Won't Back Down: Won't Back Down Read online

  Sariel moved on and eventually he pushed open the heavy front doors and stepped outside. The trees were still red and orange with fading leaves, but there were starting to be more bare branches than colorful ones. Winter was fast approaching.

  "Sorry about your loss, Sariel," the guard at the door said politely as the door thudded shut behind Sariel.

  "Thank you, Hota," Sariel replied, his eyes on the blue sky and the rising sun. It was peaceful and just what he needed.

  "Too bad you're not a Master," Hota chuckled. "You would make an excellent Grand Master."

  Sariel forced a laugh. The last thing on his mind was the idea of taking over his grandfather's position.

  "I haven't even taken the first Mastery test yet, Hota," Sariel replied. "My focus is on beating that damned Yimina woman again. She beat me twice in a row, and I'm going to return the favor this year with a second win against her."

  Hota laughed. "That's true enough. You only have a few more years to fight her, though. Pretty soon your Keel is going to take your place in the finals to beat her for you."

  Sariel's laugh wasn't forced as he clapped Hota on the back. "If anyone can do it, it would be Keel," he agreed. "I'll take the Mastery test when Keel takes my place in the tournament."

  "Sounds good to me," Hota said as he waved Sariel off on his walk.

  *~*~*

  Afternoon classes ended early as all the Simola not on patrol gathered in the dining hall. The tables and chairs had been removed. Where the head table usually stood was an oversized casket. Sariel knew that inside were his grandfather and his four hundred pound battle cat.

  A priest was standing next to the casket, looking solemn as he waited for the hall to fill. Only once the room was full and quiet did he step forward.

  "Today we lost one of the greatest fighters Simola has ever trained," the priest intoned. "He won six straight tournaments and achieved level three Mastery before his thirtieth birthday. No other fighter has ever accomplished so much in so little time. Grand Master Avrim eventually reached level seven Mastery before his joints failed him. He led the Simola fairly and with strength as Grand Master and his name will be etched forever into the annuls of the greatest of Simola's leaders."

  The priest paused, one hand resting gently on the top of the casket as he looked over the crowd.

  "Let us sing a hymn of love, to remember the great man who has so sadly left us today," the priest finished.

  Sariel joined in as the priest began singing a simple tune to honor his grandfather. Those in the crowd who knew the song joined in. Sariel could see Keel listening hard, as if he could learn the song after a few repetitions and be able to join in to honor Sariel's grandfather too.

  As the song drew to an end and the priest closed his mouth after the last word, a great rumbling yowl filled the hall. Lightning had his head thrown back as he added his own voice to the hymn. Sariel remembered Lightning as a tiny little kitten sitting between the gigantic paws of grandfather's cat. Sariel wasn't the only one who had lost someone irreversibly important, something Lightning was making quite clear.

  Keel had his arms around Lightning's neck as the cat finally ran out of breath and fell silent.

  "We have also lost the great battle cat, Thrash," the priest added pointedly, speaking directly to Lightning with a lot of compassion in his voice. "Another great loss to Simola. Thrash will also be remembered in the annuls of the battle cats. Who will help me carry them to their final resting place?"

  Sariel stepped forward, followed by Master Ferris and six other strong men. It took all eight of them to lift the heavy casket and walk it out of the dining hall, through the manor, and out into the streets. The Simola tomb was in the Simola cemetery just outside the city. Sariel carried the weight of his grandfather's life the entire way.

  Lightning led the procession. The nearly full-grown cat parted the crowds for the casket. Behind Sariel was the rest of Simola, walking the street in two straight lines. People stepped aside for fear of the cat, but they stayed to the side of the road out of respect for the dead. The procession passed through the city without stopping until they reached the gates of the cemetery.

  The tomb of the Grand Masters was in the middle of the graveyard. Masons had been hard at work throughout the day preparing a burial niche for Grandfather, and Sariel gently lowered the casket into the space. The priest stepped forward to say a short prayer to send the dead onto the afterlife and then it was done. Grandfather was gone forever, only his memory remained behind.

