Ruby Guardian by Thomas M. Reid

light-headed, but she pushed the discomfort out of her mind for the moment and concentrated on the orison of healing. Pressing her palm against
    the wound, she muttered the final words and felt cool, soothing energy radiate into her hip.
    When Xaphira opened her eyes, the gashes in her clothing revealed only fresh pink skin and lots of smeared blood. A second spell closed the wounds in her shin.
    When she was done, the mercenary officer noticed Emriana sitting next to her with her knees drawn up. The girl was hugging them tightly and watching intently, her yellow-gold eyes wide with concern. “That’s a pretty handy talent to have,” she said when she understood that Xaphira was finished.
    Xaphira nodded. “Only when no one is trying to take my head off,” she replied, “or I’m about to pass out from the pain.” For a moment, she thought of what might have been, if her injuries had been worse. “Have you ever had to field dress a wound before?” she asked.
    Emriana shook her head.
    “Well, if you’re going to accompany me tonight, you’ve got to know more than how to throw a dagger.”
    Emriana giggled, realizing what her aunt was agreeing to. “Tonight?” she said, her eyes shining with excitement.
    Xaphira nodded. “But only if you do what I say, beginning with learning how to stop someone from bleeding to death.”
    “The way you fight, I won’t need to do it very often,” the girl said. “It was …” she paused, contemplating. “Amazing,” she said, her face filled with wonder. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do that before. And against three of them. You’re incredible.”
    Xaphira chuckled as she got to her feet. “Not so much,” she replied as she wiped a forearm across her sweat-soaked brow. “Without you there, they would have taken me down. I’m getting old and slow.”
    “It was one against three!” Emriana protested.
    “Sure, and in that instance, the best thing I could have done is take them out quickly, before they tired me out. But those cats were smart. They were toying with me, wearing me down before they prepared to close in for the kill. I was a fumbling buffoon this morning.”
    Emriana rolled her eyes, refusing to let her aunt’s words diminish her appreciation of the display. “Whatever you say. I certainly could not have done any of that.”
    “Ah, but eventually you can, if you want to learn,” Xaphira remarked. “I can teach you.”
    Emriana smiled, looking genuinely delighted at the prospect. “I would like that.”
    Xaphira smiled. “Come on, let’s get back. Those other two might come back for more, and other things are going to come feast soon, regardless,” she said, pointing at the dead dire-jaguar. “I don’t want to be around when the quarrels over portions start.”
    Together the two women began to hike back up the streambed, and it was not long before they found Dancer and Honey, nickering at one another as they feasted on berries.
    The ride back to the country estate was less boisterous, and along the way Emriana grew quiet. Xaphira wondered if the morning’s attack had unnerved her, but when the girl spoke, her words reminded the mercenary that the impending journey back to Arrabar weighed heavily on her niece’s mind.
    “Did you learn anything about Junce Roundface last night?”
    Xaphira pursed her lips before answering, feeling all her own concerns welling up inside her. “Not exactly, though I might learn something tonight. An old friend of mine promised to do some digging, and if anyone knows someone who can tell us more, he does.”
    “You mean, we might learn something tonight. Right?”
    Xaphira nodded. “Right. But we’re only going to sit in a bar and talk with Quill. There won’t be any rooftop climbing this trip.”
    Emriana sniffed, obviously a little less enamored of the expedition than she had been previously. “Well, let’s hope we learn something, at the least,” she said determinedly. “Every time I think