Blackstone (Book 2) (7 page)

With the table settled, the same two men scurried about
grabbing cushions and set them out at intervals.

“Please, sit,” the woman councilor—he’d forgotten her
name—invited in that cool, clear voice.

Wolf had no idea if there was a proper place for guests to
be, so hung back until half the guild had found a spot, then he sat with his
back to a wall and a clear view of both doors. It was also on the end of the
table, so he could stretch his legs out.

The councilor that was introduced as a strategist, Hyun Woo,
came and sat directly next to him. Under those bushy eyebrows were sharp eyes,
weighing and measuring Wolf without censure. “Eric Wolfinsky, was it?”

“Or Wolf,” he invited, “As you prefer.”

Hyun Woo’s eyebrows arched. “In this land, we call people by
nickname only if we share a very close relationship with them.”

“In Robarge, you only hear your full name if it’s official
business or you’re in trouble with Siobhan,” Wolf responded dryly. “I answer to
Wolfinsky just as well, if you’re more comfortable with that.”

“I am, thank you.” Hyun Woo gave him an inclination of the
head, meaning he was grateful for…something. Wolf didn’t know the nuances of
this culture well enough to figure out what. “Man Fei Lei-gui introduced you
earlier as an enforcer. I am not familiar with this word. Could you explain?”

“Warrior, or fighter, that is a set protector over a guild.”
Wolf tapped a finger against the table’s surface, trying to find the words to
explain something that he just naturally did. “Guardian might be the best word.
The safety of the entire guild is in my hands. I am responsible for them.”

Hyun Woo’s head cocked to one side, then to the other,
showing that he had heard, even though he didn’t understand completely. “Is not
your guildmaster in charge of that?”

“Well, she is, but she runs the guild as a whole. The
business side of it is what she does, and looks out for her members on a
general level. But if there’s danger near any one of them, I am the one to
respond. Well, either me, Fei, Tran, or Rune. We’re all enforcers in the
guild.”

“Then, if the guild was a kingdom, you four are its
soldiers?”

That seemed an odd analogy to make, in this land that had
not seen governments of any sort in hundreds of years, but Wolf flipped over a
hand in agreement. “Yes, I suppose.”

“Then it is you four that I must teach how to fight as a
unit.” Hyun Woo sat back, satisfied. “Siobhan-jia stated earlier that the
knowledge of how to fight as an army, in a united front, was unknown to the
world now. This is true?”

“Very,” Wolf grimaced. “Even in a guild, we don’t always
fight that way. We watch each other’s backs, sure, but our fighting styles
don’t blend well together. We’re more likely to get in each other’s way.”

Hyun Woo nodded, not surprised. “Then first, to teach you
how to fight in a unit. That must be done before we talk of battle strategies.
An army that cannot be broken into smaller units is not an army at all. It is a
mob. Siobhan-jia said that you will stay at least a week? Good. Then gather
your fellow enforcers and meet me at the main field in the morning. We will begin
learning then.”

Wolf felt a thrill go straight up his spine at the idea of
learning more tactics. That was always a pleasurable way to spend a day. “I
will.”

Fei came around the table and leaned down next to Wolf’s ear
long enough to whisper, “Pour the man’s drink. It’s a polite way of saying
thanks for the offer he just gave you.”

He gave him a glance, showing that he heard. Satisfied, Fei
moved off, going around to sit at Siobhan’s side again. Wolf reached for the
small decanter of clear liquid sitting on the table. Lifting it up, he gave
Hyun Woo a look that asked,
can I?

Eyes crinkling up in a smile, Hyun Woo held out his glass,
which was no bigger than a man’s palm, and held it steady as Wolf filled it.
Putting the glass down, he took the decanter from Wolf before filling up his
glass in return. There seemed to be some sort of significance to the gesture,
but Wolf filed it under ‘making friends’ and just let it ride without asking.
No doubt Markl would figure it all out, and would explain it to him later.

From the other side of the room, a door opened, and men and
women came in carrying platters of steaming food. Wolf made way as best he
could, giving them room to set the platters on the table. It seemed not to be
just one main dish, but several smaller ones, all of them arranged in a way so
that both sides of the table could share. Or so he gathered, watching how
people were picking up spoons and eating out of every dish within reach.

