Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)(62)

Taking a deep breath, I pretended he was a soldat from the King’s Army. When he raised his sword to strike, I angled the branch upward, blocking him.

“Excellent,” Anders said. “See how much room we have between us? Use that to your advantage.” He attempted to hit me from the side. I spun the branch, blocked his sword, and then turned one of the ends toward his chest. The branch was unbelievably fast and easy to control.

“When you have it in that position,” he said, “thrust it here.” He snatched the end and shoved it against the top portion of his stomach. I nodded, understanding that there was no reason to kill the guards with magic—they just needed to be rendered unconscious.

“If someone comes up behind you,” he said, moving around to my back, “you have a few options.” Something sharp poked me. “Pretend I have a dagger.”

Instinctively, I twisted to my left, dropping the branch while locking my left arm around his arm. With my right hand, I punched him, slammed my elbow into his face, and then pulled his body down, ramming my knee into him.

“Good job,” Anders squeaked, trying to right himself and catch his breath. “Do you always practice with so much enthusiasm?”

“Usually more.” When I sparred with my father, I struck with much more force.

“Your bo staff is unfortunately on the ground. Someone could grab it, and then where would you be?”

He had a valid point. Anders motioned for me to pick it up and turn around. “This time,” he said from behind me, “use your weapon.”

After I picked it up, his warm hands clutched my arms, just above my elbows, startling me. Since he was so close, I wasn’t sure how to disarm him.

“Pull it in vertically, next to your body,” his gruff voice spoke near my ear, sending chills down my spine. I did as he said. “Good. Now you’ll want to be quick so you have the element of surprise.” His deft hands slid up my arms to my shoulders, and he turned me around so we were face-to-face.

I blinked several times, surprised by the nearness of him.

“Angle it back, and jab me in the face.”

I angled it on the side of my body, and then pretended to ram the end into his chin. We stood there for a minute, staring at each other, neither one of us speaking.

Anders abruptly took a step back. “Excellent job,” he said. “You catch on quick.” He retrieved a longer stick from the ground. “Let’s go over some basic forms.”

We spent the rest of the day working on various ways to hold the bo staff, how to strike an opponent in order to cause the most damage, and thrusting techniques. He also showed me blocks, parrying, deflecting, and sweeping. By the time we’d gone over everything, my muscles ached, and the sky had already turned dark.

Anders told me I had three days to train. Then we were going to free the Krigers.

***

Early the next morning, I woke up before Anders and Vidar. Excited to work with my weapon again, I left the cave and climbed down the mountain to the forest floor. I breathed in the heady smell of the pine trees and listened to the sound of birds singing as the wind rushed through the leaves. I loved it out here and found the forest preferable to the overcrowded capital.

Grabbing the long stick from yesterday, I started going over the moves Anders had taught me. I closed my eyes, imagining it was an extension of my arms, and went through the various forms a couple of times. Comfortable with the movements, I started speeding them up, going faster and faster, the stick whipping through the air.

“Morlet should be scared,” Vidar said. “You look deadly—and that’s only a twig. Imagine what you’ll be like with your actual bo staff.”

I finished the form and held the branch still, not even winded. “Where’s Anders?”

“He’ll be here in a minute.” Vidar twirled a pine needle between his fingers. “If you want, I can teach you to control the weapon’s magic.”

I glanced at the charred tree. “I’m not quite ready for that yet.”

He threw the pine needle on the ground. “Of course you are.” He took my hand and led me over to a boulder where he ordered me to sit. “I’ve worked with all the Krigers,” he bragged, standing before me with my stick. “You should be able to feel you power humming through it. The key is using that power effectively.” He pretended to parry a blow and then pointed the stick at his imaginary attacker. “In this case, you could wound or kill, depending upon the amount of power you release.”

“How do I know how much that is?”

“With practice you’ll get it.” Vidar sat next to me on the boulder, still holding the stick. “You probably noticed the marking at the tip.” I nodded, recalling Grei Heks telling me it meant choice. “When you’re with the other Krigers fighting Morlet and your powers connect to one another, somehow that will play a factor.”

“What are the other markings?”

“Unity, direction, leadership, and strength—to name a few.”

What choice would I encounter during the fight? Would it be the ability to kill Morlet when the time came?

“Have you given any thought to my proposal?” Vidar fidgeted with the stick.

“No,” I admitted. “All of my time and energy is focused on rescuing the Krigers and defeating Morlet. Everything else can wait.”