Chapter 3: A new friend… Or not, girl’s are confusing.

                The mud dummy-target split in two as valor’s right sword cut into it. Following through with the momentum of the swing, Valor spun, which brought his left sword powerfully through the middle of the dummy. He was breathing heavy as he watched the thick mud slowly fall apart until it melted completely to the ground.

            Not bothering to talk aloud, he said “again please”.

            Valor waited for a response, and when he didn’t get any, he turned to his massive friend who stood just outside the training ring. The ring itself was comprised entirely of stone harvested from the mountain, surrounding a soft cushion of sand. He had found this room by chance when they were wondering the catacomb of caves. The entire stadium was an underground city dedicated to racing. All the caverns were lit by bright lights that were imbedded into the ceiling.  Each cave eventually fed into the stadium, which was located somewhere in the mountains, so massive that it practically dwarfed each individual mountain peak.

            “Diargo,” Valor said aloud this time, “again, please?”

            With a sigh Diargo placed his palm on the stone floor outside the ring, channeling his galden so another mud dummy rose from the sandy pit that Valor stood in.

            “you’re overdoing it, we race in 18 hours.” The monkey said, in a tone that suggested he already knew how his partner would respond.

 Diargo knew he wouldn’t answer and could already sense the dismissal. He shook his head at the stubbornness of his friend and turned out of the room, he still wanted to explore.

            Without looking at his friend, Valor leapt in the air with a double downward slash. His two swords met the dummy at both shoulders, and the blades sliced through the mud until they imbedded themselves into the sand. The dummy split into the three separate parts and melted to the floor.

            “Again,” Valor said, his chest rising and falling heavily, his arms were sore, and he could feel the fatigue start to creep into his legs, but his mind was on fire. “Diargo?”

            Valor’s voiced echoed in the empty cave, and after brief scan of the cave he figured that the monkey must have ditched him. Valor let out an angry sigh and threw his swords into the sand in frustration. He dropped himself to the ground, a little gingerly as his legs were wobbly from the training session.

            “I’m over doing it,” Valor said aloud to himself.

            “um yeah, you are.” A voice said behind him.

            Valor cranked his neck behind him to see a girl standing in the entrance way of the cave; she was dressed in casual rider attire: form fitted cargo pants with a shirt that was tied at the bottom to reveal a small amount of skin. She had shoulder length black hair, and Valor could see a long scar that ran from her jawline and down her neck.  He swallowed and quickly scrambled to his feet.

            “Oh hey, uh, I didn’t see you there, are you trying to use my cave? I mean THE cave, it isn’t mine!” Valor’s tongue felt heavy, and he was aware of how badly he was stammering. He hadn’t seen a girl in 5 years.

            The girl sighed and placed her hands on her hips, “you’ve been hogging this room for the past two days,”

            “Aren’t there other rooms? I mean this can’t be the only training cavern in this place,” Valor replied, still a little mystified by her presence.

            The newcomer shifted her weight impatiently and ran her hand down a rope that was hanging on her right shoulder, “Because all the other meatheads are using them, and this one is closest to my room,” she said.

            Valor didn’t respond, he was busy looking the newcomer up and down.  “Is that a… jump rope?” he asked finally, pointing to the heavy rope that was slung over her shoulder.

            The girl stared blankly at Valor and said, “It’s a Téad léim”

            Valor was silent for a moment, almost a hundred percent sure that it was a jump rope. As he opened his mouth to speak, the newcomer cut him off. “Look kid, I don’t care what you think it is, I’m still going to kick your ass with it tomorrow”.

            Valor mouthed the word kid and glanced down at himself, not bothering to acknowledge the obvious threat. He looked back up at the girl who was now climbing over the stone fence and into the ring. Feeling a new kind of nervousness well in his chest, he quickly scrambled over to his swords and picked them up. He sheathed the swords and headed towards the opposite edge of the ring, when he looked over his shoulder, he saw the girl stretching out her arms and shoulders, the Téad léim was coiled on the ground beside her.

            “Hey uh, did you happen to- “Valor said before being interrupted.

            “don’t care,” the girl said as she pulled one arm across her chest.

            “Oh, no I was just asking if you’ve seen-“Valor attempted to say.

            The girl interrupted him once more, not bothering to look at him as she knelt in the sand and stretched out her hip. “I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win. So do yourself a favour, don’t waste your time training, you’ll be dead tomorrow anyways.”

