Emily's House: Book 1 of the Akasha Chronicles

Chapter 32: Slicing and Dicing

Chapter 32: Slicing and Dicing

When she said, “Miss Emily ready for combat,” I almost wet my pants. It’s one thing to fend off a blow from a cane, it’s another to do battle. As always, Madame Wong kept me unsettled. Just when I thought I’d mastered something and felt balanced, she threw something else at me, and I felt like I’d topple.

“Come.” She walked away from the stream and through the meadow to a path I’d never seen before. Before long a building appeared out of the fog. It was made entirely of wood and looked like it had been there for hundreds of years. Instead of a thatched roof like her cottage, it had a pitched roof covered in weathered tiles. I followed her as she walked up the steps to a wide wooden porch the length of the whole building, and then into a door opening (there was no actual door).

Inside was one large room, open to the rafters above. Windows from the second story rafters let a little light filter into the otherwise dark, cavernous room. To my right and to my left were walls filled with racks of weapons. There were broadswords, spears, daggers, lances and other sharp, pointy things that I had no idea what they were called. It looked like a weapon cache for a small army.

“What is this place?”

“My training room,” she said quietly.

“But where did it come from? It wasn’t here before.”

“Building from my childhood.” She walked to the right and inspected a row of swords. Madame Wong picked up one and swung it around gently a few times, then replaced it and chose another. She did this with several until she picked up a sword with a handle that looked like it was made of ivory and a thin blade that had lost its sheen, weathered like so many other things in Madame Wong’s world.

“You trained to be a warrior as a child?”

“No, of course not. Girls not allowed. Madame Wong snuck in and watched her brothers train.” She continued swinging her sword around in wide arcs and practiced thrusting her blade forward.

“Choose your blade,” she said. She gestured to the wall opposite her, also filled with weapons of all kinds and shapes.

“Oh, I don’t think so. Hindergog told us of your fighting skills. I’m not fighting you.”

“How learn if not try? Come Miss Emily. I teach you ways of the true warrior.” She had a mischievous glint in her eye. “Yes, long time since Madame Wong teach a warrior. This will be a good day.”

She’s excited to kick my butt!

I didn’t know what kind of weapon I needed or how to choose. I inspected them all and finally settled on a broadsword. Its handle was wrapped in black leather and it had a curved, shiny steel blade with intricate carvings of a dragon etched into it.

I picked it up, and despite the fact that I’d built up quite a bit of upper body strength wielding an axe at the woodpile, it was so heavy that I almost dropped it. I teetered a little as I tried to hold it out in front of me, gripping the handle with both hands.

“That one too heavy for Miss Emily?”

“I’ll be alright,” I said. “Just need to get used to it.”

“Best to be used to it now.” She sprung into the air, did a somersault and landed in front of me, brandishing her ancient looking blade. I reacted as quickly as I could and tried to use my sword to deflect her, but her blade caught a bit of flesh at my ankle.