Reader Beware

Chapter 8

            Rika dropped her gaze to the ground. “I was staying near there. But I could hear them hurting a poor dog. I had to stop them.”

           “You had to…” Damek voice started off furious before it trailed off. Then he sighed. “If I hadn’t come back, you’d have been in real trouble. You aren’t a trained warrior or mage, so starting a fight will only end with you hurt if you’re lucky, worse if you’re not. Get help next time, okay?”

            Biting her lip and fighting back tears, Rika nodded. Damek was right. She couldn’t defend herself from a twelve-year old, let alone two full grown men. She’d only caused him more problems. This part wasn’t at all like her books. None of them ever featured someone who was completely useless in the way she was. She’d always imagined herself as the main character in her daydreams, the hero, the one who saved everyone else. But instead, she was the damsel in distress.

            When she was certain that she wasn’t going to cry, Rika looked up at Damek, the hand she had clenched into a fist trembling slightly. “Will you teach me? For as long as I’m here?”

            He looked startled for a minute before he smiled, dropping a hand onto her head and ruffling her hair. “No problem, stranger-girl. I’d be happy to teach you. Now where’s this dog you were trying to save?”

            Rika blinked up at him, then whipped her head around, looking for the dog. But it was no longer behind her. In fact, it wasn’t even in the alley. She shook her head, not blaming the poor thing for escaping as soon as it had a chance. “I think it ran away.”

            Damek nodded. “Smart dog. C’mon, we should go back to the inn. I don’t want to be around when the guards arrive or when they wake up,” he said, jerking his chin at the two unconscious men.

            She shivered and let him herd her back to the inn and up the stairs to the tiny room she was staying in. He waited until she was sitting on the narrow bed before he dropped cross-legged onto the wood floor in front of her.

“So I’ve found the mage’s address. From what everyone I talked to said, he’s a bit of recluse and more interested in pursuing his scholarship of magic than actually performing it. That being said, he’s still a strong travel mage, and I think being able to try the kind of spell you’ll probably need to get home will guarantee he’ll want to talk to us. But we’ll have to wait until tomorrow since he hates to be disturbed after noon. Now, even if we go tomorrow, it might take him a bit of time to prepare the spell. Some spells need all sorts of weird components or can only be performed at certain phases of the moon and all that. I don’t know what it’ll be like with this one. It really depends on the mage and the spell. So don’t get your hopes up about being able to go home tomorrow. On the plus side, that’ll give me more time to train you,” he said, flashing her a grin.

Rika smiled back. “Thank you! Honestly, if I hadn’t met you, I don’t know what I’d have done.”

He laughed. “Likewise. I’d-”

The sound of the door opening had him stopping mid-sentence as both of them turned to look. Sweeping into the room, a small pack in one hand, was Ahisu. Without a word, he dropped the leather bag onto the bed beside Rika. She looked up at him, forehead wrinkling. “What’s this?”

Damek looked at the other man for a moment then shrugged. “I think it’s for you.”

“Eh?” Rika said, looking at her blue-haired friend before turning back to the mage. “For me? You don’t need to do anything like this! I’m quite alright.”

“Actually he does. Life-debt, remember?” Damek said. Seeing the way Ahisu glanced at something behind him before his lips tugged downwards, he chuckled. “It’s going to take more than some supplies to clear the debt, idiot.”

Ahisu glowered, moving so he was leaning in the corner. He swept both of them with his dark gaze before turning to look out the room’s only window. Damek laughed again. “So,” he said, turning back to Rika after one last amused glance at the mage. “I’ll come wake you in time for training in the morning. After we’re finished and have eaten, we’ll go see the travel mage. Now why don’t you see what your mage-friend’s brought you. We can pick up anything else you might need tomorrow.”

Rika bit her lip and looked down. “I…I don’t really have any money and I feel like I’m taking advantage of-”

Damek snorted. “You’re not doing anything of the sort. You helped me out and if you hadn’t, I might have gotten eaten. I owe you what’s very nearly a life debt of my own. And that’s without the fact that I gave you my word I’d get you home. Besides, helping people and defending those weaker than yourself is part of what I want my martial arts style to be about. So I’ve got to start now. Besides, you’re going to be my first student. It’s a master’s responsibility to help their students.”

“But…”

“You’re worrying too much about something that’s not really important. We’re going to help you out until you get home. You might as well just accept it. Now, show me what’s in the bag before I open it myself,” Damek said grinning.

Rika met his eyes for a long moment then sighed. She already knew she couldn’t outstubborn Damek. With another sigh, she pulled the bag into her lap.