Page 53 of Shadow Caster
Hyde walked over to the closed unit and yanked on the door handle. The door slid up, folding into the wall to reveal too many pretties hung there: axes, swords, and huge hunting knives. It was an arsenal of stabby things.
“You’ll be forging your own armaments next year,” Vince said. “But for now, you’ll be allocated a temporary weapon.”
“Line up,” Hyde ordered.
One by one, we approached Master Hyde, and one by one, he selected a weapon for us to wield.
“How come he gets to choose our weapon,” someone behind me muttered.
“Cos he’s the fucking master,” Vince snapped. “Hyde knows weapons. He can gauge compatibility between wielder and weapon.” Vince walked over and glared at the cadet who’d commented. “What do you think, Hyde? Is this one a short dagger guy?”
Hyde’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe a bare fists kinda guy.”
The cadet’s eyes widened.
Vince let out a bark of laughter and slapped the guy on the back. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
The queue moved up, and it was my turn. Hyde stared at me for a long beat and then reached behind him and picked up a small axe.
Disconcerted mutters rose up behind me as Hyde handed me the weapon. Our fingers brushed as I grasped the hilt, and a zing of awareness shot up my arm. He froze for a fraction of a second. Had he felt it too? I looked up at him, but he seemed unaffected. He released the axe, and the weight settled in my hand.
“Try it,” he said.
I stepped away from the line of cadets and turned my wrist, making figure eights with the weapon. I swung my arm so the figure eight grew larger. The whoosh of the blade cutting through the air felt right. The motion and weight perfectly balanced.
Several gasps and exclamations filled the air.
I nodded at Hyde. “This will do fine.”
He grinned and reached behind him and unhooked another one. “They go together.”
I took the other axe and moved back, swinging them both in a way that created a barrier of blade around me. I’d used twin blades before, but this was my first time with twin axes.
“Fucking awesome,” Harmon said.
“Show-off,” Thomas’s tone was good-natured.
The others watched in awe that had my blood heating with pride. I guess the hours of training and hard work that my father had dismissed were going to come in handy after all.
I smiled up at Hyde. “This can work.”
He returned my smile before turning his attention to Harmon.
I caught Mal staring and bared my teeth at him. Yeah bitch, I will cut you and I can do it fast.
He looked away quickly.
Vince wandered over to me and handed me something small and round affixed to a strap. It looked like a watch, but it was a compass. He made to walk away.
“Wait.”
He arched a querying brow. “Yes?”
“The Academy is south of the mist.”
His mouth turned down. “Is that a question?”
I gave him a flat look. “Is it south of the mist?”
