Part 15 (1/2)

”What?” Sam exploded. ”You've got to be pulling my leg! It's a piece of metal. How on Grayham can I ask a sword for permission? It isn't alive. It's unable to speak. And if it is alive, it hasn't said one word to me since Ba.s.sorine gave it to me. Whatever power it's said to have, I'm sure it will come from me.” Sam looked at BJ and then at Mosley. He could see the deep level of concern on their faces.

Both the instructor and the wolf took a few steps back. Sam's worry was growing with each step they took. ”You guys are messing with me, aren't you?”

Just as Sam finished his question, the sword grew red hot in his hand, and it forced the ignorant warrior to release it. The sword rose from Sam's palm and hovered in front of his face for only a short moment before it turned to place its point beneath his chin like an unseen warrior was wielding it.

The sword made three thumping taps to the bottom of Sam's jaw with the flat of its blade and then spoke. ”My uninformed Sam!” The sword's voice was commanding, and its blade pulsated with every syllable as if a shallow light had been forged inside it. ”I had high hopes for you, but it appears you are an ignorant, arrogant boy who has learned little since his arrival on Grayham.”

Sam watched as the pulsating of the sword went from a shallow white to a soft red, almost as if the blade was becoming angrier as it continued to speak. ”I'm extremely disappointed. I've waited for more than 10,000 seasons to be wielded by you, and it's clear to me that my wait was in vain. Someone with your intelligence should understand what you considered normal is long gone.”

The sword hovered close to Sam's ear and spoke so only Sam could hear. ”You know of the Book of Immortality, and you know it has a soul of its own and the power to govern the G.o.ds. Since you know this secret, why can't you accept that a sword of my caliber can communicate?” The blade backed off and spoke again so the others could hear. ”In spite of your intelligence, Sam, your inability to accept your surroundings is your greatest fault. The G.o.ds have made a mistake. You are a waste of my moments. Return me to Ba.s.sorine! You're useless!”

Sam was speechless. This world was throwing his mind some serious curve b.a.l.l.s, and he was not even swinging the bat. He watched the sword float away. It was leaving. He regrouped and chased after it. ”Hold on a moment!”

The sword stopped and hovered above the ground, eye level with Sam.

”Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I had no idea I was doing something wrong. I also had no idea you could speak. It's not like I talked to swords every day when I was on Earth. I would still like to train with you. I'm sorry for my ignorance.”

The sword pulsated a hotter red. ”For such a brilliant man, you spend far too many of your moments apologizing for your ignorance. You had to apologize to Soresym as well. I hate to admit it, Sam, but I believe you are pathetic.”

After a long, awkward silence, the sword turned to place its blade beneath Sam's chin once again. ”I might allow you to train with me if you ask properly.”

Sam dropped to one knee. As he started to speak, he realized he still did not know the sword's name. He improvised as best he could. ”I'm sorry ... umm ... sir, for my ignorance. If you'll allow it, I'd appreciate the honor of training with you.”

The sword held its position for a long while, observing Sam's demeanor as he kept his head bowed. The light emanating from the blade went from red to white. ”Your apology is accepted.” The weapon redirected its point at BJ. ”Barthom Jonas, you will beat the ignorance out of him. Teach him humility, and ensure his Peaks are filled with suffering. I want his education to be pounded into him.”

BJ dropped to his knees, along with Mosley, and lowered his head. ”I shall do as you command. Thank you for blessing me with this opportunity.”

The weapon floated toward Mosley, stopped, and lowered to a position that was eye level with the wolf. ”If it's your responsibility to watch over this human, teach him to respect what he doesn't understand. Stop failing in your duty.”

The wolf nodded, ”Your message has been received. I will do better.”

With that, the sword returned to Sam and descended back into his hand. The pulsating stopped, and the blade went cold.

” Thanks a lot, Sam!” Mosley growled. ”Perhaps you could think before you speak from now on. You made me look bad, and don't apologize for your ignorance. I don't care, and I'm not in the mood to hear it.”

The wolf turned and trotted a few steps before he stopped. ”I'm going to check on Shalee. BJ, please train this fool!” Mosley's green eyes found Sam's. ”And one more thing, I've never met an incompetent genius before. You're my first. You're stubborn and hardheaded. You remind me of a cub. I dare say you'd be considered the weakest of the pack if this was the Peak of your birth.” Mosley turned and ran toward the village.

BJ shook his head, stood and motioned for Sam to put the sword on his hip. ”Until you name the blade, you cannot train with it.”

Tossing the virgin swordsman a wooden stave, BJ laughed. ”We'll start with these. This will hurt you far more than it'll hurt me.”

Helga's School of Magical Studies Helga walked into the training room. She smiled as she saw Shalee sleeping. Mmmm, I remember what that feeling was like, she thought. The sorceress leaned over and shook her student to wake her.

Shalee struggled to open her eyes. When she realized Helga was in the room, she tried to explain what had happened.

Helga listened, smiling as she saw the excitement on Shalee's face. After a brief series of moments, Helga motioned for Shalee to stop talking. ”There is a reason you've been given these feelings, Child. It's the staff's way of motivating you to master it. As you learn how to command it, you'll make many mistakes. We all have. You'll try to use more power than you're strong enough to handle, and there are consequences for these choices. I should know.”

