“Chrissakes, Akuji!” I yell breathlessly. “We’re on the same side!”

She laughs and comes at me, as fluid as mercury. I slink out the way, panting hard. Akuji leaps at me and I bring the blade slashing down, but she blocks it effortlessly. She’s toying with me. She wheels and attacks. I don’t know how, but I manage to sidestep and chop down the sword in time and the metal clangs against her sticks. She advances furiously. A whirlwind assault, one blow after the other, and I defend as best I can. Then she connects Ra with a powerful blow and the sword flies from my grip and skitters across the ledge, lodging itself into the rock face. I stand with my back to the drop, weaponless, breathing hard.

Akuji mock-thrusts and I sway back. My stomach drops.

I feel a hollow pull of gravity. I’m at the edge.

Panic. My arms windmill.

Akuji, watching me, calmly re-sheathes her fighting sticks. I see it in those cool, serene eyes of hers—indifference. I’m tipping. I’m going over.

And there’s nothing in the seven worlds I can do about it.

37

A hand. It claps onto my wrist and my fall is arrested. Akuji holds me, keeps me hanging, letting me know it’s by her power alone I’m granted a second life. Then she hauls me back up and I fall to my knees, coughing. She stands over me and I look up at her, ashamed. Unable to do anything but gasp.

Without speaking, still in shock, I retrieve my weapon and return it with shaking hands to its scabbard. I turn and look at her.

She looks back at me, expressionless.

“You forgot the most important lesson of all,” Vidhan says, coming to join us, Malik at his shoulder.

“Oh yeah?” I say, annoyed.

“Yeah,” Vidhan says, taking off his glasses, blowing on them.

“Well?” I say.

He gives his glasses a quick polish and replaces them. “Never trust Akuji.” He looks serious for a second and then he bursts out laughing and slaps me on the shoulder—the painful one—and I grimace. “You were good,” he says. “Hell, ya made Kuji break a sweat and I ain’t never bloody seen that.”

I fumble with the straps on the scabbard, keeping my eyes averted. I take my time over it, saying nothing. After a while, I realise Akuji and Vidhan have moved away. Only one person remains with me on the rock ledge now. I stare down at his boots, his black jeans.

“Vidhan’s wrong,” Malik says. “You did far more than make her sweat. You gave as good as you got.”

I shake my head, pull the leather strap tight on my thigh and look up at him. “No. He’s right. She was close to killing me, Malik. If that had been a real fight…”

“You’re ready,” he says.