Stone Rose by Megan Derr

to fight with it against a world with good swords, bows and arrows, and armor.
    "So my original point remains," Culebra said. "I won't need to cry out for help. Anyone who sees me will know me, and there is nothing I can do about that."
    "The hood of your cloak and those gloves I gave you will take care of immediate problems; the weather is cool enough it will not be odd to see a slip of a lad like you bundled up against it. That aside, people know better than to anger me. If I tell them to back off, they will, and keep their mouths shut lest I hear about it."
    Culebra said nothing, merely reached out cautiously to touch the horse. "Help me mount, then. The sooner you deliver me, the sooner I figure out who has me. You never did tell me about those three men you killed."
    "They wanted to take you from me and learn more about the men who wanted me to kidnap you."
    "Were they from the Order? The Brotherhood simply would have killed me, but the Order prefers to keep me alive. Makes me wonder all over again who is paying you to kidnap me."
    Cortez sighed and got him into the saddle after some fumbling and grappling. She swung up behind him, and gave the campsite one last look over. Finally, she replied, "How do you know it's not the Order or the Brotherhood behind it?"
    "Not their style," Culebra said. "The Roses are never shy about announcing themselves or their involvement. This is something different, which troubles me. Not that you care, because the price is worth it."
    To that, Cortez could make no reply because it was very true. Culebra echoed her own concerns. So she said nothing and instead just wrapped one arm more firmly around Culebra's waist and signaled her horse to go, riding off into the Black Woods, bound for Belmonte.

Chapter Seven: Patience
    There seemed to be seven men in total, which was a manageable number. Only three of them were mercenaries, or possibly ex-soldiers. Of the remaining four, two were possibly priests, though he did not know if they were of the Brotherhood, the Order, or the government-sanctioned Church. The remaining two men were civilians, and he suspected they owned the house where Dario and Fidel were being held; whether they helped by choice or force, however, he could not determine. The mercs were too smart to let the civilians anywhere near the prisoners.
    It was entirely possible there were more somewhere, but they weren't in the house. No doubt they would show when it was time to move again. They'd been in their current location, a dilapidated farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, for three days. He was curious as to why they would stay so long in such an empty location, but asking anyone was obviously pointless, and he'd not been able to discern any clues.
    But if he had to guess, their captors were waiting for something. Culebra? Possibly, though Dario did not think so. What little he had gleaned made him think they were meeting up with Culebra in Belmonte.
    Dario sighed and flexed his fingers, tired of having one arm constantly attached to the wall and his feet chained together when they did not let him loose to piss. He had been tempted a time or two to use that as his chance to make a run for it, but he did not want to go anywhere until he saw Culebra. Fidel was not so patient, and his current battered state made Dario all the more grateful that patience was a lesson he had learned well.
    A soldier walked in bearing two bowls of food, and he set one next to each of them. The man kicked him lightly in the thigh, clearly just hoping to provoke a reaction, and said, "Eat up. You'll be needing your strength soon."
    "Oh? Why is that?" Dario asked.
    "You'll find out, won't you?"
    Dario rolled his eyes and picked up his food. Ignoring the harder kick that got him, he kept his head down and ate until the man finally left in a huff. Honestly, he'd been a royal bodyguard. They would have to try harder if they wanted to provoke a reaction.
    He ate as quickly as having only one hand allowed,