A Knight of the Sacred Blade Read Online Free PDF Page A

polo shirt. “Let’s keep the public pawing to a minimum, shall we?”
    Nathan stood up straighter and pushed Mary away. Her elbow banged against the locker door. “Yes, sir, Coach.” 
    Mr. Paulsen smiled. “That’s a good lad. Miss Lucas, try to control yourself in the future, understand?” Mary nodded, white-faced. “Well, I’ll see you both in class shortly.” Mr. Paulsen disappeared into his classroom. 
    “Jerk,” muttered Ally. 
    “So you’ll have lunch with me, then,” said Nathan, pulling Mary back close. “It’ll make me happy.” An odd gleam came into his blue eyes. “You want to make me happy, right?”
    Mary smiled. “I do.” 
    Nathan smiled and put his arm over her shoulder. “Then let’s go sleep through class. Should be pretty easy. Paulsen and me, we’re tight.”
    Mary leaned against him. “Okay, honey.” Mary shot an apologetic look over her shoulder at Ally, and then she vanished into Paulsen’s classroom behind Nathan. 
    “What a dick,” said Bill.
    “I was thinking of something stronger, but that works,” said Ally. She shoved her books into her backpack and slammed her locker shut. 
    “And Paulsen. Did you see how he blamed her?” said Bill.
    “Uh-huh,” said Ally. 
    Bill sighed. “Why does Mary let him boss her around?”
    “Because.” Ally stared into the wall, and another of her insights came to her. “Her father’s just like him. The man bosses Mary around and yells at her for everything. She’s been trained to be dominated.” Bill frowned. “What, already?”
    “You got that creepy look again,” said Bill.
    Ally rolled her eyes. “I do not get a creepy look.”
    “You do to,” said Bill. “You, like, stare off into nothing. Then you start with the wise pronouncements.” 
    “Whatever,” said Ally. Something tugged at her mind. Had someone told her something similar once? She pushed the thought away. “Let’s just go to class, okay?”
    Bill nodded. “Okay.” 

    ###

    At fifth period, Ally walked through the door to Mr. Paulsen’s classroom. Football players and cheerleaders filled the desks, many of them texting on their iPhones. Mr. Paulsen stood with two boys in basketball jerseys, talking and laughing. Ally didn’t see any of her friends. She sighed and dropped into one of the open desks. 
    The bell rang, and Mr. Paulsen sent the boys in jerseys to their desks. “Settle down, people.” He grinned and held up his whistle. “The administration gets pissed when I use this to start class.” Laughter went through the room. “All right. Shut up and pay attention. Roll call! I call on you, you tell me your name and what sports you’re in this year.” 
    Mr. Paulsen went through the class list. “And, last, and probably least,” the class snickered, “one…Ally Wester.” Ally’s lips thinned. 
    “Here,” said Ally. 
    Mr. Paulsen squinted at her. “So you must be the famous Ally Wester, then.” His eyes darted down the front of her torso and back to her face again. 
    “The process of elimination would dictate it, yes,” said Ally. 
    Mr. Paulsen snorted. “So. What sports are you in this year?”
    “None,” said Ally.
    Mr. Paulsen raised his iron-gray eyebrows. “None? Chess club doesn’t count, you know.”
    “There was no money for it this year,” said Ally. “The basketball team has very nice new uniforms, though.”
    Mr. Paulsen blinked. “So why aren’t you in any sports? They’re good for a healthy young woman such as yourself.”
    “I’m busy,” said Ally. “I have a lot to do.”
    Mr. Paulsen snorted. “Doing what? Watching TV and talking to your girlfriends on the phone? Going shopping?”
    “Studying,” said Ally. “There’s not much a job market after high school for former quarterbacks.” 
    “I don’t think you’d make a great quarterback,” said Mr. Paulsen. “A cheerleader, though…you’d make a good cheerleader. Why not show some school spirit and support your team?”
    Ally