to be Nina herself. The old knight Hans followed her. Aldo glanced from side to side at his captains.
“I take it I’m expected to ride out to meet her? Is this some kind of custom?”
One of the captains, a tall gent with a jaw like a mech, nodded briefly.
Aldo sighed and urged his mount forward. He didn’t like taking it out over water. It tended to bob and shiver when over a moving surface, as the repellers weren’t given an even platform to push against. The sensation against one’s buttocks was one of slipping and bouncing, and he found it disconcerting. Still, he pressed forward and noticed the Captain he’d spoken to had followed him. He would greet Nina as decorum required and merge her army into his. He felt there was little time to waste. He wanted this entire force to return to their station in Twilight, ready for the aliens who were sure to arrive shortly.
“Baroness Droad!” he shouted when they neared one another in the deep blue half-light. “I’m glad you’ve survived your campaign.”
“I’m still here,” Nina said, “no matter what your plans might have been in that regard.”
Aldo slowed his mount and turned it, as it wanted to slip downstream with the water. The others seemed to have no such troubles. By some means not obvious to Aldo, they kept their mounts perfectly poised over the rushing river.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” he said, leaning over the saddle and wanting to curse at his revving mount. “But the important thing is that we’ve found you. We must gather our forces into a single group. I don’t think we should camp here, I think we should get moving.”
“I agree fully.”
“Good! If we press hard, we can return to the Queen’s Highway before we need to camp again. Please bring your forces to the sunward side of the river and we’ll form up together. Another hard day’s riding will return us to Lavender City.”
“On that point, we have a disagreement,” Nina said quietly.
“What?” asked Aldo, not sure he’d heard properly. “Do you wish to camp then, or…?”
“Not at all. I require you to bring your forces across the river to the Nightside. We will march immediately nightward and attack the enemy upon making contact.”
Aldo’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “I don’t understand. I was led to believe I was commanding a relief force.”
“You are commanding my reinforcements,” Nina said, “and I thank you for bringing them in a timely manner.”
Aldo looked to his side where the Embrak captain watched the exchange with dark eyes. “Captain? What are your orders?”
“I am to follow you, lord.”
“And upon meeting the forces of House Droad?”
The man shrugged heavy shoulders. “The Duchess said it was to be a joint command. You and the Baroness must agree.”
Great, thought Aldo. He turned to Nina and contrived his best smile. “You are looking wild, lovely and capable today, Baroness.”
He could tell right away, this tactic did not work. At his words, her face went from cold to hostile.
“You refuse to follow my command?” she asked.
“Ah-Baroness, surely we could discuss matters privately-perhaps in a tent. I understand you lost yours-”
He got no further with his words. The Baroness drew her power-sword and let it flare into life like a torch. It ran with crimson plasmas, the light of which reflected from the slush-crusted river under them.
“In your tent? I find your suggestions insulting. As you will not relinquish command, I challenge you for the right to lead this army.”
“Challenge me?”
“To a duel, man!” she cried over her shoulder. She had wheeled her mount, and as he watched she rode it a short distance upriver.
Aldo did not quail at the thought of a duel. But to fight this fiery young woman-that was not his purpose. He did not fear to do so. In a way, he was elated. It was difficult to hold back. He wanted to shout out his acceptance of this challenge. Her attitude had angered him.
“What are the terms? Who will be our seconds? We must have an arbiter at least.”
She turned and threw back her head with a shout of unkind laughter, which rang out over the noise of the river. “Idiot! This is not Neu Schweitz. Defend yourself!”
With that, she bent over the steering yoke and charged. Her blade was held high for a downward stroke.
Aldo realized she already had him at a disadvantage. She had moved upstream and wheeled in order to charge downstream. The water would carry her mount toward him with a greater velocity than he could muster, even if he could properly control it.
He struggled to align his mount with hers and to drag out his blade at the same time. There was a fury in this girl, and he’d never started a swordfight feeling quite this unmanned. She howled as she came close, and he barely managed to engage her flashing blade, such was the speed and power of the attack.
Aldo parried in quinte, but had to duck under her blade as it slid, rasping over his blade and his head. In a flash, she was past and both were wheeling for another pass. Only his speed and expertise with the blade had saved him. He saw in her eyes a momentary flash of surprise. He realized this woman had meant to take his head clean off in a stroke. She’d felt sure she could take him easily.
Angered, he advanced at a controlled pace. This entire affair was a setup. He saw that now. She’d waited to meet him beside this river. She had planned to ride out and meet him above the frosty flood in order to ensure an easy victory.
Nina was a much better master of her mount than Aldo. She dodged to his left, then drove in against his unarmed side. She darted forward to attack him broadside. He tossed his weapon from one hand to the other, and brought his sword up left-handed to meet hers. They came close and their blades flashed and rang. This form of fighting was the most alarming variety. Aldo felt far from comfortable with it. There was no way to retreat when sitting on a mount, short of pitching off into the freezing waters.
“You are a mad woman, you know that?” he called to her.
“Stop defending and fight!”
“Are you so anxious to die?”
For a short moment, he saw her expression shift when she heard his confident words. She did not show fear, but she was puzzled. No doubt, she had expected him to be an easy opponent to defeat. Both fell back, breathing hard and circling their mounts.
“It is you who shall end your life in this frozen river today,” Nina said.
“And why is that? This is no dispute over command. You are in a lathering fury. I can only think of one reason. Perhaps you misunderstood the nature of our relationship.”
Now, her eyes darkened again. She lifted her blade again. “I misunderstood nothing.”
“Ah-ha! Yes, you expected me to be your consort on a more permanent basis, is that it? I apologize, if you’ve fallen in love with me. I’m very sorry to disappoint. But no woman possesses Aldo Moreno’s heart for long.”
Nina hissed at him. It was not a pleasant sound. Aldo grimaced. When courting newly-met females, he always knew what to say. In these situations, however, his words habitually failed him.
“I’m not in love with you, imbecile.”
“Then why are you trying to kill me?”
“You are a tool of the Duchess. She has done everything possible to thwart me, including preventing me from avenging my brother’s death this day. I’ll not turn away from these mechs. I’m going to run them down into Nightside, no matter what. If you wish to relent and follow my lead, I shall spare your life now.”
“Very generous, I’m sure,” Aldo said. “But I believe we are in the midst of a duel, and the matter has yet to be decided.”
He lifted his sword again, and touched the uppermost stud to cause it to flare with new life. Nina nodded and approached again, her blade held high to attack.