            The unjustified hostility was starting to annoy him, and he raised his eyebrows at the clear and obvious threat. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

            The girl stood up and laughed aloud, “Do I need to spell it out for you? You’re an amateur who lacks experience.”

            Valor clenched his fist and glared back at the girl. “And?”

            The girl narrowed her eyes, “you probably ride like dogshit”.

            Valor unsheathed both swords with unnatural speed, the galden was pulsing stronger from his anger, fueling his exhausted muscles. The girl picked up her rope in response his to sudden movement. The rope had two heavy handles each situated on either end, the girl was holding the handle of one end while leaving the other end in the sand, like a whip. The two of them stood still, Valor in attack position, and the girl in a defensive crouch.

            The girl was frozen in her crouch, until she blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and said, “What, did I hurt your feelings?”

            Valor’s chest rose and fell heavily, the anger swelling in his chest threatening to burst. “What exactly did I do to piss you off?” he said.

He didn’t dare move, his arms were extended, holding his two swords in front of his body in a crossed formation. He tried to probe her with his galden, to see just exactly how dangerous she really was. To his surprise a sensed a faint signal of galden, not from her, but from the Téad léim.

            The girl slowly rose out of her crouch, with a flick of her wrist the Téad léim snapped up to rest neatly across her shoulder. “You’re in the wrong business if you’re looking for friendship and good manners.”

Valor let himself relax and sheathed both his swords; his recent anger now felt misplaced due to the girl’s sudden calmness. Attempting to smother the anger that burned in his throat, he managed to choke out “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Valor’s biting remark made the girl pause for a second, she gave Valor a smirk and dropped her hostility, Valor noted a new form of thoughtfulness in her gaze as she looked him up and down, “then good, I’d rather not have to kill any friend’s tomorrow.”

Valor shook his head in annoyance and confusion at how their interaction changed pace so rapidly. He turned to leave and felt his anger dissipate as he started to walk near the stone railing. “Last time I talk to a girl, sheesh”, He thought to himself.

Valor climbed over the stone railing and headed towards the exit, this time he paid no attention to the intriguing figure in the sand pit.

            “My name’s Ameera by the way!” A voice called out to him.

            Valor turned away to see Ameera leaning up against the stone rail closest to the exit, the sweat from the humidity was making her shirt stick to her skin. “What’s your name?” Ameera inquired.

            Valor gave his head a quick shake, “Uh, Valor?”

            “Word of advice Valor don’t expect kindness from anybody, regardless of where you are. It will only get you killed.” Ameera said.

            With a quick nod Ameera gave the railing a smack and turned around to face the open training ring. She grabbed one end of her Téid léim and rose her arm to begin her training.

You are reading story Valor’s Race at novel35.com

            Valor stood for a second in silence, soaking in her advice before he called out and said, “Well I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

            The Téid léim whipped through the air with a loud crack that echoed off the cave walls, looking closer Valor could see the glint of sharp metal protruding out of the opposite end of the heavy rope. Ameera wiped sweat from her forehead and did not bother to turn around to face him.

“No, hopefully you don’t,” She called out.

            Valor walked through the dimly lit tunnels wondering where his friend wandered off to. He was still trying to wrap his mind around his interaction with Ameera, and the roller coaster of emotions that he had experienced. The intrigue, the confusion, the anger, and then back to confusion. Valor let out a sigh, “girls are so confusing, I don’t remember it being that bad”. He thought aloud.

            The last time Valor saw a girl was five years prior, when he travelled with his dad twenty-two miles to the nearest marketplace. The desert drought was going on longer than expected and the well was dangerously low on the water. The girl who greeted them at the marketplace had been cute and she seemed to find Valor’s jokes and remarks funny. Valor reminisced on those days fondly as he wandered aimlessly through the caves, lost in his own thoughts.

            “Valor” A familiar voice boomed in his head.

            “Diargo! Where are you?” Valor responded.

            He stopped in the tunnel and closed his eyes to focus on Diargo’s galden that he could now feel pulsing through the cave.

            “Oh, you got to get over here, it’s amazing” Diargo’s said in a tone filled with lazy pleasure.

            Valor opened his eyes and started to trot down the tunnel, traveling in the direction of the galden. “Well, I’m trying to find you; these tunnels are so confusing.”

