Free Dawn of the Zombie Knights by Adam Wallace Page A

every corner of my soul, because a knight gives of himself in order to help and protect others, and this is the greatest cause I can think of.’
    More walking, more water, more throwing of the water.
    â€˜I want to be a knight because evil is bad and because good is, well, good. I want to be the best damn knight there has ever been. I want to be a knight that leaves a legacy to the world, unlike yourself.’
    He was breathing hard, lost for words now. Sir Mountable dried his face off on his sleeve and smiled.
    â€˜Finally,’ he said. ‘I said when we first met that I thought you had heart. I say it again now, and I mean it. I have asked over and over why you want to become a knight because I need you to know it is not about being well thought of. What others think does not make you anything, for their thoughts can change in an instant. Their thoughts are out of your control.
    Greatness is in your deeds. It is in your actions. It is, as you said, in being selfless, in helping others, and in giving of yourself. But you must want this with every fibre in your body, because to become great takes dedication, and desire, and it will hurt, but it will be worth every second of pain. Now, I have one more question. Is it more important to have the title of a knight or to act like one?’
    Pete thought he would have a little fun, seeing as Sir Mountable seemed to be relaxing now.
    â€˜Well, the title would be pretty impressive,’ he said with a smile. What happened next was a huge shock. Showing surprising speed, Sir Mountable leapt off the couch and grabbed Pete by the scruff of his shirt, lifting him slightly and pushing him against the wall. Sir Mountable was right in Pete’s face, the words cutting deep.
    â€˜No, boy. Wrong answer. Did your words before mean nothing? Did you hear nothing of what I said? You do not become a knight to impress people. If, in reality, that is your reason, once you lose the title you have nothing. Nothing at all.
    You become a knight, a leader, by what you do. That way there is no title to lose, you have only your actions to live or die by. Did you need a title to retrieve the Wilderene Flower?’
    Pete didn’t even know Sir Mountable knew about that. He shook his head.
    â€˜Correct, boy. Correct.’ Sir Mountable lowered Pete back to the ground and let him go, smoothing over the scrunched up top gently. His voice also softened.
    â€˜Now. We have much work to do. My reasons for training you are my own, but I must let you know, training a knight after he has been banished is not a well-looked-upon action. Being trained as a knight after being banished is looked upon even less well. So if we are discovered we are both in trouble.
    We must therefore tell no-one of our training, aside from your family, and then only if you are sure they will not betray your trust. Are you still prepared to go through with this?’
    Pete nodded.
    â€˜Do not go half-hearted on me, boy. If this is truly all you have dreamed of, I will need you to show it to me every second we are together, and every second we are not. Are you prepared to go through with this?’
    Pete, finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, stood up tall and even went as far as to punch Sir Mountable on the shoulder.
    â€˜YES!’ he yelled. ‘I am ready to do this every step of the way and no-one, NO-ONE, will stop me.’
    â€˜Good, boy, that is more of what I want to see … although I can tell we are going to have to work on your punching power. If I wasn’t looking I would simply have thought a mosquito bit my shoulder.’
    Pete smiled, glad to see Sir Mountable did have a sense of humour after all. So he punched him again.
    â€˜No, actually, that was more like a mosquito just landing on my shoulder and rubbing its foot against me.’
    Pete punched him again.
    â€˜A flea scratching its back on my arm.’
    Another punch.
    â€˜No, that was like a dollop of