Read Online The Burning Sword by Emily Williams - Free Book Online
Authors: Emily Williams
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and for the first time, felt a stab of pity for the boy jolt through her hatred of him.
“Okay.” Her decision was made. “You can join, Eli. But only-” she saw him open his mouth to say something, his expression surprised, and cut across quickly. “Only if you promise to be much more civil. We won’t call you a squatter, if you don’t call us mountain goats. Any nonsense from you, and we’ll kick you out, okay?”
Eli nodded dumbly, for once unable to think up a response, it would seem. He turned, and limped through the door, leaving an air of stunned silence behind him.
“You let him join?” Isabel said, sounding as if she was in disbelief.
“Yes,” Faith said, still staring at the door, as if it would provide answers. “I did.”
“Why?” asked Sibyl, but her tone was not accusing.
“I didn’t have much choice,” Faith replied, looking at her friends. “You heard him- he would have gone straight to Margaret if I hadn’t.”
Martha nodded. “Yes, and I’m certain that he would have done too.”
“Right,” said Faith . “Also, he knows what the squatters get up to. He can tell us if we’re fighting to their standard.”
Sibyl nodded slowly. “I see. Do you think he really knows what they get up to?”
“I reckon so,” Faith answered. “We’ve just got to make sure that he’s definitely on our side. I can just see him being a double agent, or something.”
“Yes,” agreed Martha. “I don’t trust him one bit.”
“Oh, me neither,” Faith replied. “He’s a strange boy, but as we don’t have a choice…”
Her unfinished sentence hung in the air between them.
When they eventually got up to leave, tidying up the disorganized chairs and mattresses, Faith realized something.
“At least Eli’s taught us that we can’t meet in the middle of the village. I think we need to use a clearing in the woods,” she mentioned.
Sibyl nodded. “Definitely. We need to cover everything- we don’t want to make any mistakes.”
Faith couldn’t help but hope that it would all be okay. Part of her dreaded that the entire thing would go irrevocably wrong, but the other (and the bigger) part was flooded with hope, hope that had begun as soon as she saw all those people sitting excitedly in Martha’s hut, not caring that they were crammed in, just eager to learn. Yes, she felt extremely hopeful indeed.
Chapter 9
“That’s it, Daisy! You’re doing well!” Faith called out, over the racket of people dueling with sticks. Daisy had just got Helen in the stomach, nimbly dodging the larger girl’s attempt to get her in the chest.
“Thanks!” Daisy called back, breathless.
The girls and Eli had originally been unenthusiastic to start with mere sticks, but, as Faith had explained, seeing as some of them had never even held a weapon before, it was probably the safest move.
A cold wind blew languidly past Faith , as she paced up and down amongst the fighting girls, trying to praise them as much as possible; after all, encouragement was the almost best thing to help them improve, second only to practice.
As Faith watched, Marian and Annie fought half-heartedly, poking weakly at each other and giggling. “Come on, you two!” she urged. “Pretend that you hate each other, or something. This isn’t the time to be kind to each other!”
Marian looked at her stick. “I don’t want to hurt her,” she said, her eyes not meeting Faith ’s.
Faith went over to them. “You won’t hurt anyone, trust me,” she told them, gently. “This is just a practice. You’re both strong girls, you can take a tap on the arm. But anyway, how about a swap of partners?” she suggested, raising her voice.
People hurried about, looking for someone new to duel with, no one wanting to be the one left without a partner, like Isabel had been last time. Isabel this time was paired with Martha, the
“Okay.” Her decision was made. “You can join, Eli. But only-” she saw him open his mouth to say something, his expression surprised, and cut across quickly. “Only if you promise to be much more civil. We won’t call you a squatter, if you don’t call us mountain goats. Any nonsense from you, and we’ll kick you out, okay?”
Eli nodded dumbly, for once unable to think up a response, it would seem. He turned, and limped through the door, leaving an air of stunned silence behind him.
“You let him join?” Isabel said, sounding as if she was in disbelief.
“Yes,” Faith said, still staring at the door, as if it would provide answers. “I did.”
“Why?” asked Sibyl, but her tone was not accusing.
“I didn’t have much choice,” Faith replied, looking at her friends. “You heard him- he would have gone straight to Margaret if I hadn’t.”
Martha nodded. “Yes, and I’m certain that he would have done too.”
“Right,” said Faith . “Also, he knows what the squatters get up to. He can tell us if we’re fighting to their standard.”
Sibyl nodded slowly. “I see. Do you think he really knows what they get up to?”
“I reckon so,” Faith answered. “We’ve just got to make sure that he’s definitely on our side. I can just see him being a double agent, or something.”
“Yes,” agreed Martha. “I don’t trust him one bit.”
“Oh, me neither,” Faith replied. “He’s a strange boy, but as we don’t have a choice…”
Her unfinished sentence hung in the air between them.
When they eventually got up to leave, tidying up the disorganized chairs and mattresses, Faith realized something.
“At least Eli’s taught us that we can’t meet in the middle of the village. I think we need to use a clearing in the woods,” she mentioned.
Sibyl nodded. “Definitely. We need to cover everything- we don’t want to make any mistakes.”
Faith couldn’t help but hope that it would all be okay. Part of her dreaded that the entire thing would go irrevocably wrong, but the other (and the bigger) part was flooded with hope, hope that had begun as soon as she saw all those people sitting excitedly in Martha’s hut, not caring that they were crammed in, just eager to learn. Yes, she felt extremely hopeful indeed.
Chapter 9
“That’s it, Daisy! You’re doing well!” Faith called out, over the racket of people dueling with sticks. Daisy had just got Helen in the stomach, nimbly dodging the larger girl’s attempt to get her in the chest.
“Thanks!” Daisy called back, breathless.
The girls and Eli had originally been unenthusiastic to start with mere sticks, but, as Faith had explained, seeing as some of them had never even held a weapon before, it was probably the safest move.
A cold wind blew languidly past Faith , as she paced up and down amongst the fighting girls, trying to praise them as much as possible; after all, encouragement was the almost best thing to help them improve, second only to practice.
As Faith watched, Marian and Annie fought half-heartedly, poking weakly at each other and giggling. “Come on, you two!” she urged. “Pretend that you hate each other, or something. This isn’t the time to be kind to each other!”
Marian looked at her stick. “I don’t want to hurt her,” she said, her eyes not meeting Faith ’s.
Faith went over to them. “You won’t hurt anyone, trust me,” she told them, gently. “This is just a practice. You’re both strong girls, you can take a tap on the arm. But anyway, how about a swap of partners?” she suggested, raising her voice.
People hurried about, looking for someone new to duel with, no one wanting to be the one left without a partner, like Isabel had been last time. Isabel this time was paired with Martha, the
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