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.I leaned against a tree and watched, hypnotized by thegraceful, whirling movements, the deadly speed and accuracy of the sword strikes, far too quick for a humanto ever keep up with.Uneasiness gnawed at me as I suddenly remembered the dream, Machina’s soft voiceechoing in my head.Do you think you’l be able to keep him, once you discover who you really are? Do youthink he wil even want you anymore?Angrily, I pushed those thoughts away.What did he know? Besides, that was just a dream, a nightmareconjured from stress and the worry over my dad.It didn’t mean anything.Ash finished the dril and with a final flourish, slammed the blade into its sheath.For a moment, he stoodmotionless, breathing deeply, the mist curling around him.“Is your father any better?” he asked without turningaround.I jumped.“Hasn’t changed.” I moved across the damp grass toward him, soaking the hems of my jeans.“How long haveyou been out here?”He turned, raking a hand through his bangs, shoving them out of his eyes.“I went back to Leanansidhe’s lastnight,” he said, walking forward.“I wanted to get something for you, so I had one of her contacts track onedown for me.”“Track…what down?”Ash strode to a nearby rock, swooped down, and tossed me a long, slightly curved stick.When I caught it, Isaw that it was actually a leather sheath with a gilded brass hilt poking from the top.A sword.Ash was givingme a sword…why?Oh, yeah.Because I wanted to learn to fight.Because I’d asked him to teach me.Ash, watching me with that weary, knowing look on his face, shook his head.“You forgot, did you?”“Nooooo,” I said quickly.“I just…didn’t think it would be this soon.”“This is the perfect place.” Ash turned slightly to gaze around the clearing.“Quiet, hidden.We can catch ourbreath here.It’s a good place to learn while you’re waiting for your father to come out of it.When we’re donehere, I have a feeling things wil get much more chaotic.” He gestured to the sword in my hand.“Your firstlesson begins now.Draw your sword.”I did.Unsheathing it sent a raspy shiver across the glen, and I gazed at the weapon in fascination.The bladewas thin and slightly curved, an elegant-looking weapon, razor sharp and deadly.A warning tickled the back ofmy mind.There was something about the blade that was…different.Blinking, I ran my fingers along the cool,gleaming edge, and a chill shot through my stomach.The blade was made of steel.Not faery steel.Not a fey sword covered in glamour.Real, ordinary iron.Thekind that would burn faery flesh and sear away glamour.The kind that left wounds impossible to heal.I gaped at it, then at Ash, who looked remarkably calm to be facing his greatest weakness.“This is steel,” Itold him, sure that Leanansidhe had made a mistake.He nodded.“An eighteenth-century Spanish saber.Leanansidhe nearly had a fit when I told her what I wanted,but she was able to track one down in exchange for a favor.” He paused then, wincing slightly.“A very largefavor.”Alarmed, I stared at him.“What did you promise her?”“It doesn’t matter.Nothing that endangers us in any way.” He hurried on before I could argue.“I wanted a light, slashing weapon for you, one with a good amount of reach, to keep opponents farther away.” He gestured tothe saber with his own weapon, a blindingly quick stab of blue.“You’ll be moving around a lot, using speedinstead of brute force against your enemies.That blade won’t block heavier weapons, and you don’t have thestrength to swing a longsword effectively, so we’re going to have to teach you how to dodge.This was thebest choice.”“But this is steel,” I repeated, listening to him in amazement.He could teach a class with his knowledge ofweapons and fighting.“Why a real sword? I could seriously hurt someone.”“Meghan.” Ash gave me a patient look.“That’s exactly why I chose it.You have an advantage with that weaponthat none of us can touch.Even the most violent redcap will think twice about facing a real, mortal blade.Itwon’t scare the Iron fey, of course, but that’s where training wil come in.”“But…but what if I hit you?”A snort.“You’re not going to hit me.”“How do you know?” I bristled at his amused tone.