"Elizabeth Vaughan - Chronicles Of The Warlands 03 - Warlord" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vaughan Elizabeth)

I nodded slowly, taking that in. Firelander wielded steel at roughly six or seven years old.

No wonder they were so fast. It occurred to me that I was very glad I'd sent Meara back to Anna at
Water's Fall.

"So." Marcus's voice called me back. "We will concentrate on what you can do. Not on what you can't."

I sighed, and let my shoulders slump. "But I can't do anything!"

"Pah." Marcus turned, and picked up the wooden sword and small shield that I had been using. "What
did you do when that warrior-priest burst into your tent?"

I went and sat close to Prest, flopping down in the grass. "I screamed and ran."

"And?" Marcus asked as he seated himself. Rafe dropped down next to him, and pulled out a dagger and
a sharpening stone. Ander and Yveni remained standing, on watch, standing close enough to hear.

"Hid behind Keir." I picked a stem of grass and started playing with it. "Bold warrior that I am."

Marcus snorted. "You, with your terrible memory. You have forgotten."

I looked up to see that Rafe and Prest were both grinning, as if at the memory. "What?"

Rafe answered promptly. "You threw that pot of muck at him. He was covered with it when he came out
of the tent."
"Wish I'd seen that," Ander spoke, his eyes still on the horizon.

"Heyla to that," Yveni added.

Prest chuckled. "The stink clung for days." He reached over and pulled his warclub close, preparing to
re-wrap the handle with the leather strips. Of course, it wasn't just any warclub. I looked away from the
weapon. It brought back too many painful memories.

"So," Marcus continued. "What did you do? You alerted others that you were in trouble. You used what
was at hand to distract the enemy. You fled to where there was help, and positioned yourself where your
defenders could protect you."

I had forgotten. I'd whipped that jar of boiled skunk cabbage right at that warrior-priest's face before I'd
fled. I sat up a little straighter. "I guess I did."

Marcus gave me a nod. "Teaching you to fight is enough to make a gurttle laugh. But teaching you to
defend yourself, to respond under attack and get yourself to safety, that can be done."

I shook my head. "Marcus, I froze when I found Iften hovering over Keir with that dagger. I didn't have
the sense to scream."

"Fear." Prest spoke as he concentrated on his task.

Rafe nodded, even as he honed the edge of his blade. "Fear holds you still when you need to move, and
moves you when you need to be still."