Free Mercenary Little Death Bringer by Catherine Banks

better.”
    We moved over to the second target and
Tristan easily hit the center of the target again. I tried to use
his advice and focused on keeping my body as still as a statue, but
I still missed the center by at least an inch. “Stage two,” Master
Martin said as students took the targets out and then made piles of
wool and twine balls. The balls were used for moving targets,
something I was even worse at then regular target practice.
    Tristan knocked an arrow and nodded his head.
“Ready.” The students at the other end of the arena tossed up two
targets and faster than I’d ever been able to, he shot the first
arrow, grabbed a second from the quiver and shot the second,
striking both targets before they hit the ground.
    I whistled in appreciation. “That was
incredible. You’re really fast,” I said seriously.
    “Thanks,” he said with a smile.
    I took two arrows from my quiver and Tristan
looked at me like I was crazy. I held the arrows in one hand and
the bow in the other and nodded at the students. “Ready.”
    They tossed the targets up and I put both
arrows on the bow at once, turned my bow sideways so that it was
parallel with the ground and shot. The arrows hit both the targets
and the students cheered.
    “That was an interesting way to shoot,”
Tristan said teasingly.
    I shrugged. “It’s the easiest way for me to
hit two targets close to each other. That technique does not work
for more than two or for others far away from each other.”
    “I’ll have to remember to try that sometime,”
he said. The students grabbed three targets and Tristan nodded his
head. “Ready.” They tossed the targets up and with the same speed
and skill that he had been displaying, he hit all of the
targets.
    I was truly outmatched. I pulled two arrows
from the quiver again and then pulled a third and held it in my
teeth. “Ready!” I yelled around the arrow in my mouth. Now everyone
was looking at me like I was crazy. They tossed the targets up and
I hit the first two and then pulled the arrow from my mouth and
aimed at the third target, but it was too close to the students and
I wasn’t a good enough aim. I lowered my bow and shrugged. “Like I
said, that technique doesn’t work all the time.”
    Tristan held out his hand to me again. “Good
try.”
    I shook his hand. “Good job. I’m impressed
with your archery.”
    Master Martin took the bow and quiver and
shook his head at me. “You really need to practice your archery.
You haven’t improved since you were a fourth year.”
    “I know,” I said as I rolled my neck.
    Master Sean called, “Fifth year. Dual
wielding weapons.”
    Micah tossed me a second blunt sword and gave
me two thumbs up. I smiled at him and spun the blades to get
accustomed to them. Dual wielding was one of my strong points so I
was actually looking forward to this trial. I walked to the center
of the ring and was shocked to see Christopher walk out to me. He
was a fifth year, but he usually hung out with Favian, Micah and me
during meals and was a really good guy. I had no idea he was the
best skilled at dual wielding for his year.
    He bowed to me and then held up his weapons
in a salute. “I’m not going to go easy on you,” he said seriously,
“This is a test and to properly test you I must fight with all of
my skill and might.”
    I saluted him with my weapons and said, “I
would expect nothing less and know that I will not go easy on you
either.” We backed up two paces and then I nodded my head at him.
He charged forward with a war cry to make any master happy and
swung his swords. I parried and blocked and we made our way around
the arena as he attacked. I watched his movements, waiting for an
opening where I could attack him, but none were showing. I blocked
high and then cut low, but he swung one of his blades around and
down and blocked me. I tried to attack him again, but received a
hit on my shoulder for my troubles. I jumped back and rotated my
shoulder to be