“I could hit you.Even master swordsmen make mistakes.I could get a lucky shot, or you might not see me coming.I don’t want to hurt you.”He favored me with another patient look [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.I leaned against a tree and watched, hypnotized by thegraceful, whirling movements, the deadly speed and accuracy of the sword strikes, far too quick for a humanto ever keep up with.Uneasiness gnawed at me as I suddenly remembered the dream, Machina’s soft voiceechoing in my head.Do you think you’l be able to keep him, once you discover who you really are? Do youthink he wil even want you anymore?Angrily, I pushed those thoughts away.What did he know? Besides, that was just a dream, a nightmareconjured from stress and the worry over my dad.It didn’t mean anything.Ash finished the dril and with a final flourish, slammed the blade into its sheath.For a moment, he stoodmotionless, breathing deeply, the mist curling around him.“Is your father any better?” he asked without turningaround.I jumped.“Hasn’t changed.” I moved across the damp grass toward him, soaking the hems of my jeans.“How long haveyou been out here?”He turned, raking a hand through his bangs, shoving them out of his eyes.“I went back to Leanansidhe’s lastnight,” he said, walking forward.“I wanted to get something for you, so I had one of her contacts track onedown for me.”“Track…what down?”Ash strode to a nearby rock, swooped down, and tossed me a long, slightly curved stick.When I caught it, Isaw that it was actually a leather sheath with a gilded brass hilt poking from the top.A sword.Ash was givingme a sword…why?Oh, yeah.Because I wanted to learn to fight.Because I’d asked him to teach me.Ash, watching me with that weary, knowing look on his face, shook his head.“You forgot, did you?”“Nooooo,” I said quickly.“I just…didn’t think it would be this soon.”“This is the perfect place.” Ash turned slightly to gaze around the clearing.“Quiet, hidden.We can catch ourbreath here.It’s a good place to learn while you’re waiting for your father to come out of it.When we’re donehere, I have a feeling things wil get much more chaotic.” He gestured to the sword in my hand.“Your firstlesson begins now.Draw your sword.”I did.Unsheathing it sent a raspy shiver across the glen, and I gazed at the weapon in fascination.The bladewas thin and slightly curved, an elegant-looking weapon, razor sharp and deadly.A warning tickled the back ofmy mind.There was something about the blade that was…different.Blinking, I ran my fingers along the cool,gleaming edge, and a chill shot through my stomach.The blade was made of steel.Not faery steel.Not a fey sword covered in glamour.Real, ordinary iron.Thekind that would burn faery flesh and sear away glamour.The kind that left wounds impossible to heal.I gaped at it, then at Ash, who looked remarkably calm to be facing his greatest weakness.“This is steel,” Itold him, sure that Leanansidhe had made a mistake.He nodded.“An eighteenth-century Spanish saber.Leanansidhe nearly had a fit when I told her what I wanted,but she was able to track one down in exchange for a favor.” He paused then, wincing slightly.“A very largefavor.”Alarmed, I stared at him.“What did you promise her?”“It doesn’t matter.Nothing that endangers us in any way.” He hurried on before I could argue.“I wanted a light, slashing weapon for you, one with a good amount of reach, to keep opponents farther away.” He gestured tothe saber with his own weapon, a blindingly quick stab of blue.“You’ll be moving around a lot, using speedinstead of brute force against your enemies.That blade won’t block heavier weapons, and you don’t have thestrength to swing a longsword effectively, so we’re going to have to teach you how to dodge.This was thebest choice.”“But this is steel,” I repeated, listening to him in amazement.He could teach a class with his knowledge ofweapons and fighting.“Why a real sword? I could seriously hurt someone.”“Meghan.” Ash gave me a patient look.“That’s exactly why I chose it.You have an advantage with that weaponthat none of us can touch.Even the most violent redcap will think twice about facing a real, mortal blade.Itwon’t scare the Iron fey, of course, but that’s where training wil come in.”“But…but what if I hit you?”A snort.“You’re not going to hit me.”“How do you know?” I bristled at his amused tone.“I could hit you.Even master swordsmen make mistakes.I could get a lucky shot, or you might not see me coming.I don’t want to hurt you.”He favored me with another patient look [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]