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Meanwhile, the Adherents jeered and laughed at her, calling her naentlemen, would probably never use in the presence of their wives or daughters, or in polite society, but she was not part of their polite society To them, she was not even a person She was a captive, in theirblow to the hip and slid away, stea from her mouth For all that the Guardian’s moves were swift and well-executed, they were fa, and to allow it to overtake her She ht, find her center, use it to her advantage It was not easy, for the Guardian was relentless He pounded on her bonewood, nu her hands, the wrist that Silk had clenched so hard aching But she ar up

Soon she found a rhythm, a desperate rhythm, but one she could ith Still, she had to be ready when the Guardian made an unexpected move Just as she had tried to teach Cade in swordplay, she must not beco staves filled the rooround The Guardian’s staff s froan, bit into her hands and cheeks, but sheblow

She used the slick floor tohere, then there The Guardian’s ar colu them as shields She knocked a phosphorene sconce off the wall, a ball of fla behind it in an arc

When Karigan engaged in yet another punishing series of forh worse This is nothing Even if the Guardian defeated her, humiliated her, she could live with it With that in mind, she decided to make a move that would likely be her last, but which was better than breaking a leg, or worse, her head, on the slippery floor It was a move that was not part of any proper form, one that only the desperate and untrained would atte it like an ax, bearing down on the Guardian’s Wood splintered like a crack of thunder Not hers, but his, for she wielded bonewood, which was the strongest of them all She jerked her staff back, its hookedit apart into two pieces that clattered onto the floor

At first all she heard was her own hard breaths Then Ah The Adherents had fallen silent in astonishment

She could not tell what the Guardian felt because of the visor and bevor concealing his face, but he blinked rapidly and gazed at his empty hands

Then he stared directly at her She cocked her head Was there so familiar about his eyes?

"Well done, Rider," he said in a low, harsh whisper

The voiceNo, she didn’t think she knew it, but because she was distracted andover it, she did not see him move before he backhanded her across the face

THE ETERNAL GUARDIAN

The blow sent Karigan careening, and she landed on her knee, heart ha She shook her head and touched her cheek, and opened and closed her mouth to make sure her jaorked properly Fortunately the Guardian’s arauntlet had not broken or dislocated it