Page 67 of Raven's Rise
“To master any skill takes a long time,” Rafe agreed. “But there are a few tricks that anyone can learn. With knowledge and a bit of practice, you could surprise someone.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are we still discussing swordplay?”
Now he laughed. “It wasn’t meant to be an innuendo. Though now that you mention it…” He leaned over to taste her lips. “You have surprised me.”
She kissed him back, but then said, “Could you teach me to defend myself? I have a dagger, but I’ve never used it for anything but slicing meat.”
“I’ll teach you, starting tonight. Now.”
Chapter 20
Hearing Rafe’s words, Angelet gota little nervous. “Right now? In this room?”
“Why not? When Dobson tried to attack you, it was in a room this size. There’s more than enough space to learn how to use a dagger.”
She quickly folded the altar cloth back up, then retrieved her dagger from her pack. She’d used it at supper, though it was also her only weapon.
Rafe took one look and told her to put it back. “Your little knife will serve you perfectly well at table, but for this, think seriously.”
The dagger he handed to her was longer than her own, about a foot in length, but not much wider. It rested in a scabbard of boiled black leather, shiny with wear.
“But this is yours,” she said.
“It’s a purely supplemental weapon for me. You need it more than I do at the moment.”
She withdrew the blade, and it gleamed silvery in the dull light of the room. The hilt was also metal, but wrapped in soft leather so it was easy to grip. The crosspiece was minimal, barely extending past her curved fingers. It was a beautiful weapon, and the point was deadly sharp.
Rafe said, “It’s intended to pierce through your opponent, whether that means clothes or flesh. So you need to point it at them and thrust forward, not swing and slash sideways. Understand?”
She held the dagger out and made an experimental lunge toward the closed door, pretending someone stood there. “Yes, I think so.”
“Youcanuse the side of the dagger blade to block a blade coming at you,” he said, “but that takes practice, and perhaps more arm strength than you have. So let’s concentrate on the dagger’s use as an attack.”
Rafe moved next to her and squared her shoulders with his hands. Despite how close he was, Angelet sensed that he was now totally focused on teaching her to fight.
“You can draw it and hide the blade in the folds of your skirt, like this.” He put his hand on hers and pulled it down to her thigh, where she held the blade, tip pointing at the floor. He stepped around to the other side and squinted. “Good. I can barely see it. So if you’re nervous, you can draw a bit early and hold it there.”
“But eventually I’ll need to use it.”
“Very true.” He held his dagger out now. “Let’s say someone threatens you like this.” He approached quickly, swinging the blade up to hover in front of her chin.
Angelet instinctively took several steps back, and promptly ran into the wall behind her. “Oh, bother.”
“It’s natural to want to run,” he said, dropping his blade and extending a hand to help steady her. “God knows, if running is an option, you should take it. But let’s say you are backed against a wall, as you are now. When someone comes at you like so”—he resumed his previous stance—“you need to go on the attack immediately, or it’s over. He’ll slam you against the wall and you’ll have nowhere to go.”
That sounded horrible. “So how do I attack?” she asked.
“Like this.” He shifted again, moving to stand beside her, showing her how to stand. “See where my feet are, staggered? Do that.”
She did her best to imitate his moves.
“Good,” said Rafe. “Now, move forward with your shoulder leading…good…and lunge with your arm out…straighten your elbow! You’re not offering someone a drink, you’re defending your life. Very good.”
After performing the same series of steps he’d done, Angelet gripped the hilt of her dagger tightly. “It’s not very good if I’m only fighting an imaginary foe.”
“You’re going to fight me.” Rafe moved once again, blocking her path to the door. He raised his dagger. “Try to get past me.”
“Are you sure of this?” she asked. “What if I make a mistake and hurt you?”