He ended up sharing food with Hyun Woo, which didn’t bother
him.

“Wolfinsky-gui, if it is not bold to ask, may I have the
story to your iron arm?” Hyun Woo gave it a look of open admiration. “It seems
it would be formidable in battle.”

Wolf gave him a grin. Now this was a man after his own
heart. “So, you want my story? I will be glad to tell it.”

Hyun Woo leaned forward and filled up his glass again, a
gesture that Wolf immediately reciprocated. “Please do. The night is long,
there is good food to enjoy, and I wish to hear a good tale.”

Yes, Wolf had a feeling he’d like it here just fine.

The field that Wolf was directed to that morning sat in a
little valley in between mountain curves. It was perfectly flat, the grass cut
low, and there were areas off to both sides with benches and awnings for shade.
Obviously, this was a well-established training field. There were already
several dozen men gathered, most of them either sitting on the benches or under
the awnings. Hyun Woo was with them, but he was facing the road, anticipating
their arrival. When he saw them, Hyun Woo clapped his hands loudly, calling
their attention to him.

“You have come early. That is good. These are all of the
enforcers of your guild?”

“Except Fei,” Wolf responded. Turning, he gestured to Tran
and said, “This is Tran Amar.”

Tran bowed to Hyun Woo as Fei had taught him to do the night
before, but didn’t say anything. Hyun Woo bowed back in response, eyes weighing
and evaluating the dark giant.

“And this is Rune Maley,” Wolf nodded to his other side.

“Maley?” Hyun Woo asked, startled. His surprise was obvious
as he looked at Rune. “Are you related to Siobhan-jia?”

Rune had grown accustomed to this response—after all, he and
Siobhan didn’t look a thing alike, so no one assumed to them to be kin—and had
learned how to handle it smoothly. “She’s my adopted sister.”

“Is that so.” Hyun Woo filed that fact away, but did not say
anything more than that, just exchanged bows of greeting. “It is my pleasure to
teach you. Today, I wish to start by evaluating your individual skills.
Wolfinsky-gui mentioned to me that you all fight very differently from each
other.”

Tran tapped his heart twice in nonverbal affirmation. “I’m a
dual-wielder with short swords. Wolf fights with broadsword and shield. Rune is
a hand-to-hand combatant.”

Hyun Woo probably guessed half of this just by the way they
were armed, but his eyebrows still rose a notch. “Yes, remarkably different in
skills. Teaching you how to move as a unit will be somewhat challenging. Regardless,
let us start with a simple demonstration of how you fight. It will help me.”

That sounded reasonable, and none of them objected.

Hyun Woo turned his head and called to a man standing
nearby. “Gil Hyun Lee! Come and be a sparring partner.”

A man that looked remarkably like Hyun Woo, only younger and
leaner, stepped away from the other men that had been watching on the
sidelines. He gave a short bow, more like a nod, toward Hyun Woo.

“Hmm, I think we shall start with the youngest.” Hyun Woo gestured
toward a spot in the field away from everyone. “Rune Maley-gui, if you would
spar? Please do not be too serious in this, I do not wish for injuries.”

Even though Rune didn’t argue, he clearly felt a little
nervous about this. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. Still, he
turned on his heel and walked a few feet away before falling into a ready guard
stance. 

Tran shifted uneasily next to Wolf and leaned in enough to
murmur softly, “Is this a good idea?”

Wolf didn’t respond because he wasn’t sure himself that it
was. Rune had learned over the past six months that killing people wasn’t
always an acceptable response. But that didn’t mean much when he was in a
fighting situation. Sometimes, muscle memory and instincts kicked in without giving
a man’s mind much say in the matter. He was very afraid that Rune would do
serious damage without really meaning to. “Stay close and on your toes,” he
finally responded.

With a grunt, Tran shifted positions to the other side of
the yard, making himself available to come in at a different angle if
necessary.

 “
Hame
!” Hyun Woo said loudly.

Rune flew into action, coming in low and using both arms to
attack in sharp, quick jabs, seeking an opening in his opponent’s defense. He
kicked, spun, punched without doing any damage, each strike being either
parried or blocked. Rune’s opponent—what was the man’s name? Gil-something or
other—was good. Very good. At least as good as Fei, possibly better. Wolf
grudgingly admitted the man would even give him trouble.

