Beloved Forever Part 27

She reached for a bag of bell peppers, extracting a red one. "I don't know how to use a gun anyway."

"Hmm. How about a sword?"

She shook her head. "No."

Brannon unwrapped a carton of Portobello mushrooms and took out two large ones. "Are you a quick study?"

"It depends. Ask my parents about academics, and they'd probably say no. I had a high GPA in high school because the work was easy, not because I applied myself. Same with college." She grinned, remembering how frustrated her father had been when she hadn't been able to decide on a college, let alone a major. "They were annoyed when I decided to go to the local junior college with Sara for a couple of years. They thought I was wasting my potential, or something like that."

"Why'd you go there?" Brannon popped a bite of the mushroom in his mouth, chewing it before saying, "Nicholas told me you've been accepted to NYU. You're going next semester."

"I didn't want to go to college at all. It was a compromise." She tried to be casual when she asked, "When did he tell you about NYU?"

"When he told me I had to fix everything I'd messed up for you. He said it was important to deal with Koss before you had to be at college."

She stabbed the knife through the pepper with more force than was necessary. "He's decided I'm going and that's it, is it?"

"You know Nicholas. He's stubborn."

She slashed at a small section of the pepper, thinking it yielded too easily to the knife. "So am I." If he thought he could go on making her decisions, he had another think coming. Rather than yell at Brannonfor something Nicholas had done, she s.h.i.+fted the topic back to Koss. "How will Nicholas get Koss to come into the open? The way I understand it, he likes to draw out his games."

"We won't have to lure Koss."

"You sound positive about that, but you weren't sure the last time I asked." Her eyes widened at his confident tone. "What changed?"

"I know he'll come to us, and soon."

She stopped chopping and looked up at him. "How do you know?"

"I had a vision. It wasn't clear enough to pinpoint exactly when, but it happened here. We all wore about the same style of clothes, and I didn't look any older. It's just a feeling, but I think it'll only be a matter of days. Weeks, at most."

How could he sound so calm about it? She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Have you ever been wrong?"

"No."

"What happened in the vision?" she forced herself to ask.

He hesitated, and even his fingers stopped chopping the tomato he had moved on to after finis.h.i.+ng the mushrooms. "It was obscure-"

"Brannon?"

He took a deep breath and looked in her direction. "He held a sword to your throat. I got the sense neither Nicholas nor I could stop him."

Her heart rate, already slow, seemed to still completely. It was a long second before her heart began beating sluggishly again. "He's going to kill me?"

"No, we won't let that won't happen."

"But you're never wrong," she said stridently.

Brannon shook his head. "Nicholas and I will both do our best to protect you, but I won't let you go into the situation helplessly. I may not be able to teach you much in the time we have, but you won't be completely defenseless."

"So it'll just take longer for me to die." Emily didn't like the stark acceptance in her voice. She wanted to be in a fighting frame of mind, not weak and powerless. She didn't want to be dependent on Nicholas and Brannon, but what chance did she have against Koss?

Brannon apparently couldn't find an answer to her statement, because he picked up the knife again and started chopping the tomato without looking up. They worked in silence, moving mechanically.

She wondered how she would manage to eat, knowing this meal might be her last. If not this one, then surely some meal would be in the coming days. Knowing she had already died and returned several timesshould have brought her comfort, but she knew there would be no coming back this time, not as Emily anyway. Koss would see to that. And if Nicholas really didn't love her any longer, he wouldn't bother to look for her again. She would live the rest of her lives with no memories of ever having loved him or being loved by him, because he wouldn't be there to remind her. That thought worried her more than facing death.

"This sword should work for you. Notice how plain it is, but st.u.r.dy too?"

Emily stood in the center of the round weapons' room, located in one of the castle's four towers, holding the sword Brannon had handed her. She was barely able to lift it, more due to its length than weight. "It's awkward."

"Yes, but it does major damage-see how sharp the double-edge blade is? That one dates back to Nicholas's ancestor. He carried it into battle when the Normans invaded Briton."

"It looks sort of like a long metal club." She grunted as she tried to lift the heavy sword. The only decoration was the crest etched into the bra.s.s ferrule. "Was he a Saxon?"

Brannon laughed. "No. He was part of the invading force. In case you hadn't noticed, Nicholas doesn't exactly have the Saxon look."

"No, I guess not." She felt her wrist weakening, and she was relieved when Brannon stepped behind her to support her arm. "You do though."

"My mother was French. I get my coloring from her." He spoke abruptly, indicating he didn't want to speak about that topic. "There are five basic moves in sword fighting."

