Song of the Sword
Song of the Sword
By K. L. Bauman
Copyright ? 2012 K. L. Bauman
Acknowledgments
Firstly, I want to apologize to EVERYONE for not including an acknowledgment page in the front of my last story. SORRY! Having said that, I would like to thank my sister, Kari, and my Mom for helping me so much with editing and for their amazing support. I thank my sis-in-law, De'a, for brainstorming with me on "Song of the Sword" all those years ago-it was a lot of fun! Thank you to all of my family and friends, including those on fanstory.com, for reading and commenting and helping me become a better writer. Many thanks to my husband for his support and technical prowess; without your help, I would never have been able to put these stories online. And, of course, thanks to God for giving me a deeper insight and a gift and passion for writing stories. May this and all of my work somehow glorify his awesome name.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 ~ The Duel
Chapter 2 ~ A Step Forward
Chapter 3 ~ Lostar
Chapter 4 ~ The Black Dwarf
Chapter 5 ~ Hosgrow
Chapter 6 ~ Secrets
Chapter 7 ~ The Dead Sorcerer
Chapter 8 ~ First Kill
Chapter 9 ~ The Sorcerer's Shadow
Chapter 10 ~ Heritage
Chapter 11 ~ Dragon Blades
Chapter 12 ~ The Babysitter
Chapter 13 ~ The Find
Chapter 14 ~ The Laughing Hill
Chapter 15 ~ Pebbles and Hags
Chapter 16 ~ Uncertainty
Chapter 17 ~ The Reluctant Traveler
Chapter 18 ~ Surprises
Chapter 19 ~ Suspicions
Chapter 20 ~ The Fury of the Full Moon
Chapter 21 ~ Sabina's Story
Chapter 22 ~ Devel
Chapter 23 ~ Fog Guide
Chapter 24 ~ Wild Ride
Chapter 25 ~ The Black Unicorn
Chapter 26 ~ Cat's Tongue
Chapter 27 ~ The Siren's Story
Chapter 28 ~ Razr Birds
Chapter 29 ~ Andor
Chapter 30 ~ Double Trouble
Chapter 31 ~ Goblin Weed
Chapter 32 ~ The Earth Shepherd
Chapter 33 ~ Falynn Cannilita
Chapter 34 ~ Always Something
Chapter 35 ~ Volos' Haunting Past
Chapter 36 ~ Facing Fears
Chapter 37 ~ Deathly Duel
Chapter 38 ~ Whispers in the Water
Chapter 39 ~ Familiar Faces
Chapter 40 ~ The Glass Lake
Chapter 41 ~ Broken Hope
Chapter 42 ~ Wing It
Chapter 43 ~ Battle
Chapter 44 ~ Second String
Chapter 45 ~ Betrayal?
Chapter 46 ~ Sacrifice
Chapter 47 ~ The One Note
Chapter 48 ~ Miracle
Chapter 49 ~ Healing
Chapter 50 ~ New Adventure
Spiritual Specials
About the Author
Connect with the Author Online
Chapter One
The Duel
Creepy how silence can be so deafening! Ayden thought. He crouched motionless behind a large bush studded with purple flowers and emerald-green leaves. The silence of pre-dawn buzzed in his ears. His face was hidden in the shadow of a huge hood of his green cloak as he waited?
The seventeen-year old took a deep, silent breath and then exhaled slowly as droplets of perspiration raced each other down his back. Sitting still for long periods of time had always been challenging for him, and the heavily perfumed flowers were making him light headed.
Ayden held his breath, listening intently for any movement--a twig snapping, the rustling of leaves, a breath--anything that would give him a clue to the location of his opponent.
The forest began to wake as the morning sun filtered through the trees. The soft thumping of a rabbit's feet against earth and leaves reached Ayden's sensitive ear drums, and he could smell the gamy scent of a deer somewhere nearby. Birds called out with deceptively melodious songs, giving harsh warnings to tiny bumble-bee birds to stay clear of their territory.
The boy's bright amber eyes scanned the hundreds of trees. He'd been coming to this area of Shae Vale for four years now and knew the place well.
Ayden studied the soft, leafy tendrils hanging from the lower branches of the trees that stretched toward an array of colorful flowers complimenting the undergrowth. A silvery mist meandered through the lower areas, transforming the forest into a lazy daydream.
