Bones of the Dragon - Margaret Weis [95]
Skylan cast a dark glance at Horg. “The whoreson kicked me in the knee as he was leaving the ship!”
The kick wouldn’t have been so bad, but Horg had unknowingly struck Skylan’s weak leg. The wound inflicted by the boar had healed cleanly, but the muscles were still sore, and Horg’s kick had aggravated the injury.
“He called me ‘boy,’ ” Skylan continued furiously. His lips twisted in a snarl. His heart thudded in his chest. A red mist clouded his vision. His hands were wet with sweat, and he tasted blood in his mouth. “He acts as though he’s fighting a child!”
Norgaard gripped his son by the shoulder.
“Listen to me, Skylan,” he said fiercely. “Why do you think Horg kicked you and insulted you? Not to hurt you! He could have broken your kneecap, but he didn’t. He’s goading you, hoping you’ll forget all you know and fight stupidly, like a child.”
Across from Skylan, on the other side of the expanse of white cloth, Horg calmly slid his large fist through the handgrip of his shield. As he did so, Rulf, his shield-bearer, made some jest. Horg was supposed to laugh, but perhaps he didn’t find it funny. He muttered something and turned away. Rulf looked at him, puzzled.
“This is not the shield-wall. You cannot call upon the Madness of Torval,” Norgaard was saying. “This fight requires patience and cunning and watchfulness and the need to make every blow count. Do you understand, my son?”
Skylan closed his eyes, blotting Horg from his sight. He drew in a breath of salt-tinged air and let it cool his overheated blood. His vision cleared. He felt empty, light, and pure.
“I understand, Father,” he said, and he gripped his father’s hand. “I will make you proud of me.”
Norgaard eyed Horg, who was arming himself.
“He’s chosen to use a battle axe, not a sword. That means he’ll aim blows at your shield, trying to break it.”
Skylan nodded. He understood this tactic, for it was one he himself had considered. When a warrior has used up his three shields, he was left with only his weapon.
“Horg will try to end this fight quickly,” Norgaard said. “For he knows that although he is stronger, you are younger and you have more stamina. He’ll put everything he has into his first blows. You have to grit your teeth and take it.”
Again, Skylan nodded.
“Remember, you can defend yourself, but you cannot attack him until it is your turn. And watch where you put your feet. Don’t move a toe off the cloth, and whatever you do, don’t let yourself be pushed outside the ring!”
Stepping off the cloth was known as “flinching.” Stepping out of the roped-off ring was called “fleeing.” Both were marks of a coward.
“I know all this, Father,” Skylan said, somewhat impatiently.
“I know you know it,” Norgaard replied grimly. “Now you must live it.”
The Kai Priestess took her place outside the roped-off area. It was time to begin.
“Horg Thekkson of the Heudjun, are you ready?” the Kai Priestess called.
“I am,” Horg returned sullenly, but he didn’t look it.
“Something’s happened to him,” Norgaard said, frowning. “Garn, did you see anything?”
“I saw the Kai Priestess speak to him when she handed him the wine,” Garn returned. “She spoke so softly, I couldn’t hear what she said.”
All of them could see that a change had come over Horg. On board ship, he had been swaggering, boastful, confident. Now his face was dark, his expression grim, his manner sullen. Though the morning breeze off the sea was cool, a trickle of sweat rolled down his cheek. Large patches of sweat stained his tunic beneath his arms. He glowered at the Kai Priestess, who paid him no heed.
“There is no love lost between those two,” Norgaard remarked. “She said something to him that took the wind out of his sails. This bodes well for you, my son.”
Skylan didn’t care. He was eager to start.
“Skylan Ivorson, son of Norgaard, are you ready?”
“I am!” he shouted, exultant.
Norgaard handed Skylan his sword. “Torval be with you, my son!”
“He is, Father,” said Skylan, breathing deeply of the sea air. “He fights at my side.”
Skylan walked to his place on the white cloth. Once there,