Free The Force of Wind by Elizabeth Hunter Page A

control.”
    Giovanni wanted the water vampire to shut up. He disliked being reminded of the years where Baojia had watched over Beatrice, and he had not. He decided to change the subject.
    “What weapons do you plan on introducing?”
    “I’ll start her with the jian and dao . She doesn’t have any experience with weapons yet, and those will be a good start for her.”
    Giovanni nodded. The double-edged straight sword, or jian , and the curved single-edge saber, or dao , would be light enough for a human and versatile enough for Beatrice to carry regularly. Moreover, both were weapons he had some experience with and would be able to practice with her.
    “Eventually, she will wield the shuang gou. ”
    “What?” Giovanni looked up, frowning. “The hook sword?”
    “Two,” he said, watching Beatrice move in the faster wushu that Giovanni remembered practicing so many years before with Tenzin. Baojia leaned forward, tracking Beatrice with his eyes. “She’ll carry two. Watch her move, di Spada. She’s quick as a human; imagine her after. And she doesn’t favor either side. She’s adaptable and smart enough to wield them effectively.” Baojia smiled. “Yes, we will start with the dao , but the shuang gou will be her weapon.”
    Giovanni frowned. The wicked curves of the traditional hook swords used in the northern part of China may have been brutally effective, even Zhang favored them, but they were also dangerous.
    “Any sword is dangerous,” Baojia murmured, as if reading Giovanni’s thoughts, “but the shuang gou has many advantages to the one who can wield it effectively.”
    In the end, Giovanni had to admit that the water vampire’s knowledge of weapons was far more extensive than his own. “I will accede to your expertise, Baojia, as long as it is what Beatrice wishes.”
    “I will make sure to demonstrate a variety of weapons with Tenzin. That way she will be able to observe them all.”
    “But keeping the jian and dao for her weapons at first?”
    Baojia chuckled. “I never would have taken you for such a cautious immortal.”
    Just then, Beatrice’s laugh rang through the practice room. Tenzin had picked her up, flown her to the corner of the room, and was hanging her by her feet.
    “You crazy vampire,” she called out, laughing. “Put me down, Tenzin! No fair.”
    Giovanni smiled as his old friend flipped her upright and floated them both toward the ground. Beatrice looked toward him with laughing eyes and a brilliant smile, her face flushed and happy. She winked and blew him a kiss before walking over to the bench to drink a glass of water.
    He glanced at Baojia. “And what fool would risk that?”
    Baojia opened his mouth, as if to speak, but suddenly, Tenzin barked at him in Mandarin.
    “Get over here. Do you want my help demonstrating or not?”
    Baojia tossed a few insults back at her before he stood and walked to the thin mat that spread across the center of the room. Tenzin’s practice room was exactly as Giovanni remembered it. He doubted it had changed in five hundred years. The ceiling was retractable, the walls were bare except for the impressive collection of weapons that covered two of them, and a small channel of water cut through the room, diverted from the gardens outside.
    Giovanni caught the look of obvious interest that Baojia directed toward Beatrice as she crossed the room and headed toward him. She was covered in sweat, and her skin was flushed. She was still breathing heavily when she plopped down next to him.
    “Hey,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Sorry I smell.”
    He shrugged and pulled her into his lap. “You forget that I lived long before people bathed regularly, Tesoro. A little sweat won’t scare me off.” In fact, as he kissed her neck, he realized that her natural scent was only heightened. She smelled of salt, soap, and the unique honeysuckle and lemon scent that had drawn him from the beginning.
    “I love practicing with Tenzin.”
    “No