair. It might actually be unfair, at least in close combat. Cinder did much better at longer distances. Once Lessa closed the gap and pulled her sword the fight was usually over.

“I know how to even the scales,” Zar said, standing and stretching his arms.

“The scales are even!” Cinder grumbled.

“Lessa, you will fight Cinder and I. At the same time.” Zar said, ignoring Cinder.

“What! No way! I’ll be obliterated!” Lessa said, horrified.

Worran laughed out loud, clearly happily anticipating the show. Lessa shot him the dirtiest look she could muster but his giddiness was unaffected.

“This is not fair!” Lessa pulled her sword and started backing away from the two, already standing side by side. Zar tossed her the chain they used to dull their swords.

Lessa quickly wrapped the chain around her hilt and clipped it into place.

“This will test and strengthen you, Lessa,” Zar said, wrapping his own hilt...

There was no time for further argument, Cinder started sending blasts of energy at her. Lessa bounced several paces back, slicing the magic with her sword as she went.

A strategy eluded Lessa. Cinder was best at long-distance fighting. And Zar was best hand to hand, sword to sword. The only offensive solution open to Lessa was to attack one or the other. But she would completely open herself to attack from the one she was not currently engaged with. Separating the two, dealing with them one at a time was her only option. But the opportunity never presented itself, Realistically Lessa would only be able to defend herself as long as possible.

Lessa jumped over a log that Cinder sent at her feet, ducked under a bright blue orb, and blocked aside a gust of wind. After several more of Cinder’s attacks, Lessa ducked behind a tree panting.

“Now she is hiding like a scared little forest squirrel.” She ignored Cinder’s taunt and stayed where she was. She peeked out around the tree, would keep her concealed.

Zar was looking right at her. Somewhere in the back of her mind Lessa wondered if the fact that Zar could see magic would let him see her in the dark. Cinder, however, did not see her. Zar was standing on the right of Cinder, watching her, waiting. Cinder was partially hidden from Lessa by the fire. A plan formed in Lessa’s mind.

She sat back against the tree, closed her eyes, and counted silently to three, taking a deep breath with each number. On three Lessa leaped out. Using her empty hand to guide her energy Lessa concentrated on the campfire several yards from her. Pushing it up and out along the ground between Zar and Cinder. She created a swirling wall of flame that separated her opponents and lit up the night around their camp. Lessa charged at Zar, her sword held high.

He had been ready and waiting. Lessa spun around him blocking and dealing out blows.

Not three seconds later Lessa received a strike to the back. The air was forced from her lungs with an “oof” as she fell forward onto the ground. She wondered if she had been hit in the back by a tree as she rolled in the dirt trying to fill her lungs.

She had. Lessa was able to push herself to her knees and in the air behind her was a log, floating a few feet above the ground.

“Don’t you think that was rather harsh?” Zar asked Cinder as Lessa accepted his hand and let him pull her to her feet.

“She will learn faster that way,” Cinder said, shrugging his shoulders. “Let's go again.”

Lessa sighed, ready once again to defend herself.

Welcoming Cinder into their routine was easier than Lessa had thought. Given his difficult personality and opinions on how everything should be done Lessa had expected that there would be far more frustration while trying to incorporate him into their habits.

Lessa attributed the ease with Cinder’s cooking. His bags seemed to be a bottomless supply of spices they had completely lacked before now. Their meals were delicious, and no longer bland. And they never had to fight over who would cook now.

They had left behind the forest surrounding the academy after a single day’s travel. They found a little traveled, overgrown road that led to the mountains.

They were setting up camp, four days in. Lessa was still sore from being beaten the night before. Her pride, as well as her hip where Cinder had caught her with an energy blast. She pulled the saddle from Leo’s back and started rubbing him down.

There had to be a way to fend off both of them at once. Last night had led to disaster because Lessa had gotten too distracted by Zar. She had been mid twist, in what would have led to a winning stroke when Cinder had landed his blow, blasting Lessa and Zar both to the ground.

Pain shot through Lessa’s back. She fell to the ground, screaming out.

“Storm!” Lessa screamed, clawing the dirt and dry orange leaves under her hands.

“Where!” It took just a moment to orient herself and Lessa shot into the forest, sprinting as fast as she could.

“Storm!” she screamed out again. Something was horribly wrong. No coherent thoughts were coming from Storm, but Lessa could feel how much pain she was in, and she was falling from the sky.

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