A Not So Pleasant Surprise. Part 22

It wasn’t the explanation so much that confused me, more the whole idea of what had happened since Alex, Stewart and Zach had left school. I still wasn’t even sure I’d gotten all of it by the time the two of them had finished explaining. All I knew for sure was that I didn’t like the idea of Ser being a part of Stewart, and I was worried about Zach, out there by himself. I was still struggling with the memories of my uncle, but with each passing moment I felt more in control, more synched with not only his memories but his abilities as well.

“So,” Stewart said. I was still getting used to his new eye.

“Yeah,” Alex said.

“Mmhmm.”

“So what’s with the sword?” Alex asked.

“I’m not really sure, actually. It was left to me by my uncle but I can tell already it’s no ordinary blade. There’s something… special about it.” I was avoiding Stewart’s gaze—There was something about it that made me very uncomfortable. Not just me, either—I could tell my uncle wouldn’t have liked Ser much at all. In fact, I almost felt like they knew each other.

I hesitated but only for a moment—this was too good an opportunity to pass up. “Did you know my uncle, Ser?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Can you… tell me about him?” I asked.

“If I had the time or the patience, maybe, but as it is I don’t care. I’ll tell you this—he was the best demon hunter who ever lived—the only man—before Stewart and his friends—to sleep in my former house and come out alive and well.”

I thought about that for a moment, and something inside me made me realize that he was telling the truth.

“So what can you do with that thing?” Stewart asked as he pointed toward the sword.

“I guess we can find out,” I said, and drew the sword from my back.

“I’ll provide you with practice, then,” Ser said. “First off, let’s see how hard you swing. Go ahead, hit Stewart with your sword.”

“…What?” I said.

“Seriously, dude, we got this,” Stewart said. “You’ll see.”

“I’m not going to cut you in half, Stewart.”

“Come on, Ramsey, don’t be a pussy.”

“I’m not a pussy! Fine, I’ll do it. Sorry, Stewart.” And I swung the sword with a precision I didn’t realize was possible. I slashed toward Stewart’s midsection faster than I’d ever moved before—I knew my uncle was taking over. Stewart was cleaved in two. There was no blood, though, but I could also tell something wasn’t right, based on the look on his face. There were choking sounds coming from his throat, and after far too long the two halves joined slowly back together.

“What the hell! Don’t do that to me!” I said.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” Stewart said, panting.

“There’s something… Unnatural about that sword… It’s power… It has some sort of antidemon charm on it. I was barely able to save us.” This was the first time I’d heard Ser’s voice uneven, almost scared.

“Told you guys it was a bad idea.” I said. They all laughed nervously, realizing how narrowly we had avoided disaster.

“Alright, no more of that, but I’m still intrigued by what you know.” Ser said. A sword appeared in Stewarts hand, apparently made of dark mist. “You two fight—and be careful not to kill each other.”

And we fought.

It was intense, our skills seemingly evenly matched. I was surprised by how quick Stewart was, but even more surprised by how fast I was moving, parrying and countering and moving like lightning. We both stopped after almost an hour of intense battle, neither one of us tired in the least.

I held out my hand to both him and Alex. "High fives all around!"




-The Knight