The Wonder (Queen of Hearts Saga #2)(36)
Bah-kan cleared his throat. “I’m glad to give you a laugh, Princess. Your training will commence in a few minutes. Follow this path by the river, turn right at the waterfall and then come to a rest in front of the livestock pen, just below the knee of the crane.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Perhaps you are just as mad as they say, just like your brother. Personally, I can’t wait to find out.” Bah-kan gathered up his weapons and stomped off. Normally this sort of insult would have sent Dinah into a rage, but instead it just made her laugh harder. Eventually, the Spade joined in, laughing while he floated on his back in the stream, his nudity out for the world to see as he spat water into the air. It was a good while before they trekked their way back to the valley floor, dripping wet and laughing the entire way.
Unfortunately, the laughter didn’t last. Bah-kan was a brutal fighter and a merciless trainer. He had no stomach for weakness and made a game out of fighting them with one hand—and sometimes with no hands. Crowds of Yurkei gathered around them each morning to watch Bah-kan humiliate and exploit their weaknesses. The focus was on Dinah, but he also sparred with Sir Gorrann several times a day. Those fights were incredible to watch, and Dinah felt that she learned more from watching those than when she herself was in the ring. Even Mundoo, who took mysterious journeys into the mountain tunnels during the day, made rare appearances to watch the fights. Bah-kan would arm himself with the Heartsword, Sir Gorrann with his sword and dagger. Bah-kan would begin with a charge—a sight that would stop lesser men dead in their tracks. Sir Gorrann would spin out of the way, light on his feet, the tip of his sword snapping out to catch Bah-kan as he passed. Bah-kan might be huge, but he was quick like a much lighter man. He spun around the opposite direction and swung his Heartsword arm up from the ground, hoping to catch the Spade’s neck. Sir Gorrann bent backwards and removed his dagger from his boot before winging it at Bah-kan. Bah-kan deflected the blade with the Heartsword. Then they met in the middle.
Swords flew and clanged through the valley, the swift dance of warriors, one that attracted even the best Yurkei warriors to watch and dissect. Bah-kan would preempt the Spade’s strokes and parry with his own, the Heartsword close to his breast to act as both shield and weapon. Sir Gorrann was the more cautious of the two, the more calculating. He saved his advances for those times when he had the best opportunities. Bah-kan had the advantage of strength, but he also was an intelligent fighter, one who weighed challenging maneuvers before charging in with fearless abandon. They were well matched. There were several times when Dinah feared Sir Gorrann would lose his life, when Bah-kan’s blade came a little too close, but he always leapt out of the way at the ideal moment, or cried to yield. Bah-kan would bellow at the sky and beat his breast before helping the Spade to his feet. Bah-Kan was unstoppable, she realized, perhaps the best warrior she had ever seen in her life. He was the lethal combination of a highly disciplined Card mixed with the best traits of a Yurkei warrior—equal parts brutal and graceful, moving as if he was dancing on air. Dinah realized quickly that there were none in Wonderland or Yurkei country that could best him, aside from perhaps Xavier Juflee, the Knave of Hearts. But she wasn’t sure that even he could beat Bah-kan.
After the fight, several Yurkei women would rush over to Sir Gorrann to tend his wounds as he recovered on the side of the dirt circle, spitting blood and the occasional tooth onto the ground. For some odd reason, the Yurkei women found him quite fascinating, and more than once Dinah caught him winking in their direction. Dinah and Bah-kan sparring was much less exciting, since it took only a few minutes before Dinah was face down on the ground, beaten and exhausted in every possible way. Still, she was proud that she could meet most of his blows with a somewhat broad counter strike of her own. She was no longer swinging into the air with large, heavy-handed strokes, but rather with quick strikes of her blade combined with rapid foot movement. She was no longer simply flinging her sword around out of fear of being hit; she was calculating her next move. She danced around Bah-kan, and once managed to land a hard blow just above his ribs that left him gasping. The Yurkei surrounding them had whooped and stomped their feet.
Bah-kan gave a tiny laugh and then plunged forward, rage playing across his white-striped face. Dinah jumped high to avoid a low stroke and brought the butt of her blade down hard on his knee. It was like striking a rock, and the vibrations that shot through her once-broken fingers made her wince in pain. Bah-kan was upon her then. He swung the Heartsword across her chest but stopped midswing, twisted around, and punched her in the back of the shoulder—right in the spot where Mundoo had sunk his thin blade. She screamed.
“Bah-kan!” shouted Sir Gorrann, angry.
Bah-kan shrugged. “An enemy will look for her obvious weakness. Why shouldn’t I?”
Surprised by the white-hot pain blowing through her shoulder and distracted by rage, Dinah swung her sword at his arm. It was a mistake. He caught the blade with the end of his Heartsword and wrenched backwards. Dinah’s sword went sailing into the crowd and she was left empty-handed.
“Your Highness!” Dinah looked up just in time to see Sir Gorrann toss his knife in her direction. She caught it and turned to meet Bah-kan again. The crowd was silent as Bah-kan shifted his weight from foot to foot, as if thinking of a million ways to kill her. Then he spoke.
“Your father, the King of Wonderland, is a whoremonger and a cheat.” The Yurkei cheered at his words.