His thoughts wandered as he envisioned winning battles against the formidable Degus, a powerfully evil sorceress. He smiled as he envisioned celebrating his victories with the beautiful fairies and pixies that resided in Shae Vale, though he had yet to lay eyes on any. He'd love to go further into this land and see the fairies, elves, and Palmaero, the prince of the unicorns whose pearly horn could bring life, curse, or death. So many adventures were waiting out there! Would Freya ever loosen her hold on his short leash and let him explore? It had taken her far too long to even tell him that Shae Vale was real and not just stories she told him at bed time.
Shaking his head, Ayden brought his mind back to the present. He needed to concentrate, or his opponent would find and defeat him. He swept the area with his eyes again, but saw no signs of his adversary.
Ayden thought of Freya's sightless eyes; if he wasn't looking so hard, maybe he could hear more clearly. Lowering his eyelids, he listened intently. This usually had a wonderful calming effect; instead, the sickeningly sweet aroma of the flowering bush distracted him. Dizziness seized his brain, and he teetered on his heels. Bad idea! His eyes snapped open. I have to get away from this stinking bush! he thought. He longed to remove his hood as most of the morning mist had dissolved, allowing the sun to engulf him in a blanket of smothering heat. But any movement would give away his position.
The humidity caused Ayden's blue jeans to shrink against his legs. He vaguely recalled Freya warning him about wearing this type of clothing for this type of activity. Discomfort closed in on him as the need to shift positions became near desperate.
A whisper of rustling grass brought Ayden to attention. A smile teased his lips as he tightened his fingers around the hilt of the sword concealed beneath his cloak. Finally! His blood raced through his veins as he readied himself for action.
With one fluid movement, Ayden leapt to his feet, spun around, and drew his sword from its hide-away, causing his cloak to dance on air around his body. He'd barely raised his weapon before his opponent's sword crashed against it, sending a reverberating ring through the trees. The shock of the impact jolted through Ayden's arms like volts of electricity. His muscles tensed as he fought to keep his balance while also attempting to force his rival backward; but the greater intensity of the larger man's body and weapon caused the teen to falter back, his heel gouging the soft earth. The two rivals gritted their teeth, attempting to force each other to yield as startled birds and animals fled the scene.
The swords broke away from one another as Ayden and his opponent stepped apart. Looking steadily into one another's eyes, the pair slowly paced in a circle with swords raised as each attempted to decipher the other's next move.
Shaking his head, he tried to free his mind of the fuzziness that lingered from the purple flowers. His opponent--a towering, muscular, dark-skinned man--took Ayden's lack of concentration as an opportunity and advanced swiftly. Like partners in a deadly dance, they played their swords for several minutes using fluid, precise movements. Matching one another in agility and reflexes, neither was able to get a hand over the other.
Ayden's hood fell away from his head, revealing his s
weat-soaked, tousled brown hair. The sudden slap of cooler air gave him a fresh surge of energy. Quicker than a striking snake, he sliced his sword toward his opponent, knocking the weapon from his hand.
The smug smirk abruptly slid off of Ayden's face as the adversary slowly and confidently smiled back, revealing surprisingly straight, white teeth. The larger man crossed his arms and grabbed daggers from opposite sides of his belt; he carefully drew them out and held them in front of Ayden, allowing him to see their deadly sharpness.
Okay, I can handle this! Sizing up the change of weapons, Ayden paced around his opponent; he made a few quick movements in attempt to psych his rival and then thrust his sword forward with full force. With supernatural quickness and strength, the man crossed his daggers in front of his chest, catching Ayden's blade between them.
As they broke apart once more, they passed the flowering bush. To cool and calm himself, Ayden inhaled a deep breath of sugared air. Another bad idea--the aroma of the flowers made him dizzy again, causing him to stagger. He barely raised his sword in time to counter-act the force of his opponent's daggers. Blinking rapidly, he tried to clear his head as the large man chuckled quietly.
Ayden's opponent swiftly crouched and swung his leg around, slamming Ayden to the ground. Before he could think or react, his adversary was on him. The cold steel blade of the man's dagger dug into Ayden's neck, and a gigantic knee pressed against his chest, forcing the air from his lungs.
Chapter Two
A Step Forward