  The walk back to the Simola manor was much less solemn for everyone except Sariel. Keel walked at Sariel's side with Lightning offering silent support. Keel stayed there until after dinner, when he and Lightning returned to their own room.

  Sariel had been excused from patrol that night, but he felt a nighttime walk would settle his mind and prepare him for returning to training the next day. He left a little later than usual and had just stepped through the front door when he saw the telltale flash of red hair on boy and cat. The guard at the gate turned his head away as if he had heard a strange sound, and Keel scampered out of the manor grounds.

  Sariel hurried to follow.

  It was Third Night, Sariel realized as he followed Keel from a block back. Even the funeral wasn't enough to stop Keel from sneaking away again. For the first time ever, Sariel was close enough to follow Keel as he crossed the city; usually he was obligated to keep to his patrol route and could only follow Keel for a very short distance before having to turn back.

  Keel walked into a park without a backward glance. He looked to be too intent on his destination to bother with checking his back. When Keel started his own patrol route he would learn differently, but for the moment, Sariel appreciated his ignorance.

  There was someone waiting for Keel at the gazebo in the very center of the park. Sariel couldn't see who because of the dark, but Keel walked right up to the stranger and they hugged. They were so engrossed in their embrace that they didn't notice as Sariel crept up to the side of the gazebo.

  A mewling sound made Sariel switch his attention to the side for a quick moment. He expected to see Lightning, and he did, but there was a second battle cat curled up with Lightning in the grass. The second one was gently licking Lightning's face as if he were comforting the crying cat.

  Two battle cats, Sariel mused, his thoughts jumping in shock as various pieces came together. He remembered the story of the day Keel had been found after stealing a baby battle cat from a merchant. There had been two kittens, but one had been taken by the Yimina. Two kittens stolen on the same day from the same merchant? Just because the Yimina had caught one culprit and the Simola the other didn't mean they weren't connected in some way.

  Although just how closely the two figures just pulling out of their hug were connected wasn't something Sariel could ever imagine.

  "I came as soon as I heard," the stranger said, his arms still held loosely around Keel's waist. "Thunder insisted."

  "Lightning was devastated," Keel agreed. His own arms were draped over the stranger's shoulders. "So was Sariel."

  "We lost mama so young," the stranger sighed. "Understanding a loss like that is beyond me. I hope Sariel is okay."

  "Do you want to switch places a week early?" Keel asked. "You can see how Sariel is doing for yourself."

  The stranger shook his head no, but Sariel's mind had moved away from the conversation. They must be brothers, he guessed from the content of their conversation, but he couldn't fathom what they meant by switching places.

  Well, enough was enough. Keel knew he wasn't supposed to be out of bed. He had a full day of training to be prepared for in the morning; staying up to chat with his brother was not okay. If he had just explained he had been separated from his family, the Simola would have found a way to arrange visiting hours.

  Sariel mounted the steps leading into the gazebo. When he reached the top, he stomped his foot down onto the floor to get Keel's attention. Two heads of bright red hair flin
ched and two sets of green eyes set into identical faces turned in shock.

  They weren't just brothers, Sariel realized. They were identical twins. Sariel couldn't tell which one was Keel just by looking at them. Although, it explained why every once in a while Keel would decide his favorite breakfast bread was the one with nuts instead of the one with fruits. It must have been the twin pretending to be Keel.

  "Explain what's going on right now!" Sariel snapped, his shock fading away under the onslaught of sheer disbelief. Twins! He couldn't believe it.

  "Sariel!" the twin on the left gasped.

  "Tell me," Sariel repeated.

  They told him. Starting from day one when they had gotten separated running with their newly stolen kittens to when they had finally met up again at that year's tournament. How their weekly meetings had become an opportune time to teach each other what they were learning and to eventually switch places with each other so they could learn both styles of fighting.

