Excerpt from Mica by Kate Hill Available from Ellora's Cave. Mica rolled away before the blade split his head. He tried kicking the beautiful blonde warrior's feet out from under her, but she sprang forcing him to dive over his horse to avoid another of her deadly blows. She's crazy. That's what I get for trusting a pretty face. Moments ago, the woman's statuesque beauty had his pulse pounding-now it raced out of survival instinct. Just what he needed, a foreign warrior with petal-blue eyes and breasts like a goddess trying to lop off his head with a blade she wielded far too well for his taste. "Put the sword down, you crazy bitch." "Not until you're dead, you murdering bastard," she snarled, her beautiful face distorted with fury. "I haven't killed anybody lately." "Brightest Star, lower your weapon." The auburn-haired man chased the woman around the cave. He finally caught her, ducking her swinging blade. "He deserves to die, Blaze. After what he did, I can't look at his ugly face." Ugly? I might not look like a palace sculpture, but I'm by no means ugly. "You said you wanted to speak with the one who killed your family," Blaze continued. "I didn't kill her family." Mica remained where he stood, one foot in the stirrup, one hand clutching a dagger he'd pulled from a sheath on his waist. "I never saw her before today." "General Mica of Ademene destroyed the village of Greenhaven. Raped the women, drowned the children and cut the head off every man. I was the only survivor but I'm enough to avenge my people. You're going to die, you son of a bitch. Blaze, let me go." She struggled against the Knights grasp, her teeth visibly clenched. "Not until you listen to reason." Blaze forced the sword from her hand. "Don't make me fight you, Blaze." "I was never in Greenhaven," Mica said. He knew about the place, however, and his anger at the woman faded, replaced by sympathy. Many villages on the coast of the Western Continent had been destroyed during the time she mentioned. "The General Mica you're referring to was my father." Sun pushed away from Blaze and approached, her hands raised to fight. "Then I can use you to find him." "It will do you no good." "Yes it will," she snarled. "Even if I have to beat his whereabouts out of you" "I've held my tongue for worse than you." Mica removed his foot from the stirrup, but didn't advance on her. The woman had obviously lost much to his father's brutality. Though her attitude irritated him, he could see no reason to further upset her. "I realize you've suffered because of my father's actions. I'm sorry." "Keep your apology. It makes me sick. I want to know where your father is." "He's dead." "Right. One way or the other, you'll tell me the truth." "He speaks the truth," Blaze told her. She glanced at the auburn-haired Knight. "He can't be dead." Blaze opened his hands helplessly. "The spirits don't lie to me." "All right." Sun picked up her sword, pointing it at Mica. "If I can't kill the father then I'll destroy his spawn." "You cannot." Blaze stepped in front of Mica. "The lamb cannot be accused of doing the coyotes work. Sun glared at the Knight. Blaze, now is not the time to test my patience! You cannot punish him for a crime he didn't commit. What of your vows? Will you ruin your life for the sake of a dead man?" The woman sheathed her sword, kicked the cave wall, and dropped to the ground. "You can step away from him, Blaze. I'm not going to kill him, though I have no doubt he deserves death as much as his father." Mica stared at her. He'd seen many like her in his lifetime, people destroyed by hatred because of the likes of his fatherand himself. At least Mica had realized his violent path promised him and those he touched nothing but loneliness and pain. "I wish I could change what he did," Mica said. "Keep quiet," she snapped. He sheathed his dagger, wrapped his robe around his shoulders, and sat on the blankets. "The storm might last the night. You should sleep." "I'd sooner sleep in the company of a snake." "I won't be closing my eyes, either," he stated. She'd probably cut them out if he did. "Then both of you watch." Blaze settled onto the floor, tugging the blankets around him and muttering to himself. Moments later, Sun knew by the evenness of his breathing that he was asleep. She looked across the fire at Mica who sat, staring at the flames. The sight of him infuriated her. Thick tendrils of ink-colored hair flowed down his shoulders and back. His slightly parted lips looked soft and finely-shaped. She noted for the first time the black lines rimming his eyes. She had seen several people in the market with the same type of eye makeup and guessed it was part of the Kennas' culture. Some of the Knights and Dames wore tattoos from their homeland. She knew in certain parts of the world warriors painted their faces in battle, but she'd never seen a man in makeup before. Still, the black lines in no way detracted from his masculinity, they merely enhanced the beauty of his eyes. "I wish I could change what happened to you," he said. "Excuse me if I can't believe any son of his, particularly if you claim to be a general yourself." I am no longer a General. Good, she seethed. "There aren't adequate words to describe the horror of battle." "You don't have to tell me about battle." "No. I can see you're familiar with it, but you've also overcome your past. Your friend spoke of vows you took. By the way you handle your sword, I'm guessing you're a Dame of the Opal Order. I recognized the emblem on your companion's tunic to be that of the Ruby Order." Sun stared hard into Mica's eyes. "You're wondering why, after all I went through to become a Dame, Ive wasted my time looking for your father?" "The answer is obvious. Becoming a Dame doesn't wipe away your humanity. You have every right to hate my father and want revenge." Sun leaned forward, pointing a finger at him. In spite of the rage sparking her lovely blue eyes, Mica saw deep pain. She tried hiding it and had obviously learned to live with it, but it still burned inside her. "I don't understand you. What are you trying to prove? Do you actually think I'll believe you're decent, that you don't have a bit of him in you?" "I don't care what you believe." His words weren't taunting or hateful. He simply stated a fact. His neutrality seemed to incite Sun's rage. "What kind of general were you, Mica of Ademene? Were you honest, upstanding, and noble?" "There is no nobility in war. Only suffering."

The graphics used to create this site were designed by Wolfden Creations.