DISCLAIMER - T. Pierce owns all.
CHAPTER 2
Kodi hurried through the flurry of kicks, punches, and blocks against the cell wall. It proved to be more difficult than she had first thought, since her eyes were clenched shut the whole time. Kodi had been in the cell for about a week since her outburst in headquarters, but she wasn't sure because she didn't keep track of the days. The only time the cell door opened was to give her food and candles and take away the bucket that served as a privy. A little light filtered in from two small ventilators on either end of the cell.
Still with her eyes closed, Kodi started moving faster and faster. Her fists pounded harder against the wall and her kicks were more solid. She was so focused that she didn't notice the cell door opening. "Kick, high punch, low block," she murmured to herself. "Low kick, duck, turn and punch…" Kodi broke off because her arm had been caught by someone. She opened her eyes, and saw that it was Kel.
"Sorry." Kodi mumbled. She could be impudent and not apologize, but physically attacking a knight and a noble could get her whipped.
Kel just laughed. "It's all right. I can't count the number of times that I almost knocked someone out during my practice." Looking around, Kodi started to feel dizzy, and without even noticing it, her breathing started to quicken. Kel continued. "But doing it with your eyes closed. Is that to stop you from getting scared again?" Kodi glared, hating her weakness and wishing there was something she could do about it.
"Well," Kel said, breaking the silence, "I asked Master Numair if maybe you could come out of the cell. I know you hate it, and I don't think you're that dangerous. Besides you've got the circlet on, how much harm could you do?" Kodi raised one eyebrow in response. "Here, let's get you washed up and maybe some new clothes." Kel eyed the girl's clothes. What might have once been a dress was now rags, and barely covered the body.
Kel started to climb up the ladder, then mentally kicked herself for her stupidity. She was too trusting of her prisoner. Kel jumped back down, and the girl started up. Once Kodi was free of her prison, she looked around. The opening to the cell let out in a storeroom. Boxes were neatly stacked, and they probably had food in them. Kel exited the pit and gestured for Kodi to walk through the door.
As they walked towards headquarters, the refugees stared at the girl. A smirk lighted on her face, and she strode just a bit wider, forcing Kel to walk faster. Neal joined the procession, coming from the infirmary.
"Why did you bring her out here? You should hear the refugees talk. They hate her already." Neal spoke in whispers, assuming that Kodi couldn't hear him, but she heard every word. One of her talents was hearing things that weren't meant for her ears.
"Relax. I'm just taking her out for a bath, and some new clothes. Numair wanted to talk to her again."
"I still can't figure out why the Stump sent her to us."
"I don't know either. And don't call him that."
Kodi listened hard until she was sure the conversation was over. Almost disappointed, she examined the headquarters sharply. She took notice of every door and window, just in case she needed to make an escape. Kel and Neal walked behind her as she walked through the door.
"Up the stairs, to the right." Kel said. Kodi walked docilely for a total of five steps. With the quickness of a cat, she placed her hands on the banister and swung off. She hit the ground running and probably would have been halfway to Hamrkeng if Dom hadn't stepped into the doorway. Kodi hit him and both flew out into the street. Muttering curses Kel had never heard before, she scrambled up, but not before Dom had caught her leg. Kodi hit the ground again.
Kel had reached the scene by then, and yanked Kodi up by the arm. "What are you doing?" Kel said furiously.
Kodi shook off Kel, sulkily. No one would handle her like that! Frustrated, Kel responded by pressing the gold circle on her band. Kodi's body shook with silent spasms and her hands gripped her knees, knuckles white. Through all of this, her face remained impassive. Kel only held it for a second, guessing how much it would hurt.
"Now. Would you care to behave civilly?" Without waiting for a response, Kel continued, extending an arm out to Dom. "Good. To my room." Kodi scowled deeply, but obeyed. The memory of pain was still fresh in her mind.
Once in Kel's room, Kodi looked around. The room was small, but neat. There were no windows. A bath rested in the corner, with steam rising from it.
"Take your clothes off and get into the tub." Kel ordered. Kodi folded her arms and held them stiffly. She wasn't going to undress with someone else in the room. Kel also folded her arms and the two had a silent staring contest. Knowing that it would throw her opponent off balance, Kodi started Shifting her eye color as naturally as she would breathe. She hated to let anyone know more about herself and abilities than she had to, but she wanted to win this unspoken battle. Kel jerked away after she realized the changing from green to red to black wasn't normal.
"Fine. Be stubborn. I want you washed and dressed in 15 minutes. I will wait right outside the door. Pick through the pile of clothes on my bed, one of each thing. Don't take too long." Kel said and left the room. She also hated to be beaten.
Kodi walked over to the bed. A couple of dresses were neatly folded, next to a pile of white breastbands and loincloths. She took one of each, except the dresses. Near the dresses, there were breeches and shirts. They were faded and patched, but Kodi would much prefer them to the dresses. Although she wore a dress now, she would like to forget that part of her life. After choosing her clothes, she wriggled out of her rags, and eased herself into the tub's hot water. Sighing, because she hadn't taken a bath for weeks, she allowed herself to soak for a minute. Then, Kodi furiously scrubbed and washed herself for five minutes. Ducking under the water one last time, she sprang out of the murky, brown water and changed.
