Tuesday, September 6, 2005

   Chapter 4: The Sword Song (part 3)
Following the tradition, Pen faced Panda, placed the flat part of his sword against his left shoulder, and bowed. Panda did the same. There was a moment of mutual silence.
Panda struck out first. Pen had been expecting it; although it was usual in practice sparring to rise before making a move, many, more advanced students were known to make use the starting position to try to catch their opponent off guard. He flipped his sword up and blocked Panda’s.
A sweet sound filled the air as the blades collided. Pen could feel as the handle absorbed the shock of the blow. Since he was used to his school sword, he had been expecting a much harder hit. He wasn’t even sure if he would have been able to hold against the blow if he had been using it.
Panda’s green eyes almost seemed to glow with a hidden smile. The sword sang as Pen slid it rapidly around his and took a swipe at his legs, forcing the angel to take a step back. When he did not strike in response, Pen got up and took a few steps back, also.
“I have to admit,” Panda said. “You’re good. Let’s go faster.”
This time, when he attacked, it was rapid. He struck at Pen, forcing him to block, then spun around and struck from the other side. The boy had to duck to evade his attack. Panda then stabbed down on him. Pen just barely managed to roll to the side before the sword grazed the grass beside him.
He had hoped that the angel would have gotten his sword stuck in the ground, but that would have been the foolish mistake of a beginner. Panda continued to take swipes at him while he struggled to stand up; Pen blocked him, taking a step back with every blow. His sword rang almost constantly, filling the air with it’s own music. He could feel it vibrating in his hand, as if shivering like a living thing, sharing its energy…
“You shouldn’t always back down,” Panda said, still attacking as he spoke. “Take advantage of my weakness when I strike!”
Pen knew what his weakness was: his sword couldn’t be in two places at once. At the next strike, he ducked and took another swipe at the angel’s legs. This time, it was Panda who had to step back. His green eyes were smiling.
“You need to be fluid!” Panda told him. “Bend around the attack!” He spun around; Pen wasn’t able to tell where he would be coming from, so he took a step back, waiting for the right time. When he saw the flash of the sword on the right, he met it. For the split second that they were caught in a lock, he slid right up to Panda, stuck his left foot behind Panda’s left, and pushed the angel back with his free elbow. Caught by surprise and off balance, Panda tripped and fell backwards.
Pen was on him immediately, and the angel barely managed to raise his sword to block his attack. With a flick of his wrist, the boy broke the song, sending Panda’s sword spinning away to the side. It stuck in the ground, quivering.
Panda hit the ground with his hand to admit defeat. Pen straightened up.
“You’re a great fighter,” Panda told him, sitting up. He sighed. “Havoc can teach you many things, but nothing beats good old talent.”
“You were going easy on me,” Pen said. It wasn’t a question.
“I didn’t want to beat you. It wasn’t the point.”
“What do you mean?”
“I wanted to see what you would do.” He got to his feet. “It wasn’t all about the fight. It was just about getting to know you. My Havoc teacher once told me that crossing swords with someone was one of the best ways to connect to another person’s head. I’ve learned a lot about you.”
“Like what?” Pen didn’t like what he was hearing. He stuck his sword in the ground and took off the training armor.
Panda’s eyes met his. “Havoc will not be what you expect. That’s all I can tell you.”
Pen didn’t answer. He put the armor back on the shelf, slipped on his shoes, and gathered his belt again. When he turned back to the angel, he saw that he was holding his new sword.
“Where did you get this?” he asked, handing it back.
“It was given to me.”
“She’s as lovely as her name. And she sure knows how to sing.”
For the first time, Pen noticed that the sword had something written along the top of the handle. There were two words: Sing Lucaya.
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