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Pete had no idea what he possessed. He only knew that it was a good sword and his long dead mother gave it to him. He valued it for those reasons alone. He had no ambition for greater power.
In fact, Liliana’s favorite red wolf sought only to protect both humans and Others of all kinds and had an overwhelming aversion to being ordered to kill anyone without good reason. Pete was the best kind of person she could imagine wielding a sword of power. He was, fundamentally, a better person than Liliana.
“No,” she said to the sword. “You are Pete’s.”
Her friends stared at her oddly for talking to a piece of metal, but she was too busy thinking about the ramifications to worry about that now.
It seemed that Pete would not need any sort of extra help to pierce the Wolfhounds’ protective spells. No armor, no defensive magic, and no natural resistance to harm could stop Freagarthach. When awakened, Pete could cut through solid stone with that sword.
In Liliana’s vision of his death, Pete did not have the sword. She knew how to save him now. She had to ensure that when the time came, he would have it, and he would know how to use it.
She laid the blade across her arm formally, hilt toward Pete. “This is a sword of great power. Guard it with your life. Learn to wield it with skill, and it will keep you safe.”
Pete gave her a sheepish smile as he took it. “My mom was the sword master in the family. She never had the chance to teach me much more than ‘the pointy end goes in the enemy.’ I just swing it like a bat, and it does the job.”
Siobhan hopped off her tree branch and fluttered down until her feet touched the grass. “I can teach you the art of the sword.”
Pete and Doctor Nudd looked at the little sprite with surprise and skeptical doubt on both their faces.
Doctor Nudd spoke first. “I was not aware that you were skilled with a blade.”
“I thought you only used weapons that went bang,” Pete added.
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, lad.” The little sprite winked and twirled her miniature two-shot pistol like a Wild West gunfighter. “Weapons like this didn’t exist when I was a sprout. I had to stay alive somehow.”
Liliana had considerable sword skill herself and had intended to teach Pete. The spider-kin looked with her third and fourth eyes at the flower sprite.
How skilled are you with a blade?
The images of lightning grace and deadly precision convinced her in moments. “Tomorrow, we will add sword drills to our practice. Siobhan will lead them. I will assist.”
Doctor Nudd groaned. “Tomorrow?”
Pete chuckled. “It’s going to take us a week to recover from one day of this.”
Liliana nodded. “That is why we must do it again tomorrow. Tomorrow you will hurt. You will be sore and tired.”
“That’s a good thing?” Pete looked at her quizzically.
She considered how to explain it to him. “A smart enemy will exploit weakness and attack when you are most vulnerable. My father taught me that when you are injured and exhausted, that is when you must be most prepared to fight. Imagine if you and I had stopped fighting when we were hurt and tired while facing Lady Daphne and Stella.”
Pete’s jaws tightened and his lips pressed together. “Good point.”
With her third eyes, Liliana watched images flash through Pete’s mind like glittery fish in a river. His dead parents’ faces first in smiles of approval with back-pats and hugs, then in frowns of disapproval, shaking their heads.
“If your parents had lived, I think they would have taught you themselves.” Liliana touched the back of his hand with her fingertips. “Even if you did not choose the path of a mercenary soldier, they would have wanted you to be prepared to defend yourself against those who would count all red wolves as enemies.” She had not known his parents, but she was certain this was true.
Pete turned his hand, caught her fingers, and squeezed gently. Gratitude glowed in his aura. “Tomorrow then.”
Doctor Nudd groaned. “Some days, I wish I’d never met you, Pete.”
Shocked, Liliana looked at the goblin, but her third eyes were still open. She saw he didn’t mean what he said. He glowed with pride from Pete’s trust in him and excitement. Doctor Nudd looked forward to cutting loose again. As much as he enjoyed his civilized life, it felt good to let his goblin wildness run free now and again.
She looked at Pete to see how he took the apparent insult.
Pete grinned at his goblin friend. He already knew that Doctor Nudd’s grumbling was meaningless.
Liliana shook her head, baffled. She would never understand why people said one thing and meant something completely different.
