The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest by Benjamin Fisher-Merritt Page B

he? Using the first piece of magic she had
learned to reliably control she unsheathed Brightfang and ran her
hand up one side of his blade to the guard while inhaling. Turning
him over she ran the same hand down the other side while exhaling
and pointing the tip of the blade at a small crack in the
wall.
    Arcane energies sparked from the edge and a
sudden razor thin gust of air rushed off the end of her sword;
forcing a stone in the wall to move out a fraction of an inch.
Sheathing her sword she knelt and pulled the stone out the rest of
the way revealing a small cubbyhole. Lying inside was a silver
cylinder a little smaller than her fist holding down a piece of
parchment.
    “ Replace the pommel of your
sword with this; it shall serve as a spell receptacle until you
have used your blade enough that he can hold your magic for you.
Eventually the affinity will grow and he will take on a life of his
own. Meditate with him after you join the two and you will
understand.”
    She carefully unthreaded the counterweight on
the end of Brightfang’s hilt and attached her Sigil in its place.
When it seated completely there was a minute ‘click’ and a jolt of
Weave crackled through her body and her blade. Although she was a
little frightened, Callindra cleaned off the hearth, laid a fire
and unrolled her mat of tightly woven reeds to sit upon; the
rituals of the past coming back to her with ease. Laying Brightfang
across her knees with one hand on the Sigil and one hand on the
flat of his blade she let herself slide through the Korumn Glarian
had taught her and a new world blossomed in her mind.
    -
    “ We know you’re in there
Sol’Estin, come quietly now or we’ll have to resort to force!” A
man’s voice shattered Callindra’s reverie and she realized she had
been sitting for hours. Rising stiffly to her feet she stretched in
an attempt to work the kinks out of her legs and strode to the
door. She felt her anger begin to rise; these people were the
reason her master wasn’t here to meet her. It was THEIR fault and
she was going to make them PAY.
    “ He’s not here.” She had
opened the door and cast a disparaging glare at the man standing in
the yard. Sheathing Brightfang with a flourish she went on “I think
you’d better leave before he comes back though; unless you don’t
value your pitiful life.”
    The man roared in laughter, “Those are some
strong words from a little wench hiding inside.” He threw his cloak
back and drew a thick bladed short sword, “Let’s see if your bite
matches your bark.”
    Callindra stepped through the door and as the
man approached whipped Brightfang from his sheath making the blade
sing. The man rushed forward confidently, aiming a strike at her
head. She contemptuously sidestepped his swing and carved a bloody
line across his torso with ‘West Wind Blows.’ He snarled and turned
to attack again, however she was too fast for him, her blade biting
into his sword arm, ‘Lightning Strikes First’. Two more men came
into the clearing, surprised to see their companion in combat with
a young girl.
    “ Having trouble with that
little chit Shojin?” Her opponent took two quick steps back;
whirling his blade over his head and chanting but Callindra didn’t
hesitate. She jumped forward stabbing him just above the knee
‘Kingfisher Dives’ and the spell scattered.
    “ You might be fast girlie,
but you can’t hit all three of us at once.” The other two men began
closing on her, each holding their weapons at the ready.
    “ Care to make a bet on
that?” Callindra spun her weapon in a complex series of flashing
arcs, first stopping pointing at one, then the other two men.
Knowing full well she couldn’t handle all of them, it’d been a
miracle that she had done as well against an experienced opponent
this long, Callindra used her fancy weapon swinging bluff to move
her back to the house. She kicked the door open and stood in the
doorway, “Bring it on boys.”
    “ I’ve had