Free Mind Forged: Book One of the Enchanters of Xarparion by T Michael Ford Page B

killed me, the she-devil!”
    “ Who were you with all day?”
    “ You’ll meet her tomorrow,” Rosa said airily, with a wink. “And I really think you’ll like her!”
    Knowing that she wouldn’t give me more than that, I went back to stirring my stew. Several quiet minutes passed, too quietly. I could sense a storm cloud of discussion speeding toward me. Rosa leaned back in her chair and absently picked up a piece of carrot root off the counter and popped it into her mouth.
    “ So do you want to talk about what happened this afternoon?” Oh-oh.
    “ You were listening in on that, huh?”
    “ Yes, and I think you did very well. Transferring that fireball was quick thinking. I’m also proud that you stood up to him. But what I really wanted to talk about was what happened before and after your chat with that fire boy.”
    “ Before? You mean my talk with Julia?”
    “ Yes, your little friend from Foalshead.” She poured us some table wine and passed a glass over to me. “You said some very nice things about me that are already circulating around Xarparion. But what really hit me was how much you truly meant what you said.” Rosa paused and looked away briefly, but I could tell a few tears were streaming down her face. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be almost completely alone for hundreds of years. Finally, she wiped her eyes and cleared her throat, turning back to me with a tentative smile. “Anyway, only you and that she-demon really care for me, and she doesn’t always have the nicest way of showing it, but she’s going to be in for a surprise soon enough,” Rosa chuckled, as if savoring a particularly delicious conspiracy. “And that other thing, your talk with the earth wizards...I think you opened a new door for us. Earlier today, one of their teachers stopped by to explain what happened and to ask if I could help to upgrade their tower and equipment! This could be the start of a more important role for us. If only I would have known how much having an apprentice would change my life! Now let’s eat and get this cleaned up, we still have lessons tonight.”

Chapter 6
    “ Where in the world are we going?” I said, nearly tripping over a stray cat in the dark as Rosa hustled me along.
    “ You’ll see.”
    “ Getting me up way before the sun is even thinking about rising and that’s all you’re going to give me?”
    “ Hey, I don’t want to be up either, but I was told to have you there at sunrise and not a second later.” Rosa was now almost dragging me, making full use of her longer legs, as we raced to her mystery location.
    Toward what would be called the rearmost section of the round academy, between the inner and outer walls, was an arrangement of small worn buildings not much bigger than sheds. The largest building looked to be a worn-down stable, and in the center was a series of circles on the ground made of colored sand, getting smaller in size as they progressed. The area was dimly lit by lanterns in the four corners. As we approached, I could see in the largest ring five people, four large men and one woman, all in full armor and weapons.
    From the looks of things , the men were set up and dueling as a squad against the woman. The group exchanged formal dueling bows and drew weapons. Suddenly the action started, and I briefly remember thinking this wasn’t at all fair, four against one. But then she moved! She swiveled, ducked low and spun in one fluid motion, the flat of her sword blade slapping the first two fighters’ helmets so quickly that it sounded like one loud hit. Whoever she was, she fought with such an inhuman grace that it looked more like a dance than a duel; it was like she knew where every blade edge would strike and effortlessly avoided them all. One of the men aimed a wicked, two-handed slash at her head while his partner dived low to hack at her legs. She leaped above the low cut like she was playing jump rope, glided sideways to avoid the