behind his back up high over his head to land in his right hand.
Robards stood still looking at him. “Well, we’ll see,” he said softly, and advanced confidently.
Deciding that he didn’t like the attitude Robards displayed, Alec likewise advanced, and initiated the first strike of blade against blade. Even right-handed the blade felt like a natural extension of his arm.
Alec could tell that there was a mutual and strong dislike between himself and his opponent, and he wanted desperately to put a quick and decisive end to their match. His wish seemed to become father to his actions, as he felt a sudden rush of ability that made everything else in the room suddenly seem woodenly slow, exaggeratedly large as targets, and weak as broken reeds.
He felt exhilaration sing in his heart, and simultaneously he carried out his strike against Robards, dipping his blade then striking it upward so quickly and strongly that he knocked the blade from Robards’s hand and high towards the ceiling. As the blade rose in the air, Alec’s blade dipped to the drawstring of Robards’s pants, drawing them open so that the pants fell to his knees, while Alec reached behind his back and caught the falling sword there in his left hand, and pulled it around to offer it to Robards with elaborate courtesy.
Robards looked stunned, and then his face displayed his anger and humiliation. “That’s enough,” the woman from the office said loudly. Alec looked at her, and saw that virtually every other face in the building was watching him. He felt a sense of deflation, and abruptly the world returned to its ordinary order. It had been like a minute of militant ecstasy, he reflected with wonder, remembering the way he had reacted to the ambush of the wagon back in Krimshelm, and in the forest when he had fought with the anideads. It was all the same burst of energy
“ Come to the office,” she ordered Alec, turned without waiting for his reply, and walked away.
Alec followed her, several steps behind, all eyes silently watching him as he walked.
“ What in the world did you do out there? Are you taking a potion?” she asked him as soon as they were in the privacy of her office. “Are you a changeling from the mountains? Why would you do that to Robards out there in front of the gods and everyone?”
“ You told me to fight him. I did. If Duke isn’t satisfied with what I did, I’ll go find another armory,” Alec replied, realizing that whatever he had done out on the practice mat wasn’t acceptable when so blatantly displayed. And whatever it was, it seemed to be possible to call upon it when he needed to fight with superhuman ability.
He turned and stalked out of the armory. There was another armory he had heard of in a seedier section of town, and he walked through the streets in the direction of his new destination. As he walked, a heavy rain began to fall, and he was dripping water twenty minutes later when he reached the doors of the dark brown brick building that he hoped would be more satisfactory than it appeared from the exterior. He saw shadowy figures standing in nearby doorways, watching him dodge among the rain drops.
Inside the building there was a large open room, in which one pair sparred in a desultory manner, while an elderly man leaned against the wall watching him approach.
“ What do you want?” the heavy set man asked in a surprisingly high-pitched voice.
“ I’d like to use your floor for practice, and to teach my sister how to handle a blade,” Alec explained.
“ How much time will you need?” the man asked.
“ What do you mean?” Alec asked, wondering what translation he wasn’t making correctly.
“ I mean that in a month I am going to lose this building because I can’t afford to make the payments on it; my wife died last year, and I just didn’t care about anything for a long time, and it all got away from me. If you can teach your sister in a month, you can practice here all you
Robards stood still looking at him. “Well, we’ll see,” he said softly, and advanced confidently.
Deciding that he didn’t like the attitude Robards displayed, Alec likewise advanced, and initiated the first strike of blade against blade. Even right-handed the blade felt like a natural extension of his arm.
Alec could tell that there was a mutual and strong dislike between himself and his opponent, and he wanted desperately to put a quick and decisive end to their match. His wish seemed to become father to his actions, as he felt a sudden rush of ability that made everything else in the room suddenly seem woodenly slow, exaggeratedly large as targets, and weak as broken reeds.
He felt exhilaration sing in his heart, and simultaneously he carried out his strike against Robards, dipping his blade then striking it upward so quickly and strongly that he knocked the blade from Robards’s hand and high towards the ceiling. As the blade rose in the air, Alec’s blade dipped to the drawstring of Robards’s pants, drawing them open so that the pants fell to his knees, while Alec reached behind his back and caught the falling sword there in his left hand, and pulled it around to offer it to Robards with elaborate courtesy.
Robards looked stunned, and then his face displayed his anger and humiliation. “That’s enough,” the woman from the office said loudly. Alec looked at her, and saw that virtually every other face in the building was watching him. He felt a sense of deflation, and abruptly the world returned to its ordinary order. It had been like a minute of militant ecstasy, he reflected with wonder, remembering the way he had reacted to the ambush of the wagon back in Krimshelm, and in the forest when he had fought with the anideads. It was all the same burst of energy
“ Come to the office,” she ordered Alec, turned without waiting for his reply, and walked away.
Alec followed her, several steps behind, all eyes silently watching him as he walked.
“ What in the world did you do out there? Are you taking a potion?” she asked him as soon as they were in the privacy of her office. “Are you a changeling from the mountains? Why would you do that to Robards out there in front of the gods and everyone?”
“ You told me to fight him. I did. If Duke isn’t satisfied with what I did, I’ll go find another armory,” Alec replied, realizing that whatever he had done out on the practice mat wasn’t acceptable when so blatantly displayed. And whatever it was, it seemed to be possible to call upon it when he needed to fight with superhuman ability.
He turned and stalked out of the armory. There was another armory he had heard of in a seedier section of town, and he walked through the streets in the direction of his new destination. As he walked, a heavy rain began to fall, and he was dripping water twenty minutes later when he reached the doors of the dark brown brick building that he hoped would be more satisfactory than it appeared from the exterior. He saw shadowy figures standing in nearby doorways, watching him dodge among the rain drops.
Inside the building there was a large open room, in which one pair sparred in a desultory manner, while an elderly man leaned against the wall watching him approach.
“ What do you want?” the heavy set man asked in a surprisingly high-pitched voice.
“ I’d like to use your floor for practice, and to teach my sister how to handle a blade,” Alec explained.
“ How much time will you need?” the man asked.
“ What do you mean?” Alec asked, wondering what translation he wasn’t making correctly.
“ I mean that in a month I am going to lose this building because I can’t afford to make the payments on it; my wife died last year, and I just didn’t care about anything for a long time, and it all got away from me. If you can teach your sister in a month, you can practice here all you
Similar Books
