Shaping Magic Read Online Free PDF Page A

him, Lindon wondered what he wanted it for and was surprised to see him throw it into the fire along with his own.
    Arden walked over to Lindon's bed bent and picked up the real sword, then returned to where he was sitting. Still not sure what was going on, Lindon accepted the sword from Arden.
    “It is probably too soon for this, but we cannot stay here forever. Tomorrow we will be using real blades, because when we leave here you will be fighting for your life, and you have to be ready. If all you have used are wooden swords, you will not be in the right state of mind when we are attacked.” The tone in Arden's voice did not encourage argument. “Understand?”
    Looking down at the sword, then up to Arden, “Yes” was all Lindon could say.
    Lindon realized how much he had learned in the past month. He had been hoping to learn more about who was after them, but training had taken all their time and being tired and sore didn't leave them much time for chatting.
    Grams had spent most of her time maintaining the barrier that seemed to limit any sound or smoke being seen from beyond their camp. When she wasn't doing that, she spent her time in meditation. Lindon was quite surprised to find that she no longer looked old; she had transformed into appearing middle aged. It didn't happen overnight, but every day she would meditate, shedding years from her face and body.
    She had shown no sign that she had any problems with Arden's plan to start training with real swords tomorrow. Lindon found that the strangest part of the whole thing, especially after all the years she had spent being overprotective of him. He had always been watched rather closely, and had rarely been allowed to be out of her sight.
    Lindon wasn't sure of what to make of Arden either; he had been training with him for a month and still didn't know any more about him then he did before. Every time he would try to talk to him, Arden would simply start a new training session and would never talk about anything other than battle. There was sadness about him; something in his past that threatened to overwhelm him if he let his guard down.
    Being no closer to understanding anything new about the situation, Lindon decided the best thing he could do was to go to sleep knowing that tomorrow was going to be a tough day . He was not only worried about getting hurt (or worse), but what if he got lucky again and accidentally killed Arden—where would they be then?  Seeing no way out of it, he drifted off to sleep.
     
    Once Lindon had gone to sleep, Arden and his grandmother checked on him to make sure he was sleeping before they started talking, knowing that he was a sharp lad but didn't want him to know too much about what he would have to face when they finally left their little sanctuary.
    “Do you think it’s wise to use real swords?” she asked, with a concerned look.
    “I don't really know if it's wise, but it is necessary; I have never come across anyone like Lindon. It’s only been a month of practice, and already he is nearly as good as I am,” Arden answered, shaking his head. “It is truly amazing. He shouldn't be able to come anywhere close to being able to hit me, and yet the move he made today not only scored a hit on me, but if it had been a sword, my guts would be all over the ground.”
    “And you want to use real blades!” she stated with disbelief. “Isn't that a little dangerous?”
    Arden gave a rueful chuckle “Not as much as going out into the world unprepared. If he doesn't practice with the real thing, he might make a mistake that would cost him his life. The only way to make sure he is ready to face the challenge is to train with steel.”
    “What about the other thing? Have you figured out what he did to the protective barrier?” Arden asked in a hushed tone.
    “No I haven't; by rights I shouldn't have to renew it every day, but whatever he did it’s draining. I even tried to dissolve it and start again at night when everyone