Clean and with new clothes on, she almost looked like a new person. Her brown hair proved to be a dark blond and her skin lost some of its darkness.
Holding her breath for luck, Kodi poked her head out the door. She had guessed that the knight-woman would go to tell the mage about her eyes, and she was right. No doubt that the knight-woman had waited for a minute to make sure she was really washing. Taking a minute to think, Kodi assessed the situation. A good friend of hers had once taught her to always do the unexpected where unevenly matched against an stronger opponent. Well, she was unmatched now. The Tortallans obviously expected her to run, so she would stay. In fact, I might as well surprise them further.
Kodi walked with feline grace and silence through headquarters. She had remembered the way and so she could find her way back. Headquarters was silent, so Kodi guessed that the men were at supper. She entered the mess hall, which had been noisy as usual, previous to her entry. Now it was silent. She was aware of the eyes following her, so she threw back her shoulders a little more and erased her face of any emotion. The knight-woman stared at Kodi with a mixture of emotions and the mage buried his face in his hands. Defeated again, the knight-woman silently offered her a seat up at the main table. The journey across the large room to the table at the head of it seemed to last forever, but Kodi knew better than to show it. As soon as she sat down, the whispering started.
"She's a Scanran…" "She'll kill us all, our children aren't safe…" "Why isn't she in her cell, where she belongs…" "I hope my Lady knows what she's doing..." Kodi almost sneered, but remembering just in time, she kept her face smooth. In turn she grabbed her knife and fork and began sawing away at her beef. On Kodi's right sat the knight-woman. Kodi had a complete impression of her, but was going to wait for the final judgment.
On Kodi's other side sat a boy, man almost, she thought. His name was Tobe and looked to be older than her, though you never could tell. He was strong and tall, though lean. He had blond hair that hung shaggily on his head, though didn't reach halfway past his neck. His clear blue eyes took in the whole scene before him. Kodi guessed that he was watching to see what the soldiers' reactions would be to her. Hearing a negative comment about the knight-woman, Kodi felt Tobe bristle unintentionally, giving her the impression that he was protective of his commander. Kodi listened enough to know that he was a horse mage and also taught younger children weapon use.
Kodi started again on the meat, which proved to be tough and stringy. Sighing inwardly, she shifted her grip on the knife and started cutting again. Listening to the talk among the soldiers, she found she could learn a lot. Most of the men agreed with the knight-woman, although they didn't understand the decision. None of them trusted Kodi and for that she was glad. She didn't want to have to break anyone's trust. There were a couple who spoke against the knight-woman, Lady Keladry was her name, and they could prove to be dangerous. Things started to become normal again and the soldiers talked of normal things.
One man who was seating on a table very close to the main table still looked angry. She immediately recognized him as a troublemaker. His voice, louder than the rest, broke out. "I wonder why the Lady is treating the prisoner as if she was human? After all, the girl is Scanren scum, not fit to wipe the spit off our boots. But, that does seem to fit the Lady's tastes."
Half the room broke out in an angry roar. Some of the soldiers stood up and started towards the man. Angry power broke out around Numair and Neal, Tobe, Merric, and Dom were already halfway around the table. Kodi beat them. She stood up and hurled her knife in one fluent movement. The knife landed point blank in the table, an inch from the speaker's hand. After the resounding thud, the whole room was silent. The men halted and stared at Kodi amazed. Kodi was already sawing away again at her meat, with a borrowed knife from the knight-woman.
Kodi shoveled hay out of a stall in the stables. The knight-woman had told her to muck out every stall in the stable as a punishment for losing her temper. Kodi didn't argue. She had lost her temper and showing emotion was bad. Her other self didn't show emotion at all. The knight-woman had also told her not to bother the horses, so she wouldn't bother them. It was only bothering if the horses didn't like it, and they were already trying to talk to her. Kodi didn't let them in yet, because then her magic would shine through and she liked to keep it hidden.
Finally finished, Kodi leaned the pitchfork against the wall and entered a stall. Before letting her guard down to the brown mare, she put a mind block around them. That would make it so only the mare and her could see or hear the magic.
Hello. said the horse. The two-leggers call me Hoshi. Kodi moved her hand slowly onto Hoshi's nose. Hey there. You're beautiful. Hoshi head-butted Kodi gently, enjoying the compliments. Kodi and Hoshi continued to get to know each other for about five minutes more. Suddenly, a dark bruise appeared on Kodi's left cheek. Kodi gasped and dropped her shield, hiding her magic at the same time. She dropped to the ground holding her head and moaning. Hoshi reared in panic and screamed loudly.
Tobe ran in, soothing Hoshi as soon as he got to the stall. He noticed Kodi laying in the clean straw. "You!" he shouted accusatory. "What did you do to her?" Tobe was normal gentle and level headed, but anyone who messed with the horses was in trouble.