After those first few attacks, Gil found Rune’s rhythm and
stopped just defending. His hands lashed out and almost connected with Rune’s
neck. It was only the former assassin’s quick reflexes that saved him. The
fight was intense, and fast. Wolf’s eyes could barely keep track of their
movement and his blood quickened in a familiar rush of adrenaline just
watching. Hadn’t Hyun Woo said this was a simple demonstration?

In the next second, that adrenaline turned into ice in his
veins. An expression he had not seen in Rune’s face in months flickered to life
and he knew in that moment that the boy felt too pressed by his opponent. Old
instincts had kicked in and now Rune was going for Gil with killing intent.

Swearing, he slung the shield from his back and darted forward.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Tran do the same, heading straight for Gil.
Trusting the man to stop Gil, he focused on Rune instead.

Neither of them quite made it.

Rune went straight for his opponent’s throat, expression
hard and distant. But the blow he intended to land never made it. At the very
last possible moment, his hand instead went into the air right next to Gil’s
ear and stopped dead.

Wolf was moving too fast to stop himself now and he caught
Rune around the shoulders and hauled him back two steps. “Breathe, kiō,”
he commanded into his ear. “Breathe. Calm down.” Glancing up, he saw that Tran
had Gil by the shoulders, although the other man just seemed stunned to come
that close to death without even being able to put up a half decent defense.

Rune grabbed Wolf’s restraining arm with one hand, grip hard
with desperation as he sank into him, letting Wolf support his bodyweight. His
breathing was shaky, eyes wild. Wolf’s heart went out to him, as he knew
exactly what was going through the poor boy’s mind in that moment. He made
calming sounds in the back of his throat.

“Shh, shh. You did fine. You stopped yourself. He’s
alright.”

Hyun Woo approached cautiously from the side, his eyes
taking Rune in, evaluating every nuance.

Feeling like someone should offer an explanation, Wolf said
helplessly, “Our apologies, Hyun Woo-zhi. Rune comes from a very…rough
background. He’s still learning how to hold back.”

“I think that is not the problem,” Hyun Woo disagreed.
Bending slightly, he put his head on the same level as Rune’s. “Rune-xian,” he
said gently.

Rune’s head came up slowly, hesitantly to meet the man’s
eyes. Hearing Hyun Woo address him like a young son no doubt confused him. It
certainly confused Wolf.

“It seems to me that you have come from a dark place,” Hyun
Woo said, still in that gentle tone. “A place where you had to fight hard to
just survive? Am I right? I thought so. In doing so, you protected yourself
very well, but you lost your center in the process. Your survival instincts now
make decisions for you instead of your heart,” the old man put his hand against
Rune’s chest, “and that is not good. I think you realized this, which is why
you have chosen a different path, is that not right?”

Rune managed a nod but words seemed beyond him.

Hyun Woo gave him a gentle, approving smile. “This is good.
It takes strength, to change yourself as you are doing. I will be pleased to
help you so that you may leave those dark instincts behind you. A man’s heart
should go with him into battle. If not, he is not a man, but a beast.”

Seeing that Rune more or less had a hold of himself now,
Wolf let go and let the kid find his own feet.

Rune was glued to Hyun Woo. Licking dry lips, he asked, “Ya
think I can? Change so that I don’t have to worry about hurting people
accidently?”

“Yes, of course.” Hyun Woo lifted an illustrative finger in
the air. “Storms make oaks take deeper root. You are like a young oak. Your
roots are very deep, very strong. Once you find your balance again, little will
be able to shake you.”

Wolf felt a line of tension he didn’t know he had carried
ease. Even though Rune had a similar background to his, they were different in
very vital ways. He had known lightness before being dragged into a dark
guild—Rune hadn’t. And that had made all the difference in how they adapted
back into being good men. Wolf had struggled for almost two years before he
finally felt normal again. Rune wasn’t even sure what ‘normal’ was, or how to
attain it. Wolf, Fei, and Siobhan could only teach him so much from their own
experiences and knowledge. If Hyun Woo could help him, then so much the better.

Hyun Woo put a hand on Rune’s shoulder and promised him
gently, “It will be well. For now, stand at my side while I evaluate your
comrades.”