  They finished their story, and Sariel couldn't help staring at them for a few long moments. To have pulled off their deception was amazing, particularly since they hadn't been caught. He should report this to a Master, Sariel knew. He would have told Grandfather immediately, and Grandfather would have known what to do. With Grandfather gone and all the Masters vying for the position as Grand Master, however, Sariel didn't know which Master he could trust to deal with the issue without trying to use Keel and his twin for their own gain.

  Before he could make a decision, Sariel heard an angry footfall behind him.

  "What do you think you're doing with Saar, you Simola dog?" a woman's voice snarled. Sariel spun around to see the woman he fought against every single year in the tournament. She was glaring daggers at him, and her arms were in the air as if she were ready to attack.

  "Linalee, wait!" one of the twins yelled. They both dashed forward and Sariel watched as her arms dropped in shock as she glanced from one twin to the other.

  "What's going on?" she gasped.

  Before the twins could repeat their long story, Sariel stepped forward.

  "They're identical twins," Sariel explained. "They've been sneaking away from the Yimina and the Simola to meet up and train together for years."

  "I knew Saar had been sneaking away," Linalee murmured, still visibly shocked. "But for this? Never in my wildest dreams."

  "Join the club," Sariel quipped. "I just found out too. The question is, what do we do about it?"

  "Tell our Masters," Linalee replied immediately.

  Sariel shook his head. "I can't think of a Master in Simola who wouldn't try to take advantage of Keel and Saar. Identical twins with battle cats would be a huge advantage to either side. We could start a war while both sides fight over the right to own both twins."

  "You're right, damn it," Linalee reluctantly agreed. "Do you have a solution then?" she asked scathingly, as if she didn't expect someone from Simola to have any intelligence. Sariel would have been offended if he couldn't see from the way she was still glancing between the twins in shock that she didn't have any ideas either.

  Sariel thought for a few long minutes while Linalee harangued the full story out of Keel and Saar. As long as everything had to remain a secret, there really was only one possible solution to the entire mess. Sariel continued poking at the logistics in his head as the story unfolded for Linalee.

  The years and years of deception piling on made Linalee shake her head in disbelief. "I can't believe I never realized," she moaned.

  "I didn't either, and they were playing the same trick on me," Sariel replied kindly. "I think I have a possible solution," he added with a gesture towards a set of benches against the far wall of the gazebo.

  The twins sat down first. They were holding hands, Sariel realized, and didn't seem to be ashamed in the least about it. Sariel could tell that there was more there than just being twins, but they were both still too young to realize it.

  Sariel sat down next to the twin on the left, and Linalee eventually sat down next to the one on the right.

  "In a year, Keel and Saar will be turning fifteen. In Simola, when a student reaches that age, two things might happen with them. If they show promise then an experienced fighter might second them for one-on-one training. The rest of the students are put into a general level three class for training as guards, but Keel is talented and I'm first on the list for his trainer. Is that also true in Yimina?"

  Linalee shook her head. "I was given Saar the day he was brought to the Yimina. If he were talented or not, it was my duty to train him to be as strong as he could possibly be. There are few in Yimina with as much tournament experience as me, so no one has offered to take over my duties."

  "What you're saying," Sariel said, "is that you can teach Saar anywhere? Because in just a year I'll be given the same responsibility over Keel."

  "Are you suggesting we take Saar and Keel out of the manors and train them privately together?" Linalee asked. There wasn't any disgust at the idea in her voice, so Sariel was hopeful she might eventually agree.

  "Exactly," Sariel replied firmly. He caught Keel and Saar leaning closely together, looking so hopeful that his heart was practically breaking.

  Linalee was looking at Keel and Saar too and Sariel saw her face soften. "Very well," she agreed. "We have a year to plan their joint training. I expect we will have equal training time?"

  "Of course," Sariel said. "I have a half hour break from patrol every night at eleven thirty. I stop by the Nightmarket for a quick snack. Feel free to meet me there and we'll figure this out." Sariel hid a grin from the prickly Linalee and got to his feet. He nodded at the shocked and happy twins before hopping down from the gazebo. "Come on, Yimina," he called back to Linalee. "Keel and Saar only get one night a week to spend together. Let's give them their time."

