Righteous Anger (Okal Rel Saga #2)

Part 2.1: Right and Wrong

(181 Post Treaty)

A girl screamed. Horth was on his feet in a bound and standing in the half-light of the bedroom: a skinny boy of ten with an adult's self-possession, naked from the waist up. He froze to listen.

"What is it?" Branst asked from the next bed. "Is it Mother?"

Horth listened harder. He was sure the scream had not been Mother's even though it had come from the room she shared with Father, and no female Nersallian would scream that way, which meant it was probably a servant, but Mother never tolerated servants near her. She was especially loath to mix with non-eternals now that she was pregnant again, because she was certain she had lost the last child for unnatural reasons, and after five miscarriages in six years even Father was beginning to doubt so much bad luck could be natural.

Branst got out of bed, rustling the covers. At thirteen, he had a man's body topped with tousled black hair, but was filling out in comely rather than imposing proportions, unlike Zrenyl whose physique resembled Father's. Branst was dressed in brown and green pajamas. He wore the same pajamas every night, because they were a gift from Tessitatt.

The two brothers stood in silence for a moment but there were no new sounds. It was Horth who decided to go into Family Hall. Branst followed.

Mother's retainer, Lywulf, came charging out of the nursery fully dressed with his sword in his hand. He had almost reached their parents' door when Hara and two of her errants burst out of the Throat.

Hara put herself in Lywulf's way, flanked by a male errant named Rossen and a woman called Gil.

For a moment, neither Lywulf nor Hara spoke. There were no shared rules of engagement. Hara was a non-eternal from the Nesak point of view, and beneath notice. From the court perspective, she and Lywulf failed to share a challenge class, but as the superior Sevolite it was in his power to condescend to fight with her if he wanted to.

"So be it, soulless one!" the Nesak said through clenched teeth, when he could stand no more. "I will honor you with a quick death, if I must. But I am going through that door!"

"Forget it, Nesak," Hara growled. "I am under no obligation to duel just because it suits you to acknowledge me, now."

Just then the door opened with a bang and Alice, the maid, burst through the bedroom doors sobbing hysterically, although she appeared to be unharmed.

Branst cried, "Alice!" and bolted after the commoner as she disappeared into a servants' passage.

Lywulf seized the opportunity to charge Rossen, who happened to be standing nearest to the door, slashing at Hara's head to hold her off. Hara just managed to draw two thirds of her sword out of her scabbard, in the cramped quarters, and raised it half above her head in an angled prime parry, causing Lywulf's blade to scrape down it and bite into her shoulder. Rossen slammed against the wall, but his partner, Gil, reacted with Vrellish-fast reflexes, darting in to run Lywulf through from the side as he engaged Hara.

Horth witnessed the fight with a deep sense of shock. This was no duel! It was a life and death struggle played out with swords because they were the weapons available. He never forgot the difference. And he quickly decided Lywulf was a fool to take on lesser Sevolites three to one in circumstances that nullified the advantages of being highborn.

Hara hissed in pain, gripping her shoulder, but the bottom two thirds of a dueling sword was not sharp and she was not badly injured. Lywulf himself was down, and bubbling out frothy blood from a punctured lung.

"Get him out of sight," Hara ordered her errants. "Now!"

Horth met Hara's eyes with questions. She only frowned.