Diamantine (Weapons and Wielders Book 2) Page 2

  After that, Reika, Dawn, and I made our plans to go after the next of the Six Sacred Swords. Dawnbringer could sense the location of the other weapons, and she realized that at least three of the others were gathering in the same place for some reason — a rarity and an opportunity. That also happened to be down in Edria, the same location we’d been planning to go to find Anabelle Farren.

  It seemed that everyone was converging at the Tournament of the Sacred Sword, a competition held every six years to earn a chance to duel the Emperor of Edria for the right to wield Diamantine, a sword passed down in their family line for generations. It was obvious that no one was actually supposed to beat the emperor, and that the “duel” was just for show...but I’m bad at social cues, and I like swords.

  And so, we began to head toward Edria, where we hoped to earn a chance at picking up Diamantine, and maybe learn how to get a body for Dawnbringer, too.

  Prologue – Hunting for Battle

  Keras stood up from his seat on the train, his left hand steadying the scabbard at his side as he moved.

  Marissa Callahan — generally called “Mara” by her friends — stood up across from him, cracking her neck.

  “Where are you going?” Keras asked her as he moved to the door of the car.

  “Same place you are.” A grin slipped across the blonde girl’s face. “Wherever the trouble’s gonna be.”

  Keras glanced at the other three students. They were all standing up, too, but for different reasons. Corin had moved the car’s window and was reaching into his bag. He whispered, “Retrieve: Etching Rod.”

  Patrick took a position next to Corin, glancing around the car for any signs of a threat.

  Sera spoke softly. “Vanniv, I summon you.”

  A stone-skinned man appeared next to her, his wings taking up nearly all the open space of the car. Perhaps summoning him in an enclosed space hadn’t been the world’s best idea. “Ah.” He stretched his arms, his wings flexing at the same time and brushing against the inner walls of their cabin. “Finally, a chance to move around.” He frowned. “Although we seem to be moving without any effort on my part.”

  “We’re on a train,” Sera explained. “And there may be trouble. Bandits.”

  “Ooh, bandits!” Vanniv clapped his hands together. “How lovely!” He glanced around, taking in the expressions of the people around him, then amended, “...or, concerning, perhaps?”

  Keras appraised the students at the same time Vanniv did. Three of them looked nervous, but Mara was practically bouncing with enthusiasm.

  An ordinary teacher probably would have told her to stay with the others to keep her safe. A more cautious one might have explained that as the strongest fighter among the students, she should have stayed to guard the others.

  But seeing her expression, her enthusiasm...

  She’s just like I was at that age.

  He swung the cabin door. “Come on, Mara. We’ve got some thieves to catch.”

  Mara pressed a fist into her open palm of her other hand. “Right behind you. This is going to be fun.”

  Keras exchanged a final nod with Corin as he closed the door.

  They’re going to be fine. They’ve handled a lot worse than train robbers, Keras reminded himself. And I’ll take care of the leader myself.

  Marissa was already moving down the row between the cabins when he finished closing the door. He was about to question if she knew where she was going, but upon listening to the sounds of the hoofbeats outside, he agreed with her assessment.

  They’re heading toward the front of the train. They’re either going to go for the driving car or...

  He moved forward with haste, falling into line at Marissa’s side. He could have run much faster, but he wasn’t going to leave her behind.

  They passed several more reserved private cabins, including the one Keras had rented for himself. The group had three in total — one for him, one for the boys, and one for the girls. He’d ended up spending most of his time with the others regardless, but having somewhere private to sleep was important.

  Wasn’t there another girl somewhere?

  Keras shook his head, dismissing the concern. She’d be fine.

  At the end of the train car, they reached a door leading to the next car. Keras didn’t bother with that, however. Instead, he turned toward the exit door on the left side, gestured to it, and then turned to Mara. “Can you handle this route?”

  “You kiddin’? I’ve been wantin’ to try that since you and Derek were showing off on the last train ride. Want me to punch it open?”

