Inquisitor's Fury: The E.M.F. Chronicles, #2

Chapter 1

Jennifer landed on her back, the air getting knocked out of her lungs under the weight of the steel armor, her two handed sword flying across the field. She felt a surge of panic rush through her as she gasped for air but, quickly, found her resolve. She got onto her knees and tried to regain her balance, still feeling dizzy by the blow she'd just received from her opponent's giant battle hammer.

She unbolted the safety pins at the base of her neck, taking off her helmet and throwing it to the side, her fiery red hair flowing freely down her back. She needed time to breathe and secure her balance, time her opponent was not going to grace her with. He was standing a few feet in front of her, readying his finishing blow with his giant two handed battle hammer, decorated with intricate ceremonial patterns, lifted above his head. Jennifer could not make out his face under the cover of his steel helm but she knew the man in the mustache was laughing.

I need to act quickly or it's the next few months at the hospital for me, she thought through clenched teeth. She knew the man was not going to kill her, of course, but she also knew that he wasn't planning to let her walk away without a broken arm or leg or some dislocated joints, if he could help it. She was careless enough to let him connect a debilitating blow with his hammer and now she faced defeat at the hands of Knight-Bachelor Coburn, the man responsible for the melee weapon training of her battalion of squires, and also famous, around the Order's training grounds, for his contempt towards female squires like her.

The man tightened his grip on the hilt of his hammer and moved one of his feet forward to secure his footing. She heard the older man exhale loudly through his armor and saw the hammer starting to come down towards her chest.

It's now or never, she thought and grabbed a handful of mud from the ground with her steel gauntlet, fresh from the morning's light rain, before lunging forward, aiming for the man's waistline. She risked being crushed to the ground, or worse, if the hammer hit her back but she wasn't going to let him get the satisfaction of having her leave the trial grounds on a stretcher.

She threw the mud towards the opening of the Knight-Bachelor's steel helm managing to get some of it through and into his eyes. The man staggered, as he lost his momentum, his hammer landing on the ground with a loud thump, inches away from Jennifer's steel-clad shoulders. She didn't miss the opportunity and threw a punch at the man's crotch using the combined weight of the armor and her body to make sure the blow would strike true.

There was a loud clang as steel met steel and Coburn buckled in pain, his hands covering the area of his manhood. Jennifer smiled and stood up. She brushed her hair from her face and heard the man curse at her furiously inside the metal confines of his helmet. She grabbed the two handed battle hammer, now lying on the floor, and lifted the giant steel weapon above her head.

I yield, Coburn muttered and lifted his arm upwards in a sign of surrender.

Jennifer wasn't ready to let him go so easily though, not after the ordeals he had put her and the other girls in her battalion, through for the past month, scrubbing floors and cleaning toilets while the male squires got to spend their free time practicing their weapon skills in the armory or riding the academy's horses to the nearby lake. She pretended she hadn't heard the man's plea for surrender and landed the hammer on his shoulder using all the strength she could muster in a precise strike.

The Knight-Bachelor screamed in intense agony as shrapnel of broken metal flew in the air and fell on the ground, his hand holding the broken shoulder over the remains of his shattered shoulder-guard. Jennifer smirked as she saw bone protruding through the older man's bloody skin and lifted the hammer again, this time aiming for the knight's knees.

That's enough! she heard the Knight-Paladin's voice behind her and stopped, still holding the weapon midair above her.

I said that's enough, squire! the Knight-Paladin repeated in an angry tone and walked towards her, his gold plated armor reflecting the few sunrays of the midday sun peeking through an array of dark clouds that covered most of the skyline. Pick up your armor and your sword, squire, and assume your position back in the ranks!

Jennifer turned around and performed a small bow towards the man before picking up her steel helmet and walking past Coburn, still lying on the floor and cursing, to where her two handed sword was. She grabbed  her weapon and scurried back to the line of female squires, standing fifty feet away in a straight horizontal line.

She caught a glimpse of their stare, beneath their own helmets, as she ran past them to get in her position in the line. Their eyes were filled with admiration and pride but also a hint of worry. Injuring an officer, even during trial by combat, was unheard of and Jennifer knew in her head that she was going to roast for her actions that day. She didn't care though, she had had enough of the pompous scumbag of a trainer who taunted them every day, calling them names, during their training, and telling them how they weren't worthy of the weapons they were given. That their gender was only good to scrub toilets and do the chores around the academy.

Every noon he had issued a challenge, asking if any of the female squires had the guts to face him in armed combat. Every noon his challenge was left unmet, with him spitting on the ground and roaring with laughter at them before drilling them with intense exercise routines around the courtyard that surrounded the academy building. That was every noon until now.

I can't believe you've bested him in armed combat, she heard Sarah whisper to her as they both stood in the line, waiting for their next orders. Look at them taking him away, the girl giggled next to her, on her left, as the whole battalion stared at the medical personnel putting the Knight-Bachelor on a stretcher, after they'd removed his armor, and carrying him away towards the infirmary. He looked comical in his, white and brown, cloth undergarments, a sad middle aged man, his head red with anger and pain looking like it was about to pop.

Jennifer let out a muffled laugh pleased with herself. She didn't care about the consequences, she was just happy that the Knight-Bachelor would never be able to wield that hammer again, in the same way he used to, and that was enough to strengthen her resolve against any punishment that was due. She kept staring forward, towards the trial grounds, and saw the Knight-Paladin in his golden colors that separated his stature from the rest of them in their plain steel gray, now talking to another mustached, middle aged man. He wore a suit and was pointing at her.

The man in the suit was tall, almost as tall as the Knight-Paladin, and had an aura of authority around him, somehow making him look as commanding as the armor-clad man next to him even though he was dressed in civilian clothing. Jennifer met the man's piercing gaze and shuddered.

Those are eyes of villainy and hidden purpose, she thought and a felt a flash of worry. She didn't like the way the older man was staring at her. He reminded her of the way a snake gazes at a little rodent before making quick work of its prey. The two men spoke for a few minutes then turned around to leave, walking towards the academy's main halls.

That's just great, Jennifer heard the squire, on her right, mutter. They are just going to leave us here to stand like idiots for the remainder of the day, the girl continued in a tone of annoyance. And it's all because of you, Jennifer, you can't just shut up and let things go, can you?

Jennifer didn't say anything in reply. She didn't like the skinny brunette, Daniela she thought her name was. She had always found her to be too timid and obedient towards their superiors, more eager to please the old men barking orders at them rather than prove her own worth, but she had to admit, begrudgingly, to herself that this time the skinny girl was right. She had once again, like too many times in the past to count, let her temper get the best of her and now everyone else in her battalion had to suffer for it. They had to stand in line until an officer, or someone with rank, relieved them.

By the looks of it, they were indeed going to spend the whole day standing there in the field as a form of punishment for Jennifer's actions. That meant that they'd probably have to go hungry for the rest of the day. Jennifer felt her stomach rumble as she thought of supper.

It was Wednesday and the kitchen staff was probably preparing lamb chops with roast potatoes for supper, one of her favorite dishes. Standing there also meant that they would have to go to the toilet while in their armor, something she'd never allow herself to do since she found the action to be both infuriatingly disgusting and