Free The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 01 - Elseerian by Ben Hale Page A

knives were in the target within an inch of the first—thrown the same way.
    Taryn whistled in appreciation. It was good throwing, and all the more impressive on a rocking boat.
    “Are you sure you want to teach me? You never know, I may be a terrible,” he said as he pulled out one of the knives his uncle had given him. Even though he had only seen a knife thrown three times, he was pretty sure he could duplicate the move, even if he couldn’t do it as well. With a quick turn and throw he sent it digging into the target a hand’s breadth from Hunrin’s knives. It wasn’t quite as good a throw as Hunrin’s, but it nevertheless seemed to impress the small man.
     “By Ero’s staff!” Hunrin shouted in astonishment. “I’ve never seen anyone be able to do that so quickly.”
    The sailor that had commented on Hunrin’s ability stopped and came over to Taryn. “Five copper says you can’t do that again.”
    Ten coppers and two knives later the betting had spread like wildfire. When Liri and several others joined the group of spectators, Taryn began to regret he’d taken the bet. He didn’t care for this much attention, and it left him feeling uncomfortable enough to miss the next few throws. Growling under his breath, he focused on Hun instructing him to imagine sticking the knife into the target and showing him how to angle it down to get the best throw.
    It only took a few repetitions of pulling out his knives before he was able to get each blade nearly where he wanted it. Although he felt the heavy scrutiny, he still felt confident that with some decent practice he could master the technique.
    Hun seemed intent on teaching Taryn to throw from every possible angle, high or low, on the ship. By mid morning he had managed to strike his target from anywhere—even behind the back or with his body turned. Even though few hit near the center, he performed adequately enough during the fast paced lesson, but he wondered how many others the impatient sailor had successfully taught.
    Having learned the basics of knife throwing so quickly, Taryn assumed that the lesson would be over, but Hun returned to where he was standing above the aft cabin and handed him his knives back.
    “You’ve done great, kid, but the real challenge comes next. You need to learn how to avoid a knife getting thrown at you.”
    “Are you serious? How are you going to teach me that?” Taryn began, but Hun was already pulling two wooden knives out of his pocket.
    “I’m gunna throw these at you, and you’re gunna dodge them.” His smile broadened. “If you want to try to catch ̓em you can.” His face showed how foolhardy he thought that would be. “But I’ve only ever heard of one person able to do that , and he was a blasted thief. Now, go stand next to the target and I will see if I can hit you,” he said as he descended the stairs and took up a position in front of the aft cabin.
    As Taryn stepped down to follow him, Liri sidled up close to him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
    “Why not? They are just wooden knives. Besides, it might prove useful.”
    “OK . . .” Liri sounded uncertain. “But be careful, would you?”
    Before he could answer, Hun called to him, “You need to be able to see what it looks like to have a knife coming at you, so I am going to throw these wooden knives a little slow, and then throw them faster once you have gotten used to it, OK?”
    Taryn nodded, but he was suddenly very aware of how large the crowd had swelled. Nearly all of the crew lined the rails, smiling and talking to each other. Let’s see you try this , he thought, not particularly pleased at the turn of events. The flash of coins exchanging hands caused him to glance sideways, but then he did a double take. Liri was betting too! He was about to ask her what in Skorn’s name she was doing, but a quick movement brought his attention back to Hun and the wooden knife streaking towards him. Out of instinct he sidestepped and the