Lesbians Fight the Demon Queen Etc Chapter 7

Leaning back in her seat, Maya lightly traced one hand along the polished wood of the carriage wall, while, in her other hand, she balanced a dagger on the tip of her index finger. Her eyes regarded Lyra with a detached air of guarded curiosity, and mild amusement. “So,” she began. “Queen Selian, the dread conqueror. The monarch of slaughter. Scourge of Ossos, Bhuriel and, well, everywhere else.” Bored. More than anything else, that’s how Maya sounded, simply bored. As though she had a whole world of better things to do.

“What about her?” There was no hiding the annoyance in Lyra’s voice. Everything about Maya oozed this unearned confidence. Who was she to sit like that, smirking so casually?

“You don’t think it’s odd that a bunch of supposedly very important and powerful military assets like you and your friend are being sent over the border into her territory just to do a bit of scouting and sabotage? Surely there are others who could accomplish that.” Idly, Maya’s gaze drifted away from Lyra to stare dispassionately out the window, her pupils drifting lazily to follow the scenery as it passed her by.

“Is there a reason for your ramblings? If so, suggest you get to it.” As much of a thorn in her side as Maya had been, Lyra couldn’t deny that the thief had a point, not that she would ever admit that.

“I just don’t think you’re telling me the whole truth about why we’re doing this, that’s all. But hey, who am I to complain? A job is a job, just don’t think you can and pull one over on me.” Even as she bristled at Maya’s remarks, Lyra found herself wondering after her point. She didn’t appreciate being accused of lying, but the notion that there might be more to this little expedition struck a chord with her. And no, she didn’t think Renault was lying to her. He wouldn’t do that. But she wouldn’t put it past his higher ups to leave some crucial detail absent from their orders until it was too late. At the very least, she would need to give it more thought, but perhaps doing so would need to wait until after Maya had finally shut up. “Just don’t get any ideas,” she continued. “You caught me by surprise last time, but I’m not going to let myself get pushed around by a bunch of brats who’ve never needed to so much as wipe their own asses.”

“Watch yourself,” Lyra growled, her hands sparking blue flecks of light.

Maya simply flashed a cocksure grin. “What are you going to do, Lyra? Suspend me upside down again? Perhaps steal more of my shit?”

A moment of quiet tension passed as Lyra’s hands sparked menacingly and Maya continued to casually, defiantly stare her down. Sighing, Lyra closed her palms, and dispersed the magic before leaning back. “Are you going to keep this up the entire mission?”

Maya laughed. “You’re the one who wanted me to join, I’m just making observations.”

“I’ve told you what I know, and our orders are just that, orders. If there’s anything else we need to know, we’ll be told when necessary.” Lyra could scarcely believe those words were coming out of her own mouth, and she doubted Maya would believe their authenticity, but she had little else to hide behind.

“Listen to you; I’m surprised you can still speak, given how tight your collar is.”

“I do what I have to to get by, Maya, just like you.”

Her remark seemed to awaken something in Maya. Her casual, detached mask of disinterest evaporated into an intense scowl. “What do you know of hardship?” she snarled.

Taken aback, Lyra changed tactics. She held back any scathing remarks and opted for honesty. “You’d be surprised. I have one thing, Maya, one thing that’s kept me from falling apart. And just about everyone with any semblance of power hates me for it. They would take it away from me in a heartbeat if they could. Hell, lesser mages than I have tried to do just that. And I’d give up every coin I have to hold on to what I’ve fought to keep.”

Truthful or no, Maya was unmoved by Lyra’s confession. “You think you’re unique? All anyone with power like yours cares about is preserving that power; it is, after all, a long way down. But it’s still power. Money hardly matters when you can raze buildings to the ground with a wave of your hand. Tell me about real hardship, Lyra, not the petty jostling of those who rest above everyone else. Have you ever even had to go a single day without food?”

For a moment, Lyra considered correcting Maya, divulging what she truly held dear. Instead, she just scoffed. “Have you? You’re hardly dressed in rags, Miss ‘Famous Criminal.’”

With a start, Maya flipped her knife into the air and caught it between her thumb and index finger, before flicking it forward. The blade sailed through the air and embedded itself into the wall a few inches to the left of Lyra’s head. On her right, Renault, who had remained a silent observer thus far, moved to stand as his hand flew to his sword. Before he could rise to his full height, Lyra calmly outstretched her arm to block his way, eyeing Maya intently the entire time. “Don’t antagonize me, Lyra. And don’t assume you know me,” Maya hissed.

Crossing her legs and nodding thoughtfully, Lyra placed a hand on Renault’s shoulder, gently pushing him back into his seat. “I see I struck a nerve. You have my apologies, Maya. Though I’d ask that you show me the same respect.”

Grumbling in his seat, Renault shrugged off Lyra’s hand and glared at her. “If you two are going to keep this up the entire way to Cyres, I’ll have you both gagged.” The innuendo seemed lost on Ren, though unsurprisingly from across the carriage, Lyra heard a shrill chortle from Maya.

“Oh dear, well, at least church boy here is speaking my language,” she purred as Ren turned an amusing shade of red.

At the very least, that earned a snicker from Lyra. “Don’t get your hopes up; handsome as he is, Ren is clueless around women.” That earned Lyra another glare as Ren opened and closed his mouth, scowling.

