Chronicles of the Overworld Book 1 — Nihal of the Land of the Wind Read Free Page B

she resisted. She concentrated on establishing the terms of the duel. Once they got started, she could let him have it for all she was worth.
    They would fight with sticks. The first to be disarmed or fall to the ground would be the loser. She entrusted her dagger to the youngest member of the audience.
    “You’ll be taking off that tunic, I suppose.”
    “No, I’m used to it. I just hope you don’t mind being beaten by a guy dressed like this. …”
    Once again, Nihal refused to let him get a rise out of her. The duel began.
    Just as she’d imagined, Sennar was neither strong nor agile, and as far as technique was concerned, he was definitely less skilled than she was. And so what was it that made him so sure he would win?
    Nihal quickly seized the advantage, moving constantly to disorient her challenger. The kids around them cheered her on with yells and whistles. She felt herself becoming more and more excited; battle fever engulfed her. Her movements became even quicker as she parried, hit Sennar on his side and prepared to break his stick.
    I’ve got him
, she thought triumphantly.
    Victory fled her grasp in an instant.
    Sennar looked into her eyes with an icy gaze, gave a faint smile, and murmured a few words that Nihal did not understand.
    Just as she was about to bring her stick down upon Sennar, Nihal felt it go limp in her hands. It became slimy and began to wriggle . Where her stick had been there was now a giant snake, hissing and twisting.
    Nihal yelled. Her grip slackened. It was just a second, but Sennar took advantage of it, tripping Nihal so she fell to the ground. It was the first time she had ever lost a challenge.
    “I think we have a winner.”
    Sennar took the dagger from the little kid holding it.
    For a moment, Nihal sat as still and as silent as a stone. Then she regained her senses and looked around. There was no sign of a snake anywhere.
    “Filthy rotten cheat! You’re a sorcerer! You didn’t tell me! You swindler! Give me back my dagger!”
    She jumped to her feet again and made to attack him, but Sennar held up a hand to stop her. “You should be thanking me for the lesson. Did you ask me if I was a sorcerer? No. Did you say, ‘I don’t duel with sorcerers’? No. Did you say that magic would not be allowed in the duel? No. You have no one to blame but yourself. Today you learned that before you fight, you need to make certain you really know your enemy. And strength is nothing without intelligence. So stop crying. Livon will surely make you another one.”
    As he was leaving, he added, “But you’re strong, that’s for sure.” And off he went, as calmly as he’d come.
    Nihal was frozen in place. Then Barod’s voice emerged from the audience’s embarrassed silence. “I’m sorry, Nihal, but that kid is right.”
    Nihal punched him in the nose and ran off in tears.
    She raced down the tower as fast as she could, bumping into passersby and knocking over an earthenware jar filled with oil in front of an inn. All she wanted was to take refuge in Livon’s comforting arms. He would understand and defend her. He would agree with her that the kid had acted like a coward. Then he’d give her a dagger a thousand times more beautiful than the one she’d lost.
    Livon listened to Nihal’s story in silence as she brought it out through tears and sobs. When she had finished, he surprised her by saying, “So?”
    It took Nihal a moment to react. “What do you mean, So? He tricked me!”
    “Hardly! He was clever and you were gullible.”
    Nihal’s eyes widened indignantly.
    “Today you learned two things. First of all, if you really care about something, you have to hold on to it tight.”
    “But …”
    “And secondly, you need to be sure that you really know your enemy before you fight.”
    That was exactly what Sennar had said, that coward.
    “Losing is part of life, Nihal. You’d better get used to it. It’s important to know how to accept defeat.”
    Nihal sat roughly on a