Rune didn’t seem inclined to disagree with this order, but
he first turned to Gil and bowed to him. “I’m sorry.”

His opponent shook his head, still looking a little rattled.
“Your skills are formidable, Rune Maley-gui. I would like to face you again.
But later, perhaps, when Hyun Woo-zhi allows it.”

Seeing the man was sincere, Rune gave him a quick nod and a
fleeting grin.

Taking pity on Gil’s rattled nerves, Hyun Woo didn’t ask the
man to face another from the Deepwoods guild but instead turned and called out
someone else to fight with Wolf. Wolf was an old hand at sparring with multiple
opponents and he fought the other man to a standstill without either of them
collecting more than a bruise. Tran stepped forward next and his fight went
more or less the same, although his opponent had to spin and leap free at one
point to avoid losing an ear.

Hyun Woo clapped his hands and said, “Enough. I am
satisfied. Tran-gui, Wolfinsky-gui, Rune-xian, come.” He waved to them with his
palm down, like a man calling a child to him. All three men gathered in front
of him silently, interested in what he had to say. With their full attention on
him, Hyun Woo asked, “When you are preparing to face an enemy, what is the
first thing you must consider?”

Wolf, Tran, and Rune shared a glance before Tran offered,
“Their fighting strength and what weapons they’re using?”

“That is second,” Hyun Woo corrected. “No, the first is the
angle of the engagement. At all times you want to limit how many angles your
opponent can face you. Take this field for example,” his arm swept out to
gesture toward the empty space, “it is a terrible place for battle. The angles
of engagement are many, and they are hard to cover. Of the three of you,
Wolfinsky-gui would find it easier to fight here because his shield limits how
much his opponent can reach of him.”

That made complete sense to Wolf.

“At all times, when you see an enemy approaching, you must
find ways to limit their angles of engagement and control how they can reach
you,” Hyun Woo advised. “Now, keeping that in mind, I think that blending your
fighting styles into one cohesive unit is challenging but not impossible.
First, Wolfinsky-gui must lead. He is your anchor. If you need to approach an
open place, where archers and spearmen are gathered, you must come in to a
field of battle behind him, trusting in his shield.”

Rune eyed the shield doubtfully. “It’s only about three feet
wide. All three of us behind it?”

“This is why I said it will be challenging.” Hyun Woo lifted
one shoulder in a shrug. “You must stay
directly
behind Wolfinsky-gui as
you enter, otherwise the shield will not cover you. Also, you must always line
up in this order: Wolfinsky-gui, Tran-gui, and Rune-xian.” As an afterthought,
he amended, “Unless Man Fei Lei-xian is with you, in which case he will go
before Rune-xian. The reason for this is simple: order.”

Wolf had been following just fine up until this point, but
the man had lost him. “Order?”

“When you have engaged the enemy, you must peel off and go
to specific sides in order to fight effectively without hampering each other,”
Hyun Woo explained patiently. “Tran-gui will always go to the left, because he
is armed with short swords, and he can use his swords to block your broadsword
in case a swing goes too wide.”

Wolf had better control over the broadsword than that, but
he privately admitted to himself that fighting was unpredictable enough that
putting Tran on his left was probably a wise move.

“Rune-xian, because he fights hand-to-hand, must stay on
your right. Partially because this way, he can take advantage of your shield
when he needs it.”

That also made complete sense.

“We will engage in a mock battle so that you may practice
this.” Hyun Woo lifted a finger, tone low in warning. “Remember, you are each
other’s defense. Do not stray too far from the other’s side. You want to stay
within two arm’s lengths of each other at all times.”

Far enough away that they could fight, but close enough that
they wouldn’t leave each other’s backs unprotected. Got it.

“You understand me? Good.” Hyun Woo half-turned and called
out several names as well instructions in his native tongue that went
completely over Wolf’s head. Then he directed them to a specific spot in the
field, lining them up as he had taught them to do. “You will break into formation
the moment Wolfinsky-gui reaches the first opponent,” he told them. “Again, do
not fight so hard as to cause injuries. Rune-xian, if you feel pressed enough
by your opponent that you feel old instincts kick in, raise both your hands
high over your head and the other man will stop. If this is not possible, drop
completely to the ground on your knees and he will stop. This is an old signal
with us, all will understand it.”