Ellida by J. F. Kaufmann Read Free Book Online Page B

wolf and
her behavior. Lots of small things she found important. Then I
asked questions and she answered them.
    “Why do I need to be trained in human combat
disciplines?”
    “There’re certain circumstances when you
can’t use your wizard skills or change shape and use your werewolf
powers,” she said. “In pregnancy, for example. Any excessive use of
energy may harm the fetus. Shape-shifting is out of the question
after the first trimester. Usually, our vulnerability during
pregnancy isn’t a big deal because we’re protected by our partners,
our families and the entire clan. Seth might just wait for you to
get pregnant to try something stupid again. It would be wise to
know some alternative defense techniques.”
    “Oh, I see.” Now everything made sense. That
was the reason why Takeshi had reluctantly agreed to train me in
“martial arts for dummies”.
    “I knew your mother, Astrid, and I liked her
a lot,” Morgaine said out of the blue, locking her sage-green eyes
with mine. “I’m her godmother; I chose her name.” She smiled. “I
named her after Sir Walter Scott’s heroine.”
    “Lady Rowena from Ivanhoe ,” I said
quietly.
    “Rowena means fair in Welsh, and happiness in
Old German. Your mother was born with a tuft of light hair, but she
grew up into a dark-haired girl. She was beautiful. A bit wild,
spoiled, temperamental, but a good kid. Astrid, whatever they say
about her here, you must never believe she was a bad person. And
you’re the proof. There’s still plenty of animosity toward her
here, but that’s because nobody knows her well.”
    “It’s easy to blame her. She can’t defend
herself.”
    “It’s interesting that Betty and Jack are far
more tolerant when it comes to your mother. Your uncle’s stubborn
with his prejudices, but he’ll come around. You’ll soften him.
Remember, your mother is among the few people who know exactly what
happened twenty five years ago and why. She’ll tell us soon, I
hope.”
    I swallowed hard. “How soon? When am I going
to see her?”
    “Astrid, sooner or later this little business
with Seth is going to be over. I know Rowena never wanted anybody
dead, especially not her husband or Brian. She’s a wizard, a
protector of life. Keep that in mind. This being said, tell me now
about your transformations.”
    I answered Morgaine’s questions, but my
thoughts kept dwelling on her remarks about my mother. In the last
several weeks, I’d heard something similar from Jack and Betty. And
after my last change, while we were in the cabin, I’d heard Livia
hissing at Tristan that my mother was innocent and anybody who
still didn’t see that was a bloody blockhead.
     
    THE NEXT day Takeshi showed up with two
wooden swords. “We’ll alternate aikido and kenjutsu for a while,”
he said.
    I rolled my eyes. “Great. By tomorrow, I’ll
forget whatever aikido you taught me yesterday, and then we’ll have
to start from scratch.”
    “We’ll keep trying it for a couple more days,
but in spite of your admirable mental and spiritual capabilities,
you might not be able to learn aikido. And I think I know why.”
    I patiently waited to hear the
explanation.
    “As I mentioned,” my teacher said, “you have
to blend with the motion of your opponent, feel like him, become
him. By your nature, however, you’re a defender, not an attacker,
so you cannot feel like one. Make sense?”
    “No.”
    “I didn’t think it would. Never mind.
Kenjutsu might work better for you, I think. Later we’ll also
include kyudu, the art of the bow, in your training.”
    This time I just shrugged. “Whatever.”
    To my delight, kenjutsu was a lot more fun. I
liked the feeling of the wooden handle in my hands. It fitted there
naturally and I apparently grasped it correctly the moment Takeshi
gave me the sword because he nodded briefly upon seeing it. Time
flew that morning, and when we finished, I caught myself waiting
for Thursday and my next lesson.
    Except when he