Free The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 1 by William D. Latoria Page A

would knock him upside his head, or take out his legs, and he’d be on the ground. The thought normally would have scared him. There was nothing fun about being cracked upside the head by his master’s staff. Even if he claimed to “hold back” everytime. It certainly didn’t feel like he held back.
    Perhaps it was the fact that he wasn’t scared or panicking, maybe it was the fact that Tartum was completely at ease with his plan to win, that he saw Isidor’s normal blur of martial prowess falter. It was only for an instant, but that was all Tartum’s subconcious required to act. Without thinking, Tartum caught the sloppy attack with a counter of his own, and the next thing he knew, he was the aggressor. The realization fueled Tartum’s aching muscles, as the adrenaline flowed into him. Attacking his master with a savagery he didn’t know he possessed, he drove him back to the center of the room. This was the best Tartum had ever done, and he actually thought he saw fear flicker in his master’s eyes! Perhaps he wouldn’t need to use his enchantment after all!
    Low striking, spinning, reversals, high striking, countering, counter striking, counter thrusting, pushing, kicking, thrusting. The blur of movement became the dance of violence Tartum had come to love. The clacking of the two staffs meeting was like an old friend’s laughter to him. So entranced did he become in the moment, he didn’t see Isidor smile and perform a manuver he’d never seen before.
    Jumping back and away from Tartum’s final thrust, Isidor left Tartum off balance from the manuver. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for Isidor to perform a one handed lunge with his staff, and connect solidly with Tartum’s ribs.
    He absorbed the force of the attack, fully, with his chest. He felt his ribs flex and his lungs yield to the pressure. The pain was staggering, the failure was infuriating. Rage came to Tartum then. A fury born of knowing he had been tricked, led to believe he had a chance only to have it so quickly snatched away by his master’s superior skill. The fury pushed aside the pain from the blow, and the quivering feeling in his lungs. There were only two thoughts on Tartum’s mind as he renewed his assult on his master, vengeance and victory.
    His rage startled Isidor, who fully expected his last shot to knock Tartum to the ground. Blows like that had always finished him before. Something had changed in Tartum, and Isidor was finding it difficult to adapt.
    Going back on the defensive, Isidor fell back to Tartum’s wrath. The fight went on for some time while Isidor waited for his chance to turn it around. Tartum refused to give him the oppurtunity. His fury had built itself up into a rage, and now all Tartum saw was red. His one thought was to destroy the treacherous man before him.
    Swinging low, Tartum tried to take out his master’s legs, nimbly, Isidor avoided the attack and thrust down with the butt of his staff, trying to take off Tartum’s head. Tartum brought his staff up just in time to parry the shot, and he followed through with an downward thrust that locked them together. Staff on staff, each man trying to push the other away through sheer strength alone. While Isidor was the stronger of the two, Tartum had youth and fury on his side and they were, for the moment, stalemated. Looking into his master’s eyes focused on his own, Tartum knew this was his chance.
    Shutting his eyes hard, he opened himself to the flow of magic. He felt the raw force pour into him. In his rage, he took more in than he meant too and felt everything. His ribs were on fire and his body was thrashed from the over exertion. He could sense his master’s heart racing, and...he could feel something else, something from inside his master. Something powerful. Tartum realized then, why Isidor was so fast, why he had kept so far ahead of him during their sparring sessions. Isidor was opened to the magic as well and was using it to feel