The Eyes of a Doll (The World of Shijuren Book 2) by Rob Howell Read Free Book Online

own anger back. I had seen too much blood of late, and she knew nothing.
    I joined her on the field as Edouard spoke up.
    “Maja, you’d best calm down if you want to have a chance.”
    That just made her angrier—which might have been Edouard’s intent, for he followed that up with a mocking laugh.
    More than a few Pathfinders had come out to watch our sparring. Piri stood to the back, stolid as ever, her calm eyes recording everything.
    I knew that once we started, Maja’s anger would force her to attack. My own anger had cooled into a Helsniht icicle, and I decided to simply let her start her way. I needed to practice my ripostes anyway.
    We began with blunted swords but no shields. From the first, I could see the tools that Piri suggested Maja possessed. She had the knack of staying balanced. Even when she overextended in anger, she shuffled her feet forward to compensate rather than leaning forward as so many others felt natural.
    She had no problem generating powerful strikes, despite her small stature, though her blows were inefficiently thrown. Every warrior got more efficient with practice, if their mistakes did not prove quickly fatal.
    She threw several combination strikes, which few armsmen of her age consistently tried. Rarely can a single strike land upon a trained and experienced opponent without some maneuver or distraction.
    All that said, she clearly lacked experience. Her combinations were mostly simple flips of her wrist, striking at my other side but not shifting the angle or the distance of the blow.
    I needed little effort to block her shots. I simply rolled my own wrist back and forth, hiding behind my sword and putting my sword arm in an excellent position to strike back. Every once in a while I tapped her when she overextended more than I thought prudent.
    I was toying with her, and she knew it. The snickers of onlookers told us that they knew it too. In her anger she unleashed a flurry even more inefficient and simple to block than all the rest.
    I waited until she tired and then hit her solidly on her forearm.
    “Shall we use shields?” I suggested.
    She nodded as she was catching her breath.
    I smiled nastily. “Excellent.”
    I waited with my round shield while she got her rectangular Pathfinder shield. She still panted as we reset.
    We started again, and this time I released my anger a little.
    Maja had not yet learned to use the corners of her shield effectively. Piri had mastered twisting her shield ever so slightly to catch incoming blows on the corners. That blocking style expended little energy while still protecting the shieldbearer more swiftly than defenses with broader moves. Maja, on the other hand, tried to block every shot I threw with the center of her shield.
    I took advantage of this inefficiency in her style and hit her solidly on the right thigh, following up with strikes alternating on each side. I hit her in both sides of her helm, both elbows, and both thighs.
    After one of the blows, I saw her shift her feet, clearly intending to charge. I let her come, leaning slightly so she would hit my shield at angle. Just before she hit, I stepped forward with all of my weight and her slight frame bounced away, tumbling to the ground. With one quick step, I stood over her, my blunt sword tip resting on her neck.
    She started to move but I pressed her down. Even a blunted sword can make someone wary when pressed to a person’s jugular.
    “Now listen, fool girl. You’re talented, but talent does not mean much if you don’t use it right.”
    She growled.
    “And that’s another thing. You don’t pay attention. Growling at the man with a sword at your neck will not lengthen your life.”
    She subsided, but anger rose off her like the waves of heat reflecting from the grass and stone of the practice field.
    I removed my sword.
    “Now get up and try again.”
    She got up, still growling. We engaged again and, finally, my frustration and anger bubbled over. I marched her around