Court of Nightfall (The Nightfall Chronicles #1)(39)

I held up my stick, sufficiently scolded.

"Do what I do."

We parried back and forth, hitting each other's sticks as he spoke. "Nephilim swordsmanship originated in Greece, and the different forms are named after our different deities of the night. This is the Way of Nyx. She is the personification of night, and just as she stands at the beginning of creation, so does her form stand before all others. You must learn it before you can progress to other forms."

I hadn't realized that the Nephilim leader had been using the name of one of their deities. "How many are there?" I asked, trying to mimic his wrist movements.

"Seven in total," he said, blocking me and striking. "In time, I shall teach you all of them."

My muscles burned and my hand grew tired of holding up the stick. I dropped it to my side, halting our practice. "I'm not sure why I have to learn this. I already know how to shoot."

"Bullets won't kill a Nephilim, nor an Angel. You've seen that yourself. But a Nephilim Blade, like its master, can draw the life from its victim until there is nothing left."

I'd felt the power of his blade the night before, though less than a fraction of it I was sure. "When do I get one of those?"

He smiled. "Not until you're ready. A Nephilim Blade of your own is a great responsibility."

I held my stick back up and lunged. He blocked and parried.

"You're afraid I'll lose it?" I asked.

"I'm afraid of what you might do with it. Or what it might do with you." He stepped past my block and whacked me on the arm.

"Ouch! That hurt." I rubbed the sore spot.

"Not as much as a Nephilim Blade would. A Nephilim Blade craves life force just like a Nephilim… so if one is not careful… the blade will send them into a bloodlust, or, if no blood is to be found, it will turn on its master."

"You make it sound like it's alive."

"Not quite," he said. "I'll explain more later." He whacked me again on the hand and a red welt formed. "Focus."

I rubbed at the sting. "But how do you make it appear from—"

"Focus."

I hit his stick with mine, but didn't give up. "But how do you make it appear?"

He stopped our sparring, and silently began to collect sticks.

I huffed and I puffed but he didn't acknowledge me until I sighed and said, "Fine, I'll focus."

I trained hard, mirroring him, blocking, dodging, lunging. I figured if I could prove myself a good student he'd be wiling to tell me more.

At one point, he had me fight a tree with my stick, while he collected more twigs and sticks and made a fire as the sun began to set.

"That's enough for today," he said, his wings flickering behind him.

He'd had me train with and without my wings, so I could get used to the balance either way, but I found I loved having my wings and regretted that I'd have to keep them hidden while at Castle V.

So while we sat around the fire, I let my wings expand behind me, glittering silver moonlight in the darkness.

He tossed me a Life Force and we both drank, replenishing our strength.

I held up my empty packet. "Why do I feel better when I drink this and nothing else?"

"It's an application of Angel technology," he said. "They found a way to harness the actual life force of living beings in a way that can activate our own cells to regenerate. Not like blood, but close enough to get us by for a time."

I tossed my empty packet into his bag and tucked my legs under me, enjoying the warmth of the flames and the stillness of the night.

"We must talk about any changes you may be experiencing," Zorin said as he stirred the fire. "But first…" he reached for his backpack and pulled out a bag of something white.

"Marshmallows?" I stared in disbelief as he stuck one onto a stick, passed it to me, and prepared his own.

"One of the finer things in life."

"But we don't need food anymore," I said.

He grinned, his face looking younger, less warrior-like when he did. "Since when did anyone eat marshmallows for their nutritional content?" He held his over the fire, letting it turn a golden brown before plopping it into his mouth.

I did the same to mine, still eyeing him skeptically as I held it to my mouth. "This isn't going to be another trick, like the coffee, is it? I'm not sure I can bear it if you ruin marshmallows for me."

He laughed. "It's not a trick, I assure you."

I gingerly placed it in my mouth and bit down.

A delicious flavor spread through my mouth. The first actually yummy food I'd eaten since the night I'd been turned. I immediately grabbed another one and stuck it to my stick.

"Good, right?" He roasted another for himself. "You know, it wasn't until the mid 1900s that they figured out how to mass produce these. By Lilith, I was so happy that day."

I couldn't imagine living through so many changes in the world. Would that be me now? Ageless. Immortal. A witness to time but no longer a part of it? I focused back on my treat, unwilling to wrestle with greater existential conflicts just now. "I must admit, I'm grateful for more options than chugging Life Force all the time." I popped the second marshmallow in my mouth and set my stick down. "But I need to get back to training."