The Schism (The Broken Prism Book 4) by V. St. Clair Read Free Book Online Page B

other and throwing him to the ground.
    He helped a coughing, panting Lorn back to his feet, and the younger boy stood hunched over and gasping for air while Grendel addressed Hayden.
    “You see, if you can anchor your body sufficiently, you are able to absorb much more force than if you’re simply standing normally. As you also saw, if your handwork is faster than your opponent’s, you might even be able to outmatch him before the fight has really begun.” He gestured to Lorn, who was still catching his breath.
    “That makes sense,” Hayden allowed, “I just didn’t really have time to think about all of that when he was running at me.”
    “That is why you must practice continuously, so that you don’t need to think about it. It needs to be a reflex that your body calls upon without conscious thought.” Master Grendel nodded. “Now, let me show you a few basic stances and then we’ll let Lorn test them out.”
    Lorn spent the next twenty minutes sitting on the sidelines sipping tea, while Master Grendel showed Hayden four different defensive stances and then drilled him over and over again until he could drop into them properly without having to think about his positioning. Every time he messed up and put his foot a few inches to the left of where it was supposed to be, or dropped his right shoulder too far, Grendel would tap the offending body part and make him do it again ten more times.
    He was surprisingly sore by the time the Master declared him good enough for the actual practice to begin, using muscle groups he didn’t normally engage at the same time. Hayden took a moment to shake out his cramps as best he could while Lorn got into position.
    “Alright, take a run at him, but don’t go full speed and try to kill him. Frost, you will choose the stance you think most appropriate given Lorn’s approach, and do your best to hold it without getting thrown to the ground.”
    Both boys nodded to show their understanding, and when Lorn started running at him, Hayden dropped into the first stance that came to mind and braced himself. Lorn crashed into him with slightly less force than usual, which was good, because Hayden was knocked flat onto his back as it was.
    Grendel helped him to his feet without looking surprised or disappointed.
    “Not the ideal stance for that bout; tell me why.”
    Testing his arms and legs to make sure his back wasn’t injured, Hayden replied, “Um, because he ducked down low before he hit me, which put all of his weight at my middle?”
    “Exactly right.” Grendel nodded approvingly. “What would a better choice have been?”
    Hayden showed him rather than explaining, and the Master nodded again.
    “Alright you two, line back up and let’s go again.”
    They spent another hour like that, with Lorn attacking him in different ways and Hayden doing his best to keep from getting annihilated. His entire body ached from being repeatedly pummeled and he knew it would be a hundred times worse the next morning, but he couldn’t deny that he was making good progress by the time they called an end to the session; he’d managed to stay on his feet and block the last six of Lorn’s attacks.
    “Good work boys,” Master Grendel motioned for them to retrieve their things from the cubby. “Same time tomorrow.”
    And with that he walked off, leaving Hayden and Lorn to their own devices. Both boys stumped off wearily back towards the house, sweating and exhausted. Neither of them felt the need to speak to the other, and they parted ways as soon as they entered the house, Hayden in search of a shower and Lorn to the kitchen.
    When Hayden was finished cleaning up he tracked down Bonk and they went in search of a snack. He almost changed his mind about eating when he walked into the kitchen and saw Mrs. Trout reviewing the inventory with one of the cooks. She caught sight of him before he could retreat, and Hayden had no choice but to step inside and greet her.
    “Hello, I was just