Shalee pushed her hair clear of her face. ”Will the staff reward me every time ... ugh ... I mean, every moment I succeed and do something correctly? If so, a girl could get used to something like that,” she said in a playful manner.

Helga looked to the ceiling for a response. ”Rather than ruin the surprise, just enjoy your training for now. The benefit of your staff could extend your life more than 1,000 seasons. But beware, your failures can have the adverse effect.

”I am 247 spring seasons old, Child, and I don't think I look a day over 50. I would've aged better, but I chose an unwise path when I was younger. I tried to command power that I was ill prepared to wield. It took me many, many Peaks to reverse the effects. I wanted to be the strongest teacher I could be when you arrived, and because of this, I forced myself to grow faster than I should've.”

Shalee hung on every word until Helga was finished. Her response was energized as she stared at Helga's skin. ”247 seasons? Holy mackerel! Mary Kay would love you. Your skin looks amazing for a woman your age. If you ask me, 247 seasons seems like an eternity. I bet you're the best teacher ever.”

Shalee paused and then changed the direction of the conversation. ”I'm pretty tough. I should be able to handle this magical wonderland.” Shalee grinned with a playful wickedness as she made her next statement. ”So what-da-ya say? Let's get to work on my first success. I don't want to keep Precious waiting.”

Mosley pushed the bear rug aside as he entered the room. ”Yes, let's see her try something.” The wolf dropped his head and sniffed the mattresses covering the floor.

Helga stared at Mosley ”Don't even think about it, mutt.” She pointed the tip of her staff in the wolf's direction. ”I've told you on more than one occasion that you pee outside like the rest of the animals. You may be Ba.s.sorine's messenger, but you'll respect my establishment.”

Mosley gave a low growl, but reluctantly submitted by sitting on his haunches as Helga left the room.

When she came back, she was carrying a steel ball that equaled the size of her fists. She bent down to whisper in Mosley's ear. ”Let's see how this child handles a little failure before I allow her a little success. Let's give her a challenge.”

Mosley huffed, ”Do whatever you like. This is your territory. Clearly, you've already marked it.”

”Clearly!” Helga confirmed in a condescending tone. ”You stay here. I'll scratch the back of your ears later if you're good.” The sorceress moved to the center of the room and placed the ball on one of the mattresses. Seeing all was as it should be, she moved away and told Shalee to retrieve Precious from the floor.

”Let's start with something to challenge you, Child.” She pointed to a target that had been painted on one of the pads at the far side of the room. ”I want you to point your staff at the target and then command the ball to fly through the room and hit it.”

”Goodness-gracious, how do I do that?”

”You'll need to learn the Elven language. First, you must say the name of the object you're trying to command. You must say it with authority. The staff will retrieve the desired outcome from your mind's eye and deliver the result ... providing you possess the power to obtain the result. Your thoughts need to be clear and focused. If you don't possess a magical foundation that is strong enough, the command will fail, and failure can manifest in many forms. But we shall speak of failure and how to handle it when it happens.”

Once Shalee was sure she had digested Helga's words, she replied. ”I think I get it. So, first things first. I named my staff Precious, so all I need to know is the Elven word for ball.”

”The name for ball is karon,” Mosley replied, as he looked up from sniffing Helga's feet and snorting his displeasure.

Shalee and Helga looked down at Mosley.

”What?” the wolf shrugged. ”She smells, and I just so happen to speak every language. As you know, I work in the service of Ba.s.sorine.” He captured Helga's eyes. ”Unlike you, he values my presence.”

Shalee watched as Mosley and Helga stared each other down. ”Ummmm ... maybe we should focus on my training?” She waved her hand between them to break the tension. ”C'mon, y'all. Don't make me throw a foot into this argument.”

Without waiting for a response, Shalee raised her staff toward the target. ”Anyway, let's give the name of this ball a shout. Y'all ready for this?”

Helga motioned for Mosley to move back. Commanding the staff, Shalee hollered, ”Precious, karon!” The ball launched from the floor and flew across the room. It hit the target with such a tremendous force that the padding was destroyed-but the ball did not stop there. It blew through the wall and struck a large, wooden barrel of water that was sitting across the alleyway. The barrel exploded, drenching a woman and her children who were standing near it. The woman screamed, grabbed her children and ran.

Shalee bent over, dropped Precious onto the mattress beneath her feet, put her hands on her knees, and trembled as she received the benefit of the successful command. Her body quaked as she laughed and cried during the same moments. It was a while before the sensation subsided. But when it did, she looked up at her astounded audience. A large smile appeared on her face as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. ”Woo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo!” she shouted. ”That was incredible! Oh my Lord in Heaven ... I'm loving this!”

Reaching down, Shalee retrieved her staff and oozed, ”How precious are you, Precious?”

Mosley walked over and sniffed Shalee. Before he could get too carried away, Shalee reached down and grabbed hold of his snout. She lifted his head until their eyes met. ”What do you think you're doing?”

The wolf allowed his jaw to rest in the palm of Shalee's hand as he responded. ”The scent of your success is intoxicating. Does my curiosity bother you? Or perhaps my nose is too cold?”