Nightlights: Guardians of the Edge

1.11: Unforged Weapons

“Ajax,” Natalie called as he slouched into the afternoon session. Ajax set his jaw, pretended he hadn’t heard her, and headed over to the little free weight room off to one side.

He wasn’t halfway there when she intercepted him, skidding to a stop in front of him. “I’ve been cleared for full activity,” she informed him.

“Congratulations.” He looked her over. Her blond hair bounced around her face, she had her color back, and her eyes were bright with determination. “You look good,” he added, then could have bitten his tongue.

She gave him a skeptical look, then said, “Do you know what that means?” Without waiting for an answer, she plowed on. “It means I’m your teacher now.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t want you to be my teacher. I want to be left alone.”

She thrust the practice sword she was holding into his hands. “Tough. Stop whining. You need to practice.”

“Maybe you haven’t noticed all the practicing I’ve been doing. It hasn’t helped.” He pushed the sword back into her hands. She caught his fingers in her own and closed them around the hilt. He froze for a moment, which she took advantage of to rearrange his grip.

“You’ve been practicing summoning weapons, and working on your endurance. I’m going to teach you to use one.”

“What’s the point if I can’t summon one?” he managed, as she started tugging him over to the practice area.

She gave him a look eloquent in its disdain. “Most of the people in the Tower can’t summon an anima weapon. The Prowlers use real weapons outside the Tower. Skill acquired is never wasted.” She thumped one of his thighs with her fist. “Widen your stance.”

He sprang away from her. “Hey, hands off.”

She crossed her arms and gave him an amused look. For a wild moment, he thought about throwing down the sword and running out of class. But then, beyond Natalie, he noticed Rohan watching the two of them closely, displeasure on his face.

Ajax smirked at him and turned his attention to Natalie. “All right. Tell me what to do.”

She gave him a bright smile and picked up a wooden sword of her own. For a while, he followed her instructions and mirrored her movements. Then he said, “Why are you using a practice sword?”

She paused, leaning on the wooden blade. “Once you achieve Stage 3, it’s hard to manage Stage 2. It’s like sliding down a hill. Holding a real weapon, even a wooden one, tends to force anima into a Stage 1 form if it’s called on. So it’s safer. And yes, before you ask, Stage 3 weapons are dangerous—more dangerous than metal weapons. They’re pretty reliable in life or death situations, but they want everything to be a life or death situation. Not so good for a classroom.”

“Oh, come on, Natalie,” said Rohan, watching nearby. “It’s not that bad.”

“Hatherly and Laurel summoned their weapons just to show them off the other day,” Ajax pointed out.

“Yeah? Well, the rule is no Stage 3 weapons in a classroom,” said Natalie calmly.

“It’s a dumb rule,” grumbled Rohan. “Kwan won’t schedule me for my advanced training test.

Elian, always beside Rohan, said, “We’ll both get there. It’s just a matter of time.”

Rohan scowled. “Seth was younger than both of us when he passed his test.”

“Seth is hardly somebody to emulate,” said Natalie sharply. “Stop lounging about. Go practice.” And she tapped Ajax’s leg with the sword she’d been leaning on. “You too. Lazing. Back to it.”