Rescuing the Captive: The Ingenairii Series by Jeffrey Quyle Page B

Robards’ two companions were spreading out to either side, and each had their blade drawn menacingly. “Ready to show your kids what the consequences are of being a wise guy?” Robards asked as he pulled his fist back to punch again.
    Alec closed his eyes, trying to find the stimulating energy that he had found before. As he did, he heard a thudding noise, as if flesh were being struck, making him open his eyes, fearful that Bethany or Rahm had been hit. Instead, one of Robards’ friends was holding his fingers over a bloody gash in his temple, and a rock hurtled through the air to smash into Robards’ own cheekbone, breaking the skin.
    He whipped his head around and saw two clusters of neighborhood toughs, one on either side of his confrontation. Both groups were throwing stones at the policemen, who were ducking as the uncannily accurate missiles continually thudded on their scalps and faces. Alec turned and grabbed Bethany and Rahm to drag them with him towards the doorway of the gymnasium, where he stopped and turned to see the small police force fleeing for safety.
    Alec stared at the two groups of street thugs who converged on his trio. “We were going to give you a rough time since you came back,” said one burly youth, who Alec realized was not so young. “But if you and Robards don’t like each other then you must not be so bad.
    “ He looks for any excuse to hassle us, but he apparently dislikes you so much he lost his sense and came down here with just a couple of back-ups.
    “ How’d you get on his bad side?” the street tough asked, a neutral curiosity in his tone of voice.
    “ I beat him in a fencing match this morning. It wasn’t friendly, so I decided to leave the armory and come over here instead,” Alec explained.
    “ Robards is no easy blade. Are you that good?”
    “ I’m pretty good,” Alec acknowledged. “And I’m going to start teaching here,” he motioned to the building behind them and took Bethany by the arm to lead her and Rahm towards the deepset doorway to the practice facility.
    “ We’ll watch to see how good you are,” the leader of the rock-throwers said aloud as he motioned for his group to follow, and within a minute the large practice room had a number of visitors.
    “ Everyone who wants to practice, come back to the equipment room,” Alec announced, and he motioned to the curious followers to join his trio as they walked back to the room in the rear. Alec threw open the shutters once again since the rain had ended, and using the light he helped ten others pull on practice padding and then select wooden blades.
    “ What kind of rabble are you bringing in here?” the ancient proprietor of the gymnasium was in the main room waiting as Alec and his crowd returned to the room.
    “ We’re starting lessons this afternoon. Since I’m sure you know how to handle a blade, would you please help me demonstrate the basics?” Alec replied, tossing a wooden blade to him. The man deftly caught the handle, the blade automatically coming up into a ready position.
    Alec gave a polite bow, they gently tapped blades together in acknowledgement of the match, and the two men began engaging one another, probing each other’s defenses and sizing up their abilities. Alec was using his right hand, because he intended to teach Bethany to match up against typical right handed opposition before he let her grow used to the oddity of a left-handed adversary.
    “ What’s your name?” Alec asked the man he faced.
    “ My name is Delphi. And what is yours?” the older man replied, and he gave a sudden thrust, that Alec tilted his sword to block, causing the man’s blade to slide to the left, and giving Alec the opportunity to begin a slicing swing, that Delphi deftly swung his wooden sword back to block.
    “ My name is Alec,” he replied, and he began a series of probes that struck high then low then high again in a pattern that his muscles seemed to carry out on their own as though