  “Won’t be necessary.” He approached the exit door and touched it.

  Reshape.

  The metal door compressed into a thin wedge, leading to the open air. As the train continued to roll forward, Keras glanced outward at the dry scenery of the Unclaimed Lands.

  “Up or down?” Mara asked.

  “Up.”

  She nodded, stepped forward, and grabbed the top of the door frame. “See you up top.”

  Then with a burst of strength belying her size, she launched herself upward and disappeared from view.

  Keras followed a moment later, using a somewhat different technique. He grabbed the side wall outside of the door, reshaped the metal to form hand-holds, and then climbed up the side of the car.

  Mara helped pull him up to the top of the train. It wasn’t necessary, but he accepted the gesture regardless.

  Then he knelt down, tapped the roof, and concentrated. His hand-holds vanished and the door returned to its original shape. He didn’t want some random passenger falling out the door because he’d been lazy.

  “Wow.” Mara was glancing from the roof of the train, taking in the scenery. From atop the train, they could see miles in each direction. “View is amazin’ up here. Think we can get the others to check it out later?”

  Keras followed Mara’s gaze to the north, remembering.

  The Seventh Spire is out that way. I wonder if the expedition is still intact. Maybe Dyson...

  He shook his head. There was no time to reminisce. The swordsman glanced back to Mara. “Maybe if we hold them tight. They don’t all have the kind of balance to stand up here without falling off. Corin, maybe.”

  She walked closer to the edge of the train car, looking down. “We’ll figure it out.” Her eyes narrowed. “I can see them. Looks like six riders on this side.”

  Keras moved to the other side. “Another six over here.” He backed away, reaching into the pouch at his side and slipping on his mask.

  Mara turned back around. “Ooh, mask going on. You bring your trouble coat?”

  Keras winced. “Ugh, I completely forgot it. It’s down in my cabin...should I go get it? No, no time.” He shook his head.

  “You’re like eighty percent less stylish without it. You can’t fight like that. This is an untenable situation.”

  Keras gawked at her. “Eighty? Seriously? That much?”

  “Long coats are a big deal.” She patted the coat she was wearing, which was a part of her school uniform. It was white, which wasn’t to Keras’ tastes, but he had to admit it was pretty stylish.

  Keras was briefly contemplating how to look sufficiently stylish for the bandits — first impressions were important — when the first two of them landed on top of the train on the car ahead of them.

  The bandits were both wearing masks, black garb, and wide-brimmed hats. They wore rapiers on their belts. One of them had a pistol on the opposite hip. The other also had a whip, of all things.

  Both of them had stylish duster-style coats.

  “Resh,” Keras muttered, “I can’t compete with those outfits. Mara, it’s all you for now.”

  Mara nodded, understanding his tragic fashion emergency.

  The bandits stepped forward, seeming to move atop the train as easily as Mara and Keras did. They didn’t draw their weapons immediately, but they had their hands floating near them.

  One of them — a woman — stepped out i
n front. “Keras Selyrian, I presume?” From her voice, Keras judged that the speaker probably wasn’t much older than Marissa.

  Another student on winter break or a recent graduate, then. Strange to see teenagers involved in a train robbery like this. Unless...

  Something clicked in Keras’ mind, and he moved to stand right next to Marissa. “Got it in one. I assume you’re members of the Blackstone Bandits?”

  The woman in front nodded. “Indeed we are, good sir. Have you heard of our noble cause?”

  “Noble?” Marissa leaned forward. “You’re thieves!”

  “Ah, we prefer to think of ourselves as reclaimers of lost wealth. The real thieves are Haven Securities. They’ve been choking the life out of Kaldwyn as a whole for decades. Sometimes directly, sometimes through many layers of—”

  Marissa waved her hands. “We get it. Noble thieves, then.”

  The bandit looked like she wanted to argue, but Keras replied first. “If that’s your claim, are you only going to hit the vault car?” Keras asked, folding his arms.