  Linalee slowly stood up and she pinned both twins with a glare. "You had better make it home safely," she snapped, and both twins flinched and nodded in absolute agreement at the vehemence in her voice.

  Warning given, Linalee stepped down from the gazebo and turned to head back to Yimina territory. Sariel walked in the direction of Simola, but he knew he would be seeing her again soon.

  THREE

  IN POSITION TO DELIVER

  A SWIFT KICK TO THE HEAD

  It was move up day, and Keel was practically vibrating in his breakfast chair. Finally, finally, he was fifteen. He had been waiting an entire year ever since that fateful night he and Saar had been discovered by Sariel and Linalee. Sariel had promised that Keel could train every day with Saar and once breakfast was over that promise could begin.

  "Eat something," Sariel laughed, pushing Keel's plate closer. "I don't want you to faint during your move up battle."

  Keel had obediently reached for his fork, but his hand paused around the utensil to stare at Sariel. "There's a battle?" he asked, thinking about his last move up day and his lost fight with Cael.

  Sariel snorted and Keel growled and punched him on the arm. "Don't joke with me right now!" Keel hissed.

  "There is a ceremony you have to stay awake for," Sariel clarified, rubbing his arm with a playful grin on his face.

  The bell signaling the end of breakfast rang before Keel could think of a way to properly make Sariel pay for scaring him. He stuffed the last of his roll into his mouth and followed Sariel out of the dining hall.

  The ceremony was being held in the back yard of the manor. All the fifteen year olds and their families had gathered. Keel left Sariel to join his classmates, and Sariel stepped into the group of family members off to the other side.

  "I bet you're getting sponsored," Aimy said cheerfully. She latched her fingers around his arm and held on tight so her full breasts pressed against him. She tilted her head downward so she could look up at him through her lashes and bit her lip lightly when Keel was forced to glance at her. "You're so lucky."

  "If you say so," Keel grunted, wishing he could think of a way to throw her off of him without offendin
g anyone.

  "Oh, I do," she simpered. "We should train together some time."

  That wasn't going to happen. Ever. Keel hid a shudder and peeled her fingers off his arm as gently as he could considering the leeching grip she had on him. She wanted to be his girlfriend—and she would give up everything and anything for that opportunity—but Keel knew what she was really after. He was expected to win more tournaments than Sariel, not to mention he was Sariel's younger brother, and the prestige of being his girlfriend would lift Aimy from an average fighter to someone worth alternate training. Aimy was going to be a guard, nothing more, and Keel wasn't about to change that for someone as annoying as her.

  "What do you say?" she continued, pressing her arms together to make her breasts pop up. "Your sponsor and mine can work it out."

  Master Uriah finally walked to the front of the waiting crowd and called for silence. Keel turned away from Aimy, glad to have someone else to focus his attention on.

  "Congratulations to this year's fifteen year olds!" Master Uriah called out loudly, as much of a smile on her face as Keel had ever seen, which meant there was barely an upturn to her lips. "You have successfully completed level two training and are hereby officially inducted into the ranks of the Simola Guild. You are now capable of handling the responsibilities our guild holds to our city, our country, and our king. Step forward to receive your official welcome."

  There were five of them in total, Keel included. They were considered to be a large class and Simola was honored to have so many children willing and able to join the guild. They all lined up single file in front of Master Uriah. Aimy jumped in front of Keel so she could twitch her hips for his viewing as she walked. Keel rolled his eyes and focused on Master Uriah instead.

  One by one they stepped forward so Master Uriah could carefully hook a copper pin with the left side filled onto their shirts. Copper was the pin every single member of Simola earned when they officially joined. Tournament winners like Sariel received silver pins in honor of their accomplishment, and Masters' pins were gold. When Grand Master Ferris earned his position, he was given a platinum pin that he wore just above a row of all three of the other pins he had earned.