“La Héron” by Charlotte Ashley
Fantasy & Science Fiction, March/April 2015
“La Héron” is the story of a duelist who enters an illicit tourney only to find most of her opponents aren’t what they seem and are playing for stakes she didn’t agree to. But she’s a tough old professional with more than a few tricks up her own sleeve, so with a reluctant-nun-cum-brawler as her second, she’s determined to win it all and take the purse anyway. – Author’s description