  “Regrettably, we do have some business that will require temporarily taking control of the train as a whole. But I assure you, we’re not here to hurt any innocent people.” The bandit’s hand floated to the sword at her side. “You going to try to stop us?”

  Keras shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m woefully underdressed for that. You’re going to have to ask her.” He jerked a thumb in Mara’s direction.

  Mara glanced at Keras with a raised eyebrow, then smirked and turned back to the bandits.

  “People could get hurt if you go tromping around the whole train. Walk away now and I’ll let you go without any trouble.” She sounded intensely disappointed to be making that offer. He could see the tension in her shoulders, the tapping of her right foot. She was ready to spring forward at any time. She wanted a fight.

  He knew that feeling all too well.

  “You’re the one who is going to get hurt if you try to stop us, little girl. I think you’d be best letting the adults talk this out.”

  That was a mistake.

  The edge of a smirk crossed Keras face.

  Mara stepped forward. “What’s your name?”

  “I’m Malachite. The bloke behind me is Spessartite.”

  The bandit behind her gave a friendly wave.

  “Good.” Marissa took two more steps forward, then her Carnelian aura flared up bright around her. She was showing off; the aura wouldn’t have been visible to Keras at all if she wasn’t deliberately pushing more mana into it. “I’ll remember you when you’re gone.”

  Malachite turned to Keras. “Not going to stop this kid from getting hurt? I heard you thought you were some kind of hero.”

  Keras laughed. “Wrong on every count. I’m no hero. And she’s not the one who is about to get hurt.”

  Marissa sprang forward, her movements bolstered by the power of enhancement mana. She managed to throw the first punch before Malachite even got her sword out.

  But these opponents weren’t the academy students that Mara was used to fighting.

  Malachite stepped aside with practiced ease, avoiding the first punch. Steel sang as she drew her rapier. She made a tentative jab at Mara’s front arm, obviously aiming for something non-lethal, but Mara just slapped the flat of the blade out of the way.

  Spessartite drew his own weapon, then gave Keras a dubious look. “You’re just going to stand there and watch?”

  Keras stepped back and raised his hands. “I’m supervising. Go right ahead.”

  Marissa dodged another rapier swipe, ducked a swing from Spessartite behind her, and then jumped, swinging her leg.

  “Wind Sweeps Across the Field!”

  Marissa’s shroud compressed around her leg, then extended outward as she spun in mid-air. The pressure slammed into both bandits, knocking them closer to the edge, but they both managed to retain their footing.

  Before Mara landed, Malachite was waving with her off-hand. A blazing glow appeared around Malachite’s fist, visible even with her glove, and then a blast of flame flew in Marissa’s direction.

  Marissa punched the flame out of the air as she fell, then spun just in time to deflect another swing from Spessartite.

  A heartbeat later, she brought her left hand upward in a sweeping motion. Her aura compressed once again.

  There was no need for her to speak the name of this technique aloud. Keras knew it very well — it was one of his.

  Her aura compressed into the shape of a blade and tore right through Spessartite’s rapier, cutting it in half.

  As he boggled at the sight, she kicked him in the chest. He flew backward, once again barely steadying himself at the edge of the train.

  That was just before Malachite grabbed Mara from behind.

  Grappling was one of the few weaknesses of Mara’s fighting style. She was a striker through-and-through, and while they had practiced some basic grappling techniques, it was never something she’d excelled at.

  If Malachite had been a bit stronger, she might have taken Mara all the way down to the ground. In a ground fight, Mara would have had a tremendously difficult time against two opponents.

  As it was, however, Mara was a Guardian — one of the physically strongest attunements available. And her opponent was not.

  Mara struggled with the arms wrapped around her for a moment, then steadied her stance and shifted her aura again.

  This time, she wrapped it around her head, just before she slammed it backward into Malachite’s nose.

  Malachite’s grip went slack as she fell backward, landing on the ground.

  Spessartite hurled his broken sword. Mara caught it between two fingers, gave it a disdainful look, then tossed it off the train.

