Collecting the Pieces of the Shandhi Sword (Book 2 of Mark Series)

Chapter 21

I set the sword pieces on the table, and Samuel walked over to the table. I watched him sit down, watching, and waiting for me to put the pieces together. "Ready?" I asked, and he nodded his head. "You can take notes for this, Samuel. However, this is the only thing that you can do for me. Ok?"

Carter huffed and rolled his eyes teasingly. He pouted when I looked at him, but I could see the amusement in his eyes. "But I am the one that is supposed to be taking notes. Adele sa-"

"Ok, shut your trap," I said, interrupting him and earning a laugh. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he grinned innocently. "You know that this is the only thing that will keep the kid happy."

"I am older th-" He stopped talking when I shot him a look and looked down, clearing his throat. "Never mind."

Carter bit back a snort and grinned. "Ok, Samuel," he said. He gestured to the table. "Go ahead and do what you want. We might want to get it done quickly so that we can find the next piece of the sword."

I shook my head. "No, we should wait," I said. "I don't think it would be a good idea to get the other part of the sword so quickly, especially since two of our "regulars" were attacked." I gave Samuel a pointed look, and he closed his mouth and looked away.

He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. "I'm sorry," he said, running a hand across the back of his neck. "I got so interested in what was chasing us th-"

"That you didn't think, I know," I replied. "That is why I want you to stay here and not go out with us. I do not want a repeat of today or worse."

Samuel stayed silent and nodded his head. "I know," he said, his voice turning soft. "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" He didn't look at me, and I could tell that his hands were shaking under the table.

I bit back a sigh and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Fine," I grumbled, earning a curious glance from Carter, but I ignored it because I knew that he wouldn't push. "But that doesn't mean you're going back on any more trips with us. Is that understood?"

Samuel nodded and looked a little crestfallen because he wanted to be on another trip with his. "I understand," he replied, and I had a feeling that only a part of him did. He cleared his throat and looked at the sword before him and then at me. "Well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to put it together, or are you waiting on an invitation?"

I raised an eyebrow, and a sly smirk appeared on my face. "What?" I asked, and Clarice bit back a snicker. I placed my hand on my sword and moved it around, Samuel following it with his eyes. "Getting anxious?"

Samuel looked up at me and scowled. "Yes," he replied. "So, can you please do it?" He had his pen and paper ready, and I knew that he wanted to take notes as to what would happen with the blade.

"Come on," Carter teased, and I looked at him. He smiled innocently, and I raised an eyebrow. "The child wants this to be finished so that he can write on other stuff." He gestured for me to continue. "So please, put him out of his misery and do it."

I rolled my eyes and scowled. "Fine," I grumbled. "It's nothing exciting anyway." I grabbed the loose piece of the sword and placed it on the second piece that I had gotten so long ago.

Magic filled the air when both pieces touched each other. Unlike the piece that slid in to the hilt, a flash of blinding light appeared when the two pieces met, earning a gasp from Samuel and Clarice.

As quickly as the magic filled the air, it went away, leaving a completed sword in its wake. The light became normal, and I had to blink back different colored dots because I didn't close my eyes.

"Interesting," Samuel said, and something became written in his little notebook. "Was that the way it acted before?" he asked, looking at me. "Or was it different?" He cocked his head and studied me, and I could see the curiosity burning in his eyes.

"It was different," I replied. I rubbed my eyes and cleared my throat before I looked at him. "I slid the first piece of the sword into the hilt. I didn't have to have one piece hover over the other piece."

Samuel nodded and wrote something else in his notebook. He read what he had so far before he looked at me, and I could see the curiosity in his eyes. "Can you pick it up?" he asked. "I want to see if it is stable."

I raised an eyebrow in question, but I didn't ask him what he meant. I grabbed the hilt and took a deep breath that almost sounded like a gasp because a spark of magic came from the sword and filled my body and the whole room that we were in.

I dropped the sword as soon as I felt the magic and stared at my sword with wide eyes. My whole body grew tense while I stared at it, and my heart pounded hard in my chest. I still felt the sword in my hand, even though I had dropped it, but I could feel it and hear the hum of the magic coming from it.

"What... just happened?" Clarice asked, being the first to break the silence that had fallen on us. She sounded dazed and confused, and I was sure that all of us were. "Did you feel that?" She looked at Samuel. "What was that about?" she asked. She narrowed her eyes at the male who didn't seem to "wake up" from his shock. "Or do you even know?"

Samuel shook his head and looked dazed. He cleared his throat, took off his glasses, and wiped them down. He didn't say a word when he placed his glasses back on, and I had no idea if he heard Clarice or not.

"Samuel," Clarice said again. She leaned forward and snapped her fingers in front of his face, and he jumped back and started to blink rapidly, getting himself out of his thoughts. "Well?" she asked and scowled when all he did was look at her confused. "What was that?"

"The world," he replied. He looked at the sword and then looked at me. "The world was fixing itself again." He bowed his head in respect, and I raised an eyebrow. "And you are its keeper."