Kodi leapt to her feet. In times like these she tried to avoid people, but if they came to her she would let them have it. She pulled her fist back and swung at Tobe. The punch hit him in the nose. Angrily, Tobe shoved her backwards and Kodi crashed into the stall wall. She leapt for his legs and brought him down. They wrestled with each other, beating each other as often as the confined area allowed. Tobe was decidedly stronger, but fast though he was, Kodi was faster. She could wriggle out of any hold that Tobe could through on her. Though Kodi and Tobe were both trained in the art of hand-to-hand combat, the fight wasn't really as much technique as manslaughter.
Numair and Daine chanced to walk past the stables, arm in arm. Hearing the brawl inside, and Daine the horses' comments on it, they rushed in. Numair grabbed Tobe, who immediately stopped fighting knowing that the fight was over. Kodi, when pulled away by Daine, jerked out and got in another good punch at Tobe before Daine yanked her arm back. Numair and Daine brought the two culprits to Kel's office.
"What were you two doing?" Kel demanded. When none of them answered, she leaned back in her chair and stared at them levelly. She knew that Tobe hardly ever fought and when he did it was for a good reason. As for this fight itself, it was a puzzle. Kel knew that both Tobe and Kodi were evenly matched and could both cause damage. However, upon examining both fighters, Kodi seemed to have gotten the worst of it. Large bruises covered her face, one eye was swollen shut already, and she breathed shallowly, telling Kel that there was maybe a broken rib or two. That was just what Kel could see. She could guess that there were more injuries under the clothes. As for Tobe, he had bruises and black eyes, but nothing as bad as Kodi.
"Fighting is not the way to handle problems. Come to me if you have something you can't work out. As of now, we have one less man to fight for New Hope, and as for you Kodi, well you're hurt." Kel lectured the abashed Tobe and nonchalant Kodi.
"Someone get Neal, please." Kel said calmly and Daine left the room. "Why were you two fighting?" Neither answered, just stared at the ground, and Kel felt a headache coming on. Numair tried his luck.
"Kodi, why were you in a fight with Tobe? Answer me!" Kodi shook her head and tried to hide the resulting wince.
"Tobe?" Numair growled. "Why did you two fight?" Tobe didn't answer, but at that moment Neal entered.
Immediately Neal began healing. He began with Tobe and it took about five minutes. Kel and Numair had gone outside to talk. After finishing with Tobe, Neal started to heal Kodi. Maybe it was her imagination, but her healing took longer than his. Then again, she had faced the beatings of two opponents, not just one. Hardly fair, but couldn't be helped. Exhausted from the healing, Neal slumped on the chair behind the desk.
Kel, Numair, and Daine reentered the room. "Neal?" Kel said. "Are you alright?" Kel exchanged glances with Numair.
"Out." ordered Numair, staring at Tobe and Kodi as he pointed to the door. They had gotten into enough trouble that evening and left without protest. Actually, they left the room, closing the door behind them, and promptly had a silent scuffle over who got to listen at the keyhole. Kodi won and Tobe had to content himself with kneeling and listening from under the door.
"How was she Neal?" asked Daine.
"Worse off than Tobe, that's for sure."
"That's odd, they were evenly matched when Daine and I stopped the fight."
"Do you know why they started to fight?" questioned Kel. "I couldn't get an answer from either one of them."
"Reminds you of those page days, doesn't it?" Neal declared dramatically. "The days of 'I fell down' and 'They must be mistaken?' If I remember correctly, you Kel my dear, used those sentences more than any page I knew and…" The sound of a soft punch could be heard and chuckles followed.
Daine got the group back on topic. "I visited the stables after getting Neal and the horses had a lot to say about it. Kodi had been in Hoshi's stall, talking to her with wild magic. Hoshi said that suddenly Kodi fell to the ground and started to moan as if in pain. That's when Tobe came in and it appeared that he confronted her and she swung at him. The rest you know."
Outside the room, Tobe was looking at Kodi sheepishly. 'Sorry.' he mouthed. Tobe wasn't one to hold a grudge. She nodded, accepting his apology and mouthing back her own.
"The problem is then," Numair said, sounding very much like a scholar, "what caused Kodi pain enough for her to fall to the ground? The answer to that question may very well provide the answer to Kodi sustaining more injury than Tobe."
Neal broke in enthusiastically. "It took me a long time to heal Kodi. At first I thought I was tired, but now I think that it is because of the Magical Healing- Deflection Theory!" Numair made an excited noise. Kel coughed slightly, reminding Neal and Numair that not everyone stayed up late nights reading thick magical books.
"The Magical Healing – Deflection theory states that after a certain number of healings, the number varying depending on the person, type of injury, etc, your body will resist these healings." Numair sounded as if he was reading straight from the book.
Tobe sniggered and Kodi made a soft sound of disgust.
"So you are saying that she has enough healings for her body to resist them?" Daine inquired. Neal nodded in answer to her question.
"What could have happened to make her need so many healings?" Kel asked. Inside the room, Numair shrugged. Outside the room, Kodi deliberately avoided Tobe questioning gaze.
"Whatever it is, I am going to find out." Numair declared. "I'm also going to get her to take the lessons and answer all my questions. I will discover what magic she has and how she can best utilize it."
Kodi's face was bared into a wolfish snarl.