  “...Who the resh are you?” Spessartite asked, taking a step back.

  “Me?” Marissa chuckled, jumped over a whip-strike that Malachite had managed to launch from the ground, then kicked backward and hit Malachite in the ribs without even looking. She jerked a thumb at Keras. “I’m that guy’s disciple.”

  Then she took a step forward, looking strangely menacing as her grin widened.

  Spessartite jumped backward off the train.

  Mara gave a little laugh, turned, hopped over the whip again, and then stepped on top of it. She knelt down and grabbed Malachite by the collar. “Tell your boss this train is under my protection.”

  “There’ll be no need for that.”

  A strong voice resonated through the air as a crack opened in the air and a figure stepped through it, just behind Mara.

  “Boss...” Malachite mumbled.

  “Hush, now,” the newcomer said. “It’ll all be—”

  Marissa tossed Malachite off the train, standing up and brushing her hands off.

  The newcomer watched Malachite fly through the air, sighed, and waved a hand. A jet of air manifested below Malachite, carrying her softly toward the ground.

  Then he turned toward Marissa. “That was rude. I was talking.”

  Marissa stretched. “You were rude. You interrupted me bein’ all intimidatin’ and dramatic-like.”

  “You...” The newcomer laughed. “You know, you’re absolutely right. I apologize.”

  He bowed at the waist. “Forgive me for the interruption. I am, of course, the Blackstone Bandit.”

  Keras took in the newcomer’s appearance. It was nothing surprising — he had a pretty good idea of who he was dealing with as soon as he’d heard the hoofbeats. This inspection only confirmed it.

  The Blackstone Bandit was an athletic man looking to be in his twenties. He had a few days of scruff on the exposed face below his simple grey domino mask, but that only added to his charm. He was one of the more traditionally handsome men that Keras had run into in recent years. A little too young, though.

  His outfit was similar to his compatriots, but in grey rather than black, and with a different choice of weapons. He had two arming swords sheathed on his hips. One had a brilliant golden hilt,
and the other was forged from an exotic red metal.

  Keras could hear the sounds of other people jumping onto the train from their horses. While the Blackstone Bandit dealt with them, the boarding had begun in earnest.

  That was fine.

  He believed Malachite had spoken the truth; these bandits likely had no interest in hurting anyone on the train, and he judged the chances of collateral damage to be minimal.

  He knew enough about the Blackstone Bandit’s goals to know the robbers would be targeting something very specific. He just needed to figure out exactly what that was, and then he could decide if he was going to let them have it or not.

  Keras stepped forward, putting a hand on Mara’s shoulder. “The bandits are on the train. Can you go down there and make certain no one gets hurt?”

  Mara wrinkled her nose at him. “Seriously? You’re not going to let me take a swing at this guy? Or at least watch?”

  “Afraid of your apprentice getting hurt?” The Blackstone Bandit shifted his stance. Not to a combat one, but rather to slip his hands into his pockets, looking completely casual.

  “No, she’d be fine.” Keras shook his head. “I’m concerned with the civilians below. This is messier than your usual work.”

  “An unfortunate consequence of necessity. Are you planning to challenge me?”

  Keras narrowed his eyes at the bandit. Mara was watching him carefully.

  “Of course. But only after Mara is down below.”

  Mara groaned. “You are absolutely no fun.”

  She sighed, walked to the side of the train, and dropped off the edge. A moment later, Keras heard the sound of glass breaking.

  Oh, yeah. I closed the door. I guess she had to go in a window.

  He stretched, turning his focus to the Blackstone Bandit. “Robbing my train? Really?”

  The Blackstone Bandit sighed. “I didn’t know any of you would be here. Don’t be so egocentric. Not everything is about Keras Selyrian, legendary hero.”

  “Wait, are you the one who has been calling me that? You’re going to set a bad example for your minions.” Keras turned toward the side of the train. “The ones that survive this, anyway.”