 Valor stopped as he reached an intersection of caves, he closed his eyes once more and then chose the right most tunnel. After another five minutes of following Diargo’s galden trail, he finally reached the end of the tunnel that he was travelling in. The tunnel opened into a massive cavern, three times the size of the training room. This cavern had lights situated in the ceiling and in the walls, though these lights were covered by a translucent red shell, bathing the massive cavern in a red glow. Valor scanned the room, before finally realizing the black stone floor wasn’t a floor at all. The cavern was filled with black water that stretched from either end. He knelt down to feel the black water and realized with glee that it was hot to the touch.

            “No way… this stadium has hot springs?!” Valor said aloud, his voice echoing across the black water that was as still as glass.

            Valor quickly ripped off his shirt and the rest of his clothes until he realized that his friend was still nowhere to be seen. Valor closed his eyes once more to try and find Diargo. A split-second later Valor’s eyes snapped open from the galden pulse that threatened to overwhelm his senses. Before Valor could scramble away from the edge of the water, a giant arm shot out of the water locked onto Valor’s leg. With a scream of terror he found himself thrown into the air, crashing far into the middle of the hot spring.

            A few seconds later, Valor’s head broke the surface and he spit out warm water, “DIARGO!”

            Diargo’s massive head rose out of the water, and he snorted out water from his nose, a deep rumbling could be heard from his chest as he laughed.

            “That’s not funny,” Valor slapped his hand into the water, trying to splash Diargo in the face.

            “It was pretty funny; you should have heard your scream! I’ve never heard you make a noise like that.”. Diargo said, not bothering to hide laughter that shook his whole body.

            Valor submerged his head underwater, trying to escape Diargo’s laughter and hide his embarrassment. Finding peace under the hot water, Valor closed his eyes and let the heat soak into his sore muscles.

            “You can’t escape me, I’m in your head” Diargo’s voice invaded Valor’s mind once more.

            Valor chose to ignore his friend and swam up to the surface, he took a breath and then made his way for the rocky shore. “How did you find this place, it’s amazing.”

            Diargo massive body rose powerfully out of the water. The monkey pulled himself up onto the shore and laid back on the dry ground.

 “While you were busy training, I had the pleasure of finding this place, I’ve been here this whole time.”

            Valor sighed and lied down beside his friend, the two of them basked in the red glow of lights. “I wasn’t training, I met someone.”

            Diargo raised his wet head from the floor and looked at valor with mild interest. You met someone? What does that mean.”

            Valor turned his head to look at his friend, not lifting it from floor. “Another rider… a girl.”

            Diargo raised his eyes, remembering the last time Valor met a girl, the kid was head over heels for a straight month. “Okay and?”

            Valor sighed, “well she said I ride like dogshit and that she was going to kill me tomorrow.”  

            Diargo let out a loud snort, “So she’s ignorant prey.”

            “And then she told me her name and she smiled, like in a good way.”

             “Wait what.”

            Valor threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, “Yeah I don’t really get it either.”

            Diargo was about to insult her further when he noticed something that made him inwardly grin. “You like her!”

            Valor looked at Diargo in horror, “No I don’t! I was about to cut her to pieces; I don’t like her… ew.”  

            Diargo raised his eyebrows unimpressed at Valor’s childish remark, “ew? What are you five years old, I can sense your heartbeat quicken just at this conversation.” Diargo paused before continuing. “What were her pheromones like?”

            Valor scrambled to his feet and shoved a finger in Diargo’s face, “my pulse is faster cause I’m pissed at her! And I’m sorry, her pheromones? I don’t sniff people.”

            Diargo gave Valor a knowing look, “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow when we see her again, you know… when I’m around and I can sense everything that happens in your body and brain”.

            Valor looked at him horrified and then shook his head, “We have more important things to worry about right now, so let’s go over our strategy again.”

            Diargo grunted in agreement and climbed to his feet. He put a heavy hand on Valor’s head and then started to walk down the tunnel. It was fun to tease him, but he liked talking about racing more. The two of them talked about their strategy for hours as they walked through the tunnels. Eventually they exhausted all strategy options, and for a while they walked in silence contemplating the race tomorrow.

Finally, it was Valor who broke the silence, “Yeah she had pretty nice pheromones.”

            Diargo bared his fangs in a fearsome smile and barked out a laugh, “I knew it!”

            The two of them laughed together until they reached their rooms, and within minutes they were both fast asleep.

You can find story with these keywords: Valor’s Race, Read Valor’s Race, Valor’s Race novel, Valor’s Race book, Valor’s Race story, Valor’s Race full, Valor’s Race Latest Chapter