Chapter Twenty-Five
All Paths Eventually Cross
It was a night of tossing and turning and awful dreams, spent much as I’d spent most of my evenings in Ann tar: being drowned by a bunch of nightmarish sea witches. By morning I was worn out. My limbs felt sore and stiff as wood, my head groggy. I might have felt better if I hadn’t slept at all.
Isabel woke me at the crack of dawn. “Rise and shine, Mr. Greene,” she chirped, pitching a log into the campfire. “The gang took Emma into the woods to gather some twigs. Would you like some breakfast? I made french toast, and there’s tea.”
“Sure,” I said, suddenly hungry.
She handed me a plate while a gremlin splashed some tea in my cup.
“Ahoy there, lad.” The captain rushed from behind a tree and threw …show more content…
After lunch, everybody gathered around and watched Tinlef give me a sword-fighting lesson. He started by demonstrating some of the basic moves, like hacking, slicing, and dicing. Then he picked up a stick and used it to show me how to slash and gash while at the same time shouting orders, “Turn to the left a little. Not my left, your left. Okay, now keep your blade straight and your guard up,” he said and whacked me in the leg with his stick.
“Ouch, Tin,” I said.
“That’s what happens when you don’t keep your guard up. Only your opponent’s not going to be holding a stick,” he said and tried to lunge at me, but I stopped him. Clang. “There you go. That’s it. Now let’s try it again.”
My blade hit the base of Tinlef’s and I pivoted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust. Bang. Tinlef’s sword clattered against the ground. The tip of my blade was an inch from his unprotected throat.
The others were silent.
I lowered my sword. “Um, sorry.”
For a moment, Tinlef was too shocked to speak. “Sorry?” His face broke into a grin. “Aiden, why are you sorry? You’re ready for
All Paths Eventually Cross
It was a night of tossing and turning and awful dreams, spent much as I’d spent most of my evenings in Ann tar: being drowned by a bunch of nightmarish sea witches. By morning I was worn out. My limbs felt sore and stiff as wood, my head groggy. I might have felt better if I hadn’t slept at all.
Isabel woke me at the crack of dawn. “Rise and shine, Mr. Greene,” she chirped, pitching a log into the campfire. “The gang took Emma into the woods to gather some twigs. Would you like some breakfast? I made french toast, and there’s tea.”
“Sure,” I said, suddenly hungry.
She handed me a plate while a gremlin splashed some tea in my cup.
“Ahoy there, lad.” The captain rushed from behind a tree and threw …show more content…
After lunch, everybody gathered around and watched Tinlef give me a sword-fighting lesson. He started by demonstrating some of the basic moves, like hacking, slicing, and dicing. Then he picked up a stick and used it to show me how to slash and gash while at the same time shouting orders, “Turn to the left a little. Not my left, your left. Okay, now keep your blade straight and your guard up,” he said and whacked me in the leg with his stick.
“Ouch, Tin,” I said.
“That’s what happens when you don’t keep your guard up. Only your opponent’s not going to be holding a stick,” he said and tried to lunge at me, but I stopped him. Clang. “There you go. That’s it. Now let’s try it again.”
My blade hit the base of Tinlef’s and I pivoted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust. Bang. Tinlef’s sword clattered against the ground. The tip of my blade was an inch from his unprotected throat.
The others were silent.
I lowered my sword. “Um, sorry.”
For a moment, Tinlef was too shocked to speak. “Sorry?” His face broke into a grin. “Aiden, why are you sorry? You’re ready for