He cupped his hand over hers and helped her raise it fully. Together, with him guiding, they swung the sword in a tiny arc. "That's the cut. The objective is to connect the tip of the sword with your opponent's body. When you've done so, you make a small swing to leave a cut. The preferred place is a location where the enemy will bleed to death." He helped her repeat the motion. "When dealing with a vampire, the cut is ineffectual unless you manage to sever the spinal column completely."

She swung the sword again, growing used to its weight. "The cut," she repeated.

He kept his hand over hers. "Usually, the cut won't have enough force to get through the spinal column.

You have to use the swing." He brought her arm all the way back, and then swung forward with a lot of force.

Emily's arm protested as the sword sliced through the air, wrenching from her hand to clang against the stone floor. She rubbed her wrist and looked up at him. "Sorry. Maybe I should start with a smaller sword."

"Go get it." He stood there, speaking as she walked to retrieve the sword. "Normally, I'd start you with a practice sword, but it would take months to teach you anything. You need a solid sword if you're going up against Koss, and I don't have time to baby you."

She nodded. "I understand." Emily stepped in front of him again, and he cupped his hand over hers, lining up their arms. She was ready for the brunt of the swing this time, and her arm moved moresmoothly. "This is for cutting the spinal cord?"

"And hacking off limbs, cutting deeply into trunks, and lopping off heads." He spoke matter-of-factly. "If you get the chance, take off his head. Vampires can't sprout a new one."

She shuddered, picturing cutting off Koss's head. Despite some of her darker impulses, she couldn't embrace that image. "You mentioned five."

"Yeah." He supported her wrist when he brought the sword near her side. Suddenly, he pushed her arm forward, extending the sword out parallel to the ground with vicious force. "The thrust. If the enemy leaves himself open, that's your best bet. Aim for his heart and twist the sword. Once he's down on his knees-and even a vampire can't withstand that kind of pain easily-you cut out his heart. Quick and brutal. He won't show you any mercy."

She nodded, imitating the movement again. "What else?"

"The last two are defensive moves." He paused. "The truth is, I don't think you'll have much need for these. If you get in a position of a sword fight with Koss, it's all over. You can't beat him. Your best chance is to take him by surprise."

"Show me," she said forcefully. She didn't even want to imagine facing Koss in battle with a sword as her only protection, but was determined to learn everything she could.

He nodded. "This is the block. It's hard to show it to you without another swordsman. Basically, you just antic.i.p.ate your opponent's move and try to block his sword with yours."

She gave the sword an experimental swing, grimacing as it pulled on her wrist. "And the last one?"

"The parry." He positioned her in front of him. "Put your sword down, tip first. Yeah, that's it. Line up the tip with the hilt. You wait until your opponent moves, and then you move your sword, just as his point draws near your blade." He stepped away from her. "Let me show you."

Emily held the sword at her side as Brannon walked to a wall of the weapons' room where a rack of swords hung. He picked up the hilt of one unerringly before returning to her. "Go slow and easy, okay? I don't think you can kill me, but I'm not a big fan of pain."

She swallowed her nerves and grasped the sword. "I'm ready."

"Okay." He swung his sword in a small arc.

Emily brought up the sword and blocked him, pleased by the clang of steel against steel. When he came at her from the other direction, she blocked again. As he thrust at her, she dropped her sword into the vertical position to parry. She moved too slowly, and the tip of his sword sliced her arm. With a hiss of pain, she dropped the weapon.

"I'm sorry. How badly are you hurt?" Brannon laid his sword on the floor before approaching her.

"I'll live." The wound burned, but it was already closing. More damage had been done to her sweater than anything. She knelt to pick up her sword again. "Let's go."

"Are you sure? Maybe we should take a break." She shook her head. "No. I want to learn this."

With a shrug, Brannon returned to pick up his sword. He stood still. "This time, you attack me."

Emily went at him with a cut, which he blocked easily. She tried swinging from the other direction, and he blocked again. She was soon caught up in the rhythm of moving the sword and became accustomed to the weight, losing track of time as she kept swinging at Brannon, looking for an opening.

She finally saw one and brought back her arm to swing, not putting much strength to the swing since neither of them wore protective clothing. Her intention was to stop the point against his leg, but the sword clanged against another blade as she brought it forward. The shock caused her to drop the sword, and she turned to see Nicholas holding a weapon.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, anger evident, as he faced Brannon. "Do you know how irresponsible this is?"

"She's doing well," Brannon said in a mild tone.

Nicholas scoffed. "It's a recipe for disaster, pairing a novice with a blind swordsman. You're going to get killed, or she will."

"That'll save Koss the effort, won't it?" She brought her hands to her hips, forcing his attention back to her by stepping into his line of vision. "I guess you planned to let me go into this defenseless. At least Brannon's trying to help me."

