AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How many is in a legion?” I asked. I slunk over to Ales, who was lighting a torch on a far tunnel branching away from the large cavern we stood in.
“Hundreds. They will most likely come in waves, trying to distract us. We will need every last one of these…”
Whoa.
On the walls of the vault hung dozens of weapons—axes, spears, swords, bows, daggers, and a few I didn’t know the names of. Each held dark markings. The silver points of the edges almost gleamed white in the torchlight. They had golden hilts bearing wings at the end.
“What about our knives or firearms?” Danny said.
“No, those are mortal. They can’t kill the Keres or their Raiders. Only these objects, Valkyrie weapons, will destroy them,” Ales said.
“What makes them so special?” I asked.
“The Valkyries say they forged them in the aether itself,” Cri said.
Each weapon felt strong. They seemed to hum as they radiated life, just hanging on the wall. I looked to Logan. “Do they appear different than your other knives? I mean, do you notice that energy?”
Logan didn’t turn to look at me. “Yeah. It’s a small degree of what it’s like to be around you. It’s the same feeling.”
Logan walked out of the vault.
It took all my strength not to follow him.
Ales looked at the newbies. “You will all become proficient with each weapon, but everyone has a favorite. Hone your skill obsessively with your chosen weapon. Make it an extension of you.”
“So, what do you prefer, baby bird?” Leo asked.
“What’s your favorite?” I followed Leo into the depths of the tunnel.
“I prefer the spear. Cri likes the bow. There isn’t a wrong weapon. You don’t have to choose today. Try out each one. See which sings to you,” Leo suggested as he drew a dagger from the wall and flipped the hilt to me.
“Let’s wait on the dagger, shall we?” I took the dagger then put it back on the wall then followed everyone else into the main cavern.
“The first lesson will be with the broadsword today,” Ales said to Logan and Danny, who waited outside the vault.
He grabbed the golden sword from Danny and offered him the handle of a sword from a chest at the other end of the cavern. The steel sword had no markings.
“We will practice with mortal weapons,” Ales said. “We can also die by the Valkyrie weapons. We keep to practice swords for now. They can’t kill us.”
We all nodded in agreement. I’d prefer to keep all of my limbs today if possible.
Ales started our lesson with footwork. He went through the importance of assessing your environment before engaging. The light inside me sparked—the Valkyrie wanted to fight.
No. It’s my turn. It’s my chance to learn.
It would be easier to call on the warrior, and allow Her control of the lessons. But then it wouldn’t be me living my last week. Besides, I wanted to know if I could do it as just Charlie.
The words blurred together as I tried to just imitate Ales after he demonstrated each skill. I focused on the way he held his shoulders and turned his hips. I concentrated on the angles of his arms and how he held the sword. Yet every movement felt sloppy and uncoordinated.
At first, I practiced the footwork and counter-cutting against his attacks. Then, when we moved to basic attacking techniques, we switched partners, and I was with Cri.
He was brutal. He corrected every wrong step I made. Even the way I held the sword received a full lecture. When we began to engage each other in practice, he would whack me with the blunt end of his sword for every misstep, every poor attack, every miscalculation.
We had a small break in the middle of the day when Ales tossed me dried meat and fruit to eat with some water. Then we were back at it in less than fifteen minutes.
At the end of ten hours, I was bruised, and almost every part of my arm had a nick or gash from him.
Cri snickered when I tripped trying to counter his attack and fell on my face. He didn’t wait until I was on my feet to begin attacking again. Each hour was more painful than the last.