“Never too late to learn. I’m an excellent teacher.” And damn, her words might have been chosen to fluster Renault, but Maya was clearly no stranger to flirtation. The way her voice dropped low and husky, dripping with vocal fry as she slid up and down each syllable, sent shivers all over Lyra’s body. To make matters worse, when Maya’s gaze casually swept the carriage and fell upon Lyra, a glimmer of recognition and understanding seemed to flicker in her eyes. Smiling, she relaxed once more, chuckling quietly to herself as her eyes returned to Renault, who was looking conspicuously straight ahead, avoiding any and all eye contact. “So, church boy, what business do we have in Cyres, anyway?”

“You ask too many questions,” he grunted, keeping his eyes forward.

“Then how about I ask?” Lyra interjected.

Ren pursed his lips and lightly ground his teeth in frustration, before relenting. “Fine. I would have preferred you approached me this away from her. But truth be told, I’m not entirely certain.”

“Well, that certainly inspires confidence.” Maya was clearly trying, and failing, to hide the annoyance in her voice.

Ren fixed her with a stern gaze, then continued. “What I know is that Priscilla and I have been instructed to meet with representatives from our respective orders for further briefing on the parameters of the mission. And that we are to come alone.”

Maya seemed to be readying a biting response when a loud, sharp thud rapped against the outside of the carriage, followed by two more identical thuds, then the sound of shouting from outside. Trevor’s voice sounded from the driver’s seat “Renault! Bandits! We’re under attack.” Muttering under his breath, Ren rose to his feet, then shouldered open the door, before turning to Lyra and Maya.

“I’m going to lead the others to push back the attack. Lyra, I need you to make a barrier around the carriage and horses. Maya, there should be a bow and arrows in the trunk under your seat, help Lyra pick off anyone who gets too close. See if you can’t prove me wrong about you.” Any hint of his boyish, virginal embarrassment had evaporated into the stony seriousness of a natural-born leader.

“Understood.” Without another word, Lyra closed her eyes and focused on projecting a barrier around the carriage. Maya offered no verbal reply, but Renault was already out the door, sword drawn and barking orders as she begrudgingly stooped low to arm herself. Outside, a translucent barrier projected itself around them, blocking any incoming projectiles while allowing Maya to still fire from within the carriage. Parking herself by the window, Maya notched an arrow, and gazed off in the direction the initial attackers had fired from, waiting for a clean shot. Uncounted tense, silent moments passed, Maya’s eyes scanning the tree-lined ridge above their carriage, before she drew the bow taut, and loosed an arrow. In the distance, Lyra heard a cry of pain as Maya readied her next arrow.

“You know,” she mused between shots. “I’ve been thinking, wondering about that little magic trick you pulled with my necklace.”

Lyra didn’t bother opening her eyes or turning her head, instead, she replied with a simple, “oh?”

“Yes, I have. I’ve been wondering if you hid it somewhere in physical space, or dropped it in some magical pocket dimension of yours. And I’ve been wondering whether I might be able to get it back quite easily if I simply killed you. I could do it right now, with your eyes closed and focus occupied. It wouldn’t be hard.” Perhaps to demonstrate the credibility of her threat, Maya chose that moment to loose another arrow; it sung through the air, growing fainter and quieter before crescendoing in another distant scream of pain.

“It wouldn’t,” Lyra agreed. “But you won’t.”

“And what makes you so certain?”

Lyra was surprised to find a tight-lipped smile playing upon her lips. “Well, for one, you might be able to kill me, but do you really think you could then kill everyone else?”

“I could run,” Maya offered.

Eyes still closed, Lyra murmured the words to a minor scrying spell, and, without breaking her concentration on the barrier, was granted a bird’s eye view of the carriage. She scanned the area as she spoke. “Yes, you could. You could strand yourself in the middle of the forest, miles from any city. You might even survive out here long enough to make it back home. But do you know the real reason you won’t kill me?”

“Please, tell me.” A certain calm amusement seemed to lace Maya’s tone as she searched for her next target.

“It’s simple, really; you don’t want to. You pretend to be bored, but this is the most exciting thing that’s happened to you in years. And, similarly, I’m the most interesting person you’ve met in years. It’s why you won’t shut up around me. I think you find me quite entertaining.”  As she spoke, Lyra caught sight of an attacker approaching the carriage from the side opposite the one Maya was watching. “You should switch windows, by the way, someone’s coming.”

Wordlessly, Maya slid across the bench and scanned the surrounding area before taking aim. “I think I find you quite annoying and full of yourself.” Again, Maya punctuated her point with the whiz of another released arrow. Lyra watched it as it made its inevitable rendezvous with their would-be attacker. “Sharp eyes. Magic sight, I take it?”

“That’s right. You are quite skilled with that thing, by the way,” Lyra remarked casually. “I’m starting to see why someone bothered commandeering my dreams just to tell me I should take you along.”

“Well, next time you see him, do me a favor and set his ass on fire. I’m not pleased he decided to rope me into all this.” She relaxed her bow arm, and slid back inside. “I don’t see anyone, or hear any more fighting. I presume it’s over, then?”

“I’ll be sure to pass along the feedback.” At the edge of her vision, Lyra watched Renault drive his sword through the final remaining attacker just past the treeline overlooking their carriage. “That was the last of them.”

Lyra opened her eyes just in time to catch sight of Maya dropping her bow, then stretching long and languid, emitting a breathy groan of a sigh. “Good,” she said. “Well then, I’m sure we can expect safe, sunny travels from here on out.” Lyra couldn’t keep herself from chuckling.