"Brannon's going to get you killed. He'll fill your head with stupid confidence, and you'll be convinced you can take on the world." He lowered his sword. "Don't be a fool, Emily."

"Should I wait for you to protect me? Look how well you've done that job for the last eight hundred years." Even as she said it, Emily longed to call it back. She saw how white his complexion got and the way he swayed. She reached out to steady him, but arrested the motion upon seeing the anger in his eyes.

"Leave us, Brannon."

"Nicholas-"

"Now! If she wants a lesson, I'll give her one." His voice was barely above a whisper, but it vibrated with anger.

Brannon crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not going to let you hurt her."

"This is between us. She'll walk away." He turned his back on his nephew to meet Emily's eyes. Rage burned in his black depths. "Tell him to go, Emily."

She swallowed her fear and nodded. "I'll be fine."

"Emily, you don't know-"

"Please." Fear hummed in her veins, but so did a curious sense of excitement. "I want to do this." He left the weapons' room, muttering under his breath. When he had gone, Nicholas gestured toward her sword. "Pick it up."

She pursed her lips and bent to retrieve the sword. With a false sense of bravado, she lifted it and faced him. "I'm rea-" Before she had finished speaking, he thrust forward with his sword. She barely deflected it in time, and didn't get a chance to counter his cut. He sliced through her shoulder in the blink of an eye, causing tears to well in her eyes.

Emily retaliated by thrusting the sword at him, but he parried easily and countered with a hard swing.

Her hand broke under the stress of the blow, and she dropped the sword, cradling her hand against her chest. She could feel the bone reforming, and the pain brought tears to her eyes. Before she could surrender, he sliced her leg with his sword. She cried out and fell to her knees.

"That's how fast it would be over for you. Look at you." His tone was scathing, as was his gaze when it raked her. "You're bleeding and two seconds from collapsing. I haven't even broken into a sweat."

"Yeah, you're amazing," she said, maintaining her front of courage as her hand finished healing, and the pain faded. She tossed her head, sending waves of chestnut hair cascading down her back. Her eyes widened when he brought the tip of the sword against her throat. She leaned back automatically as he pressed closer. Even when she fell backwards onto the stone floor, he didn't let up. Instead, he pressed the tip in deeper. She raked her fangs over her lips when she drew in a breath as hot pain flared in her neck. "Please."

"If I were Koss, you'd already be dead." He kept the sword steady against her throat. "He has no pity.

Don't you understand? If he gets past Brannon or me, you're as good as dead."

She swallowed as he jabbed her once more before withdrawing the sword. She touched her throat and found a wound oozing blood. "You want me to be defenseless?"

He held out a hand to help her up.

She accepted it warily, wondering if he would attack her again. Instead, he pulled her to her feet, and she stood beside him. She was so close she could smell the trace of copper on his breath, indicating he had fed recently. She licked her lips without thought as she stared at the artery pounding in his throat.

"You are helpless against him."

She wrenched her gaze from his neck to meet his eyes, not missing the dart of desire in his eyes when she stepped closer. "Show me something. Anything. I want to be able to defend myself."

He cleared his throat as he stepped away. He stopped to lift her sword and Brannon's before carrying all three to the wall and returning them to their positions. Then he moved to a rack of daggers, studying them for a moment before lifting a short one with a thin blade. He returned to her and held it out.

Emily looked down at the dagger doubtfully. She lifted it from his hand. "A dagger didn't help Erin."

He looked startled. "What dagger?"

She turned over the dagger, examining the intricate design of the handle as she spoke. "She'd had a witch put a spell on the dagger, but it made no difference. Koss took it through the heart and pulled it outeasily enough." She looked up when Nicholas's hand fastened on her arm.

"Why? Why would she do that?"

She licked her lips, remembering Nicholas hadn't known about Erin's gifts. "She had a vision about Koss. She knew he would come that night and tried to be ready. She didn't tell you about her abilities because she knew she would have to tell you about her fate." She couldn't keep the pleading from her voice when she said, "Don't leave me as vulnerable as she was. I don't want to die that way."

He looked stricken as he reeled away from her. "She knew he was coming. Why didn't she tell me?"

"She thought you would be killed as well if you stayed at Vallsade Manor." Emily bowed her head. "She didn't know they would stay around to torture you after her death."

He shook his head. "How could she keep it from me all those years? I had no idea. I was surprised when she didn't develop even an iota of psychic ability, but she said she must not be suited for it." A harsh laugh escaped him. "She lied to me for eighteen years."

Emily took a step toward him. "She was protecting you."

"She didn't even give me the chance to save her or our daughter," he said with a snarl as he turned on her, gathering her in his arms. "She was a blind fool. She should have known she didn't stand a chance-"